Pushing through the market square…
We’ve plugged the excellent
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Local Music Fans Gather Together To Launch ?The New Roxette?
The original ?Aylesbury Roxette?, Aylesbury?s local music-magazine and newspaper first launched in July 1976, and ran for 9 issues until June 1977, which even included a Keith Richards ‘trial special’ in its January 1977 issue.
The ?Aylesbury Roxette? focussed on all the local gigs and up & coming bands, not to mention covering all the latest music related news of its day. It was also pivotal in highlighting the bands associated with Friars; Aylesbury?s very own music club and venue, which finally closed its doors in 1984.
Now, over 30 years later, a group of friends and local music fans have embarked on relaunching this popular FREE local music-magazine once again.
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Here follows a couple of reviews of gigs attended by one of
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Issue 2 – January 2009
Looking back at Friars ? January 1972
29 January 1972 ? David Bowie by Rick Pearce
Some authorities will tell you that it all started at the Toby Jug, Tolworth on the 10th February but that was still twelve days away. Friars was where it really began. Almost everything was in place, from the new image with its attendant publicity, to the new songs. There was just a six month wait until the album was released.
We piled into the Borough Assembly Hall full of eager anticipation. So fast in fact that Ronno, still on stage fiddling with his pedals, had to exit rapidly as we staked out an area at the front and settled down to wait.
Things seemed to be shaping up for a great night, but unfortunately there was a serpent in the garden in the form of support band Grand Canyon. Where this ghastly bunch of sub Stones chuggers came from and what they were doing sharing a bill with DB will remain one of life?s mysteries. The best that can be said is that amongst the tired riffs and sock stuffed split white trousers (weakened seams one assumes), there was an overdose of arrogance which just about got them through, although even this failed save them from being a pile of llama dung. Anyway, these empty vessels came and went, all bluster and bull, no substance. Ian Hunter once described the fate of many support bands as ?a passing irritation before the headliner?. Let that serve as Grand Canyon?s footnote in history.
The almost named Spiders looked a little uncomfortable in their new stage gear and Trev had yet to grow his sidies to their full silver sprayed garden gnome glory but Bowie and band were tight and well rehearsed which was just as well with the teething problems that followed. It started with the pickup falling off Bowie?s new guitar which was quickly gaffataped on for the rest of the set, but worse was the intermittent fault that caused Ronno?s guitar to cut out continuously. He had a brief respite when he switched to piano for Life On Mars but this gig was clearly full of frustrating moments for him.
Eventually Bowie and Ronno swapped amps which seemed to solve the problem. An enduring memory comes from the end of the set during Waiting For The Man with Ronno producing an uncharacteristically clean sound from his Les Paul while Bowie, thrashing great fuzztoned washes of sonic chaos from his twelve string, thrust and gyrated the neck lewdly in the direction of his guitarist?s hindquarters. All great stuff and an amusing precursor to the ?electric blow job? which became a regular feature after its debut at Oxford Town Hall that summer. The set finished with Rock and Roll Suicide and I have a clear memory of seeing a magazine photo some time later, of a friend, instantly recognisable by her long blonde hair and bright yellow floor length cardy, clutching Bowie?s hands as he reached down from the stage.
This was a huge leap forward for Bowie and a massive change made in only four months. Rebirth? Metamorphosis? Your choice. And so, unlike Yeats? rough beast slouching towards Bethlehem to be born, Ziggy came sashaying out of Beckenham fully formed, and in the process made our little corner of the world a better brighter place.
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Issue 4 – March 2009
Looking back at Friars ? March 1977
March 1st 1977 ? Iggy Pop by Rick Pearce
Iggy Pop made his first Friars appearance in March 1977. Remarkably the gig was not sold out and was notable for a heavy media presence as it was his first show in three years and the return to Aylesbury of David Bowie, five years after his legendary Ziggy gig of 1972. The tour was to promote The Idiot which had been created in Berlin with Bowie.
This really was something of a memory fest, even in the bar before showtime. I recall sitting next to NME?s Mick Farren and Nick Kent in drape jackets with huge eagles embroidered on the back. Also in the crowd was Johnny Thunders plus Heartbreakers lurking round the bar with The Damned hanging out in the background. Not forgetting Captain Sensible?s girlfriend wrestling with a security bloke trying to prevent her taking a drink into the hall, with most of said drink ending up on security bloke while she fled clutching the dregs.
The bar was full of exotic, punky characters, some familiar some soon to be so, with not that many locals in sight.
Support was by the rather dodgy Vibrators (punk lite anyone?). They may or may not have played We Vibrate, or the Stooges?1969 or 1970, but it?s unlikely that anyone cared anyway.
Iggy, not at all like the drug damaged casualty of past reputation, was magnificent. Wiry, twitchy and full of primal energy, his performance matched his physique. Sister Midnight came across as ominously as one could imagine or wish for and the old Stooges songs were delivered with style. Then there was Bowie sitting stage left behind his keyboards and trying to be unobtrusive while hammering out John Cale?s one note piano part on I Wanna Be Your Dog. Legendary!
So there you have it, another classic night at Friars watching two ?living legends? with a whole load more in the audience. We were spoiled rotten back then.
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You can download PDFs of all five of
Thanx to Mike O’Connor for the use of images and to Judy and Rick Pearce for pointing me at