Charlie surfaced to inject the music with some twelve string and lap steel blues including that old Steve Miller classic Mercury Blues before he went back to the bar to have a drink. I had a couple of drinks with him at the bar while the band had been joined by Rod Garfield whose been jamming on harmonica around the Cowes pubs.
Rod reckons he wrote Stone Fox Chase the Old Grey Whistle Test theme tune recorded by that good ol' Nashville band Area Code 615 (Charlie McCoy and Buddy Spicher). So we have Rod Garfield blowing his lungs out and then Andy Claridge enters the pub blowing his sax. Charlie is taken aback by the ability of both players and the jam continues. Then its all over and Andy Claridge has gone just like that.
The band are joined by that Family and Captain Beefheart fan that Mick Plumbley went to school with, John Sutton. He's in full flight on "I Saw Her Standing There" and insists on sitting in with Charlie Witney on a string of Family favourites.
They did Holding The Compass, The Weavers Answer, Hung Up Down, My Friend The Sun and something off of the Dolls House album called The Chase. Rob King was joining in and John got so far then forgot the words. Charlie kept on saying "He's the boy in't he ".
In the end Sue , Johns wife comes over and off we go into the dark Cowes morning. A cracking little gig.
Pete Turner
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