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Anyone remember the Satellites?
2008-05-28 11:29:00
Received this email from Sunny Portugal the other day.Can anyone help?Hi AlanI played in the Satellites in the sixties and can remember the punishing schedules at the time. I remember one week when I had seven hours sleep. We played with the Animals as support at Bellingham town hall on the Friday when "House of the rising sun" was released. We went on the Geordie beat tour with four other bands, Paul Ryan and the Streaks, Kim and the kinetics, and the VIPs. My memory will not recall the last band. Apologies. The tour consisted of The Merseys, The Fortunes, The Naturals, Little Eva, Lulu and the Luvvers and Joe Cocker on his first tour. Can anyone remember us?Cheers--- from PortugalPeter Johnson

George Hart loses battle against cancer
2008-05-28 07:25:00
I received this very sad news from Stan Laundon early today:George Hart , who was the founder member and lead guitarist of the 60's Hartlepool band The Hartbeats, has lost his battle against cancer. He was diagnosed with the disease earlier this month and his condition deteriorated rapidly over the last few weeks. He passed away during the early hours of Tuesday, May 27th. George, who was 64, started his musical career at the age of ten when he studied keyboards. He was 15 when he opted to play guitarand, along with his brother John, founded The Hartbeats. In later years he also played with The Reaction Show Group, Two of Hearts, and The Hart Family Band who won the television show "New Faces" in 1974. He also played with The Plainsmen. Our thoughts are with his wife and family. Please don't forget for those who can make it: A fund raising spectacular, with proceeds to the George Hart Fund, has been organised for Wednesday, May 28th at Owton Manor Social Club in Hartlepool. The sho...
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Krack of Dorn ReUnion - for one night only
2008-05-19 15:11:00
Reproduced from the Bowburn Interchange newspaper
More About: Night , Reunion , Sixties , One Night Only

150 Thousand and rising .....
2008-05-19 07:43:00
VSL performers please take a bow.Our video clips have now exceeded 150,000 hits on YouTube and the hit rate is increasing all the time.Our website stats show that we have had almost 60000 visitors from all parts of the globe as can be seen from this map.(Click to enlarge)As we approach our second anniversary Alan Leightell and myself would like to give a massive thank you to all those who have taken part and made the venture such a great success.
More About: Thousand

Pastimers discussion forum
2008-04-15 17:04:00
If, like me, you occasionally love to wallow in nostalgia this could be the site for you.It has recently been started by a friend of mine, who is based in the North-East, and topics covered include everything from music to old photographs.The introduction readsWelcome to the world of 'Pastimers' and thank you for dropping by. Here, you can read about and share all manner of experiences stretching back from the 1950s to the 1980s. We hope you will find like minded people amongst us who indulge in nostalgia and memories from times past, our past time. As with all discussion forums the more folk who take part the better it gets, so why not pay them a visit. You will be made very welcome.Click here to go straight to the site
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Don't get Paula to look after your bairns ........
2008-04-13 10:09:00
The Straydogs Band - Dave, Kev, Mark and Angie - have always been known at Vintage Sixties Live as the "Bairns" because they are so much younger than the rest of us.This month our Angie is taking a well deserved break on a tropical beach somewhere and we promised to keep an eye on the Bairns whilst she was away - as you would.We thought it would be a good idea for some of the old codgers to team up with the rest of the band for a couple of numbers and Paula was one of those chosen.What would our mature, unassuming, "grandmother several times over" decide to sing?Would she talk the lads into doing a Skeeter Davis number .... or Marianne Faithfull, Dionne Warwick .... any of those sweet songstresses of the Sixties?Not bl**dy likely!! - Have a listen to this.Vintage Sixties Live - you gotta be there to believe it.By the way, I also noticed that the fact that Angie was away also coincided with the fact that we have approx 100 less still photos than usual taken by our Malcolm . Could the...

Trying to contact ...... the Up North Combine
2008-03-26 07:34:00
Received an email from Dave Snowdon the other day.Dave is trying to contact fellow Up North Combine members for a possible reunion.He writes:We were based in Thorney Close, Sunderland & played around the Sunderland - Durham - Newcastle area from approx 1965 to 1968. We were originally called The Klik, but changed our name as there were a few other bands with variations on the same name. We played a lot of the WMClubs, but later progressed to Student Union gigs & Night Clubs and added a keyboard player & main vocalist.Ive not managed to trace any of the band members & would be very grateful if you could mention the band in your news & blogs, so that I can hopefully trace some of the former members - and maybe even have a reunion! From left to right - Dave Snowdon (me) on lead guitar/vocals, Bill Johnson on bass & lead vocals, Mick Harrison on drums & Jimmy Scott on rhythm guitar I now live in Gloucestershire and have recently made contact with Roger Smith,...
More About: Contact , Up North

We were in the paper ....
2008-03-25 11:12:00
For anyone who missed the full page spread in the Northern Echo last week you can read it by clicking here.There are no pictures on the computer version - but I am not bothered 'cos none of them showed me anyway. But I'm not bitter ......
More About: The Paper , Paper

Albert is back .......
2008-03-19 08:03:00
Got a call from Big Jim yesterday to let me know that the tickets for the upcoming Hogan's Heroes Concert are now on sale. Albert Lee playing live is something that every music lover, and in particular every would be guitar player, should witness at least once in their life. Look around the audience during his riffs and you can spot the guitar players - who can normally be found sporting an expression which can only be described as a mixture of awe, frustration and outright dejection. This guy is simply the best at what he does and the opportunity to see him up close in a venue such as this should not be missed. PS If you still fancy yourself as a guitarist after the show one of our members has an Albert Lee signature guitar for sale.
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On the road again .....
2008-03-16 10:10:00
Alan Leightell, joint organiser of VSL (that is not a reference to the supply of drugs) completed a massive World Tour this weekend involving travel of up to five miles a day and taking in such far flung locations as Bowburn, Hett Village, Tudhoe and Spennymoor.Following Thursday?s VSL Club night, he was especially invited into (conned into?) taking part in the Krack of Dorn Showgroup Reunion at Bowburn Community Centre the following evening. It is forty years this year since the group were formed and they agreed to get together again for one performance, in aid of charity, alongside top North-East comedienne Brenda Collins and the Key Largo Duo. The concert was a sell-out and must have undoubtedly been one of the highlights of Alan?s long and illustrious show business career ( especially as he never played in the group in the first place).Saturday was back to Spennymoor and a case of ?another street another dollar? (well it would have been if he charged a fee, but it is probably th...
More About: Road , On The Road , The Road

Breaking News ......
2008-03-08 11:02:00
This could be your last chance of Superstardom .....We are expecting a visit on Thursday March 12th 2008, from Mike Amos, the famous Northern Echo columnist and son of Jack Amos the aptly named Jack o'Clubs in the Sixties.Mike will be coming along with a photographer to do a piece on Vintage Sixties Live so if you want to impress him get your Lurex jackets out and strut your stuff.
More About: News , Breaking News , Breaking

Sad News - Hurricane blows out ...
2008-03-06 09:32:00
Norman Smith aka Hurricane Smith (born February 22, 1923 - died March 3, 2008) was a musician and record producer. He was the engineer on all of the recordings by the Beatles up until 1965 when EMI promoted him from engineer to producer. The last Beatles album he recorded was Rubber Soul, [1] and Smith engineered the sound for approximately 180 Beatles songs in total.[2]A native of the North London area of Edmonton, Smith was working with the Beatles on 17 June 1965 when he was offered 15,000 pounds by the band's music publishing company, Dick James Music, to buy outright a song he had written.In early 1967, he began working with a new group, Pink Floyd, producing their first, second, and fourth studio albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, and Ummagumma. [3] During the sessions for the song, "Remember a Day", drummer Nick Mason became agitated that he could not come up with the right drum part for the song. Smith, however, knew what he wanted with the drums...
More About: News

The future is not ORANGE ...computer says NO!!!
2008-02-24 12:06:00
Anyone having trouble navigating the site will have to bear with me for a while.I am aware of the problems, which have appeared since Orange "improved" their Broadband service, but anyone having experience of them will know that the possiblility of getting a result within the current millenium is pretty remote.Their "improvements" to date have included reducing my file upload rate by at least a third and rendering my FTP site update programme useless.Consequently, I have decided to spend the rest of my life in search of a help-desk employee with a basic grasp of the English language and hopefully half a brain, in the hope of resolving the issues.Some call it progress - Computer says no.
More About: Future , The Future

Who says I never change my strings ??? ....Huh!!!
2008-02-18 18:19:00
I am so incensed by the scurrilous accusation that I never change my guitar strings that I have decided to provide a copy of a recent receipt...... cheeky buggers!!
More About: Change , Strings

Vintage Sixties Live - World Wide
2008-01-29 21:55:00
An updated map of the locations worldwide who have visited the Vintage Sixties Live Website since 9 December 2007. Click on image to enlarge.
More About: World , Wide

Frankie's Cafe Band Charity Gig
2008-01-19 09:35:00
I got an interesting email from Bob Byrne the other day about this shifty looking lot.They are collectively known as Frankies Café, a band that has been operational within the North East since 1999, and over the years have become known for performing the odd charity gig to raise money for worthwhile causes. As you can see from the pic, the band is a seven piece, four of which are over 60 (shock horror!!). The rest of the mob are fairly close behind in age, and probably far too close for their own liking.Individually, their pedigree is impeccable.Billy, the singer, played with our own Colin the Orchestra's Woodland's old group, the Del 5, back in the sixties, and toured with The Walker Brothers, Tom Jones etc. The drummer played with Burlesque professionally for many years, and Bob played with the Bits'N'Pieces in the early to mid sixties. In between these times, they have, along with the others in the band, played with Uncle Tom Cobbly etc.etc.etc.etc. and many other passing shi...
More About: Band , Charity , Cafe

Total viewings on You Tube now exceed 75,000
2008-01-16 07:16:00
It's official.We have now smashed the 75000 hits barrier on You Tube .Angie is still top of the pops with well over 4000 hits for the Dusty cover "I only want to be with you"Erik is still in second place with "Tequila" and Paula's "Race with the Devil" has now moved up into third place.Well done to all performers (and viewers).If performers would like any of their clips uploaded just let me know and I'll do what I can.
More About: Total

Rod Allen of the Fortunes RIP
2008-01-11 11:25:00
It is with great sadness that I must report the passing of Rod Allen , one of the signature sounds of the Sixties.Rod was at home in Coventry with his family around him.His wish was for The Fortunes to continue, so they will do their utmost to keep his legacy alive and make The Fortunes a group that Rod would be proud of.Thanks for the music Rod.

This is great.....
2008-01-09 09:43:00
I got quite a shock this morning when I found the following comment on YouTube. It was on our cover of Gun's fantastic track Race with the Devil.I never thought I would see the day someone actually reading music to play this song, when we wrote it we didn't know how to write music , only play it, still don'tPaul Gurvitz GUN.It also transpires that Paul's Dad was once Tour Manager for the Shadows. At that time Paul was a hairdresser and he used to cut Jet, Hank and Tony's hair.Paul is now living in the US of A and still very much involved in the music business. His website is undergoing a make over but there are several brilliant examples of his current work here.It is really great that these guys take the time and trouble to make contact with us.
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Vintage Sixties Live World map
2007-12-28 08:36:00
If anyone has any doubt as to the world-wide coverage Vintage Sixties Live enjoys on the Internet this map should convince them.It illustrates the locations in the world which have accessed our website during the last THREE WEEKS alone.Mindboggling innit? Click on the map to enlarge
More About: World , World Map

Why has Sandstorm reappeared on YouTube?
2007-12-27 17:17:00
Just to set the record straight, Sandstorm has reappeared on YouTube because Johnny's widow has graciously agreed to raise no objection to it being there, subject to certain provisions which I have gladly agreed to.I also believe that she should have an opportunity to put her point of view directly and have copied an email received from her which does that very eloquently.The video was actually removed by YouTube themselves following Sonja's complaint.It is sad that people misunderstand the obligations I have (and my husband had).Neither my husband nor I ever lived in riches, because of people taking his music and his name without authorization since he was a teenager - and not much has changed since then!Only a few musicians can make a living without another side job. My husband John was a music pro, he made a living with his music. That was his life, his love and his ONLY occupation, which is why he brought it to perfection! A job he tremendously enjoyed, but that job needed to ...
More About: Youtube

Where has the "Sandstorm" clip gone ?
2007-12-21 23:22:00
It has been removed from YouTube following this threat of legal action received from Johnny and the Hurricanes Inc.Dear Ladies and Gentlemen.It has come to our attention that you have used the "Johnny and the Hurricanes"® federally registered trademark in connection with music performances or other entertainment services.Simply stated, you have no right to use the "Johnny and the Hurricanes"® trademark (or any of the other trademarks that are owned by Sonja Paris) in any manner. If you continue to use any of these trademark without authorization, you will be subject to a trademark infringement lawsuit.Please govern your conduct accordingly. If you have any questions, we suggest you contact your own attorney for advice. If any improper use by you of the "Johnny and the Hurricanes"® trademark or any of the other trademarks owned by estate is discovered, prompt action will be taken.Sincerely,Sonja ParisJohnny and the Hurricanes, Inc.I have replied as follows:I have removed the offendin...
More About: Clip , Sandstorm

From 50000 to 60000 ...in 23 days
2007-12-20 20:29:00
As reported earlier it took us about 8 months to reach a total of 50000 hits on YouTube.That total has since shot up to over 60000 - in only 23 days.AMAZING!!Our Angie is still top of the pops with Erik the Sax in second place and AlanL in third with Sabre Dance. Well done to all of them and everyone else who has agreed to have their clips shown.Let's see if we can reach a mi££ion.
More About: Days

Ingleton kids' Charity song closes on Xmas Number 1
2007-12-19 07:23:00
Good Luck to Ingleton CE Primary School.Keep on rockin' kids.This was reproduced from http://www.clickpress.com/ siteChildren from a tiny UK school are on the verge of music history. The 52 kids from Ingleton CE Primary School in County Durham have taken their fund-raising song - "The Christmas Wish" to number 12 in the Indpendent Music Network charts in The USA and AND number 25 in the Country charts!Yet British radio is ignoring it. Radio Two's Head of Music, Jeff Smith said the lead vocals "weren't strong enough" to stand up to the competition", and Terry Wogan's production team wouldn't even play the song to the Irish DJ.Local radio near the school is playing the song, but it is in the USA where the song has made the biggest impact. Written by singer-songwriter John D. Lewis & his wife, Dawn, "The Christmas Wish" went into the US charts the week it was released. Lewis said: "If it makes both top tens on Christmas Day, I think that will be a first for ANY UK artist, incl...
More About: Kids , Charity , Song , Xmas , Number

News Update
2007-12-15 10:41:00
You will probably have noticed from our guestbook that we have received a message from Billy G who appears with Peter Neon and the Saints in some great Fifties/Sixties tribute shows in and around the Bedfordshire area.The Saints website at http://thesaintsonline.com/ is well worth a browse.One interesting fact is that the Saint's drummer - Rick Winter - was the original drummer with Heinz of Just Like Eddie fame. Another recent guestbook signing was Georg from Karlsruhe who wasnt content with playing bass with Albert Lee (of VSL GOD fame) in the Sixties, he also played with Tony Sheridan and Chris Farlowe.You will love Georg's website at http://www.lisa-und-georg.de/. It is packed with info and pics about all things Sixties - from the Star Club to the Beatles.
More About: News , Update

Looking for information on ...
2007-12-15 10:34:00
Ches and the Chesters.Ernie Algar would like to contact any of the old members of Ches and the Chesters.I remember the name well but sadly they are one of the groups we have not been able to make contact with as yet.Other popular local groups we would love a pic and details of include:Paul Ryan and the StreaksGringosChris Warren and the StrangersFreddie and the MizairesLyle and the Solitaires in fact anyone not featured in our Remember these Groups section.So come on you lot - get searchin'
More About: Information

A Tale of Two Guitarists - by Rob Bradford
2007-12-05 10:07:00
I first read this excellent piece on the MSN Shadow Music Forum. It is by respected music journalist and reviewer Rob Bradford , who kindly gave his permission for it to be reproduced here.Hank B Marvin and Jet Harris - two of our heroes whose respective career paths and lifestyles could not have turned out more differently during the past 45 years. This may polarise opinion - but sometimes that's what Shadow Music is all about. First up though, Hank remains my all time favourite guitar hero - performing / recording hundreds of fantastic tracks during a career spanning almost 50 years. Well, actually I just love / admire all of The Shadows (past & present) & their contribution to instrumental and popular music. As many of us did, I eagerly followed Jet's solo career and then his liaison with Tony Meehan - whilst still buying everything put out by The Shads too. So, it was a bitter disappointment (also tinged with sadness) to witness Jet's descent into alcoholism as his car...
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Great Sixties night out in January .....
2007-12-03 09:34:00
At Civic Theatre, DarlingtonFrom 7:30pmFriday, 25 January 2008Call Up The Groups: The Barron Knights + The Tremeloes + The Fortunes + MarmaladePrice: £17.00 / £15.00For tickets or further information, please contact the venue directly. The information given on this page is subject to change - please confirm with the venue before travelling.More InformationMarmalade - One of Scotland's most successful and long lasting groups. Their cover of the Beatles' Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da was their big number one and charted for 20 weeks in 1968. They were making hits right up to 1976 when Falling Apart At The Seams reached number 9 in the UK charts. In between that time they spent 120 more weeks in the charts with Reflections and Loving Things.The Barron Knights - It is now over 40 years since The Barron Knights started touring the world with their unique style of comedy and rock'n'roll. With over 300 performances at the London Palladium to their credit they have established themselves as a uniqu...
More About: Great , Night , Sixties

If you fancy being immortalised in print .....
2007-11-29 19:17:00
.... walk this way (If I could walk that way I wouldn't need the talcum powder - Boom Boom !!)This is an email I have received from Trevor Davis, ex Bluecaps. Johnny Taylor 5, Selection Soul Band and the Victors.I have been giving this book idea some thought!!I would be interested in having a go at pulling something together if I could get enough interested parties to supply details. I don?t haveany experience in the book world but how difficult could it be!!First off before I start, I would like to hear from anyone interested inhelping i.e.: collating info, proof reading and assistance with vanitypublishing and marketing. I don?t expect this to be a Booker prizewinner and don?t expect sales in areas other than localised interest.This would also be sold via the Internet. A web site would be a goodidea and help with this would be needed. I don?t expect this to be agreat money producer, anything made would go into running the website and book production so at the out set - no wages e...
More About: Print , Mort , Fancy

Feeling old??
2007-11-28 06:47:00
You will be when you read this .......City museum?s sixties moveBy Gavin AitchisonTHEY offered a unique modern-day glimpse into life in England 100 years ago,but now the famous Victorian and Edwardian street scene at York Castle Museum could itself become a thing of the past.The museum's directors want to replace the current features with a new exhibition, looking at British life as it was in the 1960s.They say the current scene has become "rather tired and drab" and are replacing it with one that explores "an iconic period that many people will remember", but the move has drawn criticism from at least one tourist, who said the loss of attractions during the work has left visitors shortchanged.In a letter to The Press, Mr J Howe, of Oxfordshire, wrote: "I left after my recent visit feeling very disappointed by what was once a museum that appeared to have some sort of direction and objective - a Jewel In The Crown Of York. I fear that accolade has now been lost, in my opinion, and w...
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