From Bumblies To Shames Part 1
Dave’s Story.
© The Cryin Shames 2011
Around 1962 with the Liverpool scene well under way everyone wanted to be in a band, I was in my last year at Hillfoot Hey
Grammar school in Woolton. For the first time we had a school dance and a band called the Renegades played some
amazing new heavy beat music. I remember thinking I got get into this. I had taken up
the guitar a year earlier but couldn't play too well.
The boys at the dance were talking about some new band called the Beatles; the guy
at the centre of the conversation was Tony Bramwell who was a year ahead of me at
school, but already a roadie to this new weird but sensational band. Tony went on to
become a major player in the development of Apple. On the long journey home to
Broadway in Norris Green (About an Hours ride on the No 81 Bus). I was born in the
year of the bulge 1947, which basically meant all the returning soldiers from World
War2 hadn't had a shag for years and got randy producing millions of little brats like
me, which in turn meant you were sent to any school that could fit you in. In my case,
the bloody place was 20 miles from home. (That's my excuse for fluncking my GCEs) but I had plenty of time to think about
the music. Gotta be in a band, I thought. My best mate Mike Parker lived two doors away and
already had the gear; a Hofner Verithin and a Vox AC15. My gear was a little less exotic a sky
blue Futurama 2 and a Watkins Dominator. Next door the other way lived John Hayton who
played drums in the 44th Boys Brigade.
And so the Bumblies were born, well actually, the first name we thought of was the
SoundTracks, but Mike was a big fan of the comedian Michael Bentine who performed his TV
show with some little space puppets called Bumblies and so he suggested the name which
had a more "Beatlee" sort of ring. The first practice was at Clubmoor Conservative Club and
we aslo used to practice at a church hall on Queens Drive, I can't quite remember the
name of the church but it's at the junction of Queens Drive and Muirhead Avenue.
So there we were one acoustic guitar, one Hofner Verithin a snare drum and the
biggest friggin Bass drum in the history of Rock music, complete with the name of
Dave Ferguson
Mike and Me 1961
© The Cryin Shames 2011
Around 1962 with the Liverpool scene well under way everyone wanted to be in a band, I was in my last year at Hillfoot Hey
Grammar school in Woolton. For the first time we had a school dance and a band called the Renegades played some
amazing new heavy beat music. I remember thinking I got get into this. I had taken up
the guitar a year earlier but couldn't play too well.
The boys at the dance were talking about some new band called the Beatles; the guy
at the centre of the conversation was Tony Bramwell who was a year ahead of me at
school, but already a roadie to this new weird but sensational band. Tony went on to
become a major player in the development of Apple. On the long journey home to
Broadway in Norris Green (About an Hours ride on the No 81 Bus). I was born in the
year of the bulge 1947, which basically meant all the returning soldiers from World
War2 hadn't had a shag for years and got randy producing millions of little brats like
me, which in turn meant you were sent to any school that could fit you in. In my case,
the bloody place was 20 miles from home. (That's my excuse for fluncking my GCEs) but I had plenty of time to think about
the music. Gotta be in a band, I thought. My best mate Mike Parker lived two doors away and
already had the gear; a Hofner Verithin and a Vox AC15. My gear was a little less exotic a sky
blue Futurama 2 and a Watkins Dominator. Next door the other way lived John Hayton who
played drums in the 44th Boys Brigade.
And so the Bumblies were born, well actually, the first name we thought of was the
SoundTracks, but Mike was a big fan of the comedian Michael Bentine who performed his TV
show with some little space puppets called Bumblies and so he suggested the name which
had a more "Beatlee" sort of ring. The first practice was at Clubmoor Conservative Club and
we aslo used to practice at a church hall on Queens Drive, I can't quite remember the
name of the church but it's at the junction of Queens Drive and Muirhead Avenue.
So there we were one acoustic guitar, one Hofner Verithin a snare drum and the
biggest friggin Bass drum in the history of Rock music, complete with the name of
Dave Ferguson
