sees, most notably, gigs that blew everyone’s minds by Pink Floyd, but also those by Paul Kossoff, later of Free, supporting Alexis Korner’s Free At Last outfit, Julie Driscoll returning with Brian Auger, David Essex trying his luck, The Foundations mere months before hitting number 1, Carl Douglas, Ten Years After and Family (who would both go on to wider recognition), John Lee Hooker, and an early Fairport Convention……

Sun. Jan 1 ^st  –  Savoy Brown Blues Band  (£10)

Sun. Jan 1 ^st  –  Mike Stuart Span  (£35)

Wed. Jan 4 ^th  –  The Footprints  (£10)

Wed. Jan 4 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£45)

Sat. Jan 7 ^th  –  The Gothics  (£25)

Sun. Jan 8 ^th  –  The Black Cat Bones  (£10)

Sun. Jan 8 ^th  –  Free At Last  (£45)

A significant gig, given the two bands on show, though not necessarily unique, as Free At Last was Alexis Korner’s current blues-based outfit; Korner took the nascent Free under his wing, basically providing them with their name; support band Black Cat Bones featured future Free guitarist Paul Kossoff – and a year later, drummer Simon Kirke; and Free’s fifth studio album some six years later was called….”Free At Last”. Convoluted, but connected

Wed. Jan 11 ^th  –  John Bryan Fraternity  (£10)

Wed. Jan 11 ^th  –  Herbie Goins and the Nightimers  (£55)

Sat. Jan 14 ^th  –  Bill Nile’s Deltas  (£30)

Sun. Jan 15 ^th  –  The Battery  (£10)

Sun. Jan 15 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£45)

Wed. Jan 18 ^th  –  Dave Antony’s Moods  (£40) An unnamed in terval group were paid £10

Sat. Jan 21 ^st  –  Spencer’s Washboard Kings  (£40)

Sun. Jan 22 ^nd  –  The Stalkers  (£10)

Sun. Jan 22 ^nd  –  Savoy Brown Blues Band  (£25)

Wed. Jan 25 ^th  –  New Jump Band  (£10)

Wed. Jan 25 ^th  – Alex Harvey with The Mox (£40) from both contract and payment letter

Alex had parted company with his previously ever-present Soul Band by tonight, having become disillusioned with the lack of success of his ‘showband’ outfit, and keen to try something new, which, of course, was rather in vogue at this point in the 60s. Just who was / were The Mox? I have found a reference to ‘The Giant Moth’, an outfit Alex toyed with, I guess, in 1967, when things were going lysergic-shaped, and this may have been an early outing for the line-up that included two members of Kilmarnock’s Anteeks, along with Mox .  Peter Davis references “the extraordinary Mox” in his article “Rockin’ Around The Town” (reproduced in “The British Beat Explosion” which was produced as part of the Eel Pie Island Music project in 2013), but I had so far found nothing on the character, other than that he played harmonica , though thanks to Alan Iorr, who has pointed me in the direction of John Neil Munro’s “The Sensational Alex Harvey Band” biog, drummer George Butler from the aforementioned Giant Moth has described Mox as playing anything “that extracted wind”, and looked like Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, owing to his long red hair and beard. Also, according to the biog of Amboy Dukes (written by their drummer Mick Jerome – see April 12 ^th for their own entry), when they covered “Judy In Disguise”, “…the harmonica featured was played by a guy we knew as “Moxy” who we met in the pub!” which sounds like the same guy, who can now be identified as Irishman Mox Gowland

Sat. Jan 28 ^th  –  Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen  (£40)

Sun. Jan 29  ^th  –  The Laymen  (£10)

David Holmes got in touch to tell us that The Laymen were a seven-piece soul band, coming out of Brighton, who played the Top Rank circuit, supporting the likes of The Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, Zoot Money and Spencer Davis, all organised by David

Sun. Jan 29 ^th  –  The Gass  (£40)

This relatively exorbitantly remunerated outfit featured Bob Tench on guitar and vocals, later to feature in a Jeff Beck line-up, and become a Streetwalker with Family’s Chapman and Whitney . In 1969, Gass were recruited by Jack Good to be the backing band for his stage production of “Catch My Soul”. Tench is still to be seen at the Bull’s Head in Barnes with Papa George these days

Wed. Feb 1 ^st  –  Blues City Shake Down  (£10)

Peter Ross featured in this outfit on harmonica, and went on to work with Caleb Quaye’s Hookfoot, as well as with Richard Thompson: five years later he would team up with ex-T2 guitarist prodigy Keith Cross and release “Bored Civilians” as Cross & Ross. This album has been reissued in 2014

Wed. Feb 1 ^st  –  Brian Auger, the Other Thing with Duelly  [sic]  Driscoll  (£45)

Clearly Steampacket are no more, but is this the line-up that would be responsible for “This Wheel’s On Fire” the following year? Otherwise, what exactly is ‘the Other Thing’? In any case, top marks for the typo for Julie Driscoll, who was not exactly unknown in these parts by this time. Not only that, but they were namechecked in a review in the following week’s ‘Beaver’ as “Bill Ogre’s Trinity”. Tsk!

Sat. Feb 4 ^th  –  Brian Green New Orleans Stompers  (£25)

When the Rank Organisation’s cameras came calling in 1967 to film one of their “Look At Life” documentaries (in this case, subtitled “Who Needs Eel Pie Island?”), it was Brian Green’s Stompers who were on stage. Was that tonight?

Sun. Feb 5 ^th  –  The Battery  (£10)

Sun. Feb 5 ^th  –  John Mayall Blues Band  [sic] (£65)

Wed. Feb 8 ^th  –  The Footprints  (£10)

Wed. Feb 8 ^th  –  Graham Bond Organisation  (£60)

Sat. Feb 11 ^th  –  Spencer’s Washboard Kings  (£40) Only paid £30 per payment letter

Sun. Feb 12 ^th  –  Cross Ties Blues Band  (£10)

These featured ‘Lonesome’ Dave Peverett and Chris Youlden who went on to join Savoy Brown (featured here in their own right): ‘Lonesome’ further went on to form Foghat, who became rather big on the other side of the pond

Sun. Feb 12 ^th  –  The Herd  (£40)

Wed. Feb 15 ^th  –  New Soul Concern  (£10)

Wed. Feb 15 ^th  –  Mike Cotton Sound with Lucas  (£45)

Sat. Feb 18 ^th  –  Collie’s Rhythm Aces  (£30)

Sun. Feb 19 ^th  –  John Bryan Fraternity  (£10)

Sun. Feb 19 ^th  –  David Essex and Mood Indigo  (£45)

Seven years before making anyone a star and topping the charts, Essex was doing the rounds with Mood Indigo

Wed. Feb 22 ^nd  –  Apostolic Intervention  (£10 but “NOT PAID” as “did not intervene”  according to AC’s payment letter)

One of whom ‘did not intervene’ was a young Jerry Shirley on drums, who would later find employment in Steve Marriott’s Humble Pie

Wed. Feb 22 ^nd  –  The Artwoods  (£45)

Sat. Feb 25 ^th  –  Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band  (£40)

Sun. Feb 26  ^th  –  Chicago Line Blues Band  (£10)

Initially I thought this outfit came out of The Bo Street Runners, who I remember seeing win a “Ready Steady Win” competition on TV intended to unearth the new Beatles: Ron Wood’s Birds could only come fifth out of six bands! That band became a limited company, went bust, and thus the name became the property of HM’s Official Receiver, hence this new identity. Tim Hinkley and Mike Patto would later team up with Ollie Halsall to form the respected but unsuccessful Timebox, and later progressive heroes Patto, though not with drummer Viv Prince, once of the Pretty Things, whose future lay elsewhere. Well, despite the scrupulous research reproduced above, I have been corrected by Geoff Everett, who got in touch to point out that this was actually his band with the same name, who, though less successful than the Hinkley version, did go on to support The Artwoods, and later Deep Purple, and that the Hinkley lot had changed their name by now, and that they would have got paid more than the £10 that Geoff’s lot received. Thanks Geoff, always appreciate first-hand info!

Sun. Feb 26 ^th  –  The Locomotive  (£40)

The original line-up of The Locomotive featured Chris Wood, who by this time had gone on to bigger things with Traffic, and drummer Mike Kellie who joined The VIPs, who became Art, who then became Spooky Tooth, but who later turned up in The Only Ones of “Another Girl Another Planet” fame in 1978. The Locomotive would have their own minor hit a year after tonight with “Rudi’s In Love”

Wed. Mar 1 ^st  –  Five Proud Walkers  (£10)

Following the Damascene experience of supporting Pink Floyd, the Walkers had become Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera a mere four months after tonight, appearing in their new guise here the following year

Wed. Mar 1 ^st  –  The Pink Floyd  (£75)

Still employing the definite article at this point

Sat. Mar 4 ^th  –  Spencer’s Washboard Kings  (£40)

Sun. Mar 5 ^th  –  The Battery  (£10)

Sun. Mar 5 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£65)

Wed. Mar 8 ^th  –  The Tribe  (£10)

The Tribe included future members of such diverse acts as The Bonzo Dog Band (Dennis Cowan) and The Sweet (Frank Torpey)

Wed. Mar 8 ^th  –  Savoy Brown Blues Band  (£30)

Fri. Mar 10 ^th  –  Chaos Blues Band  (£10)

Fri. Mar 10 ^th  –  The Little Joe Set  (£45)

Sat. Mar 11 ^th  –  Keith Smith Band  (£30)

Sun. Mar 12 ^th  –  Doctor K’s Blues Band  (£10)

Featured Ashley Hutchings on bass at this point, before he left to form Fairport Convention later in the year, as well as Geoff Krivit on guitar, who it appears was one of those substitutes employed by John Mayall in 1965 when Eric Clapton went AWOL to Greece

Sun. Mar 12 ^th  –  Champion Jack Dupree and Five Proud Walkers  (£50)

Wed. Mar 15 ^th  –  Worrying Kynde  (£10)

Wed. Mar 15 ^th  –  Jimmy Cliff and the Shake Down Sound  (£30)

Sat. Mar 18 ^th  –  Steve Lane Southern Stompers  (£25)

Sun. Mar 19 ^th  –  Black Cat Bones  (£10)

Sun. Mar 19 ^th  –  Mike Stuart Span  (£35)

Wed. Mar 22 ^nd  –  The Footprints  (£10)

Wed. Mar 22 ^nd  –  The Artwoods  (£45)

Sat. Mar 25 ^th  –  Bill Nile’s Goodtime Band  (£35)

Sun. Mar 26 ^th  –  The Stalkers  (£10)

Sun. Mar 26 ^th  –  Carl Douglas and the Big Stampede  (£40)

Yes, this is Carl Douglas some seven years before he took up Kung Fu Fighting. As if to redress the balance in credibility terms, as recently as 2014, a retrospective CD, “Crazy Feeling”, was released, comprising his material around this time, to good reviews from the music press

Wed. Mar 29 ^th  –  John Bryan Fraternity  (£10)

Wed. Mar 29 ^th  –  The Pink Floyd  (£75)

The following week would see the Floyd scheduled to be on Top Of The Pops for the first time unveiling “Arnold Layne”, except it didn’t rise as high as expected, so the appearance was binned

Sat. Apr 1 ^st  –  Spencer’s Washboard Kings  (£40)

Sun. Apr 2 ^nd  –  The Artwoods  (£65)

Wed. Apr 5 ^th  –  Freddy Mack and the Mack Sound  (£60)

A larger than life character, Freddy Mack was unsuccessfully trading punches (legally) with Jack Bodell less than two years before tonight, being a light-heavyweight contemporary of Floyd Paterson, no less, and who travelled to the Helsinki Olympics as Paterson’s ‘alternate’ (also having sparred with the then Cassius Clay). He also got to carry Elizabeth Taylor into Rome in “Cleopatra” in an occasional movie stint, and has a small part in The Sex Pistols’ “Rock And Roll Swindle”, but at this point he was fronting an ever-changing line-up of British jazz and R&B musicians that are far too numerous to detail here. Indeed, for his LP, self-effacingly entitled “The Fantastic Freddy Mack Show”, he drafted in Island stalwarts The Artwoods, not that that stopped it flopping. He managed to avoid deportation back to the US, and ended up north of the border, being heard regularly as a DJ on various Scottish radio stations. Also, if you remember the TV ad for K-Tel’s “Superbad” compilation album in the 70s, well Mack was ‘Mr Superbad’. An impressive CV!

Sat. Apr 8 ^th  –  New Sedalia Jazz Band  (£35)

Sun. Apr 9 ^th  –  Down and Oute  [sic] (£10

Sun. Apr 9 ^th  –  The Locomotive  (£40)

Wed. Apr 12 ^th  –  Chaos Blues Band  (£10)

Wed. Apr 12 ^th  –  Amboy Dukes / Checkmates ? (£35)

Nothing to do with Detroit’s red-blooded Ted Nugent’s boys, according to one source,   this lot were from Nottingham.…..or Reading, as per a load of other sources, so that’s   more likely. That’s Amboy Dukes, of course, and that’s what’s typed on the contract, but annotated in biro with “Checkmates” (Emile Ford’s backing band), so who was actually on view tonight?

Sat. Apr 15 ^th  –  Ken Colyer’s Jazzband  (£40)

Sun. Apr 16 ^th  –  Dr K Blues Band  (£10)

Sun. Apr 16 ^th  –  Free At Last  (£45)

By this time Alexis Korner’s outfit featured Marsha Hunt on vocals, who, having married Soft Machine’s Mike Ratledge to enable her to get a visa extension in the first place, took this job to earn her fare back to the US. She didn’t use it for that, but joined Ferris Wheel a year later before becoming the poster image for the musical “Hair”.  She went on to a modelling career, relationships with Marc Bolan and Mick Jagger, and ultimately became a novelist, but I remember her best for her reading of Dr John’s “I Walk On Gilded Splinters” which got her on Top of the Pops in 1969

Wed. Apr 19 ^th  –  McGregors Engine  (£10)

A ‘Luton supergroup’, apparently, but who numbered both Mick Abrahams on guitar, and Clive Bunker on drums within their ranks, both of whom would soon feature in a combo called Jethro Tull. “Mick McGregor, the support group were paid…” according to the payment letter

Wed. Apr 19 ^th  –  The Anzacs  (£30)

Sat. Apr 22 ^nd  –  The Gothics  (£25)

Sun. Apr 23 ^rd  –  The Battery  (£10)

Sun. Apr 23 ^rd  –  Savoy Brown Blues Band  (£30)

Wed. Apr 26 ^th  –  Syrian Blues Band  (£10)

Wed. Apr 26 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£45)

Sat. Apr 29 ^th – Brian Green did not appear according to payment letter

Sun. Apr 30 ^th  –  The Naz  (£10)

Not to be confused with The Nazz of early Alice Cooper, or The Nazz of Todd Rundgren. However, it may be a very early outing for Keith Emerson’s new combo, The Nice. Apparently they were calling themselves The Naz when they started backing PP Arnold, and it was at her suggestion that they renamed themselves The Nice. Unfortunately, I have The Naz playing on the island back in September 66, which may have been too early to have been Emerson’s outfit if both dates apply to the same group. Still, you never know…

Sun. Apr 30 ^th  –  Jesse Fuller  (£110)

Wed. May 3 ^rd  –  1-2-3  (£10)

This gig came in the midst of a number of Saturday headline dates at The Marquee, and they were apparently a ‘protoprog’ act that got nowhere, but featured a radical revision of Paul Simon’s “Sound of Silence” in their set. David Bowie, no less, described them in an interview in 1967 as “three thistle and haggis voiced bairns [who] had the audacity to face a mob of self-opinionated hippies with a brand of unique pop music which, because of its intolerance of mediocrity, floated, as would a Hogarth cartoon in Beano”: he has a way with words, that Bowie. In any case they evolved into Clouds and would again appear on the Island in 1969. A recent Sky Arts documentary, “Trailblazers: Prog Rock” included a lengthy interview with Billy Ritchie from 1-2-3, which posited that he was an innovator on keyboards, and as such paved the way for Prog giants such as Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman et al. The band suffered by being signed by Brian Epstein, and subsequently fell through the gaps on his death shortly after

Wed. May 3 ^rd  –  Heart and Souls  (£30)

Sat. May 6 ^th  –  Alan Elsdon Jazz Band  (£40)

Sun. May 7 ^th  –  Chicago Line Blues Band  (£10)

Sun. May 7 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£65)

Wed. May 10 ^th  –  The Coloured Raisins & King Ossie Show  (£40)

Sat. May 13 ^th  –  Spencer’s Washboard Kings  (£40)  Paid £50 according to payment letter

Sun. May 14 ^th  –  The Foundations  (£10)

From being paid only £10 for tonight, to hitting number 1 with “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” some five months later sounds like a somewhat meteoric rise. Actually, during this period it is likely Arthur Brown was sharing vocal duties with Clem Curtis, so it’s intriguing to think Islanders may have had a sneak preview of the God of Hellfire, though on his own admission he’d had favourable reaction at Eel Pie Island in 1965 when his Arthur Brown Set had a support slot (date unknown)

Sun. May 14 ^th  –  The Herd  (£40)

Wed. May 17 ^th  –  Freddy Mack Show  (£60)

Sat. May 20 ^th  –  Bill Nile’s Goodtime Band  (£35)

Sun. May 21 ^st  –  The Battery  (£10)

Sun. May 21 ^st  –  Lucas and the Mike Cotton Sound  (£50)

Wed. May 24 ^th  –  Down and Outs  (£10)

Wed. May 24 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£45)

Sat. May 27 ^th  –  Collie’s Rhythm Aces  (£30)

Sun. May 28 ^th  –  The Stalkers  (£10)

Sun. May 28 ^th  –  Savoy Brown Blues Band  (£30)

Wed. May 31 ^st  –  Black Cat Bones  (£10)

Wed. May 31 ^st  –  Jesse Fuller  (£60)

Sat. Jun 3 ^rd  –  Spencers Washboard Kings  (£50)

Sun. Jun 4 ^th  –  Dr K Blues Band  (£10)

Sun. Jun 4 ^th  –  The Amboy Dukes  (£40)

Wed. Jun 7 ^th  –  The Battery  (£10)

Wed. Jun 7 ^th  –  Cock a Hoop  (£25)

Sat. Jun 10 ^th  –  Keith Smith Climax Band  (£30)

Sun. Jun 11 ^th  –  Blues City Shakedown  (£10)

Sun. Jun 11 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£65)

Wed. Jun 14 ^th  –  The   Freddy Mack Show  (£75)

Sat. Jun 17 ^th  –  Mike Daniels Delta Jazzband  (£35)

Sun. Jun 18 ^th  –  Ten Years After  (£10)

Sun. Jun 18 ^th  –  Carl Douglas and The Big Stampede  (£40)

Wed. Jun 21 ^st  –  Dr K Blues Band  (£10)

Wed. Jun 21 ^st  –  The Artwoods  (£45)

Fri. Jun 23^rd – Julian Covay & The Machine

Fri. Jun 23  ^rd  –  Carl Douglas and The Big Stampede

As this is a Friday, I had thought this possibly a dubious entry, especially as Carl Douglas had played here only five days before, but never rule out that ‘local college dance’ syndrome. In any case, both dates were advertised in “Fabulous 208” magazine, of all places: turns out it was organised by Ealing Technical College, and reported on in the Middlesex County Times!

Sat. Jun 24 ^th  –  Ken Colyer Jazzmen  (£40)

Sun. Jun 25 ^th  –  A.Q. Blues Band  (£10)

Sun. Jun 25 ^th  –  Herbie Goins and The Nightimers  (£75)

Wed. Jun 28 ^th  –  Pink Floyd

This is nearly two weeks after the release of “See Emily Play”, but given the presence of John Lee Hooker, below (and at that fee) it is unlikely The Floyd played

Wed. Jun 28 ^th  –  John Lee Hooker  (£75)

With John Lee’s Groundhogs now disbanded, at least temporarily, this really is the John Lee Hooker. I have found a reference to Pink Floyd appearing on the Island tonight, but a combination of the facts that “See Emily Play” had been released only two weeks before, and that John Lee Hooker was booked as a headline act, suggest that The Floyd were absent tonight, though they were here a week later: that other source must just be a week out, as the contract for the next Floyd gig has this date, but crossed out, and replaced in biro with the following week’s date. As for John Lee Hooker, AC delayed payment as he only appeared for “half of the performance” – the subsequent payment letter shows he was paid £50

Sat. Jul 1 ^st  –  Steve Lane Southern Stompers  (£25)

Sun. Jul 2 ^nd  –  Black Cat Bones  (£10)

Sun. Jul 2 ^nd  –  Ten Years After  (£25)

The fastest guitar-slinger in town comes to the Island, with Alvin Lee still two years away from his Woodstock apogee

Wed. Jul 5 ^th  –  The Battery  (£10)

Wed. Jul 5 ^th  –  Pink Floyd  (£100)

While Pink Floyd played three times on the Island during 1967, it is not clear which particular instance flummoxed local author Judy Astley, when she turned up to find the walls of the ballroom adorned with lots of white sheets. She didn’t get a proper reply from Arthur Chisnall when she asked him, but the answer would be revealed when the band came on, accompanied by their revolutionary light-show. I suspect the Floyd preferred the idea of projecting said light-show onto a ‘clean’ surface, which the cartoon-infested walls certainly wouldn’t have been. Guy Lewis contacted us, remembering it well “Halfway down the room were two stepladders, and on the top of the stepladders a projector shining through round glass slides containing coloured oils: a guy had a small blow lamp, which, together with revolving slides, made an amazing ‘psychedelic’ pattern on the sheets behind the band – very hi-tech. A girl next to me suddenly blurted out “Eh Mavis, I think I’m going to freak out!”. (Obviously that means that the sheets were behind the band rather than on the side walls, as I initially supposed)

Sat. Jul 8 ^th  –  Spencer’s Washboard Kings  (£50)

Sun. Jul 9 ^th  –  The Stalkers  (£10)

Sun. Jul 9 ^th  –  Alex Harvey Soul Band  (£35)

While the contract implies Alex has his Soul Band back , it seems more likely that this is another appearance by The Giant Moth (see January 25 ^th ), as he persevered with them until he was co-opted into the backing band for the Hair musical, lured by decent money and regular work

Wed. Jul 12 ^th  –  Syrian Blues Band  (£10)

Wed. Jul 12 ^th  –  The Rogues Gallery  (£30)

Sat. Jul 15 ^th  –  Bill Niles Band  (£35)

Sun. Jul 16 ^th  –  Bruno’s Blues Band  (£10)

Bruno’s Blues Band evolved into Steve Miller’s Delivery, under which name they would appear on the Island in 1970

Sun. Jul 16 ^th  –  The Heart and Souls  (£40)

Wed. Jul 19 ^th  –  Ruby Jaines  (£10)

Wed. Jul 19 ^th  –  Savoy Brown Blues Band  (£35)

Sat. Jul 22 ^nd  –  Eric Silk Southern Jazz Band  (£25)

Sun. Jul 23 ^rd  –  The Freddy Mack Show  (£75)

Wed. Jul 26 ^th  –  Harvey Struart  [sic]  Blues Band  (£10)

Wed. Jul 26 ^th  –  The Family  (£35)

Leicester’s finest, in their original line-up, with Roger Chapman’s bleating to the fore, no doubt

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

Sun. Jul 30 ^th  –  The Last Word  (£10)

Sun. Jul 30 ^th  –  The Tomorrow  [sic] (£30)

Despite a great pedigree, featuring future Yes guitarist Steve Howe, Tomorrow were rather overshadowed commercially by singer Keith West’s involvement with the Teenage Opera project, which in itself merely yielded that single ‘Grocer Jack’ chart hit. Strangely enough, in August 1965, Keith West had come to see The Syndicats at Eel Pie, who at that point featured Howe in their ranks, and asked him to join his band, The In Crowd, who were a soul covers outfit. Steve said “yes”, at which point, they became Tomorrow, with a rather different musical style, as witnessed tonight

Wed. Aug 2 ^nd  –  Craig King & The Midnight Train  (£10)

Wed. Aug 2 ^nd  –  The Heart and Soul  (£40)

Sat. Aug 5 ^th  –  Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£50)

Payment letter has Spencer’s Washboard Kings receiving £50 rather than The Gothics Jazz Band who had been booked for £25

Sun. Aug 6 ^th  –  The Black Cat Bones  (£10)

These proto-Free bluesmen evidently impressed Champion Jack Dupree, as they backed him on a Blue Horizon-label album “When You Feel The Feeling You Was Feeling” the following year. Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke then left to form Free, while the remainder, plus replacements and latter-day vocalist Peter French, became Leaf Hound in 1970

Sun. Aug 6 ^th – The Freddy Mack Show (£75) from payment letter

Wed. Aug 9 ^th  –  Fairport Convention  (£10)

This would be the original Fairports’ line-up with Judy Dyble on vocals

Wed. Aug 9 ^th  –  Root and Jenny Jackson with the Hightimers  (£30)

Root Jackson is cited as an inspiration by much more recent acts such as Mica Paris, Jamiroquai and Soul II Soul. With cousin Jenny, he toured with people like Percy Sledge and Ben E. King, and later formed the Black Music Association in the UK. Originally from Trinidad, they were actually based in Huddersfield!

Sat. Aug 12 ^th – The Gothics Jazzband (£25) from payment letter

Sun. Aug 13 ^th  –  Hopscotch  (£10)

Those Scots of St James have recruited another, Hamish Stuart, and become Hopscotch, but they’re still not the Average White Band yet

Sun. Aug 13 ^th – The Artwoods (£65) from payment letter

Wed. Aug 16 ^th  –  The Battery  (£10)

Wed. Aug 16 ^th  –  The Web with J. L. Watson  (£30)

J.L. Watson was the obligatory black US singer recruited by The Web to reinforce their soul outfit credentials

Sat. Aug 19 ^th  –  Bob Wallis Storyville Jazz Band  (£30)

Sun. Aug 20 ^th  –  The Chickenshalk  [sic] (£10)

Following their debut at The 7 ^th National Jazz & Blues Festival at Windsor exactly a week before tonight, Christine Perfect had not yet joined Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack (for it is they, despite the misquoted name) at this point, prior to hitting gold with “I’d Rather Go Blind”. At that point she left, forming her own short-lived band (with original Yardbird Top Topham, incidentally), and then joining hubbie John McVie in rival blues outfit – at that time, obviously – Fleetwood Mac. Meanwhile, Stan became famous for having the world’s longest guitar lead, as he’d venture out amongst the crowd, still soloing away

Sun. Aug 20 ^th  – Champion Jack Dupree (£40) from payment letter, but band list for August has CJD & Velvet Opera as backing

Wed. Aug 23 ^rd  –  John Jefferson Group  (£10)

Wed. Aug 23 ^rd  –  Sweet and Sour  (£25)

Sat. Aug 26 ^th  –  Collie’s Rhythm Aces  (£30)

Sun. Aug 27 ^th  –  Morgan’s Roots  (£10)

Sun. Aug 27 ^th  –  Ten Years After  (£25)

Wed. Aug 30 ^th  –  Down and Outs  (£10)

Wed. Aug 30 ^th – The Artwoods (£45) as per band list for August

This appears to be the final Artwoods appearance at Eel Pie Island. Later in the year, they would undergo an ill-advised makeover to become St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, trying to cash in on the brief ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ fashion that sprang out of that year’s hit movie. Under that name, they released a version of “Brother Can You Spare A Dime”, and that was it

Sat. Sep 2 ^nd  –  Steve Lane Southern Stompers  (£25)

Bob Dwyer, trombonist with the Stompers, is still plying his trade with his Bix and Pieces band

Sun. Sep 3 ^rd  –  Savoy Brown Blues Band  (£35)

Wed. Sep 6 ^th  –  Mr. Soul and The Transaxion  (£10)

Wed. Sep 6 ^th  –  Heart & Souls  (£40)  This looks to be final payment letter from AC

Sat. Sep 9 ^th  –  Spencers Washboard Kings  (£50)

Sun. Sep 10 ^th  –  Aynsley Dunbar  (£35)

Wed. Sep 13 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£45)

Sat. Sep 16 ^th  –  Humber Jug Band  (£10)

Sat. Sep 16 ^th  –  New Sedalia Jazz Band  (£25)

Sun. Sep 17 ^th  –  Ten Years After  (£30)

Wed. Sep 20 ^th  –  Freddy Mack Show  (£75)

Sat. Sep 23 ^rd  –  Red Onion Jazz Band  (£40)

Sun. Sep 24 ^th  –  The Artwoods  (£65)

Wed. Sep 27 ^th  –  The Darlings  (£30)

Sat. Sep 30 ^th  –  Ken Colyer  (£40)

Eelpiland as run by Arthur Chisnall ceased to operate in September 1967, following the Police’s revoking of the venue’s licence, while Chisnall himself was presented with an estimated bill for repairs that totalled £2,000 (£31,000 in today’s money), which was plainly an amount well above Arthur’s paygrade. The club probably closed its doors from September 6  ^th  , meaning all contracts after that date (above) were not honoured (but are included for posterity), and jazz would never again feature. Owner Michael Snapper allowed it to reopen in July 1968, initially presenting gigs put on by “Southbank Artistes” amongst others, then Richmond Arts Workshop (organised by Grenville Sheringham, after he’d seen an interview with Michael Snapper in the local paper, in which Snapper had expressed his wish that the Hotel be put to community use, and hence rented the place for the Arts Workshop, with the subsequent gigs being organised to cover the Workshop’s costs), and a variety of other sporadic enterprises, before it was renamed Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden in Autumn 1969 when Caldwell Smythe took over its running. However, records of who played at the venue in its interim guise are hard to come by, other than some surviving posters, and individual testimonies that name-check The Who, The Nice, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Again, thanks are due to Nick Warburton and  his site  for the bulk of the next two years’ entries , and Caldwell Smythe himself who has confirmed a number of appearances during the Rock Garden phase, if not the dates.

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