Nottingham Rock and Roll Group circa 1957

Dave Adam – Electric Guitar
Leslie Ball (18) – Piano
Ron Stocker (22) – Tenor saxophone
Dave Bull (18) – Vocals
Trevor Smith (19) – Drums

Formed in the spring of 1957 they spent £320 on equipment and instruments. They played at various clubs around the country and wore grey “tuxedo” coats, black trousers, white shirts and a black bow tie. They appeared at the Nottingham Empire on a Saturday night talent final. Pianist Leslie Ball was blind.

In 1957 “Skiffle” was the music craze of the moment and the buzz word to describe all the new young British teenage groups getting together and playing their music. Rock and Roll, which was also in vogue, could be seen in this light as a more professional version of a similar style of music in so much as there were some common American roots.

The Rhythmets had an instrument line up that was above the usual Skiffle instrumentation and that may be one way to distinguish between these two styles of music running concurrently in 1957. Many made the transition from Skiffle to (British) Rock and Roll while for most it was just a short but exhilarating ride.