![]() ![]() All Through The CityĪfter their second trip to Holland, Southend resident, Heinz Burt, the former bassist with 60’s outfit The Tornados, contacted the band. Collinson changed his name to Lee Brilleaux, Wilkinson to Wilko Johnson and with Chris "Whitey" Fenwick at the managerial helm, things were about to change. The run of five gigs proved to be the turning point for the band, and whilst on route back to Canvey Island, all agreed that, almost by accident, they had the makings of something, which should be pursued at all costs. Fenwick had made the acquaintance of a Dutch promoter whilst at a wedding in Holland, and, already practiced in the art of role-playing, had passed himself off as a well known English DJ who just happened to know a great little band who were "ready to go".Īnd, so it was then, that the band, joined by local drummer, John Martin (nicknamed "The Big Figure" for his striking profile) headed for Holland aboard a cheap, but dangerously un-roadworthy, second hand van. Whilst the band began to attract a degree of local interest, it was their old friend Chris "Whitey" Fenwick who was to provide the band with their first foreign engagement. ![]() Wilko agreed, but all parties decided that a name change was well overdue, and after a number of suggestions, the name "Dr Feelgood" was agreed upon, after a well-loved Johnny Kidd and the Pirates version of a blues standard. The Pigboy Charlie Band continued to suffer line-up instability over the months that followed and, following a chance meeting with an old acquaintance, John "Wilko" Wilkinson, the pair invited him to join the band. Time passed, and whilst Collinson and Sparkes continued to play together in an outfit called The Wild Bunch (aka The Pigboy Charlie Band, when Charlie was along playing piano and including Kevin Morris on drums), White went to Drama School and, having changed his name to Chris Fenwick, began to enjoy a number of acting parts in films and notable TV programmes of the day. Soon after, Collinson started learning to play harmonica. The band's name would change almost as quickly as their line-up, but the day that White and Collinson went to see Howlin' Wolf at a gig at the King’s Head in Romford was to have a profound effect on them both. The trio shared a strong interest in music, and with like minded friends, formed a skiffle band which would doggedly play outside pubs and clubs in the Canvey area until they were invited in to play a couple of numbers. Its bleak industrial skyline set against the cold waters of the Thames estuary, keeps it from inclusion in most holiday brochures, but in the 1960's it was home to teenage friends Lee Collinson, Chris White and John Sparkes. T34 (three times in 1982) (This is not T-34, the rock band featuring Al Murray.Canvey Island in Essex, was an unlikely birthplace for Britain's finest R&B band.Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra.The Go-Betweens (15 Sept 1983) - opening for the Smiths.Felt (15 Sept 1983) - opening for the Smiths.The Fall (07 December 1981) - supported by The Alarm.The Blow Monkeys () - opening for Fad Gadget. ![]() ![]() Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band (12 and ).The Alarm - (07 December 1981) - opening for The Fall.After The Venue closed, it was occupied by a Dicky Dirt's discount jeans shop in the mid 1980s and was a branch of the restaurant chain "Ask" prior to its demolition in early 2013 as part of a major redevelopment of the area. The building first opened as the Metropole cinema on December 27, 1929. ![]()
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