Eel Pie Island

[Conneyfogle]

I used to live in Twickenham all my youth til I was 17, Eel pie island is on the Thames in Twickenham, and consists of a few old shacks for houses and a rowing club, but in the 50/60's it was a hot spot for upcoming bands.

Initially it was the Jazz bands that frequented the Hotel which was the venue.

I know a fair bit about the Island and the history of the hotel as my dad played there many times and took most of the photo's featured in the book, inc the Stones which I have around here somewhere.

Check this site out for some info on the book, I have read the book and recommend it as a great read.

If anyone has anymore info on Jimmy's appearences at the Eel Pie Hotel, I'd be grateful for the info.

See below for link to the Eel Pie Island site

http://www.eelpie.org/

Momento's

(Each member was given a passport and a Jivers licence to allow entry to the hotel, and my mum was number 1....hmmm I wonder if she still has it)

http://www.eelpie.org/music01.htm

The Hotel in a film

[Conneyfogle]

The Eel Pie Island Hotel had a colourful history.Charles Dickens described the hotel as a "place to dance to the musicof the locomotive band". In the 1920s it hosted popular tea dances. But perhaps what has come to define the hotel, at leastas far as music fans believe, is the incarnation of the hotel as a jazzclub in 1956.

The Eel Pie Island Hotel played host to some of the mostinfluential British performers of traditional jazz including KenColyer, Acker Bilk and Chris Barber.

You could see sex rising from it like steam from a kettle - it was very difficult not to get laid on Eel Pie Island <br clear="all"> George Melly George Melly, who appeared at the club regularly, describes the rundown hotel, with its ornate columns and arches, as being like"something from a Tennessee Williams novel".

"In those days you got to the island by boat, you had topull yourself across on a rope, it was fairly primitive and you couldhear jazz playing in the distance," he recalls.

"The island had a reputation for sex. When youapproached it you could see sex rising from it like steam from akettle. It suited us randy young musicians. It was very difficult notto get laid on Eel Pie Island."

In the 1960's the club's focus changed. With the growingpopularity of the British R&B scene, regular players like AlexisKorner and Cyril Davies brought in musicians of the future as theirfans.

Mick Jagger played regularly at the Eel Pie Hotel For Ian "Mac" Mclagan - who was to become the Small Faces' keyboardist - the Eel Pie club became a regular haunt.

He says: "I was at Twickenham Art School and we'd haveour end of term dances at the club. I went to see the Stones play thereone night and helped them with their equipment and very cockily said toMick, 'who's your agent?'"

"The next Monday I went up to Regent Street and hungaround this office and booked them. My band The Muleskinners opened forthem. I can't remember what we paid back then though."

Ronnie Wood would join the Rolling Stones after theclub's heyday, but he was there in the big melting pot that Eel Piebecame in the days when they were just starting to play.

"It was great, you might bump into Mick Jagger at the bar. It was anart school crowd. I remember once going in and having a wee upstairs ina bucket - it leaked and when I came down I saw it was leaking onto thestage onto my brother's band!"

Members of The Yardbirds and The Who, Rod Stewart, andmany a barefooted hippy were tempted over the bridge by the promise ofgreat live music.

What many didn't know was that the club was set up as apersonal project by a former army sapper, junk shop manager and socialresearcher called Arthur Chisnall.

He wanted to see how the generation born at the end ofWorld War II would develop and so created a world where they could comeand be themselves, meet influential people, and if they needed it, gainadvice about further education and training.

The fact that he was providing a stage to young artists like EricClapton, Jeff Beck, Long John Baldry and many others, he saw as just ameans to attract the right crowd.

Shortly before his death in December, he told BBC Radio4's The Eel Pie Island Hotel: "I didn't know what impact I was havingon the music scene. You've got to remember that my job was to create aworld for people and I created that world.

"The people who were originally there were 300 artschool people and they remade themselves until - bang! - you had TheWho and The Rolling Stones."

Eric Clapton's Yardbirds were among the acts nurtured at Eel Pie In 1967, the club was forced to close because the ownercould not meet £200,000-worth of repairs, which the police had deemednecessary.

But it was to enjoy a short renaissance in 1969, whenthe hotel briefly reopened as Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden, welcomingbands like Black Sabbath and the Edgar Broughton Band, as well asinternational travellers and idealists trying to create an utopiancommune.

Demolished in a mysterious fire in 1971, the hotel'shistory is still preserved in the stories, poems and songs of the oldislanders and the musicians who played there.

[Conneyfogle]

Some bands that have played at the Hotel

Famous names who performed at the dance hall between 1957 and 1967 include:

• Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men (including Rod Stewart)
• Kenny Ball
• Acker Bilk
• David Bowie
• Ken Colyer
• Ivor Cutler
• Cyril Davies
• Alexis Korner
• John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (featuring Eric Clapton)
• George Melly
• Pink Floyd
• The Rolling Stones
• The Tridents (featuring Jeff Beck)
• The Who
• The Yardbirds
• Hawkwind Zoo
• Black Sabbath
• Deep Purple
• Mike Peters (My Dad)
  

[Conneyfogle]

More from the film but without sound

[swandown]

Jimmy attended and contributed to several shows at Eel Pie Island in the early '60s. One confirmed show was May 6, 1964, when Jimmy sat in on a jam session with Jeff Beck, Bill Wyman and Ian Stewart.

[PlanetPage]

I used to live in Twickenham all my youth til I was 17, Eel pie island is on the Thames in Twickenham, and consists of a few old shacks for houses and a rowing club, but in the 50/60's it was a hot spot for upcoming bands.

Initially it was the Jazz bands that frequented the Hotel which was the venue.

I know a fair bit about the Island and the history of the hotel as my dad played there many times and took most of the photo's featured in the book, inc the Stones which I have around here somewhere.

Check this site out for some info on the book, I have read the book and recommend it as a great read.

If anyone has anymore info on Jimmy's appearences at the Eel Pie Hotel, I'd be grateful for the info.

See below for link to the Eel Pie Island site

http://www.eelpie.org/

Momento's

(Each member was given a passport and a Jivers licence to allow entry to the hotel, and my mum was number 1....hmmm I wonder if she still has it)

http://www.eelpie.org/music01.htm

The Hotel in a film

...Thank you for sharing this great historic piece with the fans...there is so much to learn from fans like yourself...

I hope there are pictures of our Beloved Page from Eel Pie Island...I don't think I seen any....if you come across any somehow...well you know what to do...!!!

[Conneyfogle]

...Thank you for sharing this great historic piece with the fans...there is so much to learn from fans like yourself...

I hope there are pictures of our Beloved Page from Eel Pie Island...I don't think I seen any....if you come across any somehow...well you know what to do...!!!

I'll ask my dad if he has any shots of Pagey, like I said before I have the original shots of the Stones he took in oooh 63/4 ish I think so it's around the same time, I'll speak to him tomorrow and ask...

Of course I was only born in 68, and don't remember the parties we had at our house, when all the rock stars used to come over as we lived in East Twickenham, near the Crawdaddy club.. I remember Mcguiness Flint coming over, one time, and of course all the jazz musicians...

here are some of the Stones Pics (sorry they are small, but they are copyrighted)

for a better view of the pic go here! http://www.timothygrahamgallery.co.uk/PhotographicArt.php?catID=misc&view=gp&page=2

The first 3 are from the Richmond Jazz Festival 1964 and the other 3 from Eel Pie in 1963

[Conneyfogle]

EEL PIE SOUNDS - MUSIC AND MEMORIES FROM THE ISLANDThursday 6th October at 7.30pm, Invicibles, Twickenham StadiumAn evening of music andmemories from the music sceneof the fifties and sixties onTwickenham‘s Eel Pie Islandwill benefit The River ThamesBoat Project.One of the most important musicvenues outside London in the 1950s and1960s was Eel Pie Island, situated on asmall island on the Thames atTwickenham.At its best, ”The Island‘ was one ofthe most exciting venues in the country.The person largely responsible forbringing music to the island was a localcommunity worker called ArthurChisnall.In April 1956 Arthur obtainedpermission to use the Eel Pie Hoteldance hall for local trad jazz bands andwithin a few months some of the mostpopular bands of the day such as KenColyer and Alex Welsh played at theisland.Despite the occasional foray intoother styles of music the island remaineda trad jazz venue until 1962 and thearrival of Rhythm and Blues.Amongst the first R&B bands to playat the island was Cyril Davies Rhythm& Blues All Stars. In the spring of 1963The Rolling Stones first played anumber of gigs on the island. They werefollowed by some of the most popularbands at that time, including Long JohnBaldrey‘s Hoochie Coochie Men, TheYardbirds, The Animals, The Who, JohnMayall‘s Bluebreakers featuring EricClapton, The Tridents featuring Jeff Beck,The Downliners Sect and The Artwoods.The island flourished until 1967when it was necessary for the premisesto be modernized. Too much money wasinvolved and the club had to close.In the autumn of 1969 the venue didre-open as a rock club called ”ColonelBarefoot‘s Rock Garden‘. The clubfeatured progressive rock bands such asBlack Sabbath, Edgar Broughton Bandand Stray. The club did not have thecommunity spirit of the old club andeventually the Eel Pie Hotel and itsdance hall mysteriously burnt down in1971. The site is now a development ofriverside townhouses.The evening is supported by TheRiver Thames Society, The TwickenhamSociety and the Eel Pie IslandAssociation. For info call 020 8831 6533.An evening of Eel Pie memories, trad jazz and R&B, 6th OctoberMusic writer Alan Clayson talks about music on ”the island‘ with special guestsArthur Chisnall, Mike Peters, Art Wood and Don Craine.Music from The Eel Pie All-Stars andThe Mike Peters World Famous Jazz BandTickets £12 (£10 Eel Pie Club Members) from The Rugby Store, York Street,Twickenham. By cheque with self addressed envelope from The Eel Pie Club,c/o 44 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3RR (cheques payable to the Eel Pie Club)m

[Conneyfogle]

CREEM—May 1974

by Nick Kent

JimmyPage is as wary of discussing his formidable past as he is talking tothe press in the first place. The latter state of affairs has beenalleviated somewhat but exists as a reminder of the consciouslyanti—Zeppelin bias that prevailed in several noteworthy periodicals forso long, and Page's own awareness that facts and statements can soeasily be twisted and perverted into something else again when splashedacross the printed page.

Still, looking almostobscenely calm and healthy in the wake of the last (and exceptionallygrueling) Led Zeppelin assault on the United States, the dapper Mr.Page genially acquiesced to being plugged with questions about hispre-Zeppelin work.

"God knows what the others much think when I start talking about my olddays. They must say 'Oh Christ, he's off again on his Yardbirdstories'." Similarly, he prefaces a recounting of his session workexperiences—which stretch from working in the studio with P.J. Probyand Dave Berry to playing on the Who's "Can't Explain" and Them'simmortal "Gloria"—thus:

"The thing is, these days, nobody even knows about those old thingsanymore, and a lot of that really ancient stuff, I'm sure nobody givesa toss about anyway.

"The Kinks' tracks and things like that are a bit more interesting,credibility-wise or whatever. Or the Who's first single, 'Can'tExplain,' that I played rhythm guitar on—actually I wasn't reallyneeded, but I was fortunate enough to find myself there. Juststrengthening up riffs, that's all—just two guitars doing it instead ofone.

"Concerning the Kinks' work, my presence there was to enable—I gather,looking at it in retrospect—Ray Davies to walk around and virtuallycontrol everything without having to be down in the studio all thetime, because he was really producing those things as much as ShelTalmy. A lot more so, actually, because he was directing it andeverything. At one point there were even three guitars playing the sameriff."

Page's rise to working as a session musician is the archetypal story ofthe early '60s Eel Pie Island/Art School/Marquee clique of posthumousbeginnings for aspiring rockers.

"I joined Neil Christian's Crusaders when I first left school and I wasjust sort of gigging with his band—driving round the country andgetting glandular fever and everything. I remember one night walkingoutside a gig, and the next point waking up and I was laying on thefloor in some sort of dressing room. I just collapsed and couldn't keepgoing, and it was just fatigue and exhaustion. I was remembering theother day all those breakdowns on the M1 which were great in their ownway but after a while it starts knocking you out. I was getting ill,and I really thought 'I just can't carry on.'

"I was doing a lot of painting and drawing in what free time I had, andso I thought I'd go to Art college, because a number of my friends hadgone to Art college anyway, and I thought...maybe this is it, maybethis is my vocation. So I went—but of course I couldn't stop tinkeringround with my guitar and I was still playing at the Marquee in a sortof interval band.

"I was involved in the old Richmond and Eel Pie Island sets—well, Iused to play at those jazz clubs where the Kinks played and I'd alwaysbeen in groups around the Kingston area. Kingston and Richmond were thetwo key places, really, but by that time I was well into the Marquee.It was a good scene then because everyone had this same upbringing andhad been locked away with their records, and there was something reallynew to offer. It just exploded from there."

While working at the Marquee, Page was invited to play on a session."It was a nothing song, but the record was a minor hit. They startedusing me quite a bit after that and then suddenly I became a new name,y'know, appearing on what was then a very, very tight session scene."

Visions of Art school success vanished. "Well, at that particular pointall the sessions that I was being invited to were really good ones andI was doing the solos—really constructive work—and it wasn't too hard adecision to make. Then, about two years later, when guitars were almostbecoming out of vogue and people were always trying to do somethingnew—using sax sections and all that—and we used to play just doodles onguitar, I thought it was time to get out."

As a matter of historical trivia, Page released a solo single during1965. "There's nothing to be said for that record except it was verytongue-in-cheek at the time. I played all the instruments on it exceptfor the drums and sang on it too, which is quite, uh...unique. 'SheJust Satisfies,' that's what it was called. It's better forgotten."

So, on to the Yardbirds, of whom it is stated Page was the first to be asked to join after Clapton's departure.

"Well, you see this is all very touchy. Beck would probably say a lotof things. I could tell you a whole story about that but it's notreally on the cards. What actually was going on was allcloak-and-dagger stuff, and I didn't want to be part of it at allreally. And I just don't want it to be printed."

Long pause.

"You know, Jeff (Beck) must wince every time he reads any of this, butI've never put him down. I've always said that he's a brilliantmusician and I defy anyone to show me anything I've said against him inthe press. I can certainly think of a lot of times when he's put medown—but he's the one who's probably a bit paranoid about that. I don'tcare. Actually, there was a possibility that he and I were going to getto see each other again but ...

"Things like the 'Beck's Bolero' dispute, for instance, which he'dclaim was his own, which is just not right. Certain parts of it, likethe steel part, that was his work over ten chords which I worked out inthe studio. He put the other parts on afterwards. Again those sort ofthings look like you're bitching in the press so in a way it's betterto leave them out. Nicky Hopkins was another one who said somethingabout some Immediate tapes—some 'grievance against Jimmy Page' thingwhich again wasn't on at all. Things just get printed and people seemto latch onto them and they don't know the full circumstances."

Back on the Yardbirds trail, Page explained how he was invited to joint the band.

"Beck and I had known each other for ages. I'd gone to see quite a fewof their gigs because they were a good and to go and see, and there wasthis great night when (Keith) Refs was thoroughly drunk.

"I forget whether it was at an Oxford or Cambridge Union dance, but hewas shouting 'fuck' at the audience and eventually fell back into thedrum-kit. Instead of everybody seeing the humour of it, as three of thegroup and myself did, Paul Samwell-Smith (who was then the Yardbirds'bassist) just blew up and said 'I can't stand this anymore. I'm goingto leave the group—and if I was you, Keith, I'd do the same thing.' Andthat was when he left.

"They were stuck, of course, so I said 'well I'll play.' I started outat the Marquee playing bass—an instrument I'd never played before, andthat was how it came about."

Page's bass-playing were not unnaturally short and he quickly took overas second lead guitarist to Beck. The results of such a potentiallyexplosive union were short-lived but nonetheless fruitful.

"It was good. Unfortunately there is very little of it that wasrecorded, but for the amount of time that it was working it was reallyfabulous. It could have led to so many good things except that therewas a personality conflict within the group that wasn't coming fromBeck and me—and that's why things started to bubble up.

"There are a lot of incidents that led up to the finalbreak-up—something that had been there long before I joined the groupBut while it worked it was good.

"Like on the Rolling Stones 66 tour which was more or less its debut. Ican remember one great gig at the Fillmore, but really there's solittle of it left. 'Stroll On' from the soundtrack of "Blow Up" was onething. It was funny because it had dual lead guitars and I think I wasplaying bass in the film. The single we made, 'Happenings Ten YearsTime Ago," failed miserably in England."

The Yardbirds continued—without Beck—but with the questionableassistance of Mickie Most. An album "Little Games" was recorded "at abloody fast pace We weren't even allowed to hear playbacks" andreleased in America but not in England. "Mickie was far more into acommercial singles consciousness then, right up to the point where hewas recording Beck and Rod—when his whole attitude obviously changed."

Some "commercial consciousness" singles exist (inadequately) to testifyto the power of Page's Yardbirds. A live album recorded at the AndersonTheatre was released by Epic after Page had hit his stride again withZep, but was banned by Page himself. "We had the right to state allalong whether it be released or not, and the whole thing was that ithad been recorded by Epic at a particularly bad gig, engineered by somecharacter who was strictly into Muzak and the concert itself was bad.So the guy said "Listen, wonders can be done in the studio" and heworked on the live tape for three days or more.

"We came down to hear it and found he'd overdubbed bull-fight cheersand stuff. There was one number where there was supposed to be uttersilence in the audience, and there was clinking cocktail glasses, andsort of mumbling like a club atmosphere which destroyed the wholething. Every time you took a solo you got a sort of 'raaaah' coming atyou.

Apart from the aforementioned heinous package, Page has not been asdogged as some with vultures vamping old work of his.

"Well, maybe they don't know what I've done and maybe it's as well thatthey don't. I didn't really do anything of great importance that theycould package anything out of. Only a fool would reissue 'She JustSatisfies.'"

Anyway, the next step after the Yardbirds was the formation of LedZeppelin. John Paul Jones was an old session ally—"he seemed to appearon that scene some time after I did. I remember seeing him but we neverreally knew each other. We just used to bump into each other and sayhello"—so he joined on bass.

Terry Reid was Page's first choice as vocalist.

"He was the only vocalist I knew, but he'd just signed up with MickieMost so he was out of the question. He did suggest Robert Plant—said helived in Birmingham and that we should try and track him down. So wewent to see him at a college gig and I had a chat with him and said Iwas trying to get something together and would he be interested to comedown and have a chat?

"He came down and stayed for a couple of nights and it just went onfrom there." John Bonham was an old buddy of Plant's, having played inthe Band of Joy, and was then residing in the drum seat of Tim Rose'sband. He quickly joined.

A tour using the name the "New Yardbirds" was undertaken—"purely tofulfill old engagements" through Scandinavia—and, that completed, theband promptly became Led Zeppelin, and recorded an album insurprisingly quick time.

"We had all the songs thoroughly rehearsed at that point and it wasjust a case of getting our stage act down in the studio."

A first American tour was set up with the band playing second to theVanilla Fudge—whom they promptly blew right off the stages throughoutthe country.

"I can't really comment on just why we broke so big in the States. Ican only think that we were aware of dynamics at a time when everyonewas into that drawn-out West Coast style of playing.

"I can tell you when I knew we'd broken through, which was at SanFrancisco. There were other gigs, like the Boston Tea Party and theKinetic Circus in Chicago which have unfortunately disappeared asvenues, where the response was so incredible we knew we'd made ourimpression—but after the San Francisco gig it was just—bang!"

[Conneyfogle]

Recollections from Cyril Davies

Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page

I met Jeff Beck at Eel Pie Island and I think I was playing with Cyriland he was with the Tridents…he was bloody good! The Tridents were inthe interval and I thought he was good! It's a long way back - but I doremember Jimmy Page; he used to do interval spots with other bands atthe Marquee; I don't remember the bands. We used to do Sunday afternoonsessions at the Colyer Club and he used to be in the other band. Idon't even remember what band I was in then - it must have been 'Bluesby Six' - but he would do this Sunday gig too. It was such a small scene with people shuffling around differentbands but I do remember him very well - he had a brown Gretsch likeChet Atkins. I did some sessions with him too, later on when we were onthe session scene. He and Jim Sullivan had the session scene sewn up bythen. We had a passing friendship really…just, "All right, Jim - that'sa nice guitar." I remember once he had an actual Charlie ChristianGibson which he offered for sale and I just didn't have the money,otherwise I would have bought it!

[Conneyfogle]

Legends proposal

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:wVUUp0vY4MwJ:www.richmond.gov.uk/eel_pie_legends_proposal.pdf+jimmy+page+eel+pie&hl=en&gl=uk&sig=AHIEtbStESG4SbXO3bXoLwMT62ELu8BiuQ

[SteveAJones]

"I was involved in the old Richmond and Eel Pie Island setswell, Iused to play at those jazz clubs where the Kinks played and I'd alwaysbeen in groups around the Kingston area. Kingston and Richmond were thetwo key places, really, but by that time I was well into the Marquee.It was a good scene then because everyone had this same upbringing andhad been locked away with their records, and there was something reallynew to offer. It just exploded from there."

I'm still seeking confirmation of dates/venues for Jimmy's performances in Richmond, Kingston and Eel Pie Island. I only have one thus far - The Cellar Club in Kingston on May 31, 1964 (guitarist for Mickey Finn).

[Conneyfogle]

found this on my search

641100A November: THE GREENBEATS.

7" single (Pye 7N 15718). Producer: John Paul Jones.

[A: If This World Were Mine (Paul Keogh)]

B: You Must Be The One (MJ/KR)

B: Composer credits.

[Conneyfogle]

This is from the Rolling Stones Database 1964

640506B 6th May:Twickenham, Eel Pie Island. Jam-session.

Line-up: BW (bass, voc)/STU (p)/Jeff Beck (gtr, voc)/Jimmy Page (gtr,voc)/

Wint (dr)/Knocker (harm & maybe voc)

this is the date swandown posted

[Conneyfogle]

[Conneyfogle]

[Conneyfogle]

[Conneyfogle]

[Conneyfogle]

THE CRAWDADDY CLUB & EEL PIE ISLAND

In the early 1960s, in the South West London suburbs, the sound of British rhythm & blues started to evolve. The first evidence of this centred on a dilapidated hotel on Eel Pie Island, Twickenham. It had been a tourist attraction in the 19th century and, renowned for its sprung ballroom floor, was hosting tea dances during the 1920’s and 1930’s. However, by the mid-fifties it had fallen into a state of disrepair. Arthur Chisnall, a Kingston shop owner, had the idea of holding weekly dances at Eel Pie Island, and artist’s such as Ken Colyer, Kenny Ball and George Melly became regular visitors.

In 1961, Alexis Korner, guitarist and vocalist with a skiffle/folk background, and Cyril Davies, vocalist and harpist, who had previously performed as an acoustic blues duo, founded the first home-grown R&B outfit, Blues Incorporated, and also founded their own club in 1962, the Ealing Club, in a small basement room opposite Ealing Broadway Station. Blues Incorporated changing line ups included Jack Bruce, Graham Bond, Jimmy Page, Charlie Watts, (to be replaced by Ginger Baker), with Long John Baldry and Rod Stewart regularly sitting in on sessions. Early visitors to the Ealing Club included Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Brian Jones.

At that time one of the jazz movement’s central figures was Harold Pendleton who had founded the Marquee Club in Oxford Street in the late fifties. He organised the first National Jazz Festival in Richmond in August 1961, with a line up which included Chris Barber, Johnny Dankworth, Tubby Hayes and Ken Colyer. By the time of the 1965 Festival, R & B shared equal billing. Whilst the afternoon sessions were reserved for jazz acts, the evening sessions featured The Yardbirds, The Who, the Mike Cotton Sound, The Moody Blues, Manfred Mann, Georgie Fame, The Graham Bond Organisation, The Animals, Spencer Davis, and Steampacket with Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and Long John Baldry.

The Crawdaddy Club, which started towards the end of 1962, was the idea of Giorgio Gomelsky, filmmaker and blues enthusiast. His first resident group was the Dave Hunt R & B Band, which briefly featured Ray Davies who later formed The Kinks. In February 1963, the Rolling Stones played their first gig at the Crawdaddy Club, at the Station Hotel Richmond for a fee of £1 each, plus a share of the door. The Station Hotel needing renovation, and the club needing more space, the Crawdaddy moved to a larger venue, the Richmond Athletic Ground.

By April 1963, the Stones had two gigs a week at the Crawdaddy and a weekly slot on Eel Pie Island. During this time, they achieved their first chart hit, Come On. After the Stones departed on tour, another leading R & B group from Kingston, the Yardbirds, took over the Crawdaddy residency from 1963-66, and various line ups included Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Eel Pie Island has an equally long pedigree in presenting R & B music. There were early appearances by Cyril Davies. Although an original member of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, he had left in late '62, taking Long John Baldry with him, to put together the 'Rhythm & Blues All Stars' with the aim of playing Chicago-style blues. The All Stars quickly became a popular attraction and occasional members included pianist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and drummer Micky Waller, who replaced the legendary Carlo Little. Other members variously included Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger, with Rod (the Mod) Stewart doing the odd solo.

Tragically the band was short-lived when, in early '64, Davies died aged 32, said to have been of leukaemia, but it has also been claimed to have been of pleurisy. Baldry took the remnants of Davies' group and formed The Hoochie Coochie Men (with Stewart, Auger and Driscoll) who in turn, evolved into the Brian Auger Trinity. Also making regular appearances were John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (featuring Eric Clapton), the Downliners Sect, the Tridents (featuring Jeff Beck) and The Who, all performed on the Island between 1962 and 1967.

In 1967, Eel PieIsland was forced to close because the owner could not meet the cost ofthe repairs that the police had deemed necessary, and squatters movedin. In 1969, the Club briefly reopened as Colonel Barefoot’s RockGarden, and line ups included progressive bands like Black Sabbath andthe Edgar Broughton Band. In 1971, after a demolition order, the EelPie Island Hotel burnt down ‘in mysterious circumstances’.

[Deborah J]

Conneyfogle, these are great pieces of the past, keep it coming if you have more. Thanks for posting these!

[Conneyfogle]

Paul Harris (He did all the murals and paintings at the hotel) was a good friend of my Parents, he painted some huge paintings on canvas for us, one was Venus in a clam and the other was 'Mona Lisa on a motorbike'

riding through toytown, an amazing piece of art and was about 8ft by 7ft

[swandown]

Recollections from Cyril Davies

Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page

I met Jeff Beck at Eel Pie Island and I think I was playing with Cyriland he was with the Tridents…he was bloody good! The Tridents were inthe interval and I thought he was good! It's a long way back - but I doremember Jimmy Page; he used to do interval spots with other bands atthe Marquee; I don't remember the bands. We used to do Sunday afternoonsessions at the Colyer Club and he used to be in the other band. Idon't even remember what band I was in then - it must have been 'Bluesby Six' - but he would do this Sunday gig too. It was such a small scene with people shuffling around differentbands but I do remember him very well - he had a brown Gretsch likeChet Atkins. I did some sessions with him too, later on when we were onthe session scene. He and Jim Sullivan had the session scene sewn up bythen. We had a passing friendship really…just, "All right, Jim - that'sa nice guitar." I remember once he had an actual Charlie ChristianGibson which he offered for sale and I just didn't have the money,otherwise I would have bought it!

This quote is confusing. Who is supposedly saying all these things?

[kaiser]

This is a great thread. Talk about archeology, fantastic stuff.

[PlanetPage]

This quote is confusing. Who is supposedly saying all these things?

Geoff Bradfords's recollections of Cyril Davies

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cyrildavies.com/Images/wackett%2520bradford%2520rogers%2520ljb.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cyrildavies.com/Bradford.html&h=496&w=610&sz=247&tbnid=Z091bb5VoqQP0M:&tbnh=111&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djimmy%2Bpage%2Beel%2Bpie%2Bisland%2Bphotos&hl=en&usg=__cSIfo5CrK9Trqu3-T6RWCABq_5w=&ei=RYQ6S9XxA5DinAeevIz8CA&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&ved=0CAkQ9QEwAA

[Conneyfogle]

This quote is confusing. Who is supposedly saying all these things?

This quote is from Cyril Davies, Jimmy played with him on a few occasions and at the Island I think

For the initial lineup of "The Cyril Davies Blues Band," Davies recruited former members of Screaming Lord Sutch's backing group, the Savages: Carlo Little on drums, Rick Brown (a.k.a. Fenson) on bass andNicky Hopkins on piano. Carlo - "When Cyril told us he was leaving Blues Inc. we jumped at the chance to join his band."

Future Yardbird and Led Zeppelin founder Jimmy Page was the CyrilDavies Blues Band's first fleeting guitarist. Jimmy spoke of the group:"It was a fantastic band, the best blues band of the day…better than Mayall or any of the others. Cyril Davies was the real father of the City Blues in Britain. A lot of groups owe a lot to Cyril, including the Stones. Cyril played electric harp. (He) got some rock musicians who were into the blues and it just went from there. Chicks used to dance on guys shoulders and it was a really good atmosphere - they used to do this really mad dance where everyone would be shaking. (I usedto) play in the interval spot with three other guys including AndyWren, the pianist, who was really good. We didn't know each other outside the Marquee; we used to just meet up there and get up and play!"

Jimmy Page told Dave Schulps, senior editor of Trouser Press, duringa 1977 interview, "I left Neil Christian when I was about 17 and wentto Art College. During that period, I was jamming at night in a blues club. By that time the blues had started to happen, so I used to go outand jam with Cyril Davies' Interval Band. Then somebody asked me if I'd like to play on a record, and before I knew where I was I was doing all these studio dates at night, while still going to Art College in thedaytime. There was a crossroads and you know which one I took."

With Page's studio work taking precedence, ex-Savages guitarist Bernie Watson stepped in. A consummate musician, Watson turned many heads: "There's quite a few guys before Jeff (Beck) that useddistortion but you wouldn't have heard of any of them. Like Bernie Watson with Lord Sutch…he made a record with Cyril Davies which has an amazing solo, all distortion. It was like Hendrix on a good night." -Ritchie Blackmore