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Ray
Laidlaw, Lindisfarne:
Bit
of a tall order this one. I can't remember much detail but I have very
fond memories of Friars, both venues, the first one being the most whacky.
I've got a feeling that the first time Lindisfarne played there we were a
last minute replacement for another band, it may have been David Bowie. I
remember a lot of disgruntled punters in the pub grumbling about having to
watch 'some bloody folk group'. As it happened a lot of them stayed and we
went down really well. I think David Stopps must have had close links with
Charisma records because all of the bands on the label, Genesis, Van Der
Graaf, Audience etc seemed to get booked at Friars on a regular basis. As
I said, I can't recall much detail, just lots of bonhomie, great audience
reaction, good crack in the pub before and after, interesting herbal
aromas and lots of bearded blokes and rustic hippie chicks. Happy daze
indeed'
Clive Whitelock, Occasionally
David
I recall we were a very
late addition and so didn't make the poster. I would have loved to have
been on that. I think it was my favourite design of poster, it having
been used also in the 60s to advertise groups and bands appearing at
High Wycombe Town Hall
Occasionally David was in
essence Me and Ray Bate. We wrote everything and we were the
singers. The rest of the band I think didn't feel the same about it
as we did, especially the drummers who came and went as if they were
just visiting. We had a skinhead following which didn't go down
especially well with the Lindisfarne crowd and my abiding memory is
of this little clique of potential hooligans doing an awful lot of
yelling. We weren't skinheads in any way, shape or form and I have
to admit to being a bit miffed at this odd turn of events. The
leader of them was Dave Parsons who played trombone on the single we
had out at the time. In retrospect I think it was a good thing
ultimately
it was good to get a decent
rider of beer and sandwiches although too much of it seemed to
disappear down the throats of said skinheads it seems. We were all a
little bemused that Lindisfarne charged us to use their PA. Stingey
buggers! As it turned out, this was the last gig of all. (Almost!) Ray
and I went on to record a cover version of Love's Forever Changes which
we released on cassette although there are some CD copies doing the
rounds. We intend to put it out on CD eventually. It has gained us a lot
of attention over the years. We also gathered together a lot of
Wycombe's musicians and recorded a CD of mine and Ray's songs called
Micklefield. This has also got around quite a bit. In July I started the
group going again. It's just me and my son on bass. He normally plays
guitar for the metal band This Dying Hour. It was great to play at
Friars, probably the biggest gig we ever played both in size and
prestige.If
anyone is interested in the further adventures of Occasionally David we
are on
www.myspace.com/Occasionally david
and our
history is on the BigUntidy on-line magazine |
