In 1976 the pre-historic Sheep Worriers (ie before they were Sheep Worrying) were all at Bridgwater College, which in them days was split over three sites around the town centre. The main site at Broadway, with an annex for drama and music at Cranleigh gardens, the Blake Street centre and the Park Road centre, on the site of the former Girls Grammar School. These 3 sites meant that the town centre was their common room and especially the Bridge Café where you could sit for hours with a single cold cup of coffee, not that the management wanted you to, and the whole wrld would drop in and out. On Monday evenings they’d go to Youth Theatre at the Cranleigh Centre and usually to the Lime Kiln inn afterwards and every now and then there’d be a gig.
BRIAN SMEDLEY;- “I got my first guitar in 1975 and Dave Newton got his at the same time. We learnt together but it was slow and painstaking as neither of us had lessons. Suddenly one of us would hit upon something like ‘if you move your finger up a fret the note goes up a semi-tone, then we’d have a eureka moment and evolve several months. We eventually got to playing in a band and getting gigs – our first was at the WI in Highbridge because Davids granny ran it. We played to 5 little old ladies. Mainly Marc Bolan songs.”
But these were crucial times. The Grammar school system had just ended and was replaced by a Comprehensive one and in Bridgwater schools didn’t have sixth forms, they all went to a Sixth Form College – which was a whole new way of life. And into all this came punk rock.
DAVE NEWTON “We got into punk via Dr Feelgood. Punk was like that but younger, faster and more aggressive. At 16 this was better and the Feelgoods, as much as we loved them, were old men in their 30s. There were younger versions like Eddie and the Hot Rods, and then only a year later along came the Sex Pistols and the Damned. Mind you, before that I was into the New York Dolls,MC5, and all the proto punk stuff. This was exciting high energy adrenalin fuelled music for snotty aggressive dejected rebellious teenagers but faster and louder and snottier. After years of prog rock and grammar school and ‘you have to aspire to high levels of virtuosity in music’- now just a couple of chords would do the trick “
EUGENE BYRNE “It was a big difference by the 6th form. There was a huge explosion of different activities and possibilities It was our first exposure to the counter culture. People like .Colin Richardson who produced Cobblestone and Jeff Reed who had a hippy band.The teachers were very important – people like Chris Hall who actually encouraged people to do stuff. Chris was the 1st teacher I’d ever encountered who wanted to be a friend to students. We’d go to her house and watch telly and play monopoly. In the 6th form common room, we’d smoke and drink tea, listen to music (there was a stereo in the common room) it becomes a talking shop. On Wednesday afternoons we’d do drama. Also we’d do the College magazine . It was the first time some of us started to get driving licences and cars. Also Youth Theatre was very important – people like Kieth Wise who was Tony Collins assistant, because he was not one of us and not a teacher…very left wing/ hard left…not paid and just wanted to be an agit prop playwrite. This was a period of Stupendously massive change .Welcome to the house of fun. Now you can legally go to pubs…smoke…be treated like a grown up . It was a very liberating atmosphere..it was when we as a group of friends stopped being nerdy wierdos and started finding our place In the world…at Haygrove we were looked down on by the jocks but by 6th form we were it.”
ROD JONES “This is the moment where geekdom starts. Most movements like this take a generation to come to fruition. “
KIM NEWMAN “I felt alienated at school and picked on for what I wore but not at college. Movies like Carrie and American Graffiti were projected visions of US High School, but this wasn’t the US so nerd or geek culture didn’t exist. College was liberating because we had so much free time. We were often only doing 3 subjects so we had time for meeting new people , who hadn’t seen you grow up and knew what a twat you were. Teachers were important. My big experience was sociology-Barry Morris-left wing,cultural ,he got me to stop writing pretentiously and stop showing off and to make arguments. Also it was just me and Rod and 8 girls. This gave me the ability to talk to women and it was the fist time I realised girls went through the same shit as us. More freedom is good, and being asked what to do not told what to do and no one could thump you if they didn’t like you. At Morgans that would be settled by fists.”
On December 17th 1975 Bridgwater College RAG DAY was caught on film – because Rod Jones filmed it. All the Sheep Worriers were in it – except Smedley, who was drunk in a raincoat somewhere.
Mon 29 March 1976– the ‘counter culture’ band SUNBURNT SPINACH start rehearsing at cranleigh gardens. This scene included people like Jeff Reed, John Bailey, Dave Bolger, Simon Wills and Tonto.
BOB ORMROD was the manager of the Art Centre at the time and remembers “ They never paid to get in! I let them in to the house next door to squat it. I liked them! Druggies, hairies,always wrecked.”
EUGENE BYRNE “Drug sodden hippy losers. But an important influence on how we looked at the world. Slightly older ,we were young impressionable and stupid. Clearly not role models but we listened to them and represented rebellious a counter culture streak that is fashionable. They represented an alternative way of looking at the world,’a profound truth’ when placed against conformity and chicken shit rules of grammar schools. Well, from one xtreme to the other. Yes they were smokingdope at the squat and once famously ran out of dope so started smoking teabags.”
April 5– Bridge cafe
BRIAN SMEDLEY “The band had a long chat about what to call ourselves. Euge wants to call the band DEAD ON ARRIVAL and David suggested TERMINAL PLANE CRASH. Both of these were ruled out after band member Nick Hill’s parents almost died in a car crash . David came up with a selection of ideas – ‘CRUNCH MOLLOY AND THE CARDBOARD BOX’ THE COLLAPSIBLE BROTHERS + THE DANGEROUS BROTHERS. We chose the Cardboard Box.”
Sat 23 Oct– Rod and Pats 18th Birthday party at St Georges Hall . Played as THE CARDBOARD BOX –With the Feelgood influence now to the fore Brian was clearly being Wilko Johnson, dressed all in black and throwing self all round the room (Al Proctor on vcls.Bill Hatchet on bass, Nervo on drums Dave Newton on rhythm guitar and Brian Smedley on Lead Guitar.)
BRIAN SMEDLEY “This was an important seminal gig, very Feelgood influenced. The group was becoming popular and we were seen as an ‘event’ band.”
Fri 19 November the band played a gig at Huish Episcopi School .
BRIAN SMEDLEY “Kim’s sister Sasha had got us the gig and when she asked Kim the name he told them “Raucous Garbage and the Cardboard Boxes” When we turned up the teachers had got the kids to bring cardboard boxes as a project -so they ripped them up and threw them at us . We decided there and then to change our name to The DANGEROUS BROTHERS. Rod – overjoyed, though not in the band, leapt on stage to introduce us by that name while Eugene pointed a gun at the audience. “
DAVE NEWTON thinking about how the name came about “We had a brain storming session in the Bridge and the name came up. The Bridge was all about waiting for others and atmosphere. At one session we were chucking names about like the Osmond bros or the Walker bros so we just needed a stupid word before it. So I came up with it…and especially because we’re NOT dangerous or hard nuts..anything but dangerous. But the band now had a name to add to the scene.”
Nov 22– David Newton is thrown out of band and Lester (Nick Hill) brought in
DAVE NEWTON “We were starting to go different directions. I felt self conscious about doing R’n’B and us just being 15-16 yr old kids. Also, the rest of the band had noticed that Lester had a car and a Les Paul and a Marshal stack. I just had an acoustic guitar with a pcik up. “
28 November -Top local DJ ‘Splodge’ (Mark Painter) agreed to be the DBs manager . He decided we should actually BE ‘brothers’ . And he would be Dr Cosmo. Rod had the idea of ‘the Brotherhood’-he was Rocco- Eugene was paddo, the rest of the group and any fans could all have Dangerous Names ;- Pervo/Nervo/Doppo/Bozo/dr Cosmo/ Junko/ Speedo/ Tonto/ Coco/ Paddo/ Capo/Dago/Polo/Nesso/Nympho/Snobbo/Rollo/Solo/Nutto/Lingo/Tesco
KIM NEWMAN “We were absorbing showbiz mythology and modelled ourselves on 1940s ideas of gangs of comedians like the Marx Brothers or 60’s pop groups like The Monkees. A bunch of crazy people living in a crazy house with a fire pole. Theh idea that just being in a group wasn’t enough-It had to be more than that. We had to have wacky adventures . Going round in a van solving Scooby do mysteries. Marx bros meets Monkees, the Crazy Gang, the Pythons.”
2 Dec – Top DBs fan Tim Mander sent a letter to Hughie Green on Opportunity Knocks asking if the Dangerous Brothers could be on it.
TIM MANDER “I thought the DBs were deserving of a chance of fame and it was rubbish so I thought we might have a chance.!”
FRI 17 DEC– The second Rag day – This time the DBs played the evening gig and it was held at the old Girls Grammar school hall.
BRIAN SMEDLEY “But it was rag day, so we’d got drunk .Lester couldn’t feel his fingers and sheared the ends of them off trying to play fast guitar and ended up with a bloody sunburst all over his white Les Paul. Nervo thought it would be funny to wear a gorilla mask and nearly suffocated in the process. “
DAVE NEWTON “ One of the bonuses of being chucked out was i could get off with girls during the gigs. I spent the entirety of Bohemian Rhapsory on top of someone snogging in girls grammr sch0ool hall”
But the year didn’t end there and the DBs were in great demand.
Tue 21 Dec– Penny Humphries and Louisa Manders party at Hamp community centre, rhode lane
Thurs 23 Dec-DBs played Curry Rivel youth club. (£15 + £3 bonus was a good salary in them days!)
MEANWHILE……IN YEOVIL .
The DBs DIY style punk renaissance was happening across the country, and 30 miles away in Yeovil , it was the band The Mob who were a Crass band before Crass -crusty punk, and political.
The DBs DIY style punk renaissance was happening across the country, and 30 miles away in Yeovil , it was the band The Mob who were a Crass band before Crass -crusty punk, and political.SIMON BARBER “It was the time of ‘All the Madmen’ (Debbie Gooch) gigs, fanzines,bands. The Mob would put a gig on and the audience would then form bands. There were 7 or 8 bands and it was chaotic. The 1st gig was like the Manchester Sex Pistols gig at the Free Trade Hall -but in this case it was at the Red Cross Hut, Yeovil. The Mob, Bikini mutants, The System. Everybody formed a band”
JOHN PARISH who went on to produce PJ Harvey and others in later years “Punk had an affect on me because it was the catalyst for the development of the music I was obsessed with later on..ie new wave music, New York new wave-XTC/Magazine-massivey influential in my writing. It meant suddenly you could get gigs playing your own music. So in fact it was easier than getting it for coverbands. I went from being all over the place in influences to very Talking Heads/XTC We’d moved to Bristol to be in jazz fusion bands but now we moved back home to Yeovil – well, we were all broke and went back to our parents.”
A special bonus feature
In fact 1976 looked exactly like this…..Thanks to a film made by Rod Jones but totally ignored for 42 years we can now see people involved in the Bridgwater scene in December 1976. The clip is from the Rag Day event-which was very rainy and so everyone went into Blake Street Common room…….
And then 1977 happened….