Johnny Kidd and the Pirates
On October 14th, 1965 the eye patched Johnny Kidd and the Pirates played at the Ryde Castle but had to compete with competition from other dances that night.Island group The Meteors were support to the group. Keith Roberts recalls:
"Tony Oatley managed the Ryde Castle which was owned by a Mr. McGroggan. At that time places were popular one minute and not the next. The Castle was going through a bad time and Tony's job was on the line. He asked me what to do. I told him 'ThereÕs only one band that will pack this place out and that's Johnny Kidd and the Pirates.' Tony replied 'Are you sure?', but he booked them for £75.We met them off the boat and spent the day with them, fantastic. Johnny Kidd was a nice straight forward guy. We used their amplifiers. Afterwards they had a problem of going up Ryde Pier to get the mailboat. They borrowed our van and were kind enough to drive it back down the pier. However, financially the gig was a flop. Only 75 people attended and Tony got the sack." - Keith Roberts, The Meteor's bassist.
Johnny Kidd's Pirates included John Weider who later joined rock band Family and Vic Cooper who can be heard playing on Tom Jones Green Green Grass of Home.
Johnny Kidd and the Pirates: Johnny Kidd vocals, Johnny Spence bass, Frank Farley drums, John Weider guitar, Vic Cooper organ.
The Meteors: Ian Buxton, Ross Hopkins, Bob Watkins, Chris Mew © Ian Buxton
The Meteors: Keith Roberts bass (replaced Ross Hopkins), Bob Watkins drums, Ian Buxton guitar, Chris Mew, guitar, vocals