Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Downbeats

In 1962, Alan White joined a local band called The Downbeats at the age of 13. The band covered songs by The Beatles, Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, and The Supremes. They would later change their name to The Bluechips and disband in October 1965.

Lineup :

Jon Carter (Vocals) (Joined in October 1963)
Mary Harris (Vocals) (Joined in October 1964)
Christine Hodgson (Vocals) (Joined in January 1963, left in October)
Simon Kennard (Lead Guitar)
Geoff Killick (Bass)
Ges Nicholls (Drums)
Ricky North (Guitar, Keyboards) (Joined in 1964, left in January 1965)
Graham Sibley (Joined in 1965)
Paul Wakeham (Rhythm Guitar) (Left in 1964)
Alan White (Drums)

Date : 1962
Venues : Local youth clubs and halls

Date : 1963-
City : Solihull, West Midlands, England
Venue : Solihull Civic Hall

Date : February 1963
City : Edgbaston, Birmingham, England
Venue : Tower Ballroom

In this battle of the bands, The Downbeats came in second behind The Fortunes.

Date : October 1963-1965
City : Hockley Heath, Solihull, England
Venue : The Royal Oak

Date : Late 1964
City : Locarno, Birmingham, England

This show was also a battle of the bands contest.

Date : 1965
City : London, England
Venue : London Palladium

The prize for winning the contest at this venue was to record a song.

Date : May 1965
City : Battersea Park Festival Gardens
Venue : The Variety Club of Great Britain Star Gala

This event was sponsored by The News of the World. The band played in front of 10,000 people.

No comments:

Post a Comment