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Blue No More |
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Blue No More |
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In answer to the nation’s call for more boy bands, Blue No More were formed three years ago by photogenic guitarists Martin Walsh and Bill Kelleher. An early weapon in their sonic arsenal was another guitarist John Waxman, who, with his matinee idol looks and gift for choreography, quickly became a pivotal member of the group. They were also joined by a charismatic lead singer who shall remain anonymous - let’s just call him ‘Stan’. Blessed with a raw, gravely voice not quite as big as his ego, Stan quickly warmed to his chosen role of Musical Director. An irregular bass player and a veteran drummer, Del Taylor, completed the early line-up.
After some months of only fleeting visits by the bass player, it became obvious that the rhythm section would benefit from a more stable membership. A bizarre series of coincidences whereby Dave Shephard was spotted not once, but twice, manhandling a bass amp into the boot of his car, led to an audition for the four-stringer position. Midway through the second session, Stan offered Dave the post, due to the fact he had turned up two weeks running!
At this time the band were known as ‘Del’s Band’, because Del had booked the rehearsal room but, Stan decided this was not the case and christened the group ‘1 a.m. Blue’. It was a sort of play on words. More months went by as the outfit honed their musical craft, during which time they gained a harmonica player. Unfortunately, practice nights seemed to evolve into doing the same seven or eight songs three times each with no recognisable endings and friction started to develop. Despite this, the big-time beckoned when a late inclusion on the bill of the Abbey Rugby Club Music Festival, focussed hearts and minds on the job at hand.
Friendly matches were arranged at ‘The Swan’, Arborfield, in preparation and a bijou showcase set was presented to the discerning punters there. Three numbers later, their ears ringing with polite applause, 1 a.m. Blue left the stage, older but wiser. Except the lead singer.
Stan got the idea that whilst the rest of the band weren’t much cop compared to the others in the pub he, on the other hand, was by far the best singer. Following a rather surreal practice night a couple of weeks later, during which each member of the band was insulted in turn, Stan was invited to pursue a solo career. His harpist went with him. The Abbey Festival had already been withdrawn from. The entire episode is related in ‘Bluesman Blues’, a song that has never been recorded.
Bouncing back from all this petulance, your heroes quickly re-named themselves ‘Blue No More’ as an ironic riposte to counter their previous moniker. It is also an extract from a Captain Beefheart lyric – “I ain’t blue no more ah said, mmmm, like heaven ah said, ohhhh.” New numbers were added to the set immediately and demonstrated a more eclectic approach to their repertoire. Original material appeared for the first time. Informal sessions, held in Martin’s shed, experimented with different arrangements. Bill Kelleher honed his multi-instrumentalist credentials by taking on the harmonica duties.
All of this frenzied activity culminated in the recording of an EP, ‘No Sleep ‘til Charvil’, in March 2003. Already a collectors’ item, the session perfectly captures the development of the band up to that time. Installed, as it was, on the jukebox of the ‘Bird In Hand’, Tilehurst, the landlord quickly received a flood of requests. But, fair play to him, he left it on.
Blue No More - the early years
During the long hot summer of ’03, Martin decided to celebrate his wedding anniversary with a garden party and who better to provide the guests with musical entertainment? His own group! (It might be argued that the Rolling Stones would have been better but it was presumed that they weren’t available). The decking area that formed the stage was, coincidentally, blue and that should have been a good omen. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Within two minutes of opening up their set, the band had to stop whilst Martin remonstrated with a musically challenged neighbour. Apparently this dour old bird loved to complain about anything, so it seemed only right to continue and make her day! “Let’s rock ‘n roll!” nobody said. Because we’re British.
Having specifically practiced with a drum machine, because our hard up drummer was on the third week of his foreign holiday, the band thought they had this angle covered. What they hadn’t realised was that putting it out through the P.A. meant none of them could hear the swine, except when it bounced back off the garage wall. Never mind, there was plenty of cold beer available and a lovely spread in the shed.
Live at the garden party, Summer '03
The path to rock glory can sometimes resemble a game of snakes and ladders, and following the success of the recording session things seemed to drift away. Increasingly sporadic appearances and involvement by the drummer meant a loss of impetus. Eventually, Del quit Blue No More to devote more time to bowls and to keeping the beat with Rock n' Roll giants 'Sidewalk'. He remains a key figure from the early days of Blue No More.
The vacant stool was instantly filled by the gifted - and strongly opinionated - Darren, possibly the only man in Berkshire who can play Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock ‘n Roll’ as well as John Bonham. Unfortunately, Darren was already working on a semi-pro basis with another outfit (the excellent 'Vision') and this, along with family commitments and a visit to Chelsea F.C., left little time to devote to Blue No More. They were drummer-less once more.
Whilst a drum machine has many positive benefits over it’s human equivalent – it remains sober, knows no bad language, can be turned down or off, doesn’t direct inappropriate remarks towards your girlfriend/wife/partner – it does lack a certain interactive element. Thus, the search was on, to find someone capable of occupying that drum stool and who could help release the band’s potential into an eager marketplace.