A folk and blues club night at the Bodega in Nottingham but with the emphasis eventually heading towards the blues. A collaborative night but a prominent name was Tim Disney who most likely was a figurehead. Tony Crosby was also a guitarist of note. By 1968 it had moved to the “Folk Cellar” in Milton’s Head at the junction of Milton Street and Lower Parliament Street where it took on an even more blues feel with a lot of the early Nottingham blues rock players meeting up and jamming.

Tim Disney would later play with Twenty Per Cent, the Red House Blues Band, Merlin’s Wake, Badger, Wave and Desperate Dann.

Tony Crosby played in the Raw Meat Blues Band, Red House Blues Band, a later line up of Woody Kern and the Houndogs.

Dave Turner was renowned folk comedian whose style was a forerunner to the likes of Billy Connolly and Jasper Carrott. He had originally been in the Nottingham group Junco Partners before striking out as a solo artist.

Other folk and blues artists local and further afield included:
Mick Cowan
Steve Whitely
Russ Merryfield
Pete Turner (Dave Turner’s brother I think)
Don Cogin ( who later played in Ma’s Own Blueberry Pie Scoffers)
Jack Dilly
The Soul Strings Group
Carol Horrich (possibly Carol Horridge who was in a very late line up of Woody Kern)
Dave Wallace
Lisa Ann
Mable Hillery
Christine Phyllis
John Bly
Mick Atkins
Melvin Romaine
Ian Campbell Folk Group
Hedy West
The Tinkers
Susan Doss
Hope and Diane Coates (Hope Howard)
Myron’s Group
Roger Norman (appeared on the “Nottingham Folk” album)
Judy & Melvin
Mike Baily
Terry Williams
John Forsyth (Leeds)
Blues and Beyond ( Bens Men Beyond Ken)

A major coup for this newly formed night must have been getting Mable Hillery on Tuesday 14th November 1967. Presented by Roger Dennis and Hugh Doyle, Mable, born 1929 in LaGrange, Georgia, was an American singer who was also a member of the Georgia Sea Island Singers. She recorded solo, was active in the civil rights movement and worked in the public school systems of both New York City and Atlanta, Georgia.

Singing with a simple blues and gospel feeling, she recorded an album in 1968 “It’s So Hard To Be A Nigger” which, unusually, has a British trad jazz sound to it, provided by Brian Greens Jazz Band.

A live performance from 1966

Mable Hillery Source 1
Mable Hillery Source 2

NEWSPAPER CUTTINGS

November 1967

December 1967

1968

January 1968

February 1968

March 1968

By March 1968 the move to the “Folk Cellar” at the Milton’s Head was well under the way, however, there were still some blues nights at the Bodega.