The
Heat were collected from the leftovers of Pre-Punk / Pub band Riff Raff
that never found it's niche, our repertoire was neither esoterically right
for the London pub circuit and music press, or crowd pleasing enough for
Essex drinkers. As the other members had drifted off to find gainful,
professional employment elsewhere and I had failed auditions with first
The Count Bishops then The Motors, we set about recruiting accomplices
to rehearse up songs written on the side - which not completely coincidentally,
were more in keeping with the mood of the time. Our debut performance
was on the back of a truck at a street party in Leigh-on-Sea on Jubilee
Day followed by several surprisingly well attended gigs upstairs at The
Railway Hotel in Southend.
After
a succession of drummers we 'borrowed' Joe (Jaguar) who fronted his own
group, with Nick (from Glam Rockers Peaches) - Bass, Jane - Vocals and
occasional retro organ, plus yours truly, Steve - Guitar and Vocals. Our
style was all New York Punk mixed with British Beat. For a new band we
were very lucky, being blessed with offers from Record World boss Trevor
to help us make a record, and recently departed Feelgood Wilko of a support
slot on his first solo tour, but like Columbo something was bothering
me... as the members of the rhythm section were playing with their other
Punk and Hard Rock outfits we drafted in Dave - Drums and Rob (who had
survived an early incarnation of Eddie and The Hot Rods) - Bass, rehearsed
and booked into Spectrum Sound in Westcliff to record 'If You Don't Do
The Business' / 'Rock 'n' Roll Doctor' / 'I'm Hooked' / 'Marionette' for
The Heat ep on Takeaway Records.
As ever, susceptible to whisperings of the style police, after a hand
full of local dates we brought back Joe - Drums, with his associate Clark
Kent - Bass to tour. From Uxbridge University to Liverpool Eric's, through
Leeds F - Club, Dingwalls, Birmingham Barbarella's, The Hope and Anchor
and The Nashville to Aylesbury Friars we lived out most of the Rock 'n'
Roll fantasies of violence, sleaze, dope and musical mayhem!
After
Christmas, with no home phone, nobody taking care of business and lack
of offers from major labels it hit us that we would have to start knocking
on a few doors since lady luck had passed us by. Joe hustled us a date
at the by now run down London Roxy Club, which most unreasonably involved
a change of name to avoid confusion with the London Heat who had appeared
there previously. As The Steve Hooker Band we ran the gauntlet of the
mildly curious, a couple of junior skinheads, our two redheaded rock chick
fans from Birmingham and the Travolta - suited manger who asked us to
leave on account of this mortal sin of playing rock 'n' roll (Chuck Berry
and Chris Montez covers) behind the hallowed doors of Punk Rock.
More than graciously putting all of this behind us we resettled in Southend,
bravely reverted as The Heat and despite frequent line up alterations
notched off Woodlands Basildon, Bardots Canvey, The Van Gogh and eventually
The Shrimpers (as The Mystery Girls), returned to Woodlands and recorded
'I'm Looking For You' for The Southend Rock album (this time as The Steve
Hooker Group). By the end of 1978 a new band - The Vampire Lovers - was
at the rehearsal stages.
Everything we learnt from The Heat went into The Vampire Lovers. Hunting
new blood brought us George - Bass who introduced Chad Valley - Drums,
fresh material and a manager who hated the name. Undeterred, we rehearsed
regularly, recorded 'How Did You Know?' and 'Nothing To Say' back at Spectrum
(which remain in the vaults unreleased) and made a series of manifestations
at The Shrimpers, The Esplanade, Scamps and surprisingly enough The Top
Alex.
As not fitting in
to the gloomy Pre-Gothic Post Punk style or the budding Mod Revival had
became a problem outside of Essex, we slimmed down to a trio with Jane
then Nick on bass, dropped the name and ironically our manager too. This
line up worked well enough for us to venture out of Southend occasionally
to Brighton, the Basildon Double Six and think about surrounding London,
arriving eventually at the Brecknock in Camden.
Pumped up on our achievements we solicited a deal with Wax records, recorded
'Keep Dancing' (Co-written and produced by Kursaal Flyer Paul Shuttleworth)
and a new version of 'How Did You Know?' for a single and headlined The
Shrimpers as The Steve Hooker Band. Subsequent line ups may have been
less popular locally, but this good looking record topped the Record Mirror
"Other Chart" and broke the ice for us in the London pub venues. By the
middle of 1980 we 'did' The Moonlight Club, The Fulham Greyhound and my
favourite Hope and Anchor. It became a real pleasure to play at these
clubs, often working with bands we would have paid to see like Red Beans
and Rice or The Barracudas, however towards the end of the year another
personnel change prompted new plans and perhaps greater things!
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