Yeah yeah, we've all got one of those.
1- USE MY FRIENDS (A. King)
2- 15 MINUTES (R. Williams / A. King)
06/78- Beeb Rec. BEEB-023 co.sl. - 7”
Note: demo/promo copies exist; push-out or solid
centre.
***
Named after a club in Berlin, and with their first
gig taking place on November 26, 1976 (the
same day The Sex Pistols released ANARCHY
IN THE UK), Uncle Po were a Bristol-area
Soul/Funk/Jazz band comprising Rob Williams
(gtr), Andy Wills (sax/fl/v) and Lyndon Parry
(b/v), all previously with local Soul combo
Wisper, plus Gavin King (v/gtr), Helen 'Spike'
Bevington (k/vn/v) and Steve 'Basher' Barnett
(d). Alongside their own gigs, the group also
backed crooning FOOL hitmaker Al Matthews
on tour and in spring 1977 they won the
'Regional Bands in Session' competition associated
with the BBC’s travelling music-trivia programme
'Quiz Kid’ on Radio 1. A contract with
the BBC for the release of a long-player on its
Beeb label was signed, but personnel changes at
the BBC and a more New Wave approach in
Uncle Po’s musical direction delayed the project.
With the album still unrecorded in October
1977, the combo reached the Wembley final of
another competition, the US Deodorant-sponsored
'Rock Band of The Year' event (won by
Marseille). Disillusioned, Barnett quit and was
replaced by Jim Hill who debuted with the
group on November 25, 1977, completing Uncle
Po’s transformation into a New Wave outfit (a
change noted with enthusiasm in a Sounds live
review on February 18, 1978). In the new year,
the band eventually recorded a single for the
BBC. Produced by Mike Harding (taped on
February 1, ’78, and mixed three days later),
both sides of the 7” are strong compositions in a
poppier sort of Graham Parker style. 15 MINUTES
could easily have been promoted as a
double A-side with USE MY FRIENDS (its original
title SCREW MY FRIENDS was deemed
inappropriate by the BBC) – had it been promoted
at all, that is. The 7’’ sold poorly and is
now very rare. After a final gig on May 24, 1978,
at the Red Cow in Hammersmith, the combo
split: Gavin King formed Private Dicks, Rob
Williams resurfaced in The Fans, Jim Hill and
Lyndon Parry joined with former members of
Blue Movies to form Sneak Preview, releasing a
track on the local AVON CALLING compilation;
Hill later played with Juan Foot 'n' The
Grave and Parry formed Misdemeanour. Helen
Bevington rechristened herself Helen O’Hara
and worked with Blue Ox Babes and then
Dexy’s Midnight Runners before going solo.
**
