Nottingham band 1980-82

A three piece band with a pop, mod, new wave sound.

Line up:
Jon Blake: Bass Guitar, Vocals and co-song writer
Dave Nutt: Guitar, Vocals, co-songwriter
Ged Higgins: Drums

Hear six songs from various demo tapes here.

Jon Blake who was a member of the band and now an author, got in touch and gave me a brief history.

I was born near Reading, grew up in Southampton, lived in Nottingham 1980-87: worked in Manfield Shoes, Chilwell Comp, Beeston (Broxtowe) College and the International Community Centre. There were no musicians in the immediate family but I was related to one of the UK’s first cinema organists. As a kid I was brainwashed into classical music by my dad, an electrician whose main claim to fame was electrifying the 1969 IOW festival ( see www.iow69.wordpress.com). But I secretly loved a lot of Motown and the top sixties bands. In the 70s it was punk, especially the Jam, and reggae, Steel Pulse, followed by Two Tone, all of which influenced the Cutouts, who were energetic tuneful pop new wave.

I came to Nottingham after a year teaching in Peterborough which I hated! My then girlfriend was in Loughborough – I didn’t want to live there and had always fancied Nottingham going through there in the train, so just came on spec. I didn’t regret it. I played bass and sang in the Cutouts, but having had little encouragement as a child, didn’t start playing instruments till I was 16 – guitar and electric organ. I was encouraged to be a writer, however, and did succeed at this – first books came out while I was living in Nottm.

The other members of the Cutouts were Dave Nutt (guitar, vocals, co-songwriter) and Ged Higgins (drums). Pretty sure I met Dave through a music shop ad; we played each other some of our songs and seemed compatible. Then I think we advertised for a drummer who gave us a much harder edge. The first gig was in some pub in Ilkeston to zero people, but ended up playing in the usual Nottm venues and our following grew. The Cutouts were a big draw from 1981-83 regularly packing out venues such as the Imperial, the Ad Lib and the TBI . We rehearsed at the Irish Centre and recorded at Rainbow studio initially, then Spaceward in Cambridge.

I didn’t mention earlier that we had a weekly residency at the Admiral Duncan, whose barmaid Maria became my partner for the next 10 years! I followed that Admiral Duncan barmaid to Cardiff where I’ve been ever since.

I’ve located a Cutouts tape which I knew to be damaged and managed to straighten it and install it into a new cassette which worked perfectly. I’ve cleaned up the sound as well as I could and the results are not bad for a 45-y-o recording – certainly give a good sense of what the band was like (sounds like a cross between the Jam and Two Tone to my ears today).

After The Cutouts came to an end Jon and Ged were in a band called the Pump Actions, less poppy, more expressionistic, a bit Talking Heads.  They only played a few gigs. 

Jon Blake later became involved in the Nottingham Music Combine.

Jon Blake made another recording of ‘Losing My Self Control’ himself.

Jon Blake: Author of Thimble Monkey Superstar and 60 more: www.jonblake.co.uk