(Lance) Reminiscing,
as one does at this time of year, I got to remembering one of the forgotten
venues of Tyneside jazz. Maybe it was the fact that the band ‘boasted’ two
banjos that caused this lapse of memory! I emailed Brian Bennett who sent me
this reply:
"It was The
Ferryboat Brass ‘n’ Banjo Band.
The vessel
was the old South Shields’ Ferry, The
Northumbrian (replaced by the ill-fated Freda
Cunningham).
When The Northumbrian was decommissioned In
the early 70’s it was bought by a local business syndicate which included a
Captain James McNulty who I believe had a boatyard on the river and Bill
Collwell who owned a post office/general dealers at The Nook in South Shields.
They converted the ferry into a bar/restaurant and berthed it on the Tyne at
Friars Goose adjacent to Gateshead International Stadium. 
It was
very successful for quite a few years attracting many visitors and coach
parties from outside the area.
The
original drummer with TFB&BB was Malcolm Burnett-Smith, a great player who
left the band due to a career move. Ray Brown took over from Malcolm but his
playing style wasn’t compatible so he was quickly replaced by ace drummer Jimmy
Stewart.
Other band
members included: Alan Taylor, trumpet: Bill Scott, clarinet; Ronnie McLean,
trombone; Hughie Aitchison, valve trombone; Howard Swanson, tuba; Clive Gray
and Brian Bennett, banjos. Other regular ‘dep’s’ included Bill Shaw, drums;
Charlie Carmichael, reeds; Norman Helm, trumpet and Alan Bond, trombone."
No comments :
Post a Comment