Here's some diary notes from various "last weeks of January" over the years...

1963
Plenty of gigs with Denny Laine and the Diplomats --- Coleshill Jazz Club, The Plaza Ballroom in Handsworth, Bentley Heath Community Centre, The Staffordshire Volunteer Pub in Wolverhampton and the Kingsgate Theatre in Stoke on Trent.

1969
Two TV shows to promote The Move's latest hit single "Blackberry Way" -- "Top of the Pops" and kiddie's favourite "Crackerjack". Also had a meeting with The Shadow's Hank B Marvin to see if he might be interested in replacing the departing Trevor Burton in The Move, but he declined.( To be honest it was more of a publicity stunt than anything else). Couple of gigs too, at a club in Norwich and at The Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London.

This is what I was up to at this time of year in, days gone by.

A few "Third weeks of January" dary entries .

1963
With Denny Laine and the Diplomats did gigs at Wednesbury Youth Centre and the Frank Freeman Dance Club in Kidderminster.

1966
First ever rehearsal for The Move, formed when all five of us "Moved" from various Birmingham groups - Roy Wood left Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders, Trevor Burton left Danny King and the Mayfair Set and Carl Wayne, Ace Kefford and myself left The Vikings.1969
Busy week. The Move flew from Heathrow to Amsterdam to appear on a Dutch TV pop show, along with The Tremeloes, Love Affair, Marmalade and Timebox. Back to London the next day to record BBC TV "Top of the pops", with "Blackberry Way" at number 16 on the charts. Next day flew to Hamburg and played the legendary Star Club along with The Tremeloes. On to Bremen and a double header, The Jaguar Club and The Tambourne Club. Trevor Burton announced to Carl Wayne, Roy Wood and me that he was quitting the band. Following night was an appearance on German TV pop show "Beat Club", along with Status Quo and The Tremeloes.

Here's the second of my weekly blogs taken from the second week of January between 1963 and 1990.

1963

With Denny Laine and the Diplomats and taking our peroxide blonde hair, mock crocodile skinned suits and silver painted winkle picker shoes to gigs at The Gospel Oak pub in Hall Green, The Queens Head pub in Erdington, the Co-Op Ballroom in Nuneaton and two consecutive nights at The Regency Club in Warwick.

1969

The Move on BBC Top of the Pops with "Blackberry Way", which had climbed to number26 on the UK charts.

1971

A week of going to see other bands performing on stage - Kenny Rogers and the First Edition and two days later Jon Hiseman's Coliseum, both at The Belfry in Wishaw, plus The Raymond Froggatt Band at "Sloopy's" nightclub in Birmingham.

1972

Some ELO rehearsals at Roy Wood's house in Rosemary Hill Road, Sutton Coldfield, plus a photo shoot at EMI in London.

1973

ELO rehearsals at the Old Moselians Rugby Club in Solihull, plus a gig at Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone.

1977

Shopping for stage clothes in Los Angeles at "Bojangles" and "Nudies". Flew from sunny LA to icy Dallas for rehearsals, then back to Los Angeles. Checked into one of my favourite hotels, "Chateau Marmont". Found time too for a day at "Disneyworld" in Anaheim.

1978

Rehearsals in Los Angeles for ELO "Out of the Blue" tour, at one of the Hollywood sound stages. Mick Fleetwood, former Turtles, Flo and Eddie and Bob Welch all stopped by to say hello.

1990

Honoured as one of the "100 Famous Brummies" at Birmingham Council House. Procession of vintage cars through the streets and me and my wife Val shared an old Bentley with newscaster Sue Lawley and her husband.

Other inductees at the lavish banquet on the evening included Jasper Carrott, Roy Wood, Toyah Willcox, The Moody Blue's John Lodge, Raymond Froggatt, ex British boxing champion Johnny Prescott, politician Robert Kilroy-Silk, Warwickshire and England cricketers Bob Willis and Denis Amiss, comedian Don McLean and former FA Cup winning Aston Villa captain Johnny Dixon.

Hi everyone! Happy New Year!

So here we are in Two Thousand and Ten - 2010. Start of a new year and the beginning of a new decade, too.

Starting now is my new-look Dear Diary blog, where I check out some of my diary entries from various years gone by.

Hope you will enjoy this trawl through the world of rock and pop music, as seen through my eyes over the past 45 years or so.

So here we go, looking at what was occurring in the first week of January.

Hi everybody !

Here's a "Christmas themed Pop Quiz" to keep you amused over the festive period.

Starting in January there will be a new look "Dear Diary" blog chronicling my exploits and adventures in the world of rock and pop music over the years - from starting out in 1963 with Denny Laine and the Diplomats right up to the present day.

Happy Xmas !

Bev.

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Teen Beat Vol 1 & 2 (Ace)

INSTRUMENTAL records were hugely popular in the late 50s and early 60s, and regularly hit the pop singles charts on both sides of the pond.

The most successful instrumental group in the UK, by a country mile, was The Shadows, who scored a dozen top ten smashes between 1960 and 1964.

These two 30-track CDs, however, feature American-made instrumentals from that rock'n'roll era.

Volume One is the stronger collection of the two, boasting Lonnie Mack's driving version of Chuck Berry's Memphis Tennessee, The Ventures' Walk Don't Run, and B Bumble and The Stingers chart-topper Nut Rocker.

PAUL CARRACK,
Birmingham Town Hall

PAUL Carrack, one of Britain's best ever singer-songwriters, made a triumphant return to Birmingham's refurbished Town Hall on Wednesday evening, putting on a superb two-hour show to an enthralled, capacity crowd.

This is no all-action, special effects, gimmicky show, just eight fine musicians playing great songs. The lighting could have been more inventive and the huge on stage projection screen was totally ineffective, but those criticisms aside, this was a terrific night's entertainment.

Paul's backing band of keyboards, sax, trumpet, guitar, bass and drums entered the stage in black suits, white shirts and black ties, reminiscent of The Blues Brothers - minus the sunglasses, whilst backing singer Lindsay Dracass looked gorgeous n black dress and red leather gloves.

GILLAN
Live Triple Trouble
(Edsel)

WHEN I was drumming for Black Sabbath in 1983 and 1984 , the lead singer of the band was Ian Gillan, and we became good friends.

Ian is most famous, though, for fronting Deep Purple, and only a couple of weeks ago they played Birmingham's LG Arena.

However, in the years that Ian was not with Deep Purple, before re-joining them in 1985, he made many solo albums.

This 3-CD set consists of live performances from the early 80s.

Disc one was recorded at London's Rainbow Theatre in April 1981 and features such rockers as Unchain Your Brain, Bite The Bullet and Purple anthem Smoke On The Water.

Disc two features songs from BBC Radio 1 series Friday Rock Show recorded later in '81 and includes No Laughing In Heaven, Vengeance and Born To Kill.

Disc three features Ian and his band headlining the Reading Festival in August 1981.

Exactly two years later he would be doing the same thing alongside Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and myself with Black Sabbath!

My enduring memory of Ian was how he could party until the early hours, yet still be first up in the morning, with no sign of a hangover, greeting us with a cheery "Good morning chaps!"

Then he'd go on to complete the Times crossword!

That's right folks here's another week of questions for you. See how you get on!

Well, I've played some unusual instruments over my years with The Move, ELO and Black Sabbath.

But this takes the biscuit ...