Bands - V

The VERTIGOS line-up was a little unsettled for a time until Harry Bezuidenhout approached Dick Cory and asked him to joined the band on drums, replacing Rodney Hooper who had taken his leave.  Cory made his joining conditional on one point and that was that his close friend and musician, David Bowman, be included in the deal.  This was accepted and the duo joined up.  Until that time David Bowman had considered himself a bass player, however, as Mike Clarke had won the Best Bass Player accolade at a recent Rock Band Competition, Bowman had little chance of unseating him!  As a result David Bowman moved into the lead vocal slot and after one, quick, rehearsal, the band launched themselves on the public.  They were well received and quickly raked in any number of bookings, travelling the length and breadth of the area during 1965.  These venues included the Hellenic Hall, The Youth Hall, Gwelo Sports Club, Whitewaters Dam, the Air Force messes and the Bata Club.  Further afield they entertained audiences at Shabani, Gatooma, Fort Victoria and Redcliff.  It is rumoured that women found Mike Clarke particularly attractive and on many occasion he had to be rescued from the agitated male partners of over-exuberant female admirers!  (To be continued...)