Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek: West Hampstead's Musical Heritage Remembered

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April 1967 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)

December 1965 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with Jimmy Cliff, Ayshea, Pete Hodges and The New Generation and The Tribe (Evening Sentinel) During May, Dave Greenslade briefly left to join Julian Covey & The Machine as they support John Lee Hooker on a UK tour but returned to The Thunderbirds soon after. January 1968 – Leicester College of Education (Scraptoft), Leicester with Deuce Coupe and Pandoras Box (Fabulous 208/Leicester Mercury)

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Though not nearly as well known – especially among music fans on this side of the pond – was another venerable club with the very peculiar sounding name of Klooks Kleek. June 1968 – Redcar Jazz Club, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Keith Herd Group (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book)

The Mike Cotton Sound’s 45 appearances were made mostly on Thursday where they were effectively the house band. March 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Geoff Williams research: Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek book) Of course West Hampstead has other musical claims to fame. Artists as diverse as Dusty Springfield and Slash were both born here; and that Decca audition might have put the Fab Four off NW6 but it didn’t stop them from recording some of their most influential material just down the road by the world’s most famous zebra crossing.A last-minute campaign has been launched to restore the legendary Klooks Kleek venue above The Railway pub in West End Lane. Klooks Kleek was a jazz and rhythm 'n’ blues club on the first floor of the Railway Hotel, West Hampstead, north-west London. [1] Named after "Klook's Clique", a 1956 album by jazz drummer Kenny Clarke (Savoy Records 12006), the club opened on 11 January 1961 with special guest Don Rendell (tenor sax) and closed nine years later on 28 January 1970 after a session by drummer Keef Hartley’s group. April 1967 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Wynder K Frog (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live) February 1967 – Redcar Jazz Club, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Bluecaps (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book)

Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames played 22 times within the first two years of RnB at KK. Commercial success then took them into larger venues, but spin-off bands, e.g. The Night-Timers who played 21 gigs, kept the genre going at smaller clubs like KKAround this time Pete Solley left to join Los Bravos and Peter Robinson took over on keyboards. Bruce Waddell also returned to play bass. December 1968 – Malvern Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire with The Basin Street Jump Band (Malvern Gazette) At my old age, I know little about computers, so when my daughter Carol showed me a photo on the web of my old pub, The Railway, I was surprised it looked so good. Situated next to Decca Studios, KK was a favourite drop-in before or after work for music stars, notably Tom Jones, Lulu, and Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five. Eric Burdon often dropped-in, particularly when Georgie Fame or Zoot Money were appearing, sometimes accompanied by other members of the Animals. The surprise visit which passed into legend was the one made by Jimi Hendrix whose manager Chas Chandler, formerly of the Animals brought him in one night when John Mayall was topping the bill. Jimi was never booked, but he was invited to jam with the John Mayall band, and that night’s crowd was ecstatic. Individual memories of Klook’s Kleek abound, some of them misted by time but all of them enthusiastic. January 1966 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)