John
'Captain' Bunclark - Vocals
/ Riz - Guitar / Sue
- Bass
/ Andi Schurer - Bass / Pete Melling - Drums / John Dee - Drums
 |
...The
Story...
|
Captain
Strange were a 'jam' band formed around the very strange character of John
Bunclark. John was mates with Speedball and lived next door to Pete Helmer
of The Leepers. He formed the band with Riz in '78 and soon acquired Sue
who came in on Bass. Only Riz had any musical ability, but after practicing
three numbers ( 'Why Bother To Tell Me', 'Vertigo' and 'Boredom') they entered
the First Heat of the '79 Shrimpers Rock Contest. Sue pulled out and Andi
and Pete, who had never met Captain until the night of the gig, stood in
on Bass and Drums. The set was a complete wall of noise and it should have
ended there - it didn't.More gigs followed at Eastwood Youth Club and The Strange Stories benefits at Scamps and The Esplanade, all with different lineups. At The Psychopaths and Spurts gig at Eastwood Youth Centre, Captain told the bands he would supply the lighting, and when the night came he turned up with a box with four bulbs and some metal foil in it - he spent the entire Psychos set strung up from the stage curtains.
Captain became The Shocks manager in 1980 and booked a few gigs for them, one of them being the legendary Triad gig in Bishops Stortford, where Captain tried to take the money and run but was stopped by a roadie who pulled a gun and tied him up for the journey home.
Captain eventually gave up music and moved to Israel when he died in suspicious circumstances in 1990. Captain's funeral was attended by many Southend musicians with whom he played.
Profile by Andi Schurer