Eel Pie Island R&B & Jazz๐ถ
So, with a recent week off work I did quite a bit of popping 'up town' to see some things and places I had never been to before, you know how it is, you just kind of build up a 'bucket list' of stuff and places you feel like you need to go and see in London, just not necessarily the most recognised on the tourist trail as per Eric Morecambe...
I guess rather than want to visit some of the more 'popular' attractions London has to offer I prefer to do things a little differently, pretty much typical of what I enjoy doing is trying to explore places 'off the beaten track', even more enjoyable if they are free and better still if they are music related, so here we go with some slightly different styles of music I wouldn't usually post, but it's kind of nice to do that once in a while, I would say sit back and enjoy, but I think for this post you need to put on your old school 'rooty-toot' dancing shoes and get ready to 'cut some rug'...
The Wild West ๐ค
We hit the District Line from East London all the way out to the Wild West at the far end of the line (although I love a bus ride but, that was just not going to work on this jaunt!)
The easiest route was on the tube and hop off at the end of the line at sunny Richmond and then finally (my fave!), the short bus ride over the Thames to nearby and also sunny Twickenham. Both places are equally lovely as they are by the Thames and the 'vibe' just feels like you are on holiday! I have to say I am instantly jealous, both places are quite lovely and full of green and peacefulness and although still in London feels quite tranquil in comparison to where we are.ย
Dancing And Fluff๐
We took a trot through the High street stopping off at some shops and a nice pub then strolled back to The Eel Pie Island Museum. The actual 'Island' itself is now only open a couple of times per year to visit and we had missed that opportunity by a good few weeks. The museum however, although small, was an absolute delight! We were greeted by a lovely lady called 'Fluff' (I'm just working on a hunch it isn't her real name! ๐ค๐ถ), she was born and raised around the area and as described by her 'just loves to dance', Eel Pie Island was a 'mecca' for her and friends when she was a teen and used to go having fun, listening to great sounds and of course dancing on the Island in the early to mid 1960's. After talking with her she still sounds like she gets about and soaks up the local music scene, she is a evidently a friend of Dave Brock from Hawkwind and loves a dance about to sounds (with or without alcohol!).
We were offered tea or coffee and more importantly which style of music we wanted to listen to as we perused the museum, both the Missus and I opted for R&B, so our guide popped off quickly and slipped on some vinyl, the first track that hit us was from Manfred Mann with their wonderful track 'Come Tomorrow' (featured previously on this site at the link above) perhaps she just put it on because she actually wanted us to come back tomorrow๐. What a nice start to a tour of a wonderful little museum that pays homage to some of the musical greats the UK is famed for, the music during the tour was great and with the record player in the corner and a bunch of vinyl you could just put on what you wanted. There was a marvellous wall charting the history of the bands that have played on Eel Pie from it's beginnings to its sad demise, I was kind of hoping to see something from when I was born, but sadly it was at a time that things started to go wrong for the Island, however the list of artists who graced the stage throughout the years was quite amazing and containing some really big names!
And All That Jazz ๐ท
The Island was first occupied by Jazz fans from the mid to late 1950's before the whole swinging sixties scene kicked in, just have a look at and listen to the video clip of the 'Jazz Parade' held in Twickenham in 1956 at the link, the music by Brian Rutland & The Grove Jazz Band (some local home-grown jazz talents) with the track 'Doctor Jazz๐บ', remember that these were the 'rebellious kids' back in day and hey! they are probably now as old as some of your own parents, but from looking at the video ain't they just having a whole bunch of fun, 'cutting some rug' and enjoying the sounds and I guess some freedom! What a wonderfully uplifting sound the band had! Every time I have listened to this track I find my feet just don't stop tapping to the beat. The Island hosted many well known Jazz artists including Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball and Ken Colyer. Jazz still seems to play a big part in Twickenham, many of the local pubs seem to have 'Jazz Nights', which is a good thing in keeping the tradition going.
The above quote from Inventor Trevor Baylis (he was the guy behind the invention of the 'wind up radio'), literally a radio set that you could crank a handle on to wind it up to play! I remember seeing clips of T.V. Programme 'Tomorrow's World' from back in 1994 showing the clever invention, clearly a man who loved his jazz music, frequented the Island and wasn't so keen on another side of the 1960's musical style calling The Rolling Stones 'an awful racket'!
Swinging Sixties โฎ
There are loads of fantastic photos adorning the walls showing some of the greats including The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart, both of which played at the 'Island' back in the sixties.
Here is a track by Jimmy Powell & The 5 Dimensions called 'I'm A Rocker', Rod Stewart's first band in which he played harmonica, in fact the harmonica playing helped him get noticed by Long John Baldry who obviously had an eye for talent when he heard Rod play a Muddy Waters song at Twickenham station on the way home from attending one of Baldry's gigs on Eel Pie Island. Catch the pair of them on the uplifting and slightly more 'gospel' sounding track 'Up Above My Head' at the youtube link, according to the comments on the link it was used as the closing track for their act on Eel Pie and lasted about 30 minutes!
The 'Island' did Rod's career no harm at all, I guess from working a playing with some big acts of the day before 'going solo' and getting his first major hit with the track 'Maggie May' in 1971, about a fling he had with an older woman whom he met at a Jazz Festival (there you go another Jazz link!). You can catch him mucking about on stage with the Faces and John Peel (pretending to play the mandolin) at the youtube link. Anyway it is a great track and was oddly enough when first released the B Side to 'Reason To Believe' (again another fantastic track). So the story goes the B side gained more popularity with radio stations at the time and helped him along his way with the solo career.
This Could Be The Last Time โณ
Other bands and artists such as David Bowie, The Who and Pink Floyd also played on the 'Island'. The place is the rock n roll hall of fame, loads of amazing bands who all started out and 'cut their teeth' on an island of fun.
By 'the Summer Of Love' in '67 the building began to descend into disrepair, the owners could not meet the cost and it was forced to close, it briefly re-opened again in 1969 as 'Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden' hosting bands such as Hawkwind, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, but the fun and frolicking came to an abrupt stop on November 3rd 1971 when the Eel Pie Island Hotel that hosted all the above mentioned greats sadly burned down in mysterious circumstances, accident or just an insurance claim? who knows?
I am sure it must have felt like 'the last time' for those who used to go to the island for music and fun back in the Sixties, as per the Rolling Stone's track 'This Could Be The Last Time' (looks like Mick Jagger went to the same party George Best, as focused on in the video, hence maybe the slightly un-energetic performance!).
It is a sad end of an era for what sounded like a truly fun place to go for kid's of the day. It's memory is truly treasured in Twickenham with the museum and also the Eel Pie Island Record shop. A great day out and and a perfect trip down memory lane (even if a lot of it was before I was born!).
We rounded it off by visiting 'The White Swan' pub just down Sion Lane for lunch by the water, a lovely old pub which overlooks The Thames, kids paddle boarding, dogs jumping in for a swim, canoes and small boats. Awesome and very relaxing!
A truly wonderful day out, if you can't make going to it in person have a look and read of the website at the link here 'Eel Pie Island Museum', if you can go then it is a music lovers 'must' and, if you like music as I do you will not be disappointed! Interestingly the 'Island' opens up several times per year and offers you the chance to visit, we sadly missed that opportunity by a couple of weeks, so keep an eye out and see if you can get to have a look around it and let me know what it is like, if I don't get there before you!
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