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The Herald Scotland
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
This Scottish rock trio shared a dressing room with Hendrix
The band's two Sunday shows there, on the evening of May 7, 1967, saw Hendrix, who had already tasted UK Top Ten chart success with Hey Joe and Purple Haze, assaulting his amplifier with his guitar while, out of sight of the cheering audience, a diminutive roadie struggled to keep the speakers upright. Sharing the bill – and Jimi's dressing-room – that night was a powerhouse trio from Scotland, called 1-2-3. They consisted of Billy Ritchie on Hammond organ and guitar, Harry Hughes on drums, and Ian Ellis on bass guitar. Ritchie and Hughes were just 20, Ellis a year older. For a band that had made its debut at Falkirk's La Bamba only the previous November, 1-2-3 had made stunning progress. In London, they had impressed the manager of the Marquee venue after playing a mere half of one song at an audition. The venue's newsletter remarked that the band had created 'an entirely new sound in 'pop group music''. Jimi Hendrix was supported by 1-2-3 in 1967 (Image: PA) Their subsequent residency at the Marquee was a series of riotous affairs, with half of the audience loving them and the other half taking an active dislike. Fellow musicians such as Greg Lake, Robert Fripp and Keith Emerson watched them play, however, and were impressed. Epstein was, too, to the point that he signed them to his NEMS Enterprises management company. The Saville Theatre gigs in May 1967, then, were another step forward for 1-2-3. The concert programme (copies of which are for sale online at eyebrow-raising prices) noted that they had a wide-ranging repertoire dominated by standards arranged in modern jazz style" and that NEMS would shortly be releasing plans for a debut album release). Not everyone shared such upbeat assessments of 1-2-3, however. Derek Boltwood, a writer on the Record Mirror music weekly, wrote in a review: 'It seems to be all the rage for groups to have a line-up of only three people. There were two such groups at the Saville last week — The 1-2-3, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience — the 1-2-3 should take a lesson from Jimi Hendrix — you've got to be very good musicians if there are only three of you to make the sound'. Someone who took umbrage at this was a young man named David Bowie, who was about to release his debut album. He had been friends with Billy for a while, having heard their adventurous version of one of his earliest songs, I Dig Everything. And it was Billy who introduced him to Hendrix at the Saville. Not long after Boltwood's review appeared, Bowie bumped into the band at the Marquee and told them that he had written an indignant reply to Record Mirror. His letter spoke of 'three thistle- and haggis-voiced bairns who had the audacity to face a mob of self-opinionated with a brand of unique pop music which, because of its intolerance of mediocrity, floated as would a Hogarth cartoon in the Beano …' The story of 1-2-3 would evolve further – a change of name to Clouds, the release of three albums, and high-profile tours, but for a variety of reasons the trio never received the acclaim their musicianship and ambitions deserved. In later years. however, they have been rediscovered and favourably reassessed. Ellis and Hughes had been in a Bathgate-based group, The Premiers, when they first came across Ritchie, who was already renowned as an expert on the Hohner organ and was capable of playing front and centre rather than on the side of the stage – a decidedly unusual arrangement for the time. At length, the three formed 1-2-3. The first rehearsal, as Billy wrote in his revealing memoir, The ABC of 1-2-3: The True Story, 'was the best musical experience of my life. We all knew we had hit on something special. '1-2-3 was, I believe, one of the finest bands ever to emerge in popular music. It was a tragedy that the band, in that form, never recorded. 1-2-3 wasn't as polished or as powerful as Clouds later became, but what it lacked in experience, it more than made up for in soul and inspiration… Clouds at the 1971 Reading Festival. Photo courtesy of Billy Ritchie (Image: unknown) 'The band', he added, 'was rooted in blues and jazz and pop principles that were not only musical gold dust, but a godsend to all who took from it, and that band would still sound unique today… there really hasn't been a band like 1-2-3 before or since'. A good example of their boundary-stretching work is their version of Paul Simon's song, America, before it had even been released on Simon and Garfunkel's 1968 studio album, Bookends. Rewritten by Billy to include new time signatures 'and as much scope as possible for the three of us to express the song in every way', it showed what the trio were capable of; it was 'Prog before there was such a thing' They also reworked a very early Bowie song, I Dig Everything, even dropping a snippet of Bach into the middle section. A recording made at the Marquee can be listened to on YouTube. Epstein certainly liked 1-2-3, but his sudden death at the age of 32 in late August 1967, just a few months after he had signed them, rendered their immediate future uncertain. Impresario Robert Stigwood, who had just merged his own company with NEMS, took control of their career, but his priority was the career of a promising young act, the Bee Gees. His relationship with 1-2-3 did not last long, and the band and NEMS parted company. Soon, however, they came into contact with Terry Ellis, of the Ellis-Wright agency, who became their manager and agent. When Clouds's debut album, The Clouds Scrapbook, was released in August 1969, tracks such as The Carpenter, I'll Go Girl, Scrapbook and Waiter, There's Something in My Soup all played superbly to the band's individual and collective musical gifts. Today, writes Billy, Scrapbook is regarded as a really good album, one that attracted rave reviews at the time; 'it was', he observes, 'a strange mixture of pop songs, muso playing, and flashes of what would become progressive rock. For me, Waiter … is the best piece of work on there, as close to the bridge between Beatles pop and progressive rock as you will ever hear'. Promotional material by Island Records, issued in advance of the album's release, said: "It would be nice if we could just tell people that Clouds are an extraordinarily talented group playing exciting music in a totally original style". However, it continued, "mental barriers are thrown up against anything new and uncategorised and we are forced to be sneaky and use an easily accepted superhype method of attracting attention to Clouds and their album 'Scrapbook' - again, not what one would expect to hear. Clouds have successfully utilised all their talents to present a varied piece off aural entertainment. Presenting something new, which you believe in, is always something of a crusade, although always most rewarding. So watch Clouds tonight, listen to their album and well ... JOIN THE CRUSADE". Clouds on tour, pictured with friends. Photo courtesy of Billy Ritchie (Image: unknown) Clouds now began to enjoy to a new level of public exposure. They gigged around Europe with the Island Records Tour alongside Jethro Tull and Ten Years After (including a memorable gig at the Royal Albert Hall in May 1969), and the Bath Festival of Blues the following month, headlined by Led Zeppelin, The Nice and others. They played prestigious venues in the States, including the Fillmore West in San Francisco, New York's Fillmore East and (alongside the Stooges) Los Angeles' Whisky-a-Go-Go. In Montreal, they shared the bill with Van Morrison and Johnny Winter. Every time, they delivered a storming set that often put other acts in the shade. In June 1970 Billboard magazine, reviewing a gig at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom noted enthusiastically: 'On the basis of its showing here June 5, Clouds will be a giant. The group is a trio from Scotland that drew a standing ovation on the basis of its hard-driving sound that never lets up ... The group is young, talented ..." There was a second Clouds album, Up Above Our Heads (1970), which was issued only in the States, and finally, that same year, Watercolour Days – 'a beautiful piece of rock orchestration with piano, organ, harpsichord, guitars, mouth organ, drums and violins', said Florida's St Petersburg Evening Independent. But Chrysalis – the record label eventually established by Ellis – was, in Billy's telling, more concerned with Jethro Tull, another band on their roster, and made little or no attempt to promote Watercolour Days. Disillusioned, Clouds broke up in October 1971. Discussions continue to this day after the effect that 1-2-3 had on music at the time. Many fans take the view that 'prog' – progressive rock – was influenced at the outset by 1-2-3. As one fan argues on the progarchives site: 'Many British musicians would strongly argue that UK Prog began with Billy Ritchie and his band 1-2-3. Their residency in late '66 and early '67 at the Marquee introduced musicians as diverse as Jon Anderson, Jeff Lynne, Deep Purple, David Bowie and Keith Emerson to the idea of complex orchestrations played in extended works'.
Wales Online
02-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
'Unbelievable' opportunity to run famous Welsh riverside cafe after its dramatic haircut
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The "unbelievable' opportunity to run a famous North Wales tearoom has been announced. Tu Hwnt i'r Bont sits on the Afon Conwy at Llanrwst, next to the Pont Fawr bridge over the river. It is one of the most photographed locations in Wales, renowned for its distinctive Virginia creeper ivy that's loved by photographers. The creeper changed from green in the spring and summer months to a deep red as autumn approaches, before shedding its leaves. This was cut back over the winter in its first major "haircut" for many years. It followed an inspection by site owners The National Trust which found signs of plant ingress and minor damage to some slates, as well as the presence of some invasive plant species. (Image: Ian Cooper) It now has a different look but the plan is that over time the creeper will return to its former glory and the work completed has now protected the site's future for many decades to come. There is now a chance to run the place with St Davids Commercial marketing the long lease opportunity. They said: "Unbelievable opportunity to acquire a stunning riverside café,15th century Grade II listed building in the community of Llanrwst. Originally built around the year 1480 as a farmhouse and residential dwelling, was later to be used as the local courthouse for many centuries. "Eventually the building fell into dis-repair, however due to the generosity of the people in the town who paid for the renovations, the building survived the years. The National Trust acquired the property in the 1950's for its protection and made the decision to lease the property to locals in the town. "The lease owners then decided to transform this amazing vine covered cottage (which transforms in colour with the seasons) into a traditional Welsh tearoom for all to enjoy. It has proved massively successful and has been drawing tourists from all over the world inside ever since. "It's even made the front covers of The Lonely Planet Wales Travel Guide, and the Beano comic! Nowadays it is an award winning tearoom, family run business, and one of the must see attractions in the Eryri National Park. "The return business is unbelievable and many tour companies visit numerous times throughout the year, however our clients also turn numerous down. There is the potential to expand the business and increase the turnover." Price on application, for more see St Davids Commercial. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
North Wales Live
02-05-2025
- Business
- North Wales Live
'Unbelievable' opportunity to run famous Welsh riverside cafe after its dramatic haircut
The "unbelievable' opportunity to run a famous North Wales tearoom has been announced. Tu Hwnt i'r Bont sits on the Afon Conwy at Llanrwst, next to the Pont Fawr bridge over the river. It is one of the most photographed locations in Wales, renowned for its distinctive Virginia creeper ivy that's loved by photographers. The creeper changed from green in the spring and summer months to a deep red as autumn approaches, before shedding its leaves. This was cut back over the winter in its first major "haircut" for many years. It followed an inspection by site owners The National Trust which found signs of plant ingress and minor damage to some slates, as well as the presence of some invasive plant species. It now has a different look but the plan is that over time the creeper will return to its former glory and the work completed has now protected the site's future for many decades to come. There is now a chance to run the place with St Davids Commercial marketing the long lease opportunity. They said: "Unbelievable opportunity to acquire a stunning riverside café,15th century Grade II listed building in the community of Llanrwst. Originally built around the year 1480 as a farmhouse and residential dwelling, was later to be used as the local courthouse for many centuries. "Eventually the building fell into dis-repair, however due to the generosity of the people in the town who paid for the renovations, the building survived the years. The National Trust acquired the property in the 1950's for its protection and made the decision to lease the property to locals in the town. "The lease owners then decided to transform this amazing vine covered cottage (which transforms in colour with the seasons) into a traditional Welsh tearoom for all to enjoy. It has proved massively successful and has been drawing tourists from all over the world inside ever since. "It's even made the front covers of The Lonely Planet Wales Travel Guide, and the Beano comic! Nowadays it is an award winning tearoom, family run business, and one of the must see attractions in the Eryri National Park. "The return business is unbelievable and many tour companies visit numerous times throughout the year, however our clients also turn numerous down. There is the potential to expand the business and increase the turnover."
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
John Patrick McHugh: 10 of the books that have influenced me through the years
Beano Let me cheat with the first selection: not a book but a humble comic. My earliest memory of reading was with the Beano. The Beano. I remember laying on my stomach while riffling through its pages, giggling and feeling as if I was catching up with friends in Denis and Gnasher, the Bash Street Kids. There was a cosiness to this experience, a safety, but it was also my first sense of interiority: here was an experience for me alone amid the noise of family, here was something that let me be in on the joke rather than my parents. Additionally: I probably owe my refined sense of humour to this magazine. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo My novel is a sports book, kind of – a distinction that still surprises – and when writing it, I hoped that the GAA side of it would feel integral to the emotional side: the football was not the thing itself but part of the overall package. This balance is handled deftly in non-fiction – Dunphy's Only A Game springs to mind – but rarer to find in fiction, and for that reason and more, Western Lane is a rare triumph. It is about grief, family and the racketed sport of squash: elements that all work together, enhance the other. A kind of sport book that gave me confidence in writing my own kind of sport book. Dubliners by James Joyce I feel like we all have those moments in our lives when suddenly something makes sense that didn't a moment before. For me this occurred upon reading Araby in Dubliners. I was eighteen. I was unsure about what I was doing in college, unaware of literature at large, and in my first week I was handed this story. I read it and I saw myself – my skin glowed when I played outside and how did Joyce know that?! – and I saw what writing can do. A door had been opened inside me, and it was a door I didn't know was there, nevermind that it had been locked. It's not hyperbolic to say this book changed my life. Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth Tonnes of books are labelled brave these days but most of them, I feel, are not brave at all. Often, they read as if sculpted for our time: a chorus for the agreed. Noble and worthy, but not brave. A brave book, for me, should rally against the accepted, should feel wrong. Sabbath's Theater is a brave book. It's a twisted love story about a disgraced puppeteer and his affair with a married woman. It is a novel that astounds because Roth wrote it so late in the game and yet here is throwing everything at us. Rude, outrageous, ambitious and it houses the most romantic scene in literature involving the remembrance of urolagnia. Running Dog by Don DeLillo DeLillo: is there another cultural figure who has been more prescient about our modern world? Indeed, is there a writer alive better? The guy has authored too many bangers – The Names, Mao II, Libra – so I have gone for a book I feel is underappreciated (even by the man himself): Running Dog. It's about the hunt for a sex tape filmed by Hitler in his bunker in Berlin. It has all the DeLillo trademarks – those sentences, that dialogue as if it is off its axis – and what is especially haunting about this one is the eventual reveal of the 'sex' tape: shocking and humanising, a scene that will linger in the reader's mind. Amongst Women by John McGahern McGahern arrived to me after Joyce and shaped my writing to the point I had to forgot about him: his influence was sticky on my stories, Yew trees kept cropping up. I returned to him in the course of writing my novel, and I have been captivated all over again by this great work in particular. The story follows the brutal patriarch, Moran, and the shadow Moran casts on the lives of his daughters. I have gone to town on my copy of the novel – underlying entire passages, dismantling scenes – in my attempt to answer the almighty question: how does McGahern make the everyday rhythms of country life hook you like a thriller? Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel A novel set in Tudor times about a clerk and his sudden professional ascension should read dry, it should feel worn and dusty, and yet Mantel's trilogy about Thomas Cromwell is a whirlwind: invigorating, discombobulating, thrilling. We are in Cromwell's scheming mind, we are in the present moment, we are in the court of King Henry as men tug fortune their way while seeking to maintain their heads. It's a drama, it's a character study, it's a historical document, it's a modern novel set in the past. By the close of the third one, I was hoping against hope that Cromwell might slip free from the net of history. Happiness, As Such by Natalia Ginzburg The best book recommendations come in two emotional states: one, when the recommender has drink taken, and two, when they haven't even finished the book yet and still are compelled to gush: this second option occurred when a friend emailed me about Natalia Ginzburg and her genius. To read Ginzburg is to read someone who can see-through the world: who can present the essence of you and I. I adore her sentences, their conversational and stylish nature, and I have picked Happiness, As Such, but honestly, you can't go wrong with any Ginzburg. A remarkable individual besides being a remarkable writer: her struggle against a fascist Italian state could be as influential as her writing soon enough. The Ambassadors by Henry James I had never read James beyond a story or two, and at the start of this year, I set out to rectify this glaring omission by reading The Ambassadors: and yeah, I get it now. It's the turn of the 20th century and Lambert Strether is shipped from America to Paris by his soon-to-be-wife to check in on her delightfully named son, Chad – for suspicions abound about Chad and women. Look, no point fooling you: it is an intimidating book to read, but once you wade knees-deep into James's dense and playful style, something will click, and the novel will begin to flow brilliantly. And big surprise: Henry James is hilarious. Enter Ghost by Isabelle Hammad Here is an intelligent and artful book that is proof that the novel as a form still has something to add in this age of screens and disinformation: for here is our real world politics on stage, here is modern history made digestible. Our narrator is a Palestinian actress returning to Haifa and who subsequently joins up with a ragtag band scheming to stage the play Hamlet in the West Bank. What could go wrong? And what could easily and justly be a fiery polemic is instead an exquisitely crafted novel about family, displacement, resilient and grave injustice and repression. Timely is a descriptor that is batted about too much, but in this case... Fun and Games, by John Patrick McHugh, published by 4th Estate, is out now
Scotsman
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The bizarre collections up for a £500 'collecting prize' at prestigious Scottish university
The prize, awarded at the University of St Andrews, is in its tenth year Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... They are on the shortlist for a university prize aiming to highlight the passion for curating personal collections of unusual items. Now students' personal collections - ranging from Beano annuals to historic images of Japan and vintage Agatha Christie novels - are to be considered for a £500 prize. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad St. Andrews University, where the prize is awarded each year | Getty Images/iStockphoto The prize, which will be announced this week, is offered in honour of James David Forbes, an eminent scientist and principal of the United College of St Salvator and St Leonard at St Andrews, whose library was presented to the university in 1929. He died in 1868. In its tenth year, the prize is for the best collection of printed, manuscript or photographic material on any topic. The accolade aims to encourage and empower students with a passion for curation of their materials and emphasises the joy to be found in the practice. The prize, a partnership between the University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums department and antiquarian Bill Zachs, founder and director of the Blackie House Library and Museum, is open to all students who have a collection of printed, manuscript, or photographic material. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Past winners have included collections about mountaineering, green penguin book editions, Lesbian Pulp fiction and instruction manuals of South Indian dancing. Six students have been shortlisted for this year's prize. On the list for her collection of vintage editions of Robert Burns's poetry is Evelyn Waddick, while Chenxiao Jin is a finalist for '19th-century depictions of Japan through the western gaze'. Kate Oneal's collection of the writings of Anne Carson and Zina Gharakhani's on Agatha Christie in translation will also go up against Alexa Zildjian's collection of typewriter fonts and William Lewis's Beano annuals. Mr Zachs said: 'The James Forbes Book Collecting Prize at St Andrews University, like the prizes established at other Scottish universities [Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow] celebrate collecting in the past, present and future. Forbes, a brilliant physicist and glaciologist, gave his highly important scientific collection to the university of which he was principal.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The winning student will also work with the university's special collections librarians to find relevant books which are then donated in the student's name to the university. Mr Zachs said: 'In doing so, the joy of collecting and philanthropy are united, honouring Forbes and this year's winner.' The winner is then eligible to submit their collection to a nationwide competition, which also has the dual concept of collecting and donating. Zina Gharakhani's collection of Agatha Christie books is on the shortlist. | University of St Andrews University of St Andrews assistant rare books librarian Briony Harding, who co-ordinates the prize each year, said: 'It's fantastic that St Andrews has a collecting prize, which encourages students to collect written and printed material. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's been a joy over the years to see just what students collect – not just the subject matter, but also the variety of objects, where printed material such as books, photographs and postcards can be supported by ceramic tiles, DVDs and typewriters. 'Many of the students, who don't necessarily think of themselves as collectors, are passionate about what they collect, and I hope that the prize continues to encourage students on their collecting journey over the next ten years.' Kate Oneal's collection of the writings of Anne Carson is also shortlisted. | University of St Andrews
