Absolute Quality DB...
It is these kind of tales/memories (or should that be Mammaries!?
) that at the the time you think Holy SHITT! - but looking back are often the best bits of being in bands... I failed to include in my story about being dissed that the band asked me to join them on a permanent basis as they said I was "'tons better than that smelly cun.t" I said I'd think about it - I'd enjoyed playing live and as you rightly say there's always the spinal tap stuff and the other milfy occasions
When they heard about his claims about me wrecking his bass I didn't know till some time after they sacked him (he was actually heard to say it was for 'Musical Differences' Yeah! right the cun.t wouldn't have known a chord if it was choking him...
Anyway - I did play with them (Shark Tooth) for about another 10 months till education/college called and I moved back to London..
in those 10 months I had a few what you might call Spinal Tappish moments: The lead guitarists sister had taken over management of the band....and had set up a week-end tour of all the Miners/Social Clubs (this is before that SLAG Thatcher had destroyed the Mining Industry in Wales and caused the closure of the social clubs)- Where they Drank to the point of either fighting or not being able to stand or both.... But they all took their music seriously - It HAD to ROCK. And if you / the band didn't come up to scratch they would throw chairs and pint glasses at you, so we thinking Ohhh Fuckk, especially as if you did a good gig, the news travelled fast same for if the band were shyte...
All the clubs were the same inside..in the foyer were 1 or 2 Big Banners of the Union and the Local Collery for the Marches etc. Everything was painted in dark colours brown and magnolia or black and magnolia... the tables were all in long lines from the door of the Hall/ Bar down to the stage area...where it was either a band/group/ local miners choir or the bingo machine...
There was always a small drum kit (bass drum, snake and one cymbal) and usually a small Bontempi orgelectric organ for the local old couple to play the Chicca Boom, Chicca Boom rhythm as the 'Organist' played that old style Blackpool Bingo Hall music...
Sorry about that was reminiscing
Anyway Verley the manager who was the hardest member of our band - with 38DD's and had a tattoo of Jimi Hendrix on her back - a bleached blonde version of Nessa on Gavin & Stacey was being chatted up by one of the barman before the gig. I can't even which club or town/village it was in when Kev the drummer rushes up to her and says "where's the bass drum???
You've forgotten the bass drum" . She takes a gulp from her pint and turning to him says '
I've forgotten fuckk all, it's your job to load your kit not fuckking mine! And so he starts saying fuckk it then I'm not playing fuckk this f you blah de fuckin blah! And disappears out the swinging doors in a huff
So now the rest of us are thinking we can't play - Ginge the guitarist runs out after Kev and we hear the barman say "My daughter's boyfriend plays drums he's good as well, he'll help out if he doesn't come back" - so an hour goes by and no Kev, Verley asks the barman to phone his daughter and he goes into the room behind tbar which runs the full length of the hall to phone his daughter - apparently her boyfriend is 'down from London' - this young guy turns up 17 yr old and a bit "Mad" - We set up the drum kit with the borrowed club bass drum - Kev has vanished...it's getting closer to 8 o'clock and he still hasn't come back - so "Phil" shows us what he's got... and he is 'Solid' and proceeds to be fuckin' awesome.
So we do the gig (Status Quo, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, a Rory Gallagher song, even a Sabbath song with a few of our own) No glasses or chairs thrown at us - We get paid and then get p*ssed...
It turns out this 'Phil' iwas to become none other than THE Philthy Animal Phil who would later become THE Motorhead legend.
I know that's my
claim to fame I once played in Motorhead
Apparently Kev had fuckked off home on the train... he did come back for 2 gigs (I think) then someone else joined.
In all honesty it's all a bit of a blur - But that was one of the better musical times and I remember thinking fuckk this drummer is GOOD.
Edit: I
think it was Blackwood Miners & Social Club???