This is the story of one of Nottingham’s best loved bands of the 1970’s.

Gaffa were formed in late 1971, early 1972, and played their first gig in April 1972 but most of the band members roots can be traced back into the sixties. From the very beginning they wrote their own material, gigged and entertained through thick and thin, but never softened their straight ahead approach to down to earth rock. With short danceable songs and witty lyrics that referenced Nottingham they preceded and matched punk with their street attitude.

Along with stable mates Plummet Airlines they provided a much needed release for the music fans of mid seventies Nottingham who wanted more than a covers band or the excess of the musical intelligencia. A fine example of quality rock with ‘pub rock’ and “new wave” sensibilities, a Gaffa gig was, one of a sweaty, beer fuelled night full of fun and frolics.

They released independent records, recorded for television and radio and were well received by the music press but never quite got the break that would have allowed them to prosper nationally. At the end of 1981 they called it a day morphing into The Florida Snow Shifters and eventually following their own solo endeavours.

Gaffa have had an array of members led by Wayne Evans and Mick Barratt from the very beginning which has included John Maslen, Clive ‘Myph’ Smith, Brendan Kidulis, Kevin Unwin (Stan Marshall), Paul Cronk, John Herod, Richard Ronson, Colin Addison (Tan Eye) and Steve Otter. All the Gaffa family have remained friends, often working together under other guises, and when they reformed in the twenty first century they hadn’t lost any of that fire that made them fan favourites. Time may have passed and many others have trod the same steps but it could be argued that Gaffa are the best representative of grass roots rock that Nottingham has ever produced.

On a personal level, I have fond memories of seeing Gaffa play during my teenage years at the Imperial on St James Street, on the bandstand at Victoria Embankment, the back room of the Town Arms and other venues now twisted into one hazy vision. Later in life I have got to know the lads, even working with Wayne Evans on musical projects, and no doubt I will be biased towards their place in the local music scene but I feel it is a warranted bias and like all good stories should provide a window into that treasured time full of youthful bravado.

Discography

LINE UPS

Line ups have sometimes been a little fluid so these are the best solid line ups/changes that I can substantiate.

1st (1972/73) (1st Settled line up)
Wayne Evans: Bass, Mick Barratt: Drums, John Herod: Guitar, Richard Ronson: Guitar

2nd (late 73-74 )
Wayne Evans: Bass, Mick Barratt: Drums, John Herod: Guitar, Paul Cronk: Guitar
(Pelham Street Line up. Feb 74.) (Castle Rock album line up 74)

3rd (early 1974) Paul Cronk left but remained friends. Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall) joined
Wayne Evans: Bass, Mick Barratt: Drums, John Herod: Guitar, Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall): Guitar

4th (Summer 74) (Trio) (Windsor Festival Line up) (Toton Tapes) (Radio Nottm session)
Wayne Evans: Bass, Mick Barratt: Drums, Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall): Guitar

5th (74-75) John Maslen joins approx Aug/ Sept 74 (Radio Nottm session)
Wayne Evans: Bass, Mick Barratt: Drums, John Maslen: Guitar, Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall): Guitar

6th (Nov 1975 – 76) (3 Guitar Line up)
Wayne Evans: Bass, Mick Barratt: Drums, John Maslen: Guitar, Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar, Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall): Guitar

7th (76- april 78) (5 Piece with Keyboards) Brendan replacing Kev Unwin. (Released 4 track EP in 1977)
Wayne Evans: Bass, Mick Barratt: Drums, John Maslen: Guitar, Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar, Brendan Kidulis: Keyboards

8th (april 78-80) (Classic line up) (Album and singles)
Wayne Evans: Bass, Mick Barratt: Drums, John Maslen: Guitar, Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar

9th (80) (post Mick Barratt line up) John Maslen filling in on drums.
Wayne Evans: Bass, John Maslen: Drums, Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar

10th (80-81) (New drummer line up)
Wayne Evans: Bass, John Maslen: Guitar, Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar, Colin Addison (Tan Eye) (from Far Image) Drums

11th (81-82) (last line up with Steve Otter formerly with Desperate Dann)
Wayne Evans: Bass, John Maslen: Guitar, Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar, Steve Otter: Drums

By Christmas 1981 they were going under the name of Bolshoi Bullett and in 1982 with the addition of Dawn Foxhall they became The Florida Snow Shifters.

GAFFA FAMILY TREE

Below is an old family tree I put together. It needs updating and it is not great quality but until I get round to it, this will have to do.

THE BEGINNINGS

The best known line up of Gaffa was near the end of the seventies with a four piece consisting of Wayne Evans: Bass & Vocals, Mick Barrett: Drums, John Maslen: Guitar and Clive ‘Myph’ Smith: Guitar but there were many earlier versions before this stable line up came together. Although all the members of the band had prior histories before joining the band, John Maslen’s going back to the late fifties, and all contributed to compositions within the band, it was Wayne Evans who was the chief song writer and it is his meeting with Mick Barratt that was the birth of Gaffa in 1971 and it is with Wayne that our story starts.

Wayne Evans was born in 1953 on the Ainsley Estate, tucked in between Western Boulevard and the River Leen near Radford.

“I loved words and I used to write songs from a young age. I was only about six or seven and one of the first songs I ever wrote was inspired by Canning Circus. The mix of a circus and a pub“. “Elephants in the brandy, Monkeys in the shandy“. Starting at the Peveril Bilateral School, Robin’s Wood Road off Beechdale Road in 1964 a chance meeting with a fellow pupil on the first day set Wayne off on a trajectory that would dictate a large part of his life. Earlier in the summer Wayne had been on a trip to London with his dad. While there, Wayne’s dad bought him a shirt. It was a cool brown with gold mod shirt. Wayne wore it on his first day at school. It was close to the uniform colours so he was able to get away with it on that day. Wayne also had a “Steve Marriot” type haircut. Paul Summers known as Beano was also starting school that day and tapped Wayne on the shoulder and asked “Are you in a band?”. Wayne said no whereupon Beano said “Well you look like you should be”. From that moment Wayne followed a path towards music and song writing.

In 1967, the television programme “The Prisoner” starring Patrick McGoohan as No.6 was catching the eye of the sixties youth generation and mystifying the older generation in equal measures. Wayne showed which side he was on with a photo collage using a photobooth picture which was from a few years earlier and a piece of a cigarette packet. The psychedelic revolution was happening and “When the Beatles went weird I pricked up my ears“.

The day that Wayne met Paul “Beano” Summers at school started off his career in music and it wasn’t long before they put a group together “The Tadpole Lane and District County Council Charity Band“. The six piece group found its way onto television in 1968 meeting George Martin and Spike Milligan among others.

You can read about “The Tadpole Lane and District County Council Charity Band” who were active between 1965 and 1970 here.

1970

After the “Tadpoles”, Wayne joined Nick Turners band “High Bread Mishap“ who were active from 1969 to 1971. Drummer Mick Barratt was in a group called “Hogweed” in 1970 and when they folded he joined an already disintegrating High Bread Mishap for the last few gigs and Mick and Wayne formed a bond.

1971

When High Bread Mishap came to an end in the summer of ’71 Wayne and Mick decided to form their own group and this was the foundation of Gaffa. For a while they practiced with old friends and band mates. Mick O’Gorman from High Bread Mishap was one. Mick decided to move on and eventually Wayne recruited some of his old “Tadpole” band mates John Herod and Richard Ronson.

FIRST LINE UP

By 1971 they were rehearsing and decided on the name “GAFFA” which means “The Boss”, a word used in work environments and any other role with a boss. The first solid gigging line up was:

1st Line up (1972-73)
Wayne Evans: Bass Guitar
Mick Barrett: Drums
John Herod: Guitar
Richard Ronson: Guitar

Gaffa gigs/sessions/events – A rough guide

1972

1st gig – March/April 1972

Gaffa were asked by a girl if they could play a gig in honour of three friends who had died in a tragedy in February 1972. Stephen Graham (15) of 63 Calverton Road, Arnold, Martin King (20) of Dorset Street, Radford and John Burnett (22) New Vale, Shankhill, Dublin died on Tuesday 8th February, 1972 from Carbon Monoxide poisoning in a house in Arnold.

Stephen’s mother was Catherine Mary Graham. She let the 3 lads and a girl stay overnight at 63 Calverton Road, Arnold, her home. Before leaving for work early in the morning she woke the girl and shouted her son. The girl must have woke and left because she didn’t die and I presume it is the girl that asked Gaffa to play. When Catherine returned in the evening the three youths were dead with their guitars by their sides. They had been having a “pop session” as it was described in the press. They had been smoking Cannabis but the Coroner dismissed this as anything to do with his verdict. Gaffa rehearsed in the church building near to Hyson Green crossing and played the gig.

Saturday 17th June – Free Rock Concert at the Bandstand, Trent Bridge. Gaffa with Barracuda and Phonograph and billed as Nottingham’s top progressive bands.

The bandstand, built in 1937 and was a regular summer location for open air events and rock concerts throughout the seventies. Read about the Bandstand.
Barracuda were from Mansfield and featured at various times Dave Eppel: Guitar, Steve Harris: Percussion, John Ponka: Sax and Flute, Adrian Armstrong: Guitars, Bruno Brunning: Keyboards and percussion, Terry Horbury: Bass guitar. Phonograph was a duo of Tim Disney and Dave Green playing country blues.

Sunday 17th June – Moor Farm Inn, Off Coventry Lane, Bramcote.
During 1972 there was a new wave of hard rock bands following in the wake of the rock giants like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Led Zeppelin and various venues were starting to put on a “Heavy” night to cater for these new groups. Moor Farm Inn, The Plough and Harrow in Hucknall, the Regency in Ilkeston, Golden Diamond, Sutton-in-Ashfield and the Imperial in Nottingham were among these establishments promoting the new heavy sound. To get things kicking it was often the home grown talent that played first and Gaffa found themselves at Moor Farm a few times on a Sunday night in 1972.

Gaffa “A great New Group in the Moor Farm tradition on the Heavy and Pop scene”.
Opened in 1970, Moor Farm Inn, was formerly the 200 year old farm house of Moor Farm. In the early seventies it had a range of groups and nights which would include the new heavy groups of the era like Judas Priest and broadcaster John Holmes would often DJ there. Folk nights and club bands all could find a spot in the busy establishment.

Saturday July 15th – Market Square – Gaffa played as part of the Nottingham Festival celebrations.

From the Evening Post “I Wonder if correspondent Auntie who recently wrote about trouble at pop festivals was in the Market Square last Saturday, and noted there was no trouble just feet tapping and applause from a large crowd at the performance by Gaffa, the local pop group?”

15th July 1972 – at the Plough and Harrow, Hucknall.

Sunday 30th July 1972 – at Moor Farm Inn Bramcote.

Nottingham’s premier Free House. Great beers, great food, great entertainment.
Gaffa “Andy Cap’s favourite heavy group”

September 1972

As advertised in the National Press owing to illness Roxy Music have had to cancel all their engagements for September-October therefore will be unable to appear at the Concert Hall, Broad Street, Tuesday September 26th. Fortunately BLACKFOOT SUE have offered to stand in so the concert with full supporting groups will go ahead as arranged. Tickets already purchased will be valid if so desired. Actually Roxy Music had just been catapulted into the top ten singles chart and pulled out of the gig.

Tuesday 26th September 1972

7.30 p.m. Concert Hall, Broad Street, Nottingham. Live in concert Blackfoot Sue (“Standing in the Road” – No. 4). Plus Barracuda and Gaffa. Compere Midlands No. 1 D.J Petal. Tickets 70p From Selecta-Disc and Rediffusion. 80p on night. Sale of Records in Foyer.

Wednesday 1st November 1972

at Moor Farm Inn. Nottingham leading free house pub. Free: Gaffa, local heavy rock band. Great. Nottingham’s famous heavy rock band.

1973

Thursday March 1st

at the Concorde, 8 Green Lane (Off Park Road), Ilkeston. Fully licensed freehouse restaurant till midnight. Group night, Dance or listen to Gaffa. Admission free to everyone. The next Friday 2nd (Admission 15p) and Saturday 3rd (Admission 20p) nights was headed by “Elixir”. The Sunday lunchtime exotic dancer was Josephine Sapphire and the evenings entertainment was provided by Butch and the Scorpions.

April 6th 1973 – In 1973 Gaffa supported Scottish group Nazareth and I suspect it was the following gig at the “Regency” in Ilkeston.

May Friday 25th
Gaffa support Fusion Orchestra at the Regency, Ilkeston. Friday rock scene 25th May. This week’s group: Fusion Orchestra plus Gaffa. Admission 60p, 7.30 p.m. – 11.30 p.m.

Fusion Orchestra were a progressive rock band who had in their ranks Jill Saward who would eventually become the lead singer in Shakatak.

June Friday 1st – Gaffa supporting McGuinness Flint who were a rock band formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness, a bassist and guitarist with Manfred Mann, and Hughie Flint, former drummer with John Mayall.

Gaffa support McGuinness Flint at the Regency, Ilkeston. Friday rock scene 1st June. This week’s group: McGuinness Flint plus Gaffa. Admission 60p, 7.30 p.m. – 11.30 p.m.

June 23rd 1973 – Bandstand, Victoria Embankment – Gaffa play on the bandstand again as part of Nottingham Festival.

September/October 1973 – Swoop (London group)

Gaffa were 18 months into their career with plenty of gigs but Wayne was still looking for any opportunity to further his own career and at the beginning of October 1973 he answered an advertisement in the back of the music press for a Bass Guitarist. He got an audition with a group called Swoop who were based in the suburbs of outer London and this was a chance of making it in the big city. He was immediately invited to join but he soon learned they weren’t up to the standard he was used to.

“The drummer was a nice lad, a spotty Jewish boy, but not that hot as a musician. The lead singer modelled himself as a Steve Marriot figure and was the leader but lacked any real dynamism. They had the backing of rich benefactor and therefore could afford equipment and attract a manager”

For Wayne’s first and only outing with the band he found himself being taken in the van to the Plough and Harrow in Hucknall. He had tried to escape Nottingham and in a trick of fate had to return to his home territory.

“The band were pitiful. In front of a bunch of bikers in Hucknall you’ve got to have something about you and they just didn’t have it. To add to that, when we back at the house in London the lead singer guy said he was the only one who could bring a girl back to the house. I said OK, and lay on my bed thinking, but that’s one of the reasons we are in rock n roll. I packed my bags and returned to Nottingham. The whole thing was over in a week or so. Mick and the rest of the lads in Gaffa never knew I’d even been away.”

= = = = = = = =

SECOND LINE UP

Sometime late in 1973 Paul Cronk replaced Richard Ronson on guitar and the second line up is now:

2nd (73-74)
Wayne Evans: Bass Guitar
Mick Barrett: Drums
John Herod: Guitar
Paul Cronk: Guitar

Paul Cronk had been a solo performer and also in Wyndfall with Quentin Hood and Jenny Antcliffe.

Paul Cronk and Steve Otter, soon to be in Desperate Dann and many years later Gaffa as they morphed into the Florida Snow Shifters, were working under Colin Staples at Jack Brentnall’s music shop on Goldsmith Street. There was a reported robbery in December 1972.

Gaffa support rising Welsh hard rock group Budgie at the Albany Hotel in Nottingham.

During 1973 Wayne Evans and Paul Cronk also put a duo together to take part in a Melody Maker Folk/Rock competition. In-between Gaffa gigs drummer Mick Barratt would play occasional gigs with club pop group “Strawberry Fields” and Welfares throughout Notts.

1974

Jan 5th 1974 – Paul Carrick’s band “Ace” play at the Musters. Future Gaffa member John Maslen had returned to live in Nottingham after years away in Manchester and London and knew the group as they had all met and worked together at Mike Finesilver’s Pathway Studio in the early seventies. John Maslen sat in on a couple of numbers at this gig at the Musters Hotel in west Bridgford. During 1973 and 1974 DJ Petal promoted up and coming “Pub Rock” bands at the “Musters” featuring the likes of Dr Feelgood, Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and Eggs Over Easy.

Jan 11th – Gaffa + The Echoes at Highfields Com Cen, Leicester

Jan 22nd 1974 – Gaffa & Down To Earth at “Toffs” formerly Petals at the Musters. Down To Earth were a newly formed Nottingham group led by Barry foster who would later form “Wheels”.

February 1974

Gaffa play Pelham Street, Nottingham – Wayne, Mick, John and Paul and a picture and article appears in the Nottingham Evening Post.

This picture was reprinted years later (est 1981) with the added information eluding to their current projects at the time.

In late 1973 Ashley Franklin of “Extravaganza” at BBC Radio Nottingham spearheaded a project to release a compilation album of Nottingham rock groups. In early 1974 recording took place for all the groups asked to participate at Arrow Sound, a studio close to Canning Circus run by Bob Rowe. Gaffa chose a Wayne Evans written song “Playing At Love” for their contribution. Over the next few months the album took shape.

THIRD LINE UP

After the Castle Rock recording Paul Cronk left the band but remained friends. Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall) joined. Kevin Unwin and his family were originally from Skegness but moved to Nottingham when he was young. Kev joined his first group “Doughnutt” when he was 16 along with his friend Chris Syson. Doughnutt were formed from the ashes of a Nottingham sixties group called “Maze” and were active around 1970-71. Kev was later in a band called Wizard (Not Roy Wood’s Wizard) circa 71-72 and also had his own group “Lashwood” or sometimes “Vernon Lashwood” which also coexisted during his time with Gaffa. Vernon was one of Kev’s middle names. During his time with Gaffa, Kev was known as Stan Marshall, probably as a way of confusing the taxman when it came to adding up the annual accounts. The “Stan” was from Stanley Unwin (same shared surname) and Marshall from the famous amplifiers of the same name.

3rd (early 1974)
Wayne Evans: Bass,
Mick Barratt: Drums,
John Herod: Guitar,
Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall): Guitar

May 1974

Long Eaton Rock Festival – Gaffa play a not very well organised, Long Eaton Rock Festival. It was poorly attended but Gaffa put on a strong performance and went down well. The event was mooted by Mr D. Driver twelve months earlier as part of the 3 week Long Eaton festival. Progressive and medieval folk rock band Gryphon were top of bill. Others billed were Clip Ballinger, Rocks Off Revival (both Rock n Roll revival groups) and local acts Orpheus, Debris & Archangel.

June 1974

The Nottingham Castle Rock compilation album is released. Gaffa have one song on it called “Playing at Love” with the old line up of:

Wayne Evans: Bass Guitar
Mick Barrett: Drums
John Herod: Guitar
Paul Cronk: Guitar

Hear the whole album here.

Saturday 22nd June 1974
Gaffa appeared on the Trentside bandstand again with Autumn Design, Centauris and Down To Earth to promote the album. Among their set were “Parish”, “Too Much of Your Loving Touch” “The Allotment” and “Radford Lad”. In the crowd, myself included, was John Maslen who listened with interest. He would later join the group but for now that would have to wait.

FOURTH LINE UP

John Herod left the group and this led to a new three piece line up of:

3rd (Summer 74) (Trio)
Wayne Evans: Bass,
Mick Barratt: Drums,
Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall): Guitar

June 1974 – The Toton Tapes

The new three piece recorded four songs at Manor Farm (Moor Farm maybe) and Toton Lane (Kev’s place I think). The songs were:

01 Notified (Evans)
02 Very French (Evans)
03 14 Year Old Itch (Unwin)
04 Trust The Driver (Evans)

Paul Cronk played Harmonica on Very French and The Gaffettes on 14 Year Old Itch.

July/Summer 1974 – Radio Nottingham Session

The new three piece were asked into Radio Nottingham to do a session for John Holmes “Extravaganza” broadcast. Sometime in the summer, it was the three piece line up as John referred back to it the next year. As yet it is not known which songs they recorded but some of those from the “Toton Tapes” or the June Bandstand gig would be a fair bet.

AUGUST 1974

Aug – Windsor Free festival – Gaffa – The three piece of Wayne, Mick, Kev (Stan) got themselves on the bill at Windsor Free Festival of 1974. Their friend Dar Ali drove the van.

This festival is now surrounded by Hippy folklore as it was subject to a brutal attack by hundreds of police as they cleared the site of people, vehicles and possessions. You can read about the festival at UK Rock Festivals website.

Gaffa played on this stage in the photo below. It isn’t Gaffa but Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze playing the 74 festival ( not as Squeeze). The photo is © Vin Miles.

In a coincidence one of the photo’s taken shows Kev Unwin with other protesters as they try to protect the festival.

September/October 1974

FIFTH LINE UP

After seeing Gaffa at the bandstand in June ’74, John Maslen then later bumped into Wayne Evans on the street. He asked Wayne if he would like to record some songs at his own home studio and a musical relationship was formed. By the autumn Gaffa finally recruited John to make them a four piece. You can read about John Maslen’s music career from the late 50’s to 1973 here. The new line up was:

Wayne Evans: Bass Guitar
Mick Barratt: Drums
Stan Marshall (Kevin Unwin): Guitar
John Maslen: Guitar

Gaffa support Cozy Powell’s Hammer at the Newark Palace.

Oct 29th – Gaffa at the Slipper

NOVEMBER 1974

November – Gaffa get a residency at the Town Arms on Trent Bridge. Colin Staples, Nottingham blues man, has also been using the venue for local group nights.

DECEMBER 1974

Gaffa are playing regularly at the Town Arms and the Imperial.

John Maslen’s old friends, the band “Ace” now with a massive hit on their hands, play at the Union club by the Trent.

Dec – Gaffa – Town Arms – Boxing Night Spectacular – Special performance of “First Teenager on the moon”.

1975

Early in 1975 – Radio Nottingham Session – The four piece line up of Wayne, Mick, Kev (Stan and now known as Vernon Lashwood) and John record four tracks for John Holmes “Extravaganza” radio Programme.

Tracks:
The Allotment (Evans)
Hold Them Feet (Unwin)
Fat and Happy (Barratt)
The Potters Dream (Maslen)

February 1975

March 1975

Gaffa and Glider take part in their own Concert for Bangladesh. Glider would later become Plummet Airlines. The line up of Gaffa was Wayne, Mick, Kev (Stan) and John and some of the tracks performed were The Allotment, Chain of Thoughts and Too Much of Your Loving Touch.

June 1975

Gaffa played the bandstand again on Victoria Embankment in an event organised and promoted by BBC radio broadcaster John Holmes called “Extravaganza”. It featured six of Nottingham’s hottest rock groups of the mid seventies and was attended by a couple of thousand people on a perfect summers day. You can read about the event in the context of the history of the bandstand here.

September 1975

October 1975

November 1975

SIXTH LINE UP

(Nov 1975 – 76) (3 Guitar Line up)
Wayne Evans: Bass
Mick Barratt: Drums
John Maslen: Guitar
Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar
Kev Unwin (Stan Marshall): Guitar

At the beginning of November 1975 Gaffa recruited Clive “Myph” Smith into the band giving them a three guitar attack. Myph had been spotted playing at the jams and gigs put on by Colin Staples at the Town Arms on Trent Bridge. His first gig with the band was at the Trent Polytechnic Clifton Campus.

Myph had an elder brother and had been lucky to accompany him to some famous gigs in the sixties. Jimi Hendrix at Leicester in 1967 was one such, that left an imprint on his mind. His first group was a school band called FYOR, whose initials stood for something now forgotten in the mists of time. After school his first group was “OVERSHOES” circa 1973-74 which had a line up of:

Andy Gee Ferguson: Drums
Bill Hill: Bass
Gary Crofts
Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar
Dave Ward: Keyboards
Two girls on vocals

His next group was ICE in 1975. It was only for a short time but one gig Myph remembered was a battle of the bands at Derby alongside Matarka and eight others.
The line up of ICE was:

Clive “Myph” Smith: Guitar
Sue Mellard
Others now forgotten

Some members of ICE later went on to join The Press and Sue Mellard joined SMALL PRINT who released a 7″ single.

In the early Autumn of 1975 Myph followed an ad for an audition for a new group in the Doncaster area. He travelled up there and was stayed there for a few days jamming with John Parr. John was in Sheffield group Bitter Suite at the time but was planning a new group of his own. This didn’t materialise and Myph headed back to Nottingham. John Parr would a couple of years later form Ponders End and in the eighties became a big name with a Billboard No.1 in the USA with St Elmo’s Fire. Soon after his audition with John Parr Myph joined Gaffa.

Gaffa had been playing the Imperial, The Town Arms, The Boat Club and a host of other venues when they got a gig at the new Sandpiper club in the Lace Market. This was a full two years before it became a home for the new wave of punk bands. You can read about the Sandpiper Club here.

Much much more coming later ……..