Memories of South Bank Poly(technic) Blues Club 1975-77
‘I wouldn’t give a blind sow an acorn
Wouldn’t give a crippled crab a crutch
‘Cause I just found out, baby
That you ain’t so such a much’
Memories of a night almost 50 years ago when Cousin Joe made his way from New Orleans to play at a Blues Club that I ran for two years in my student days at South Bank Poly(technic) near to the Elephant & Castle in South London.
I had to help Joe on the final leg of his journey, collecting him and accompanying him from Chalk Farm on the Northern Line, me a long-haired bearded student and Joe dressed in a cream suit and Stetson hat to match. Part of the deal with the agent was to supply Joe with a bottle of Southern Comfort, which he had polished off by the end of the evening, hence I decided to call a cab to get him back to North London. A memorable evening and one enjoyed by fellow ‘mature’ student, Dick Heckstall-Smith, who was studying at the Polytechnic for a degree in Social Sciences while still playing his saxophone in various jazz fusion units at the time.
With the amount of money that I was given to run the club, it wasn’t possible to book all of the musicians that I wished and so Big John Wrencher, the blues harmonica player and singer, who lost his left arm in a car accident near Memphis in 1958 was the only other American artist that appeared. To be honest he was my second choice too, as I could not afford Homesick James but John, who was best known for playing on Sundays at the Maxwell Street Market in Chicago throughout the 1960s, was £50 cheaper. A great night none the less even though John had received news that morning from Chicago that his sister had died the previous day. As a bonus I did get a copy on Big John’s album on Big Bear Records, which he duly signed, and he was not as thirsty as Cousin Joe.
I cannot remember how we met but one person who was most helpful in me being able to eek out my budget out was blues singer and guitarist Simon Prager. Simon introduced to several blues artists from an area of S W London that they affectionately called the ‘Wandle Delta.’ Simon had been involved in to several blues artists from an area of S W London that they affectionately called the ‘Wandle Delta.’ Simon had been involved in the British blues scene since the 1960s with his playing partner of twelve years, Steve Rye (harmonica). By the time that I met Simon the two of them were part of a successful triumvirate of Simon, Steve and pianist Bob Hall known as the ‘All Star Medicine Show.’ They were one of the first acts that I booked at the Club. Bob Hall was the ‘go to’ pianist in the UK at the time for recording Blues and did appear on the Big John Wrencher album mentioned above.
Two other blues artists from the ‘Wandle Delta’ that Simon introduced me to that most certainly need a mention are the legendary Jo Ann Kelly and her younger brother Dave Kelly.
Jo Ann Kelly, who to my mind deserves the legendary tag that I have already given her above, played for me at South Bank Poly on a couple of occasions too. She sadly died at the age of 46 in 1990, but I still miss her being around and creating music. In the late sixties, Jo Ann, had her brush with fame. Nick Perls, an American audio engineer and blues record label owner recorded her in various venues around England in 1968 and sold the tapes to Colombia Records in the USA. The album was released the following year in the USA and UK and on the back of this she was asked to sing at the Memphis Country Blues Festival in 1969. There she met and played with the likes of Mississippi Fred McDowell and Bukka White, something that she very much enjoyed. However, what happened next was less to her taste. Jo Ann was flown out to LA to play at a Colombia Records Convention where she played and was given a buildup that Jo Ann described in these terms, “They gave me the whole build-up. They announced: ‘John Hammond, the man who discovered Robert Johnson, Billie Holiday and Bob Dylan, now brings you… Miss Jo Ann Kelly.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, fuck!’ I’ve had a taste of this big hype thing, all those people coming on as if they’re personal friends, and it stinks.”
Columbia then set up a tour of the States featuring Jo Ann playing an acoustic set with Johnny Winter followed by Winter going electric for the rest of the gig. Rehearsals took place but Jo Ann came home to London after a week or so, never wanting fame or fortune, only wanting to do things her way. Something that the likes of South Bank Poly Blues Club benefitted from. In the sleeve notes of the Colombia (Epic) album, they state that Jo Ann “is the first and only white blues singer of sufficiently awesome skills to make the listener lose all sense of time, colour, place or sex.” Something to my mind that was true then and remains true today.
FOOT NOTE:
Back in late 2021 I was celebrating a ‘significant’ birthday, and I asked ‘fellow Woodie*’ Cleo Sylvestre, if she would play for me with her band, Honey B Mama & Friends at my party. This she did and during the evening she made the comment, “When I reached seventy, I decided that I wanted to sing in front of a blues band again, so I did.”
Although not a singer or musician myself, the sentence struck a chord and, after a little mulling over, I started up occasional music nights under the title ‘Art’s Music Lounge’ in Plumstead, S. E. London where I live. This new venture gives me the opportunity to put on music that I love covering Blues, R&B, Soul, Ska and Reggae. This month on Friday 20th February everything comes full circle as I have Dave Kelly and Bob Hall coming along to Art’s Music Lounge to celebrate South Bank Poly Blues Club 50 Years On, ably assisted by Hilary Blythe.
