Retrosonic Podcast - Eel Pie Island Museum, The History and Legacy of The Thames Delta 1960's British Beat and R'n'B Explosion

In the latest episode of Retrosonic Podcast, Steve from Retro Man Blog and Buddy Ascott of The Fallen Leaves are on location at the excellent Eel Pie Island Museum in Twickenham in the company of museum curator Michele Whitby and music historian Pete Watt. We discuss the rich musical heritage of what has become known as the Thames Delta and the birthplace of 60's British Beat and R'n'B, focusing on the legendary Eel Pie Island Hotel and some of the famous acts who played there. From it's opening night in 1956 and the Trad Jazz of Acker Bilk, Chris Barber and George Melly to the last show in 1970, the Hotel hosted gigs by many hugely influential bands and artists. There were shows by the leading importers of American Blues and R'n'B such as Alexis Corner, Long John Baldry and John Mayall, the originators Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker and of course, their young acolytes such as the Rolling Stones, The Artwoods and Downliners Sect. That's not to forget Soul acts like Jimmy Cliff and Geno Washington and even the later incarnation when the Hotel was transformed into Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden and started putting on Heavy Rock and Psychedelic acts such as Deep Purple, Joe Cocker and Black Sabbath. One of the most fascinating aspects is discovering all the now legendary names who made early pre-fame and fortune appearances at the Eel Pie Hotel including David Bowie with The Manish Boys, Jeff Beck with The Tridents, Ian McLagan with The Muleskinners and Eel Pie audience regular, Rod 'The Mod' Stewart with Steampacket. 

Surprisingly, despite Pete Townshend's strong links with Twickenham - after all, his studios and publishing company were named after the Eel Pie Island - The Who only played there once and you might be surprised to find out when. The answer can be found in the episode along with other interesting facts and anecdotes - for example, just how did bands get their equipment to the Hotel before the bridge was built? Did you really need a passport to cross to the Island? Why did The Pretty Things never get to play there? The Hotel was sadly destroyed by fire in 1971 and is now the site of luxury flats but thankfully, the Eel Pie Island Museum is keeping the remarkable legacy of Eel Pie Island alive in such a vibrant and enthusiastic way. To find out more about the Museum and the history of Eel Pie Island, including their mightily impressive list of bands and artists who played at the Hotel, details on visiting, yearly membership, merchandise and much more please check out the official web-site here. If you're going along to the Museum we'd also recommend a visit to the excellent Eel Pie Records, check out the regular live shows at The Eel Pie Club at the Cabbage Patch and of course enjoy a pint or two at the Eel Pie pub. For our report on the recent Don Craine tribute and fund-raising gig at The Half Moon Putney, please check out the feature in our archive here. Retrosonic Podcast Episode 48 features Buddy and Rob Green of The Fallen Leaves discussing the show and there's also an exclusive new song from Thee Headcoats Sect, the band that Billy Childish formed with Don Craine. We'd also recommend the books "British Beat Explosion: Rock 'n' Roll Island" and "Raving Upon Thames: An Untold Story of Sixties London" by Andrew Humphreys for further reference and inspiration. You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Amazon Music or direct from SoundCloud below:

Retrosonic Podcast · Eel Pie Island Museum - The Legacy of The Thames Delta 60's British Beat and R'n'B Explosion

Here's a few more photos of the Museum and Eel Pie Island itself (copyright Retro Man Blog).

Michele, Pete and Buddy Ascott

The bridge to Eel Pie Island

The site of the old Eel Pie Island Hotel

The impressive list of Eel Pie Island Hotel shows

Tracklisting

Downliners Sect "Glendora"

Rolling Stones "I Just Want To Make Love To You"

Rolling Stones "Not Fade Away"

The Artwoods "If I Ever Get My Hands On You"

The Muleskinners "Back Door Man"

The Who "I'm A Boy"

Downliners Sect "Why Don't You Smile Now?"

The Steampacket "Can I Get A Witness?"

Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames "Yeh, Yeh"

Geno Washington "Hold On I'm Comin'"

The Manish Boys "Take My Tip"

With sincere thanks to Michele and Pete at The Eel Pie Island Museum. Eel Pie Island resident Sheba from Bitter & Twisted Cartoons designed the fantastic Eel Pie caricatures picture (as seen below), which can be found on tea towels, posters and postcards in the museum shop.   

Don Craine Tribute at The Half Moon Putney with Downliners Sect, The Masonics and The Fallen Leaves, August 21st 2022

What a fantastic turnout on Sunday afternoon for the special matinee tribute show to Don Craine, the Deerstalker wearing R'n'B guitar legend of Downliners Sect who sadly passed away earlier this year. The occasion was also used to pay tribute to former Downliners guitarist Del Dwyer and large posters of the two hung on the backdrop, which was a nice touch. The fundraiser and celebration was really well organised by Rob Green and Ron Symmons of The Fallen Leaves to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and included not only, three top bands but also a charity auction which included some tasty signed records, books and white label test pressings from Spinout Nuggets, Billy Childish, Damaged Goods and Ace Records. There were also signed books by artist Jamie Reid and a superb package from the Eel Pie Island Museum, which is a must visit if you are in Twickenham. Rob Green acted as Auctioneer with a nice line in quips, a drumstick as a gavel and a snare drum to bash once the items had been sold. The good news was that all the items presented were sold and I'm sure that well over £1,000 must have been raised from the auction itself. 

It was great to be back at The Half Moon again, scene of most of my Retro Man Blog Nights over the years and I had to remember that it wasn't my gig so I couldn't go backstage and help myself to the rider! The Fallen Leaves opened proceedings with "Begin Again" and slammed through a short and sharp set peppered with some promising sounding new songs such as "Rosalina" and "Worried Well" from their forthcoming new LP. I haven't seen The Leaves since before lockdown and they were even better than ever - former Subway Sect guitarist Rob Symmons unique blistering style leaves people standing there in awe and frontman Rob Green's idiosyncratic performance and impressive croon is always a joy. Drummer Buddy Ascott, who you can often hear as my co-host at Retrosonic Podcast  crams all his years of experience from his time in The Chords, The Moment, Speakeasy and many other bands to sublime effect in The Fallen Leaves. His John Maher-style fills and sharp, tight rolls add a dynamism to the Leaves sound. His rhythm section partner Gaz on bass leaps around the stage like Dee Dee Ramone, adding an air of unpredictability and a nice contrast to the two Rob's more studied approach. The band will be playing at the Dublin Castle in Camden on September 10th so if you're free, please go along and you'll see one of the best live acts around. 

Next up were The Masonics who never fail to entertain with their raw Medway Delta R'n'B and Beat and they didn't disappoint today with their catchy, danceable numbers. Like The Fallen Leaves, the band were good friends with Don and Downliners Sect and they regularly shared stages together. Of course, drummer Bruce Brand was also once in Thee Headcoats Sect with his Milkshakes and Pop Rivets colleague, Billy Childish along with Don and Keith from Downliners Sect so there's a lot of shared history between them all. The Masonics were joined by Ludella Black for a superb run through of "Why Don't You Smile Now" and they left everyone smiling and thoroughly satisfied. 

Downliners Sect closed the afternoon with a rollicking set of good time R'n'B featuring founder member Keith Grant on bass and vocals and you can only wonder why the band never quite achieved the fame of their early contemporaries, after all Rod Stewart and Steve Marriott once wanted to join them! So, a poignant but nevertheless thoroughly entertaining afternoon that will live long in the memory, in fact I wonder if it might become a regular occurrence? Anyway, well done to Rob Symmons and Rob Green and all involved in making it such a special event. You can hear Rob Green and Buddy Ascott of The Fallen Leaves talking to me about the background and preparations for the show in Episode 48 of Retrosonic Podcast which also includes an exclusive Headcoats Sect track and is available for free on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts or from Soundcloud below: 

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 48 "Why Don't You Smile Now?" with special guests Buddy Ascott & Rob Green

Please click the highlighted Links throughout the feature for more information. There are more videos of the show available at the Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here.