ALAN LOCKWOOD

Alan Lockwood was born in ?? on ??/??19??

Early King’s Lynn promoter, saxophonist, and drummer Lockwood started out playing tenor saxophone with The Les Wheeler Orchestra, resident band at the town's Majestic Ballroom. Lockwood reports, “From there, I did a few guest slots with other bands before settling with a quartet of sax, piano, bass and drums in residence at The Hole in the Wall in Hunstanton. I believe it is now a car park but was once the old Station Hotel.”

Lockwood soon started putting on gigs of his own and explains why, “I got into booking bands and promoting dances, having seen how they could generate good revenue. The Rock 'n' Roll scene was just getting underway, and tenor sax players were not in high demand, so the Selmer Mark VI was exchanged for a drum kit.”

In 1962 he joined the newly formed Sabres and said, “This led to quite a long stint backing various recording artists throughout East Anglia with many gigs at Lyndford Hall, Mundford. The group built up quite a following, and I remember we were the first band in the region to all have Fender guitars; quite something back then. This was followed by a period drumming with Danny Eves and the Strollers.”

Lockwood worked as the manager of Weaver to Wearer tailors in King’s Lynn and continued to put on promotions in his spare time and is probably best known now for turning down The Beatles after booking them. “I first enquired about this group after seeing an advert in the NME. Love Me Do was at No 17 in the charts; it was January 1963. Ray Aldous, who worked as a window dresser for John Collier, the 50 Shilling Tailor a few doors down, also did promotions. I told him I had rung Brian Epstein about getting a date in April 1963 to play at the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange and that the fee was £75. The booking was made, but when the confirmation letter arrived, it said if 'Please Please Me' should reach the top five of the Record Retailer charts, the fee would increase to £100. Now to me, a deal is a deal, Love Me Do had dropped out of the top twenty, so I cancelled the booking. I’m not sure which decision was worse, sharing my business with Ray or cancelling the gig. Aldous immediately called Brian and booked them for Norwich at £450, I believe, four weeks after they would have appeared on the date I wanted. Both his contract and my Epstein letter were sold at Sotheby’s 25 years later; my letter sold for £850. I did go on to book Chris Montez for King’s Lynn; I paid £200 for him and still made money."

Lockwood continued to book bands and did work for Colin Atkinson and Jack Barrie, who had formed King's Lynn's Atkinson & Barrie Entertainments Agency in 1963. “I was brought in because of my contacts and put together a 28 consecutive date tour around the UK for their main band, The Tea Time Four. The group's frontman was Boz Burrell, who went on to have a very successful career as a singer and bass player. Jack went off to London, and Colin was running The Maids Head Hotel, so I ended up running the agency. I did all kinds of shows: P.J.Proby, The Kinks in Norwich on the night their first record became No 1, and their show in Nottingham the following night. I also did bookings for Tony Jackson of the Searchers, plus many others. I worked with Immediate Records handling things for bands such as The Small Faces, PP Arnold and The Nice.

It all ended abruptly when I was booking acts for Peter Eckhorn, owner of the Top Ten club in Hamburg. I had booked my old band, The Sabres, into the club, and I went out there at the end of the month to arrange their replacement. I foolishly gave my wallet and travel documents to Barry Leader, the band's singer, because I had too much to drink. I thought someone might take advantage of my state. I woke up to find the band had left Hamburg with our commission, my money, and my return ticket. I was stranded for weeks, living off the goodness of Eckhorn and other band members.

This experience was enough for me to decide to take up the offer of a bookers job with the Roy Tempest Organisation in Deans Street, London.

I was able to take the Hamburg deal with me, and we continued to place bands into the club. I was now involved in dealing with Roy's main business, bringing to the UK all the Motown acts as they started their careers. Acts like Sam & Dave, Wilson Picket, Ben E King, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Irma Thomas and Rufus Thomas. You name them; we had them come to the UK, many playing three shows a day. I even went to the States to watch acts audition at The Apollo in Harlem to see if we were interested in booking them."

NB: We are still fact-checking much of Alan’s material as it has change over various interviews; we think it is the timeline that needs to be adjusted.

Letter to EEN ??/??/19??

My family sent me a copy of your “Ouse Beat” article of June 6^th. I found it very interesting since I was involved in the music scene in the area in the 60s both as a saxophonist with the Wheeler band at the Majestic BR before playing drums with the Sabres.

In those days we had one of the busiest booking agencies above the Chain Library from which many of the top names of the day were “bought and sold”. I remember buying 3 dates on Unit Four plus two at £25 each date, just as concrete and Clay was recorded, I went on three months later, wit the single at No 1 to sell those dates to Tito Burns in London for £800.

My career took me to London working with some of the Agencies handling names. With the Rik Gunnel Agency I was responsible for Chris Farlowe, Alan Price, Rod Stewart then Shotgun Express with Beryl Marsden. Georgie Fame was booked into his first weeks cabaret at a club in his home town Leigh, Lancs by myself for £1500.

I also worked with Roy Tempest bringing acts like Stevie Wonder, Wilson Pickett, Lee Dorsey, Pattie La Belle, Ben E King, The Shirelles and many more household names of today.

In one of the backing bands we used Bluesology sat a shy retiring organist named Reg Dwight – now Elton John, only then he used to do two shows a day for £35 per week.

I went on to the States to book acts for an agency set up by Radio Caroline, one tour I signed was for Little Richard. My last job was with Immmediate record as the personal manager for Steve Marriott and the Small Faces. In fact only this year in Derby where I now live, I had a reunion with Steve only weeks before his tragic death. Just as with your article it had the years flooding back.

I was heavily involved with Colin Atkinson and Jack Barrie, then managers of the Tea Time Four with getting dates for the group all those years ago – I remember that I had them working 45 consecutive days as far down (or up) to Skegness, Nottingham. I still believe that to be a local group record especially at £25 and £30 per date, the going rate then was £10 to £15.

In London, I again was involved with Boz when Georgie fame split with one of his backing groups. I put them behind Boz and they did a week at the newly opened “Bag ‘O’ nails” owned by the Gunnel brothers. This band included an African Bongo player names “Jimmy” – (I don’t believe anyone knew his surname) he had a saying when meeting people – OOB LA DI OOB LA DA, yes that’s where McCartney got the title for the song.

Those days in King’s Lynn, where I turned down a date I had agreed with Epstein to put the Beatles in the KL Corn Exchange simply because he wrote to say that the £75 fee agreed would have to be £100 if “Please Please Me” got to the Top 5. My enquiry in December ’62 for the date in April ’63 had the record at No 1. That same letter was sold at Southebys for £840, 25 years later. Wait for it – I paid £200 for Chris Montez instead and still made money.

I have the first 60 pages of a planned book already written, whether it will ever be completed – who knows.

Billy Gaff used to cry in my beer after his group the Herd had dumped him to go with Kennedy Street Artistes in Manchester yet it was he who put Stewart with the remaining Faces and look what happened then.

BW

Alan Lockwood.

In an early Archive publication, I had pointed out that Lockwood had a wooden leg, and he graciously responded to this comment in an email. “Dear Kingsley, I just read your info on the Sabres and noted I was the drummer with the wooden leg. No! They were only for pirates. We, mortals, have much more refined techno gear. The current one I have is German Otto Boch, several thousands of pounds worth of all singing and dancing kit - I can get Radio Five Live on it!” Once again, apologies Alan.