OFF TOPIC with Steve Mixup. A place for me to tell the odd story or two about the post war rock generation. If they couldn’t change the world at least they brought us some wonderful music.

“Carl Fenn and the Mysteries”

This group was brought to my attention from a mention in the Mark Lewisohn book “The Beatles – All These Years – Extended Special Edition: Volume One: Tune In: 1”.

On page 996 in the footnotes section Mark refers to them as a Nottingham group. This set my mind racing as I hadn’t heard of this group at all and I have scanned through most of the local press from the late fifties and early sixties. In these footnotes Mark was referencing a few other British rock and roll groups from 1961 who were on the same trajectory as The Beatles.

Carl Fenn and the Mysteries were not from Nottingham. They were, in fact, from Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham. I’ll lay out the facts a little later.

Let me first start by saying that the book is a “tour de force” which means something like an exceptional achievement. It is more than that. It is monumental. Irrespective of how you might position The Beatles in a historical and cultural way you can not help but be moved by this book. Yes, it is full of research and detail but it reads like a story, one you feel you are in, with them. Yes, I’m a Beatles fan and connoisseur of the post war rock generation but there is a strong emotional element to this book probably not achieved before and without falling into the trap of hero worship.

For those who do not know who Mark Lewisohn is, the Amazon bio gives a small insight.
About the author.
MARK LEWISOHN is the acknowledged world authority on the Beatles. Before embarking on The Beatles: All These Years his books included the bestselling and influential The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions and The Complete Beatles Chronicle. He was a consultant and researcher on all aspects—TV, DVDs, CDs and book—of the Beatles own Anthology and has been involved in numerous additional projects for them. Married with two children, he lives in England.

So, Carl Fenn and the Mysteries from Nottingham, how should I describe it. A mistake, an oversight or a discrepancy. I couldn’t bring myself to say it was a mistake so a minor discrepancy will suffice. Should I even mention it. Well yes, I have too. I am sure that Mark would rather I point out what I know. Hold on. Here, I am going to say that if Mark knows something about them I don’t then it’s egg on my face and deepest apologies. Maybe Carl Fenn was originally from Nottingham or there is some other connection I’m unaware of.

Here is a little about Carl Fenn and the Mysteries.

Carl Wayne later of The Move said “There were a few other Carls in Birmingham groups in those days – Carl and The Cheetahs, Carl Fenn and The Mysteries”.

From Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham Carl Fenn and the Mysteries were formed sometime at the turn of the sixties, I presume, with probably some Skiffle background, playing the usual local venues like Streetly Youth Club. They were very active in 1961 with press coverage showing them playing in the Birmingham, West Mids, Staffordshire and Manchester regions. Rob Nichols was the guitarist and they played alongside local groups Clive Lea and The Phantoms, The Grasshoppers, The Modernaires, Jerry Lavine and The Avengers and supported bigger names like Johnny Kidd and The Pirates, Bert Weedon and Shane Fenton and The Fentones. By 1963 they had become The Krewkats, taking the name from the original group of the same name with the blessing of Jim Sullivan, recording and travelling to Germany and France.

There is an in depth look into The Krewkats with reference to Carl Fenn here.

MY ALTERNATIVE FOR MARK.

THE JAYBIRDS / IVAN JAYE AND THE JAYBIRDS

So, if Mark Lewisohn was so disposed to do so, and keep the Nottingham reference, he could replace Carl Fenn and The Mysteries with Nottingham’s own Jaybirds who were fully active by 1961. The Jaybirds became Ten Years After who, amongst other accolades, achieved Woodstock Festival fame. For those who will point out that The Jaybirds were as much a Mansfield group as Nottingham one (and by the autumn of 1960 three of the five were), I could add that the forerunner to The Jaybirds – Ivan Jaye and the Jaymen – were in fact a purely Nottingham based group before the paths of Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons would cross sometime in the autumn of 1960 with a new line up and name of “Ivan Jaye and The Jaycats” before opting for The Jaybirds moniker in August 1961.

Feb 2025