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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 5:34 pm
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Just got back to the computer, been away in Burnley all day.

Wow! Another surprise. First the son and now the father.
Hi Tony. How are things going? I haven’t seen you for a while. Not since that gig at the Royal British Legion club.
I won't mention our very last meeting so as not to spoil the story.

It feels strange carrying on a conversation in such a public manner, but if we did it in private, it wouldn’t be half as interesting.

Yes I would have mentioned my expertise with electronics but I’m afraid it would have sounded too much like bragging.

Do you remember when I stripped Stan’s Stratocaster down, removed the scratch plate and altered all the electronics so he could turn any of the pickups on or off in any sequence.
I fitted an extra revolving click switch called a wafer switch.
When Stan got used to it he could get the most amazing and unique sounds on his Strat that all the other groups couldn’t understand how the hell his Stratocaster could make sounds that theirs couldn’t.

I know that he sold that guitar years later and very much regretted doing so.
He tried to find out what had happened to it with the intention of buying it back.

I also built a bass amplifier for Jimmy Moran, the bass player out of The Country Five.
It was based on the circuitry of the AC 30 but with a more powerful output transformer.
He was delighted with his purchase.
I had made a few alterations to the circuitry, which almost completely cut out the hum that plagued the valve amp.
I missed an opportunity to be rich, because quite a few musicians wanted one, after hearing Jimmy’s, but, as you know, we were all too busy making whoopee in those days.
So I didn’t take advantage of the opportunity.

I have avoided revealing the hot side of my life in the Hi Cats for the same reason I didn’t mention the electronics. Nobody likes a bragger.

Mind you there’s nothing to stop you from bragging for me.

If you do add to the blogg, I would appreciate it if you avoided mentioning anything that pre-empts any important facts that might spoil the sequence of the story.
I’m sure you know what I am talking about.
It would be nice if you just added to anything that I have already mentioned, without giving any future important facts away.
I have never written a story before, but as I go along I’m beginning to get the hang of it, and I’m starting to enjoy it.
A little suspense does no harm.
If you look at the views of this thread you can see that it is attracting a lot of interest.
That’s all the incentive I need.
I don’t think I would bother if not many people were reading it.

Speak to you soon Tony.

JT


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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:21 pm
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So Tony please fill us full of tales of womanizing. The music stuff seems to have ended much to my dissapointment. I would quite like lewd bawdy tales of the 60's though.

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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:48 pm
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Anyway, back to the story

The crowded noisy Cavern Club, deep down in the enormous basement of a huge warehouse, was almost bursting at the seams.
Dark, musky and smelling of sweat, the heat from so many dancers was overpowering.
The walls glistened in the dim light, with so many writhing bodies dancing to the rhythm of the twanging guitars and the thump, thump, thump of the bass and drums, with moisture running in little rivulets down the white washed walls.

It was not much use trying to talk, except at the top of your voice, when the bands were playing, and the fans were screaming.
In such a confined space, the noise was deafening.

The other group on that night was King Size Taylor and the Dominos.
A fantastic and exciting group, they were one of my favourite Liverpool groups.

We were all in the relative quiet of the dressing room at the side of the stage getting ready to go on as soon as the other group was finished.
“I’m going around to the Iron Door as soon as we’ve finished the first half” I said.
“I want to have it out with those thieving B***tards”
“Yeah” me too Stan said.
“We might as well all go,” said Tony.
“OK let’s do that” I was ready for a fight, if it was necessary.

We had a good reception that night and as the first half came to a close, the guitarists unplugged their guitars and, amid the applause of the punters, we all left the stage went down the steps and into the dressing room.
Packing the guitars away we decided to leave Mall, the drummer, behind to watch over the instruments while the rest of us made our way up the stone steps leading into Mathew Street and turned in the direction of the Iron Door.

The Iron Door club, in Temple Street, was aptly named.
It was also a warehouse, with a huge studded iron door. There was a square peephole about half way up the door.
I banged on the door.
A panel in the peephole slid to one side.
One of the Bouncers peered through the slot.
“We’re full” he said, “We’re not letting anyone else in”
“It’s me, Johnny Templer,” I said.
We often played at The Iron Door so knew all the bouncers.
There was the noise of a bolt sliding.
The door opened and the huge bulk of the security guy was silhouetted at the top of the stone steps leading into the club, peering at us in the darkness.
“Hiya Johnny” he said. “Come on in”
“Thanks Mike” I said and the four of us made our way down the steep stairs to the crowded cellar, and there they were, on stage.
But there was no sign of Stan’s amp.

We stayed at the rear of the dance area and watched them.
I knew it would be useless confronting them without any evidence.

We had been there for some time when Tony suddenly said, “That bass player’s amp sounds like it has Vox speakers.”
I knew that Tony had a keen ear and would probably be able to pick up on something like that.
“Yes” said Stan, “they do sound like Celestions “.
I looked at the bass amp and noticed that it was a homemade speaker cabinet.
The amplifier was in a separate homemade cabinet.
Both were painted black.
I wasn’t bothered if they saw us there, because I doubted if the thieves who stole the amplifier, even knew who it belonged to.

It was soon time for them to finish the first half of the show and for the other group to take over.
As soon as they had turned their amplifiers off, I went over to the bass player.
“That’s a nice amp you’ve got there”. I said, looking him straight in the eye.
He looked startled. “ Yeah, I’ve just bought it” he said.
“Sounds exactly like a Vox amp” I said
He began to look nervous. “Can I look inside the back of it” I said
The rest of his group had by now come over to see what was going on.
“What’s wrong” their lead singer said.
“Our lead guitarist had his Vox amplifier stolen from the Philharmonic Hall last week, and I think that your bass player knows something about it.”
“If I’m wrong, then you’ll have no objections to letting me have a look inside the cabinet”, I said.
He looked panicky, “If you want to see inside, you can meet me at my Solicitors office tomorrow” he said. (Solicitor=Lawyer)
I was taken aback a little by the stupidity of his answer.
I went up to the bass player. “I want to look at the f***ing thing now”. I said.
We were starting to attract attention.
Aussie then grabbed my arm.
“We’ve only got a few minutes to get back to the Cavern” he said.
“The big three will be just about finished.“
I looked at my watch.
“I’ll be back later” I said
Mall was panicking when we returned to the Cavern.
“Where the hell have you been” he said we’re due on now.

After the show, we quickly loaded the minibus with the equipment and drove around to the Iron Door Club.
They had gone, and by all accounts in a hell of a hurry.

Who were they?
Well as I can’t prove anything I will just have to say that the bass player went on to become a famous British actor.
And if he’d had any conscience, he would have reimbursed Stan for the expensive amplifier that he stole. That is if it really was him. I have no proof.
The group later made a record that got into the charts.

So there the matter lies.

Some days later we heard some terrible news about Jay.


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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 10:47 pm
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I hate theives. I had my bass guitar stolen when I was 16. It was a Hagstrom f-400, one of the 4 string basses with a F style heastock that I had loaned to another to play at a party that I couldn't make.
It was knicked when they were loading up at the end. I, years later, heard that the sister of the guy who threw the party had taken the bass and hid it under her bed.

What a $@!&*!

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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 3:44 am
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You should have gone back to her and demanded payment in kind.


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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 1:15 pm
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I couldn't prove that she took it. I didn't know the girl or her family at all and I only heard about it years later.

The band who borrrowed the bass paid me it's value so I could replace it.

It still makes me mad.

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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 2:38 pm
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Sorry BC, that was meant as a joke.
By "In kind" I meant a B-job or a bounce on the mattress.

But your answer still makes sense.


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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 4:22 pm
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When I first met Jay (Roy).
It was at that first audition at my house when I decided to start a group of my own.
I recognised an excellent guitarist when I saw one, and as I said before, I had decided to take him on as our lead guitarist.
That is until I was offered the job in the Hi Cats.

He had an unusual personality.
He didn’t seem to have any close friends.
I’m not saying that he was UNfriendly, but I later found it impossible to get close to him.
He always seemed to be on his guard.
I think that while still in his teens, his parents had broken up and each parent had gone to live with another partner.
Whatever the truth was, the fact is that Jay had been left to fend for himself.
To my knowledge, he was an only child, so had no brothers or sisters to lean on.
It was during this long lonely period that he learned to play the guitar.
He also had plenty of time to practice.

Joining the Hi Cats must have been a highlight in his life.
Unfortunately he didn’t have the communication skills to carry it off.
He certainly didn’t like taking orders.
Which is why he went onto another band at the earliest opportunity.

Kenny Johnson, the lead singer with Sonny Web and the Cascades, told me that he’d had the same trouble with him that I’d had.
Refusing to rehearse properly with the band.
Playing his party pieces while the others were practising.

The final straw came when he pulled Kenny’s guitar lead out of his amplifier during a show.
Jay thought it was hilarious, but it got him the sack.
He sometimes came to our gigs and stood at the side of the dance floor, watching Stan playing in his old job.
He had a girl friend with him most of the time.
She was a tiny girl.
Very timid and she followed him around everywhere, like a pet poodle.
When any of us spoke to him he never seemed to want to carry on a conversation for long.
Jay was very lonely and I was shocked to hear the news.

To this day I can’t remember who told me.

It seems that while he was alone in the flat he had move into.
He covered the bottom of the doors with blankets and sealed the entrance to the chimney with newspaper. Closed all the windows.
Drank a bottle of whiskey.
Turned on all the gas taps, and went to sleep forever.
He was only twenty.

It took me quite a while to get over the shock.
I kept thinking. If only I had known, I could have done something about it.
But I suppose everyone thinks like that after a tragedy. “If only I had known”


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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 4:26 pm
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How about some feedback guys.
I'm feeling lonely here on my own.
The only poster.


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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 5:26 pm
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I am reading every chapter. I can relate to the death of someone that I thought I could have prevented if I had known, too. But that's the thing. The people don't want you to know, but they wished you knew. Know what I mean? It's a sad cycle of manic depression.

I'm in the states so the 5 hour difference keeps me from reading while you are on. But rest assured, there are plenty of us reading and very interested.


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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 11:07 pm
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Hey merseykid, I am reading every chapter too!! although lately I havent had time to be at my computer much ..... but I ve been coming around to read your chapters keep posting!! :)


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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 12:26 am
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I haven't been able to chack in lately.

That's very sad to hear of Jay's death at such a young age.
We all know someone who took the choice of ending their life and its always tragic.

Please go on with the story.
by the way:
Your bass player, Tony, had to have had some pretty good ears to be able to tell the type of speakers in a bass amp. I'm impressed.

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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 11:57 am
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Yeah.
Tony did have a keen ear with regard to the Bass.
As he said earlier, he blew 3x 15inch speakers, in a week, experimenting.

There is quite a distinct sound from the AC30.
I'm no expert as far as speakers are concerned, but I know that I could tell the difference between a Vox amp with Celestions and an amp with Goodman's speakers.

The bass guitar is renowned for destroying speakers if you put the wrong type in your amplifier.


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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 12:05 pm
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By the way guys
Thanks for the encouraging posts.


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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 3:56 pm
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Speaking of your wiring experiences John...Does John Gee fit any of this or am I too early? Was he part of your story?

I believe he was/is some sort of electronic genius? I met him a couple of times in Allerton (didn't he live near Allerton Road?)? My dad (Tony) used to drag me round their every now and then.


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