The California Ballroom , Dunstable

while I was doing some research for a project , I happened upon the web site for the above famous venue , which ran from 1960 until 1979 .

One of the links on the site is the listing of date in respect of every act / artists to have played the Cali .

One of the dates - April 22nd , 1966 - lists one of the two acts for that date , to be The " American Vibrations " ........ were they the Vibrations ?

Is there anyone out there who went to that evening , and as a result , can confirm that it was The Vibrations ?

Malc Burton

The California Ballroom , Dunstable

while I was doing some research for a project , I happened upon the web site for the above famous venue , which ran from 1960 until 1979 .

One of the links on the site is the listing of date in respect of every act / artists to have played the Cali .

One of the dates - April 22nd , 1966 - lists one of the two acts for that date , to be The " American Vibrations " ........ were they the Vibrations ?

Is there anyone out there who went to that evening , and as a result , can confirm that it was The Vibrations ?

Malc Burton

At a guess Malc, they were probably not, there was a certain promoter at that time who brought over US groups and put them out under different names - e.g. the Velours as the Fantastic Temptations and the Invitations as the All-Star Drifters. Not sure who these were however...

I saw The Vibrations down the Twisted Wheel on the night of the 9th of April 1966 and always assumed that it was the real group, on sunday morning I went along to Roger Eagles flat only to have him tell me that I had just missed The Vibrations who had gone to his place after the nighter...what a missed opportunity that was....Roger never gave any intimations that they were anything but the real deal.....Malc's post has put a little doubt in my mind though, it'd be a shame to think such an endearing memory of mine was really due to a bogus group, so it'll be good to know if the group were actually booked for a tour in April '66.

this is a poster from 1978

I saw The Vibrations down the Twisted Wheel on the night of the 9th of April 1966 and always assumed that it was the real group, on sunday morning I went along to Roger Eagles flat only to have him tell me that I had just missed The Vibrations who had gone to his place after the nighter...what a missed opportunity that was....Roger never gave any intimations that they were anything but the real deal.....Malc's post has put a little doubt in my mind though, it'd be a shame to think such an endearing memory of mine was really due to a bogus group, so it'll be good to know if the group were actually booked for a tour in April '66.

Given the length of tours that American groups did in the 60s in the U.K. , it would appear that the date of April 9th at The Wheel , and the appearance at The Cali on April 22nd , point to it being the samer group on both occasions .

I will endeavour to find out who was the booking agent used for that night : Watch this space .

Malc Burton

Given the length of tours that American groups did in the 60s in the U.K. , it would appear that the date of April 9th at The Wheel , and the appearance at The Cali on April 22nd , point to it being the samer group on both occasions .

I will endeavour to find out who was the booking agent used for that night : Watch this space .

Malc Burton

There is a great book out called The Cali Story by Diane Ilka who is the daughter of the guy who not only built the California Ballroom, but his family ran it until it closed on New Years Eve 1979 and he did most of the booking of artists! Some of the all time greats appeared there including The Motown Package tour, The Philadlephia International Tour, James Brown, Al Green etc.

Cracking old place, now demolished and a housing estate built on the grounds!

Cheers

Paddy

There is a great book out called The Cali Story by Diane Ilka who is the daughter of the guy who not only built the California Ballroom, but his family ran it until it closed on New Years Eve 1979 and he did most of the booking of artists! Some of the all time greats appeared there including The Motown Package tour, The Philadlephia International Tour, James Brown, Al Green etc.

Cracking old place, now demolished and a housing estate built on the grounds!

Cheers

Paddy

As Paddy stated , a lot of the greats played The Cali ; and with reference to that , I will post the other years in the next few days , but as a taster , here is the listing for 1967 ......

Admission price for each night are listed , obviously , in old money ..... and a bargain if it was today !!

January 21st - Jimmy McGriff ..... 8/6

February 4th - Maxine Brown ..... 10/-

February 24th - Edwin Starr ...... 7/6

March 10th - Lee Dorsey ...... 10/-

March 17th - The Drifters ..... 10/-

April 7th - Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band ..... 12/6

April 14th - Bo Diddley ....... 8/6

April 15th - Mary Wells ...... 10/-

April 28th - The Soul Sisters ...... 7/6

April 29th - Madeline Bell ...... 7/6

May 5th - Jimmy James & The Vagabonds ...... 8/6

June 6th - The Chiffons ...... 8/6

June 10th - John Lee Hooker ...... 10/-

September 1st - The Temptations ....... 8/6

September 8th - James & Bobby Purify ....... 8/6

September 22nd - Maxine Brown ....... 10/-

October 6th - Stevie Wonder ....... 15/-

October 13th - The Soul Sisters ....... 7/6

October 20th - The Drifters ....... 7/6

October 21st - Jr Walker & The All Stars ....... 12/-

October 27th - Clyde McPhatter .......not known

November 17th - The Temptations ....... 7/6

December 15th - The Vibrations ....... 7/6

Malc Burton

Edited March 9, 200718 yr by Malc Burton

As Paddy stated , a lot of the greats played The Cali ; and with reference to that , I will post the other years in the next few days , but as a taster , here is the listing for 1967 ......

Admission price for each night are listed , obviously , in old money ..... and a bargain if it was today !!

January 21st - Jimmy McGriff ..... 8/6

February 4th - Maxine Brown ..... 10/-

February 24th - Edwin Starr ...... 7/6

March 10th - Lee Dorsey ...... 10/-

March 17th - The Drifters ..... 10/-

April 7th - Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band ..... 12/6

April 14th - Bo Diddley ....... 8/6

April 15th - Mary Wells ...... 10/-

April 28th - The Soul Sisters ...... 7/6

April 29th - Madeline Bell ...... 7/6

May 5th - Jimmy James & The Vagabonds ...... 8/6

June 6th - The Chiffons ...... 8/6

June 10th - John Lee Hooker ...... 10/-

September 1st - The Temptations ....... 8/6

September 8th - James & Bobby Purify ....... 8/6

September 22nd - Maxine Brown ....... 10/-

October 6th - Stevie Wonder ....... 15/-

October 13th - The Soul Sisters ....... 7/6

October 20th - The Drifters ....... 7/6

October 21st - Jr Walker & The All Stars ....... 12/-

October 27th - Clyde McPhatter .......not known

November 17th - The Temptations ....... 7/6

December 15th - The Vibrations ....... 7/6

Malc Burton

Hi Malc

According the Cali book, Stevie Wonders contract states he will be paid £500, or 50% of the door whichever is the greater number!! Wonder if I can get him on those terms for the Northampton weekender!! lol lol also Junior Walker was paid £500!

Cheers

Paddy

As Paddy stated , a lot of the greats played The Cali ; and with reference to that , I will post the other years in the next few days , but as a taster , here is the listing for 1967 ......

Admission price for each night are listed , obviously , in old money ..... and a bargain if it was today !!

January 21st - Jimmy McGriff ..... 8/6

February 4th - Maxine Brown ..... 10/-

February 24th - Edwin Starr ...... 7/6

March 10th - Lee Dorsey ...... 10/-

March 17th - The Drifters ..... 10/-

April 7th - Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band ..... 12/6

April 14th - Bo Diddley ....... 8/6

April 15th - Mary Wells ...... 10/-

April 28th - The Soul Sisters ...... 7/6

April 29th - Madeline Bell ...... 7/6

May 5th - Jimmy James & The Vagabonds ...... 8/6

June 6th - The Chiffons ...... 8/6

June 10th - John Lee Hooker ...... 10/-

September 1st - The Temptations ....... 8/6

September 8th - James & Bobby Purify ....... 8/6

September 22nd - Maxine Brown ....... 10/-

October 6th - Stevie Wonder ....... 15/-

October 13th - The Soul Sisters ....... 7/6

October 20th - The Drifters ....... 7/6

October 21st - Jr Walker & The All Stars ....... 12/-

October 27th - Clyde McPhatter .......not known

November 17th - The Temptations ....... 7/6

December 15th - The Vibrations ....... 7/6

Malc Burton

Remarkable!!

Lenny

Remarkable!!

Lenny

With reference to my earlier post regarding name acts that played The California Ballrom , following is a list of the years 1968 to 1972 .

I have purposely just stated the year , and the name of the artist that played : The reason for doing so is that many of the names listed played return dates in the same year .

1968

The Showstoppers

J J Jackson

Oscar Toney Jr ....... support act on one appearance was The Bonzo Dog Doo - Dah Band

Jimmy James & The Vagabonds

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band

Ben E King ....... support act on one appearance was Black Sabbath

Patti LaBelle and The Blue Belles

O C Smith

1969

Jr Walker & The All Stars

Ben E King

Marv Johnson

J J Jackson

Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon

Oscar Toney Jr

Bob & Earl

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band

Jimmy James & The Vagabonds

Jimmy Ruffin

Arthur Conley

Percy Sledge

and

Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs !

1970

The Fantastics

J J Jackson

Edwin Starr

Oscar Toney Jr

Jr Walker & The All Stars

Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon ........ supported on one occasion by The Invitations - billed as who had previously toured the UK as " The Original Drifters "

Ben E King

Jimmy James & The Vagabonds

Root & Jenny Jackson

Marv Johnson

Jimmy Ruffin

Jackie Edwards

Arthur Conley

and - I know it is not soulful , but it is historical in relation to popular music .....

The first ever live appearance of Derek & The Dominos , featuring Eric Clapton

1971

Rufus Thomas

Jimmy Ruffin

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

Edwin Starr

Jackie Edwards

Tommy Hunt ........ billed as " Tommy Hunt of The Flamingoes "

The Flirtations

The Showstoppers

The Fantastics

Arthur Conley

Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon

Tami Lynn

The Elgins

Jimmy James & The Vagabonds

The Tams

1972

The Showstoppers

jimmy Ruffin

The Fantastics

Eddie Floyd

Doris Troy

The Flirtations

Ben E King

The Drifters

Donnie Elbert

Bloodstone

Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon

Inez Foxx

The Elgins

Mary Wells

The Drifters

Love Unlimited

Jackie Wilson

Major Lance

Chairmen Of The Board

Fontella Bass

Jr Walker & The All Stars

Bob & Earl

Edwin Starr

and

Johnny Nash .................. who , during his act , introduced a young Jamaican singer who he

was producing .............. Bob Marley , who sang two songs .

More years and artists in a future post .

Malc Burton

Edited March 11, 200718 yr by Malc Burton

Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon ........ supported on one occasion by The Invitations - billed as who had previously toured the UK as " The Original Drifters "

Somewhere on here I posted the flyer for the Original Drifters appearance in Cheltenham in 1966...b******d if I can find it now though!

Slightly out on the year...it was actually 1967...

Hippo.

Slightly out on the year...it was actually 1967...

Hippo.

In respect of the soul artists who played the California Ballroom , I will posting up the years of 1973 to the closure of the Cali in 1979 .

It is interesting to see the change in the style of artists who appeared from 1973 onwards ; as the years went on , the traditional type of soul artists and groups went to more funk based performers .

Watch this space for details .....

Malc Burton

On 09/03/2007 at 18:45, Guest said:

 

 

There is a great book out called The Cali Story by Diane Ilka who is the daughter of the guy who not only built the California Ballroom, but his family ran it until it closed on New Years Eve 1979 and he did most of the booking of artists! Some of the all time greats appeared there including The Motown Package tour, The Philadlephia International Tour, James Brown, Al Green etc.

 

Cracking old place, now demolished and a housing estate built on the grounds!

 

Cheers

 

Paddy

I know this is a very old post but for the sake of correctness I need to pull Paddy up on it.

Edwin Green built the Ballroom in 1960. Diane Ilka is his granddaughter not his daughter. John Ilka, her father, was married to Lorna Green the daughter of Edwin and his second wife. After Edwin's death they ran it with John's son Mick Ilka doing all the bookings of the soul acts until 1977 when the council increased the rates from £2k a year to £15k a year.

John sold it to Bill Seymour and Bill installed Mick Rutter as manager. It ran until a local woman, Diana Wickson, who had spent years running petitions trying to get it shut down, got on the council planning committee and from there on in it was doomed. They compulsory purchased the place, made sure it was all signed and sealed before anyone from the Ballroom could get there to object, they then sat on the land as they had no idea what to do with it. I have failed to track down the old bag responsible.

Went there a few times ,seem to remember their was a downstairs room called the dragon or devils den ,anyone remember ? As l was only a kid at the time . my older cousin used to drag me along ,come to think of it that's one reason l entered the weird world of soul music  but that's for another thread 🎶🎶

 

With regard to UK tours by the Vibrations. I seem to recall they toured here twice in the mid to late 60's and on one (or both) of those tours Bobby Eli came with them as their travelling musician (the other backing guys being UK based). No doubt if someone contacts Bobby he'll pass along more info.

On 11/08/2017 at 18:04, Guest Spain pete said:

Went there a few times ,seem to remember their was a downstairs room called the dragon or devils den ,anyone remember ? As l was only a kid at the time . my older cousin used to drag me along ,come to think of it that's one reason l entered the weird world of soul music  but that's for another thread 🎶🎶

 

Devils Den. We all used to head down there while the acts were on in the ballroom and the jocks had a chance to get a drink.

Had some great nights at the Cali. I was there on the last night. 

A few bits (below) to help back up the fact that it was indeed the real VIBRATIONS that toured here back in the 60's ... they were renowned for their high energy stage moves, being great dancers ...  one of the jpegs is a pic of them on stage @ the Dungeon in Nottingham.

One fact that led lots of folk to believe that they weren't the real group was that 'fake group' supremo Roy Tempest ran lots of their UK tours. But these tours took place way before he started with his 'fake group' phase -- ahead of that he always brought over the genuine article. Their Dec 67 released 45 ("Talkin About Love") was a UK only effort (2 old tracks); specially released here on Columbia by EMI to tie in with the tour they were undertaking at the time. 

 

Edited December 11, 20231 yr by Roburt