Nottingham band 1975 – 1979

Desperate Dann were a blues rock band from Nottingham, England during the mid seventies. They shared that local scene with the Colin Staples, Gaffa, Wheels, Ned Ludd, Cisco and Plummet Airlines writing their own songs but also covering the blues and Bob Dylan.

The band:

Alan Gascoigne (Guitar)
Tim Disney (Vocals, Harp)
Steve Otter (Drums)
Mick Wheat (Bass).

Listen to them here

All the members of the band had roots in the sixties, playing in various groups around Nottingham. Tim Disney was the singer and harp player and as such the front man of the band but Alan Gascoigne, the guitarist, could easily be seen as the bands leader as well.

Alan Gascoigne

Early Days

Alan was born in Rossington near Doncaster in Yorkshire on October 5, 1948. His father was a coal miner and when he was offered the chance of a new house as part of the deal in taking a job at a coal mine near Nottingham he took it. So, Alan at the age of five, his brother David and his mother and father now found themselves living in Arnold, Nottingham.

Alan Gascoigne is distantly related to the famous England footballer Paul Gascoigne. Paul is the son of a cousin of Alan’s father. Alan has never met Paul in his life but with some pride can say that he played at Wembley Stadium before the football hero. More about that story later.

As a youngster Alan heard Bill Haley’s ‘Rock around the clock’ in 1954, Elvis Presley’s’ Heartbreak Hotel in 1956 and Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode’ in 1958 and he was sold. From the age of eight Alan earned what money he could, later working as a delivery man, two evenings a week and Saturday mornings, using a cargo bike and often in bad weather but eventually saving enough money to buy an electric guitar.

His first electric guitar was a ‘Burns Sonic Red’ with tremolo costing him £52 and his father had to guarantee and sign for it. He paid it off in just over a year and his father bought him an 4 Watt amplifier as a present, advertised as ‘True Voice, Little Giant’ costing £12. Alan practiced and rehearsed over and over the intro to ‘Johnny B. Goode’ and ‘Apache’ by Hank Marvin of The Shadows.

After leaving the Secondary Modern school at the age of 15 he started work in an iron foundry. “Heavy work, man.” He also plays in his first band. Three months and the band didn’t even have a name and came to nothing. “I wasn’t done yet,” Alan said and was again playing alone in the front room. Around 1963 Alan heard John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters and was gripped by the blues and by the time he is sixteen he’s totally hooked.

1965/66

Alan’s friends in the neighbourhood were also playing music. His school friend Wayne Ford and drummer Bob Todd needed a rhythm guitarist for a gig at the Maid Marion Pub in Arnold on Whitson Monday 1965 and obliged. You can read Bob Todds account of the “Maid Marion gig” here.

Keeping an interest in other styles of music Alan listens to the folk music of Doug Watson, described by as ‘roots country folk, through to the jazz of Charly Parker but in 1965 there was a performance in Nottingham by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, together with T-bone ‘Stormy Monday blues’ Walker which captures Alan’s attention. Not long later there is another performance by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers who now have Eric Clapton on guitar. Following them around in 1966 he became recognised by Eric Clapton at the front who would exclaim “Oh, you’re back again”.

1967/68

Colin Staples Blues Band

In the late sixties Alan found a mentor in Nottingham blues man Colin Staples. “One of the best people on the planet.” Colin had already been playing in a few groups (Beaconsville RnB Band, The Beacons and the Harvey Stuart Blues Band) before finally forming his own “Colin Staples Blues Band”. Alan forged a relationship with Colin which he has maintained throughout the years. Colin was working in a music store in Nottingham and Alan would often visit until eventually joining Colin’s band as the guitarist performing at many jam sessions in bars although performances were limited to Nottingham and the surrounding area. But thanks to those jam sessions, Alan, a naturally gifted player, was in the spotlight and is much in demand as a ‘hot lead guitarist’.

Tim Disney

Early Days

The following is a biography that came from a Tim Disney website that no longer exists.

Tim Disney was a singer, songwriter and blues harmonica player of the very highest calibre. His single minded dedication to his music will be remembered by all who heard him play.

He was born on 23rd September 1948 in the Sneinton area of Nottingham. He was the youngest of the eight surviving children of Dorothy and Albert Disney, his father being a market trader and greengrocer.

He attended the Greenwood Infants and Junior schools in Sneinton before passing the 11+ and attending the Mundella Grammar School. He was a bright, cocky, funny, rebellious and anti- authoritarian class clown who was not popular with the teachers, but kept the pupils fully entertained. Throughout his school days, Tim’s ability to perform was evident in many school productions, including a never–to–be–forgotten Grumio in the Taming of the Shrew. He had a wonderful comic talent.

His time at Mundella spanned the decade of the 1960’s and these were formative years for Tim. He played football for the school team and his teacher, Mick Walker, later the manager of 1st Division Notts County, referred to him as ‘an intelligent footballer’ and ‘a good ball player despite his long hair’. Tim went on to become a life-long supporter of Notts County.

It was also during these years that Tim discovered the blues and taught himself to play harmonica. His first bands, 20% and the Red House Blues Band, played at school concerts, pubs and clubs and most notably at the Old Milton’s Head in Nottingham. On leaving school, Tim completed a foundation year at Nottingham Art College and around this time, the band Merlin’s Wake was formed. This was the first time that Tim shared a line up with Alan Gascoigne, Stevie Otter and Mick Wheat who became his most enduring and symbiotic musical colleagues. At the end of this year, he made the decision not to continue at college but to pursue a career as a musician.

Twenty Per Cent

(1965-1966)

Tim Disney’s first group featured Paul Atkinson, Harry Beighton, Tim Disney, Keith Pinfold, Phil Smith. Read more about them here.

Redhouse

(1967-1969)
Tim Disney joined the trio of Mick Broughton, William Alan Clifton (‘Bill’), John Bryant. Tony Crosbie from Raw Meat replaced Mick Broughton later. Read more about them here.

Alan Gascoigne

1969

Life Without Mother

Mick Wheat – Bass
Alan Gascoigne – Guitar
Steve Otter – Drums
Ray Straw – Vocals
Harold Burgan – Guitar

In 1969 Alan joined a new group called “Life Without Mother“. It was in this group that he first played alongside future Desperate Dann players Mick Wheat on Bass and Steve Otter on Drums. The other members of the group were Ray Straw on Vocals and Harold Burgan on Guitar. The British Blues Boom was in full swing and “Life Without Mother” were described as progressive blues at the time. Life Without Mother was a short lived project and folded in May 1969 but Alan, Mick and Steve would remain together and met up with Tim Disney and Harold Burgon to form Merlin’s Wake in that same summer.

Mick Wheat

Mick Wheat had been the bass player with “Woody Kern” but left them shortly after the release of their album “The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk” on Pye Records at the beginning of 1969 and joined Life Without Mother.

Steve Otter

Steve Otter had previously played with The Dolomites in the sixties. A local Nottingham group consisting of Ian Bainbridge (lead guitar), Jon Jayes (rhythm guitar), Steve Hurd (bass) and Maurice Higgs (drums) who was followed by Tony Richards and then Steve Otter coming to an end in 1966. Steve too, joined up with Life Without Mother.

Tim Disney

1969

Merlin’s Wake / Badger

Harold Burgon: Guitar
Tim Disney: Vocals, Harp
Al Gascoigne: Guitar
Stevie Otter: Drums
Mick Wheat: Bass

After the demise of Redhouse Tim Disney met up with Alan Gascoigne, Mick Wheat and Steve Otter (the four future members of Desperate Dann) in the summer of 1969 calling themselves Merlin’s Wake. Another member of the group was Harold Burgon.

Al, Steve and Mick had all just been playing in “Life Without Mother”, another progressive blues band and and the rump of this band were the heart of the new band. Merlin’s Wake played regularly downstairs at The Milton’s Head in Nottingham, a great music venue at the time, to a very crowded, hot and steamy cellar. Great atmosphere and loud music. In 1972, Merlin’s Wake changed their name to Badger and moved to London. They lived for a while in an old transit van which was parked up in the grounds of the Phillipa Fawcett College student residence on Crown Lane in Streatham Hill. Anna (Rowat) was a student there and did their washing and cooking without complaint! Alan Gascoigne had already made the move to London and for all of them it was the rock and roll adventure many budding musicians the length and breadth of the country would attempt. London, was after all, the place to be for anyone who wanted to “make It”.

Phonograph

1971/1972

Tim Disney
Dave Green

Running concurrently with Merlin’s Wake Tim Disney was also performing in an acoustic duo with Dave Green playing country blues. Called Phonograph they were managed by Celia Turner, the wife of Dave Turner for whom Tim did several support gigs and who was a close friend. He had a huge influence on Tim’s musical development.

Alan Gascoigne

1971 – 1974

Alan moved to London in 1971 living in a small room and splits his time between music and a job as a picture framer. His most notable assignment was framing photographs of large sound installations for non other than Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones! Alan put a note in the box saying, “Hey Charlie, bring back the Vox AC 30. Never heard back, the bastard!” A booming English burst of laughter fills the room.

Playing the cafes of London, Al got a chance of an audition for Screaming Lord Sutch, the renowned rock and roller and lovable loony. His band was The Savages, and in the sixties, they had seen some illustrious guitarists precede him: Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page and Albert Lee! Thinking all he had to do is audition, he’s dragged to The Lyceum Ball Room to show off his skills and it turns out that he is suddenly announced on stage as the new guitarist while the band is playing in front of a large audience. David Sutch whispered to him: “Bye bye Johnny in B flat” (Berry) and “Great balls of fire”. Later when another band was playing Alan is told in the wings: “You’ve got the job” and from that moment on Alan is a professional guitarist in Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages. This meant touring nationally and they drive around in a van with airplane seats until about 1974 with a lot of live performances. One of the highlights was the 1972 Rock and Roll show at Wembley Stadium, Saturday August 5th featuring Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry.

It was billed as the first music festival at Wembley Stadium and there is some surviving footage of Al playing guitar. There is a ten minute piece of footage here. Al can be heard all the way through but only seen at 8.45. That short segment can be seen below.

By 1974 Al got a lot of offers from famous musicians, but it all ended in waiting and then nothing and he became disillusioned. “Fuck all that London shit!” Alan said and headed back to Nottingham.

Tim Disney

Wave

1972 – 1974

Tim Disney (vocals, harmonica)
Jan Hart (piano, lead guitar)
Steve Harris (drums)
John Sanderson (flute, saxophone)
Mick Wheat (bass guitar).

Now based in London, Tim Disney formed a band with Mick Wheat and two of his ex Woody Kern band mates from 1968. These were Steve Harris on drums and John Sanderson on sax and flute. John Sanderson had previously been with the Beaconsville RnB All Stars in 1964/85 which also featured blues man Colin Staples and future Gaffa guitarist John Maslen. Keyboard player and guitarist John Hart gave Wave a slight jazz feel to their blues rock. There is a recording that survives (Tim’s earliest) from this period and you can hear that and read a bit more about Wave here.

Desperate Dann

1974-75 and the formation of Desperate Dann

1974

Tim Disney was now a father and Alan Gascoigne was tired of chasing the London rock dream so around 1974 they all found themselves back in the familiarity of Nottingham. This wasn’t a case of hanging up their boots but a take stock moment to see where their musical future lay.

Settling back into the Nottingham blues scene it would inevitably lead them to Colin Staples. The ever ready Colin was available for a jam, a pick up group and basically any chance to play. Colin had started a successful blues night at the Town Arms on Trent Bridge and was always involved in any blues or jazz related gig at the Imperial on St. James Street.

So late in 1974 Tim Disney, Al Gascoigne and Steve Otter found themselves playing together in one of Colin’s line ups that also included Steve Hurd and “Beano” Summers supporting jazz trombonist Gene Connors whose nickname was “The Mighty Flea”. Both Steve Hurd and Beano had been in Colin Staples band that toured Germany in 1971 and Beano had been in “The Tadpoles” with Gaffa bassist and singer Wayne Evans back in the sixties.

Colin Staples Band

1975

When Mick Wheat appeared back on the scene the friendship that had been forged during the Merlin’s Wake days of 1969/70, not only between Tim and Alan but Mick Wheat and Steve Otter made it a simple task to put a new band together. Alan was the catalyst for this new venture and the new name for that band was Desperate Dann.

In 1975 it was full steam ahead and by the summer they played their first gig at the Boat Club down by the River Trent.

June / July 1975

Desperate Dann started a residency at the “Test Match” pub in West Bridgford. The Test Match, opening in 1938, had been live music venue for a long time, at one time hosting Bill Kinnell’s jazz club in the 1950’s. Both Bill Kinnell’s and Tommy Saville’s jazz clubs were evicted from the Test Match in 1956 after so called complaints from the inhabitants of West Bridgford. Now, in 1975, they had a “Friday night Rock scene” and the boys were an instant hit.

August 1975

September

October

November

December

1976

Much more coming later …….