Although I wrote this, I was there to see it - this was reportage by Niki and various Hobo associates so I can't vouch for it's
accuracy. It became a piece of Coventry scene folklore and strangely Roger Albion who has responded to the site, mentioned the incident 9 how did he intuit I had an article to put on about it from Hobo!) Of the protagonists, I knew Rodney Joyce - he visted us at the Shilton cottage in 72 with other musicians and I met him again when he played with Khyyam at the Earlsdon Cottage. He was the the percussion player. I knew Nikki from around but he sang some gritty blues for a jam I organised at the Hobo Workshop when it was upstairs at the Golden Cross. Among the people who took part in the jam were John Gravenor, Andy Cairns (who was playing with a guy called Ricki and Horace (later of the Specials) in a Jazz rock group - think they were called Breaker / Bill Jackson of April; Neol Davies; Phil Knapper (who younger brother later fronted the punkish Riot Act) and you know there maybe more! C1975.
Anyway in 1973 Niki and Rod Joyce obviously had some creative differences which led to an 'Incident' . According to this newspaper cutting from the 60's Niki was bass player of 3 am with Rodney Joyce as manager.
Niki is the one in the long coat in the newspaper pic.
This article is from Hobo No 3 Feb 1974
MADCAP PAINT FEUD (Live Art!!)
Above - Khayyam at the Earlsdon Cottage - Rodney Joyce on congos, Chris Jones -Lead guitar - Steve Tayton (also of Stavely Makepiece on Sax and Dave Wicks on Bass. In the foreground audience yu the back of Trev and Bo's head - only just noticed it - didn't realise. It's more recognisable on the original black and white pic.)
A finger snapping / foot tapping audience wer groovin' to the sounds of Khyyam at the Earlsdon Cottage. Unnoticed, a
character creeps through the crowd carrying a can of brown emulsion paint (waterbased), then leaps up and suddnely annoits the congo player (Rodney Joyce) with paint. Rod knocks the paint can away unwitttingly spraying the audience with droplets of paint, while madcap artist Niki Hawkswell slips away through a stunned audience., to be apprehended by an angry landord., who called in the sherrif and his deputies, who arrived with blue strobe lights freaking.
Bullshit? No straight up! It really happened in Coventry - BAD SCENE, people's clothes, here and there were stained with paint; one or two people wer upset by it, the band, who continued to play throughout the incident could've been electricuted had the paint reached the sockets. Rod's congo skins will never be the same again.
The police called it 'Assault', Niki calls it 'Insult' .. 'This is a creative war,' Niki said, pacing the floor, 'not a social war' "I didn't mean to disgrace Rodney or upset the band or the audience' 'it'sjust between me and Rodney, it's nothing to do with the Sherrif' Niki used to paly bass in a band (3 AM) with Rodney (the manager) and gave up music to become an artist. 'I was announcing myself as an artist and giving him a touch of Speedy Keene - an african congo player that Rod admires).
Crazy, but Niki is a very neurotic artist, to say the least, but it's this abundance of nervous energy that makes him a good artist. His approach is not studied but one stemming from feel. He gets into the pulse of the music and translates its rhythms into colours and patterns on paper. But only certain types of minds will comprehend this. To Niki, this was a happening; poetry in motions; an extention of the music. DON'T MISS NEXT MONTH'S THRILLING EPISODE!!
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