Nottingham soul group 1966/67

They were managed by Keith Symonds who also ran the Boat Club. They recorded and released a single on German Polydor in September 1967 while they were touring there.

Hear their only single release here (Show Me) and here (You Got Me Humming)

The group came together in late 1966 jus t before Christmas. Dave Maslen had been in the Beacons, Beaconsvilles RnB Band and The Dickens Set. Robert Hirst had also been in The Dickens Set and The Big Taste was, in fact, the rump of The Dickens Set. The first line up was:

Spence (as Robert Hirst): Vocals
Alan Mottershaw: Guitar
Les Shaw: Drums
Dave Maslen: Bass
Jeff Cooke: Organ
Irv Pension: Tenor and Baritone Sax
Bob Wilson: Trombone

A set list would include “20-75” (Willie Mitchell), Willy Nilly, Look at Granny Run Run (Howard Tate), Sock It To Em, J.B., and Knock on Wood, Show Me, You got me Humming and Sookie Sookie.

They immediately found gigs as far away as Exeter, Isle of Wight, Newcastle and Warrington. There was talk of the group cutting a disc using one of their own songs but this didn’t materialise.

The Brit was one of the three boat clubs by the River Trent next to Nottingham Forest’s ground. In the sixties all three had live groups playing at the weekends. The Saturday night act The Children were also a Nottingham group who later in 1967 became The Lovin’, signing to Larry Page’s Page One Records and later changing their name to The Nerve.

This line up lasted until April 1967.

After May 1967 the line up changed. The brass section left as did the drummer and organ player. The new line up was now:

Spence (as Robert Hirst): Vocals
Steve Saxon: Vocals, Trombone
Alan Mottershaw: Guitar
Jimmy Horracks: Organ
John Bednall: Drums
Dave Maslen: Bass

Steve Saxon joined from Tiny Davis Souls A’ Go Go and before that The Carpetbaggers. Steve was a singer and trombone player. John Bednall was from Leicester. This is the line up that would go on to record their only single.

June 1967

The group gigged all over the country but were regulars at the Marquee in London.

July 1967

Tour of Germany and recording session. They recorded more than the two songs that would get released and a live recording was made as well but these have all been lost.

Aug 1967

Sept 1967

From the recording sessions they had done for Polydor while touring West Germany they released a single in that country with a picture sleeve. It wasn’t released in Britain but did at least have a release in Nigeria.

Robert Hirst and the Big Taste – Show Me / You got me Humming – Polydor – 1967

Their lone release in Germany on the Polydor label also had a release in Nigeria. It’s unlikely the group even knew but it nice to think in some bar in the middle of Africa their record achieved a spin or two. As far as I am aware their was no picture sleeve with this release.

Polydor 52970, Philips (West African) Records Ltd – 1967

The band were supposed to do a month tour of San Tropez but it was cancelled and their was talk of a possible record release in the UK.

Oct 1967

I’m fairly confident that the gig they played at the “Slipper” (above) was with the Sheffield group “The Jigsaw” and not the better known group of the same name from Coventry. Read here about The Jigsaw.

Dec 1967

At the end of 1967 or the beginning of 1968 they played their last gig at the Boat club on the banks of the river Trent and called it a day.

A review of Steppenwolf’s “Sookie Sookie” record release praises The Big Taste’s version.

Hear their lone single release here (Show Me) and here (You Got Me Humming)

See more at the Playedinaband website.