Skanking with The Reggulaters at The Horns.

After a really bad day there was no alternative; we had to get out of the house;

And see 'The Reggulaters' and there have been some changes.

Best of all, we had a chat with Carl Gaywood who used to play drums with 'The Skasouls' and now is with 'The Reggulaters' - these days they really are the dream team.

I can't think of a better way of forgetting our troubles than having a night of authentic Trojan Ska; 

The band were on great form and although I kept telling myself I needed to stay sat down I did have a couple of dances, especially to Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder they come".

This seems very appropriate at the moment;


The Harder They come.

Well, they tell me of a pie up in the sky
Waiting for me when I die
But between the day you're born and when you die
They never seem to hear even your cry

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all
Ooh, the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all

Well, the oppressors are trying to keep me down
Trying to drive me underground
And they think that they have got the battle won
I say forgive them Lord, they know not what they've done

'Cause, as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all
Ooh, the harder they come
Harder they fall, one and all

And I keep on fighting for the things I want
Though I know that when you're dead you can't
But I'd rather be a free man in my grave
Than living as a puppet or a slave

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all
Ooh, the harder they come
Harder they fall, one and all
Hey, the harder they come
Harder they fall, one and all
What I say now
What I Say now

What I say now
What I say, one time
The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all
The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all.

 

That's a fighting song from Jimmy Cliff!

And then I got given a present which I'm looking forward to listening to;

It was a really great night, nice to be driving home at midnight.

The Reggulaters are playing a lot of gigs these days - catch them if you can!

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me; neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Still just about moving with The Reggulaters down at The Horns.

It used to be me that dragged Robyn out - these days Robyn's doing the dragging.

We went to see 'The Reggulaters' at 'The Horns' down in Watford.

They were on cracking form - the second set was brilliant.
This is hardline Trojan Ska - 1969 pure and simple.

No nutty sound of 'Madness', no 'Two-Tone' (which I love) just Trojan.

Good strong bass line;

Fine Brass section;

Great keyboards....just a lot of fun;

 

 

Most of the old favourites are there but since I last saw them back in September, they've added a few more. There's more Reggae but they still did 'Return of Django', so that's alright.

 

I haven't been out that much recently - my music scene is dying a bit and venues have been closing this year.

 

 

The last time I was at 'The Horns' I had a walking frame with me. This time I was moving a bit - so much so that someone in a worse state than me (is that possible?) came up and said; "At least you're still moving a bit".

 

Which I guess is true.

 

And we left 'The Horns' at midnight, which isn't such a bad thing either.

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 

The Reggulaters at the Horns.

 

 

 

As you can probably guess, this is the logo for The Horns in Watford. Voted best live venue in the South-East by several polls, it's got a great sound system and once in a while it's well worth making the long trek over there to see a great band.

 

Like, for example;



The

Reggulaters

As you can see, looking fairly dapper.

Like the Ramones T-Shirt!

It's the real old authentic Trojan records sound of the 1960's, played just the way it should be; great Bass and Guitar, a fine Saxophone, Drums and Keyboards to die for.

All that's missing is a trombone but as I don't like them - who cares?

Great atmosphere in The Horns, entirely due to an audience that came together just for Ska and wasn't disappointed by the time the doors shut.

Skinheads, Mods, me and Robyn and a rather mellow Rastafarian. And this guy;

 

Good crowd, good atmosphere, good night.

 

Neil Harris

 

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com



The Reggulaters at The Carpenters Arms, Hayes.

That looks like the makings of a good Saturday night; The Reggulaters playing Hayes at The Carpenters Arms.

And that meant a whole lot of West London’s Skinheads were in Town (plus one MOD and Robyn)- thanks to everyone for a warm welcome.

What was in the bag?

Just the finest, clearest, cleanest rendition of the classic Ska and Rocksteady of Trojan Records back catalogue.

These are the Mighty Reggulaters;

 

And the Saxophone was in particulary good form on Saturday;

 

Not to forget the unforgettable sound of the keyboards;

Which made some of these classic dance tracks unbearably good and had me beaten in the hat department too.
If you click on a picture you get better quality and a slideshow.

Now if I’ve wetted your appetite how about a trip to The Brookhouse, Hayes on 11^th July when it’s all happening again?

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)
Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me : neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

The Reggulaters at The Brookhouse, Hayes

If you imagine a pub on an industrial scale - that's The Brookhouse. It's my first visit and when I got in I found a pub rammed full of youngsters and with the Jagermeister on tap.

Jagermeister is a German herbal liquer, drunk as a shot. It's an unlikely drink for Hayes but 'Jager Bull's' are very fashionable - a beer glass with a shot glass full of Jager inside and surrounded by Red Bull.

As a driver, I haven't had the pleasure of trying one of these yet - when I'm too ill to drive I think I'll explore the palliative effects of a Jager Bull. Now I think about it, the waiting room at Charing Cross Hospital would benefit from a Jager bar.

In Hayes the Jager was on draft - they had a machine so that they could get the shots out quick enough. It was that kind of pub.

The Reggulaters had a tough old time - they play the Trojan back catalogue of Ska and Rock Steady and are completely uncompromising about it. My collection of Trojan isn't small but they play stuff I don't know.

Up against them was a DJ playing music fast and furious and a load of youngsters up for it.

So for the first set the two cultures clashed.

There were lots of shouts for Two-Tone Ska, which I love and which even young people know and like.

At halftime, most bands would compromise and change - not The Reggulaters.

 

 

 

Then at the same time as the Jagers were doing their work

the DJ played 'Billy Jean'. That always had a near reggae beat, so much so that Shinehead did a celebrated 12" Dub version merging 'Billy Jean' into 'Mama used to say'. That did the trick and had both groups dancing at the same time.

 

For the second half it was mayhem, someone chewed my tie.

 

I had a chat with Karl from The SkaSouls who was filling in as drummer for the night. At heart we both prefer pure Trojan - the roots of reggae pure and simple. Dancehall stuff.

 

But then again for me I grew up with Two-Tone, it combined Punk with Ska - it's always going to be a part of me.

 

This was quite a special night for another reason - I met Daniel, who is severely disabled and came out in his electric wheelchair and with his carers. He's obviously a regular at music nights at The Brookhouse - everybody came up to shake his hand like I did or, in the case of the pretty girls, they queued up to do selfies with him on his mobile.

 

You can only ever judge people by the way they treat vulnerable people.

 

Not by whether they are necking Jagers or the kind of music they like.

 

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

The Reggulaters at The Horns, Watford.

........

The reggulaters

........

You have no idea how bad a day I had – a whole day driving up and down and round and round, with a bad back trying to sort things out for my Mum before she comes out of hospital. No food, lifting things I shouldn’t lift, waiting and driving and driving and waiting.

I collapsed at about 4 o’clock and woke up at 7 30pm feeling ill and lousy.

By 8 00 I was aching and off, driving more miles around the M25 to Watford.

When you’re ill and fed up even Watford is exciting.

On Thursday it wasn’t exciting, it was great.

 

The

Reggulaters

For a long time I’ve either been ill or there were problems and I missed this band. Hardline Ska and Rock Steady from the extensive back catalogue of the Trojan Record label, including some that I haven’t come across.

This was very much the ‘spirit of 1969’, which is not really my thing – hardline Skinhead stuff.

But Skinheads have changed a lot over the years. The Watford Skins gave this lone mod from out of town a really friendly welcome.

 

As you would expect, a lot of classic stompin’ stuff – Desmond Dekker’s ‘It Mek’, ‘007’ and ‘The Israelites’. There was Toots and a lot more besides.

But when a band plays ‘The Upsetters’ ‘Return of Django’ there is no hope for me. It is still the coolest song ever written. Am I wrong?

I was deeply envious of the three ladies who were celebrating before heading for Great Yarmouth for a long weekend. That’s ‘Skamouth’ – three days of Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae and I suspect a certain amount of mayhem and madness.

This band may come from Kentish Town but they often play as far west as Hayes and (subject to the odd health problem) I’m going to be there to see them again. Their Ska is pre Reggae but also ignores the whole Two-Tone influence of my youth. This is heavy on the bass, heavy on the Skank, a real labour of love.

The word I'm searching for is authentic.

m

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)