What a tragic year this was to become.......
1974 Cockney Rebel UK tour
We were to play all over the country non-stop for 6 months.
It was really hectic and at times really stressful, as the band was not at one with each other.
Finally, cracks started to appear and sadly the band split up mid July.
It was really great for me living with JC down in Hampton Court with us both working really hard. We both still only paid £5 a week each rent, which included the electricity and tv rental. I was relatively well off getting my £15 a week retainer and £5 a gig on top of that!
Here's some idea of the cost of living......
Petrol 11.4p (per litre)
Pint of Bitter 15p
Pack of 20 Cigarettes 30p
Sliced White Loaf of Bread 14p
Pint of Milk 5.5p
There is a story above about me and Paul Jeffries getting the key to Noddy Holder's bedroom at some hotel in Belgium and giving the bed an apple turnover !! Don't tell Noddy, he still doesn't know, I bet he blamed someone in his crew!
Bob Gross our sound engineer and Mike Collins, my mate from London Rubber Co with me on top of the van. Early days as we went up and down the motorways, sometimes with another crew member in the back of the truck. Only fits 3 in the front !!
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There were only a couple of venues that we could not play on this 3 month non-stop tour of the UK. Two, to be exact, were cancelled, and the reason being is that the stages were just too small, we physically could not all fit on stage. The Penthouse in Scarborough was one of them and a gig I'll never forget in Penzance at the Garden Ballroom. The photos of the crew and me on this van were taken as we waited for help from the RAC to fix the van, it had broken down. The band ended up in Penzance before us, we were incredibly late getting there after fixing the van, only to be told on arrival that Steve had cancelled the show......
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The last week of the tour was very tense, I explain in the audio file above named 'The last tragic days' how the whole thing came to a head.
We went to the Isle of Man just before the last show and I remember the ferry trip home because I had left my original black Biba makeup pot with some amazing hash oil in it, in my hotel room, I was so pissed off....
