I stumbled across The Never Never Band by accident in the autumn of 1979, when my mate Eric and I went into a music pub called the Horn of Plenty in St Albans, Hertfordshire one Monday night on the off-chance that someone decent might be playing.  We'd done this on many occasions in the punk/post-punk era and encountered some real rubbish.  This time, however, we heard a sublime guitar solo as we entered and stayed to witness a stunning show that combined the raw energy of punk with the musicianship and talent of the dinosaur bands.

 

We soon learned that The Never Never Band played at the Horn every Monday night and we became regulars in their audience.  I'd rate them as one of the top three live bands I ever saw, which includes all the big names since the early 1970s.  They were that good.  The songs were all self-composed and all terrific.   

 

I saw them at a couple of other venues: Hatfield Forum, where they supported Shakin’ Stevens (!) and Berkhamsted Civic Centre.  

 

The Hatfield Forum show was a strange one, with the band playing second fiddle to a lesser talent (sorry Shaky).  Dave Edmunds, the “I Hear You Knocking” hitmaker, was in attendance and was there to see the aforementioned rock and roller.  We bumped into him in the foyer after The Never Never Band had finished their set.  He’d obviously just arrived and asked Eric if Shaky had been on yet.  I think Eric was quite pleased to have been spoken to by a star!  We resisted the temptation of berating Edmunds for his tardiness, but he’d just missed what may well have been the best live act he’d ever seen.  Eric and I stayed for two of Shaky’s songs, then, having heard quite enough, went back to my house to watch Match Of The Day on the telly.

 

The Berkhamsted show was another strange one.  It was a very short set and a problem with the bass guitar was given as the reason for the early finish.  But Neil had at least one spare bass on stage with him, so I really don’t know what was going on.  The beginning of the end maybe?

 

In April 1980, using a borrowed ghetto blaster, I made an unauthorised recording of a complete Never Never Band show at the Horn of Plenty.  I still have the tape and it's amongst my most prized possessions.  

 

A few Mondays later, with no explanation, the band took the stage with a different bass player and all of Neil's songs had been dropped from the set. There was no explanation for the change -  “personal and musical differences” presumably.  After about a month with the new line-up, they disappeared from my life without trace.  I saw Neil once more, playing with a new band, Splash, in The Spotted Bull, a pub in Hemel Hempstead and, a couple of years later, Eric, who “discovered” The Never Never Band with me that fateful Monday night, saw Neil playing on his own in a Hemel pizza joint.

 

And that was about it.  Then, after many years of nothing but memories, the St Albans recording and the occasional shared reminiscence over a beer with Eric, along came this new-fangled Internet thingy.  “Never Never Band” was one of the first things I typed into a search engine, but the results were disappointingly few.  Just a couple of references in news groups, but nothing really significant.  I did learn, however, that a cassette of studio recordings existed.  I repeated the search many times over the years, but with no greater success.  Why nobody had created a Never Never Band web site was a mystery.  Why it took me so long to realise that I should do it myself is just as much a mystery!

 

That’s my story.  Your turn next?

 

 

Phil

16 September 2006