New book The Anglian Beat on Norfolk’s music scene released

And it will bring back great musical memories.

Almost every community of any size had a band, from jazz to skiffle and rock ‘n’ roll, and we produced some truly great masters of music.

Then we had  much-loved solo entertainers who performed across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire such as from the world famous Norwich-born Beryl Bryden.

The book tells the full and remarkable story of our “queen of the washboard.” Beryl Bryden. She was once playing in Spain where she bumped into her old mates The Beatles who asked: “Hi Beryl, where’s your washboard? (Image: Submitted/East Anglian Music Archive)

In this hefty book The Anglian Beat: An Account of East Anglian Bands of the 50s & 60s (Vol I) we get the opportunity for the first time to read about more than 1100 local acts with some amazing and rare photographs.

And some of the younger readers will may come across grandpa or grandma on the stage or posing for pictures.

Many of you will know or heard of the author, Kingsley Harris of the East Anglian Music Archive, who has spent the last quarter of a century researching and talking to OUR musicians.

Author Kingsley Harris of the East Anglian Music Archive with his new book The Anglian Beat: Bands of the 50s and 60s (Image: supplied by Kingsley Harris)

Why?

It’s all down to a “music mad” uncle who took him to his first live gig at the end of the 1970s.

“I was mesmerised. It was loud and there was sound all over the place. The guy hitting the drums and crashing the cymbals, the boom and vibration of the bass, the contorted face of the of the guitarist and the swagger of the singer.

The Avalons who played their first gig at Rackheath Village Hall in 1964. In the picture we have, from the left: Michael Watts, Brian Hewkin, William Utting and Paul Castle (Image: Newsquest Archive)

“The whole thing seemed to physically move through me and shake the bones inside my skin my body. The hairs on my neck stood up throughout the performance, I was frightened and excited at the same time,” says Kingsley.

Music took over his life. He set out to discover our recent musical history  and went on to set up the Archive because the local music scene was not well documented….it is now.

Norwich sisters Hilary and Sandra Gooch met up with Yarmouth pianist Pat Ayton and formed The Ay-Tones. Other members included drummer Barry Wortley (Image: Submitted/East Anglian Music Archive)

Day after day, I would find Kingsley in our library at Prospect House in Norwich going through all our papers looking for stories and advertisements about singers, bands, musicians and great venues – most of which across our neck of the woods have now closed.

In 1966 the much-loved Garry Freeman & the Contours had to change their name to avoid confusion with an American act to The Anglians. This is our picture of, from the left, Hilson Hartley, Clive Clare (Frindle), Roy Bell, Ali Thorn and Garry Freeman. A class act. (Image: Newsquest Archive)

Kingsley went to enormous lengths to talk to the musicians, often now living in other parts of the world, and encouraged them to find photographs of themselves in action.

The Alan Dennis Trio, regulars at the Samson & Hercules in Norwich, attracted several top musicians in the 60s including the much-loved singer Christine Vance. In our picture we have Harvey (Zaks) Platt, Alan Dennis and Barry Wilson (Image: Newsquest Archive)

The result is the brilliant first volume of The Anglian Beat, An Account of East Anglian Bands of the 50s and 60s. It costs £30 and will be available from eBay and Amazon and Paypal users can purchase directly from The East Anglian Music Archive contact: [email protected]

The Anglian Beat in the 1950s and 60s by Kingsley Harris of the East Anglian Music Archive (Image: East Anglian Music Archive)

Let’s begin our series On The Beat looking at some of the first bands to get a mention. Keep tuned for more great stories and pictures.