Jazz band that operated from 1956 – 1972.
Band members included:
Stan Keely
Len Cotton
Basil Wainwright
Alan Hewitt
Gordon Whitworth
Ken Rattenbury
Mike Taylor
Dave Lee
Jim Hyde
Pete Vicary
Ken Freeman
Len Bunch
Ray Arnold
Brian Potter
Ken Jones
Dave Smith
Don Gray
Barry Phillips
Brian Casson
Val Wiseman
There Are Currently 22 Comments for this Post
I did about three dep jobs on guitar for Stan Keeley when he was on holiday during summer of 1962. Brian Casson was on trombone at the time I recall.
And was there not a female singer who went on to have national success on her own ??
Tell us more John. I don’t know anything other than what is above about this band.
This was my late father-ln-laws band, he was the drummer Len Coton ( not Cotton )who passed away in 1999, I am not aware if any other members are still around today, I know they played gigs over a shop in Erdington high street early on, and also at The Crown I think it was walsall. They appeared on a talent show and I think got to the second round before being knocked out, they also made an album of which I own a copy. I hope this small amount of info helps, I do have newspaper cuttings and some photographs, but earlier info would have to come from a relative of whom permissision I would need to get first to give contact details.
Hi Beryl I now live in Perth Western Australia but I used to work at Churchills where you dad worked in South Yardley. You are quite right they went on the TV and I can’t remember the show but they came second.. If you have any info on Len I would love to have it as the days we worked at Churchills was very happy for all of us. My email address is barry.guy@bigpond.com
I worked as a doorman for Basil Wainwright between 1958 and 1963 primarily in Aston when he was a “Jazz Promoter”. Some of those concerts were out of this world. I never knew him as a musician.
That’s my dad. I need to contact him. Urgently +254717315150
the first meeting was at the crown digbeth and cessions where at the digbeth institute
i think on Thursday
Hi Jez! Well… My dad (Barry Phillips) was trombonist with the Second City Jazzmen! In fact, he was either the original trombonist or very soon after.
He is on the one and only album they ever recorded (“Tribute To Madge” – which is on Vogue Records I think?) and the associated single “Blues For Madge” – both named in honour of their singer Madge Whitehouse (who I think was married to one of the band – possibly the bassist or drummer?), who had died unexpectedly. They recorded it in the late 50s (1958?) down in London. I think my dad left the SCJ sometime after the recording (’58/59?) and Brian Casson took over.
They did indeed hold the residency at the Midlands Jazz Club at the Digbeth Institute (it might have been called the Digbeth Civic Hall at the time, I’m not sure) and were a very significant regional jazz band and recognised nationally; they would pack out the Digbeth Institute and dancers would come from all over the UK to dance to their music. I think the MJC was possibly the largest jazz club in the UK at the time too!
The classic line-up at that point later 50s included: Barry Phillips (slide trombone), Dave Lee (clarinet/bass clarinet), Alan Hewitt (trumpet & occasional valve trombone), Len Coton (drums), Stan Keeley (guitar/banjo), Len Bunch (double bass or tuba possibly?), Pete Vicarey (piano) and Jimmy Hyde (soprano sax) – and Madge Whitehouse on occasional vocals.
Pete Vicarey was also the father of well known London jazz pianist/composer Andrea Vicari; Jimmy Hyde (one of the country’s best soprano sax players in the style of Sidney Bechet) was the father of Birmingham guitarist/singer/bandleader Pete Hyde (of the Vieillards et al)! And of course I have kept it going myself as a drummer and percussionist for 40+ years inspired by my (late) father!
I have more information than this about the Second City Jazzmen (plus a photo or two – including images from the recording session and also at my parent’s wedding where they formed a guard of honour outside the church and made an arch with their instruments), but I’d need to dig it all out…
All the best
Glyn Phillips
I took photos at Barry and Audrey’s wedding. It was at Holy Trinity Church Smethwick
on 23 3 58. I can’t remember if anyone else took any. It was very windy and Audrey had her work cut out to hang on to her veil.
The last time that I saw them was at Charlie Powell’s reunion at George Huxley’s club 6 9 96 and I have some video of Barry playing that I took.
Charlie was the trombone player before Barry and he went to Australia where he was still playing about 10 years ago. Barry and Audrey were living at that time in Pedmore Stourbridge not far from me. I can email photos if you like and you can see if they are different from yours.
I played banjo with the New Orleans Jazz Men in the late fifties at the Adam and Eve pub in Bradford Street. As far as I know Geiorge Huxley and me are the only members of the band who are still alive. I am still in touch with Margare the former wife of the trumpet player the late Bobby Pratt
Great days, we used to rehearse one night a week and play the following night. Big money in those days. 18\6d a week from which I paid 4 shillings bus fares and 4\6d HP payment for my banjo.
I met up with Madge Whitehouse through my aunt who had the sweet shop next door in Newtown Row, Aston. It was Madge who got me going to the jazz club when it was held on a Monday at the ex captives club in Hill Street opposite St Judes church
The Ex Captives club was in Hurst St., down on the left. Hill St had The Golden Eagle pub. There was no music but you could get a pork pie. We thought that quite exotic as most pubs did not sell food,(apart from crisps) ’til later in the 50s.
If I remember correctly the shop in Aston was a china and crockery shop. Madge found her mother dead in the shop and I wonder if the shock started her diabetes ? I spoke to Madge at the club on a Monday night and she said that she had been feeling a bit under the weather and was going for hospital checks the following day. She was diagnosed with diabetes on the Tuesday and she died on the Wednesday . We got to hear the news when we went to the club on Friday night.
It was a great shock as it all was so quick and she was only in her 30s.
Glyn,
I assume you have seen our new website put together by Norman field, Jim Denham and myself; over 300 pics taken over the last 70 years including photos of your dad.
Additions always welcome!
Lovely band, though I never heard them live … I was introduced to them by ALAN HEWITT, whom I met when he and his family moved to Torquay back in the late ’60s. I joined a rehearsal band he was playing in and got to know him well – at that time he was playing mostly valve-trombone (and beautifully – very melodic!) He lent me the fabled “Blues For Madge” album which I much enjoyed – and so was delighted, many years later, when I discovered that the indefatigable Paul Adams had re-issued it on his LAKE label, along with works by Les Jowett’s Jazz Seven, The Merseysippi Jazzband and two early Chris Barber units. The number is LACD 137: It’s called “THE GREAT REVIVAL Traditional Jazz 1949 – 58 Vol 4” and is well worth hunting out.
Sadly, we lost touch when we moved away from Devon and I’d be very grateful if anyone out there can let me know what happened to Alan
Hi All,
By chance I have spent a Sunday afternoon looking at my Jazz record collection and came across one of my first records in my collection “A Tribute to Madge” and noted the recording date was 30th March 1958 the sixtieth anni
Is there anyone out there who remembers?
Sorting through my late Husband’s records, I have found a vinyl recording of ‘Tribute to Madge’ by The Second City Jazzmen. I remember hearing that the last remaining member of the band passed away in Malvern. Am I right?
I’m sad to say I’ve only recently discovered SCJ having just bought a copy of ‘A Tribute To Madge’ on the 50’s jazz label Esquire, the vinyl is incredibly thick and a super pressing probsbly by Decca who pressed a lot of Esquire records I’m told.
I’m listening to it as we speak on a Garrard 301 and Quad2 amps and it’s terrific, it sounds like they are playing in the room…
fantastic album !
Good to see some of these comments. My father was Jim Hyde who played clarinet and soprano sax and was renowned for his tone and ability to play Bechet. The SCJM was seen as the preferred backing band by artistes such as George Chisholm and Humphrey Littleton when they played in the midlands. They toured in Europe, had a residency on the BBC and, at its peak, the Midlands Jazz Club at Digbeth Civic Hall, where the band had a residency, had 25000 members in the late ’50’s and got packed every saturday night. The album Blues for Madge charted in the top 10 in ’58.
Pete,
Photos of your dad on the brumtradjazz.co.uk website. Additions welcome!
Yes, Madge was married to Len Bunch who played the Tuba, But I also remember that he occasionally played the Sousaphone. They lived in a large house in Monmouth Drive, Sutton Coldfield called Mahogany Hall. I remember going to a party there on a Sunday after noon and someone had got a jazz LP over from the states ( not so easy in the 50s ) called ‘West Coast Jazz ‘ with Bobby Hackett on trumpet. The band, most of whom were there thought that it was great and added it to their song book.
The pianist before Pete Vicarey was Bob Cann when the band was still down in the ex captives wooden hut in Hurst St. but looking through my photos I see that when the band played the Town Hall B.ham then Johnny Gordon was the pianist
The Hurst St. venue was great but was too small eventually. We had Big Bill Broonzy and Earl Hines and Bud Freeman but he might have been at Digbeth, I am not sure.
Harry Martin
Sometime in the 1950’s as a young aspiring banjo player I remember turning up at the Bull’s head Digbeth, it was a week day evening and Roy Foxley’s Levee Ramblers were rehearsing.Some of the SCJM were there too, someone started doodling Good King Wenceslas, someone else said there was no way of livening that tune up. Roy Foxley begged to differ, I still remember hearing the rag version of that very staid Carol.
I did meet Madge, in the back of a white van along with Ken Rattenbury and afew others.
Where we were going I don’t remember.
Hi,
Just a small point but it was Ray not Roy Foxley It says on Google that he moved to Bromsgrove in 1960 but he was in Catshill. Bromsgrove as early as 1953. I was in the R A F at the time stationed at Pershore with someone who knew him who also lived there .