Another in the series from Eddy
The evenings went well and everybody had a good time. Nothing lasts and soon after Janet gave me the big elbow we were sacked. It was decided by the committee that they wanted to change the band. So no girlfriend and no band job, life was getting a bit depressing for me.
Soon after that, the job at the club finished I was on the lookout for another gig. I heard that a pub in Woolwich was looking for a drummer to play with a lady pianist called May the pub was The Royal Mortar.
This pub was rough and one of the famous three pubs in Beresford Square in Woolwich, (see photo) the others being The Royal Ordnance and the Salutation.
My ambition now was to learn to drive and get myself some transport to carry my drum kit and get more work. I went for the job and found out it was playing for six nights a week with Tuesday night off. I accepted it and got £1 per night. As my wages with OPC were then £6 per week I had doubled my income.
The pub was managed by an Irish man called Sean and his wife Mary and a lot of children. The pubs in the Square were rough area and not for the faint hearted. Woolwich was the home of the Royal Artillery and of course, lots of soldiers were out on the town having fun. Much of the seedier side of Woolwich life was to be seen in these three pubs. I was completely naive to what was going on around me and I just smiled at everybody and played my drums.
This is Beresford Square, in Woolwich. The Royal Mortar is on the corner, the right of the photo (now demolished). The Royal Ordnance pub is on the other corner behind the market stalls. The road from the square is the Plumstead Road. On the left is the Royal Arsenal Factory gate.
Sean was prepared for trouble and if it started he would get involved and eject any trouble maker who tried to start a fight. He had a scar on his face when one time he came off the worst of the argument. It was rough to say the least. You would not want to take you wife or mother there for a social drink. Also, there were some woman soldiers WRAC’s as they were called. They are stationed at the Woolwich barracks as well as the men. These girls would frequent the Mortar and this, in turn, attracted the men
May, the pianist, she was an accomplished player and had a vast knowledge of tunes. She once told me she used to play for the silent film shows.
During the week, she and I would churn out tunes and on the weekends we had a singer/guitarist who would enhances the evening with some more modern songs. If a member of the audiences wanted to sing they were made welcome. Dad got my kit to the pub and once set up it stayed on the stage with a blanket over it for protection when not in use. I settled down to the six nights a week. I even played there on Christmas night the first year.
I was, during the day working at OPC and in the evening at the Royal Mortar. Tim now had a motorbike and I wanted one. Dad looked around and found a BSA C11 250cc side valve with a fixed rear suspension. Some months earlier I took some driving lessons in a car; I took the test and failed. One hour a week for 14 weeks was not enough experience to have prior to taking the test. I felt confident with the motorbike and was using it to go to work on. Owning a bike did make me lazy and once I had the taste for powered transport there was no going back to the cycle.
Tim suggested that I ought to have some lessons in reading drum music, which I thought was a good idea. I found a teacher who lived in Catford and as OPC shut down Friday afternoons I booked up lessons for that time.
I rode over on my motorbike and had my first lesson. I was surprised to find he did not have a drum kit set up in his house. We practiced on a drum pad, a thick piece of rubber that was a lot quieter than a drum kit. I had lessons from him for about six months and he started me off in studying drumming techniques and reading percussion music parts.
All this was to come in useful in the future. The teacher was Bob Wilkinson and he played in the Ted Taylor Four group who had a minor hit with a tune called ‘M1’. This came out at the same time as the M1 motorway was opened.
He had played with a famous band directed by Frank Weir who played on the radio. He was gigging with the TTF and giving music lessons during the day time. He was planning to go to America and try his luck in playing in bands over there. The lessons were to pay for the trip for him and his family.
This is Beresford Square, in Woolwich. The Royal Mortar is on the corner, the right of the photo (now demolished). The Royal Ordnance pub is on the other corner behind the market stalls. The road from the square is the Plumstead Road. On the left is the Royal Arsenal Factory gate.
May, the pianist at The Royal Mortar, who did nothing for my time keeping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfuGpnE5_dM this refers to the Ted Taylor Four on Youtube
© Eddy Newport 2017
Pictures; courtesy of Eddy Newport
Soon after that, the job at the club finished I was on the lookout for another gig. I heard that a pub in Woolwich was looking for a drummer to play with a lady pianist called May the pub was The Royal Mortar.
This pub was rough and one of the famous three pubs in Beresford Square in Woolwich, (see photo) the others being The Royal Ordnance and the Salutation.
 |
| Beresford Square |
The pub was managed by an Irish man called Sean and his wife Mary and a lot of children. The pubs in the Square were rough area and not for the faint hearted. Woolwich was the home of the Royal Artillery and of course, lots of soldiers were out on the town having fun. Much of the seedier side of Woolwich life was to be seen in these three pubs. I was completely naive to what was going on around me and I just smiled at everybody and played my drums.
This is Beresford Square, in Woolwich. The Royal Mortar is on the corner, the right of the photo (now demolished). The Royal Ordnance pub is on the other corner behind the market stalls. The road from the square is the Plumstead Road. On the left is the Royal Arsenal Factory gate.
Sean was prepared for trouble and if it started he would get involved and eject any trouble maker who tried to start a fight. He had a scar on his face when one time he came off the worst of the argument. It was rough to say the least. You would not want to take you wife or mother there for a social drink. Also, there were some woman soldiers WRAC’s as they were called. They are stationed at the Woolwich barracks as well as the men. These girls would frequent the Mortar and this, in turn, attracted the men
 |
| May the pianist |
During the week, she and I would churn out tunes and on the weekends we had a singer/guitarist who would enhances the evening with some more modern songs. If a member of the audiences wanted to sing they were made welcome. Dad got my kit to the pub and once set up it stayed on the stage with a blanket over it for protection when not in use. I settled down to the six nights a week. I even played there on Christmas night the first year.
I was, during the day working at OPC and in the evening at the Royal Mortar. Tim now had a motorbike and I wanted one. Dad looked around and found a BSA C11 250cc side valve with a fixed rear suspension. Some months earlier I took some driving lessons in a car; I took the test and failed. One hour a week for 14 weeks was not enough experience to have prior to taking the test. I felt confident with the motorbike and was using it to go to work on. Owning a bike did make me lazy and once I had the taste for powered transport there was no going back to the cycle.
Tim suggested that I ought to have some lessons in reading drum music, which I thought was a good idea. I found a teacher who lived in Catford and as OPC shut down Friday afternoons I booked up lessons for that time.
 |
| Me on drums at the Royal Mortar |
All this was to come in useful in the future. The teacher was Bob Wilkinson and he played in the Ted Taylor Four group who had a minor hit with a tune called ‘M1’. This came out at the same time as the M1 motorway was opened.
He had played with a famous band directed by Frank Weir who played on the radio. He was gigging with the TTF and giving music lessons during the day time. He was planning to go to America and try his luck in playing in bands over there. The lessons were to pay for the trip for him and his family.
This is Beresford Square, in Woolwich. The Royal Mortar is on the corner, the right of the photo (now demolished). The Royal Ordnance pub is on the other corner behind the market stalls. The road from the square is the Plumstead Road. On the left is the Royal Arsenal Factory gate.
May, the pianist at The Royal Mortar, who did nothing for my time keeping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfuGpnE5_dM this refers to the Ted Taylor Four on Youtube
© Eddy Newport 2017
Pictures; courtesy of Eddy Newport
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