Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band 1967-1968

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band
(April 1967-April 1968)

Geno Washington – lead vocals
John ‘Silkie’ Culley – lead guitar
Dave Greenslade – organ (replaced John Carroll who played a few weeks)
Peter Carney – bass
Lionel ‘Rocky’ Kingham – tenor saxophone
Clive ‘Hercules’ Burrows – baritone saxophone
Hans Herbert – drums

Melody Maker announced that three (of the original) members (Pete Gage, Geoff Pullum and Herb Prestidge) had left in mid-April 1967 and Geno Washington would be replacing them the same week. The revised line up (deputy musicians alongside surviving members) was due to play its debut on 19 April (Wednesday).

NME also noted that three original members had left the week ending 22 April. It reported that Geno Washington had taken on deputy musicians until permanent replacements could be found as commitments would not be interrupted.

Guitarist John Culley confirmed from his diary that he played his debut on 26 April (with John Carroll on organ) after auditioning at the Ram Jam in Brixton a day or two beforehand (24 April is the most plausible date) so deputy musicians were definitely used in the interim.

The personnel changes were subsequently announced in South East London Mercury on 18 May 1967. NME announced the Dave Greenslade line-up above in the week ending 6 May, so it seems that John Carroll did play a few weeks before Greenslade joined after honouring his commitments with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds.

Keyboard player John Carroll knew bass player Peter Carney from The Flexmen and The London Beats during 1963-1965. He also briefly played with Carney in Tony Knight’s Chessmen in 1966 before joining The New Pirates in February 1967. Carroll had commitments with The Flower Pot Men and later went on to play with Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers and The Flirtations on Stevie Wonder’s UK tour.

Guitarist John Culley had formed The Hi-Grades in spring 1962 alongside guitarist Glen Desmier, bass player Mike Watson drummer Phil Wainman and others. After backing singer Michael Holliday in Jersey the following summer (as Mike Twain & The Hi-Grades), the musicians moved to Sweden in June 1964 and recorded for Sonet. They also backed other artists on recordings for the label. In 1965, Tony Walter replaced Phil Wainman on drums and the musicians toured Denmark, briefly working as The Dynamiters and backing singer Swedish Jerry Williams before Culley returned to the UK in late 1965.

Culley next moved to Paris to work with French singer Ronnie Bird until auditioning for Geno Washington in April 1967. Peter Carney brought his old friend Pete Ross from The Flexmen along to the Ram Jam audition but John Culley got the job.

Drummer Hans Herbert, who’d played with Peter Carney and John Carroll in The Flexmen, had gone on to work with The Just Four and The Guests during 1965-1966 before playing with The All Night Workers from October 1966.

Keyboard player Dave Greenslade was a longstanding member of Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds (who’d gigged with the original Ram Jam Band on numerous occasions), having briefly worked with Clive Burrows in the Wes Minister Five in 1964.

After Greenslade joined, the new Ram Jam Band (with a session bass player, possibly Tony Reeves) recorded and released two singles – “She Shot a Hole In My Soul” c/w “I’ve Been Hurt By Love” (Piccadilly 7N 35392), released in June 1967; and “Different Strokes” c/w “You Got Me Hummin’” (Pye 7N 17425), released in December 1967. For the “Different Strokes” session, noted session player Harry Stoneham arranged the track and added keyboards alongside Greenslade.

With Peter Carney on bass, they also cut the remainder of the tracks on the second LP, Hipsters, Flipsters, Finger-Poppin’ Daddies! (Piccadilly NPL/NSPL 38032), which was released in September 1967 and peaked at #8 in the UK charts. Later that year, the band recorded a studio album, Shake a Tail Feather Baby! (Piccadilly NPL/NSPL 38029), which was issued in January 1968.

“Different Strokes” and “You Got Me Hummin’” also appeared on a second EP, “Different Strokes” (Pye NEP 24293), which also included the tracks “I’m Your Puppet” and “Use Me”. The former was cut earlier in the year by the Pete Gage formation.

Selected gigs:
19 April 1967 – College of Commerce, Hull, Humberside (Skyline Ballroom)
22 April 1967 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester
23 April 1967 – Plaza, Newbury, Berkshire
(Please note: above gigs may not have happened but if they did, they were with deputy musicians)

24/25 April – Auditions at Ram Jam, Brixton bring in John Carroll and John Culley

26 April 1967 – Top Rank, Croydon, Surrey with Davey Sands & The Essex (Carroll and Culley’s debut)
27 April 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, Wiltshire
28 April 1967 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex (not in John Culley’s diary)
28 April 1967 – Shoreline, Bognor Regis, West Sussex
29 April 1967 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire
30 April 1967 – Beau Brummel Club, Nantwich, Cheshire

1 May 1967 – Top Rank, Watford, Hertfordshire
2 May 1967 – High Wycombe Town Hall, Buckinghamshire
4 May 1967 – Bowes Lyon House, Stevenage, Hertfordshire
5 May 1967 – Southampton Guildhall, Southampton, Hants
6 May 1967 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex
7 May 1967 – NME Poll Winners’ Show, Empire Pool, Wembley, Middlesex with Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch, Cream, Dusty Springfield, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, The Beach Boys, Paul Jones, Lulu, The Move, The Small Faces, The Spencer Davis Group, The Alan Price Set, Cat Stevens, The Troggs and others

16 May – Recording at Pye

17 May 1967 – Top Rank, Doncaster, South Yorkshire (also TV appearance)
18 May 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Coventry, West Midlands
19 May 1967 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, Middlesex
20 May 1967 – Toft’s, Folkestone, Kent
21 May 1967 – Ricky Tick, Newbury, Berkshire
22 May 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Penny Blacks

25 May 1967 – Recording at Pye

26 May 1967 – Pavilion Ballroom, Weymouth, Dorset
27 May 1967 – Winter Gardens Pavilion, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset
28 May 1967 – Ram Jam, Brixton with The Hunky Chunk Band
29 May 1967 – Tulip Bulp Auction Hall, Spalding, Lincolnshire with Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, The Move, Zoot Money and Pink Floyd

31 May – Recording at Pye

1 June 1967 – Salisbury City Hall, Salisbury, Wiltshire with Combustion
2 June 1967 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, Middlesex
3 June 1967 – Morley Town Hall, Morley, West Yorkshire
4 June 1967 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey
6 June 1967 – Britannia Ballroom, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
10 June 1967 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands
11 June 1967 – Redcar Jazz Club, Coatham Hotel, Redcar, North Yorkshire
13 June 1967 – Caius College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds

16 June 1967 – Bird Cage, Portsmouth, Hants
17 June 1967 – Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire
18 June 1967 – Britannia Pier, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
26 June 1967 – St Luke’s College, Exeter University, Exeter, Devon
27 June 1967 – Queen’s Hall, Barnstaple, Devon
29 June 1967 – Scotch Club, Torquay, Devon
30 June 1967 – St George’s Hall, Exeter, Devon

1 July 1967 – Ritz Ballroom, Bournemouth, Dorset
2 July 1967 – Khyber Club, Taunton, Somerset
3 July 1967 – Bath Pavilion, Bath, Somerset
4 July 1967 – Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire
6 July 1967 – Cornwall College of Technology, Redruth, Cornwall
9 July 1967 – Ram Jam, Brixton
11 July 1967 – Torquay Town Hall, Torquay, Devon
12 July 1967 – Bal Tabarin, Downham, Kent

13 July 1967 – Recorded for Top of the Pops (according to John Culley’s diary)
(Note: This may have been same show that was aired on 1 September and also included The Action, Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours and Matt Munroe)

15 July 1967 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester
18 July 1967 – Marquee, London with The Amboy Dukes
19 July 1967 – Ram Jam, Brixton (recorded promo video at Battersea Park earlier in the day)
21 July 1967 – Casino Club, Burnley, Lancashire with Sisters of Idle Dreams
22 July 1967 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire

24 July 1967 – Recorded for BBC in Manchester (Pop North)

25 July 1967 – Left for Scottish tour that lasted until 29 July
28 July 1967 – Ballerina Ballroom, Nairn, Scotland

3 August 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Streatham, London
5 August 1967 – St Austell, Cornwall
7 August 1967 – Birmingham Roller Rink, Birmingham (also BBC recordings Monday Monday)
8 August 1967 – Sherwood Rooms, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
10 August 1967 – Locarno, Bristol, Avon
11 August 1967 – Locarno, Basildon, Essex
16 August 1967 – Seagull Ballroom, Ryde Pier Head, Isle of Wight
17 August 1967 – Locarno, Portsmouth, Hants

18 August 1967 – Flew to Spain
19 August 1967 – Tiffany’s Ballroom, Barcelona, Spain (also play gigs at Platja D’aro)

22 August 1967 – Spinning Disc, Leeds, West Yorkshire
24 August 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Coventry, West Midlands
25 August 1967 – Gaiety, Grimsby, South Yorkshire
26 August 1967 – Ram Jam, Brixton
28 August 1967 – Hastings Festival, Hastings, East Sussex with The Kinks, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Robb Storme & The Whispers, Winston’s Fumbs and Hip Hooray Band
30 August 1967 – Locarno, Stevenage, Hertfordshire
31 August 1967 – Pavilion, Southampton, Hants

1 September 1967 – Botwell Community Centre, Hayes, Middlesex
4 September 1967 – Queen’s Ballroom, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with Robert Plant & The Band of Joy

5 September 1967 – BBC Saturday Club appearance

7 September 1967 – Skyline Ballroom, Hull, Humberside
8 September 1967 – Boulevard Club, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire and then Crystal Ballroom, Castleford, West Yorkshire
9 September 1967 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire
12 September 1967 – Palais, Ilford, Essex
13 September 1967 – Orchid Ballroom, Purley, Surrey (short holiday after this)
28 September 1967 – Assembly Hall, Worthing, West Sussex

30 September 1967 – Band flies to Copenhagen for short Scandinavian tour, sharing some dates with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention

30 September 1967 – ‘Love Out’, Brondby Pop Club, Brondby, Denmark with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Hurdy Gurdy and R&B Section

3-4 October 1967 – Star Club, Copenhagen, Denmark
7 October 1967 – Idrotthuset, Orebro, Sweden with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Blues Quality and The Quints
8 October 1967 – Jernvallen, Sandviken, Sweden with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Two Good Reasons
10 October 1967 – Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and The Defenders
17 October 1967 – Marquee, London with The Amboy Dukes
29 October 1967 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, Middlesex with The All-Nite Workers

18 November 1967 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester

2 December 1967 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire
30 December 1967 – Starlight Room, Boston, Lincolnshire with Ebony Keys and The Lost

4 January 1968 – Locarno Ballroom, Portsmouth, Hants
5 January 1968 – Royal Ballroom, Tottenham, London
7 January 1968 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex
9 January 1968 – Bluesology Festival, Chateau Impney, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Joe Cocker, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers and Duster Bennett
9 January 1968 – Marquee, London with Ferris Wheel
10 January 1968 – Pavilion, Southampton, Hants
11 January 1968 – Locarno Ballroom, Streatham, London
13 January 1968 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire
19 January 1968 – Queen’s Hall, Burslem, Staffordshire with The Iveys
20 January 1968 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester
30 January 1968 – Palais, Ilford, Kent
31 January 1968 – Locarno, Stevenage, Hertfordshire

2 February 1968 – New Central Pier, Morecombe, Lancashire
15 February 1968 – Zodiac Club, Eden Park Hotel, Beckenham, Kent (replacing Georgie Fame)
16 February 1968 – Top Rank Suite, Swansea
17 February 1968 – Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex with Simon K & The Meantimers

2 March 1968 – Winter Gardens, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset
3 March 1968 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex
11 March 1968 – Locarno Ballroom, Glasgow
23 March 1968 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester

11 April 1968 – Eden Park Hotel, Beckenham, Kent
12 April 1968 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band
(April 1968-July 1968)

Geno Washington – lead vocals
Dave Greenslade – organ
John ‘Silkie’ Culley – lead guitar
Peter Carney – bass
Lionel ‘Rocky’ Kingham – tenor saxophone
Pat Higgs – trumpet
Hans Herbert – drums

Clive Burrows left around April 1968 and the band took on trumpet player Pat Higgs, a former member of Elton John’s mid-1960s band, Bluesology and then a brief member of Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement.

This version of the band was responsible for a lone single, “I Can’t Quit Her” c/w Carney and Culley’s “Put Out The Fire Baby” (Pye 7N 17570), which was released in July 1968.

Selected gigs:
11 May 1968 – Bouton Rouge, Paris, France (filmed for French TV)
16 May 1968 – Black Prince, Bexley, Kent
17 May 1968 – Mayfair, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear
18 May 1968 – Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire
22 May 1968 – Top Rank, Reading, Berkshire
24 May 1968 – Town Hall, Walsall, West Midlands
25 May 1968 – Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire
31 May 1968 – Winter Gardens, Blackpool, Lancashire

6 June 1968 – Locarno Ballroom, Portsmouth, Hants
12 June 1968 – Locarno Ballroom, Stevenage, Hertfordshire
13 June 1968 – Locarno Ballroom, Coventry, West Midlands
14 June 1968 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear

21 June 1968 – Burton Constable Hall, Skirlaugh, East Yorkshire with Savoy Brown Blues Band, The Move, Marmalade, Family, Fairport Convention, Spooky Tooth, Tramline, Elmer Gantry, Mandrakes and Angel Pavement

4 July 1968 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with The Iveys
6 July 1968 – Woburn Music Festival, Woburn, Bedfordshire with Jimi Hendrix Experience, T-Rex, Family, New Formula and Little Women

Sources: South East London Mercury, Melody Maker, NME, Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Nottingham Evening Post, Dave Allen (Bird Cage gigs), Steve Ingless (Bishop’s Stortford), Fabulous 208.

Huge thanks to Peter Carney, John Culley (who shared his 1967 diary) and John Carroll for helping with line ups

Internet sources:

www.rockpopmem.com
www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/

http://ballerinaballroom.wordpress.com/1967/

http://www.lankybeat.com/The%20Impnelson.html

http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/

http://www.kinemagigz.com/1969.htm

http://chelmsfordrocks.com/cornexchange.html

Copyright © Nick Warburton, 2014. 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

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