Richard Blight ( the thread formerly known as .. Away to Stourbridge )

I can actually get to this match but it's going to sell out isn't it
Amazed to find out that Stourbridge was home to Diamond Head, Pop Will Eat Itself, Neds Atomic Dustbin, the Wonder Stuff and Robert Plant Is there some sort of tour you can do?

peter_dout wrote:

I can actually get to this match but it's going to sell out isn't it .

Amazed to find out that Stourbridge was home to Diamond Head, Pop Will Eat Itself, Neds Atomic Dustbin, the Wonder Stuff and Robert Plant Is there some sort of tour you can do?

391 tickets apparently.

It's an early kick off for those leaving work, and is on TV anyway, and our team is fucking dire, you should have a chance?

Mock Cuncher wrote:

peter_dout wrote:

I can actually get to this match but it's going to sell out isn't it .

Amazed to find out that Stourbridge was home to Diamond Head, Pop Will Eat Itself, Neds Atomic Dustbin, the Wonder Stuff and Robert Plant Is there some sort of tour you can do?

391 tickets apparently.

It's an early kick off for those leaving work, and is on TV anyway, and our team is fucking dire, you should have a chance?

Never underestimate our fans

It was called Grebo wasn't it, I remember it well. The luminous ripped t shirts, undercut hair and baggy trousers. It must have felt like the centre of the universe, then Nirvana came along and it was all forgotten
[sigh]

never forgotton. im moving house at the mo and going through stuff (as you do, 10 years of shite collecting), found my vinyl, oh the days! i was one of those guys you would see at the side of the road, kitbag in one hand and cardboard sign in the other. spent probably 6 or 7 years living from place to place, gig to gig...then...sperm became too fertile!!!

Sneinton Green wrote:

never forgotton. im moving house at the mo and going through stuff (as you do, 10 years of shite collecting), found my vinyl, oh the days! i was one of those guys you would see at the side of the road, kitbag in one hand and cardboard sign in the other. spent probably 6 or 7 years living from place to place, gig to gig...then...sperm became too fertile!!!

Rock n Roll ! Late 60's Van Dyke club was my thing. I survived it..............just.

Van Dyke club! Now you're talking! Roy Harper, Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd, Liverpool Scene, ISB, Cat Stevens, Loudon Wainwright, Free, Duster Bennett, etc...............!!!!

Mock Cuncher wrote:

peter_dout wrote:

I can actually get to this match but it's going to sell out isn't it .

Amazed to find out that Stourbridge was home to Diamond Head, Pop Will Eat Itself, Neds Atomic Dustbin, the Wonder Stuff and Robert Plant Is there some sort of tour you can do?

391 tickets apparently.

It's an early kick off for those leaving work, and is on TV anyway, and our team is fucking dire, you should have a chance?

I got a ticket

funny man wrote:

Van Dyke club! Now you're talking! Roy Harper, Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd, Liverpool Scene, ISB, Cat Stevens, Loudon Wainwright, Free, Duster Bennett, etc...............!!!!

Family, Jethro Tull, Nice.................... and John Peel always seemed to be there............

Tringreen wrote:

funny man wrote:

Van Dyke club! Now you're talking! Roy Harper, Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd, Liverpool Scene, ISB, Cat Stevens, Loudon Wainwright, Free, Duster Bennett, etc...............!!!!

Family, Jethro Tull, Nice.................... and John Peel always seemed to be there............

I remember one week the support band were so good they kept on having to do encores - several. The only way they were allowed off was when the promised to come back later that night. Of course, they didn't. Can't remember either band's name.
Then there was the occasion when Roy Harper well into one of his encores allegedly had his electrics switched off by the police as the club was way past its permitted time. (Allegedly).
And then there was the famous police bust....


MODS - shouldn't this be moved to Terraces?!

funny man wrote:

MODS - shouldn't this be moved to Terraces?!

No ... this site is different from across the road. Sometimes football talk in the real world strays into other areas, I can't see the divide myself.
I spent several nights a week at the Van Dyke, so did my brothers. I once remember playing in a cup final at Home Park, getting yet another Cup medal, rushing off down to the Dyke, covered in mud, tooled up with Laira Narrows scrumpy and sherry to see Black Sabbath ... what a full day that was. My friend's mother worked behind the bar every night from the day it changed from the Fez to the day it was closed by the Exeter Fuzz.
After a slow start without alcohol, the Metro turned out to be a real good venue.

penzancepirate wrote:

funny man wrote:

MODS - shouldn't this be moved to Terraces?!

No ... this site is different from across the road. Sometimes football talk in the real world strays into other areas, I can't see the divide myself.
I spent several nights a week at the Van Dyke, so did my brothers. I once remember playing in a cup final at Home Park, getting yet another Cup medal, rushing off down to the Dyke, covered in mud, tooled up with Laira Narrows scrumpy and sherry to see Black Sabbath ... what a full day that was. My friend's mother worked behind the bar every night from the day it changed from the Fez to the day it was closed by the Exeter Fuzz.
After a slow start without alcohol, the Metro turned out to be a real good venue.

I had a ticket to see the Sabs, in the ABC i think,circa 1975,but Ozzy had a bad throat and the concert was cancelled.Probably eaten too many bats.I went to quite a few gigs at the Metro,mostly in the punk/new wave era.Saw The Skids,Lene Lovich,Wreckless Eric,Wire,Sham 69,The Buzzcocks [although that may have been elsewhere,come to think of it] amongst others.There was quite a riot at the Sham 69 gig,they had their own skinhead following and i remember a lot of glass flying and boots kicking in Exmouth Road afterwards.All gone now,it's been demolished and some boring old flats built on the site.

Yes, TenYears After, Chicken Shack, King Crimson,Groundhogs, SoftMachine, Terry Reid, Quitescence, SavoyBrown, Spooky Tooth, Blodwyn Pig, John Hisemans Coliseum, Edgar Broughton Band, Sutherland Bothers
The Gun, Clark Hutchinson Band and ThunderclapNewman just a few i can remember from that dwelling in Exmouth road.

Did Savoy Brown play Van Dike? I saw them at the old Maj in Union Street. Good band then - dunno what they would sound like now!

"Out, Demons Out!" oh what revolution!

Was REALLY waiting to see Julie Driscoll with the Brian Auger Trinity and a week before she damned well went and left them! Same happened with Stevie Winwood & we ended up having only Capaldi, Wood & Frog (or whatever the left-over band was called).

I'd forgotten Jon Hiseman (saw him years later in a jazz band with his wife Barbara Thomson) and Quintessence - still good listening to them on youtube now. Soft Machine - excellent band with excellent musicians - bought one of Robert Wyatt's newer outings recently.

Sha Na Na at the Guildhall. David Bowie.

Happy Days. Youngsters today etc.........

And I still think the mods should move this to Terraces ..... (there isn't a whooosh button on here......)


(So you were a footballer PP - good one to play in a final at Home Park - you're an Old Sutt - hmmmmm..... )

Savoy Brown, definatley seen them in Plymouth,could have been what is now the U of P ,Saw John Mayall there when Peter Green was lead Guitarist
Family at the Guild hall.
Another good venue,Tavistock Town hall,Procol Harum played there the week they were no.1 in the charts, Ditto Love Affair.Also saw Nashville teens,Simon Dupree.
Remember barmaids at the V.D. one dark hair the other blonde.Was it Whitbread tankard 2 shillings apint they served?

funny man wrote:

Did Savoy Brown play Van Dike? I saw them at the old Maj in Union Street. Good band then - dunno what they would sound like now!

"Out, Demons Out!" oh what revolution!

Was REALLY waiting to see Julie Driscoll with the Brian Auger Trinity and a week before she damned well went and left them! Same happened with Stevie Winwood & we ended up having only Capaldi, Wood & Frog (or whatever the left-over band was called).

I'd forgotten Jon Hiseman (saw him years later in a jazz band with his wife Barbara Thomson) and Quintessence - still good listening to them on youtube now. Soft Machine - excellent band with excellent musicians - bought one of Robert Wyatt's newer outings recently.

Sha Na Na at the Guildhall. David Bowie.

Happy Days. Youngsters today etc.........

And I still think the mods should move this to Terraces ..... (there isn't a whooosh button on here......)


(So you were a footballer PP - good one to play in a final at Home Park - you're an Old Sutt - hmmmmm..... )

Did I miss something here ?

I'm an Old Sutt and can remember our first team getting into the National Schools Final, beating Millfield on the way. I wasn't good enough to make the team and they didn't have squads/ subs in those days.
It must have been about 1968 that the two leg final took place. First leg away against Washington Grammar School,Sunderland, played at Roker Park. We lost 5 - 0.
2nd leg to be played at Home Park.............. oh wait, they've re seeded the pitch........played instead at the ground near the Duke of Cornwall ? Name escapes me. Won 2 - 1 .

Well well Tringy, FM and us may all know eachother. I played midfield in that team and those matches. Quite a few thousand at the Roker Park game, and sadly I gave away a penalty. A great second match, after Argyle pulled out of staging the return leg and it was played at Millbay Park... they were a good side, but we just somehow lost it at Sunderland ... horrible pitch ... like playing on a coalfield, which we were.
I fell out with Bristow at the Continental post match reception and heckled him. I was rather forthright in my views even then. He had the cheek to publicly say he had wished it was the other shaped ball.
Having had a running battle with Doug Fraser over my trying to constantly avoid playing for his rugby team, that issue ensured a terminal relationship with our fine headmaster.

penzancepirate wrote:

Well well Tringy, we may know eachother. I played midfield in that team and those matches. Quite a few thousand at the Roker Park game, and sadly I gave away a penalty. A great second match, after Argyle pulled out of staging the return leg... they were a good side, but we just somehow lost it at Sunderland ... horrible pitch ... like playing on a coalfield, which we were.
I fell out with Bristow at the Continental post match reception and heckled him. I was rather forthright in my views even then. He had the cheek to publicly say he had wished it was the other shaped ball.
Having had a running battle with Doug Fraser over my trying to constantly avoid playing for his rugby team, that issue ensured a terminal relationship with our fine headmaster.

Ha ha ! I remember refusing to play rugby at Marsh Mills on a games afternoon when the team you were in was playing a football warm up, during that cup run . They wouldn't let me in the 22 for some reason lol ! and I was totally pissed off. Spent the whole afternoon wandering the fields pursued by staff !
By God I copped it from 'Henry' when we got back !
Can't remember many of the lads but I was very friendly with John Jones who played inside forward I think ? Do you remember Larry Thompson ?

I certainly do remember Larry. The fastest thing on two legs, god's gift to women ( or so he thought ). Great guy .. he ended up a journalist on some local rag up North. He did return though and we actually played together locally for a year ... fine days and always a hoot with Larry. I remember John and his sense of humour, and also Geoff Dunbar without his sense of humour. Steave Pearce on the wing, Eric Pinhay at the back ... Dave Ball was Captain. I was a lot younger than them, most were upper 6th, while I was a young fifth form. If only Ian McCarthy had stayed on that year we would have wiped the deck with Washington.

I played cricket against Old Sutts a few times back in the 1980's/1990's,seem to remember they had a very good bat called Derek Solomons,i believe he was a solicitor.There was also a guy called Nigel Brown,good bat as well and good local footballer.Old Sutts used to have a football team in the P and D league,i distinctly remember seeing them play against Bere Alston Wolves,for whom ny uncle played-he later played for Tavistock and Bugle when they were in the SW league.

I know Nigel Brown very well. A fine cricketer, as was his elder brother Keith who I played with in the school cricket team. They only stopped playing a year or two back. We weren't quite as good at cricket though, although I do remember avoiding defeat a couple of times against Plymouth College.
Nigel was a fantastic footballer as a youngster, and was just too young to play in our successful school team. He had extended trials with Manchester City and others, but like many of us preferred his pasties down here. A bad car accident did for his football.
They're both still long time Argyle season ticket holders, and before my boycott, we often bumped into each other on their Saturday nights out to discuss the plusses and minuses of Sturrock's methods.

Think I played with Solomons in the school cricket team. I played in the team from the 4th year I think. A boring, Boycott type ! Wasn't until I was 28 that I realised I could be a decent keeper !Seem to remember a teacher [Cape Coloured- ouch pc !] called Haydn Jones I think. Good guy and cricket master. Played for Tavistock I believe.
Are you still in touch with Larry, Pirate ? Used to go to the beach in a crowd with him. As he was the only mixed race kid around and was good looking, the girls couldn't get enough of him !
Ian McCarthy, I remember as an outstanding player.

It was 5 - 1 (not 5 - 0) at Roker Park in appalling conditions. If we hadn't travelled so far, the match would have been called off. Dave Ball was crocked very early on & as he was a central figure for us we missed him a lot. We played the replay at Millbay Park and were unlucky to lose 2 - 1.

Bristow's speech at the reception in Plymouth went on for hours, was embarrassing (especially the mention of rugby) and tedious. Then their head stood up and his speech basically consisted of "Well done,lads. It's all been said." and sat down. Point made.

Speaking of Larry.... I remember on one occasion (can't remember where) Ray Rose was shouting instructions to us to organise at the back and went on a bit. Larry finally turned to him and shouted, "Why don't you shut up!". Unheard of in those days but Ray did. But Larry was partly to blame for one of the goals at Millbay. He was ambling around in the middle of the park and not picking up his man at a corner. I bellowed at him to come back to do his job but too late .... ball went to said man. I managed to get to the ball but not enough to stop him scoring. But, yes, a character and an excellent player.

We were even more unlucky the following year to be beaten in the Devon final by DHS. I seem to remember you scored in that game PP?

Steve Pearce went on, I think, to be Deputy Chief Constable for Devon & Cornwall. I played for a while in a team with John Perriton (sub for the finals but didn't come on). Eric worked for the benefits office in Plymouth when he left school. He paid me my weekly £4-50 when I signed on after leaving school until the very last week when he counted out about £45 and said I had been underpaid for weeks. A nice bit of money in my pocket for me to go travelling with. I did play a bit of football whilst at college but really I had got into sex and drugs and rock and roll so was less interested at that stage.

I once bumped into Ian Wilson many years ago but otherwise I had no contact with anyone after I left school. Other than the sport, a few mates and the odd teacher, I have no real positive memories of the bloody place!

funny man wrote:

It was 5 - 1 (not 5 - 0) at Roker Park in appalling conditions. If we hadn't travelled so far, the match would have been called off. Dave Ball was crocked very early on & as he was a central figure for us we missed him a lot. We played the replay at Millbay Park and were unlucky to lose 2 - 1.

Bristow's speech at the reception in Plymouth went on for hours, was embarrassing (especially the mention of rugby) and tedious. Then their head stood up and his speech basically consisted of "Well done,lads. It's all been said." and sat down. Point made.

Speaking of Larry.... I remember on one occasion (can't remember where) Ray Rose was shouting instructions to us to organise at the back and went on a bit. Larry finally turned to him and shouted, "Why don't you shut up!". Unheard of in those days but Ray did. But Larry was partly to blame for one of the goals at Millbay. He was ambling around in the middle of the park and not picking up his man at a corner. I bellowed at him to come back to do his job but too late .... ball went to said man. I managed to get to the ball but not enough to stop him scoring. But, yes, a character and an excellent player.

We were even more unlucky the following year to be beaten in the Devon final by DHS. I seem to remember you scored in that game PP?

Steve Pearce went on, I think, to be Deputy Chief Constable for Devon & Cornwall. I played for a while in a team with John Perriton (sub for the finals but didn't come on). Eric worked for the benefits office in Plymouth when he left school. He paid me my weekly £4-50 when I signed on after leaving school until the very last week when he counted out about £45 and said I had been underpaid for weeks. A nice bit of money in my pocket for me to go travelling with. I did play a bit of football whilst at college but really I had got into sex and drugs and rock and roll so was less interested at that stage.

I once bumped into Ian Wilson many years ago but otherwise I had no contact with anyone after I left school. Other than the sport, a few mates and the odd teacher, I have no real positive memories of the bloody place!

Me neither ! Had to do GCE'S twice ! Rock n Roll got me too............... but it was a gas ! Was in the college band as lead vocals, hair shoulder length, long boots outside jeans and patchwork jacket of many colours ! Woodstock covers mainly.
What year were you in ? I was the youngest in the 61 intake but did 2 years at GCE as I wouldn't pay attention in class ! So left in 69 with Jones, Thompson, Clements etc.

This is becoming a schools thread, I left South Molton (North Devon) Secondary Modern in 1953 and a group of us still meet up twice a year, Next meeting is at the end of the month and none of us live in South Molton anymore although my brother does.

funny man wrote:

Steve Pearce went on, I think, to be Deputy Chief Constable for Devon & Cornwall.

I worked with Steve Pearce at Crownhill in the late 90s. He was Chief Superintendent of Plymouth area at the time. I think he went up to Assistant Chief Constable (one below DCC) before retiring and taking a position with the NHS Trust (I think). A top quality bloke and head and shoulders above most senior officers I have encountered.