The Hustlers were a rock and roll group formed at Nottingham University in late 1961 and finally coming to an end in the summer of 1964. Their story was told in a short piece by group member Martyn Pettifer in the Nottingham University alumni magazine in February 2021 “Connect” “The Hustlers – the University’s first rock group” which I have used as the backbone of this refreshed article after I contacted Martyn and fleshed out a little more while the memory survives.

Martyn Pettifer was born and bred in Watford in 1942. His parents were Robert (a blind physiotherapist) and Nancy (a nurse). There were no professional musicians in his family but when he attended Bushey Grammar School in Aldenham Road he played double bass and then the banjo in the school band. His musical influences followed the usual path in the mid to late fifties of jazz and rock n roll, listening to the radio and hearing blues records. At this time thousands of teenagers in Britain were listening to the different sounds coming from America and starting to form bands, starting with simple skiffle groups and evolving into a British style rock and roll.

After securing a place at Nottingham University studying Civil Engineering he arrived in October 1960 for his first term and found himself in the hectic world of student life. Grabbing any opportunity to play music he would join in with ad hoc trad jazz groups (on banjo). The Market Square in Nottingham was a meeting place for many musicians and Martyn soon found himself joining in.
“often in Slab Square during Rag Week”. “Johnny Crocker was the local jazzer who made good. A great clarinettist / saxophonist who would ask to sit in with rubbish players like us and say “Thanks, Lads. Really enjoyed it”. Lovely man. All I can repeat, though, is that he was generous in spirit (true of most musicians in my experience) and genuinely enjoyed playing and collaborating with others far below his standards, and didn’t try to make us look small or foolish”.

John Reginald Crocker was born in West Bridgford, Nottingham 19th October 1937. A great clarinettist and saxophonist his early forays into music were with the Eagle Jazz Band, the Trevor Jones Jazzmen and Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six. In June 1962 he joined The Mike Cotton Sound alongside another Nottingham born lad Dave Rowberry who later joined The Animals as Alan Price’s replacement. Starting out as a trad jazz band the Mike Cotton Sound adopted the mod r’n’b, soul and pop sounds of the 60’s and they were a great club act. John then joined Chris Barbers band in 1968 and remained in the jazz tradition from then on.

Martyn picks up the Hustlers story:
“It’s not just the rosy lens of nostalgia that suggests the 1960s were the best of times for pop music. They really were. Even on campus. Dances on Saturday nights in The Portland Building had been dominated until then by the Len Mason Orchestra, a fine bunch of musicians, but performing ‘strictly’ in the Bump and Glide tradition. However, the coming era of Merseybeat was to change this dramatically. None of us there will forget the huge excitement generated at The Elizabethan Ballroom above Cooperative House on Parliament Street on 7 March 1963 by four little known groups from the Brian Epstein stable – The Big Three, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, Gerry and The Pacemakers and The Beatles – playing their first live gig in Nottingham”.

“Little more than two years before this musical revolution, two second year engineering undergraduates, Richard Eldridge (Mechanical) and Martyn Pettifer (Civil), found during shared lectures (especially Maths!) a common interest in Buddy Holly, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Eddie Cochran, Billy Fury, and “Moody Guy” Shane Fenton”.

Shane Fenton and the Fentones achieved some notable success in pre Beatles Britain with four top forty hits, regular appearances on Saturday Club and touring on rock’n’roll package show events as British Rock and Roll started to find it’s own identity. Bernard William Jewry (Shane Fenton) was born in London in 1942 but moved with his family at a young age and was raised in Mansfield, Notts becoming the lead singer of the Fentones after Johnny Theakstone (the original Shane Fenton) died at the age of 17. The Fentones split in 1964 but Bernard Jewry would later reinvent himself in the seventies as Alvin Stardust and have another successful career.

“Soon they (The Hustlers) were jamming, with Richard on rhythm guitar, Martyn on bass guitar and Paul Winchester (Mining) on drums. They went on to establish The Hustlers in the autumn term of 1961, recruiting Bill Walker (Geography, later Dip. Ed) on lead guitar and a fresher Stuart Hamilton (Zoology) on vocals, who was found after advertising for a singer on the Students’ Union notice-board”.

Richard was from Chobham in Surrey. Bill Walker was from Northampton. Stuart Hamilton came from Darlington. His older brother was Ian Hamilton a well known literary critic, reviewer, biographer, poet, magazine editor and publisher who started the highly influential Literary Review. Stuart and Ian were born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Their parents were Scottish and had moved to Norfolk in 1936. The family moved to Darlington in 1951 where their civil engineer father died a few months later.

The Hustlers #1 1961 to Spring 1962 – Original line up
Richard Eldridge (Rhythm guitar)
Martyn Pettifer (Bass)
Paul Winchester (Drums)
Bill Walker (Lead guitar)
Stuart Hamilton (Vocals)

“The group name was chosen after rather too many pints in tribute to the super-cool Paul Newman film “The Hustler” then much in vogue. Initial bookings were in Halls of Residence at undergraduate parties where conditions could be a bit primitive (it was not unknown for amplifiers to be plugged into the ceiling). Later came a long-term residency alongside Len Mason at Union hops in the Portland building”.

Drummer Paul Winchester left the group quite early, around Spring 1962 and was replaced by Dave Putt (Electrical Engineering) who was from Plymouth as they racked up gig after gig in a time when live music was abundant.

The Hustlers #2 Spring 1962 to Late 1962
Richard Eldridge (rhythm guitar)
Martyn Pettifer (Bass)
Dave Putt (Drums)
Bill Walker (Lead guitar)
Stuart Hamilton (Vocals)

“Other appearances included a Saturday morning show at The Theatre Royal in a band ‘competition’, but there were few takers. I plugged my bass into the massive speaker used in the theatre – blew away all the 30 watt amps the rest of the group were playing!, gigs at Bramcote, The Palais, The Air Squadron Beeston, Dancing Slipper, Ericsson’s Beeston, Festival Inn Trowell, Loughborough Uni Royce Hall, The Mansfield Town Football Supporters Club, but didn’t catch sight of Shane Fenton! The Trent Bridge Inn (occasionally sharing the stage with The Jaybirds starring the virtuoso guitarist/singer Alvin Lee, later of Ten Years After fame), The Cock at Ripley, Summer Balls at Florence Boot, Florence Nightingale and Hugh Stew, as well as an amusing mis-booking for a formal dance at The Air Training Corps in Beeston, where the group was asked to play the valeta! “We managed to stumble through the evening by endlessly performing in waltz time “Walk – Don’t Run” by the Ventures”.

“Ah, West Bridgford…. played a good few times at the TBI, including on the same bill as The Jaybirds. And with our ‘old mate’ from the Saturday night University gigs, Len Mason. Indeed, The Hustlers caused Len all sorts of trouble when we shared the stage at the TBI. At the time he was local Chairman of the Musicians Union, and he got fined for playing on the same bill as non-members! We were so embarrassed that we joined the MU as soon as we found out about his fine. As befits a gentleman, as Len was, he didn’t say anything himself, we learnt through a third party. No excuses – we were just young lads, getting an education, and enjoying ourselves without thinking about the implications! (I kept my out of date MU card – though no longer relevant – until it got lost in a house move about 10 years ago). One thing’s for sure – The Jaybirds were acknowledged as ‘Best in Town’ at that time”.

Rod Taylor (Law) from South Manchester was a friend of the group and became their booking agent.

“He brought steely-eyed flair and chutzpah to improving the quality of the bookings after volunteering to become the group’s agent (good practice for later years when took on the slightly more successful Mike Yarwood)”. 

It was Rod who organised and financed The Hustlers’ only recording session in 1962 at the Magnegraph Studios in Hanway Place off Oxford Street, London. Rod played guitar too, writing some songs of his own. He strummed through a song and the group picked it up, practiced and put it in the set to be recorded.

Magnegraph was a company based in London incorporated in 1951 and dissolved in 1980. They hired out tape and music equipment and also had recording facilities. They were a small operation who would advertise in the magazine of the day “Tape Recording”

The record would show-case the group’s signature number “Moody Guy”; “Summertime” featuring Bill Walker’s haunting solo; “Exclusively Yours”, and Rod’s own composition “Well what do you know”. We recorded there because London was central for the band members, including Rod Taylor who booked the venue. Rod booked a terrific session drummer Martin who needed but one run through on each title before the final ‘take’. Dave Putt was our usual drummer when we recorded at Magnegraph, but he lived in Plymouth & couldn’t afford the trip to London. I recall Stuart Hamilton (vocals) had a dreadful cold on the day, and lost his voice half an hour before we entered the studio. Hot lemon and honey (or was it brandy??) improved matters with minutes to spare and he did well in the circumstances. I played an old Fenton-Weill bass guitar which I customised a bit by cutting away part of the body at the top to give better finger access to the top of the neck. Bill and Richard both played full-bodied acoustic instruments with pick-ups (possibly Hofner?).
It was cut onto a 10″ disc, all four tracks on one side, the other being blank. About 50 were made for group members and their families. Rod used the rest as promotion for his own song”.
“A typical Hustlers set didn’t include any of Rod’s numbers. Indeed, we didn’t even play any of them them in our final line-up when he fronted the band! Not sure why he never pushed it then, but he didn’t. We learnt it a few days before recording, and that was that. I know he tried to flog them around Tin Pan Alley in London, but without success despite his extraordinarily high self-confidence and chutzpah.

Recording Line Up
Stuart Hamilton – Vocals
Bill Walker – Lead Guitar
Richard Eldridge – Rhythm Guitar
Martyn Pettifer – Bass Guitar
Martin ?? – Drums (A session drummer booked for the session)

Obviously, this is a very rare recording with only approximately 50 copies being made for the band and families with Rod keeping the surplus to hawk them around various music publishers with the hope of getting a deal. The four songs chosen were a snapshot of their live set as it was in 1962.

Hear the songs here

“Exclusively Yours” was written by Carl Dobkins Jr. but made well known in Britain by Mark Wynter releasing it on Decca in 1961. The ever popular “Summertime” was written by George Gershwin and first performed in the American opera “Porgy and Bess” in 1935. “I’m a Moody Guy” was written by Jerry Lordan (famous for Apache amongst others) and performed by Shane Fenton and the Fentones. “Well what do you know” was written by Rod Taylor (The Hustlers agent and later to be a band member). The group didn’t like this song very much and didn’t perform any of Rod’s songs at their gigs. Like many groups the self penned number was yet to find it’s way into the setlist for a Saturday night dance. My own thoughts are that while Rod’s song isn’t a world beater it sits well with the rest of the songs capturing that simple pre Beatles British rock and roll sound and with the passing of time is a priceless document of the emerging home grown song writing that was to become a dominant force as the British invasion took hold. So hats off to Rod for having a go.

Rod Taylor eventually took over on rhythm guitar from Richard Eldridge in 1963, who felt that passing exams was possibly more important than a pop career.

The Hustlers #3 Early 1963
Rod Taylor (rhythm guitar)
Martyn Pettifer (Bass)
Dave Putt (Drums)
Bill Walker (Lead guitar)
Stuart Hamilton (Vocals)

In March 1963 Martyn got a ticket to a dance at the Elizabethan Rooms. It would be a notable date in Nottingham music history as the first appearance here by The Beatles.

“I went to the Beatles dance at the Co-op with 2 fellow students (not any Hustlers). It was a terrific occasion. Usual gathering of boys around dance floor perimeter, watching girls dance and deciding which couple to break up for a dance. Big Three on first (good, tight group, energetic), followed by Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas (smooth, tuneful, good looking, polished), Gerry & The Pacemakers (excellent, very talented front man and musician, huge personality, obviously going places), finally The Beatles (incredible, everyone stopped dancing and crowded round the stage to view and listen, extraordinary sound to our ears – no echo chamber, very straight, sharp notes, huge personalities particularly John & Paul, Love Me Do in the charts, just about to release Please Please Me which they played – blew everyone away. All audience agreed this was a certain no 1 – bear in mind they were at the time very little known outside Liverpool. An extraordinary night. Don’t forget it was billed as a dance and only cost about £1 admission if I remember rightly. It certainly was no more than we usually paid for a dance. Great days!”

Actually “Please, Please Me” had already got to the top of the charts when The Beatles first played here but in the melee and growing hysteria and the passage of over 60 years we will allow Martyn’s slightly revised memory.

The Hustlers were still gigging at every opportunity. Martyn expands on some of the numbers they would perform.

“Stuart’s vocals and his preferences lent themselves to Buddy Holly covers (That’ll be the Day; Well All Right; Everyday; Raining in My Heart; Heartbeat; It Doesn’t Matter Anymore; It’s So Easy; Take Your Time, Listen To Me, Peggy Sue), and Billy Fury covers (I’ll Never Find Another You; Halfway To Paradise). These were staples in our repertoire, and we all liked them anyway. We also (by demand) did Liverpool Sound stuff (Please Please Me, Love Me Do, Do You Want to Know a Secret, Hippy Hippy Shake). Obviously we recognised we weren’t a patch on the originals, but the audience wanted them anyway! Ditto items from the Top 10, but we were pretty choosy if we weren’t keen on them.
We also always included some of own favourite blues tinged stuff from Ray Charles (What Did I Say? – included a 5 minute drum solo from Dave Putt, other than the occasion when the other band members left him sweating alone on stage for 20 minutes or more, laughing in the wings. He still hasn’t forgotten or forgiven us!),  Walking The Dog by Rufus Thomas, Memphis Tennessee by Chuck Berry, Twist & Shout by the Isley Brothers (always my vocals to save Stuart’s or Rod’s voice!). Other stuff we enjoyed and played regularly included Shakin’ All Over, I’ll Never Got Over You by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Walk Don’t Run by The Ventures, Nivram by The Shadows, Do You Wanna Dance by Cliff Richard (a particular rave at Uni gigs). Rod even did a swing version of La Mer by Charles Trenet in the original French, which was useful as it could also be played in waltz time when we were booked for traditional dances (not our forte!!!). Ditto Walk Don’t Run, when, unbelievably, a valeta was requested (we laughed about that for years, but there was a method in the madness – the valeta, like a waltz, is in triple time but faster).     
I suspect like all bands we had a tighter and more polished play list when appearing formally on stage or dias, and responded to audience requests at parties and other informal gatherings (the majority in our early days). 
I’m sure there’s loads I’ve missed but I hope this gives you a flavour of our performances.

“Also memorable, but for the wrong reasons, was the 21st Birthday Party for Bridget Page (Soc. Admin.) on November 22nd 1963 when the dreadful news came through about President Kennedy’s assassination.”

“There was some low key competition with the other undergraduate group at Nottingham University, The Midknights, when they formed later, but it was a friendly rivalry. Indeed, the Midknight’s lead guitarist, Mike Northcott, sat in for Bill Walker on occasion when he was away on teaching practice during his Dip.Ed. year”.

When Bill Walker left Nottingham in 1963 to start teaching, The Hustlers found a freshman, Graham Page (Physics) to take over on lead guitar, with Rod adding vocals to rhythm guitar when Stuart Hamilton was sadly sent down after failing his first year exams. This was the group’s final line-up.

The Hustlers #4 1963 to 1964 – Final line up “The last four men standing”
Rod Taylor (rhythm guitar, Vocals)
Martyn Pettifer (Bass)
Dave Putt (Drums)
Graham Page (Lead guitar)

The Hustlers played well into 1964 and for a time where known as Rod Taylor and the Discounts but this name change wasn’t appreciated by the other group members so they reverted back to the original name.

As Rod Taylor and the Discounts they supported Pete Maclaine and the Just Four Men at Nottingham University in 1964. Pete’s group originated in Liverpool but relocated to Manchester eventually becoming the now revered psychedelic band Wimple Winch. This story is told at the Manchester Beat website and Rod Taylor gets a mention as he was by then an assistant to famous TV producer John Hamp and actually recorded a version of “Trains and Boats and Planes” with the Just For Men as the backing band just for fun after they had turned it down when offered first to record it. The version Rod Taylor sung with the Just Four Men has surfaced on the CD Tales from the sinking ship and here is the song on YouTube.

This was The Hustlers final line-up, the last four men standing eventually dispersing into the real world upon graduation in the summer of 1964.

“The Sixties were a terrific time to be studying (?) at Nottingham. There might have been only 2,500 students, but you could always find a soul mate to share interests and expand your horizons. The Hustlers were a group that took full advantage of what the University had to offer. Hopefully, we also gave something back if only in the memories of those who were there.”

Where are they now? (This was from the original Connect article in February 2021)

Richard Eldridge – qualified as an accountant, became one of financier Jim Slater’s lieutenants, set up the quoted investment vehicle Eldridge Stableford, moved into oil and property, and ‘retired’ to Padstow.

Martyn Pettifer – enjoyed a career in civil engineering, management consultancy and regeneration. Now retired, living in Arundel, trying to finish scribing the score for his musical ‘Jack The Lad’. 

Paul Winchester – worked for Shell drilling for and producing oil around the world, then went consulting. He retired to Australia, and is growing old disgracefully.

Bill Walker – taught before finding financial services a more lucrative pastime. He lives in Northampton.

Stuart Hamilton – went to work for Oxford University Press, later setting up his own publishing company, Ethnographica Ltd, operating in Nigeria. Whereabouts unknown. 

Dave Putt – emigrated to Canada, where he secured an MSc teaching scholarship at Toronto University before becoming Director of Facilities. Now retired. 

Graham Page – it is believed continued playing at Nottingham until his graduation. Whereabouts unknown. 

Rod Taylor – became a producer at Granada, later Agent to Mike Yarwood. Whereabouts unknown.

On leaving Nottingham University Rod Taylor joined Granada TV in 1964 and forged a career that saw him work with musicians, comedians and actors across the spectrum. A few are listed here.

From the Lancashire Telegraph 21st May 2004.

Bury Grammar School “old boys” spent a night with the stars when former Granada TV production man Rod Taylor addressed their annual dinner. A total of 174 guests attended the event held at the school. The annual Founder’s Day dinner is the premier calendar event for “old boys” of all ages, who live all over the country. Mr Taylor, himself an ex-Bury Grammar School pupil, joined Granada TV after leaving university. His hilarious address featured numerous anecdotes which recalled the days when he worked alongside many of the top comedians, such as Morecambe and Wise and Tommy Cooper. Mr Taylor is now retired and he has become a well-known raconteur and after-dinner speaker.

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From Martyn Pettifer, 4th May 2022.

It was certainly worth the wait. It reads very well indeed. Really most impressive and a terrific permanent legacy for all the members of The Hustlers over the years. Thank you so much on behalf of us all for all your hard work and research.. Especially poignant as I’ve recently heard that Dave Putt died in Canada in March this year after a short illness. And Bill Walker died in 2014, after suffering from Parkinson’s for some time. 
Had no idea Rod Taylor sang briefly with The Four Just Men! Amazing to hear his voice again. I’m back in touch with him after reading a letter he wrote to Daily Mail following the death of his old friend Lionel Blair. The paper kindly provided his contact details in Hale, Cheshire, not far I think from where he grew up. He’s still doing after dinner speaking, particularly on cruise boats, relating his show biz anecdotes to all the Old Timers. 
Once again, many thanks for your sterling efforts. It’s very much appreciated (even if you had to pick me up on my Alzheimer’s moment with “Please, please me”, albeit only a few weeks out!). 
Very Best Regards Martyn