To my amazement I was asked to join the
group, and would I be free to start rehearsing for gigs?...I didn't feel like
an idiot any more.
The Iveys first promo shot was taken in Dai's
mothers living room. Dai's brother Alwyn managed the group and drove us
to every gig. He insisted I have my rocker hair shorn to match the mod
look of the Iveys...Reluctantly, I became a sissy mod.
The early Iveys played locally about four
nights a week, as well as holding down day jobs. Dave worked as a motor
mechanic, Ron a gas fitter and myself a sign writer. Pete worked
alongside his brother John for a company called "Jack George", a TV
repair shop. Later this would be bought out by John and turned into a music
store: "John Ham Music".
The Swansea area had lots of good venues for
local bands to play: "The Ritz Ballroom" in Skewen, "The
Tivoli Ballroom" in Mumbles, "The Glanmoor Jazz Club" Swansea,
"Maxies Top Ten" in Swansea, "The Regal Ballroom" in
Amanford, the "Tower Ballroom" in Swansea, the "Glen
Ballroom" in Llanelli..the list goes on...and we played them
all.
We were also given nicknames by our friends
and new "fans":
Piggy, Mike Ivey, Ron Ivey
and Dai Jenkins (Dai is Welsh slang for Dave)
My personal favorite gig was the Ritz
Ballroom. I did all of the promo poster for the bands that played
there. I did posters for The Who, The Hollies, Nashville
Teens, Geno Washington and the Ram Jam band, The Searchers, Four Pennies...far
too many to remember. We also opened for these bands more than
once. One fun poster read: "Tonight: The Hollies and
the Iveys.".
Swansea had a great bunch of bands.
Amongst the best were:
"The Eyes of Blue": Totally
cool...always mods, wearing knee length maroon leather coats.
"The Bystanders", who would
evolve into the legendary Mann Band and are still working to this
day. Terry Williams of Dire Strait fame was Mann's original drummer.
Other stand out bands were The Jets, Echorets,
the Fleetwoods and so on. Swansea would never have a more healthy music
scene.
We continued to play in and around Swansea
and were becoming more popular. We had an abundance of gigs, and our equipment
was becoming more state of the art. Dai Jenkins was fast becoming the
heart throb of the group. Girls screamed at us onstage as if we were
famous, and this only made us play better and louder.
"THE NOSH"
Located downtown Swansea was an Indian
restaurant, lovingly referred to as "The Nosh". This is where
most of the groups would come to eat after a gig. Outside the Nosh,
about 2 in the morning, you would find half a dozen group vans parked...some
rocking violently. And if you listened carefully, you could hear the sighs and
moans of the lucky ladies wrestling with a band member atop a Vox AC 30.
It was not a classy joint. One night we
watched Tony Hollis of The Jets kneel atop a table while Martin Ace (another
Jet) lit his farts. Martin never bought a meal. He would collect
leftovers from the tables and eat the lot...cold mostly...then in a suave
voice, order coffee. Which he would never pay for. Many a musician
would be chased with a meat cleaver for sneaking out without paying their
bill.
We made a point of eating at the Nosh after
every gig. It became the highlight of the evening, a place where
musicians could swap yarns and get to know each other.
Next Month: Enter Bill Collins
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