Top Alex Southend Shrimpers Club Southend football Ground
Queens Hotel Westcliff 1976/77
My memories of some Bosch gigs saw them at least two or three times
at The Shrimpers Club one time when Steve Whates was wound up
even more then usual about playing Bass for Bosch so not only was he
throwing beer glasses at Julian when the gig was over he went in the
bands dressing room/toilet and put his fist into a mirror another trip
to Southend Hospital (see Top Alex memories) all I remember in the
Hospital was Steve coming from a room shouting no fucking Doctors
putting anything in my bum, a few days later he had lock jaw! Then
there was the time when Steve went to score some hash and came
back with some tobacco soaked in hash oil a couple of joint’s later and
we were out of it, remember buying a round and passing the drinks to
mates and nobody moving the glasses just dropped to the floor I did
this two or three times, then waking up in my Car in the morning in
Southend's car park with a market going on!
Queens Hotel remember there being loads of seats like school
and good three hundred people sitting watching, but there was
about ten of us going mad stage right I think for once Steve
wasn't throwing any beer glasses at Julian, the band were on
blistering form Steve dressed in his doctors outfit (Under The
Knife) jumping from the stage with a machete swinging around
his head, no health and safety in them days!
Also have a vague memory of going to Crocs/Pink Tooth Brush to
see them but we either didn't get in or were thrown out before
the band played.
Steve Whates memories of a night in the Top Alex
I started knocking about with some old school friends, one of them
being Rob Jarvis. There was a nucleus of about half a dozen of us; we
used to pool our wages together and party more or less non-stop. We
used to get to as many local gigs together as we could. Ian, one of the
guitarists from Kashmir, had joined a band from Benfleet called
Heronymous Bosch (later to be shortened to just Bosch) who had quite
a good following. We tried to get to as many of their gigs as we could.
It was complete madness. There was sometimes as many as eight of us
traveling in Rob's escort.
The band were absolute lunatics. I used to think that if I nobbled the
bass player - I'd get the job, so we used to spend all night throwing
beer glasses at him. (Sorry Julian) There was one night at the Top
Alex in Southend when it really got out of hand. The drummer
Ashleigh had mentioned over the mike that he was too warm, so we
started running backwards and forwards to the dressing room with
pots full of water and throwing them over him. The stage was
absolutely covered in water, how no-one got a shock I'll never know.
Ashleigh went off stage to get changed and stepped on some broken
glass. We rushed him to hospital in Rob's escort. I've never been so
scared in all my life. Rob backed into one car, and hit another pulling
out. We must have been doing 60mph down back streets, and not
slowing down or stopping at junctions with main roads or red lights. Its
just as well he was driving I suppose, 'cause he'd never have been able
to walk in his state!
My memories (Rob), when we got to the Hospital I remember seeing
the Emergency Dept but not the entrance so I just bounced over the
pavement and grass verge!
Click on image to enlarge
You can listen to four tracks I found on and old C60
tape hence the bad sound, tracks, “Blue Baby
Blues”, “Marital Bliss”, “Serial World” and “Under
The Knife”
Steve Heath - Vocals
Rick Birmingham - Keyboards
Ashley Gough - Drums
Julian Bacon - Bass
Guitarist’s Various times
Ian Clifton
Brad Trower
Richard Taylor
Thanks to Julian for photos and newspaper clippings, more photos on his FB page
You can listen to more tunes from back in the day on Steve’s and Julian’s
Soundcloud A/C’s
Check out what else
Steve Whates got upto
click on photo