Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts

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Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts is a British blues band formed in 1968 who are still regularly performing and will celebrate 40 years playing together in 2008. The original 5 members Graham Hine, Keith Trussell, John Randall, Pete Gibson, and Jim Pitts are still playing together and were joined by Taffy Davies in the early 70s replacing John Lewis, and Dougie Strathie who joined the band in 2001. For almost as many years, they have been ably supported by 'roadie' Lochy Randall, older brother of John Randall, and is viewed by the band as their unofficial 8th member. .^[1]

They are perhaps better known for their record 'Seaside Shuffle' which reached No 2 in the UK charts in 1972 under the pseudonym Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs, with singer Jona Lewie.^[2]

Contents 1 In the Beginning 2 The Formative Years 3 The Ensuing Years 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] In the Beginning

The seeds for Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts were sown in 1967 when musical friendships were forged at Thomas Bennett Comprehensive school in Crawley, Sussex. Peter Gibson arrived to teach, fresh from Liverpool College of Art. After setting up a blues and folk club, Graham Hine, one of Peter's students, asked his tutor if he could play. Pete still vividly remembers the performance as incredible 'pure delta slide'.

John Randall had also seen Graham play at a folk club at Worth, near Crawley. He recalls Graham getting up on stage in a red corduroy waistcoat and blowing harp. "We walked home together that night," recalls John. "There he was walking along and amazingly somehow playing his guitar through its case!"

Graham was studying art with a fellow student Keith Trussell. On a day out, the three of them discovered a lagerphone being played by a band in Hastings. Seeing its potential as a blues rhythm instrument Keith had his own unique version, the 'Zobstick,' up and running in no time.

The three friends spent a lot of their time listening to old blues records, and Graham made a washboard out of bamboo so that John would have something to play.

The three of them began to play at local clubs with another pal, Ian Anderson. Pete was also active and was performing at local clubs in a blues duo called 'Bottled in Bond.' Whilst playing at East Grinstead Folk Club one night, Graham's band turned up. "They were brilliant" recalls Pete. Jim Pitts was also there performing in another band.

It was inevitable that with all the sitting in with each other that was going on at the time that the inevitable was going to happen. A 5-piece evolved, Ian Anderson had already departed, and with Pete and Jim joining forces with Graham, Keith and John to play together one night, the dye was set.

From the outset, they were determined to perform music on their own terms and in their own way; a group of art school devoted country blues enthusiasts with a bizarre collection of rhythm and percussion instruments, resulting in a unique sound and presentation of souped up country blues.

The combination of solid down home rhythm from John and Keith, stunning electrified nine string acoustic guitar from Graham, humour and the vaudeville touch in the true spirit of the hokum tub and with a topping of Pete and Jim laying down melody lines, the band’s heritage was assured and was an instant success.

During this initial period, Pete's folk and blues club was still functioning and regularly bringing in guest artists to perform. Jo Ann Kelly was invited to play and was immediately enthused by the band's totally fresh concept. As a result, she invited them to London to appear at the famous Studio 51 club in the basement, Great Newport Street, just off Shaftesbury Avenue in central London.

Their regular appearances at Studio 51 grew so popular, that when the John Dummer Blues Band vacated their spell of residency, leaving like Jo Ann, for wider demand, they were offered the job of replacing them. They became the resident band for 4 years running a Sunday session there as a drop in spot for blues musicians.

Amongst the famous visitors who dropped in were American and UK blues artists: Howlin' Wolf, Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, Fred McDowell, Dave Kelly, Juke Boy Bonner, Medicine Head, Steve Miller band, Lol Coxhill, Sam Mitchell, Bottleneck Bill, Mick Taylor, Larry Johnson, Tony McPhee, John Dummer Blues Band, The Groundhogs, Roy Bookbinder and Long John Baldry.

[edit] The Formative Years

It was while playing at Studio 51 that they had met John Lewis. Studying sociology locally at Kingston, he was also on the blues club circuit, holding down various interval spots playing blues and boogie woogie on piano, to supplement his student grant. John's love of the band was instant. He recalls, "Here was Blind Lemon Jefferson meeting Robert Johnson and playing hypnotic delta boogie, right here in London!" Following a gig at Wolfie Witcher's blues club at the Nag's Head, where the Bretts and John Lewis were separately booked, John discovered that the piano was unplayable for a solo act. The Bretts suggested that he sit in with them instead. As a result, he joined the band as the 6th member in 1969.

In 1970, Tony McPhee from the Groundhogs invited Brett Marvin and The Thunderbolts to contribute to the recording of a British Blues Collection on the Liberty Label, "Gasoline". Later some of these tracks were reproduced on "Son of Gutbucket", which has been reissued on CD. Soon afterwards, they started a 5 year relationship with Sonet record company and released their first album, 'Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts'. Further details of both recordings including sound bytes, are covered fully in the the Their Music section of the page.

The band's unique Delta influenced country blues style, together with some eccentricities in the instrumentation department, including oil drums, zobstick, ironing board, kitchen sink as well as Kid Ory style trombone, ensured their increasinging popularity at blues clubs and on the college and university circuit.

They became particularly popular in Scandinavia and undertook many tours and also did television work in Sweden, Belgium, Denmark and Holland.

In 1971, they released their 2nd album on Sonet, entitled “12 inches of” which had a combination of songs penned by band members, along with a sprinkling on well known blues standards. The album received much acclaim and was well received by their ever growing number of fans.

The same year saw them back in the UK for a concert with the legendary 'Son House', after which they undertook a national tour with Eric Clapton's band Derek and the Dominoes. Shortly after this, their second album, 'Twelve Inches of' was released. Jim and Pete dropped out of the touring scene as the single 'Seaside Shuffle' was released. Although the band's style had continued to tighten and develop, the single was not particularly representative of their style, so they released it under the pseudonym 'Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs'. The remaining 4 members continued to play the college and university circuit as Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts, when a contract came through with the name Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs.

At first, the record had not been distributed properly, but in 1972, following its cult popularity at a west London club, it became a monster hit when Sonet did a deal with Jonathan King's UK label, who marketed and distributed it, earning the band a coveted silver disc and four appearances on 'Top of the Pops'.

Shortly after this, Sonet issued their 3rd album, "Alias Terry Dactyl & the Dinosaurs", which took advantage of the success of 'Sea Side Shuffle' and included a compilation of tracks from their first 2 albums on Sonet.

By August of that year, Terry Dactyl & The Thunderbolts had four gigs a week lined up for months ahead. After about eight gigs, on an afternoon off, down in the West Country, John Lewis became ill and on visiting his doctor, discovered that he was suffering from exhaustion. This spelled the end of the tour and John subsequently left the band.

[edit] The Ensuing Years

He was replaced by David 'Taffy' Davies who had known the band from their Studio 51 days. He was in the Jaw Bone Jug Band, an outfit that was disbanding, so the offer to join the Bretts was well timed. At this point Peter reappeared, and a new bass player, Tony 'The Bee' Proto, just in time to record a new Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolt album, at an idyllic recording studio in Monmouth, Wales. It was 1973, the band issued their 4th album on Sonet "Ten Legged Friend."

After performing at a number of major rock festivals and doing some live radio broadcasts, including the famous discussion with Viv Stanshall, where Keith Moon phoned because he wanted to join in. The remainder of the seventies and the eighties saw the Bretts continuing to develop as a leading force in the British blues scene.

As to be expected, band members now began pursuing their own individual careers in music and the arts, but still got together at regular reunion gigs which their band of loyal fans never failed to support.

The tragic early death of Jo Ann Kelly ironically coincided with a resurgence of interest in blues music and the combination of these events saw the band invited to play as special guests at the Colne Blues festival, at the Blues Band's Christmas Party at the Town and Country Club, and to perform live on Paul Jones radio shows.

In 1993, contact with Sonet UK, led to the production of a new CD, 'Boogie Street,' (Exson Music Ltd) with the addition of Pete Swan who added a bass guitar to the line-up.

In 1998, the band celebrated their 30 year anniversary, and around the same time, two compilation CDs were released; "Gutbucket" (EMI records), "Tony McPhee & Friends" (BGO records), and a CD version of their original LP, "Alias Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs" (See For Miles).

In 1999, the band collaborated with Peter Moody which resulted in a CD "Vintage Thunderbolts" (Mooncrest Records part of Trojan Records) being made of previously unreleased material. The album is considered by many Brett fans as their best album with a mixture of both live and studio recordings from 1970 through to 1989.

Pete Swan left the band in the early 2000’s to go and live in Cornwall, and was replaced by Dougie Strathie who is still with the band today.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

Keef Trouble Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs

[edit] External links

• Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolt's official site
• Videos of their latest work on YouTube
• Brett Marvin's lead guitarist official site