PADDY WHITE'S PLASTIC SH*THOUSE BAND (Added 09/05/06) 

Circa:
Home town:  Bulawayo
Members:

• Paddy White

• Norman Reader

• Derek Foster

This band earned its name by virtue of the fact that its members used to practice in the shower/toilet of the old camp single quarters close to the kitchen of the Bulawayo Police camp.  Although the band didn't enjoy any long term success they did manage to appear at a gig at the Bulawayo showgrounds before the City mayor.  This was the pinnacle of their success despite Derek Foster suffering a serious dose of amnesia during the performance, attributed to the stress of the occasion!

See also NORMAN READER under SOLOS.

PAGEANT 

Circa:
Home town:
Members:

• Dan Varkevisser - Rhythm guitar

PASSION WAGON (Updated 29 June 2010)

Circa: 1967 - 1971
Home town:
Members:

The band was originally formed in 1967 in Malawi by Reg Hassen with the line-up as follows:

• Reg Hassen - Vocals and lead guitar

• Billy Gemmell - Vocals and rhythm guitar

• Steven Walker - Bass

• Victor Lobo - Drums

Additional member:

• Jean Claude Niner - Lead guitar.  Was added to the founding quartet at a later stage.

In July 1973 Reg Hassen left the band, and Malawi, the band continuing to perform after his departure.  During his tenure with the band, Passion Wagon won a rock contest held at Kanjedza in Malawi.

Subsequent to Hassen's departure, there were various changes to the band's members during the period of its continued existence.

• Tony Figerado - Vocals

• Bill Gemmell - Lead/rhythm guitars

• Alan Vale - Guitar

• Ian Van Someran - Drums

• ??? Harrison #1 - Lead/rhythm (Replaced Figerado in 1967)

• Vic Lobow - Drums (Replaced Van Someran in 1967)

• Dennis Scott - Vocals & lead/rhythm guitar (Joined band in 1968)

• ??? Harrison #2 - Guitar/Vocalist (Brother of Harrison #1 and replaced Scott in 1971)

It is a widely held view that Dennis Scott's arrival took the band to unprecedented heights with the group playing all genres of music from bubblegum to rock and blues. Scott composed a number of original songs during this period and, in 1970, the band laid down some demo material whilst in Malawi at the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation's facilities. The demo recording was later lost when the band's manager, Flavio Vergnano, was relocating from one country to another.

PATCH OF BLUE (Updated 16/11/09)

Circa:
Home town:  Salisbury
Band members:

• Eddie Matos

• Mike Reed

• Mike Marks

• Tony Evans - Drums

• Stuart Ogilvie

Having recently been formed, Patch of Blue soon started to make an impact on the local scene due, no doubt, to the fact that they had some seasoned local musicians in their ranks.  Producing an unabashedly commercial sound, the band soon landed a regular gig on Friday and Saturday nights at the Quorn hotel.  Unfortunately, old tensions flared up again and Eddie Matos left the band after about seven months.  With the passing of his father, Eddie moved to South Africa with his mother and sister, Fran, herself no novice as a singer on t he local scene.  Prior to relocating, Eddie sold all his gear to Clem Tholet and was never to play in a band again.

(See also EDUARDO MATOS under "SOLOS", BAKERSVILLE 5 and DIONS, all under "BANDS"). 

PENTHOUSE 

Circa:  1971 - 1976
Home Town:  Salisbury
Members:

• Alan Prewitt -

• Mike Rainbow -

• Roger Dickinson -

• John Hodgkinson - Guitar

• Stu Ogilvy -

PENTHOUSE gigged regularly on Saturday nights at the Highlands Park Hotel for over a year and took great pride in their harmonies.  Their renditions of Beatles, Beach Boys and Hollies material were particularly popular for this reason.    La Boheme was another club they appeared at extensively, progressing from Saturday lunchtimes and Sunday nights to seven-days-a-week for three months at the same venue.  They also made the occasional appearance on Rhodesia Television. 

 

PENTHOUSE - Hitting the high notes at the Highlands Park Hotel From Left to Right:  John Hodgkinson, Alan Prewitt, Stu Ogilvy & Mike Rainbow

PENTHOUSE -  Putting the "oo" back into cool!!  From Left to Right:  Alan Prewitt, Mike Rainbow, John Hodgkinson, Roger Dickinson & Stu Ogilvy

PENTHOUSE On Camera - Rhodesia Television Bet you'd never guess they were doing "Suite Judy Blue Eyes"? From left to right:  Roger Dickinson, Alan Prewitt & John Hodgkinson & a guest from the Beverley Rocks Folk Club - Bruce Pentreath

HIGHLANDS PARK HOTEL - Gigging In Quarters! 

ALAN PREWETT	JOHN HODGKINSON
STU OGILIVIE	LORRAINE HODGKINSON

PHANTOMS 

Circa:  1962
Home town:  Bulawayo
Members:

• Mike Westcott - Vocals

• Chris Stone - Lead guitar

• Mike London - Rhythm guitar

• Alan Escombe (Wolhuter) - Bass 

• Grahame Ross - Drums  

A number of members of this band later went on to become members of THE SHAKESPEARES, a group that became well established in the Benelux countries and Germany.

PHREDD (Added 01/01/2006)

Circa:  1979/80
Home town:  Bulawayo
Members:

• Jack Thain - Vocals & rhythm guitar

• Will Wallace - Lead guitar

• Mark Price - Bass

• Rudi Gouma - Keyboards

• Frank Reynolds - Drums

Played regularly on the Bulawayo circuit at venues such as the Electric Circus.

PIED PIPERS (Added 09/05/06)

Circa:  1977

Participated in the Texan Rock Band Competition at Trade Fair Rhodesia in 1977.

PINK CHAMPAGNE 

Circa:
Home town:
Members:

• Andy Demetriou - Lead guitar

• Paul Amato - Rhythm guitar

• Leslie Winderbaum - Bass

• Rob Walmsley - Organ

• Norman Oakley - Drums

PINK CHAMPAGNE put the fizz into the evening's function - short socks, sunburnt knees and all! 

PLATO'S REPUBLIC (Added 20/06/05)

Circa:   1969/1971
Home town:
Members:

• Tommy (Sean) Goddard - Lead vocals
• Keith Small - Lead guitar
• Ric Accorsi - Keyboards
• John Kirsten - Bass
• Frank Reynolds - Drums

This band rubbed shoulders with the best that local music had to offer, including the SILHOUETTES (LINCOLN), SHORT CIRCUIT GUAVAS and HARM'S WAY.   In early 1971 they decided to turn pro and changed their name to WASHINGTON.  With this, Tommy Sean was replaced by John Keyser and the band moved to South Africa to "give it a go"!   After about a year WASHINGTON disbanded and the individual members went their separate ways.

Frank Reynolds later formed a band called BROTHERLOVE with South Africa's Paul De Villiers and Attie Van Wyk.  Without going pro with the band, he did all their local gigs in Pretoria.  The band lasted for about two years until Paul decided to further his career in the USA - he achieved this and later became Ann Murray's sound engineer.  Thereafter he "cracked" it big time with a band called Mr. Mister.  Attie went on to form Big Concerts in Gauteng, South Africa, the main agent for staging the biggest acts in SA. 

PLEBS 

Circa: 1963 - 1967.
Home town:
Members:

• Benny Miller - Rhythm guitar

• Ivan Rabinowitz - Lead guitar (When Ivan left in 1965 to go to University, he was replaced by George Santa Clara - who came in on rhythm - with Bennie switching to lead guitar). 

• Alan Klukow

• Albert Alan Owen

• Phillip Roberts - Bass (See also Tremelos/Mysota Blues Charmers/Executives/Otis Waygood & Isaiah)

• Gerald Bailey (and various other drummers)

• Henry Goldberg (and a succession of vocalists)

The PLEBS were born out of a school association, founded in 1962, between Bennie Miller and Phillip Roberts.  Their first band was called the Tremelos which later became the basis for the seminal R & B band, The Plebs.  The Plebs were influenced by Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, BB King and other American blues bands, as well as English contemporaries such as the Downliners Sect and the Yardbirds.  Phillip Roberts later went on to play bass in the Executives with Rob Osbourne, Alan Pruett and others, enjoying a residency at Coq D'Or.  After moving to London in 1971 Phillip Roberts teamed up with old friends, Otis Waygood who had, themselves, relocated to England.  Playing keyboards and acoustic guitar miked through the PA, Phillip filled the elusive "fifth member's" berth following on from Martin and Harry Polis.  He also wrote a number of songs with the band after the had changed their name to ISAIAH and moved to Amsterdam.    He moved on to become a record producer, film-maker and, now, a screenplay writer. 

Casting his mind back, one of the band's members recalls The Plebs most exciting gig having taken place at the Rotunda on Beira beach.  The "action" was triggered by a brawl that broke out amongst about 2 000 drunken Rhodesian holiday-makers who had assembled to listen to The Plebs.  The disturbance initially started when a fight broke out between Big George and Jackie Koen but soon took hold and spread throughout the venue.  During this near-riot, someone - or some people - seemed to have succeeded in "throwing" one of the venue's counter staff into the boiling chip fat machine!!  This called for drastic action and the Portugese riot police (or army?) descended surrounding the premises with Uzi submachine guns levelled at the crowd.  Their excited and incomprehensible orders barked at the mob in Portugese confused the situation even more but, fortunately, the temperature was lowered and stability - and calm - were restored.  For those who were there, this was truly unforgettable occasion.

See also the following website: http://members.aol.com/tecartpro/tapweb.htm

PRIORY COOMBE (Updated 15/06/09) 

Circa:
Home town:  Salisbury
Members:

Ian Rogers - Lead vocals
Dick Cory - Lead guitar
Paul Neto - Rhythm guitar
Rothgar Argent - Bass
Scottie Stevens - Drums

Replacements:

Benny Miller - Joined band shortly before its disintegration.

(This first trio of photographs are from the Dick Cory era - the two black & white "fish lens" pics that follow the above were taken during the subsequent Benny Miller period).

"A picture paints a thousand words" - what more needs to be said?

Movie makers?  PRIORY COOMBE chilling out after a gig at Salisbury's Rainbow Theatre

This has GOT to be a sound check!

According to the recollections of those who were close to the band, Dick Cory spent some time as a young man in the United Kingdom where he trained with the Royal Air Force.  During this time he pursued his music interests and local folklore has it that he played with HEDGEHOPPERS' ANONYMOUS and THEM, the latter outfit being a group to which no less a personality than VAN MORRISON also belonged.  (It is not known if Dick and Van were in the band at the same time).  Upon returning to Rhodesia he started a band called THE ALIENS and generally gigged about the place with fellow musos such as Rob Milne, Butch Pepper, Titch Holmes and the Trevelea brothers.  Dick's extroverted playing style, personality and dress sense soon started to attract a lot of attention, witnessing the formation of PRIORY COOMBE.   Bo Diddley would seem to have been one of Dick's strongest influences although PC, as a band, were said to have been most influenced by the CREAM.  Paul Neto recalls that the band were probably Rhodesia's first psychedelic outfit and that, in selecting band members, Dick Cory purposely favoured musicians of limited ability, or whose talents were still being developed, as he did not want musicians "with vices" in the group.  Cory introduced the band to the material of artists such as Jimmy Hendrix, The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, Them, Pink Floyd and The Electric Prunes.  Benny Miller later brought a knowledge of Blues to the band.  In Paul Neto's words, Benny was Rhodesia's John Mayall.

Latest information to hand is that Dick Cory is still in Harare, Rob Milne is in Port Alfred, South Africa, and Butch Pepper is in Blackpool, England.  Mozambique-born Paul Neto is in Portugal where he is a developer of tourist resorts.

THROUGH THE FISH EYE...

ROUND 'N AROUND...

PSYCHEDELIC GROOVE

Circa:
Home town:
Members:

PURPLE ZINCSTONES (Updated 29/06/2010)

Circa:  1970
Home town:  Bulawayo
Members:

• Terence Benson - Vocals

• Alphonse Alexander (now Eeson) - Lead/rhythm guitar
• Dalmain Blumears - Rhythm guitar/vocals
• David Milner - Bass
• James Blumears - Drums