MIKE PRENDERGAST - An Introduction

I was born on the 28th of May in 1954 in Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland. When I was only ten month's old my parents moved to England to live with my mothers mother in Hurworth, a small village three miles from Darlington in County Durham. Then when I was six years old we moved into Darlington where I have lived ever since.

I was never really interested in anything other than football as a youngster, and followed the fortunes of local team Darlington F.C. [I later started to follow Sunderland around 1973 when they, as underdogs, beat mighty Leeds United in the F.A. Cup Final. I have since followed both teams only as an "armchair supporter."]

[Sunderland - FA Cup Winners 1973]

England winning the World Cup in 1966 in the decade known as the Swinging Sixties, were great for a young boy growing up. The whole country seemed to be buzzing in those days because England were prominent in the worlds two favourite past-times - Pop music and Football. [Oh how times have changed!]

Music came into my life probably around the mid-sixties when The Beatles and The Stones were so influential in world popular music.

[England - World Cup Winning Team]

The first L.P. record that I remember buying was The Rolling Stones "High Tide and Green Grass." It's an early compilation album that has all their first hits on. I played it to death. I've still got it, but it's too scratched to enjoy listening to it now - I've had to buy the c.d. version.
This would have been just before I left school, probably around '68 or '69. From there on I developed a taste for British band's who were known for performing "Underground music." It was called underground because it wasn't hit parade material and wouldn't normally be played on the radio. This somehow made it more 'exclusive,' which is how, even today, most teenager's feel about their generation's taste in music.
I bought albums by Led Zeppelin, Free, Cream, Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton. I was never really into buying singles unless they were released by my favourite bands. I remember buying Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" and Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile."

[Rolling Stones Album Cover "High Tide and Green Grass"]

When I left St. Mary's Secondary Modern School [now Carmel College of Technology] in 1970, I started work as an Apprentice Pipe Fitter. My first job enabled me to further invest in record collecting and to buy the clothes I wanted to wear as any respectable teenager of the time would have wanted. I also grew my hair and had plenty of arguments with my poor dad, giving him plenty of grief! [I suppose I was like every other angry young man at the time!].

I have always been a big guitar fan, and would much prefere to listen to a band with a guitar virtuoso and male vocalist than any other format. People like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant or Paul Kossoff and Paul Rodgers were my ideal musical partnerships.

I had really wanted to play guitar myself during these years, but was too impatient and never really learnt the basics. I wanted instant success, but unless you are very gifted that doesn't come without a lot of hard work.

The first live band I ever saw was Yes at the Redcar Jazz Club on 7th March 1971. This gig really knocked me out and further inspired me to attend gigs all over the North East. [I decided I'd be a punter rather than a musician]. I can remember seeing bands like Queen, Supertramp, Genesis, U2, Wishbone Ash, Mott the Hoople, and Roxy Music, before they 'made it.'

[Genesis - 1973]	[Wishbone Ash - 1973]

I only enjoyed a few "Progressive Rock" bands, mainly because they included too much keyboard music for my liking. I was a big, big Genesis fan though mainly because in Peter Gabriel they had a fantastic front-man and great vocalist. When he left the band it wasn't the same for me - although they became more successful [and richer] with Phil Collins on vocals.
I'm still to this day, a big fan of Peter's. He has always tried to push out the boundries of modern music and has incorporated world music into his writing. The only problem with him, is that he doesn't release many records - but when he does they are always worth waiting for.

I started listening to "The Blues" as a result of the Punk movement. I didn't like Punk at all, so decided to checkout where some of my favourite bands had got their inspirations from. 
At first I wasn't too impressed until I discovered Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Willie Dixon. When that old Chicago Blues sound got into my head I was hooked - and have been ever since.
This opened up a great expanse into rhythm and blues music for me, and I was off on another journey of musical adventure.

We have never had a good live music venue in Darlington, I guess we were accustomed to the fact that our town was not big enough to be on any touring circuit. It became routine to travel out of town to see our preferred bands.

[Peter Gabriel]

When I heard that a group of like-minded people had formed a Rhythm 'n' Blues club in the town, and were putting live music on at the Arts Centre, I became interested straight away. I had been to the Arts Centre many times and had always had a good time. The problem was it was a bit 'hit and miss,' and you never knew when the next gig would be.  I was eager to join the committee and was sure I could be useful in some way. I eventually joined the committee at the first A.G.M. and helped out at gigs with minor activities like setting out tables and chairs and selling raffle tickets. The R'n'B Club was beginning to make people sit up and take notice. We were [and still are], very successful in selling out our gigs. We were starting to attract not just British bands but also American bands touring the country. We attracted the attention of local Radio station A1 FM [now Alpha Radio], who wanted someone from the club to come along on Sunday evenings to talk about and play, music from our chosen bands. Ian Ross [club secretary] and myself volunteered to go on live radio and talk about the music that turned us on. Ian and myself would alternate each week so listeners could hear two different views from the blues music scene. Ian would talk about American RnB and I would deal with the birth of British blues and bring things up to date.

[Ian Hunter - Mott the Hoople]

[Jimi Hendrix - Darlington 1967]

It was around this time that I started to write the occasional gig review for local listings magazine Riffs. I unearthed an interesting story about a Jimi Hendrix gig that he performed in Darlington just before he became famous. I had heard rumors of the gig before, but it was almost folklore until the story broke - then lots of people claimed to have been at the gig! The story was taken up by local newspaper, the Northern Echo who wanted me to do a photo shoot outside The Imperial Hotel where the gig had taken place in 1967. I had my leg pulled many times about the Flares that they made me wear - as in period dress for '67. A1 FM were then taken over by a new owner who wanted to promote a modern outlook for younger people - so we had to go. I enjoyed it while it lasted and became confident in speaking on live radio. My reviews were receiving favourable comments, which gave me the courage to try different stories. I decided I would have a go at putting down in print what I had talked about on the radio shows, the story behind the British Blues scene from the '60's. I always try to be informative and keep the basic review or composition interesting. I have somehow developed the knack of writing about bands, gig's and music in general, that people of my generation can relate to. I don't use complicated text or sentences, I just speak as I find in lay-mans terminology. So here is my website. A collection of stories about bands, gig reviews, c.d. reviews and general observances from the music that inspires me.  I hope you enjoy reading it. Mike.