Retired American light-heavyweight boxer Freddie Mack, sometimes spelt Freddy Mack and also known as Mr Superbad, relocated to the UK in 1965 and established a second career as a soul singer and disc jockey.
Between late 1965 and the mid-1970s, Mack fronted a succession of bands featuring a staggering number of notable British R&B and soul musicians. Originally called The Mack Sound, the singer’s bands also worked under the names The Freddie Mack Sound, The Fantastic Freddie Mack Show and the Freddie Mack Extravaganza.
Thanks to the recollections of former Doc Thomas Group lead guitarist Dave Tedstone, who took over from Stuart Taylor on 5 April 1967, the band’s formation comprised the following when he joined:
Freddie Mack – lead vocals
Derry Wilkie – lead vocals
Tony Morgan – lead vocals, congas
Kenneth Harry – lead vocals
Kookie Eaton – lead vocals
Dave Tedstone – lead guitar
Roy Davies – organ
Alan Cartwright – bass
Dick Morrisey – tenor saxophone
Sonny Corbett – trumpet
Roger Truth – drums (replaced days later by Ron Berg and Terry Stannard on dual drums)
While this line-up appears to have remained quite stable, until at least November 1967, there were a few changes throughout the year.
Dave Tedstone remembers that Dick Morrisey departed sometime during the summer. Derry Wilkie left in June 1967 to pursue a solo career.
Ron Berg, who later went on to Blodwyn Pig among others, and Terry Stannard, who later played with Kokomo among others, both played drums after Roger Truth departed days after Tedstone joined.
Mistakenly credited to 1966, it was this formation (minus Derry Wilkie) that appeared on the album, The Fantastic Freddy Mack Show – ‘Live’ at ‘Toft’s Club’ Folkestone. Tedstone says that not many venues at the time had stages large enough to accommodate both drums so on the album, Stannard played the first set, and Berg the second.
However, future tenor sax player Geoff Driscoll reports that the album wasn’t recorded live but was in fact cut at Tony Pike’s studio and the crowd noise was dubbed on later.
Notable gigs:
5 April 1967 – Birmingham gig (marks Dave Tedstone’s debut)
6 April 1967 – Overseas Visitors Club, London
19 April 1967 – Weymouth, Dorset (most likely Steering Wheel)
20 April 1967 – Stafford (most likely Dorset)
21 April 1967 – Dorchester, Dorset (most likely Steering Wheel)
22 April 1967 – Nottingham (possibly one of the boat clubs)
23 April 1967 – Cromer, Norfolk
24 April 1967 – BBC recording
25 April 1967 – Concorde, Southampton, Hampshire
5 May 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, London with Bohemians
11 May 1967 – Overseas Visitors Club, London
12 May1967 – Hitchin, Hertfordshire
13 May 1967 – Gaiety Ballroom, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire
13 May 1967 – Nite Owl, Leicester
14 May 1967 – Garden Club (location not known but possibly London)
16 May 1967 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
17 May 1967 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, Middlesex
18 May 1967 – Tiles, London
19 May 1967 – King Alfred’s College, Winchester, Hampshire
20 May 1967 – Maple Ballroom, Northampton
21 May 1967 – Swan, Yardley, West Midlands
22 May 1967 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands
23 May 1967 – Carlton Club, Warrington
24 May 1967 – Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
26 May 1967 – Golden Diamond, Sutton in Ashfield
27 May 1967 – Tofts, Folkestone, Kent
29 May 1967 – Belfry Hotel, Sutton Coldfield
30 May 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham
31 May 1967 – RANS Lossiemouth, Scotland
1 June 1967 – RANS Arbroath, Scotland
2 June 1967 – Hawick, Scotland
3 June 1967 – Kelso, Scotland
4 June 1967 – Cosmo Club, Carlisle
5-8 June 1967 – Paris, France
9 June 1967 – Lee West Lanes, Bedford
10 June 1967 – Ad-Hocs Festival, Norwich
11 June 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham
12 June 1967 – Three Horseshoes, Letchworth
13 June 1967 – Concorde Club, Southampton
14 June 1967 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, Middlesex
17 June 1967 – Matlock Bath, Matlock, Derbyshire
18 June 1967 – Le Metro, Birmingham
19 June 1967 – Carton Club, Warrington
20 June 1967 – Ritz, Bournemouth
21 June 1967 – Princess Pavilion, Falmouth, Cornwall
22 June 1967 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall
23-24 June 1967 – Winter Gardens Ballroom, Penzance, Cornwall
25 June 1967 – Steering Wheel, Dorchester, Dorset
26 June 1967 – Cook’s Ferry Inn, Edmonton
28 June 1967 – De Valance Ballroom, Tenby
30 June 1967 – Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
1 July 1967 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, Middlesex
2 July 1967 – Central Hotel, Gillingham, Kent
4 July 1967 – Concorde, Southampton, Hampshire
6 July 1967 – Huntington Youth Centre, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
7 July 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Hertfordshire
8 July 1967 – St George’s Ballroom, Hinckley, Leicestershire
9 July 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham
10 July 1967 – Melody Maker says they are recording
11 July 1967 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
14 July 1967 – Grammar School, Gravesend, Kent
15 July 1967 – Tofts, Folkestone, Kent
16 July 1967 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire
18 July 1967 – Assembly Hall, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
19 July 1967 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall
23 July 1967 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, Middlesex
25 July 1967 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands
27 July 1967 – RAF Witham, Lincolnshire
28 July 1967 – Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
29 July 1967 – Memorial Hall, Barry, Glamorgan, Wales
30 July 1967 – Swan, Yardley, West Midlands
1-2 August 1967 – Paris, France
9 August 1967 – Princess Pavilion, Falmouth, Cornwall with Modesty Blues
10 August 1967 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall with The Californians
12 August 1967 – Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth, Cornwall
14 August 1967 – Whisky A Go Go, London
15 August 1967 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
16 August 1967 – Scotland
18 August 1967 – Gay Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston with Bobby Johnson Big Band
19 August 1967 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, Middlesex
21 August 1967 – Carlton Club, Warrington, Cheshire
22 August 1967 – Beau Brummel Club, Nantwich, Cheshire
25 August 1967 – Caesars, Bedford, Bedfordshire
26-27 August 1967 – Tofts, Folkestone, Kent
28 August 1967 – Hemel Hempstead Town Hall, Hertfordshire
29 August 1967 – Ritz Ballroom, Bournemouth, Dorset
30 August 1967 – Tropicana Club, Croydon, Surrey
31 August 1967 – Scottish tour commences to 8 September
5 September 1967 – Two Red Shoes, Elgin (billed as Freddie Mack Show) (Source: https://tworedshoes.wordpress.com/)
8 September 1967 – Ballerina Ballroom, Nairn, Scotland
8 September 1967 – Civic, Wrexham, Wales with Dynamic Honey and System 5 (unlikely considering other Scottish dates)
9 September 1967 – Aberdeen
10 September 1967 – RNAS Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland
11-12 September 1967 – Scotland
13 September 1967 – Belgium
29 September 1967 – Flamingo, London with The Gabb and Scots of St James
30 September 1967 – Tin Hat, Kettering
1 October 1967 – Co-op Hall, Warrington, Cheshire
2 October 1967 – Park Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands
4 October 1967 – Hemel Hempstead Town Hall, Hertfordshire
6 October 1967 – Il Rondo, Leicester
7 October 1967 – Enfield College of Technology
8 October 1967 – Le Metro, Birmingham
9 October 1967 – St Matthew’s Bath Hall, Ipswich
12 October 1967 – Brays Grove Youth Club, Harlow, Essex
13 October 1967 – Pavilion Ballroom, Weymouth, Dorset
14 October 1967 – Tofts, Folkestone, Kent
15 October 1967 – Corn Exchange, Maidstone
16 October 1967 – 100 Club, London
17 October 1967 – Concorde, Southampton
18 October 1967 – Travel to Paris
19-30 October 1967 – Belgium
31 October 1967 – Shenley Green Youth Club, Birmingham
2 November 1967 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire
3 November 1967 – Apex Club, Ashford, Kent
4 November 1967 – Earlham Park, Norwich
5 November 1967 – Cosmo Club, Carlisle
6 November 1967 – Quaintways, Chester
7 November 1967 – Ritz, Bournemouth, Dorset
8 November 1967 – Skyline Ballroom, Hull
10 November 1967 – Mayfair Ballroom, Birmingham
11 November 1967 – Bradford University, Student Union
12 November 1967 – South Bank Jazz Club, Grimsby
13 November 1967 – 100 Club, London
15 November 1967 – The Catacombs, Eastbourne
17 November 1967 – Topspot Ballroom, Ross-on-Wye
18 November 1967 – Royal Lido, Prestayn, Wales
19 November 1967 – Beau Brummel Club, Nantwich, Cheshire with Jaytree Organisation
20 November 1967 – Bamboo Club, Stockport
21-26 November 1967 – Dates in Scotland
21 November 1967 – Two Red Shoes, Elgin (billed as Freddie Mack & His Road Show) (advert lists 16-piece band) (Source: https://tworedshoes.wordpress.com/)
27 November 1967 – Carlton Club, Warrington, Cheshire
29 November 1967 – Reading Town Hall, Reading
Around December 1967, Colin Davy, who’d briefly been a member of Georgie Fame’s post Blue Flames band, took over the drum stool.
However, sometime in January 1968, Dave Tedstone departed to join Jimmy James & The Vagabonds (and briefly reunited with Colin Davy in Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band in July/August 1968 for some recordings).
Notable dates:
7 December 1967 – Medway College of Art, Rochester, Kent
8 December 1967 – Southampton University
9 December 1967 – Clacton Town Hall, Clacton, Essex
10 December 1967 – Samantha’s, Bournemouth, Dorset
11 December 1967 – St Matthew’s Bath Halls, Ipswich
12 December 1967 – Keele University
14 December 1967 – RAF Whitton
15 December 1967 – Red Spot Club, Leicester
16 December 1967 – Night Prowler, Yarmouth, Norfolk
17 December 1967 – Leofric Hotel, Coventry
19 December 1967 – Queen’s Hotel, Grays, Essex
13 January 1968 – Winter Gardens Ballroom, Penzance, Cornwall
I would personally like to thank Dave Tedstone for helping to piece this part of the story together.
PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS BELOW TO ADD/CORRECT INFORMATION
Live gig sources:
During my research on Freddie Mack from 1965-1969, I have found gigs from the following sources:
The Cornish Guardian, Derby Evening Telegraph, Evening Sentinel, Melody Maker, West Briton & Royal Cornwall Gazette, Lincolnshire Guardian, Birmingham Evening Mail, NME, Northwich Chronicle, Sheffield Star, Warrington Guardian, Wrexham Leader
Copyright © Nick Warburton, 2015. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author. To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com or nick_warburton@hotmail.com
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