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The Jokers
It was the late 50’s, skiffle music was at its peek, and Warwick like everywhere else in Britain, had seen Lonnie Donegan, and wanted to emulate their hero. John Steed, had grown up in the County town with his brother Frank. A piano may have dominated their front room, and originally the ’boy Steed’ fancied a trumpet, but it would soon take the back seat to a much more trendy instrument. “When skiffle really hit, I like a million other 17 year olds, wanted a guitar”, said John, “the good thing was I just took to it straight away. I may have only known three chords, but that was enough. We formed the Jokers Skiffle Band with a group of friends. There was two guitars, washboard and tea chest bass, we of course began covering all the current skiffle hits like Freight Train, Don’t you Rock Me Daddy-O and last Train to San Fernando”.
Soon after skiffle emerged in the UK, there began a much bigger musical revolution spreading from its American epicentre. Rock n Roll had arrived, and the do-it-yourself acoustic skiffle craze, rapidly became a victim to the far user-friendlier glam of Rock n Roll. “We really got into amps and electric guitars”, John said, it was the way forward, so it was obvious our music would adapt the Rock n Roll sound. I do recall those exciting times, witnessing first hand the advent of Rock n Roll. The whole thing was like a ceremonial breaking away from your parents, we were being rebellious in our own way. This music was ours, and our parents could stake no claim in it. Having said all that, I do recall how supportive my parents were to my new venture, and the hours we spent recording onto the family Grundig tape recorder. During the period our group played in a skiffle competition at the Birmingham Hippodrome. It was hosted by Jim Dale who had just had a hit with ‘Be My Girl’. Also on the bill were The Vipers with Wally Wyton. They seemed a bunch of hard nuts. We came nowhere!!
By 1959, The Jokers Skiffle Band had dropped the last two words in their name, and The Jokers were now fully blown Rock n Roll. Well in spirit at least, as the groups’ equipment at that point consisted of a single drum and cymbal and one acoustic guitar adapted with a pick-up plus an ear-splitting 5 watt amp. That didn’t stop them rubbing shoulders with the famous. “One of my earlier memories of the Jokers” reveals John, “was when we were involved with Screaming Lord Sutch’s election campaign in Stratford upon Avon. He’d try anything for publicity and we were mug enough to go along with it. Once he asked us to stick posters up. They were on stakes and he got us to stick them in all the traffic island. It was illegal but he said he would pay any fines and pay for solicitor if they were needed. I think the police were aware of what he was doing. Rather than arresting us, they walk round with us until we had pulled all the stakes about again and then they took them away so that they couldn’t be re-used. He also tried to get us to block a main road with a van but, again, the police were aware and it didn’t happen”.
John’s brother Frank was also a member of the band, “I joined the Jokers from the RAF, said Frank, “I just loved singing, and I became the lead vocalist in the band, looking back, I recall I was just enjoying myself”. Frank was to witness some wild times as the bands front man. Playing in Bolton, Frank was suddenly grabber on stage, by a crowd of screaming girls. Before Frank could enjoy the adulation, it soon emerged that the bands manager Mick Neil had staged the whole thing. Mick paid them 17/6 and they demanded a fiver. However, they hadn’t taken enough money on the door and what was left of their audience left!!
“That was just one of our Beatle experiences” reveals John, “not the screaming, but the fact the place was empty, because the Fab Four were in town. It also happened the night the Beatles played Coventry Theatre; we were playing at the Navigation Inn, and we enjoyed a quiet drink with absolutely no one in the audience!! I did have an altogether positive Beatles experience, long before all that. I remember playing at the Matrix as a stand in for a band whose name I can’t remember (it must have been The Mark Allen Group-PC). The Beatles were playing that night and John Lennon used the Harmony after he broke a string on his guitar. I can’t remember if it was on the night or in rehearsals. I can’t prove it but I know it happened”.
“I finally left the pop world in the early 1970’s” said John, “when I became involved in politics and later went into further education as a mature student. During this time and afterwards I played and sang in folk clubs, one of my first loves in music, as well as a quite successful Country and Western band. I am now retired and happily married living in Nuneaton. My brother went on to sing in other local bands such as Concrete Parachute and is still involved with music. His son has taken up music and has appeared on a TV music channel. Other members of the Jokers still keep in touch but sadly some are no longer with us. One had his wake before he died after a serious diagnosis, as he did not want to miss out on it. I think that summed up the spirit of a lot of the musicians I knew. The one over riding memory of those years is that everyone enjoyed himself, even though there was a lot of ‘friendly’ rivalry. People had work and lots of energy to channel into the new music scene. It was a great time and I only wish that young people today had the same opportunities”.
John’s Jokers Trivia
Specials update
Last Friday (28th March) the Specials, (that’s all of them), rehearsed together for the first time in nearly 30 years. Lynval Golding said of the historic day “It was bloody brilliant”, all seven enjoying the moment, “We played Stereotypes” said Lyn, “and we were all just smiling at each other it sounded so good, none of us wanted to stop, we have already booked another rehearsal for next week”. While over in the bass guitar department Horace Panter concurred. “The music, albeit a little ropey in places, had touches of brilliance that I vaguely remember from nearly thirty years ago. We all seem to be friends again. I am speechless. Rodd & I travelled for nine and a half hours to play just over one hour of music, but it was pretty incredible music. I am still speechless. Horace”.