Evening Herald from Plymouth, Devon, England • 21

I lx PAGE 21 Evening Herald Wednesday June 5 1996 GIG GUIDE Jamming the night away Clive Hooper Bev Day Rob Stubbs MANY local music followers were devastated to learn of the break-up of The Legal Eagle Blues Band one of the most loved outfits on the circuit founded back in the mists of time by Mick Taylor and his lawyer friend Ian Langsford writes CLARE ROBINSON However Mick was unlikely to last long without a regular bunch of I rarely been out of a band since In fact Mick was bom in London into a musical family his dad was leader of the orchestra at Covent Garden and as such one of the best violinists in the world Mick studied violin and piano but soon rejected classical music in favour of the more contemporary popular style and started playing harmonica and singing with groups After leaving university in Swansea he took a variety of jobs but eventually decided to put his degree to good use ending up at Mar-jons training to be a teacher now head of English at Plym-stock Comprehensive where he started out 21 years ago Mr Taylor is a very popular teacher one of those special ones you remember with affection long after leaving school and his position as front man of a local band can only be a positive asset one that helps bridge the generation gap of the kids think anyone my age is past he groans But only this morning two sixth-formers mentioned that they just happened to catch a gig sir you ve got a brilliant they beamed Bev Day has known Mick since Spare Parts and Quarry days and of course Steve Tume Ricky Worthy and Alan Greener three bass players Graham Sprague Don Fox and Bob Marks and two drummers Robbie Stubbs and Keith Russell although they are hoping to recruit another person to the percussion department soon Of course the great advantage to this system is that no two performances are ever alike and they need to rehearse together so long as everyone has done a little practice at home and they all know which key to play in! It keeps the whole thing fresh and alive Each musician has his own way of playing for example the lead styles vary from that a la Clapton to country rock to BB King Old favourites Mustang Sally In The Midnight Hour Houchie Couchie Willie Nelson Bob Dylan and even a couple of Stones classics Sweet Virginia and The Spider and The Fly New numbers are in a similar vein still thumping out those bluesy 12 bars as Bev says you can tap your feet and have a good time He modestly claims that no great stage presence (well they wear matching suits) and more a social gathering than an entertainment With many experience between them been playing to packed houses lately and you can be sure those audiences would happily claim to have been vei well entertained by a very fine little rhythm and blues band For an up-beat foot-tapping great night out catch them at the Thistle Park Tavern this Saturday and The Swan on June 22 TONIGHT Boringdon Arms Folk and Skiffle Night Swan Real World (ex Karrallon) Cherry Tree Quiz Cooperage Rock Cafe with DJ Pete featuring Baxter and Push (downstairs) Jazz Cafe with Anthill Quartet (upstairs) Lopes Arms Pete Carson and Wendy Warren THURSDAY Superbowl Roadside Cooperage Novocaine 500 Hojas and The Gelatones The Bank Fab Four University Electric Groove Temple Lanterns (Ashburton) A Touch of Country Boringdon Arms The Jam Band Cherry Tree Karaoke Lopes Arms Quiz Night FRIDAY Cherry Tree Daddy Teacha Cooperage Timeshard and support DJs (see feature) China House Miss UK 1972: Lanterns (Ashburton) Enigmatic Underground Collective University -Watershed The Swan Vince Lee Blues Band Good Companions Rock Night Clittaford Club Beverley Lynn The Britannia The Undertakers Queen's Arms (Tamerton) -Afterglow SATURDAY Britannia Sun Dogs (Back on the road with new songs Beer £1 per pint all night) Cooperage Jeep Beat Collective China House Jules Cherry Tree Watershed Clittaford Club National Skyline Good Companions Summer Disco The Wharf (Tavistock) The Retreat The Swan -Crying Out Loud Boringdon Arms Commoners Rights Arms (Tamerton) Kevin Kline Thistle Park Tavern -The Jam Band SUNDAY Britannia Plymfest Charity Day from 3pm Superbowl Police-force Cooperage The Retreat Cherry Tree Frankie Lee Band Clittaford Club Karaoke Good Companions Fab Four Queen's Arms Substation The Swan Old Fat Hippy Fun Show and Disco MONDAY Cooperage Acoustic Cafe (upstairs) Zion Train (downstairs) Hyde Park Hotel Folk Night TUESDAY Cooperage University Music Society CHEERS: Mick Taylor Graham Sprague he was keyboard player with The Legal Eagles He started piano lessons as a kid but stopped at 14 he says chase girls and play He was musically inspired however by two fellow pupils at school John Surman who became a world famous jazz musician with The Mike Westbrook Band and who introduced him to jazz and blues and Bob Pitcher of The Betterdays whose blues harmonica left a lasting impression Bev started out in his first band The Wanderers at 15 and played the same kind of stuff then as he does today played Blues Brothers before the Blues he laughs amused at their relatively recent revival thanks to The mmitments et al! Co So it was that Mick and Bev decided to form a duo after The Legal Eagles split or possibly even a trio with legendary local guitarist and fellow former Quarry Spare Parts and Legal Eagle type-person Clive Hooper That idea last long however especially with other commitments to the hugely successful Rhythm Machine but like Clive most of the musicians they knew also played for other outfits It was then inspiration took over lev! ally The Jam Band They would have a pool of musicians from which they could draw so that they could always guarantee finding enough guys to do a gig Bev and Mick selected their favourite numbers sent a tape round to all those who agreed to participate then said simply just wait for the call! So there are four guitarists Clive Semi-detached house music from Timeshard the soundtrack for the new Dr Who film definitely be hearing a lot more of these travellers from Liverpool Following in the footsteps of Eat Static their latest release is on Planet Dog records with the Ultimate Label Support on the night comes from local deck wizz KJ Dub and possibly a surprise appearance of Our Fate ique combination of real instruments featuring live drums (courtesy of Spiritualised) with state of the art electroni-ca Timeshard create what could be described as semi-detached house music! With an upcoming John Peel session offers in abundance to re-mix tracks for compilations and the job of creating TIMESHARD return to The Cooperage this week following the release of their latest album Hu-nab Ku which follows up their release Crystal Oscillations Although their music cannot be pigeon-holed easily traces of trance drum and bass dub and psychedelia comfortably co-exist Consciously using a un A WARM WELCOME AWAITS YOU SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM YOUR USUAL!.