Great to see young Richard Bennett playing Hush at the Georgia School of Rock USA, what a great drummer! He’s now the same age as I was when I joined my first group The Renegades which featured his grandad also called Richard Bennett. Young Richard’s dad Jeff is also a talented drummer.
All best wishes to all the Bennett’s.
Forty years of fun and friendship came to an end in April with the sad death of the Good Old Boys vocalist Alan Barratt. It was back in 1982 that I was first introduced to Alan’s amazing voice. The band, which began in 1979, was now working with its fourth singer who had ambitions to be a soloist, and so the search was on for a replacement. It was saxophonist Tony Hall who provided the answer. Tony, together with Sid Phillips was part of the ace saxophone duo who worked with Chas ‘n’ Dave and Cliff Bennett’s Rebel Rousers. On their nights off they would sit in with the Good Old Boys. Tony mentioned Alan’s name and so we invited him to come along to our next gig. He sat in one Sunday evening for three or four songs and electrified the audience with a stunning performance of raucous rock ‘n’ roll. From that moment we knew that we had found the right man to front the band and so, after parting company with our current singer, Alan joined Pete Parks, Carlo Little and myself in a musical partnership that was to last for over forty years. I soon discovered that Alan had grown up in the same area as I had. We both went to the same school, knew many of the same people, both hung out in Jim Marshall’s music shop, yet astonishingly we had never met! It’s soon became obvious that Alan was a great asset to the group, with a great image and a voice that was amazing. The females who came to our gigs loved his craggy good looks and wavy hair, often comparing him to the great Tom Jones! His powerful voice was equally at home with a slow ballad, an up-tempo country song or with his great love, old time rock ‘n’ roll!
Over the years our partnership went from strength to strength. Sadly, Carlo Little passed away in 2005 and three more great drummers passed through the ranks until the Strawbs’ Richard Hudson joined us. Ace guitar picker Alex Chanter also joined for several years before introducing us to the amazing Simon Bishop. This was the final Good Old Boys line-up that Alan proudly dubbed ‘The A-Team’. For the next thirty years we had more fun than we ever thought possible, achieving a level of performance that led to the band being in great demand. Alan was a wonderful front man, who could charm a crowd with his friendly easy-going manner and infectious smile and of course, amaze them with the range of his powerful voice. It has been a great privilege to share a stage with Alan for all of these years, fabulous singer, a great friend, and above all a lovely man who will be sadly missed.
Rest in peace Alan.
You can read a potted history of Alan’s musical career from 1967 here.
On May 3rd last year, Nick was interviewed by the Defenders of the Faith webzine for “what might be the most extensive conversation on the fabled outfit to date”. They are talking about Warhorse, of course. You can read it here.
It was guitarist Pete Parks who suggested back in 2001 that Warhorse should play a reunion gig, just for the fun of it, and, as he put it, “While we are still alive!”
It was with some trepidation that the band assembled, their last performance together being some 26 years before! Luckily, they played their set without too many mishaps and the whole show was recorded live. With the band pleased with the result and their record company keen to release it, unfortunately a deal to obtain the tapes could not be reached. In 2024, nearly a quarter of a century later the tapes finally reached the band members and a CD of the event is now due for release on BGO records. Sadly, drummer Mac Poole is no longer with us, but I know that, along with the other band members, he would be just as pleased and proud to see this album released at last- Warhorse, doing what they loved best- playing rock ‘n’ roll live and loud!
Available for purchase from BGO Records here, and from Airmail Recordings in Japan.
Tracks : Woman Of The Devil / Chest Fever / The Ritual / No Chance / Just Looking / Confident But Wrong / Burning / I Who Have Nothing / St. Louis / Back In Time / Shakin’ All Over / Hollywood Nights / I Can Tell / Lucille
Nick discovers the true story behind his ousting from Deep Purple, but soon joins Marsha Hunt’s new band, and starts planning a new direction. Meanwhile there are a couple of weddings to take care of. Read the full story here.
Nick will be returning with Nasty Habits to the Reigen, Vienna on Saturday, 29th March, for another “unique opportunity to experience an authentic Deep Purple Mark 1 concert”.
From the Reigen web site: “Founding member of the legendary Deep Purple, bassist Nick Simper, will perform a cross-section of his musical work with Nasty Habits, focusing on the first three Deep Purple albums, “Shades Of,” “Book Of Taliesyn,” and “Deep Purple,” as well as pieces by Johnny Kidd, where Simper was the band’s last bassist, and his prog rock band, Warhorse.”
Nick is pleased to announce a new album that he is playing on: “Living the Blues” by Terry Marshall and Friends. “Despite having never released his own album, Terry Marshall remains one of the most ubiquitous and influential individuals in modern music; this of course comes from the guitar amplifiers which bear his name. Debut album ‘Living The Blues’ by Terry Marshall and Friends, including Laurence Jones, Emma Wilson, Alice Armstrong, Krissy Matthews and Zoe Schwarz as well as an array of talented blues musicians, the album is the embodiment of a lifetime of dedication to music and a revitalising take on blues classics. Living The Blues is available on CD and 180g vinyl LP via Marshall Records.”
Once again I have to pay tribute to another departed friend and colleague. Last week saw the sad passing of one of the most talented musicians that I have ever known. The fact that he was a member of the very band I played with for over forty years, The Good Old Boys, brings the blow even closer to home. Simon Bishop joined the group thirty years ago to replace guitarist Alex Chanter who was leaving to form his own band. To say that he was an asset to the group would be an understatement! Although a quiet and unassuming man it didn’t take long for us to realise that his astonishing talent on guitar was something rather special. Simon had the unique ability to embrace all styles of music and his amazing originality made him able to make a song his own.
Although his style differed from Pete Parks the two of them were able to blend together and compliment each other and after thirty years they developed an almost psychic ability to read each other and create the unique sound of the band. Simon also worked as a music teacher and was always inundated with pupils, all hoping to learn to play like he did! A big part of my enjoyment as bassist for The Good Old Boys was knowing that the other members had the ability to suddenly display a little bit of magic which would make everyone sit up and smile. Simon Bishop was no slouch in that department and audiences would often break into spontaneous applause at some outlandish or outrageously clever demonstration of just what he really could do! Sadly, The Good Old Boys have called it a day after more than forty years, but the fun we had will remain with us forever. Simon, like all the members of the band was an integral part of it, and his passing leaves a huge void in the music business, and in our hearts. I consider it a great privilege to have known him and played alongside him for so many years, a truly talented man who deserves recognition as one of the best!
Rest in peace Simon.
It was with great sadness that I heard the news of the passing of Mick Underwood.
I had first witnessed his great style of drumming at the Park Hotel in Hanwell in 1963 where Jim Marshall would host gigs for his pupils and customers. Mick was playing for the Outlaws, a top outfit at that time and he certainly gave an impressive performance. During the following years I bumped in to him several times and when I formed my band Warhorse in late 69 he was the obvious choice, but he was already forming his own outfit, the great Quatermass. Several years later Mick telephoned to offer me the bass job with his new band called Sammy, but by then Warhorse we’re enjoying their best period of touring and recording. As luck would have it Sammy and Warhorse toured together on the same bill for several months which provided an opportunity for me to get to know Mick very well. After the break up of Sammy, Mick continued to work with various outfits including Episode Six, Strapps, and Gillan, always in demand and by now well established as one of the greatest drummers in the business.
It was 1994 when I found myself having a beer with Mick at a record company Christmas party to which we were both invited. As we reminisced we were joined by record producer Derek Lawrence who later suggested that we should form a band together, and to call it Quatermass II. We both thought it a good idea, and, after several false starts we had the right line up which resulted in our album Long Road being completed in 1996. Mick and I were both extremely proud of the album, and I consider it a great privilege to have spent several years working alongside a man who I always considered to be one of the very best. Mick spent the rest of the time working with his own group Raw Glory, but sadly never achieved the level of success that he should have done. I will remember him as a lovely friend and colleague, always fun to be with, the loudest drummer that I ever worked with, and definitely one of the very best!!!! Rest in peace.
The American tour continues, with Ritchie jamming with a roadhouse band in Florida and Tetragrammaton rush-releasing a butchered version of River Deep Mountain High as a single, without the band’s consent. Back home, things start to get weird until on July 1st, Nick gets the bombshell news – but not from the band. Read the full story here .