Popular music has always walked close at hand with comedy, be it the early music hall acts of the 19thCentury or chart acts of the 60’s like The Baron Knights and The Rockin’ Berries. Many a band has taken their stage act to another level and introduced a comedic side to the proceedings. One such …
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The Carltons
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Capel Bond
This week Pete Chambers goes even further back in time to the Eighteenth Century to look at the originator of organised music in Coventry, Composer and Holy Trinity Organist Capel Bond. Capel Bond was born in Gloucester in 1730, but despite his roots, he would have a diverse effect on his adopted City of Coventry. …
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Brian ‘Liquorice’ Locking
When you talk about instrumental groups the first name on most peoples lips is The Shadows, no surprise there, but what is a surprise is that one of it’s pivotal members was actual a local lad born in Bedworth, Warwickshire! Brian Locking was born at 29 Mount Drive, Bedworth on December 22nd 1940, delivered by …
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Bobbie Clarke – The Man Who Drummed The World
Bobbie Clarke was and still is one of the worlds finest drummers, he is known as the Man who drummed the world, many of his fans however may not know that the legendary Bobbie is actually a ‘Coventry Kid’. Robert William Woodman was born in Coventry on June 13, 1940, despite becoming a renowned rock …
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Bittersweet King
This month Cherry Red records release the second King CD Bittersweet. Originally released in 1985 in vinyl form, it marked the second chapter for Coventry’s most flamboyant band. It’s a great package, with 8 bonus tracks, a full band discography, and the sleeve notes written by somebody called Pete Chambers! Yes yours truly, was more …
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Beverly Jones
This fine city of ours can boast a long line of great female vocalists, including The Orchids, Lynne Curtis, Beverly Martyn, Pauline Black, Hazel O’Connor, Julianne Regan, Tracey Cattell from the Primitives, Fi from Dragster and Julie Ann Burrows from The Satin Dolls. All superb in their own right of course, but today we are …
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Alternative Sounds
The vibrancy of Coventry’s music scene in the early eighties had a lot to do with the success of local icons The Specials and The Selecter of course. That wasn’t the whole picture however, for bringing the local scene together was the fanzine publication and guiding light Alternative Sounds. The fanzine was the brainchild of …
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Lieutenant Pigeon
With Mouldy Old Dough, Lieutenant Pigeon had created a perfect novelty song but with the addition of Rob’s Mother in the band the concept had been extended and sound and image merged together perfectly to create a novelty classic that would see the band top the charts for four weeks. Not bad for a song …
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Nick Drake
Today on 19th June, Nick Drake would have been 59. Talk about Nick Drake these days and his name will be met with quiet reverence, followed by an animated discussion on just how Nick Drake became the god of acoustic music and how he influenced an entire generation. I’m not be facetious here, but over …
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Ning
One of the main functions of Backbeat, as I see it, is to unlock the door on local bands that may have been forgotten or even seldom heard of. Today’s band is very much of the latter description. Ning were not just a jobbing band, these guys were part of the chosen few and were …
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