Welcome to another posting of a series of gig listings for 1960s bands. None of these lists is exhaustive and my idea is to add to them in the comments section below over time. They are here for future researchers to draw on. I have also added a few interesting bits of information and will add images in time.
I’d like to encourage band members to get in touch to share memories, or for anyone to send corrections/clarifications to my email: Warchive@aol.com
Equally important, if you attended any of the gigs below or played in the support band, please do leave your memories below in the comments section for future historians to use. If you know of any missing gigs, please add them too, if possible, with the sources.
MIKE STUART SPAN
Stuart Hobday – lead vocals
Nigel Langham – lead guitar
Roger McCabe – bass
Ashley Potter – keyboards
Gary Murphy – drums
Hobday and McCabe had worked together in The Mighty Atoms which morphed into The Extremes during 1965 and later included Langham and Potter. They changed name to The Mike Stuart Span in late 1965 when Mike Clayton took over their management.
Before the turn of the year, the group add four horn players, two trumpet players and two saxophone players. These include trumpet player Gary Parsley and sax player Dave Plumb.
1966
Over the first two months of 1966, two of the horn players dropped out. Jon Poulter also took over from Ashley Potter.
2 January 1966 – Steering Wheel, Weymouth, Dorset (eight-piece band) (Dorset Evening Echo)
26 February 1966 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall with Soul Society (eight-piece band) (West Briton & The Royal Gazette)
26 March 1966 – Gala Ballroom, Norwich, Norfolk (Eastern Evening News)
2 April 1966 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall with The Vigilantes (West Briton & The Royal Gazette)
Around this time Nigel Langham tragically dies and is not replaced
24 April 1966 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, London with The Herd (website: http://www.eelpiemuseum.co.uk/rollcall/rollcall/)
27 April 1966 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall with The Other Five (West Briton & The Royal Cornwall Gazette)
8 May 1966 – Tiffany’s, Shaftsbury Avenue, London (Melody Maker)
10 May 1966 – Hare & Hounds, Brighton, West Sussex with Champion Jack Dupree (Melody Maker)
13 May 1966 – Southfield College, Wimbledon, London (Melody Maker)
14 May 1966 – College of Technology, Brighton, West Sussex (Melody Maker)
15 May 1966 – Downs Hotel, Hassocks, West Sussex (Melody Maker)
17 May 1966 – Pilgrim, Hayward’s Heath, West Sussex with The Artwoods (Melody Maker)
19 May 1966 – Pilgrim, Hayward’s Heath, West Sussex (Melody Maker)
20 May 1966 – The Dolphin, Marine Court, St Leonards, East Sussex (Roger Bistow’s research at Dizzy Tiger Music website)
16 July 1966 – Jimmy’s Restaurant, Brighton, West Sussex (Evening Argus)
12 August 1966 – The Parlour (Portsmouth, Hampshire?) (The News, Portsmouth)
19 August 1966 – Hotel Metropole, Brighton, West Sussex with Paul & Barry Ryan, Weston Gavin, Graham Bond Organisation, Robbe Storme & The Whispers and The Mercats (Evening Argus)
24 September 1966 – Winter Gardens, Banbury, Oxfordshire (Brackley Advertiser)
15 October 1966 – La Bamba, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (Melody Maker)
22 October 1966 – New Central Ballroom, Aldershot, Hampshire with The Argonauts (Aldershot News)
29 October 1966 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
17 November 1966 – New Cliff Hall, Rotherham, West Yorkshire with St Louis Union and Soul Object (The Star) Billed as Mike Stuart Five
25 November 1966 – Fiesta Hall, Andover, Hampshire (Andover Advertiser)
4 December 1966 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, London with The Stalkers (website: http://www.eelpiemuseum.co.uk/rollcall/rollcall/)
10 December 1966 – Winter Gardens, Banbury, Oxfordshire with The Seychelles (Brackley Advertiser)
11 December 1966 – Stoke Hole, Stoke Hotel, Guildford, Surrey (Surrey Advertiser)
23 December 1966 – Parlour, Portsmouth, Hampshire with Camel Train (Portsmouth News)
1967
1 January 1967 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, London with Savoy Brown Blues Band (website: http://www.eelpiemuseum.co.uk/rollcall/rollcall/)
5 January 1967 – Klooks Kleek, Hampstead, London (Melody Maker)
7 January 1967 – Atlanta Ballroom, Woking, Surrey (Aldershot News)
12 January 1967 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, London with The Artwoods (Melody Maker)
13 January 1967 – Bluesette Club, Bridge Street, Leatherhead, Surrey (Caterham Weekly Press/Melody Maker)
14 January 1967 – Unknown venue, Enfield, London (Melody Maker)
15 January 1967 – Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe, Dorset with Courtelles (Bournemouth Evening Echo)
18 January 1967 – Unknown venue, Gravesend, Kent (Melody Maker)
20 January 1967 – Unknown venue, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Melody Maker)
21 January 1967 – Unknown venue, Chichester, West Sussex (Melody Maker)
22 January 1967 – Unknown venue, Southampton, Hampshire (Melody Maker)
25 January 1967 – Unknown venue, Brighton, West Sussex (Melody Maker)
12 February 1967 – Le Metro, Birmingham, West Midlands (Express & Star)
19 February 1967 – Dereham Tavern Club, Dereham, Norfolk with Alex Wilson Set (North Norfolk News)
4 March 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
16 March 1967 – New Central Ballroom, Aldershot, Hampshire with One In a Million (Aldershot News)
19 March 1967 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, London with Black Cat Bones (website: http://www.eelpiemuseum.co.uk/rollcall/rollcall/)
26 March 1967 – Bluesette Club, Bridge Street, Leatherhead, Surrey (Caterham Weekly Press)
27 March 1967 – Walton Playhouse, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Woking Herald)
14 April 1967 – Brighton Arts Festival, Brighton, West Sussex with Paul Jones, The Move, Geno Washington, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers and others (Melody Maker)
16 April 1967 – Beau Brummel Club, Alvaston Hall Hotel, Nantwich, Cheshire, Nantwich, Cheshire with Phil Ryan & The Scorpions (Nantwich Chronicle)
21 April 1967 – Assembly Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks (Melody Maker)
23 April 1967 – Le Metro, Birmingham, West Midlands (Express & Star)
24 April 1967 – Carlton Club, Warrington, Cheshire (Warrington Guardian)
29 April 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
7 May 1967 – The Bridge, Wooden Bridge Hotel, Guildford, Surrey with The Switch (Surrey Advertiser)
14 May 1967 – Indigo Vat, Portsmouth, Hampshire (Portsmouth News)
18 May 1967 – Le Trap, Brighton, West Sussex (Melody Maker)
25 May 1967 – Le Trap, Brighton, West Sussex (Melody Maker)
29 May 1967 – Walton Playhouse, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Woking Herald)
5 June 1967 – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with Penthouse Suite (Express & Star)
16 June 1967 – Klue J Klub, Saracens Head Hotel, Chelmsford, Essex with The Skatalites (Essex Chronicle)
23 June 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Herd (website: www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/)
24 June 1967 – Lion Hotel, Warrington, Cheshire with The Undertakers and The Shades (Warrington Guardian)
25 June 1967 – Carlton Club, Warrington, Cheshire (Warrington Guardian)
29 June 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, London with Omega Plus and Fraternity (Melody Maker)
Around this time Gary Parsley and Dave Plumb depart. Jon Poulter stays on but is gone by end of July
8 July 1967 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall (Cornish Guardian) The advert says for one week
13 July 1967 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall with The Fortunes and The Jaguars (West Briton & Royal Cornish Gazette)
15 July 1967 – Steering Wheel, Dorchester, Dorset (Dorset Evening Echo)
15 July 1967 – Steering Wheel, Weymouth, Dorset (Dorset Evening Echo)
18 July 1967 – Concorde, Southampton, Hampshire (Southern Echo)
28 July 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
5 August 1967 – Walton Playhouse, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Woking Herald)
6 August 1967 – Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe, Dorset with Charles Drayton Kind (Bournemouth Evening Echo)
In mid-August Melody Maker announces that Brian Bennett has joined on guitar and the band has reduced to a four-piece
26 August 1967 – Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey with The Embers (Surrey Advertiser)
2 September 1967 – St George’s Ballroom, Hinckley, Leicestershire with Herbie Goins & The Nighttimers (Nuneaton Evening Tribune)
3 September 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
4 September 1967 – Mercers Arms, Coventry, West Midlands (Coventry Evening Telegraph)
14 September 1967 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
16 September 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, London with Ferris Wheel and The Workshop (Melody Maker)
16 September 1967 – Walton Playhouse, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Woking Herald)
13-27 October 1967 – Belgian Tour (Melody Maker)
4 November 1967 – Blaises, Imperial Hotel, Queen’s Gate, London (Melody Maker)
18 November 1967 – Steering Wheel, Dorchester, Dorset (Dorset Evening Echo)
11 December 1967 – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The Key (Express & Star)
12 December 1967 – Waggon & Horses, Wall Heath, West Midlands (Express & Star)
30 December 1967 – Walton Playhouse, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Woking Herald)
1968
6 January 1968 – Nottingham Boat Club, Nottingham (Down at the Boat book)
13 January 1968 – Dolphin, Marine Court, St Leonards, East Sussex with The Camp (Hastings & St Leonards Observer)
4 February 1968 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
8 February 1968 – 100 Club, Oxford Street, London with Penny Peeps (Melody Maker)
17 February 1968 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex with Memphis Gents (Crawley Advertiser)
10 March 1968 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with The Troggs (East Kent Times)
11 March 1968 – Rendevous Club, Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent (East Kent Times)
30 March 1968 – Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey with The Black Out (Surrey Advertiser)
According to Melody Maker, The Mike Stuart Span made their third tour of the Netherlands from 23-30 April 1968. Their LP was due to be released on 29 March
9 April 1968 – Top Rank, Reading, Berkshire (Melody Maker)
18 April 1968 – 100 Club, Oxford Street, London (Melody Maker)
24 April 1968 – Elbow Room, Aston, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)
According to Melody Maker, the band undertook an Icelandic tour from 8-16 May 1968. Record Mirror confirmed these dates and added gigs were in the capital, Reykjavik.
According to Record Mirror, they then arrived in Belgium on 17 May for five days and then played cabaret in Copenhagen, Denmark from 23-27 May.
15 May 1968 – Steering Wheel, Weymouth, Dorset (Dorset Evening Echo) Unlikely if Iceland gigs happened
2 June 1968 – Le Metro Club, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)
8 June 1968 – The Cobweb, St Leonards, East Sussex with The Mushroom (Roger Bistow’s research at Dizzy Tiger Music website)
21 June 1968 – Brighton Dome, Brighton, West Sussex with Scott Walker and The Herd (NME)
22 June 1968 – Walton Hop, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Kingston & Malden Borough News)
4 July 1968 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, London with The House of Lords (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live) Billed as The Span
25 July 1968 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, London with The Beatstalkers (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)
27 July 1968 – The Stage Club, Oxford (Oxford Mail)
2 August 1968 – Metropole, Exhibition Hall, Brighton, West Sussex with Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, Marmalade, The Tremeloes, The Nice and Spooky Tooth (Melody Maker)
3 August 1968 – Le Metro, Birmingham (Express & Star)
11 August 1968 – The Grotto, Ilford, Essex (Fabulous 208)
16 August 1968 – Bracknell Boys Club, Bracknell, Berkshire (Bracknell News)
18 August 1968 – Birdcage, Harlow, Essex (Fabulous 208)
22 August 1968 – Liberal Club, Yeovil, Somerset (Fabulous 208)
23 August 1968 – Solvent Cruise, Portsmouth, Hampshire (Fabulous 208)
27 September 1968 – Capitol Theatre, Horsham, West Sussex (Fabulous 208)
29 September 1968 – Bird Cage, Harlow, Essex (Fabulous 208)
10 October 1968 – The Cobweb, St Leonards, East Sussex (Roger Bistow’s research at Dizzy Tiger Music website)
17 October 1968 – The Cobweb, St Leonards, East Sussex (Fabulous 208)
18 October 1968 – Memorial Hall, Farnham, Surrey (Fabulous 208)
19 October 1968 – Stage Club, Oxford (Fabulous 208/Oxford Mail) Billed as The Span
20 October 1968 – Woodenbridge, Guildford, Surrey (Fabulous 208) Listed but unlikely with gig below
20 October 1968 – Plymouth Top Rank, Plymouth, Devon (Western Evening Mail)
24 October 1968 – The Cobweb, St Leonards, East Sussex (Fabulous 208/Hastings & St Leonards Observer)
25 October 1968 – Clinton Club, Seaford, East Sussex (Fabulous 208)
26 October 1968 – Tofts, Folkestone, Kent (Fabulous 208)
16 November 1968 – University College, London, Gower Street, W1 with Proteus (Melody Maker)
Around this time, they changed name to Leviathan
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