Sometimes known as “The Fabulous Beatmen“

Nottingham group 1959 – 1966

There is a page at the Playedinaband website with some great photo’s.

Introduction:

The Beatmen, sometimes known as “The Fabulous Beatmen”, were a group who came from Arnold, a historic market town in the North Eastern part of the greater Nottingham conurbation who starting at the back end of the late fifties Skiffle movement became one of the first new beat groups in the area to release a record. I say one of the first because there is a bone of contention here and I’ll address that later in the story.

Various members include:

Bill Brazier (Lead guitar and founder member) (aka Geoff Gibson) (b 1940est)
Paul Mountain (Bass) (aka Paul Joe Young) (b 1943est)
Phil Severn (Drums) (aka Curtis Knight) (b 1941est)
Barrie Heald (Sax) (aka Steve Ford) (b 1940est)
Cliff Haynes (Vocals & Rhythm Guitar) (aka Mark Stevens) (b 1941est)
Tracey Martin (Vocals) (aka Tracey Steele) (Real name Vivian Denman) (b 1944est)
Bill Mosley (Moz) (Rhythm Guitar) (replaced Cliff Haynes 63/64)
Bobby St. John (Vocals) (b 1940 est) (replaced Tracey Martin in 1963, left later 1963)

Madan. M. Bahl (Manager)

Other groups called The Beatmen.

There were other groups called The Beatmen. There was another group called The Beatmen from Bratislava, Czechoslovakia who formed in 1965, released records and they were even destined to play Britain but I don’t think it happened. You will read many a mention on youtube of misguided “Beatmen” affiliations, but that is understandable after 50 years have flown by.
Another Beatmen group was was part of Ray Pilgrim’s Embassy records session men releases in the early sixties and there are, no doubt, a few lesser known local outfits up and down the country using the name eg. The Volga Beatman from near Rochdale I think, and Bernie and the Beatmen from Swineshead, and maybe a “Beatmen” from the Kings Lynn area. Probably a few others too. Anyway, on to the Nottingham “Beatmen”.

1956-59

The beginning:

The Beatmen were the brainchild of Bill Brazier, who put the band together somewhere at the end of the 1950’s.

“My interests in railways had waned in my teenage years as I grew up and I found new interests along the way. I attended Daybrook Primary School and Henry Mellish grammar School attaining sufficient O levels to become an apprenticed draughtsman at Ericcsons Telephone company at Beeston in 1956, which later became Plessey. In 1959 I bought my first guitar for £5 from Nequests Music Shop on South Sherwood Street, Nottingham and soon after started a Skiffle group called The Forest Ramblers”. (From an interview with Mainline magazine, 2023).

Bill Brazier may his dates slightly wrong as the paper cutting suggests the Ramblers were active in 1957.

“After a short while, and with the advent of Rock and Roll we changed our name to The Beatmen. I gave up my job with Ericcsons in 1963 and became a professional musician. We followed The Beatles after they had played Hamburg’s Top 10 Club and thereafter we played all over the UK and often had trips into Europe. They were amazing times, and we almost broke into the big league being the top Nottingham band headlining with The Jaybirds who became Ten Years After with Alvin Lee”. (From an interview with Mainline magazine, 2023).

Bill, born in 1940, lived at 2b George Street, Arnold, was a draughtsman and like many of his age he was a teenager when American rock ‘n’ roll and Skiffle were laying the foundations for the evolving British rock ‘n’ roll led by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Marty Wilde, Vince Eager, Adam Faith, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates and many others. Bill would become the groups lead guitarist and leader.

Although all the lads were from Arnold the group came together at the Rendezvous Club, Mapperley and their first gigs were both there and the Brookside Club in Mapperley. In the late fifties, just like Harry Webb (Cliff Richard), Frederick Heath (Johnny Kidd) and Ronald Wycherley (Billy Fury) it was customary to find a rock and roll name for yourself and Bill became Geoff Gibson. As a guitarist it is possible that it was a reference to a Gibson guitar which was then a prized item among budding local musicians.

The rest of the group were Cliff Haynes, born in 1941, who lived on James Street, Arnold and was a printer who played the rhythm guitar, sometimes the electric organ and took on the role of lead vocalist and he became Mark Stevens. Paul Mountain, born in 1943, who also lived on James Street was a colliery worker and was the bass player and he became Paul Joe Young. Barrie Heald, born in 1941, lived on Edwin Street, Arnold, and was a civil servant and played the Tenor Saxophone and he became Steve Ford. Phil Severn, born in 1940, who lived on Kingswell Road, Arnold, was an accountant and was the drummer using the alias Curtis Knight. The American musician Curtis Knight who would later have connections with Jimi Hendrix was still unknown at this point in time. They all had an interest in jazz but in the parlance of the time they were known as a rhythm group.

1960

At the turn of the new decade they kicked off with local gigs and took every opportunity to play. In the summer of 1960 Arnold council decided to have a barbecue on Arnot Hill Park, Arnold for young people with live music and in 1960 The Beatmen were on the same bill as the Trevor Jones Jazzmen. With over 600 people in attendance and no problems it was decided to make it an annual event. The next weekend The Beatmen were at the Newark Corn Exchange where they played alongside Terry Tims and his Cha Cha Band. They built up bookings in local dance halls and it wasn’t long before they attracted the attention of Madan Bahl, a professional engineer of Addison Street, Nottingham who became their manager.

1961

They had hit the ground running and they soon found Vivian Denman, a Mansfield girl, who settled on the name Tracey Martin and became their lead vocalist. The first line up of the group was:
Bill Brazier, Paul Mountain, Phil Severn, Barrie Heald, Cliff Haynes & Vivian Denman.
Wearing matching suits, they were an instrumental group with two lead vocalists often being billed as “The Beatmen featuring Tracey Martin and Mark Stevens”.

Cliff Haynes bought a Gibson ES 345 Stereo Blonde guitar in 1961 from Papworths Music Store, Alfreton Road, Nottingham. Bill Brazier bought one too. By 1961 they had a regular spot at the Drill Hall, Grantham and were building up a large fan base in Nottingham. Vivian Denman as Tracey Martin also took on the role of secretary of the growing Beatmen fan club.

1962

Feb:

March:

With three or four gigs a week they were playing both local and further afield in Newark, Grantham and they were contracted to play Saturday nights at a ballroom in Scunthorpe. Their reputation was spreading and in March 1962 the Nottingham Evening Post published an article about the group. It told of an up and coming audition at the B.B.C. at the end of the month. Their manager Mr Bahl said that they had been chosen above other professional groups for this engagement. They were earning a lot of money and Mr. Bahl invested £1,800 in American equipment. Still semi professional the group were hoping to turn fully professional if all went well at the audition.

April:

June:

July:

Oct:

Work was plentiful. Engagements at the Nottingham Locarno where they played on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, Lowdham, Ericsson’s Canteen, Beeston, the Festival Inn, Trowell where the “music served hot”, the Y.M.C.A. on Shakespeare Street, Nottingham “Dress casual”, an annual dance for Grange F.C. Long Eaton at the Blue Ball, Risley kept them ahead in the local scene and a gig at the Boston Gliderdrome had them billed as a “Leading Midlands Band”.

Routines and arrangements were worked out and two of their well known numbers were “Can Can” and “William Tell”. Their growing reputation saw them featured in another article which appeared in the Long Eaton Advertiser in October 1962 headlined “Heading for Stardom”. By the end of 1962 they were playing further away in Skegness, Cleethorpes, Halifax, Newport Pagnell and Bedford covering a thousand miles a week. The Beatmen fan club was now over 400 strong and another article about the group appeared in the “Jazz Column” of the Nottingham Evening Post in November 1962.

Nov:

Another article appeared in the Nottingham Evening Post.

Beatmen names from Nottingham Evening Post – Friday 09 November 1962

Jeff Gibson: Guitar – Draughtsman
Steve Ford: Sax – Civil servant
Paul Joe Young: Bass – Colliery worker
Mark Stevens: Rhythm Guitar – Printer
Curtis Knight: Drums – Accountant

Tracey Martin (real name Vivian Denman)

In some early product placement Papworths, the music shop of Alfreton Road, Nottingham promote The Beatmen in local advertisements as suppliers to the group of their Gibson guitars, Ludwig drums, Conn Tenor sax and Vox amplifiers. “Alexandre” the Tailor’s of Clumber Street and Wheeler Gate, Nottingham advertise themselves as the “Best Tailor in Town” to the Fabulous Beatmen. The band themselves thank their fans with sincere thanks from Tracy, Mark, Jeff, Steve, Curtis and Paul”.

The Tailors “Alexandre” get in the act too.

Mark Stevens (Real name Cliff Haynes) is billed as playing the Clavioline, an early electronic keyboard (which is mis-spelled in the image).

Dec:

The Beatmen play a wedding but this may have been a different Beatmen.

1963

Jan:

At the turn of 1963 The Beatmen were booked to play the “Nottingham Press Ball” at the Sherwood Rooms where they offered their services for free. Alongside the house band “Carl’s Caribbean All Steel Band” and Flamenco and dancers Tonia and Rafael, they played in front of 600 people. The season at the Nottingham Locarno had come to an end but the commitments the group had planned for the future might have been to much for Tracey to fulfil and the “Press Ball” might have been her last gig with group as she decided to leave. She returned to Mansfield and continued singing with various backing bands. One of these bands was The Shantells from Scunthorpe who she may well of known from her days with The Beatmen’s residency at the Scunthorpe Ballroom.

By March 1963 she had been replaced by Bobby St. John, born 1940. Regular gigs at Arnold Drill Hall and the Co-op, Long Eaton had them billed as The Beatmen featuring Bobby St. John. The group’s talent and proficiency hadn’t gone unnoticed and they succoured an audition at the B.B.C. which they passed and were expected to be seen on ATV’s “Sunday Break”. An appearance on the B.B.C.’s “Easy Beat” radio programme was also talked about. Other plans include the cutting of their first record.

Feb:

A bit of a posh do for the lads by the look of the audience.

March:

By March 1963 Tracey Martin had left the group and the replacement was Bobby St. John.

April:

Another article appeared in the Nottingham Evening Post, April 1963 announcing their new vocalist. The group bought a 35 seater coach to take them around the country on tour and plans are made for a four month tour of Germany. They converted the coach into a fully equipped travelling headquarters with sleeping and cooking facilities and built in tape recorders and record players. They used the bus on a tour of Scotland and a last few gigs at the Dancing Slipper, West Bridgford, the Clarence Ballroom, Leicester, the Burton Joyce Village Hall, the Sherwood Rooms and some gigs with “Decca” recording and TV star Roger James had them primed and ready for their trip abroad.

Jazz is still prominent but The Beatmen are the No.1 beat group in Nottingham.

May:

A gig at the Sherwood Rooms see’s them sandwiched between Dance Orchestra’s and Les Devotees Jazz Group in a concert to aid the Musicians Union.

The Beatmen play a gig at Co-op on Broad Street before their tour to Germany.

By the end of May The Beatmen were ready to leave Nottingham and head for Germany. One of their last gigs was at the Co-op on Broad Street where a prize was on offer for a “Free trip to Germany or a week’s holiday in England” By 1963, with The Beatles exploding into the limelight and the youth generation rising, the very fact that one of our own groups were setting off to tour Germany was enough for a “send-off” from the Deputy Lord Mayor Ald. Sydney Hill at the Council House in Market Square on Sunday May 26th. A crowd of their fans waved and cheered when they appeared on the steps. Sixty years later, it all seems quaint or even laughable, but then it wasn’t an everyday occurrence for common folk to travel abroad and they were seen in some ways as ambassadors of our town and our country, setting sail into the unknown.
On the 29th May they had a message printed in the Evening Post “The Fabulous Beatmen wish to thank all their friends for the wonderful send-off. We will miss you all but our hearts will be with you. Bobby, Mark, Curtis, Jeff, Steve and Paul”.
They were followed by another of Nottingham’s hot property’s “The Jaybirds” only a few weeks later.

They spent 2 months in Germany playing in Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne and Frankfurt. They played the “Top Ten” club in Hamburg, famous for having about 90 appearances by The Beatles in 1961 alone. The Jaybirds, who were also touring in Germany at the same time as The Beatmen played the “Top Ten” club too and it is likely the two groups met and socialised.

Aug:

The arrived back home at the beginning of August. It was a hailed a success with the group being described as very popular. Their manager Madan Bahl said that “his group were playing from 7pm to 3am every night and rarely got to bed before 9 in the morning” and Bill Brazier (Jeff Gibson) said “Completely exhausted”. Interest had been made from the German Polydor record company and they recorded two tracks “William Tell” & “Lady in Spain” while there but no release was made. It was common practice for groups to record down some demos with a record company as way of an audition. They had been invited back in October for a six month tour and talks of a six month tour of America were also being considered. Near the end of the tour the group had been sharing their bus with East German refugees.

There was good news for local groups back in Nottingham as Iain Hines, the manager of the Top Ten Club was going to visit Nottingham to audition any groups that would like to go to Germany. Scottish Iain Hines had been the keyboard player founder of The Jets who were a backing band to Norwich born Tony Sheridan who was based in Hamburg.

A welcome home dance was held at the Rainbow Rooms, Co-op, Broad Street on Friday 16th August.

Sept:

After the adventure of touring Germany Bobby St. John left the group and they became a five piece with Cliff Haynes taking the lead vocal role again. It was back to the reality of local gigs with a date at the Grantham Drill Hall and the fourth Arnold BAR-B-Q alongside local Nottingham group The Vibrants and the Beat Club with The Futurists who had also recently toured Germany. In December 1963 Cliff decided to leave the group and they needed a replacement as soon as possible as they had another tour of Germany arranged for January and February of 1964. They found rhythm guitarist Bill Mosely who had been playing in another local Nottingham group “The Futurists”. He was also a vocalist and had aspirations of writing songs.

In Nottingham and the surrounding area most groups were represented by Agency’s like Phil Smith’s “City Enterprises”, Ken Crosby’s “E.E.C. Entertainments” in Mansfield or “Syd Tyler’s Enterprises” in Loughborough but The Beatmen weren’t represented by any of these. It didn’t stop them finding work, however, which was becoming ever more nationwide with the “November Madness” at the Derby Locarno headlining over local Derby groups, The Heralds, The Cyclones and Arthur Coyne’s Jazzmen and a gig at the Lyceum in London sharing the bill with some bigger names like The Swinging Blue Jeans, The Fourmost and Jimmy Powell and the Dimensions. They had also attracted the attention of PYE records and they were planning to get a record released.

Nov:

1964

Jan:

As 1964 dawned the group made their way back to Germany to play the clubs and hone their skills. In a post Beatles landscape they had started to use their real names and Bill Moseley slotted in perfectly and started writing lots of new songs.

The line up was now:

Bill Brazier (Lead guitar)
Paul Mountain (Bass)
Phil Severn (Drums)
Barrie Heald (Saxophone)
Bill Mosley (Rhythm Guitar) 

Discussion in “Midland Beat” music paper praises the Nottingham Beat scene and pose’s the question as to who will get the first record released.

“The time can’t be far away, many think, when some local idols will make the breakthrough to hit success. Who will it be? The Fabulous Beatmen, The Jaybirds, Futurists, Ray Dane and the Diamonds?”

On return to Britain it was back to gigs and rehearsal for a recording session for PYE records.

Much much more coming later ………..