Neuklon & all that..

[Syl]

wmh said:

HI. I am a former guitarist of Neuklon, Mark (Billy) Houghton, also from Huyton. Lee calls me 'Prodigy' on account of the fact that I played lots of classical guitar years ago (still do - I'm now a prize-winning composer signed to 4 publishers worldwide. I am also best of mates with former La's guitarman John 'Boo' Byrne who now lives on the Island of Guernsey - still 'picking' professionally for a living. I should have been in the book!! On account of the fact that when I split from Neuklon, Lee and John Timpson (ex Neuklon and Las drummer) joined me and we had a three- man combo going for a while. Unfortunately I joined another band and the guys, within a year or so, had made a name for themselves as the La's. Anyway I hope this raises some interest, cause Neuklon where doing really good stuff back then and someone should look into it a bit more. Cheers, Mark-H

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Soz Mark, for hijacking your message, thought I'd start a new thread on this, I was actually rooting through paperwork this morning, very strange, stumbled across pics of Neil Kinnock etc, ' RocknRoll not Dole, OK! ', Jobs For The Boys etc..

The Scouse Phenomenon Part 2 by Klaus Schwartze..

I'll upload some pics, just need to scan this stuff in.. back in a mo'..

Syl.

[Syl]

welcome to the board wmh.. :D

Syl.

[Syl]

Here are some snippets I pulled out, apologies for the gigantic size of the .gif, only way I could get the text to come out clear and legible..

The Scouse Phenomenon Part 2

The 1988 Edition.

Compiled by Klaus Schwartze.

Page 41. - Neuklon & some La's..

http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/neuklon/

Syl.

Edited by: Syl at: 1/8/04 8:02 pm

[Anonymous]

the name mark houghton rings a bell, i remember steven (welsh boyo who runs the guitar tab side of things) saying he had been in contact with this mark guy, and that he said that he lent lee a expensive 60s guitar that he never got back, or something like that

i remember chris curtis of the searchers also said in a record collector article on his time with the searchers/finding deep purple, after he retired from his drumstool...he moved back to a liverpool leafy semi detached...

...and one morning in the late 80s, a scruffy leather n ripped jeans kid called lee mavers knocked on his door and asked if they had any of the old searchers guitars and amps floating around, curtis dug about in his loft, came back to the door and gave lee a '64 red gibson 12 string 335, a rare prototype it was said, and said ''it'll need tuning and cleaning up, i aint touched it in 35 years kid''

mavers apparantly said ''no it wont''

again, curtis says he never saw the guitar again!!!, and he said ''no wonder they didnt get very far in the charts, he couldnt be bothered to tune it up!!!''

[Anonymous]

HI James! Glad that you mentioned THAT guitar!! The story was, that back in 1984 or so, my dad was given a Gretsch guitar by a member of an old Merseyside group called the Hillsiders. It was in bad condition but a real rarity. One day around at our house I showed it to Lee who fell in love with it and said he'd buy it off my dad. So my dad let Lee try out with the assurance that he would pay 50 quid for it. Thats the last we saw of the guitar and the fifty quid! I don't hold it against Lee though cause my dad got it for nothing and Lee got it restored I think and put it to good use!

Cheers, Mark

[Anonymous]

Interesting that you should mention photos but Neuklon had an article and photo published in the Liverpool Echo back in the early 80's. I don't have it anymore but if anyone has it I would dearly love to get a copy of the photo/ article! It was taken by our French manager at the time(can't recall his name as its so long ago - Rafique or something?). outside St Georges Hall - those big doors at the side, above the entrance to the underground railway. On the photo some group members scaled the door frame and are several feet off the ground. I am off to the right wearing a light grey box jacket looking a bit like Bryan Ferry!
I think the article mentions about our trip to London with another group (3Da fish in sea? or did they spell it efficiency?!) Has anyone got the article??

Cheers, Mark

[Anonymous]

re - Lee's dad, he's a builder or something isnt he? so is your guitar the gretsch Lee plays on the Timeless Melody video, and I think he's also posing with a red or orange gretsch in the LP liner photos???

£50 for a gretsch tho, fair do's it was in the 80s, but, you were robbed anyway mate!!! ;) I was looking at a few second hand ones a few months back, and £600+ even for scruffy ones

as for the Neuklon photo - you should try the back issues newspaper dept of either the Echo or Liverpool Central library, they may have the full newspaper on microfilm, they usually keep newspapers going back to before 1940!!! give it a try if yer desperate to see it

[Stuart82]

....I would have thought the Gretsch that Mark is talking about is the cream one Lee used to play in 1986, the one he's using in that picture of Lee and Mike, in Mikes garden.......



I think those Gretschs Lee and Barry Sutton are playing in the TM video are Barry's, he uses both of them at that Town + Country club gig...

Here's a link to a good Gretsch archive..

http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gretsch.html

Edited by: Stuart82 at: 1/9/04 12:40 pm

[Anonymous]

yeh i forgot about that one, looks a lovely guitar that...

...and the photo brings back the shock when i saw that (at the time unpublished) photo in me local newspaper , i remember i rang up the photograph department and i was really quite close to them selling me a 10 x 8 copy print of it, then at the last minute they rang me back to say ''oh sorry, we've been told we dont own the print so cannot do it'', nightmare

it obviously cost mavers a few quid to 'do it up', judging by the tatty albert steptoe jumper he's sporting, heh

[Anonymous]

Hi James, I know that Jim was a tradesman of some sort though I've never discussed that with him. I think that possibly Lee worked on a site as well at some point? I know that Boo worked as a joiner perhaps when he was with the Cherry boys.
The guitar on the video that you mention, I haven't actually seen the vid believe it or not! (I've been so preoccupied with my own pursuits as a classical guitar composer these last years) but my dad's Gretsch was the original 50's paint job (a beige-like colour. Also we fitted a single pickup to it because it had a gaping hole where the neck pickup would have been in its heyday. I remember that the pickup that we fitted came off an old Columbus semi-accoustic of my dad's. Can't remember now but the Gretsch might have had the 'cats eye' holes instead of the traditional 'f' whole cut outs you find on a standard semi-accoustic. I do remember it was a great guitar to play despite the condition that it was in. I recall that I used it for a bit myself but then I got a George Benson Ibanez GB10 which was the coolest guitar you'll ever get! - I used that to cut a compilation album in 86 with Al Firky's Citizens of Swing band at Benson Street studio in 'Pool.
I also used a Hofner 'Verithin' back then as well which did the rounds amongst Mersyside groups!
If anyone has a still jpg from the vid then I will know straight away if its the same Gretsch!

Cheers, Mark

[Anonymous]

Thanks Stuart - that sounds like the Gretsch I am talking about!! I think 86 was when I joined The Citizens of Swing. I only actually joined them because they where gigging regular and had just lost their guitarist - they had a regular spot at the Fire Station in Bootle. It was John Timpson who took me over to them. We also did a joint gig with Lee's 'new' band in a social club off Eaton Road sometime later (near Everton's practice ground (this would have been pos late 86?).
Can anyone tell me where John Timpson is? I know that he married Lee's sister so I should really check with Mavers senior to get their wherabouts. Timmo used to be a member of a Vintage cars society. He used to pick me up to go practicing with the group and he would turn up in a different car each month (1960's Mercs, flash Amercan cars, chopper motorbikes the works!).

Cheers for now, Mark

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the link Stuart!

This is the Gretsch of my Dad's. I remember it well!

http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gretsch2.html#6124

BTW my Dad (and me too) are and where big Chet Atkins fans hence the connection with wanting Gretsch guitars (the Country Gentleman Gretsch is of course designed by Atkins). I remember enthusing to Lee about this and I lent him old albums of Chet playing so maybe he got some of Chets country-picking style! Sadly Chet died a couple of years ago but by chance I picked up a Chet DVD in HMV in the Chrimbo sales!

Cheers, Mark

[Anonymous]

heh its all interesting this, ive heard the same tales about Timmo's cars, apparantly at one point he was ferrying the La's around in an ex USA Taxi Cab spraypainted blue with yellow flames and ''THE LA'S'' written on the side and on the bonnet???

i think he lives not far from west derby???, as Scott a regular forum contributor has seen him around quite a bit

i have a 60s columbus guitar, in the style of a gibson 335, red/yellow sunburst weird colour, im actually using it now, well, 5mins ago, to demo some tunes, they're alright, a bit rickety, and the tremelo arm looks like a home made job its that tacky heh

[Anonymous]

Hi James. Thanks for the info. I don't remember the taxi but he had a huge ford mercury which had a job squeezing down our road! He was quite a character Timmo - a real funny guy, really cryptic humour. He wouldn't let you near his drumkit, he kept it immaculate. Sometimes if he went out of the room we'd sneak on his kit and start bashing around just to piss him off!!
Interesting to hear that he is somewhere near West Derby (that's where I live - Alcester Road near the Royal Standard pub).

Your Columbus sounds like the same model we had! Fond memories of that axe.

I keep remembering other bits of info. When we had the three man combo (Lee and timmo and myself), we used to practice in the 'Cells' at the back of the Hollywood Club on Duke Street). In the next cell to us used to be Frankie goes to Hollywood, who used to do all-vocals (like a barber shop type setup cause they never played instruments). I guess they got their name from the Hollywood Club. We also had practice sessions at the Ministry off the top of Dale Street, owned by the Bunnymen at the time. At one point we had another member to the combo (an ex-bass player from Teardrop Explodes).

Cheers, Mark

[Anonymous]

Great to hear your bits and bobs on The La's/Liverpool music scene from back then. Always nice to get it from the horses mouth so to speak. I'm sure everyone on hear appreciates you coming on. Cheers.