...... and musicians can have varied careers, so now we are denebulae in Holland, composing and recording relaxation soundscapes for Zen/chillouts.....older but not any wiser and memories of earlier days flash through conciousness like William Burroughs walk-ins….

In 1969 from Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England.....Hereford was already on the rock map with the original Mott-the Hoople band while in nearby Monmouth, at Rockfield studio, Dave Edmunds was underway and also, the highly rated progressive mellotron band, Spring were doing the South Wales valley clubs.

Meanwhile, together with Martin Chambers, Paul Cobbold, Rich Edwards and key roadie Brian “hello harry” Morgan we formed Karakorum and for the next three years were all over England and Wales playing psychedelic rock in mostly small clubs including the Marquee in London and the Cavern in Liverpool. Because we were always based in the Hereford area we became regulars at the local music shop almost opposite the cathedral. It was probably called Cathedral Music although here memory fails me.

Anyway....used to save on plectrums by breaking up old plastic razor blade packets but Paul was always needing bass guitar strings and Martin needed extra drum sticks and so we’d pop in the shop and usually get a cup of coffee offered too. That’s where I first met Jimmy Scott (as he was known to us then). He may have still been at school, and approximately fifteen years old, but at that time he was “the saturday lad” behind the counter. Always a smile, always keen to help out and ready to hear any stories we had from our latest gigs. He once actually asked for an autograph !! Of course being a singer in a rock band and we played in London…wow…

Circa 1972 Karakorum was off the road but there was still songwriting and, with Paul, recording four quick demos in a stable using a four track reel to reel machine. Vocals, bass and backing tracks were all there but we needed something like….lead guitar. Paul mentioned that Jimmy Scott guy, let’s call him over. Can he play guitar ? It was an innocent question at the time. Well, Jimmy turned up, and could he play guitar ? Oh yeah, no probs there, he plugged in, we ran a demo through for a listen and he just played along, first take, very clear finger style and all the string bend tricks.

Although our songs were in various styles from joke country and western to avant rock Jimmy just went through the lot and even acheived a pedal steel guitar effect on one number using the same normal guitar. Would love to tell you what guitar he was using but bet your bottom dollar it was something decent from that music shop. He must have been practicing and figuring it all out during those late 60’s early 70’s. Funnily enough, what we really remember about that session was he turned up with the same old cheery smile and friendly helpfulness and the usual fun and jokes that went between us as musicians in those early days. Most likely for that session he was about eighteen.

A few months later, word went around, Martin (ex Karakorum) and Verden Allen (ex Mott-the-Hoople) had formed a new band, The Cheeks and there would be a mystery try out gig in some village hall out towards the Welsh borderlands. Had to go and see what our old mates were up to so one night there we were in the middle of nowhere and met up with our old roadie “hello harry” Morgan.

So, in we go towards the stage and there’s The Cheeks playing. They were all wearing very neat, startlingly white, pressed shirts which was a surprise to start with. Image is everything. Next surprise was to see “that lad” Jimmy Scott up there as a band member. Now taller and playing away like a pair of Claptons as if it was just the most normal thing to do, which for him, it was.

It wasn’t long after this that there were other changes between musicians and band formations and...was meanwhile married with a coupla children and working on building sites. One evening in Ross there was a knock on the door. It was Martin Chambers and also, guess who, Jimmy Scott. They were travelling through to London and had popped in to say hello. “Hiya, long time no see” Jimmy walks in and they’re both full of energy and excitement.

“Get yer record player out,” says Martin as he pulls something out of his jacket and hands it to me. It’s a record, a single, one of those 45’s that were “the thing to have” before compact discs were invented. We put it on the player and sat around all ears to have a listen. When the track was over.....remember quite clearly saying….this is a number one hit.