Straight back to it in January for a fundraiser to support Salisbury & District Cats Protection. With all funds going directly to the branch, this was an opportunity for us, and our new friends the P45s, to party the night away while raising funds for the kitties. A huge thank you to Brown Street for hosting the event and to the audience for coming out and donating. Simon even got to do the raffle again. He didn’t insult anyone this time though.
In February we are asked to play at the relaunch of the party room at the Woodfalls Inn, in Woodfalls, near Redlynch, near Downton, near Salisbury. A beautiful pub on the edge of the New Forest. But make no mistake, this is not a quiet country pub – it was rammed and the clientele were well up for it. Much noise was had. Hope to be back here again soon.
A week later we are back in Brown Street, Salisbury but this time a full set on our own. So lovely to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones. We also never get bored of folk coming up to us after the show to tell us how much they enjoyed the show. A big thanks to Dave Hitchins (back again after an absence of a few years) who stepped in as it was Rich’s turn to be the keeper of the lurgy.
January and February are normally quiet months for us, so in a pleasant break from the norm, we play a third gig in February. We are delighted to be back at the Durrington Club for the first time in many years. A few things have changed but the crowd are as enthusiastic as ever!
Just the one gig in March but an important one. We get to play the first gig at the inaugural Wilton Live, Salisbury’s Live’s little brother.
More importantly, it marks the last ever gig for Rich Watts on Bass and vocals. After 52 months and 72 gigs, Rich, our longest serving bass player, has decided to stop doing live music. He will continue with other projects and may one day venture out into the wild again. Rich has been a huge influence on us and was always looking to improve our songs, playing and performing and we will be sorry to see him go. All the best Rich and thanks for the great music.
First gig for April is an exciting one so, strap in for a longer than usual post. On Saturday 7 April we came out for a Salisbury Live fundraiser at the Salisbury Rugby Club. It was notable for a number of reasons. Firstly, we got to show off Dave, our new bass player to the world. Say hello to Dave everyone!
Simon and Terry got to show us their guitar muscles in two other bands too. Simon played with The Dusk Hounds – a 60/70s dirty old rock band.
And Terry played with Southbound, a recreation of the original sounds of Thin Lizzy.
Then we got to play a set, which felt noticeably short although it wasn’t, right at the end of the night as the new lineup. Great to be back!
Later in April Dave gets to play his first full gig with us at, another first for us, the Stonehenge Campsite for the VW Campout. A bit like playing inside a spaceship (no bad thing) a great time is had by all.
April also saw one final gig on the very last day, Sunday 30 April, before the May Bank Holiday. Billed as a fundraiser for the Salisbury Live Picnic in the Park later in the year, this turned into a regular little festival all of its own. On the bill were Sour Apple, Lucy Loves Liquor, Ribble, Southbound (yes, again), Somehow I’m Home and we got to round the night off! Wow what a thing that turned into. An amazing audience really showed up and made an amazing night of live music. Someone was heard to say “without doubt, one of the most enjoyable, full on, Salisbury Live events of recent years“. Quite the statement. Thank you to Colin for organising and all the lovely people who showed up and made that really quite spectacular!
The first gig of May is a celebration of the Coronation of King Charles III at Wilton Club. Due to illness, we were without Amber, so the boys, especially Terry, really just Terry, took on singing responsibilities. As result, we decided not to be very serious. This was aided and abetted by the very silly audience who joined in with great enthusiasm. Here’s a picture of Dave looking cool before the noise!
Another long weekend, with another Bank Holiday and this time the weather gods shine on everyone, and a beautiful weekend lets everyone lie around in the sun. What a perfect weekend for outdoor gigs. So, we play inside at Brown Street on Friday 26 May and inside the Enham Club in Andover on Saturday 27 May. A huge thank you to those that braved coming inside at Brown Street and an equally big thanks to those that joined us for the first time at Enham Club. Great to see some familiar faces and some fresh faces too. A grand time was had by all!
June kicks off with a private function at the Royal British Legion in Tidworth. We didn’t invite you. It was private. That’s how that works. Big thanks to Anna for organising such great hospitality.
On the last day of June we return to Qudos to celebrate 5 years of Amber being with the band. The audience shows her their appreciation in their usual quiet respectful way!
July and for the first time since 2021 we are back at Ebblefest in Nunton. Ebblefest is one of those events where, regardless of the weather, the sun always shines. A village fete during the day and then, like Dr Jeckyll, an incredible transformation into music festival in the evening. We also had the incredible Andrea Penna take some photos for us and you can view the whole album here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.726200939513562&type=3!
The second weekend in July was also another double header for us, starting with a return to the Woodfalls Inn in Redlynch. The hospitality at this pub is off the chart and we are always super looked after. The audience are always really enthusiastic too. We are back in December and looking forward to it.
Second gig of the second weekend of July and we are back at The Avon Brewery where we very nearly got to play in the beer garden next to the river. Nearly. The weather, so kind the day before, had other ideas. All squeezed in with a little less kit than normal, the audience seemed to have a lovely time.
Third weekend of July and another double gig weekend but this time something new. Thanks to the Radnor Arms for asking us to be part of the anniversary celebrations. Thanks to the Deloreans for the lend of the PA too. As not all of the band were available, 60% of the band went and played acoustically. An interesting experiment.
The second gig of the weekend sees us return to Antrobus House in Amesbury for a private gig. All had a great evening. Thanks to Spencer for the lovely photos. An example of which is below..
After a record number of gigs in a summer month (six in total) July rounds out with an all-day festival at ChitFest in Chitterne. Most of the day is populated with an acoustic duo (Ben and Tim) who play for an amazing three hours. We then get to play 90 minutes before the glow people get all the ladies in the audience to exercise for 30 minutes. Then more rock and roll for another 90 minutes from us to finish the night. The weather was great, and the feedback was amazing. Thanks for having us – we had a blast!
August kicks off with a private party in Mere. A triple birthday celebration meant 3 birthday cakes! A truly amazing night with the pub absolutely rammed. 3 Encores and then a request to do a whole extra set as it is going down so well. Tired but happy bunnies at the end of all that!
Next up Wiltshire Motorcycle Rally. The weather is lovely, and the tent soon fills up with a crowd which is appreciative from the start. The next day is headlined by Hells Bells who we last supported at Live in the Farm in 2022.
The third gig in August is the first of three gigs over the bank holiday and sees us make a welcome return to The Bear Inn Beer Festival in Wilton. This is our fifth gig there and marks the tenth anniversary of the first time we played there. And what a spectacular night it turns out to be. Busy from the off, this was an audience that was absolutely out to have a great time. The weather mostly held off and our three hour set went down an absolute storm!
The second gig of the Bank Holiday weekend sees us in Amesbury for the afternoon at Super Fete III. Aptly named as it was huge and extremely well attended. Lovely to see so many familiar faces and thank you all for the kind words. We love these big open-air things because we can be loud!!
And then the third gig of the weekend, and the second of the Sunday, we are back at Shrewton Cricket Club’s annual Beerex. Last here four years ago, the new layout is fantastic, and we nearly play into Bank Holiday Monday on the encouragement of the very enthusiastic audience. Thanks for having us and see you next year!
As the summer festival season draws to a close, we get one last hooray in the sun. At the beginning of September, we play at the inaugural Good Mood Festival in Larkhill. The weather is stunning, and we play just as the sun is setting. Initially plagued by technical issues, once we are through those, we are off and a wonderful time is had by band and audience!
The very last outdoor gig of the summer sees us back at the magnificent The Bear Inn to celebrate a double birthday party. They must be popular people because a lot of people turned out to help them celebrate. Happy Birthday both!! A great, (but warm and sticky) night was had by all!
For the last gig of September, we played at a private party at the Salisbury Rugby Club. One of our favourite venues! Alcohol certainly helped the celebrations, but we were told we helped too! And Simon got to play his new amp before delayed holidays give us a month off.
In October, we were asked to perform at RayFest, a celebration of the life of Ray Musselwhite and in aid of The National Autistic Society. A magnificent event featuring music from Luke Hall, Sock Puppet Jukebox, Lump, CLS, Love Is Enough and yours truly. Another exceptional Salisbury Live event which was extremely well attended and raised some great funds for NAS. We got to really rock out, as Ray was a huge rock fan, and even managed a jam of Freebird, his favourite song. A privilege to be part of this joyful event.
October also saw another private party at the Salisbury Rugby Club (don’t talk about the score). We were pleased to be able to step in after their previous booking was not able to make it due to illness, and we got to play to for a friend of the band’s 50th Birthday, where we got looked after with food and drink and everything!
Just one gig in November, before the full-on chaos that is December. A first time for us in the Salisbury Arms on Endless Street, Salisbury. A little quiet at the start, but it ended up being a great night with a crowd that was extremely appreciative. Time to get some new songs in before December!
First gig in December and we are back at The Woodfalls Inn in Redlynch. A superb pub, that does lovely food by the way. Terry was away with work so we were joined by the awesome Jola who took turns on bass and keyboards, yes you read that right, while Dave alternated between bass and guitar. Something very different but still excellent fun. We continued this unusual line-up on the Saturday at The Stones Hotel at the High Post.
A week later and both Terry and Simon are back and we do a normal gig at Bath Rugby Club. Hmmm, “normal”. What a superb venue to play at. We sometimes comment that the audience were “well up for it.” We did two sets, one before the game and one after. Bath won this week and we have now redefined “up for it”. What a venue – what an audience. Thanks for having us!
We rounded the year out at Sixpenny Handley for New Year’s Eve. Which was amazing and such a great night. Thank you to everyone who came to see us, booked us and supported us in 2023. It really means a lot to us. In March we said goodbye to Rich on Bass after nearly 5 years with us, and welcomed Dave. It has been a blast and really excited for some new things for 2024.
