Chas Hodges – my best friend

By Mike Berry Chas Hodges was probably the most ‘gifted’ musician I ever had the pleasure and good fortune to meet and work with! I met Charles Nicholas Hodges when he was 17 and I was 18. And not long after we started working together, I remember calling him a ‘genius’ in a music paper […]

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Remembering Chas Hodges

By John Firminger THE AMOUNT of publicity in the media announcing the passing of Chas Hodges on September 22 shows how much he was admired and loved by both fans and fellow musicians. Despite receiving successful treatment for oesophageal cancer recently, Chas suffered organ failure and passed away peacefully in his sleep. It goes without […]

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Share a cuppa with… Pete Best & Ro...

By Jane Quinn Share a Cuppa Tea with Pete Best and Roag Aspinall Best. The Best Brothers discuss things like Lester Pigott, Museums, and Smiles. NOT MANY people can say they used to be a Beatle. Pete Best is one who actually was an original Beatle during the formative years, the Hamburg years, the black […]

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Tommy, the rock ‘n’ roller

Tommy, the rock ‘n’ roller who became Britain’s premier song and dance man By Pat Murphy When Tommy Steele steps onto the stage of the London Coliseum this July, it’ll be almost 60 years since he debuted there in a lavish production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. And it isn’t fanciful to regard that long […]

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Brighton steps into a UK version of ‘Wa...

Editors Beat with David Parker THE ‘Brighton Music Walk of Fame has been set up by Walk of Fame Media and the owners of Brighton Palace Pier. The permanent ‘free to view’ cultural attraction pays tribute to the many musicians, artists, composers and DJs closely associated with the city and Sussex from the early sixties […]

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Share a Cuppa Tea with…

BILL MUMY as he talks Zorro, cornfields, and Nikola Tesla Boy star to master multi-musician Do you remember a vintage television series called The Twilight Zone? If you said “yes” you will no doubt remember the episode about a six-year-old red- haired, freckle-faced little boy who had the very bizarre power to read minds. Even […]

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Everlasting sound of music and rhythm

Breakfast with: Steve Ellis “MAYBE if we live long enough, we grow into what we always wanted to be. “Just maybe, if we stick at what we love, it’ll come around and come good. Steve Ellis has earned the right to sing the Blues if he wants. And sing it he does!” Paul Weller IT […]

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Share a Cuppa Tea with Peter Noone

Hi, Noone Share a Cuppa Tea with PETER NOONE as he talks about aging, broken hearts, and cats and dogs Peter Noone is fond of referring to himself as Peter NO-ONE. Well, he is not a no-one but, indeed, a SOME-ONE, and I had the pleasure of sharing a big cuppa tea with the ever […]

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Jackie Trent: Being me

FROM the music halls of Stoke-on-Trent to topping the charts with Frank Sinatra and Petula Clark, singer-songwriter Jackie Trent finally shares her colourful life in her fascinating new autobiography. “[Their songs] changed my life. They changed the whole course of my career.” Petula Clark ‘Being Me’ charts, for the first time, the glittering career of […]

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Your kind of music news

Beat it to the Hard Rock fashion show

Jul 2013 Beat it to the Hard Rock fashion show

Posted by in News Beat

A new exhibition of clothing items from pop and rock superstars and legends including Madonna, Lady Gaga, Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson and Elton John go on display in the UK this summer, courtesy of a never-seen-before touring memorabilia exhibition produced by Hard Rock Cafe.   “Hard Rock Couture”, celebrating the strong...

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Paul leaves the Gap

Jul 2013 Paul leaves the Gap

Posted by in News Beat

Paul Cornwell, former Union Gap member, has joined Herman’s Hermits on lead guitar and vocals.   HH’s Barry Whitwam said: “Actually, he has been in the group for six months and went on tour with us in Australia last April. We tour Australia again in August and September, and then we are on The Sensational Sixties Experience...

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If you love the big band sound…

Jul 2013 If you love the big band sound…

Posted by in Gig Beat, News Beat

West Cliff Theatre Clacton is staging a mammoth musical tribute on on July 14.   According to the producers, this is not the typical tribute Rat Pack shows, but an honest rendition of Sinatra’s ’50s Hollywood Glamour from his Capitol Records years – backed by a full big band live on stage.   Pete Long’s all-star 15-piece...

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Des is in town

Jul 2013 Des is in town

Posted by in News Beat

Des O’Connor is to perform at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford, next month in what’s claimed as an afternoon of comedy, music and laughter.   Des has been seen on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky Arts 1, to name but a few of his small screen appearances. He starred in his own mainstream television show for more than 45 years – longer than...

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Honey at its bitter comb

Jul 2013 Honey at its bitter comb

Posted by in News Beat

The New Honeycombs have toured with one of the founder members and now are on tour in their own right recreating the sounds of the Sixties

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So, yesterday really has gone

Jul 2013 So, yesterday really has gone

Posted by in News Beat

From Bob Poole, bobpoole55@btinternet.com   Terry knows very well who we are and how long we have been Cupids Inspiration. He was only in the band for a year or so but much more to the point, we own the name, as he, or anyone else can find out by checking the business register. He would be well advised not to go out under our name...

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Don’t be stupid Cupids

Jul 2013 Don’t be stupid Cupids

Posted by in News Beat

Cupid’s Inspiration is the latest group name to confuse fans.  From Terry Rice-Milton terry.ricemilton@btinternet.com   I read with interest the Backbeat article – CUPIDS (no apostrophe, but should be!) INSPIRATION back on the road (40 yr Reunion) and I felt I needed to clarify one thing.   I am aware that various line-ups...

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Rock Legends, Yes, Set for Triple-Header 2014 European Tour

Jul 2013 Rock Legends, Yes, Set for Triple-Header 2014 European Tour

Posted by in Gig Beat

Yes, announce triple-album Europe 2014 tour. The band will perform three of rock’s most influential albums, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, and Going for the One, in their entirety.

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Cupids Inspiration back on the road

Jun 2013 Cupids Inspiration back on the road

Posted by in Back Beat

After more than 40 years, Cupids Inspiration are back on the road with Bob Poole, Paul Shanahan, ex Peppermint Circus and Hard Horse vocalist and front man Paul “Tommy” Thomas and drummer Rick Medlock. Playing favourite songs from the sixties – plus, of course, their hit records and incorporating three-part vocal harmonies...

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Folk legend Felix here

Jun 2013 Folk legend Felix here

Posted by in Gig Beat, News Beat

Folk legend Julie Felix celebrates her 75th birthday with a Gemini Concert in London’s Leicester Square Theatre on June 15. Joining her on stage are American Soul Singer, Madeline Bell, singer-songwriter Rosalie Deighton with Steve Balsamo (Jesus Christ Superstar), and friends ranging from Leonard Cohen and John Paul Jones to...

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