Great informative video. Thanks for the straight no nonsense talk Jim

@JimDriver

7 күн бұрын

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the straightforward approach! 😎

Well done Jim - a concise and accurate summary. There's been some 'Pub Rock' compilations in recent years that have very tenuous links to the actual bands of the time. I'd agree with your Top 5 but I'd suggest that room should be found for Mickey Jupp. BTW I saw NBZ as 'Stan's Blues Band' in Southend around 1978

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Thanks: very good of you to say so! Micky Jupp was definitely a contender and I'm hoping to include him in a forthcoming "Heroes of Pub Rock" video…

It's much more an approach to music than a genre. Bands that played to small crowds in pubs were usually a little more relaxed and less over emoting than bands projecting to an arena crowd.

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Dead right, Steve. Thanks for commenting., Cheers!

Bloke is correct. I know ‘cos I was there. You name it, bands played it. In pubs. I remember one example of the breadth & width of pub rock. Mel Tormé playing the Rayners Hotel… 😮 Or The Who at the Railway. Or Brendan Croker at any number of rubadubs. And on and on and on. FAB!

@JimDriver

5 ай бұрын

Haha! I agree with you too… 😀🌻

Growing up in Sarfend' when in my middle to late teen years Pub bands were common, even in cafes in the venue was big enough. Even the Shades had live music...Disco was unheard of so it was live music..of all kinds. Rock music in the Halfway House pub and the Kursal. country music in some of the Leigh old town pubs. Robin Trower, Jupp plus a few others l cant remember now....those were great days, throughout the sixties... An old school friend was married in 73/4.... the entertainment Dr Feel Good..... playing in a village hall....

@JimDriver

7 ай бұрын

Those really were the days! Thanks for the memories, Brian. Keep on rocking and keep on watching! 😀

There’s one pub I wish I was old enough to drink at, The Manor House, opposite Finsbury Park in May 1967. When Jimi Hendrix played. I was 14 and went to school opposite at Woodbury Down Comprehensive School, can remember older pupils talking about it. Also got to know Buster Bloodvessel, real name Douglas Trendle, when he was 11 years old, even then he stood out as a character 😊

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Ah, the good ol' days when we were all too young to experience the really cool stuff. Luckily, we had our moments…

Pub Rock - as you rightly say - wasn't a genre. The only real connectivity was all the bands played loud and hard, helping punters to let off steam!

Really enjoying these vids of yours Jim, not being a Londoner most of these bands passed me by although it was possible to read about them in the music press at the time. One band I did catch, supporting the brilliant Pirates, was Red Beans and Rice. What a band and what a singer and front man in Laverne Brown, yet another band who should have been bigger than they were. Did I read somewhere you are writing a book about your memories of the pub rock scene at the time? If true it would be a good read. Cheers.

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for saying so! Red Beans & Rice were great, weren't they? I did say I'd write a book about those days but in retrospect, maybe not. I think these "snapshot" videos are probably a better medium for my scattered recollections of those days…

Joe Stummer called himself Woody in those days. After Woody Guthrie

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Thanks but he'll always be John Mellor to me… 😀

The downbeat And the gymslips amazing bands Sunday evening at the greyhound Fulham ❤

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Yes: happy daze… 😎

@koont666

6 ай бұрын

@@JimDriver have great Christmas Jim ,I've been to many of your gigs in west London, Clarendon through Fulham and Kensington,I was in a punk outfit in the early 80s Didn't do much ,But the BEAST Used to put us on ect ,great channel Thank for all the inside info love it ❤️🇬🇧

I saw 9 below zero way back when they were originally Stan’s Blues band at the Thomas a’ Becket . I think “ Stan “ was a teacher who originally fronted the band when they were still at school or at least very young, I’m not sure how true it is but it’s a story I heard somewhere. How about Jackie Lynton’s Happy Days band, do they count as pub rock. The Tram shed Woolwich was my local venue for pub rock bands.

How about Mickey Jupp on the Stiff label?

Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers I seem to remember emerged from the ashes of the original Smiley and Mighty Baby. Phil Lithman and Martin Stone formed the group in 1971 and it faded in 1975. Phil went on to become the legendary 'Snakefinger' before dying tragically young in 1987. Martin played in many great bands before becoming a bookseller and finally passing on in 2016.

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Yes, indeed! I can remember seeing Martin back when he was a "runner" in the book trade - which basically meant finding buyers for specialist and rare books, usually working on commission - in the early years of this century. He'd be scurrying between Walker's Court and Charing Cross Road, the volume in question firmly grasped under his arm and usually wrapped in cloth. I think he'd moved to Paris by then but he would sometimes come to London for specific reasons. He was a true great (as was Phil, though in different ways)!

ive seen all the great bands at stadiums like the who, rush, the police, springsteen, santana, men at work, the stranglers, dire straits, but hands downthe best gigs were nine below zero and lonnie donnegan who we also met in the bar while the mainact was on and we chatted to him such a great bloke and britains first pop star.

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your experiences. It's always great to hear about the bands that have left a lasting impression and I agree that Lonnie had that special something (though IO believe he was famously mean and didn't flash the cash much!). On a good night, Nine Below Zero were unbeatable…

@Neil-pv8pw

6 ай бұрын

@@JimDriver yes met Dennis at a festival in tub ridge wells, I saw him support the who in brighton when he’s was this cockey talented front man and me and me and my mates had smuggled in a couple of bottles of Bacardi. So they all went to the toilet half way thru nbz act and Dennis did avsummersault with his guitar around his neck so being drunk I thought I was seeing things andvmy mates returned and when I told them they said I was lying also my dad had written a song on Dave Edmund’s new album and I it was playing on the pa during the interval and they didn’t believe that either. Any I saw denis by the side of the stage waiting for Glenn tilbrook to finish his set. And he was very nervy and the cocky young man had gone and he’s was nervous like all good artists who suffer nerves and that’s what makes them so good. I asked him about the summer sault and he confirmed he did do the impossible. Then he went into sales mode and I told him I’ve been a fan since 82 at that brighton give then the next month saw him at the marquee in wardour street and they were even better. And now I see his son playing with them and he’s a mean drummer. A real chip off the block, Dennis is a rare talent and in my opinion should have been more succesful

Brewers' Droop. They would definitely get an audience!

@JimDriver

7 ай бұрын

I new Ron Watts (whose band it was) pretty well, and saw Brewers Droop a couple of times, but they weren't really my thing. I never really liked that type of music and the "sex humour" wasn't my thing, I'm afraid. But they usually did pull a good crowd… 😀

I saw kilburn and the highroad at the tally ho mid 70s. Went with madness band members before they formed the band. Good pub that backk in the day. Heavy metal kids played in pubs as well, brilliant band

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Yes, in retrospect that was one of the best times for music in London…

Bees Make Honey. Brilliant band. I never saw them live, but had their album. Wore it out! Maybe you could do a more in depth look at the various different top bands on the pub scene.

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Bees Make Honey was a band I saw dozens of times and they were reliably good throughout the various incarnations I witnessed. They seemed to play all over London every night, and if I turned up at a pub on spec, I'd be pleased to see they were on! Better than the bands I'd run a mile from (no names mentioned but there were a few!!)…

@seansmith9129

10 ай бұрын

@@JimDriver Thanks Jim. I know they were mostly an Irish band. I was sharing a house in Dublin with the guy who designed their album cover. He had a copy of the album. Otherwise I would never have heard of them! (1970s)

@pit2ryan3

10 ай бұрын

@seasmith9129 - There's also a double CD from BMH. feat. live and studio stuff...

@seansmith9129

10 ай бұрын

Thank you. Can't see any reference to it online. I read they were originally an Irish showband musicians which makes sense to me given their sound. Great band!@@pit2ryan3

Thanks Jim you re the Scholar according to the Sultans of Swing song the band we re a pubrock band, too bad they were never found .

@JimDriver

9 ай бұрын

😃 After his time with Brewers Droop, I'm guessing Mark Knopfler never wanted to play in a pub ever again!!

9 Below Zero. Great choice, have their single Once, twice , three times and that's enough then saw them on the telly show The Young Ones.

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

The first time I saw NBZ in the Thomas a Becket I was knocked out. It was on a par with my first time seeing Dr Feelgood. The energy was palpable…

I love Ian dury I never knew he had another band before wow more Ian dury 😭

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Ian was never much of a democrat so I think he found working in Kilburn and the High Roads difficult because he couldn't play the part of dictator and band leader! Strangely, I think the Blockheads used his talents better because he was almost totally in control, though members of the Blockheads strongly deny this!

What about Dire Straits Jim?

@JimDriver

9 ай бұрын

Well, for a start I didn't have much to with them, to be honest. Dire Straits were never much of a Pub Rock band anyway, as far as I was concerned, as they only played in pubs for less than a year from the time they formed in 1977 to when they went off on tour with Talking Heads in mid-1978 , after 'Sultans of Swing' started to climb the charts. Then they immediately starting playing bigger venues, never feeling the need to play pubs again. My only personal memories of Dire Straits are of Ron Watts (of Brewers Droop) much later telling me a story I can't fully remember about Mark Knopfler getting out of the band van at a service station and being left behind; and my friend Joe Pearson saying he sacked them from a residency at the White Lion in Putney because he thought they were boring and didn't have much of an audience. He would eat his words very shortly after when he heard Charlie Gillette play the afore-mentioned 'Sultans of Swing' on his BBC Radio London show…

For my money DR Feelgood & Ian Dury & the blockheads are the best pommie pud bands ever. With 9 below zero right up there.

@JimDriver

7 ай бұрын

I couldn't agree more! DR Feelgood, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, and 9 Below Zero are all legendary British pub bands. Their music is timeless and always gets you in the mood for a good time!

Loved pub rock favourite steve Marriott's DTs and pack of 3 always thought they where a cut above

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Yes, indeed. Steve Marriott and his various bands were a cut above, but I'm not sure Steve falls into the "Forgotten Heroes" category TBH. I did do a couple of videos about him: here's a link to one of them, in case you want to give it a whirl: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pWmL09GqkdaYYLg.html

Hi Jim - did you ever work with the Kursaal Flyers or (related band) the Hamsters? Did you know Mick Brownlee?

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Cheers, Tim! I put on the Kursaal Flyers several times in the 1980s and worked quite a lot with former members, including Graeme, Will, and, of course, The Ugly Guys once the Kursaals had split up, reformed and split up again! The Hamsters, not as much, because I was never a fan of the cover version band, which is essentially what they were. The name certainly Mick Brownlee rings a bell. Can you remind me?

@TimMiddleton

6 ай бұрын

@@JimDriver Mick was the original drummer for the Paramounts, who morphed into Procol Harum. During the eighties and nineties he did a lot of promotions, mainly in and around Southend.

What was pub rock? It was fun that's what it was. So much better than third rate Beatles/Stones/U2/Zeppelin/Abba/Queen tribute bands which is the standard fare at most venues these days.

@JimDriver

6 ай бұрын

Pub Rock was fun and it was of its time. I doubt we;'ll see the elements needed to ferment it ever again…

@fus149hammer5

6 ай бұрын

@JimDriver Original music rarely features at pubs and clubs these days which is sad. Artists and bands are more likely to go for exposure and publicity through stupid tiktok videos rather than actually playing live at the decreasing number of venues that can give them stage time. Talented bands simply can't get in the live appearances they need to grow and develop their abilities. If a Dr Feelgood or Dogwatch came along now they'd be f**ked. It shows in the awful acts in the charts today many of whom have only ever played into an amp in a studio and never in front of a live audience. We have lost something precious that's unlikely to ever come back. Precious memories like seeing Kiss at the Marquee, Ringo in the crowd with his missus Barbara and chatting with my all-time hero Noddy Holder AND Ozzy together. Lemmy at the fruit machine, drinking with Andy Scott and getting dripped on by a sweating Rory Gallagher. What music we like defines us, its part of who we become. Seeing those pub rock bands in the late seventies into the eighties with no gadgets or pretensions was a joy. Some were brilliant, some were terrible but they had commitment and a love of the music they played. You don't get that from the X factor or BGT.

I mean 50p for that lot not a bad deal...much better than 6 bob concerts by Charisma

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Indeed, something of a bar-gain!

My era...😊 I spent most Friday nights at the Beckett and all the other boozers in the Old Kent Rd in the late 70s 😅

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Very brave. 😀 I obviously over-stated the dangers of a Friday night down the Old Kent Road for comedic effect, but I did see some nasty punch-ups down there, mainly fuelled by alcohol and football rivalries. Still, it was a vibrant place to be, and the Beckett was one of London's great music pubs. Funnily enough, my mate had his ear bitten off by an irate docker in the Dun Cow (it must have been 1976-77) and many years later, after it had been converted into a doctor's surgery, he used to go there to get his blood tests. The circle of life…

I think I missed the live bands in the white lion Putney , my home town , I moved away in 1976 did you start using the pub after that , miss the the lion .

@JimDriver

7 ай бұрын

The time scale of those days is pretty hazy because three of us - Bill Knox, Joe Pearson, and myself - promoted at the White Lion at variou times in the 1970s. Bill went off to the Kings Head in Fulham and Joe to the Half Moon (Putney).I promoted there for the final years and did the Pun stuff, at a guess, I'd say 1977 to 1981…

@raymondbonington9355

7 ай бұрын

@@JimDriver cheers for reply , yes thought it was after I moved out of Putney ,, lion Putney empty building now , over Putney Bridge kings arms kings head and golden lion are only busy when Fulham are at home 👍

I saw most of the bands mentioned, and if one thing defines Pub Rock, it's that the bands were misfits. The tended to be very talented musicians but had little charisma, or they were too different from each other and didn't hang together as a group, or they changed members regularly, or their day jobs were too interesting and well-remunerated and music was a hobby. They didn't have whatever it was the general, record buying public wanted, but had a small hardcore following that worked well in a pub setting. I would argue Doctor Feelgood, probably the definitive Pub Rock band, worked better in a smoky boozer setting than large venues.

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

I quite agree. When I worked with Wilko Johnson, which basically was from the early 1980s to 2008, he hated playing small venues and was desperate to return to big venues. He said it was about the size of the stage but, ironically, when he did regain his "star status" after the cancer diagnosis, for me, he lost the excitement and immediacy that came with playing smaller venues…

it was also a place where people hooked up and got married

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Wasn't that a church? 😀 No, I quite agree, though at the hardcore venues, at least 75% of the gig-goers were male and vaguely hetero…

@pit2ryan3

10 ай бұрын

@Neil-pv - All divorced now, though...

@Neil-pv8pw

10 ай бұрын

Prior to multi cultural Uk music defined the culture so rockers mixed with rockers and punks with punks etc no need for tinder

What about thec Brinsley Schwarz group who were voted the Kings Of Pub Rock by the rest of the Pub Rock bands in the early days.? The Irish pubs you mention definitely didn't rock!!!

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for commenting Ian (a star of the Pub Rock world no less!). As I said elsewhere: No, the Irish pubs didn't rock particularly until later in the day, but it was still bands playing in pubs… Funnily enough, I'm currently making another video about "underrated Pub Rock bands," and even though Brinsley Schwarz were pretty high profile and well-connected at the time (despite your protests to the contrary!), I've included them in my first video…

@borderlands6606

10 ай бұрын

@@JimDriver Would bands like the Hammersmith Gorillas and Roogalator make the cut?

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

@@borderlands6606 Very likely! I realise as I start to list them that there are lots and lots. It might have to be a series…

Do you remember the night Shaved Women played at the White Lion ?? 😂😂 Was that one of yours ..or Joes ?...or both of you 😂

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

I have no recollection of it at all, Mick. What happened?

Background music is really annoying.

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Sorry if you don't but most people say they like it…

@ethanblackhurst8593

10 ай бұрын

@@JimDriver It detracts from what you are saying which I found very interesting.

Pub rock ? Mediocrity!

@JimDriver

10 ай бұрын

Haha! Some bands were mediocre but many were truly great…