The Peeps

If I had to write a list of whom I considered local music heroes, one of the first names that would go on such a list would be Martin Cure. For five decades, Martin has been involved with the local music scene in one shape or another. Today, we look at the sixties band The Peeps who themselves were formed from the beat band The Sabres.

Forerunners of The Peeps were the covers band The Sabres. They consisted of “Q” Martin Cure (vocals), Steve Jones (guitar), Graham Amos (bass) Paul Wilkinson (drums) and former Zodiacs guitarist Terry Wyatt (guitar). Formed in 1960 they began gigging in 1961. Their Manager Frank Jones (father of their guitarist and main songwriter Steve), was known for creating some fantastic press for the band, much of it unfounded. “He came up with some great press stories”, admits Martin Cure,” Like the one about us travelling 8,000 miles to tour Eastern Europe and being the second British band to play in Czechoslovakia. None of it was true, but it made great press and got us noticed”. What was true however was that the Sabres did become part of Sir Robert Fossett’s Circus in 1962 and toured with it for seven months. “We did a 15 minute set to drag in the older kids, and it was during the Jelly Baby craze that Ringo of The Beatles has initiated. So kids would throw tons of Jelly Babies at us, reveals Martin. “Our set was immediately followed by the elephants, and their keeper hated us because the elephants didn’t like walking on the jelly babies and it was hard to get them to perform. It was an interesting seven months, we learnt a lot of things and as we were part of the circus we all had to muck in and help put the tents up. Though I don’t think we ever really fitted in, but it was all good press for us”. Terry Wyatt concurred, “The circus was a real Hells Kitchen for us, the real side of show business. We had to do everything, they even put us in the zoo so the kids would come for our autographs, it was like Beatlemania in those days for us”. From that they went on to play at London’s famous 2 I’s coffee bar and appeared on the ATV TV show For Teenagers Only. They also took part in the Coventry Sound show at The Coventry Theatre along side Brian Poole & The Tremeloes, The Mighty Avengers, The Matadors and Tony Martin and The Echo Four.

By 1965 they had transformed into The Peeps (a nod of the hat to Coventry’s Peeping Tom). Guitarists Jones and Wyatt had both left and were replaced by Roy Albrighton (Jones would go on to join The Flying Machine) They embarked on a major European tour and picked up a strong fan-base in the process. They were eventually signed to Philips Records by influential bandleader Cyril Stapleton, and recorded at Radio Luxembourg Studios with Albert Hammond producing (of Free Electric Band fame). Also on the session playing cornet was Dick Cuthell who would go on to augment The Specials many years later. The first single chosen was “Now Is The Time”, well promoted including a spot on the TV pop show Thank Your Lucky Stars and mutiple plays on Radio Luxembourg. Written by guitarist Steve Jones, its a great freakbeat single that chugs along very nicely thanks, good guitar licks and nice harmony vocals, very much a Merseys sound. It just may have benefited with some better production however, because it never charted here for The Peeps, but the influential Australian beat band Ray Brown and the Whispers did a cover of it as the B-side of their Australian number one In The Midnight Hour.

More singles followed like “Can I Say”, “Gotta Get A Move On” and “Tra la La”. This was featured on TV’s Juke Box Jury, and Martin remembers Fred Emery slating his vocal style. By 1967 they had become Martin Cure and The Peeps and released one last single “I Can make The Rain Fall Up”, like the others this also failed to chart. Although its B-side “It’s All Over Now” (not The Stones song) has now become something of a Psychedelic classic! After some three years as a beat group the times had changed for The Pepys (hence the new spelling), so by 1968 they reinvented themselves as The Rainbows a progressive band in the mould of Traffic. With sculptured hair, bizarre eye make-up and multi-coloured flowing robes they moved their base to London. Terry Leeman had replaced Terry Howells on keyboards and Gordon Reed did the same on drums with Paul Wilkinson. Their first single also called “Rainbows” in 1969 was on CBS Records followed by “New Day Dawning” (an old Peeps song). Martin sums up his days in The Rainbows like this. “We did two Singles Released on CBS Records, wore a lot of silly clothes & make-up for photo sessions. We spent lot of time in Germany, at the “Star Club ” in Hamburg. I remember lots of great nights wit visiting English Bands, like the time Ozzy Osbourne (pre Sabbath) joined us on stage for a wild finale”. By 1970 however it was over for The Rainbows. Wilkinson went on to join The Flying machine. While Roy Albrighton joined German based Prog-Rock band Nektar. Cure, Amos and old band member Terry Howells (along new drummer Alan Savage) formed the Progressive band Still Life.

Still Life were one of those bands that release an album (Still Life 1971) that never really sold at the time. Years on though because it’s on a collectable label (in this case Vertigo), it becomes a mega obscure collectors item. It can now fetch something like £80, for that money you get six keyboard infused progressive rock tracks and the total absence of any lead guitar. They lasted for just one album then went their separate ways, Graham Amos sadly died in 2003, while the other guys left music altogether. Martin Cure meanwhile, joined Cupid’s Inspiration then rock bands Chevy and Red On Red, and is still very much involved with the music business. Nowadays Martin making a living as a Sound Engineer with his own PA Hire Company but has been known to pick up the mike for Cupid’s Inspiration from time to time.

Sabres/Peeps/Rainbows Trivia

• In the early 60’s The Sabres secured a tenancy at Coventry’s General Wolfe, an earned the princely sum of £27 for four gigs! 

• The band The Penny Peeps are often thought to be Coventry’s Peeps. They were in fact a Birmingham based band that included guitarist Martin Barre later of Jethro Tull. Barre did however study at The Lanchester Poly in Coventry. 

• Jimi Hendrix once supported the Peeps in York University in 1966, though a year later when Hendrix-mania was gripping the UK, the roles were reversed and they supported him in Sweden. 

• The Rainbows first single Rainbows was released under the old name of The Peeps in the US. According to Rex Brough the song ‘Hell Hole’ by Spinal Tap bears a strong resemblance to it.