December 2011 Archives

Having a pretty good time of late as I haven't updated this blog in four months - So here's
a quick re-cap of what I've been up to, work wise these past 4 months.

September
9th. The Move (featuring Trevor Burton and Bev Bevan), played a charity gig in aid
of "Greyhound Rescue Trust" at Hall Green Stadium in Birmingham.
17th Bev Bevan Band and others played open air festival in Henley in Arden in
Warwickshire
23rd The start of this year's "It's only rock'n'roll" tour ( Bev Bevan Band plus Raymond
Froggatt, Geoff Turton, Trevor Burton and Danny King). Opening show at Leamington
Spa Centre, followed by two nights at Solihull Arts Complex on the 28th and 29th.

October
14th Bev Bevan Band, plus special guest Rick Wakeman on keyboards, recorded
a spot on BBC's "One Jasper Carrott TV Special ( to be aired on January 9th,
following "Eastenders" ).
16th I played drums at a concert at the beautiful Birmingham Symphony Hall along
with staff and pupils of Dorridge School of Music at their annual charity concert. I also
became the school's patron that day.
29th
Gig for The Move featuring TB and BB. At the Ivy Leaf Club in Sheldon, B'ham.

November
"It's only rock'n'roll" concerts at Aston Wood Golf Club in Sutton Coldfield, the "Robin
2" in Bilston, the Atrix in Bromsgrove, Ludlow Assembly Rooms and Frome Theatre in
Somerset.
Also an appearance at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham for the Bev Bevan Band at
Blind Dave Heeley's charity fund raising dinner and gala ball.
On Sunday the 6th I was compere at "The World's Greatest Drummer" concert at
Warwick Arts Centre.
Also, on Friday 18th, prior to the Ludlow gig, The Move featuring TB and BB performed
in aid of BBC's "Children in Need" at The Mailbox in Birmingham. Recorded live on
BBC WM's Paul Franks show and televised for "Midlands Today". Great fun, but as we
were playing outside -- bloody freezing !

December
18th The final show of this year's "It's only rock'n'roll" tour at the Rover Club in
Solihull.
Also over this past four months there have been around twenty "Bev Bevan and Jimmy
Franks Shows" on BBC WM 95.6 fm. Listen every Tuesday evening between 10pm and
midnight or tune in anytime via BBC I-Player. Also check out my "Bevan's Heaven" CD
review column and "Bev Bevan's Photo Album" every week in the "Sunday Mercury".

May I wish you all a happy and healthy 2012.

TONIGHT was The Move's first single for the prog-rock Harvest label back in 1971.

The original plan had been to release a song titled Ella James off our Message From The Country album.

But label bosses had a change of heart, and decided that Tonight had a better chance in the charts.

The song, one of Roy Wood's, wasn't actually on the album and was only added to a 2005 re-issue!

Anyway, here we are on Top Of The Pops performing Tonight, with Jeff Lynne and Roy on guitar, and yours truly on drums.

Catch another picture from my photo album next week in the Mercury.

OVER the past year Midland pop legend Bev Bevan has been opening his rock'n'roll tour diaries in the Sunday Mercury.

Today the Move and ELO legend turns instead to his photo album. Each week we'll be featuring a pop snapshot from the past.

We kick off at the double - with two of the pictures from Bev's archives.

"The first shot, taken back in 1968, shows members of The Move, The Animals, The Nice, Colliseum and the Jimi Hendrix Experience about to board a flight to play a festival in Switzerland," says Bev.

"That's me just behind our singer Carl Wayne, resplendent in dark jacket, hat and shades, on the left. And you can spot Roy Wood to the right of the passengers.

"My second photo shows me with lovely Sally James on the classic TV show Tiswas, on which I appeared in 1978. You had to watch out for that phantom flan flinger!"