“I went to Park View school and chedah at the Rubbishries, or Shruberries. Then I went to Stand and they made us go all the way to The Rialto for Jewish lunches, which is a long fucking way from Whitefield. We’d get on the bus to The Rialto. Lol Creme also went to Stand.
I was living on Vine Street, off Bury New Road, when I was 18. It was 1972 because I remember Genesis Foxtrot came out and we were listening to it. I met some guys from Cambridge who had a band called Hamilton Gray and they lived in Chorlton. My friend Jimmy Morrison and another fellow called Brian Harpo Marks, who played harmonica, and I joined this group and we had a regular gig in Stockport. We got a contract through Indigo Studios in Manchester and did some recording there. My cousin, Victor Emerson, who was then in Sad Cafe, helped us. Victor was great, and, earlier than that, he came and did some session work with us because he had a Moog. He just came in and winged it and did orchestral stuff for us.
We changed our name to Gentlemen and we got on to Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman’s show and did three songs at BBC Studios in Maida Vale. They played all three for twenty minutes on a Saturday afternoon and that was great. By that time we were living on Prestwich Park Road South, in Moorsby, or ‘BoresMe’ as we used to call it. After we were on Radio 1, Tony Wilson came to see us rehearse and said ‘Yeah you’re great, come on’. He’d just started So It Goes in 1976 and we were on first, then it was the Bowles Brothers Band, and then it was the Sex Pistols…
We almost had a fight with Johnny Rotten in the Green Room as he was trashing everybody…Joni Mitchell, Dylan…you name it, he hated them all. It was actually Clive James who heard us almost coming to blows and he came up to me and said ‘They’re not worth it, just ignore them’. He didn’t like them, apparently.
Rick Lee [not Alvin Lee], the drummer from Ten Years After, was our manager at the time and he got us a demo session with Bronze Records, which was part of EMI. We did the demos and they came to see us live in Bristol, I think. I didn’t know this ‘til thirty years later but they offered us a contract. Rick Lee asked for £50,000 and Bronze said ‘Fuck off!’. We didn’t know this! At the same time there was 10CC…
Phil Burgess was the new drummer for 10CC after they’d split in two, and he drummed with us when Tony Wilson came down to audition us for So It Goes, but he didn’t play on it. He liked us and they’d been courting our guitarist, Rick Fenn, to join them. He kept saying ‘No’ as he thought we’d get a record contract but when we thought that had fallen through, he finally said ‘Yes’.
…So the band broke up and I came back here and started playing with my friends also from along Bury New Road, Jim Morrison, who passed away about five years ago, and Pete Barrett. They already had a band called The Nodes and went on to become The Fruiting Bodies and had a couple of relatively cult successful CDs. They were great. And then Jim and Pete and Toby Lyons, who was also up Bury New Road, joined The Colourfield and had some success.
This was the early to mid 70s, 10CC part 2…and The Fall came after us. I knew a couple of the guys in passing but wasn’t close to them. There was no scene; we hated it up here, we didn’t like Prestwich. Prestwich was a dump. There was nothing going on but for some reason we ended up on Prestwich Park Road South. My parents lived on the well-named Bland Road, and there was nothing going on.
After Gentlemen, I started a thing in Bury called the Bury Union of Musicians (BUM) and did some live stuff in a pub in Bury. It was great as we had all these musicians from the Manchester School of Music with us playing cellos and stuff. Then me, Jim and Pete did lots of stuff on Piccadilly Radio at night. But we had to disguise ourselves as we didn’t want the dole to know we were getting paid, so I did some solo stuff as Nat Jacobs. We made good money doing that as they had to have a certain amount of live music after 10pm otherwise they’d lose their contract. We played every week, it was fun but nobody listened.
Prestwich was dead in those days. There were lots of hippies up there but not a musical scene. People were listening to music and there were odd pockets of musicians. We were into ourselves. We were a band and lived together, and we’d often go to South Manchester to party because it was more fun down there.
It was just the beginning of punk and we were at the end of the progressive era, that’s why we lost out. We didn’t really like being in Prestwich because we thought it was dead as a doornail for bands. It’s a funny thing isn’t it?”
Howard Kingston now lives in Montana and has his own radio show
I remember Howie living on Bland road ,nice guy also Jim and Tim Lyons ,sorry to hear of Jims passing ,remember him on The old grey whistle test supporting John cooper Clarke ,,,good memories ,,,
Brilliant article from Howard, very amusing too. Lots of stuff I didn’t know as Howard is my older half brother and we didn’t grow up together. Well written
Happy memories of Howie who I knew at St John’s College in Manchester. Mates at the time with some of his Prestwich and Whitefield friends mentioned here especially Pete Barrett (and John Gidbert). Remember enjoying watching his band rehearsing and some ace parties when he moved to Bury!
I well remember the time on So It Goes. I Autocued several of the shows for various contributors and especially for Clive James, one of my heroes, On the programme you mention he was dressed up in a massive caftan stuffed with cushions and held a real live Llama on a lead, supposed to be Demis Russos. I remember the Sex Pistols kicking off and he and I – with the Llama clinging together in panic behind the cyc. Happy days.
Great article thanks. I worked with Jim for a while in the 70’s when I was a teenager. He gave me some guitar lessons and helped wean me off pop music and on to genesis and Frank Zappa and I never looked back! I had a tape of the nodes (wish I still had it) and saw the gentleman live a couple of times. I wondered what became of him, sad to hear of his passing.
I was amazed to read this article having known Jim Morrison and Pete Barrett for years.
I remember them both talking about Howard and how impressed they were with his voice and musical abilities.
Today Peter Barratt has a place in Shrewsbury and a place in India…he is such a wonderful man and so talented. Sadly I attended Jims funeral. A great guitarist and human being.
Last saw Pete on Holcombe Hill. Miss these guys and what a pleasure it was to read this article.
I wrote and recorded a song , “Giggling Sometimes”’with Pete playing keyboards which was aired by the BBC.
Howie was a talented guy and not least for his remarkable lyrics. Gentlemen were just a little too late. The Sex Pistols were like the iceberg that the prog-rock Titanic hit, and a lot of good music went down with it. Lucky for me, 10cc survived but not without a few scars.
Gentlemen all live so far apart these days. It would be good to see Howie. He was a good friend.
Love you Rick! We were a very promising band that just didn’t quite luck out …no regrets here and I’m happy that you went on to fulfill your great potential. Life is just what it is and you either accept it or you suffer….
I remember these guys from Prestwich. Saw them play at St Hildas, not sure when. It was John Godbert, who later became Herb Diamonte. He was playing a jaw harp. Can’t remember that much as, I didn’t pay much attention. I know Howard reminded me a bit of Chris Farlow in his period with Colloseum. I was a bit of a waster at the time. Never mind
Wow I ran Pink Soft recording studio with my then husband. He was drummer with The Nodes and Fruiting Bodies. Melissa was a great front lady! Happy memories long ago
Actually Phil (drummer with nodes and Fruiting Bodies) and I bought Manchester Road house in February 1981 from Tim and Toby… We renamed the studio ZAP.
My memories of the Nodes included Howie, Tim, Pete, Jim and Phil. This was late 1970s. The house and studio was a hive of activity I think my ex still has the tapes from those times. You all went down to Strawberry South in Dorking to make a demo? Your music was excellent, I can still remember some of the lines from the songs. It wasn’t long after that the Nodes came to an end and the Fruiting Bodies were born.
Fruiting Bodies had Melissa (Tess Tickle) up front on stage and she was great fun. Later in 1981 we renovated the Manchester Road house and studio. It became a rehearsal studio and offered to make demo tapes. First paying guest to record was NORMAN GAMMA (1984). The Fruiting Bodies put on a wonderful extravaganza at the Derby Hall called UTOPIA. It of course featured their music but also GARY LOMAX (RIP) and his lovely wife who performed a ‘Tango act’.
The studio was popular with local bands and music societies. I recall Terry Hall coming round to try out the studio he was working on ‘Castles in the Air’.
Unfortunately one of the neighbours took to complaining about the studio and bands coming and going. We had no planning permission for the studio and that was the point it closed and we sold the house on.
Howie if you want any of those earlier recordings I have contact details for my ex and he may still have some perhaps… Sent an email to me and I can send you details if you wish
Best wishes Sue
Hi Sue! Lovely to hear your stories. I left Bury in 1978 and moved to London just before you bought Tim’s house. I’d be thrilled to hear some of those recordings if Phil still has them!
I’ll check with him and see what he may still have!
I asked Phil and he said everything was handed over to Pete Barratt. If you get in touch with Pete (do you have his contact details?) I am sure he could let you know if they are available. Good luck!
Hi Sue! I’ll contact Pete and will be visiting Manchester in August for my daughter Sarah’s wedding…….Thanks for the info 🙏