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Tags: Colin Richardson, Nilsson
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Tags: colin richardson, colosseum, coventry music scene, jack bruce, jazz rock, Jon hiseman, playing the band
Hannah Tobin of BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire got in contact with Colin Richardson after Hobo had
uploaded an interview with Colin, part of which dealt with he's scoop of bringing the Monty Python team to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry for the first ever live performance in 1971. Colin and also David Partridge (who was in the audience) were interviewed on BBC Coventry Tuesday October 20th 2009 on the Annie Othen show.Thanks to Rosie King at the BBC for allowing us to relay the interview on the site.
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Tags: bbc radio coventry, colin richardson, coventry, lanchester poly arts festival, monty python, ted little
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Tags: Bron agency, colin richardson, colosseum
Colin Richardson - the booking agent from Bron responsible for booking many of the acts for the Coventry Lanchester Arts Festival in the early 70's tells the story of how 'How a modest little Polytechnic in Coventry came to be favoured with such a prime coup as hosting the first ever live performance of Monty Python's Flying Circus?'
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Tags: belgrade theatre, bill oddie, colin richardson, coventry, Coventry Music scene, coventry university, lanchester arts festival, monty python, ted little
Continuing with the Colin Richardson interview - we look at the formation of Colosseum in the late 60's and Colin's role in it. The story forms part of a long interview with Colin who played a part in bringing some of the top bands/acts to Coventry for the Lanchester Arts festival.
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Tags: colin richardson, colosseum
Continuing from part Three we look at Colin Richardson's development as a Booking Agent in the music business..
In 1964 I was working as an Office Services Manager for a computer company, north of Oxford Street. This was about the same time I got the Marquee 'night manager' job on Monday and Wednesday evenings, as well as Sundays at the "Jazzhouse"...plus playing the odd gig here and there. I was also, on occasions, booking bands into local colleges on a 'split commission' basis (this is where you get a booking for a band that you don't actually represent, but the band's agent will accept the booking and 'split' the 10% commision with you 50/50. Some agencies were quite happy to do this, even though I wasn't officially an agent.).
One such booking was for the Artwoods, a popular R&B group (with Jon Lord on Hammond organ!). Some time after
this gig, I was phoned by their booking agent, Barry Dunning at the London City Agency, asking if their was any chance of them getting a 'return booking'. In the conversation that followed, I let it be known that I was interested in getting into the music business and he suggested that I go and have a chat with them, as one of their bookers, Steve O'Rourke (who was later to be part of Pink Floyd's management) was moving on. So, I went to meet with Barry and his partner, Johnny Jones. After asking a few questions, they seemed happy to offer me the job... and I was happy to accept. Oddly enough, I started off booking out the aforementioned Artwoods, plus a few other acts, but, more importantly, I also had to get bookings for some very well-known visiting blues artists, such as John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry and Jesse Fuller. It was certainly 'in at the deep end', but it was definitely a great opportunity to learn the ropes. After about 18 months though, I was kind of 'head-hunted' by John Gunnell of the Rik Gunnell Agency.
25. So, your next move was to the Gunnell Agency...
This would have been around September 1966. I had got to know John Gunnell, the younger of the 2 brothers, through booking some of the LCA bands into the Flamingo and Ram Jam clubs, both of which were run by the Gunnells. Their agency had an impressive roster of 'name' bands like Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band, Zoot Money, John Mayall, Long John Baldry etc., so they were a much more powerful set up. When John asked if I would like to join them, I didn't really hesitate..though I did have some pangs of guilt at leaving LCA, who had given me my first break, but I realised that it would be a big step up for me to handle bands of that stature. They were much easier to sell, since they were such reliable 'draws' and it was just a question of which gigs to take and which to pass on. Like LCA, the Gunnells occasionally imported artists from the States. I remember booking out blues guitarists Freddie King and Albert King, as well as soul singers like Mary Wells and Joe Tex (who cancelled at the last minute, causing real problems which resulted in the Gunnells calling a halt to such tours).
We also had something to do with the Stax tour in '67, with Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Arthur Conley and Wilson Pickett. I think it might have been as promoters of the Finsbury Park Astoria concert, I can't remember exactly. It was very exciting working with such major league artists, but in December 1967, I was offered the job of General Manager at Bron Artistes Management, who looked after Gene Pitney, Manfred Mann and the Bonzo Dog
Doo Dah Band. I like the idea of working with such a diverse range of artists, plus it was another step up for me.
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Tags: bron artiste management, colin richardson, london city agency
My route in to the Marquee was through the National Jazz Federation, which was set up by Harold and Barbara Pendleton, who were both jazz enthusiasts, mainly to act as an agency for Chris Barber and other 'trad' bands and to run the Marquee Club (at that time in Oxford Street). Later they founded the Reading Jazz and Blues Festival, which in those days, was exactly that...jazz and blues. They had a tiny office just off (I think) Dean Street, where Chris's sister Audrey also worked. I met them through my involvement with the "Jazzhouse" and the New Jazz Orchestra, which was runner-up at the 1964 festival's newcomers competition. Some time later, they asked if I would like to be a 'night manager' at the Marquee. Naturally, I jumped at the chance.
Harold and Barbara worked mostly at the NJF offices, a short walk away in Dean Street, which were quite modest, just
2 or 3 rooms over (I think) a restaurant.That's where they ran the admin, booked the bands etc. I didn't see them at the club much, though they would sometimes show up on Humph's night. (Humphrey Lyttelton Band). I ran the Monday night session with Long John Baldry and the Steampacket, as well as Wednesdays, which featured the Humphrey Lyttelton Band.
(The You Tube from 1965 features The Brian Augar Trinity and Long John Baldry. A very fresh faced Rod Stewart is there too providing backing vocals!)
The atmosphere in the club was always pretty good, whatever the size of audience, though it could get very hot and sweaty when it was full. As 'night manager', I had to oversee the whole evening, ensure the box office was set up, cash float, etc... check that the band was ready to go on at the right time, cash up at the close, pay the bands, etc... Lock up and go home. Everything except the catering.
The bands were nearly always booked by John Gee, the club manager or through the office, in the case of American visiting musicians. Some of the artists could be quite difficult. I frequently had problems on the Monday night, when Long John Baldry and the Steampacket played. Baldry and Rod Stewart always seemed to end up arguing over the money and sometimes the keyboard player Reg Dwight, later to re-invent himself as Elton John, would also get involved. I often had to practically throw them out, so I could catch my last train. Never had problems with Humph's band, who all behaved like the professionals they were.
The Marquee was an extremely important step on the way to my music biz career. I made some very influential
contacts, which I sustained over the next years or so. It provided me with excellent experience in dealing with bands etc.... plus it meant I could pretty much always get my bands on there when I wanted. As they say... it's who you know, as much as what you know! Remember, Harold, Barbara and John also ran the Reading Festival at that time, so my relationship with them paid big dividends later on. Though I only worked there a few months... it certainly played a big part in my getting into the music biz.
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Tags: brian augar trinity, colin richardson, coventry music scene, elton john, harold and barbara pendleton, humphrey lyttelton, jazzhouse, john gee, london music scene, long john baldry, marquee club, national jazz federation, new jazz orchestra, reading blues and jazz festival, rod stweart, steampacket
Colin Richardson's history goes back to the early 60s, his love of jazz led to him running a jazz club (the Jazzhouse) in Black heath. It was here that Manfred Mann launched his first R&B band and where the New Jazz Orchestra was born. It was also where Colosseum had its origins.
Colin was also Night Manager at the Marquee Club for a while in late '64 and later worked for several agencies, including Bron Artiste Management, where he oversaw Colosseum's career.
Only part of his history impinges on the Coventry scene, but it's an important part. This is the man who arranged the first ever 'live-on-stage' appearance of Monty Python's Flying Circus (and it was in Cov) and brought acts like The Edwin Hawkins Singers, Jack Bruce, Colosseum, New Jazz Orchestra and many more to the Lanchester Arts Festivals in Cov in the early 1970's.
This is part two of Trev Teasdel's on-line interview of Colin Richardson. Note - Parts of this post have been re-written since first posted..
(Visit Colin's Tyepad Blog http://colinrichardsonjazz.typepad.com/blog/)
THE JAZZHOUSE CLUB – Blackheath 1962
In 1962 Colin Richardson co-ran The Jazzhouse Club (at the Green Man Pub) in Blackheath. I asked Colin to describe the club
“The jazz club was held at the Green Man pub in Blackheath every Sunday evening, upstairs in what was euphemistically referred to as the "Banqueting Suite". It was a decent sized room, which originally had a tiny triangular stage across one corner of the room (though this was later enlarged to an oblong area which extended right across one end of the room). The 'house band' was the Ian Bird Quintet... the line-up was usually tenor and baritone saxes, plus rhythm section of piano bass drums, occasionally augmented with a trumpet player. They played 'straight down the line' jazz, mostly by guys like Oliver Nelson, Benny Golson, Miles Davis etc. with arrangements usually by Clive Burrows (the bari player). Every week a different 'star' soloist would be booked...Tubby Hayes, Joe Harriott, Ronnie Scott, Don Rendell, Tommy Whittle...all the current premier league instrumentalists of the day. They all got paid the same fee...£5 (which was about 3 times what the resident musicians took home!) The resident band would play the first half, then, after the break, the 'star' would play, backed by the house rhythm section. Sometimes (depending on the whim of said 'star', the other guys would return for a jam session end to the evening.
The atmosphere was always friendly, the audience usually around the 100 mark, depending on how strong a draw that week's soloist was. There was a bar at the rear of the room, but the audience, though enthusiastic, was always well-behaved and knew their jazz.”
One of the interesting developments at the Jazzhouse was the addition of an R & B night with Manfred Mann before they made the big time. What can you tell us about that?
The first rehearsal was at the Jazzhouse on the November 10th 1963 and I noticed straight away the enthusiasm of everyone who turned up. It was Sunday lunchtime and quite a few of these guys would have been out on gigs the night before, but they were raring to go.
After a few weeks, everything was going well and the guys were starting to talk about playing to an audience. So, we
set up the debut performance for Sunday 22nd December at (where else?) the Jazzhouse, with its new larger stage. Billed as the 'Bird-Burrows Big Band (great alliteration, but cumbersome!) it was a roaring success... our usual crowd turned up, plus a whole bunch of new faces, curious to see what it was all about.
This successful debut gave a whole new impetus to the band...rehearsals continued apace and in the New Year, the band members were already asking when the next gig was going to be and 'how about recording it'? I realised at this point, that we had something pretty special here and as everyone seemed to think I was the manager...I decided to start 'managing'.
The next gig we did was was early in 1964 at the Widmore (not 'Wigmore'!) Hall in nearby Bromley as a fundraiser for the 'Freedom From Hunger Campaign'. On this occasion, we had a vocalist...a guy by the name of Duffy Power, who was actually a young up-and-coming 'pop-star' but with a pretty good bluesy voice. I have no recollection of how this came about...it was a 'one off'' and he didn't make any further appearances with the band. I guess his pop career took off or something!
Soon after this Clive Burrows accepted an offer to turn 'pro' with Zoot Money and the Big Roll Band. Ian Bird had already departed some time earlier which meant that the rehearsal band was left rudderless at which point Ian Carr suggested bringing in a budding young composer / arranger Neil Ardley to take over leadership. A new name was also needed and some one came up with a rather grandiose Neoteric Jazz Orchestra but this was quickly revised to the New Jazz Orchestra. Later that year the NJO won the All England Jazz Contest, the final which was held as part of the Guildford Jazz Festival and were also runners up at the National Amateur Jazz Contest which was held under the auspices of the National Jazz Federation as part of the Richmond Jazz and Blues Festival. Eventually in 1965 the orchestra recorded a live album - Western Reunion which was released on the Decca label. It was surprisingly well received, with Melody Maker making it their 'Album of the Month'!
It's actually still available, but on CD...the original vinyl LP is now a sought after collectors item valued at around £50. Of course...I lost my copy years ago!
As to the line up - apart from Ian Carr (trumpet and fluegel horn) who did go on to fame (if not fortune!) as the author of his Miles Davis biography. Then there was Jon Hiseman/Tony Reeves etc with Colosseum. Maybe I should also mention Trevor Watts (alto) and Paul Rutherford (trombone) who later became a force in the British avant-garde jazz movement. Neil Ardley (now no longer with us) also has a certain cult following, because of the important albums he made later under his own name ('Symphony of Amaranths', 'Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe', and 'Kaleidoscope of Rainbows') with many of the musicians from the NJO. Other than that, they were all young, relatively inexperienced semi pro musicians...which is why it was so special.
The "Jazzhouse" was just one of many such clubs, not just in the London area. Run mostly by enthusiasts (as they rarely made any money putting on modern jazz) many of them operated similar policies to ours...a good-ish resident band of local musicians, with a different 'name' guest musician each week, like Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes, Joe Harriott etc. The biggest name we ever booked was Oscar Brown Jnr, for our first anniversary night. With boldness derived from our naivety, we 'doorstepped' him when he was on a visit to the UK. Somehow we heard he was staying in Holland Park with Stanley Myers (pianist/composer/arranger of some note). We offered him double our usual fee (£10!), which he found quite amusing, I think. Then agreed to do it on these terms: Car to pick him up and drive him back..a bottle of decent cognac, the rhythm section to pre-rehearse 3 songs, charts provided by him. He would arrive, perform and leave immediately after....oh, and forget the £10!
It was a great night!
Taking it back to the personal – What were your tastes in Jazz. Who did you admire and why?
I sat and thought about this for a bit, which I haven't done for many years and I was quite surprised to realise that the
kind of jazz that I prefer listening to now is still the jazz that I listened to back in the 50s...Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Charlie Mingus, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Gil Evans, John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Errol Garner etc etc...I could go on, as there are many others, but where would I stop? I guess the simple answer is that I was excited by the (then) new jazz...called by some be-bop, which is, I think the term conjured up by Dizzy Gillespie. He and Charlie Parker were probably the two main proponents of the harmonic breakthrough that defined theses new sounds. It changed the whole ballgame, musically speaking and from then on, there was a big divide between these musicians and the old school playing Dixieland or swing. Of course, at that time, because of a protectionist stance by the American union disagreement, you couldn't hear any of these guys live, unless you went to the States (or occasionally Paris, where there was no union block, as there was in the UK). I remember the first bandleader to get round this, was Stan Kenton, when he flew his band over to Southern Ireland and everyone who could afford it, travelled there to hear this incredible music. Ironically, Duke Ellington was allowed to play in England, as he was classified as an 'entertainer', not a musician!! So, the only live jazz I could experience was
seeing bigbands like Jack Parnell or Ted Heath in concert theatres, or go to clubs like the Flamingo to hear guys like Don Rendell, Tubby Hayes, Tommy Whittle etc., who were the 'young turks' of that era. That all changed when the two unions came to an agreement and the ban was lifted..and I got my chance to see some of the musicians I had been listening to on record, live in concert. One such, stands out in my memory..and that was seeing Norman Granz's 'Jazz at the Philharmonic' package at the Gaumont State in Kilburn.. with the Oscar Peterson Trio, Dizzy, Illinois Jacquet and many others. That was some concert!
...........................................................
Pt 3 of the Interview will cover The Marquee Club
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Tags: be bop jazz, colin richardson, colosseum, london, manfred mann, new jazz orchestra, the green man blackheath, the jazzhouse
Colin Richardson's name appears on the programmes of the Coventry - Lanchester Poly Arts Festival brochures of 1970 -
71 as the London booking agent for Bron working closely with Ted Little, responsible for bringing bands like Colosseum, New jazz Orchestra, Jack Bruce, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Edwin Hawkin Singers etc to the festival. He was also a Jazz club manager, bass player/band leader, night-manager at the Marquee club, London. Agency booker. Artist management for Colosseum and a Music journalist.
In an exclusive interview with Trev Teasdel for HOBO Colin describes his life and career in the music business
PART ONE - COLIN'S DEVELOPMENT AS A JAZZ MUSICIAN
1. Colin, You were born on 31st December 1936 in South-East
London. What were the significant musical influences on you when
you were growing up?
The first 2 records I bought (in 1952!!) were 78s...one was Jelly Roll Morton's Dead Man Blues b/w
Sidewalk Blues the other was a Humphrey Lyttelton record, but I can't recall what the tracks were. I played them on a 'wind-up' gram! Gaaad, that dates me! Then, I got into Earl Bostic for a bit... I liked his version of Flamingo. Later that year I joined the Merchant Navy, so my listening was confined to shortwave radio for the next couple of years...though I do recall buying a 10" LP of Stan Getz in Montreal (even though I had nothing to play it on at the time!). That would have been late '53 on my last trip before quitting. After a short spell, in 'civvy street' I had to do my "National Service, as conscription was still in force..so I joined the RAF (1956) and was posted to Germany. There I bought quite a few LPs from the American Forces shop...Errol Garner, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Shorty Rogers etc.
2. A lot of your career was spent promoting, booking and managing
other bands. Tell us first about yourself as a musician. You played
Double bass. How did your own musical career begin.
I suppose the earliest musical attempts were at age 13 when I started to learn classical piano. I wasn't exactly
gifted and nothing came easy to me. Hated practicing, so the omens weren't good and I threw the towel in after less than a year (something I naturally regretted later).
I fooled around with a guitar while in the MN...and trumpet in the RAF. No tuition whatsoever..just picking out tunes myself...I remember attempting "Someone to watch over me" at one point. I didn't persevere with either and didn't make much progess. Then later, (must have been early 60s by now) to further my 'career' in office management I had taken evening classes for 2 or 3 years. To take a break from these studies, I signed up for a course in jazz
and blues at Goldsmith's College in South East London tutored by an eccentric trumpet/trombone/bandleader guy, name of Owen Bryce. He claimed to be "Britain's First Jazz Trumpeter" and his instrument case proclaimed this in large red and yellow letters! The plan was to play piano on the course and I did start out thus, but there were 3 other guys who played piano, so for 3/4 of the 2 hour session, I just sat and watched. After a couple of weeks, Owen arrives schlepping a somewhat battered double bass, with 2 of the 4 strings missing and asked if anyone could play it. No-one put their hand up, so he then asked if anyone wanted to play it. I figured that, rather than sitting and watching, I would have a go on this large and slightly daunting instrument! So I stuck my hand up...marched up to the bandstand and commenced plucking! I'd like to say it was love at first 'pluck', but that might be exaggerating..though I certainly enjoyed my first attempts at providing rhythm for the other instruments. I subsequently took the bass home, got a new set of strings for it, bought a tutorial book and...and off I went !
I practised quite a bit...took a couple of lessons from Joe Muddel (well-know bass player at the time, who lived
quite near to me) and at some point, Owen Bryce asked if I'd like to 'dep' for his regular bass player next Saturday at the Moat Hotel Wrotham? My first gig...and it paid £3! (not a bad sum at the time!). I had to borrow a tux (from my next door neighbour). The band played what was known as 'mainstream jazz', slightly watered down for a dinner dance crowd. From time to time, this offer was repeated and eventually I was playing more often than the 'regular' guy so, by default, the job was mine.
Neither of my parents were at all musical...other than playing the odd 78 record of 30s'40s songs. I do remember "Pedro, the fisherman...was always whistling"!!! Now there's a "scoop"!!! Hold the front page!
Other than that, I don't recollect being all that aware of what was going on musically. Mostly I went to the cinema...or very occasionally, a local variety show. As a teenager, I heard all the current pop songs on the radio...Johnny Ray, Guy Mitchell, Rosemary Clooney, Pat Boon...all very "schlocky" (except Rosemary
Clooney...a much underrated singer). trying to think of the first 'live' band performance I saw....pretty sure that would have been the Jack Parnell Big Band in Streatham, some time in 1952, I think, when I lived in Streatham prior to joining the MN.
Most of my leisure time was devoted to ice-skating at that time...I was a fanatical, if not always upright, speed skater!...5 nights a week!
3. What kind of music did you play and who with and where?
Later, when working in the music biz...I kind of formed my own band (the "Cole Richards Combo"!!!..this name was suggested by Dave Gelly, the tenor player from the NJO (New Jazz Orchestra) and a long time friend. This band played a kind of "cabaret/night-club jazz for dancing," for quite reasonable fees, at colleges and other commercial gigs...and, with some line-up modification, out and out modern jazz (for little or no money!) in jazz clubs (Ronnie Scott's "Old Place", the Marquee etc.) and even the odd BBC radio prog like Sounds of the 70s.!
4. Any highlights / stories around your own musical activity?
...quite a few, some even printable!
My 'career' as a musician/bandleader was never going to lead to anything remarkable..I played mainly for enjoyment and was fortunate to have around me some highly talented up-and-coming local musicians like Jon Hiseman (at that time still a semi-pro drummer, whilst holding down a day job at ICI!) and Dave Gelly (tenor sax) later to become an established author and journalist (jazz critic for the "Observer")...Art Themen (who had been at Cambridge with Dave) and was usually the other front line instrument with the New Jazz Quintet (the version of my band that played the jazz gigs)). Some of the slightly more notable occasions include: backing Champion Jack Dupree at the Chelsea College of Technology...we had to be on our toes...as Jack would sometimes decide that the 12 bar blues he was playing would be improved with the addition of an extra bar or two! Other highlights would be...a recording session for Jean Hart, an american singer who worked with my band at the time. She was Bill Oddie's girlfriend (and was the original conduit to Eric Idle and the Python booking coup!) She seemed to be connected to quite a few 'high-flying' celebs, including Richard Rodney Bennett...who she somehow roped in on piano to record some songs for a demo. Dave G and Jon H were also on the session...but where the tapes went is anybody's guess. Dave recently told me he did have a tape of the session, at one time, but had no idea whether it was still around. Shame...I'd love to have a copy.
COLIN RICHARDSON IS ON TYPEPAD http://colinrichardsonjazz.typepad.com/blog/
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Tags: colin richardson, colosseum, jazz, lanchester arts festival, london scene, marquee, new jazz orchestra, the 60's.
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