HEROES circa 1977/8

Bassman Ed

Ed Mitchell at Shepperton

Booming Ed Mitchell in typical cloth cap and sheepskin

Henry at Shepperton room 60

With the Ludwig tucked nicely in the alcove

Henry at Shepperton

"Goat Horn" Like this one.

Paul Townshend at Shepperton

Where did that guitar come from?

Green Room Wokingham RC
Hanry Odwyer and Paul Burley

Sat behind me is Paul Burley, responsible for most of these photos, also Shelagh, and Jacqiue Durrant.

Paul Townshend on stage.

Townshend at Questors.

Setting up at Woking RC.
Setting up at Wokingham RC.

Ooo-er, look at those platforms

Paul Durrant on stage

Paul Durrant - Gibson 335 - Nils Lofgren T.

Paul Durrant Hunky Dory

"Hunky Dory" One grainy image.
Any music appearing below this point is purely self indugence on my part

"Wring that neck"

A selection of music recorded at the Temple, Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire, all just rough-mix demo stuff. Recording, set up, and operation competently handle by a young Steve Owen studio
Steve Owen at Wokingham Rock Club

"A Sound Man"

Steve Owen keeping an eye on the sound at Wokingham Rock Club. I wonder who that cassette was for not heard it myself.
Maybe Doo-Doe & Dazzle the two Paul's were lip-syncing all that time Ha- ha.

First Recordings at Goring-Temple studios.

Play a tune Sweet Deceiver (Durrant/Townshend)

Play a tune Freeway Riding (Durrant/Townshend/Odwyer)

Play HEROES Instrumental

Play HEROES Hard Climb (Makowski)

Play Music Instrumental used for live

Great Music Mr Smooth (Townshend)

Pete Townshends Heroes So Help Me Please (Durrant)

Play a tune Black Sheep of the Family (Durrant)

Play Music Sweet Deceiver (phased version)

First recordings at Goring.
We set up the drums in the cottage adjacent the studios. These were in a converted stable building with a rather out of place brick extension for the kitchen and store areas. Micing the kit up took some long leads hung between the buildings. This was winter time, so spending a few nights sleeping huddled against a radiator near my drum-kit in one of the downstairs rooms, was very cosy. Also might explain why the drums have a warm woolly sound. as you can hear. Shame the drummer was so tense and held back. At the start most trips to Goring were done in Paul T's SWB (Ambassador Blue) Ford Transit as a band together, everyone meeting at Woodgrange Ave Ealing Common. The tranny got wrecked and found us making more indivdual trips later on. [ pic: Outside the studio and the entrance was the two doors to the far righr in the picture] Goring Temple studio in background (photo showing the studio entrance beyond PT and his Pullman class Merc, cottage out of frame to photographers right.)
My vehicle of choice was mini vans at the time having had three of them. Nice fit for the drums. Pubs in Goring were "The Miller of Mansfield" and "The John Barleycorn" thet we frequented.
Some recent Goring notables: Jon Lord composer, pianist and rock/classical pioneer, lived in Goring in later life. Pete Townshend musician (the Who) Pete de Freitas musician (Echo & the Bunnymen), ashes buried in Goring. George Michael musician, vocalist and producer. Lived at Mill Cottage close to the river in his later years.

Questors theatre 1975

We were called SHY, then we bacame UXB, before settling on HEROES. 1975 saw us in a line up of bands playing The Questors theatre. These tracks from the set recorded by (Pete Makowski) on a Sanyo cassette recorder (C60 not even Chrome). Think we supplied the PA for the event as well. (Bearable when the vocals are not overpowering everything else.)

The Questors Theatre Ealing

Play a tune Ace Supreme (Silverhead cover)

Play a tune Sweet Deceiver

Play a tune Back-street Love (Trapeze cover)

Play a tune Black Sheep of the Family

Play a tune Acid Queen (The Who cover)

Play a tune Freeway Riding

"Under the red lights" at Questors Theatre.

UXB passed without a bang, now we find ourselves at Shepperton studios rehearsing in room-60 of the Manor House there (Littleton Park House, as used in The Omen, and The Great St Trinian Train Robbery). These tracks on TDK cassette via a Sharpe machine are passable.

Shepperton Room 60

HEROES at Shepperton Film studios One Night Stand (Townshend)

HEROES at Shepperton Film studios I Dunno (Townshend)

HEROES at Shepperton Film studios Snake-skin Cowboys (Motorhead cover)

HEROES at Shepperton Film studios Matter of Time (Townshend)

HEROES at Shepperton Film studios Substitute (The Who cover)

HEROES at Shepperton Film studios Television (Durrant/Townshend)

HEROES at Shepperton Film studios Highway Star (Deep Purple cover)

HEROES at Shepperton Film studios Things are not so Bad (Makowski)

"Under the red lights" at Questors Theatre

4 tracks recorded/engineered by Wally Brill at Pathway Studios in Holloway, London. These are lifted from an Acetate that was Cut/Pressed at 'Tape One Studio' a friend of my brother there did me a freebie. I have a cassette recording of a gig at The Nashville rooms, we were supporting The Eurythmics, just another band with a female singer whom at the time I thought had Tourettes. (Anyway the tape was crap).

Pathway Studios with Wally Brill

HEROES Pathway Studios Out into the Street (Townshend)

HEROES Pathway Studios Good Old Mum (Townshend)

HEROES Pathway Studios Television (Durrant/Townshend)

HEROES Pathway Studios Nasty Dreams (Durrant)

Nashville Rooms supporting The Eurythmics

HEROES Nashville Rooms Matter of Time

HEROES Nashville Rooms One Night Stand

HEROES Nashville Rooms Mr Smooth

HEROES Nashville Rooms Television

HEROES Nashville Rooms Dancing in the Street

HEROES Nashville Rooms Hard Climb

HEROES Nashville Rooms Substitute

HEROES Nashville Rooms Black Sheep of the Family

HEROES Nashville Rooms Freeway Riding

Tony Ayre

Ginger Baker's Acorn Studios in Acton, rehearsing with new bass player Tony Ayre. A handful of tracks spread over several sessions, new material etc. Paul Townshends voice appears to have gone all Elvis Costello

Two personal favourite bits of cassette
First from The Half Moon in West Hampstead with Ed Mitchell on the bass, Paul Durrant finishes the set with some solo work. The second is just Jam/Blow time with me, Paul Durrant, and Tony Ayre. The end of an evening at Acorn studios.

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Hope you enjoyed the tunes.
All sounds "SHIT" I know, but was 50 Years ago