In My Life (Continued)

They did - and I duly left the Moulsham Academy for Boys, saying my goodbyes to
those wonderful teachers, who had no compulsion to hit you with whatever was at
hand. A P.E. Master who was ex-Army Physical Instructor, another master was from
the S.A.S, an organisation we didn't know anything about, only not to mess with him,
a wood work master who we all lived in fear of, and not forgetting our great mentor
Jock or Mr. Jenkins (Headmaster). My father for his part in my education did not attend
any of our open evenings or gave me any guidance with any homework. I mention this as it was not his fault, he was of the old school whereby you left school and went
straight out to work in the nearest factory, he did not really understand the modern
youth as he was born in 1896 bless him, he tried. (Probably a bit like me now, with
computers gaining so much ground and technology moving at break neck speed, I too
will become a dinosaur).

I for my sins left school and started my career as a clerk for Auctioneers and Valuers,
very boring job, and in the mean time I ventured back to Moulsham School to take Night
Classes as they were then called in Photography which was of great interest to me.
Here I re-encountered the SAS teacher who as it turned out was to be my mentor and
helped me a great deal to find the right direction in my life. Who at 15 years old knows
what he or she really wants to do in life, I learnt more of life between 15 and 21 than
at any other time. Mr. Anderson, for that was his name, would prove a great help to
me and introduced me to Gus Edwards at The Essex Record Office, who was an
amazing character and whose pipe always seemed to have a drip right on the end,
just waiting to drop.

Well I left the Auctioneers and joined The Essex Record Office, and after a few years
a photographic unit was established which I was put in charge of. In the meantime, I
was attending the Market Road Technical School studying photography in more depth,
Mr. Bloodworth was our lecturer and had taught us well. He was a Police Photographer
of the old school whereby photographs were to be an exact replica of that moment in
time, pin sharp from edge to edge, showing full detail of the subject, he claimed you
could not capture atmosphere on film.

By this time I was experimenting with all sorts of new films and techniques, and one
person on that course was Mr. Davis who ran the Photographic Department of Bellemys
Chemist, in Tindal Square where I would spend many a Saturday afternoon chewing the
fat over new techniques, if not I would meet up with my mates at the new Orpheus
Coffee Bar that had opened in London Road to discuss where we would go that night,
the Cricketers in Southend or maybe The Elm Hotel at Leigh.

Right opposite Bellemys stood the Corn Exchange. It was here where the photographer
and music came together, with the Saturday Scene run by the Archer family, who
managed to bring some great artists to Chelmsford, bands like The Animals, The Hollies
and The Who all performed at the Corn Exchange. We were now into the Sixties and
the music was out of this world, good local groups were performing at the then Odeon
Ballroom in Baddow Road, such as Ray Ford and the Raiders, Jimmy Pilgrim and The
Classics and of course Mark Shelly and the Deans, (Who have recently reformed after
all those years and now perform to raise monies for various charities. They are now
known as The H.R.T. Band!) At this stage in my life I was still unsure where the
future would take me, little did I know that very soon I would be rubbing shoulders
with the likes of John Lennon and Mick Jagger and being asked to take George
Harrison’s birthday portrait for Valentine Magazine.

The deaths in January 1959 of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper in a
plane crash, left the music world reeling - and effectively brought to an end the first
phase of rock ‘n’ roll. This vacuum was not to last however, what with the ‘twist’
and skiffle groups enjoying huge popularity, and Cliff and Elvis changing their image,
music and the youth culture had seemed somewhat listless - but not for long.

No band has been written about as widely, or who’s influences nor indeed achieved
as much as The Beatles. The first half of the Sixties was theirs, and with that came
world domination.

The availability of imported US records into Liverpool docks played a major part in
the Mersey sound breaking in the first place. Without seamen bringing in those ‘so’
important records who knows what might have been!

By 1963, everyone craved for the neat new suits, distinctive haircuts and the lifestyle
of the Fab Four. Now, greased back quaffs and DA’s of the 50’s rockers were gone
“Swinging London” had emerged with the tremendous hype of Carnaby Street and Kings Road - suddenly we had arrived!

The insatiable appetite for new music was immeasurable, which could be paralleled
by the youth of today up and down the country. It came from the new dance halls lit
by shafts of pulsating ultra violet light, these sounds would change the face of the
music industry forever, these were to become the Golden Years of LIVE Music, when
bands really did perform live without all that electronic wizardry that seems to be the
norm today. Three Vox AC30 Amps a Watkins Copycat Echo, a set of drums, three
guitars and a HP Agreement guaranteed by your parents, you were up and running
and ready to ‘Rock and Roll’. The laser light disco was still in the future.