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SEE RUSS NAYLOR'S
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GALLERY
THE PRETTY THINGS
From the band.....
The
FRIARS
show on Monday night was the high spot of our year so far. In an era of
sanitised, corporate, portion-controlled music, made on computers and
impersonally sold on the internet, to be back in
FRIARS
re-affirmed why we still do this and still love it.
During its time in operation, Friars was one of the most important and
influential places to play in Europe. The club, its' attitude and
management style, created a generation of music fans, who looked to the
club for direction and followed the taste and house style of the club to
the very end. A committed venue run by loving, informed and joyful
enthusiasts is a huge benefit to any region, It affects and informs
young people & creates real loyalty and love for music and artists, that
lasts a lifetime. We regularly play the 100 Club, in London - now
London's oldest established rock venue, and the feeling in the room is
exactly the same. A lot of joy, a feeling of genuine support and a total
commitment to the music, not the profits.
FRIARS
was, and remains, the class of the field, and the people who came to the
show on Monday were returning to the club, rather than coming to see us,
The Broughtons or Tony. they trust the club to deliver and they are
connected to the music they love, that FRIARS
has built for all of the dedicated club members.
For our part, as a strange, ragamuffin bag of odd, assorted characters,
who still do this for the pure love of music - we salute you. Without
FRIARS
, and the other style-makers we all used to love - there would be no
Pretty Things.... And no British rock music.
We played the O2 a few hours before our set with you. Guess which show
left us smiling hard enough to generate lockjaw!
David, Mike, all of you.... Bring it on - people NEED direction to learn
to love music as we all did. you seem to be gifted at providing it.
Anytime you want The Pretty Things, just whistle - we'll be listening.
Best gig of the year for us. Thanks to you all.....
XX The Pretty Things
THE SETLISTS
The Pretty Things:
THE BEAT GOES ON/DON'T BRING ME DOWN/HAVANA BOUND/S.F. SORROW IS
BORN/SHE SAYS GOOD MORNING/BARON SATURDAY
ACOUSTIC SECTION:
CAN'T BE SATISFIED (ACOUSTIC)
COME IN MY KITCHEN (ACOUSTIC)
ROADRUNNER/HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN (W. ARTHUR BROWN)/COME SEE ME/BUZZ THE
JERK/MIDNIGHT TO SIX MAN/ALEXANDER/JUDGEMENT DAY/L.S.D. // OLD MAN GOING
ENCORE:
ROSALYN (WITH THE FULL COMPANY!)
ROUTE 66
Edgar Broughton Band:
Momma's Reward/Speak Down The Wires/The Moth/Why Can't Somebody Love
Me/Call Me A Liar/Green Lights/Hotel Room/Love in the Rain/Evening over
the Rooftops/Out Demons Out
The Groundhogs:
Eccentric
Man/ Garden/ No Mo' Doggin/Still a Fool/
Split/Split
2/Split
4/Natchez/Cherry
Red
Kris Needs 1969 Sound System:
Kris played a selection of the following:
Creedence Clearwater Revival
– Bad Moon
Rising; Green River The Band
– Up On
Cripple Creek Mott The Hoople – Rock
N Roll Queen; At The Crossroads; You Really Got Me [live]
King Crimson – 21st
Century Schizoid Man Van Der Graaf
– Refugees; Killer
Graham Bond –
Early In The Morning Quintessence –
Gunga Mai East Of Eden –
Northern Hemisphere Captain Beefheart
– Troutmask Replica – Moonlight In Vermont
Byrds – Ballad Of Easy Rider Santana
– Evil Ways; Jingo Youngbloods –
Darkness Darkness Blue Cheer –
Summertime Blues Rolling Stones
–
Let It Bleed; You Can’t Always... Country Joe
– Fish Cheer/Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die
Tim
Buckley – Buzzin’ Fly
Frank Zappa
– Willie The Pimp Love – The
Everlasting First Jefferson Airplane
– Volunteers Cream – Badge Jimi Hendrix
– Electric Ladyland The Nice –
America Kaleidoscope – Petite Fleur
United States Of America – Garden of
Earthy Delights Can – Father Cannot
Yell Flying Burrito Bros – Hot
Burrito Fleetwood Mac – Oh Well
Quicksilver – Mona
Spooky Tooth – Spooky Two
THE FANS
Some of the feedback we've had!
The webmaster:
One of the greatest nights
of my life! It's hard for me to think that attending
FRIARS
way
back when seeing some great bands and having a good time, that I would
be involved in some way 25 years later. It's obvious to anyone looking
at the work on the website how much
FRIARS
meant to me in my formative years and to be a part of this special gig
was a really incredible thing for me. I was here there and everywhere
throughout the evening but did manage to catch most of the Pretty Things
who it has to be said were rather good!
Keith Webley:
What a fantastic evening - congratulations on putting it all
together.Edgar Broughton, one of my real favourites, was fantastic -
what a voice! And the Pretty Things, who I hadn't seen since 1969, were
just awesome.
Let's hope we don't have to wait quite so long for the next gig.
Annalina and Christian Dietz-Saluz:
I knew it would be
a fine evening. But we received 200% more above any expectations.
Lucky I got
tickets soon enough to book flights, car and hotel. My wife and myself
are still overwhelmed by the atmosphere at the Civic Centre in
Aylesbury. Great, great concerts from A-Z. Keep on, keep the spirit of a
time alive when music was a matter of spontaneous evolution, talent,
inspiration and direct feedback to/from the audience. In other words:
The contrary of casted beauties stuck together in a "project".
Bruce Sawford:
Can you pass on my
congratulations to Dave et al. OK I felt I should be asking for my
pension but it was a great reunion and everyone was clearly happy to be
there... even though most had forgotten how to bop (and Kris had
forgotten how to put on a record!).
If you're thinking of making it more than a handful of memory nights
(hope so) then could I ask that you mix some new with the old? Friars
was always great at picking the rights acts and I'm sure you'd be able
to find some suitable names from the present century.
Keep on keeping on...
John Parslow:
Hello all at Friars,
this was the first gig I have ever managed to attend and it was
brilliant. As a working muso I have missed every
FRIARS
always gigging
someplace else but for once, my wife and I were able to come along and
really enjoyed the show especially the Edgar Broughton band. As a
special bonus for me I met Dave Stopps again (a mean keyboard player in
his day) who I have not seen since we played together in a local band
called Gearbox in the late sixties.
Keep up the excellent
work. As new members my wife and I now look forward to your new ventures
Jon Salmon:
Many congratulations to everyone involved
in resurrecting Friars this year and what a great treat after a quarter
century gap to see some exciting Friars hosted live music once more.
All three bands were ones that I'd heard
of but am ashamed to say had never heard. I'm from the late seventies
punk/post punk era of Friars so was intrigued by what they'd serve up
and also at what sort of audience they would attract.It turned out to be
a really interesting bill. The Groundhogs initially pounded my ear drums
with what I assume is the nearest embodiment of a UK Jimi Hendrix on
guitar I'm likely to see. The Edgar Broughton Band was a
mini-revelation. I expected them to be a rather anachronistic hippy band
but they had an impressively full, updated sound I thought, after the
heavy blues onslaught of The Groundhogs.
I'd like to see them again.
I also enjoyed The Pretty Things - been
around for years obviously, living legends and great stagecraft,
excellent young drummer. I think I'll hunt down "SF Sorrow" and
"Parachute". Clearly, they've got some wonderful music to draw from, and
their opening number was a classic in how to open a set.
Best wishes to David Stopps who I
interviewed 25 years or so ago at the start of Howard Jones mania, when
I was a young reporter on the Bucks Free Press in High Wycombe. The
paper did a poster size wrap-around one week with interviews with
Howard, his parents, David, and of course fans, at around the time of
Howard's first LP. It was my first big celebrity story.
I look forward
to further Friars events this year
KRIS NEEDS'
REVIEW
In an
age of sometimes the most tenuous of reunions, this one took some
beating; except the evening of Monday, June 1 wasn’t so much about the
artists but the audience. The gig marked 40 years to the day that
Aylesbury’s New Friarage Hall first played host to Friars, almost
instantly laying down the template for its warm, freewheeling
atmosphere, noisily-appreciative crowd and highly-personalised style of
promoting.
But
those were different times and the big question was whether any of the
85,000 members would reconvene after 25 years and manage to reignite
this definitive hotbed of the proverbial good vibe. We got the
overwhelmingly affirmative answer within minutes of the doors opening.
Both bar and hall rapidly became packed with original members, some of
whom hadn’t seen each other for nearly 40 years, plus new generations,
including several seeing what their parents got up to before they were
born.
I
watched the hall start filling from my perch behind the record decks on
the balcony where I was DJing. I’d brought some CDs but in the end only
played one, preferring to stick to the original spirit. Also it’s more
satisfying placing a vinyl record lovingly onto a turntable than
whacking a silly little disc into a slot and pressing buttons. Early
arrivals were treated to Mott The Hoople’s ‘At The Crossroads’, East Of
Eden, Blue Cheer, Tim Buckley’s ‘Strange Feeling’ and Creedence
Clearwater’s ‘Bad Moon Rising’, the very first record I heard when I
walked into Friars on that opening night 40 years ago. As the doors had
just opened it could have been the first record ever played at Friars.
By the
time opening band the Groundhogs [who first played the club in June
1970] had reached the climax of a set mainly consisting of snarling
blue-rock outings from Thank Christ For The Bomb and Split,
the joint was indeed jumping. Many incredulous reunions were taking
place with the bar resuming his old function as a true social epicentre,
Pete Frame, who’d made the 1100 mile round trip from the outer reaches
of Scotland holding court as in the old days.
The
Groundhogs, like each of the groups, received a Friars Hero trophy at
the end of their set, presented by Mike O’Connor. At one point, David
Stopps brought on Robin Pike, credited with coming up with the idea for
the club but he insisted on bringing on Adrian Roach, Jerry Slater and
Terry Harms, thanking them for the initial inspiration.
Next
were the Edgar Broughton Band, displaying a more complex sound than the
agit-rock grinds of yore but finishing with a rousing mass singalong of’
Out Demons Out’ [Thankfully, this time not prompting post-gig graffiti
attacks on local council buildings]. By now, another familiar face from
40 years ago had appeared stage right: Dave, leading the ‘idiot dancing’
in the revived Leaper’s Corner, another early Friars tradition which saw
much flailing of limbs.
By now
the atmosphere was unashamedly emotional, Robin Pike’s suggestion of Van
Morrison’s ‘Ballerina’ hitting the spot before the Pretty Things
arrived, straight from a Childline charity gig. They loped on in their
black suits and powered into ‘Roadrunner’, heralding a most
blues-wailing set leaning more towards their ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’,’Mona’
and ‘Pretty Thing’ era than the deafening psych bombardment of their
first Friars appearance on June 8, 1969, although there was a stellar
version of ‘LSD’. For the supremely sleazy ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’, they
were joined by the colossal presence of old mucker Arthur Brown, another
Friars fave who’d just turned up at the door and announced ‘Hello, I’m
Arthur Brown’. By now the gig was more resembling a funky, low-down
blues club.
After
receiving their Friars trophy, the Pretties savaged ‘Rosalyn’ and ‘Bring
It To Jerome’ way past the usually strict hall curfew, bringing to an
end this most magical of nights. There seems to be no stopping the
revitalised Pretties blasting their ferocious comeback trail [the
following week I encountered them again receiving a MOJO Hero
award], but afterwards singer Phil May said, ‘We just love playing but
with this audience it was really something special.’ [It also has to be
said they rank among the nicest groups I’ve encountered in those last 40
years].
For a
long-time Friars-goer, this was a very special night. There were a few
problems and inevitable hiccups but, in the end, the old magic was
indeed rekindled. As press ads used to declare in times of adversity:
FRIARS LIVES.
TV SPECIAL INCLUDING
LIVE CLIPS!
Go to
THE GALLERY
All pictures: Mike and Sue
O'Connor and ©
2009 www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk except where noted
Thanks to Russ Naylor, Paul
Freestone, Neale Wareham, Mike Cooper, David Stopps, Chris Payne, Keith
Webley
For additional photos by
Markus Kinch, please see
here.
This was why we were all here! The first
Friars gig since 1984 and the 40th anniversary. The flyers were done by
Kris Needs replicating his 1970s style and the posters were done by Budget
Stopps like the old days.
Bloody hell! Someone's put a Friars news-sheet up in the UN building in
Geneva! Is this a record for distance?
Picture: David Stopps
The good people at the New Roxette produced a
souvenir programme
During the morning, preparations are well under way
An
engineer with promoter David Stopps and stage manager John Braley
John Braley came out of retirement to stage manage this gig. John ran
the Civic Centre and the Borough Assembly Hall in the Friars years.
Pictured with John is Rock Family Trees and Friars legend Pete Frame who
came down from Scotland for this gig.
More preparations
Aylesbury town centre on the evening of June 1st is deserted. Where is
everyone....there is a clue
Picture: David Stopps
OK, here we go.....
Picture: Russ Naylor
The
gig is on! Tony (TS) McPhee strutting his thing with the Groundhogs
Picture: Paul Freestone
Picture: Keith Webley
What's this? The Friars Aylesbury webmaster presents a special Friars
Heroes Award to The Groundhogs.
 
Picture: Paul Freestone
The
sprit of 1969! David Stopps along with the Optic Nerve Gollies who did
the lights at Friars back in Phase One
Next up was Edgar Broughton Band
Picture: Keith Webley
Picture: Neale Wareham
Edgar Broughton received a special Friars Heroes Award on the night and
they seemed very pleased with it
 
Just off stage....Edgar Broughton Band with David Stopps and on the left
the legendary Peter Jenner, former Pink Floyd manager.
Picture: David Stopps
Pete Frame and the Optic Nerve guys (Mike and Brian)
Tony Poole (Starry Eyed and Laughing), David Stopps, Pete Donne, Pete
Frame
Picture: David Stopps
Fans Annalina and Christian Dietz-Saluz travelled especially from
Switzerland!
 
Pictures: Christian Dietz-Saluz
Joe
Stopps and Roger Surguy
Bucks TV was there to capture the moment and Richard Carr is seen
interviewing Marillion's Pete Trewavas
Anyone want a Roxette? Stuart Robb from The New Roxette doing a fine
job. A word about the lady in pink in the background. She is Sue Wyatt
who was one of the original Friars members from 1969 joining at the
Blossom Toes gig. She did a sterling job at the membership desk.
At the membership desk.....Sue Wyatt
(Greenwood) and Mr and Mrs Webmaster
Picture: David Stopps
An
old friend of Friars, Radio London's Mary Payne (left) with Sue Wyatt
Picture: Chris Payne/Radio London
Spinning the platters that matter....the awesome Kris Needs 1969 Sound
System
A
very special treat. Mandrake Paddle Steamer was the first band to ever
play Friars 40 years ago. Paul Riordan from the band came along and was
presented with a special memento of this occasion.
 
On
that same bill on June 2nd 1969 and the first ever headline artist at
Friars was Mike Cooper. Unfortunately, Mike was unable to get to this
gig, but received his Friars Heroes Award via satellite in Rome
Picture: Mike Cooper
The
original founding fathers of Friars. Robin Pike, Jerry Slater, David
Stopps, Terry Harms and Adrian Roach.
  
Time for the Pretty Things, hot off stage from the O2 earlier in the
evening to play a wonderful set.
Picture: Russ Naylor
Surprise guest time. Yes, that's Arthur Brown, who played Friars twice
including the 1971 Christmas party.
I am the God......
Picture: Neale Wareham
Picture: Keith Webley
Picture: Neale Wareham
Phil May in fine voice
Dick Taylor still doing the business
Picture: Russ Naylor
It's that bloke in the black shirt again! The Pretties also received a
special Heroes Award for the occasion.
Picture: Russ Naylor
 
One
photo, three legends. Dick Taylor, Arthur Brown, Edgar Broughton
At
the end of the evening a very special Friars Heroes Award to David
Stopps, without whom.....
 
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