A Derby/Nottingham based blues group circa 1967 – 1969

Line up: July 1968
Pete Simic: Vocals, piano, mouth harp
Nick Harvey: Drums
Mike Mellor: Bass
Barry Smith: Lead guitar
Bob Bugg: Second guitar
Colin Staples: Saxophone

Although the name of this group suggests one person “Harvey Stuart” this may not be the case. This group for a short time had in its ranks Colin Staples, Nottingham’s blues man. Colin remembered that when he joined them he thought that Harvey and Stuart were two different people but one of them had since departed. Other members included Ray Northfield, Fred Smith and Mick Mellors all later of Nottingham seventies faves Cisco. For a short time they included Al Gascoigne, who replaced Colin Staples, before he joined Life Without Mother, Screaming Lord Sutch and later Desperate Dann. This info is from an edition of “Way Ahead” magazine which was featuring the history of Colin Staples.

The first reference I can find of them is playing gigs in Leicester so it may be that the group originated there before hot footing it to Nottingham where a progressive blues scene was developing.

1968

By 1968 the group were playing regularly in Nottingham.

The Cellar at Milton’s Head was a popular place for progressive blues based musicians at the end of the sixties and formative gigs by the group were played there. The Milton’s Head Hotel was an old but grand building which stood where the entrance of the Victoria Centre is now.

1969

At the turn of 1971 many Nottingham and Derby groups came together for a benefit gig for Mick Fletcher of “Nine Degrees of Frost” who had died in a road accident.

By the spring of 1971 the Harvey Stuart Blues Band had relocated to London.

In April 1969 a gig in aid of the N.T.C. and compered by Dave Cash (A notable DJ who had worked for the Pirate stations, Radio Luxembourg and eventually Radio One) was held at the Co-op in Ilkeston and featured seven bands local to Nottingham and Derby. From Nottingham where Life Without Mother, Almost Grown and Lord Colin Staples. Harvey Stuart was billed as being from London but had for a time played in a group in Nottingham with Colin Staples in 1967/68so we can assume he had relocated to London at some point. From Derby were Land of Love and The Incas. The Incas were the forerunners of Pug-Ma-Ho who featured Keith Gotheridge who later joined Harry Stephenson’s Plummet Airlines in the seventies. We might assume that the group “Davy Jones Locker” although billed as coming from Wales had some connection with the local area.

After April 1971 the story of the Harvey Stuart Blues Band goes cold and here we must leave it.