CHAPTER 5 (Charley Anderson)
The early days of Coventry ska - A forerunner of The Selecter.
Line up - Charley Redlax Anderson bass, Leroy Deslandies, Sylverton Hutchinson drums, Gappa Hendrickson guitar, Desmond Brown organ, Joy Evering vocal. Young Rennis and Mike Bennett. Guest guitar Neol Davies.
Charley, Desmond and Neol were later members of The Selecter through a number of other bands - Hardtop 22 (Charley's band), Transposed Men (Neol's band) and outfits led by Ray King such as Pharaoh's Kingdom.
Charley Anderson says
"No Holyhead - No Two Tone" 1974
"This was the Selecter seed, planted in 1974 at the Holyhead Youth Center in Coventry and my first band. Desmond Brown said, "Charley go buy a Bass so we can Jam". The shopkeeper had to give me 10p to get the 21 bus home with the Bass. Then Sylverton Hutchinson was inspired to buy a Drum kit, Gappa Hendrickson was pulled from the Ford car factory and forced to sing and play guitar down the Holyhead Cellar, Neol Davies learned to play Reggae and Ska jamming with us, the rest,.... you know!"
1st Jah Baddis Reggae Festival Woodend 1975 with Chapter 5
"The photo is my first band Chapter 5 live at the 1st Woodend Jah Baddis Reggae Festival 1975. Wood End Black History, Coventry City UK. Ska City.. We did not know where we were going! Out of the Holyhead Cellar into the light"
Trev Teasdel says "The basis of this band, early embryo of The Selecter, were rehearsing in the basement of the Holyhead Youth Centre, summer of 1974, long before the Coventry Automatics / Special AKA formed there. We started the Hobo Workshop gigs in the main hall on a Monday night in June 1974 - an off shoot of Hobo (Coventry Music and Arts magazine). As people were coming in we could hear these ska / reggae sounds coming from the basement, it was the first time we had heard this kind of music played by musicians in Coventry. Few white musicians knew how to play the offbeat at this time - Bob Marley was just coming through but not mainstream until 76. It was exciting.
I had rang Neol Davies to organise a jam session for us similar to the all night one he organised at the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club in 1970 which featured John Bradbury on drums - the first time the two had played together. Neil O'Connor's band Midnight Circus ( a forerunner of The Flys headlining that night - Neil's sister, Hazel hadn't been discovered at that stage it was early days. Charley Anderson came upstairs to get some cables and I asked if they would like to join in the jam session. When Neol got there, he knew the guys from Hillfields and went down to ask again but ended up staying down there - the problem was that few while musicians could play on the offbeat back then so the jam probably wouldn't have worked at that stage. Neol Davies later said that Desmond Brown taught him to play ska / reggae down in the basement. That's probably why they couldn't jam at that stage. Charley Anderson and the guys pioneered that in Coventry, later with the support of Coventry's 60's soul star Ray King. The Coventry Automatics / Specials formed in the same location later in 1977"
Below - Neol Davies guesting with Chapter 5
Two Tone plaque on the Holyhead Youth Center put on by Pete Chambers of the Coventry Music Museum.
The Holyhead Youth Centre in Coventry - former Quaker hall and pop music centre in 1965, rehearsal space for the Belgrade Theatre, scene of the Hobo Workshop and the formation of Two Tone bands - the Holyhead continued to be a creative centre for youth for a long time after.
Entrance to the basement of the Holyhead Youth Centre. The cellar was also the base for the Coventry Jah Baddish sound system with Trevor Evans and Charley Anderson and co. As seen below. 1st Coventry City Rasta youth sound system.
Photo from https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeyjb/48788194148/ Jake Bernard.
More photos of the Holyhead here https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeyjb/albums/72157710837376103
Above Coventry jazz rock outfit Analog just starting out and playing the main hall of the Holyhead Youth Centre while Charley's band rehearsed own stairs. Most of Analog became members of the avant garde jazz / ska band The Reluctant Stereotypes some years later. Line up Steve Edgeson, Mick Hartley, Paul Brook, John Rushton. the Hobo workshop was organised by Trev Teasdel, Bob Rhodes, Liz Scott.
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