1950s and 60s were a golden age for spa town music lovers
» THANKS to Nostalgia reader Peter Dove who has solved a musical mystery for us.
A picture of the Spa Harp Trio appeared here on April 1, 2021. A familiar sight at their two licensed pitches, one in Cheltenham’s Montpellier, the other in the Prom, they entertained passers-by throughout the 1950s. But nobody seemed to know their names.
Courtesy of Peter we can now reveal that the harpist was Joey Sabbatella, Peter’s uncle who was self taught, had five musical sisters who worked on cruise ships and was also a budgerigar enthusiast.
The Spa Harp Trio, otherwise known as the Thirsty Three, were part of Cheltenham’s thriving live music scene in the 1950s and 60s.
On any night of the week groups and bands played in pubs and clubs, or musicians got together to jam in the garage of a sympathetic friend. The music that everyone wanted to hear was trad jazz.
On the local scene, Bill Nile, a trumpet player, was one of the leading lights, fronting a band called the Delta Jazzmen.
Live venues included the Rotunda (now The Ivy), St Luke’s Hall (then in Bath Road) and the swimming club at the old Alstone Baths in Great Western Road.
Jazz fans favoured pubs such as the Star in Regent Street (it became J D Pepper), Cat and Fiddle, the Gladstone Arms and Eight Bells, plus coffee bars such as The Tiffin (Royal Crescent), BAR-B-Q and Waikiki Club (Montpellier), the Patio Snack Bar in the Strand and the El Flamenco.
But if you were in with the in crowd, the place to see and be seen was a private house at 38, Priory Street. The house belonged to Jane Philby. She was a jazz fan and hosted an impromptu café-cum-party venue for local musicians in the basement.
As the 1950s gave way to the 1960s the popularity of trad jazz diminished, ousted by rock and pop.
In that swingin’ decade there were more local groups (they weren’t called bands then) than you could shake, rattle and roll at.
The local list included the Sack O’ Woe, Vince and The Vigilantes, Alleycats, Talismen, The Pastel Shades, The Jam, Mal Ryder and the Spirits, the Castells Soul Band, The Firebrands, The Storms, Dave Dee and the Deemen, Chet and the Triumphs, The Teens, The Kreeps and The Copywrights, Terry and the Pacifics, Advocates, Envoys, Convoys, Runabouts, Tony Wayne and the Crestas, Brian and the Pathfinders, The Cotswold Stones, Beaux Belles, The Crowd, New Tones, Swingbeats,
Cheltones, Beathovens, The Phantom Four (with five members), The Bee Jays, Chainlinks, Jaguars, Trespassers, Blackjacks, Senators, Vampires, The Dimensions of Sound, King Bees and Barons. And the Square Roots pictured here at Leckhampton village hall in 1965.
One of their members was keyboard player Mike Harris, who went on to join the shock-rock Crazy World of Arthur Brown who had a hit with a record called “Fire”.
Just to remind you of how swingin’ the 1960s were, concerts by local groups were staged at Cheltenham Town Hall every Sunday evening to a capacity audience.
But it being the Sabbath dancing wasn’t allowed, the bar didn’t open and the catering facilities stretched to cheese or ham rolls. What heady days they were.
Yet another local rock band of the era was The Bread. This trio comprised Tony Newman on guitar, Pete Stone on bass and drummer Mike Newman.
Stardom seemed to stare them in the face when they won a talent competition and were awarded a recording contract. An album named “Seven deadly sins” was released, which is no doubt a sought after rarity by vinyl fans today.
The Ramrods were one of the best known and longest lasting local rock groups.
When they formed in the late 1950s as Phil and The Ramrods, the group featured Phil Crowther on lead guitar, John Davies and Alistair Barnesjones as vocalists, Tony Holbrook on rhythm guitar, Graham Stodart on bass and Peter Buck Jones on drums.
In the early days this line up was augmented by other personnel who included Johnny Graham, Mike Bratby, Willy Clapton, Nigel Cull, Phil Bird, Mike Crowshaw and Colin Taylor. But the band member who became best known was Brian Jones, later of the Rolling Stones.
As has already been mentioned, rock and pop were played by groups in the 1960s, not bands.
The term band meant more people playing together with instruments that you blew rather than strummed.
And one of the best known was Joe Loss and his Band, who performed at Cheltenham Town Hall a number of times.
The story goes that the sound system in the Town Hall was only updated when Joe Loss pointed out to the management how awful the existing one was.
The picture of Joe Loss and co you see here with singer Rose Brennan at the microphone was taken at the Gloster Aircraft Company’s apprentices’ ball in 1958.