Nottingham group 1975 – 1979

A five piece progressive soft rock band who were probably named after Neil Tatum. They came from Buxton and made their home in Nottingham. Neil, Martin, Bryan and Douglas were all from Manchester and Buxton and possibly moved to Nottingham as students.

Line up *1:

Neil Tatum: Guitar
Martin MacGillivray: Keyboards, Bass
Brian Walwyn: Vocals
Douglas Gyte: Guitar, Bass
Snuff: Drums

They wrote their own material but also played songs by artists that influenced them: John Cale – Barracuda, Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing, Steely Dan – My Old School and Wishbone Ash – Where were you tomorrow. Tatum could play rock and roll but also slow numbers with a lyrical strength. Their songs included “Monday Morning”, “Sunday Morning Sunshine”, “The Show Goes On”, “Tango”, “College Kid Catastrophe”, “It Just Might Happen”, “The Diplomat”, “Unamerican Blues”, “Altitude” and “The Boatman”.

Part of the lyric from “Sunday Morning Sunshine”:

I’ll still smile at things I’ve never seen before,
Drink from the cup of life and ask for more,
Walk down roads and you’re close to me,
Escaping nightmares of reality

They first played the Town Arms on Trent Bridge and then got a residency at the Test Match in West Bridgford. By 1977 the line up changed.

Drummer Phil Anderson was from Nottingham. Neil was eventually replaced by Martin Pasek who had previously been with Colin Staple’s Staple Diet. They entered the Melody Maker rock contest in 1976 and made the area finals but didn’t get any further. In 1977 they went one stage further by winning the Nottingham heat and getting to Birmingham for the semi-finals. They played a lot of the usual rock venues in mid seventies Nottingham: The Imperial, The Town Arms, The Test Match, The Brit and The Boat.

Line ups:

May 1977
Neil Tatum: Guitar
Martin MacGillivray: Keyboards, Bass
Brian Walwyn: Vocals
Douglas Gyte: Guitar, Bass
Phil Anderson: Drums

Sept 1977
Brian Walwyn: Vocals
Douglas Gyte: Guitar, Bass
Martin MacGillivray: Keyboards, Bass
Martin Pasek: Guitar
Phil Anderson: Drums

maybe Paddy Flynn later

Way Ahead article written by Fred Roper

1975

Ian Shellard who was in “Stepping Out” around 1975 remembers Tatum as good friends.

“This ticket must have been 1975. Tatum were good friends of ours, who lived in adjacent flats up near Sherwood Rise. When Stepping Out started, and we were short of gear, Tatum kindly lent us some of theirs, especially when we supported them. Tatum was Broz Woolwyn – vocals and acoustic guitar, Martin “Haggis” McGillivray – piano, bass and vocals, Neil Tatum – lead guitar, Dougie Gyte – guitar, bass, backing vocals, and “Snuff” on drums. I never learned Snuff’s real name. By a co-incidence, I was in Music Inn on Alfreton Rd in 1991 looking for a Stratocaster, after mine was stolen in a burglary (I got it back two weeks later, thanks to smart work by the Leicestershire Police). Dougie Gyte’s 1961 Strat, which was in pretty much perfect original nick except for having been stripped back to natural finish, and which I’d done a minor repair on back in the 70s, was up for sale for £1500. That was way out of my league at the time. Now wish I’d borrowed the money – a good 1961 Strat can fetch at least £10k now, even more down South”.

1976

1977

1978

1979