ROGUE / ELF

 ROGUE / ELF

c 1970

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'Jazz Idiom' and 'consisted of three members of the five-piece band Rouge', From the

Broadgate Gnome (Tribal Rock Co-operative article)

The Broadgate Gnome - Coventry's first Alternative / Underground magazine and collective 1970 / 71 organised gigs at Warwick University and elsewhere as part of an initiative called the Tribal Rock Cooperative. On occasions when a band didn't turn or otherwise cancelled, the five piece makeshift band Rogue or sometimes a three piece version called Elf stood in.

Sphincta was an offshoot of the Gnome that organised gigs..

One such gig was The Plough on London Road. When Wandering John split up, Elf were sent as the replacement. This review appeared in the Broadgate Gnome.

Reviews from the Broadgate Gnome 1970
"PLOUGH - FRI 27TH NOV. (from the Broadgate Gnome)

"Due to Wandering John's non-availability for the Plough Gig, Sphincta put ELF on (which comprised three members of the five piece outfit known as ROGUE. We will be seeing a lot of them in the future. They got into some really good things in the jazz idiom, although spoiled for me by some check shirted, loud-mouth, that did nothing but verbal all through the whole set. Their brilliant syncopations seemed to go over the heads of the majority of the audience, who, nevertheless, were glad that there was a group on and not just records, as is usual for the last minute on non arrival of the groups."

And from the same page in Broadgate Gnome 2nd Dec 1970 - Tribal Rock Co-operative Concert - Warwick University -

"the audience (which was starting to grow) received a special treat with ROY BUTTERFIELD and NEOL DAVIES (both shortly to be JOHN GRAVENOR'S new band) began working out with members of ROGUE, the University based outfit. Neol and Roy's brilliant twin guitars were just beginning to go places when it was time for the Golden Screw."

Other musicians that may have been involved were Tim James, John Bradbury, Paul Moreton (vocalist).

Some of the comments on the original Hobo Coventry Music Vox site 2008for Rogue / Elf.

1. There isn't enough money in the world for anyone to admit membership of this band ( and I still don't believe anything I read in the gnome).

Sphincta productions had a process for the gigs that bands couldn't do for reasons of breaking up. (There were a lot of them).

First of all they would substitute Ra Ho Tep ( Tim James and co), changing the name if necessary.

If the booker got wind of this, it was explained as a mistake and a brand new band offered, especially if the booker was daft enough or frantic. ( or didn't want to pay a cancellation fee that the contract small print required).

If all else failed, a roll call of mates, whether they could play or not, and of whoever anyone's sister was going out with at the time, were cobbled together, bribed , cajoled, lysistrataed into performing. It often worked and they got away with it knowing that the truth wouldn't get out for forty years.

Sometimes it was quite entertaining. there was one Rogue gig that was really a Hawkwind/Piblokto/Fleetwood lineup and only 20 in the audience (either Malvern or some such place.)

The ELF writeup above was very cruel. The check shirted person was the vocalist, whose mic wasn't working and who was reading avant garde poetry to the jazz backing
The story of the Uni gig ( tribal rock Coop) is a tale of major shenanigans, waiting to be told. ( I daren't though).

ELF, isn't there a bit of a clue in the title.
...anyone up for a reunion gig, especially now that some of the members can now actually play their instruments?
Anonymous 2007


2. There was nothing untoward with the TRC UNI gig. It was difficult to organise because the system at Warwick had fallen apart following a lock out of administrative staff and the loss of the advance booking paperwork. Technically the gigs were run by the University Socialist Society,

I believe the process that Sphincta followed was fairly Norman , er normal .
A & R 2007


3. There was a lot of substitution and renaming went on at gigs, at least Sphincta had a backup plan. The tradition followed us to London. I think I played in ELF/Rogue/Whatever on four occasions. Once on bass guitar, that I played for the first time in the van on the way to the gig.

The best gig we had, we never even got on stage. The Greasy Truckers, There was a blackout and the fire brigade made everybody go and wait outside. When they came back in there were twice as many. Cant remember what year it was.

Typical Digger corruption though, the whole thing was ripped off and later appeared as a supposed bootleg.

I think the biggest Scam was the Red Bus thing at Hollywood Mear Stoke. Tribal Rock at the Uni was fairly corruption free, apart from the usual hoho argh about the door money. Not as bad as some of the earlier Swan or Carlton gigs, when no one was really sure who was running the night. This was often decided on if it made a profit or not..
Its funny I can remember one big row , about door takings off £30 that went missing. Not even enough for a taxi fare from the airport these days..
But the Uni gigs were usually free.
Its all a bit hazy now though.
Coventry Kid 2007


4. I have some tapes of Elf/Rogue and some 8mm film of them at the Roundhouse pretending to be another band..

BroadgateGnome | 03/26/2008