sees the Pete Ridge Jazzband with Little Mo, the Avon Cities Jazz Band, New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale, The Temperance Seven Band (fresh from chart success), Bjorn Stokstad & his Norwegian Jazz Band (honestly), Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band, Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band, Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band, Ken Oriole’s Jazz Band all hit the stage ..

Sat. Jan 7 ^th  –  The Storyville Jazz Band  (£50)

Sat. Jan 14 ^th  –  Sims / Wheeler Vintage Jazz Band  (£50)

Sat. Jan 21 ^st  –  Micky Ashman and his Jazz Band  (£50)

Sat. Jan 28 ^th  –  Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents  (£50)

Dick Charlesworth would later embrace R&B with his Big Blues band, embarking on a series of dates at The Marquee in 1964. Strangely, he doesn’t seem to have brought that to the party at Eel Pie Island

Sat. Feb 4 ^th  –  Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazz Band  (£55)

One of the more familiar Jazz names on this roll-call, Terry Lightfoot’s band had a couple of minor hits during 1961

Sun. Feb 12 ^th  –  The Pete Ridge Jazzband with Little Mo  (£20)

Trumpeter Mike Cotton would form his own ‘Jazzmen’ combo out of the ashes of Pete Ridge’s band, taking Little Mo (aka Maureen Parfitt) with him, before they morphed into The Mike Cotton Sound when they saw which way the R&B wind was blowing

Sat. Feb 18 ^th  –  Avon Cities Jazz Band  (£40)

The Avon Cities Jazz Band came from, you guessed it, Bristol. Formed in 1949, they kept going until 2000. Trumpeter Geoff Nicholls and soprano sax player Mike Hitchings were ever-presents throughout that period. Not so much long service awards due, but lifetime achievements I would have thought

Sat. Feb 25 ^th  –  New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale  (£35)

Sat. Mar 4 ^th  –  The Cy Laurie Band  (£45)

Sat. Mar 11 ^th – The Temperance Seven (date supplied by John Gieves-Watson)

Sat. Mar 18 ^th  –  New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale  (£35)

Sat. Mar 25 ^th  –  Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen with Doreen Beatty  (£50)

Sat. Apr 1 ^st  –  New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale  (£40)

Sat. Apr 8 ^th – The Temperance Seven (date supplied by John Gieves-Watson)

Sat. Apr 15 ^th  –  Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazzband  (£50)

Thu. Apr 20 ^th  –  Mr. Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band  (£75)

This appears to be the last sighting of the soon to be huge Mr Bilk, and clearly he went out with a bang, eclipsing all previous payments

Sat. Apr 22 ^nd  –  Mike Peters’ Florida Jazz Band  (£40)

Sat. Apr 29 ^th  –  Vintage Jazz Band  (£50)

By this time, clarinettist Ian Wheeler had left for Chris Barber’s band, leaving Ken Sims in sole command. Sometime during 1960/61, Long John Baldry was lending his vocal talents to the Sims Vintage Jazz Band

Thu. May 4 ^th  –  Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen  (£50)

Sat. May 13 ^th  –  Mac Duncan’s Jazz Band  (£40)

Sat. May 20 ^th  –  Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band  (£50)

Sat. May 27t ^th –  Mike Peters’ Florida Jazz Band with Johnny Silvo  (£40)

Sat. Jun 10 ^th  –  New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale  (£40)

Sun. Jun 11 ^th  –  The Temperance Seven Band  (65 Guineas) (from letter of confirmation of verbal agreement from the band’s agents)

What a cultured payment style, one that would today be recognised as £68.25 (not taking inflation into account, clearly). Needless to say, these were the only performers paid in such a fashion: perhaps it helped that they’d been driven crazy by hitting the heady heights of number one in the hit parade earlier in the year, thus providing George Martin with his first such success as a producer, a while before some Liverpudlian moptops did. Incidentally, ‘Whispering’ Paul McDowell, responsible for the band’s ‘vocal refrains’ had to leave the Experimental Theatre Club revue, of which he was also a member, who had been performing “****” (Four Asterisks) at the Edinburgh Fringe, as a result of that chart success in order to tour with the band. His replacement in the revue was one Terry Jones, who would light up our lives as a Python much later

Sat. Jun 17 ^th  –  Ken Barton’s Oriole Jazz Band  (£25)

Sat. Jun 24 ^th  –  Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band  (£50)

Sat. Jul 1 ^st  –  Bjorn Stokstad & his Norwegian Jazz Band  (£65)

A true rarity: Bjorn was a clarinettist, and the band was what it said on the tin. “Bjørn Stokstad, norsk jazzmusiker og arkitekt; fra ca. 1960 ansett som Norges ledende klarinettist i tradisjonell stil. Startet sitt eget orkester i 1962.” See?

Sat. Jul 8 ^th  –  Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen with Doreen Beatty  (£50)

Sat. Jul 15 ^th  –  New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale  (£40)

Sun. Jul 16 ^th  –  The Temperance Seven Band  (65 Guineas) (from letter of confirmation of verbal agreement from the band’s agents)

Sat. Jul 22 ^nd  –  Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band  (£45)

Terry Pitts, as star trombonist, recorded with Cy Laurie in 1958, and again ten years later in 1968, but this year (1961) put out a single “A Drop Of The Hard Stuff” under his own name

Sat. Jul 29 ^th  –  Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band  (£40)

Alan Elsdon was a trumpeter and flugelhornist, no less, having also played with Cy Laurie, as well as with Terry Lightfoot. After this set tonight, Alan’s crew were due to hot-foot it up to Ken Colyer’s club for an all-night session

Sat. Aug 5 ^th  –  Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band  (£50)

Sat. Aug 12 ^th  –  Mike Peters’ Florida Jazz Band  (£40)

Sat. Aug 19 ^th  –  Vintage Jazz Band led by Ken Sims  (£50)

Sat. Aug 26 ^th  –  New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale  (£40)

Sat. Sep 2 ^nd  –  Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band  (£40)

Sat. Sep 9 ^th  –  Bob Wallis’ Storyville Jazzmen  (£60)

Bob Wallis’ Storyville lads had just scraped into the Top 50 with “I’m Shy Mary Ellen I’m Shy” which doesn’t appear to sound like a jazz number so much as a music hall one. Mind you, they display remarkable longevity, being one of the last jazz bands to play on the Island, a month before its closure in 1967, though, tellingly, for half the fee paid tonight

Sat. Sep 16 ^th  –  Mike Peters’ Florida Jazz Band with Johnny Silvo  (£40)

I remember Johnny Silvo as more of a folkie than anything, but I guess he was cutting his teeth on jazz/skiffle/blues at this point, and indeed guested with Dick Charlesworth and Monty Sunshine at various times

Sat. Sep 23 ^rd  –  Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band  (£45)

Sat. Sep 30 ^th  –  Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six  (£35)

Sat. Oct 7 ^th  –  Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen with Doreen Beatty  (£50)

Sat. Oct 14 ^th  –  New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale  (£45)

Sat. Oct 21 ^st  –  Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band  (£65)

These featured trombonist Max Collie, who, when the band returned to Australia, stayed on and joined the London City Stompers

Sat. Oct 28 ^th  –  Ken Sims’ Vintage Jazz Band  (£50)

Sat. Nov 4 ^th  –  Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band  (£40)

Sat. Nov 11 ^th  –  Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six  (£35)

Sat. Nov 18 ^th  –  Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band  (£45)

Sat. Nov 25 ^th  –  New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale  (£45)

Sat. Dec 2 ^nd  –  The Clyde Valley Stompers Ltd  (£55)

Sat. Dec 9 ^th  –  Ken Sims’ Vintage Jazz Band  (£50)

Sat. Dec 16 ^th  –  Mike Peters’ Florida Jazzmen  (£40)

Sat. Dec 23 ^rd  –  Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six  (£35)

Sat. Dec 30 ^th  –  Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band  (£50)

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