Ralph and Henry c1976

 At my parents' house copying the Stupidity album cover pic. This line-up busked in Frome Town Centre. We soon got a bassist (Ivan) and a drummer (Bunse) who was very young (about 14 - me and Ivan were 16) but it never stopped us getting gigs in pubs. We never got stopped from drinking. I drank from about 14, in village pubs that didn't care.

Here we are in 1978. 

1979 demo by Animals & Men

 

LEATHERS - 'SICK' | Live at Axe & Trap Studios, Wells

 

Mud Dogs 'Dog with the No-Bone Blues'/'Sun and the Moon' 2001

 Mud Dogs - Tyning recordings - Free Music Archive

 We recorded this in our front room with a guest drummer and bass player Johnny Wrench and Oz Pemberton. We put it on the Tyning Inn jukebox. Vocals and harp Rich Kesteven. Me on guitar. He and I composed the songs. 

Leathers Platano Macho

 This is our best local group and it is fronted by a Mitchard. Their new album is getting rave reviews. They play a lot in the Bristol and Bath locale.

Glaxo Babies - Peel Session 1979

Bristol band playing in Frome (see below). We saw them in 1979 at the Devizes Corn Exchange I think.

1. Who Killed Bruce Lee? (0:19) 2. It's Irrational (3:58) 3. She Went To Pieces (8:25) 4. Burning (12:29)

Glaxo Babies - Wikipedia

Interesting gig in Frome

 Bos says 'Here is the evening gig poster for the event we are putting on Saturday December 5th at the Silk Mill...Market during the day and gig in the evening..The day market is free entry and the tickets for gig are here : https://wegottickets.com/f/27290 '

Youth Wing practice photos by Susan 1978

 I don't remember what name we had then - we used to change band names on a fortnightly basis. We played a gig at the Youth Wing. Was great. 

Ralph Mitchard

Ivan Bojuck

Ralph and Henry

Ralph Kev and Bunce.

Henry - he did the mural

Henry Hutton

Kev Saunders

Hank Mizell - Jungle Rock (1976)

 We used to hang out and practice at the local Youth club. They had a jukebox and this was on it. 

Hank Mizell - Wikipedia

Susan in 2010

 Stoney Littleton Long Barrow. Stoney Littleton Long Barrow - Wikipedia

I wish you would. - The Terraplanes (Animals & Men) 1981

 Playing a battle of the bands at the Granary in Bristol we were required to play one cover - this was our choice Billy Boy Arnold's hit from 1955. The line up was Susan Wells vocals Ralph Mitchard Harp Dave Mackay bass Andy Payne drums 

 

Terraplanes Evil Going On 1981

 At Bristol. Susan with me playing harmonica. Yo La Tengo used to cover this and we got to see them do it. Surreal. 

'Don't be a loner - get a Hohner' radio ad

 

Ralph Mitchard

Tin Sandwich - a harmonica documentary

 50 years ago I was playing harp so I thought we could have this film to celebrate. BBC documentary from 2008.

Documentary which reveals how the humble mouth-organ has been bent to different forms of music-making, featuring interviews and demonstrations from the world's leading players.

Count Bishops - Beautiful Delilah 1975

 Saturday Night Selection. 50 years ago this was what I wanted to sound like for our Frome R&B band.  This seemed to be perfection to me. Chuck Berry song. Incidentally I am reading Chuck's autobiography at the moment.  The Count Bishops - Wikipedia

Adam Ant - Man Called Marco (Slapdash Eden Video Mix)

 Have you read Marco's autobiography yet? He's done an audio version too. This one we used the play a lot during the Vallis Road years. 'Ello. I'm Marco. Allow me to introduce you to my Firebird 7.'

  ‘We met Princess Margaret and she was paralytic!’ My wild life onboard the Adam and the Ants Antmania rollercoaster | Pop and rock | The Guardian

Ralph and Susan earlier today.

 

Animals and Men at the Fleece Bristol 2009

 

Here is the review of the gig. Venue magazine.

"Not often you see a guitarist who's a ringer for Mark Lawson. If you do, it's most certainly not in anything as thrillingly vital as this. To gauge an idea of the Animals and Men purity level, check out the drums, a full kit save for cymbals, those peskily autonomous creations wont to generate unsupervised sound for a good millisecond or two. This is all about economy, each track two minutes and out, everything absolutely bone lean, from bubbling bass to chopped guitar to utterly unfussy deadpan vocals, together concocting a post-punk brew that makes its key benefactor - the Bo Diddley beat - sound frivolous by comparison. That the band are relatively newly reformed, gigging Bristol for the first time in 18 years (More like 29 or something around that - Ralph), seems barely conceivable, with every track a prospective national anthem for the utopian nation of Utilitarianism. Venue leaves silently uttering a single mantra: bring back discipline. (Julian Owen)."

Frome punks at the Westway Cinema 1977

 The band playing just before the movie (Rollerball). The band were the Straits an all girl band from York.  Us Frome punks got up and pogoed and danced to the band. In the photo is Nigel and Charlie Fenby and Steve Keep. I was dancing too but I am not in the photo.