KEITH MASON

Band timeline:

The Inmates

The Redbeats

The Wreckers

The Ennihows / Anyhows / Enihows

“I bumped into my old friend Tim Clark and he told me he was playing in a band, and they needed a bass player. I joined straight away, although I had no musical experience and was taught by Tim and other band members. My first guitar was a Burns Tri-Sonic Bass and cost £40. They were called The Inmates. The band was run, along with many others, by Peter Haddon Entertainments who managed The Grand Cinema, Huntingdon. This venue had many office rooms where bands could practice, and we even performed between film showings at the Cinema. On the days when we were playing a gaggle of assorted vans would leave the cinema and turn left and right to their destinations. I was 14 years old when I started playing with the group and I quickly became very proficient on the bass guitar. We had a picture published in The Hunts Post which was taken in our practice room. We were asked to wear our outfits. Tim forgot his guitar and can be seen with a Burns Tri Sonic guitar which had been lent to him by Pete Morley of The Huntsman. The guitar matched my bass. This picture was taken in 1961, when I was 14 years old - the group was; Tim Clark (lead guitar), David Stratford (drums), Strawberry (rhythm guitar) and Strawberry’s brother on lead vocals. Nobody can remember Strawberry or his brother’s real names. This line up of the band did not last long as Strawberry and his brother went off to form a band called Strawberry & The Fruit Drops. Chris Kausman (guitar) and Jeff Polser (vocals) then came in to replace them. I did at first become fed up with the bass, until I saw a band called The Savages at The Corn Exchange in Cambridge who were backing an idiot called Screaming Lord Sutch! The bass player was called Ricky Fenson and he inspired me to improve my technique. The lead guitar player for the group was called Richie Blackmore. The Inmates did support acts such as The Moody Blues and The Who.

I`m sure my next band was The Redbeats with Terry Reid, which was very successful. The group had been started by Reuben Mitchell, Eric Bean, Barry Broad and Melvyn Clarke and when certain members left, they needed a new singer, so a 14 year old Terry Reid, who was looking for a band was hired."

Q: Did you play the farewell performance that Terry Reid announces in the paper?
A: I have just rung Reuben about the Dorothy Ballroom date and neither of us can remember it. Our last date was at Peterborough Palais with Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers who then poached Terry. We all had a meeting at Terry`s in the following days and the band was disbanded.

"I then joined The Wreckers, who consisted of Sherry, formerly on bass in the band, but had moved onto drums and vocals. Hank on lead guitar and vocals (we would travel around in Hanks Vauxhall Velux), Grahame on piano and myself on bass and vocals. We only knew each other by our first or nicknames. We played R’n’B and rock numbers, doing very well at the American airbases such as Alconbury, Lakenheath and Mildenhall. I think we broke up around 1965/6

Finally, a band called The Ennihows was put together. The only member I remember was Bob and myself on the bass. I cannot remember how long we played for. This was my last permanent band after which I did odd days with a variety of bands including orchestra’s. I did this for a couple of years until I retired to normal life.  I completely enjoyed the whole experience and still play my collection of guitars today. And because of the East Anglian Music Archive website I am now in contact with other group members, stirring up many more memories. In September I will be 75 years old. So, I guess that my recollections are fading a little." KM 03/10/2022