Des Henly's blog

DES HENLY “ON THE ROAD” with CHUCK BERRY

The first time I met Chuck Berry was on a cold winters night in February 1973, in north London when he was topping the bill at the Rainbow Theatre (the old Finsbury Park Empire). Fumble were the opening act... read full story

DES HENLY “ON THE ROAD” with DAVID BOWIE

Fumble had just played a concert in Nottingham on 27th December 1972, and we arrived at our hotel to find a message asking us to contact our manager John Sherry in London urgently. He told us David Bowie’s manager had asked if Fumble could join in David’s short UK tour, which had already started... read full story

DES HENLY “ON THE ROAD” – AT THE READING FESTIVAL

lThe Reading Festival evolved from the National Jazz & Blues Festival that started in 1961 at the Richmond Athletic Ground, and passed through several other venues, until it found its permanent home in Reading in 1971. Over the years it has featured... read full story

DES HENLY “ON THE ROAD” – ELVIS THE MUSICAL (part 1)

Elvis Presley, one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century, died on 16th August 1977 aged 42. Inevitably there was a clamour in the entertainment industry to portray and celebrate (some would say cash in on) his life. Our band Fumble had... read full story

DES HENLY “ON THE ROAD” – ELVIS THE MUSICAL (part 2)

Touring with Fumble for the best part of ten years had its drawbacks, a mad succession of gigs, hotel rooms and cities across three continents. Appearing in “Elvis” the West End musical at the Astoria Theatre in London every night for nineteen months ... read full story

DES HENLY “ON THE ROAD (LITERALLY!)” – WITH THE BEATLES

I shall always remember the time I met The Beatles; it was a hot summer's night, 22nd July 1963.
At the time Mario and I from Fumble, along with Mario’s brother Remo and drummer Bob Davies had formed a band known as The Iveys. That night we had been playing... read full story