Five Card Trick 1979 - 1981
Well, I started playing the drums in 1977.
I was 19 years old and up until then had played the clarinet in a jazz band.
This is my first kit was was a mixture of old Premier and Olympic drums which I bought for £60.00
I had this kit for two years and as far as I can remember I never played a gig with it, good job with that stupid sticker on the bass drum :)
I was 20 or 21 when I joined my first band we were called Five Card Trick.
From left to right, Me, Steve Gaffney, Johanna Darlington, John Austin and John Darlington.
I can't remember how I came to join the band but it may come back to me as I go along :)
I played my first ever gig with these folks, it was at Cranage Hall Hospital just outside Holmes Chapel, we were supporting a band called "Alive", their drummer was Rob Heaton who later found fame with "New Model Army" and is sadly no longer with us :(
Waiting for the End of the World.
One of our first ever rehearsals, just the two Johns and me on this one, Joanna was playing bass at this time but it had been painted and hung up to dry :)
My Pearl Maxwin kit which my parents bought me new for my 21st birthday. This pic was taken in my girlfriends bedroom in Congleton.
Here we all are in the dresing room of a club in Crewe "Think it was the western Sports and Social Club" with my girlfriend Helen and JD's girlfriend Ruth.
Rock and Roll Damnation.
John Austin giving it some stick even though he didn't know the words :)
On Special occations such as New Years Eve the old clari would come out, a bit different if nothing else
With this band we must have played every working mens club in the northwest but it did us no harm apart from the odd piss head wanting to beat us up! We were also went out under the name "Dealer" and if Five Card Trick were the club band then Dealer were the more heavy pub band, playing Elvis Costello, The Stones, ACDC etc..
I'm afraid I have no proper recordings of this band, it's a shame because we weren't half bad!