sadly sees the passing of Cyril Davies, while Long John Baldry takes over and renames the All-Stars as The Hoochie Coochie Men, and features Rod Stewart. Pre-Jeff Beck Tridents become regulars, though not as much as the Downliners Sect who almost move in. The Manish Boys play a couple of times before being joined by David Bowie (still plain old Davie Jones at this time). Oh, and The Artwoods arrive……

Wed. Jan 8 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men

On the death, on January 7 ^th , of Cyril Davies, Baldry assumed the mantle of leader of Davies’ All Stars, and renamed them The Hoochie Coochie Men, honouring a scheduled gig by Davies on this, the next day. Rod Stewart would become a regular participant in Hoochie Coochie Men gigs, having famously been recruited by Baldry on the strength of an impromptu harmonica session at Twickenham railway station, following tonight’s first Hoochie Coochie Men appearance on the Island. This was possibly not the first time Baldry had encountered Rod, as I’ve heard testimony of one night at the Island when there was a power cut, and my witness recalls seeing Cyril Davies, Long John and Rod doing an “unplugged” gig on the steps outside the club

Sun. Jan 12^th – The Animals (from drummer John Steel’s diary, via Stephen Tow’s “London, Reign Over Me”)

According to John Steel, The Animals had played at the Olympia Ballroom during the afternoon, then Eel Pie Island “for the first time” this evening (obviously there must be further dates relating to Newcastle’s finest), where attendees included Peter Grant (who would become their promoter, though he was more famous for taking charge of Led Zeppelin’s affairs some years later) and Mickie Most (vaunted producer during the 60s and 70s, who also took them on that night)

Wed. Jan 15  ^th  –  The Downliners Sect

Wed. Jan 22 ^nd  –  The Downliners Sect

Wed. Jan 29 ^th  –  The Downliners Sect

Wed. Feb 12  ^th  –  The Downliners Sect

Sat. Feb 22^nd – Original Downtown Syncopators (from Melody Maker ad)

Sun.Feb 23^rd - Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (from Melody Maker ad)

Wed. Feb 26  ^th  –  The Downliners Sect

This was billed as a “CYRIL DAVIES BENEFIT”

Wed. Mar 11 ^th  –  The Downliners Sect

Thu. Mar 19 ^th  –  The Downliners Sect

This rare Thursday operation was down to it having been organised by the Chiswick Polytechnic’s Student Union

Wed. Mar 25 ^th  –  The Downliners Sect

Wed. Apr 8 ^th  –  The Downliners Sect

Wed. Apr 22 ^nd  –  The Downliners Sect

All above Downliners Sect dates between Jan 15 ^th  and Apr 22 ^nd  courtesy of Don Craine

Fri. May 1 ^st  –  The Others  (from ticket)

The lack of contracts over 1963/64 means that this is the only date I can verify for The Others, a local band from Hampton, who went down well with the locals. Had a solitary single, a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah” which sold zilch, but provided the template, arrangement-wise, for Chicago’s Shadows Of Knight to have a hit in the States with it two years later. This latter recording found its way onto Lenny Kaye’s legendary “Nuggets” compilation in 1972, and in a curious squaring of a circle, The Others had regrouped by 1968 as Sands, and recorded “Listen To The Sky” which found its way onto “Nuggets II” when that CD follow-up to its vinyl predecessor was released. A further incarnation as Sun Dragon resulted in an album, for which the boys were bulked up musically by Messrs Lord, Paice and Blackmore, who would appear on the Island in their own right as that Deep Purple pop group in 1970

Wed. May 6 ^th  –  Jimmy Page  sat in on a jam session with  Jeff Beck ,  Bill Wyman   and Ian Stewart , together with Stu’s friends “Wint” on drums, and “Knocker” on harmonica

The advertised performers are not known at this time   (from a Rolling Stones database, and quoted on a Led Zeppelin message forum , and not least from Bill Wyman’s autobiography “Stone Alone”)

Wed. May 20 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

This appears to be the first documented date on the Island for “art-school R&B terrorists”, The Tridents (that description was used by David Wells in his liner notes for a Jeff Beck retrospective CD, “Shapes Of Things” in 2003). Originally formed by the Lucas brothers from Chiswick, John (rhythm guitar) and Paul (bass), they had played at Eel Pie during 1963, and their line-up also included Lesley Jones on lead guitar, and Lindsay Bex on drums

Mon. May 25 ^th  –  Manish Boys  (from  www.bowiewonderworld.com  )

A certain David Bowie, formerly Jones, has yet to join The Manish Boys, but would they be playing on a Monday?

Wed. May 27 ^th  –  The Downliners Sect  (£30)

Sun. May 31 ^st  –  Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£50)

Some time after being billed as Scotland’s answer to Tommy Steele, and light years before “The Faith Healer”, “Next”, and his Vambo character in the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Alex became a regular at Eel Pie dispensing his Soul stuff. Geoff Coxon, later with The Others, remembers his then outfit, The Smokestacks, supporting Alex: could it have been tonight?

Wed. Jun 3 ^rd  –  The Downliners Sect  (£30)

Sun. Jun 7 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£65)

Wed. Jun 17 ^th  –  The Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£50)

Thu. Jun 18 ^th  –  Manfred Mann  (On a Thursday?) (from “Mannerisms: The Five Phases of Manfred Mann” by Greg Russo)

Sun. Jun 21 ^st  –  Manish Boys  (from  www.bowiewonderworld.com  )

Sun. Jun 21 ^st  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£65)

Wed. Jun 24 ^th  –  The Downliners Sect  (£30)

Sun. Jun 28 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£65)

Wed. Jul 1 ^st  –  The Downliners Sect  (£30)

Sat. Jul 4 ^th  –  Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzmen  (£45)

Wed. Jul 8 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

According to Paul, this date may have been shared with Jeff Beck’s outfit at that time, The Nightshift , who themselves played at the 4 ^th National Jazz and Blues Festival at Richmond Athletic Ground on August 7 ^th , shortly before Beck joined The Tridents

Sat. Jul 11 ^th  –  Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band  (£45)

Wed. Jul 15 ^th  –  The Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£50)

Sat. Jul 18 ^th  –  The Original Downtown Syncopators (£35)

Formed in 1962, The Original Downtown Syncopators played regularly at Eel Pie Island, and originally featured Ron Geesin on piano, who would, amongst many other things, later collaborate on orchestrations with Pink Floyd on their “Atom Heart Mother” album

Wed. Jul 22 ^nd  –  The Downliners Sect  (As per Don Craine)

Sat. Jul 25 ^th  –  Alex Welsh and his Band  (£45)

Sun. Jul 26  ^th  –  Davie Jones & Manish Boys  (from  www.bowiewonderworld.com  )

With The Manish Boys having already played a number of gigs during the summer in their own right, David Bowie is now in tow, but has yet to change his name. Recently on Radio London (2020), Robert Elms posed the question as to how Bowie played here and also at the Finchley Jewish Boys Club on the same day (as the source site claims): I can only assume that the Boys Club was an afternoon affair!

Sat. Aug 1 ^st  –  London City Stompers  (£20)

Wed. Aug 5 ^th  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Sat. Aug 8 ^th  –  Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers  (£20)

Sun. Aug 9 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Sat. Aug 15 ^th  –  The Original Downtown Syncopators  (£35)

Sun. Aug 16 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£40)

Art Wood maintained that his band played at Eel Pie Island more times than any other outfit. This appears to be true in terms of R&B bands, but some of the Jazz regulars may dispute that claim. Guitarist Derek Griffiths remembered how Arthur Chisnall informed them one night that they held the attendance record, which would stand for a while – not bad considering the earlier Stones appearances.   In 2014, their collected recorded works were re-released, “Steady Getting’ It: The Complete Recordings 1964-67”.  In 2019, “Art’s Gallery” was released, featuring long-deleted BBC sessions, which have been restored from a fan’s home taping of the session broadcasts!

Wed. Aug 19 ^th  –  Davie Jones & The Manish Boys  (from  www.bowiewonderworld.com  )

Wed. Aug 19^th - Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (from concerts/fandom/wiki/Long_John_Baldry)

Sat. Aug 22 ^nd  –  Alex Welsh and his Band  (£30)

Sun. Aug 23 ^rd  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Aug 26 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£60)

Sat. Aug 29 ^th  –  Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band  (£30)

Sun. Aug 30 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Original guitarist Mike Jopp stood in on lead guitar until Jeff Beck was available, though Beck may have been on show tonight

Wed. Sep 2 ^nd  –  Davie Jones & The Manish Boys  (from  www.bowiewonderworld.com  )

Wed. Sep 2 ^nd  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Sat. Sep 5 ^th  –  Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers  (£25)

Sun. Sep 6 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£40)

Wed. Sep 9 ^th  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Sat. Sep 12 ^th  –  Original Downtown Syncopators  (£35)

Sun. Sep 13 ^th  –  Memphis Slim (Peter Chatman)  (£40)

This is the legendary American blues artist, who by this time had permanently relocated to Paris. His compositions were published under the name Peter Chatman, hence that reference on the contract

Wed. Sep 16 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Jeff Beck is definitely in tonight’s line-up, possibly using his first ever fuzz-box, as designed and built by bassist Paul Lucas. On a recently unearthed interview from 1979, David Bowie revealed that it was The Tridents, with Jeff Beck, that he specifically came to see at the Island

Wed. Sep 16 ^th  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Sat. Sep 19 ^th  –  Charlie Galbraith All Stars  (£35)

Sun. Sep 20 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Sep 23 ^rd  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Wed. Sep 23 ^rd  –  The Downliners Sect  (£50)

Sun. Sep 27 ^th  –  The Barbarians Prince Khan  (£5)

I have no idea either, but The Barabarians, with or without Prince Khan, had played at The Marquee two days earlier, supporting Gary Farr and the T-Bones

Sun. Sep 27 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Sep 30 ^th  –  Little Walter  (£35)

The celebrated US blues harpist, this was during his first of two European tours

Wed. Sep 30 ^th  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Sat. Oct 3 ^rd  –  Alex Welsh and his Band  (£40)

Sun. Oct 4 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Oct 4 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Oct 7  ^th  –  Davie Jones & the Manish Boys  (from  www.bowiewonderworld.com  )

Wed. Oct 7^th - Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (from concerts/fandom/wiki/Long_John_Baldry)

Sat. Oct 10 ^th  –  The Original Downtown Syncopators  (£35)

Sun. Oct 11 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Oct 14 ^th  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Fri. Oct 16 ^th  – Second Thoughts

Fri. Oct 16 ^th  – The Tridents

Before Paul Lucas got in touch, thanks to Linda Smith and her diary, this was the first time I could finally place a Tridents’ gig! It was an Ealing College date, hence the Friday

Sat. Oct 17 ^th  –  Alex Welsh and his Band  (£45)

Sun. Oct 18 ^th  –  The Bluesounds  (£10)

Sun. Oct 18 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Oct 21 ^st  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Fri. Oct 23 ^rd – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Fri. Oct 23 ^rd  –  The Second Thoughts

(from  http://thestrangebrew.co.uk/articles/the-second-thoughts  )

The Second Thoughts spawned future “Rainbow Chaser” Patrick Campbell-Lyons of Nirvana and ‘Speedy’ Keen of Thunderclap Newman. The source site also quotes an appearance at Ealing Technical College on the same date, but while there are other instances of gigs on ‘non-Eelpiland’ days for college dances and so on, it’s most likely, given the previous week’s ‘Ealing College’ bash, that tonight is a repeat, and that both references relate to the same single performance. 

Sat. Oct 24 ^th  –  Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen  (£35)

Sat. Oct 24 ^th  –  Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzmen  (£45)

Sun. Oct 25 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries, though Paul says they were supporting Alex Harvey, who appeared here on Oct 28 ^th )

The BBC came down to Eel Pie Island to record The Tridents tonight, for German radio. According to Paul Lucas, the wrong bass amp was miked up. None of this material saw the light of day until it appeared on Jeff Beck’s “Beckology” career retrospective released in 1991

Sun. Oct 25  ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

 This would have been the last Hoochie Coochie Men gig with Rod Stewart in the line-up on the Island, as his own solo career was beginning to take shape, and the fact that the Hoochie Coochie Men were in terminal decline by this point, though they struggled on until at least April the following year

Wed. Oct 28 ^th  –  Alex Harvey and The Soul Band  (£50)

Sun. Nov 1 ^st  –  The Soul Agents   (from  http://www.mybestcv.co.il/TextPage_EN.aspx?ID=8303888  )

These guys were shortly to enlist the services of one Roderick Stewart, now presumably at a loose end 

Wed. Nov 4 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Wed. Nov 4 ^th  –  Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£50)

Sat. Nov 7 ^th  –  Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band  (£35)

Sun. Nov 8 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Nov 8 ^th  –  Davie Jones & The Manish Boys  (from  www.bowiewonderworld.com  )

David Bowie (né Jones) was so enamoured with his Eel Pie Island experiences, he namechecked it on the cover of his 1973 album, “Pin Ups”

Sun. Nov 8 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Nov 11 ^th  –  Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£50)

Sat. Nov 14 ^th  –  Original Downtown Syncopators  (£35)

Sun. Nov 15 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Sat. Nov 21 ^st  –  London City Stompers  (£35)

Sat. Nov 21 ^st  –  Dave Hunt’s R&B Band featuring Hamilton King 

This is probably a dubious entry, given that Saturday was always given over to jazz, and unlikely to feature an R&B band alongside the London City Stompers. Dave Hunt’s R&B Band, incidentally, initially occupied the residency spot at The Station Hotel (soon to become The Crawdaddy) in Richmond, which was then famously taken by The Rolling Stones in 1963, and featured one Ray Davies within their ranks, for a spell, prior to him forming The Kinks

Sun. Nov 22 ^nd  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Nov 22 ^nd  –  The Art Woods  (£40)

Sat. Nov 28 ^th  – Howlin’ Wolf

Thanks to a lovely lady, Jennie Wyrill, who brought her diary into the museum, we have this entry. Whether it was this night or not, another visitor, Collin Flower, recalls seeing Howlin’ Wolf, with Bill Wyman in the audience: Bill was invited up on stage by the Wolf, and proceeded to join said blues man, despite manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s protestations that he couldn’t do so, as he wasn’t contracted to play!

Sun. Nov 29 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Nov 29 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Sat. Dec 5 ^th  –  Alex Welsh and his Band  (£45)

Sun. Dec 6 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries) played interval?

Sun. Dec 6 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Dec 9 ^th  –  The Downliners Sect  (As per Don Craine)

Sat. Dec 12 ^th  –  London City Stompers  (£35)

Sat. Dec 12 ^th  –  Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band  (£35)

Sun. Dec 13 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Wed. Dec 16  ^th  –  Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£50)

Fri. Dec 18^th – The Muleskinners (from full-page advert in The Griffon, Twickenham College’s in-house newspaper, gifted to the Museum by Roy Hooker)

Almost a year after providing musical frolics for students of Twickenham College, Ian McLagan’s Muleskinners are back for a repeat performance. The artwork for the advert was again possibly provided by Barney Bubbles

Sat. Dec 19 ^th  –  Original Downtown Syncopators  (£35)

Sun. Dec 20 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Dec 23 ^rd  –  Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£50)

Thu. Dec 24 ^th  – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Being Christmas Eve, this is likely to be the date that John Anderson, interviewed in 2013   for the “Rock’n’Roll Island” documentary, remembered as the one where the whole crowd tried to ‘cossack-dance’ to The Tridents’ rendition of “Hava-Nagila”, whereupon Jeff Beck kept playing ever-faster until everyone fell over, trying to keep up

Sat. Dec 26 ^th  –  Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen  (£35)

Sun. Dec 27 ^th  –  Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men  (£75)

Wed. Dec 30 ^th  –  Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£50)

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