Do you remember Colonel Crint?

(Lance): My memory was jogged by a recent email  from Howard Davies requesting info about Sid Smith - A.K.A. Colonel Crint who for a brief period enlivened the northeast scene in, I think the mid-sixties, leading his band Colonel Crint and the Regimental Band of the Foot & Mouth Deserters.

I recall "The Colonel" occasionally sitting in at the New Orleans club and buying reeds from me when I worked in J.G. Windows music shop - "Do I get a discount if I buy two reeds?" Undoubtedly a character's character!

Howard informed me that Colonel Sid  died about 14 years ago.

Dave Kerr provided further information on this larger than life character...

"I remember them being more or less stranded in Newcastle. Apparently they had won

an Australian Opportunity Knocks type competition. They were sort of a forerunner of Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band with a little of the Temperance Seven thrown in. All good musicians but not in the same league as the Temps. 

Most of their work was doing short spots in working men's clubs and on slack nights you could see one or two of them in the upstairs room at Bambra's Music Hall moonlighting with Peter Gascoyne.

They eventually broke up and went their separate ways. Sid was an amusing character who played soprano sax. I think he was originally from Wallsend and after emigrating had tried to get into show business.

I remember him telling me he had played outlaws as a member of Ned Kelly's gang in a TV series.

After his return to Australia he had a hit program on Children's TV with a glove puppet. I seem to remember it was called something like "Willie the Wombat"? but he went for a few pints one afternoon and came back well-oiled and said the F word live on children's TV!"

Dave

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