Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek: West Hampstead's Musical Heritage Remembered

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April 1965 – Birdcage, Kimbells Ballroom, Southsea, Hampshire with Brian Auger Trinity (Dave Allen research) In 1963 the promoters were very aware of a burgeoning scene in both blues and RnB which arrived at Klooks Kleek in the shape of Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. The band's mix of Louis Jordan, soft soul, funk and even vocal versions of bebop numbers (“Parker’s Blues”) met the interests of a pretty diverse audience. Their first appearance at KK was on a scheduled Jazz night causing a queue of a rare length and mass approval of their music. They opened the Tuesday RnB nights on 10 September 1963 and performed a further twenty-one times, continuing to appear at this small venue even after two No 1 chart singles. Their legendary manager, Rik Gunnell, [3] allowed them to work for “peanuts” every so often because the band so liked the ambience of KK. Bass player, Steve York lived in Mill Lane from 1972 to 1977. He has had a long career playing with many well known musicians and recording numerous records. Beginning with various blues bands in the 60s including Graham Bond and Manfred Mann, in 1971 he joined Dada which had three singers Robert Palmer, Elkie Brooks and Jimmy Chambers. Dada became Vinegar Joe in 1971. Steve said: “I left Vinegar Joe after we recorded our first album and lived in the US for about a year. I let Graham Bond stay in my flat in Mill Lane while I was away on tour in 1973. He was homeless after his marriage broke up.”

May 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, London (Geoff Williams research: Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek book) August 1966 – Market Assembly Hall, Carlisle, Cumbria with The Atoms and The Conquests (Cumberland News) October 1967 – At the Union, Manchester with The Waterboard (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle) Artist growth and economic opportunities simply outpaced the magic that iconic venues like Klooks Kleek and other clubs could provide.November 1965 – Redcar Jazz Club, Coatham Hotel, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Artwoods, Tony Knight’s Chessmen and The Crawdaddies (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book/Middlesbrough Evening Gazette) January 1968 – Park Hall Hotel, Goldthorn Park, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with Finders Keepers and Barmy Barry Show (Express & Star)

The Mike Cotton Sound’s 45 appearances were made mostly on Thursday where they were effectively the house band. May 1965 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, London (Geoff Williams research: Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek book) May 1966 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire with John McCoy’s Crawdaddies (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)October 1966 – Odeon, Cheltenham with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band, Eyes of Blue

November 1966 – Odeon, Glasgow with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band, Eyes of Blue November 1963 – Long’s Ballroom, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts with Brian Poole & The Tremeloes (Steve Ingless book: The Day Before Yesterday) Those are employed impressively throughout the rest of Side 1 as the band rip through that Herman cover. I described Lee’s guitar playing as dizzying. I’ll do that again. It’s bonkers, but we are once again treated to rotating solos — guitar, guitar, guitar, organ, then bass, guitar, guitar, guitar. Billy Idol also lived for a short time in Tower Mansions. He and his girlfriend Perri Lister, who was an actress and dancer in Hot Gossip, were together from 1980 to 1989. They were a very distinctive couple when they lived in West End Lane in a flat above Fortune Gate, the Chinese Restaurant near the Fire Station in West Hampstead. Billy Idol in Generation X was one of the first punk bands to appear on Top of The Pops. In 1981 he moved to New York and the following year he had a major success with ‘White Wedding’ when the video was shown on MTV.

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Klooks Kleek was a jazz and rhythm n’ blues club at the Railway Hotel, West Hampstead, North West London. Named after a 1956 album by jazz drummer Kenny Clarke entitled Klook’s Clique (Savoy Records 12006), the club opened on 11 January 1961 with special guest Don Rendell (tenor sax) and closed nine years later on 28 January 1970 after a session by drummer Keef Hartley’s group. June 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with Syrian Blues and All Night Workers (Melody Maker) During May, Dave Greenslade briefly left to join Julian Covey & The Machine as they support John Lee Hooker on a UK tour but returned to The Thunderbirds soon after. Singer Robert Palmer lived in a basement flat in Dennington Park Road in 1972. Robert moved out of after the flat was flooded, destroying most of his belongings. He married and moved to New York. Then about 1976 he moved to Nassau in the Bahamas.