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31 May 1973 - Paris (venue
unknown)
 Paris
Rock
Paris - you know, that place everyone loves in the Spring
– looks deserted. Along the boulevards, shops are strangely
quiet – no, closed! And where are the people? It’s midweek
at the very hub of continental highlife, and the city is dead.
Has some great disaster befallen this beautiful capital? No.
It’s nothing more serious than Ascension Day, a national holiday.
Maybe everyone’s in curch I think as we ask a kid whe the
rock’n’roll concert is
"Ah oui, rock and roll." His face lights up and
I feel I won’t be surprised if he kisses his fingers and throws
his hand in the air.
Fumble, those masters of the rock’n’roll time zone, are the
band we’ve come to see, though manager John Sherry wants to
double check the venue. There follows a crash course in "Franglais"
much ouiing and s’il vous plaiting, and we’re off to an enormous
indoor arena way out of town.
Now you know something is going on when motor cyclists ask
the taxi driver the way then tag along behind. When we arrive
there’s a big change. Just around the corner from the entrance
gate we see rows of police vans and quite a few helmeted storm
troopers. What’s going on there?
But first we have to get past the gate security. John and
friend Michael do their French bit again and we end up with
a pass made out to "Monsieur Fumble". It’s funny
but the urchins pleading with us to take them in don‘t see
the joke.
We head towards the cavernous hall with it’s Sydney Opera
House type design and realise that Fumble are on. We can hear
them from 400 yards away.
Going in is like entering a circus big top and the sound is
a deafening distortion that hits you, grabs you, and draws
you down to the stage where a milling mass of rockers, greasers
and plain stoned out suckers are whooping it up "Ah,
oui, rock’n’roll."
On Stage the expected riot is going on, yet in a cleverly
controlled way that allows the band to keep it together. Maybe
a dozen greasers, real mean looking greasers with hair slicked
back, leather and badges, get their rocks off with the band.
Des Henly’s roaring Jailhouse Rock and doing a funky chicken
at the same time with one of the greasers. It looks good down
here and the sound is clear. A lethered greaser next to me
dances away on his own. Suddenly he flings his floppy hat
in the air, jumps after it, twists then lands with his hat
back on his head and carries on dancing. Everybody’s having
a good time.
Everywhere it’s the same. All round the front of the stage
an army of kids, many very young boppers amongst them, freak
about to the music. They LOVE rock’n’roll.
They seem to love everything Fumble do as each song takes
them higher and higher. Yet these aren’t revivalists into
the music of the 50‘s, they are kids who have never known
any different. They wear the same uniform, they flash a round
on bikes, get pissed and probably love a good scrap. I think
of the police outside, but everything is cool, music reigns
supreme
Fumble stick to the big hits of that golden era back in the
50‘s. Oh Carol, Hello Mary Lou, Poetry In Motion, Nut Rocker,Teddy
Bear... and so on.
The set ends with Go Johnny Go and they’re yelling for more.
But it’s a tight show, no encores, and on comes a french band
whose singer is painted pink and wear blue shorts. Someone
says it’s Albert And His Fanfare.
Backstage a bottle of Whiskey goes round and Mario, Fumble’s
bassist tells how he got left behind at Calais. "We suddenly
realised he wasn’t with us," says electric piano player
Sean Mayes. "And we’d been going for about 20 kilometres."
Mario was eventually re-found on the outskirts of Calais,
trying to hitch a lift "It always happens to me,"
he says in mock dumb rocker style.
We leave them still talking about how young the audience is
and how a totally greaser crowd is the most demanding. And
Des makes the comment that Paris has true rockers, greasers,
call ´em what you will. "They’ve probably never been
into anything else and will remain that way."
We head for Champs Elysees, and then Pigalle. It’s night time
and Paris is alive, and of course, rocking. "Ah oui,
rock and roll.
-Peter Harvey
Record Mirror
9. June 1973
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articles:
Success for Weston Group in beat championship
(Local paper, 1967)
Baloons flying
high behind Iron Curtain (Local paper, 1968)
Fumble (Record Mirror,
1971)
FUMBLE (Beat Instrumental,
1972)
American Press (1972)
Fumble gain a firm hold (1972)
Nancy
finds out all about....
(date unknown 1973)
There's no flies on Fumble (NME,
1973)
Fumble flies to fame and fortune
( 1973)
Rumble, rumble...here comes
Fumble (Record Mirror, 1973)
Fumble begin to feel good (Evening
News, 1973)
Fumble US Tour (Record Mirror,
1973)
In a class of their own
(Sounds, 1973)
Under the influence: Des
Henly (NME, 1973)
Rollin' and Fumblin'
(Melody Maker, 1973)
The Raver
(Melody Maker, 1973)
Back
in time - Nutrockers! (Reading Rock 73)
Accident Prone (Music Star,
1973)
An
interview with Barry Pike (Drum Magazine 1974)
Rock'n'Roll band signs up (St.
Albans Midweek Recorder, 1974)
Record and Popswop Mirror (Record
& Popswop Mirror, 1975)
Robin Katz talked to Sha Na
Na and Fumble (Sounds, 1975)
Pop goes GLC decibel dosage
(Daily Telegraph, 1975)
Concert reviews:
Playhouse Theatre
(supporting Bill Haley) (date unknown)
Newcastle,
City Hall (supporting David Bowie) (Jan 7, 1973)
Philadelphia,
Tower Theatre (supporting David Bowie) (Feb 17, 1973)
London,
Greyhound (May 17, 1973)
Paris
(May 31, 1973)
London,
Speakeasy (June 7, 1973)
London,
Marquee Club (July 14,
1973)
London, Rainbow Theatre
(supporting Chuck Berry) (Sept 7, 1973)
London, Marquee Club
(March 1974)
Bristol,
University (Apr 27, 1974)
London, Kings Road Theatre (Dec
15, 1974)
Burton-on-Trent,
76 Club (Mar 29, 1975)
London,
Roundhouse (supporting Dr. Feelgood) (Apr 20, 1975)
Festivals:
The Reading
Festival 1973
Alexandra Palace
Music Festival 1973
Roskilde
Festival, Denmark 1973 (Sounds)
Roskilde
Festival, Denmark 1973 (NME)
LPs and Singles:
Fumble
(Sovereign) 1972 (Melody Maker)
Poetry In Lotion (RCA) 1974
(Disc, Melody Maker)
Alexandra
Park (Sovereign) 1973 (Disc Magazine)
Million
Seller (Sovereign) 1973 (Melody Maker, NME, Disc, Sounds)
Not Fade Away (RCA) 1974
(Record Mirror, Melody Maker, NME)
Don't
Take Love (RCA) 1974 (Sounds)
German / Danish articles:
 Fumble
ride the oldie-wave (fans magazine, 1973) translated
Fumble
- Nostalgischer Pomaden-Pop (Flash magazine, 1973)
Success through persistence (BRAVO
magazine, 1973) translated
 FUMBLE
(GO, 1972)
Sjoveste LP i lang tid (Some
Danish paper, 1972)
Kendt
beatgruppe i Diskotek Limelight (Danish paper, 1973)
Roskilde-festival en stor succes
(Berlingske Tidende, 1973) |
