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Photos: Maxine Brown & the Q-Set at the Central, Gillingham 3rd Dec 1967

Photos: Maxine Brown & the Q-Set at the Central, Gillingham 3rd Dec 1967 magazine cover

Photos and Info sent in from Lorne Anton, who while based in Chatham with the RN took these photos at The Central Gillingham in 1967

Maxine Brown and the Q-Set at the Central R&B Club, Gillingham 3rd December 1967

Lorne's accompanying words

The date I originally gave for the Maxine Brown gig at the Central R&B Club, Gillingham is wrong, apologies!

The correct date should be 3/12/1967. This was, I think, her second UK Tour with some 30 odd gigs between Sept 67 and Feb 68. She was one hard working lady! She delivered a great, hard driving set, with loads of personality, the night I saw her - class!

She was backed by the Q-set who delivered a tight set that really swung behind her.

I think at that time they were Anthony Pereira, Guitar; Tony Omalley, Hammond Organ; Chester Simon, Bass; George Lee, Tenor; Lloyd Smith, Tenor; Herschell Holder, Trumpet; Byron Ly-fook, Drums;

I wasn't really into Soul but my Soul preferences were much more Stax style than Tamla Motown. Otis Reading, Wilson Picket, Joe Tex, Aretha, that kind of stuff. I was more into blues so it was the Marquee Club rather than the Flamingo.

The Central was a great venue to see live bands in the 60 s. In the 50 s it used to be a half way stop for excursion busses from London going to the Coast - the pee stop - and sometimes you could see 20 / 25 busses outside. This came to an end when the M2 and Farthing Corner Services opened. The pub was famous for ifs collection of Toby Jugs on the shelves round the walls and it soldiered on till the 1980s  when it was sold and demolished to be replaced by a housing estate. What else - either housing or a Tesco!
Another good venue was the Nags Head in Battersea and that suffered-the same fate! Progress eh?

Photos

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maxine-brown-gillingham--3-sept-1967-5.jpg

 

 

Site Note:

Great moment in time photos, many thanks go out to Lorne for sharing, very much appreciated.



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A very interesting piece that captures the spirit of US soul acts touring the UK back in the 60's. The photos included are especially magical. Touring acts played many venues back then that have now largely slipped from the memory. These acts would just about play all the top London soul clubs (the 100 Club wasn't one of those at the time) & they'd also play the niter clubs (Nite Owl, Leicester; Twisted Wheel, Manc). But they'd also play other venues that were regulars on UK's soul circuit -- one of 3 clubs in Nottingham (Dungeon, Brit, Boat Club), Gliderdrome, Boston, Calif, Dunstable, the big venue in Nelson, Bolton & Wigan Casino, one up in the NE (Newcastle or Middlesboro usually), a Portsmouth club (Birdcage) + many more.

I also saw Maxine perform on that tour, catching her @ the Nite Owl niter session on October 7th. I kept a diary at the time & just noted down ... Nite Owl; Maxine Brown -- fantastic.  One of the best I've ever seen. Had a great night. Gunner (Peterboro) there as well as Scunny, Lincoln lot. Went home via Lincoln, back in Pete's (London) van. Journey made via Barrow-on-Soar (we must have dropped someone off there on the way to Lincoln & then to my home town Donny). It was a fateful weekend, as Sunday midday it was off to the last ever session @ Sheffield's King Mojo (Stevie Wonder being the live act at the alldayer). The Mojo was closed by magistrates the following Tuesday, with the Owl following just weeks later (Dec 4th).   

NiteOwlOct67MaxineBrown.jpg

Edited by Roburt
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BTW, I didn't even note down if FAMILY were also on that night. A Leicester group who (like just about all other UK beat groups at the time, played mainly soul covers). They would soon morph, like many other UK groups at the time, into a prog rock group just weeks later. They started having hits in their own right not long after (1968 LP 'Music In A Doll's House').

The Central R&B Club, Gillingham was still going as a soul venue a year later (after many other clubs on the UK circuit had gone over to prog rock / pop acts) ...

 

FoundationsGillinghamGig.jpg

Edited by Roburt
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A UK music mag interview undertaken by Maxine during that tour ... 

PLUS an ad for a London gig she undertook on the tour ... the changing face of London club live bookings can clearly be seen in the ad (not 100% soul acts anymore) ... EVEN Alan Bown had quit soul & was into his "Toyland"  / Outward Bown era.

MaxineBrownIntrvwOct67UK.jpg

MaxineBrownIntrvwOct67UK2.jpg

MaxineBrownLndnOct67Gig.jpg

MaxineBrown.jpg

Edited by Roburt
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I saw Family three times in 68 and they sang all their own numbers except the encore which was a manic 7 minute version of JB Lenoir's'I Sing Em The Way I Feel' brilliant group 

Thanks for these photos, they're wonderful to see. I'll try and get them to Maxine 

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That's a fantastic array of pictures. I remember that place prior to demolition, as I lived relatively close by. I had no idea it was a live music venue however. 

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An ad for another show on her late 67 tour. It was mainly London clubs catering for black audiences that were still booking lots of black soul / ska acts late in 67 ... this was one such club ... 

MaxineBrownLndnGigSept67.jpg

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I used to go to the Central RnB Club in the mid 70s. But as luck would have it, I still know the DJ, Mungo Parks who was the DJ during the 60s at the Central. He DJ'd for Major Lance and Prince Buster. Are you able to send me these photos to see if they jog his memory. Dave and Lew went on to DJ at the Ash Tree in Chatham - another really popular venue with strong soul roots. The interior that you see in the Maxine photos remained unchanged in the 70's. The Central's ballroom was demolished in the late 70s/early 80s and it became the Avenue nightclub. It wasn't demolished to make way for a housing estate or Tescos. Tescos was across the road. I was the Sunday night resident DJ along with Paul French (RIP) at the Avenue from '83/84 onwards. I was working in Caroline Records in the Pentagon in Chatham and was getting all the imports and white labels into the shop and taking them to the Sunday night do's. One of the biggest 'coups' was having an import 7" of Freddie Jackson's 'Rock Me Tonight', playing it on the Sunday night and selling 200 copies on UK 12" the following week. Caroline's was a chart shop, with a Gallup machine and the people from Gallup came down to the shop as they didn't believe that I'd sold that many copies!!

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On 28/09/2024 at 08:08, Roburt said:

BTW, I didn't even note down if FAMILY were also on that night. A Leicester group who (like just about all other UK beat groups at the time, played mainly soul covers). They would soon morph, like many other UK groups at the time, into a prog rock group just weeks later. They started having hits in their own right not long after (1968 LP 'Music In A Doll's House').

The Central R&B Club, Gillingham was still going as a soul venue a year later (after many other clubs on the UK circuit had gone over to prog rock / pop acts) ...

 

FoundationsGillinghamGig.jpg

The Penthouse was in an old air traffic control tower at Rochester Airport. I went there once. I wore platform shoes to make myself look 16 lol.

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On 03/10/2024 at 22:54, Vinylvixen said:

I used to go to the Central RnB Club in the mid 70s. But as luck would have it, I still know the DJ, Mungo Parks who was the DJ during the 60s at the Central. He DJ'd for Major Lance and Prince Buster. Are you able to send me these photos to see if they jog his memory. 

Jo, the photos are back with the owner, so ya need to print off from here or show via phone/tablet

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