Eddie Falcon and the Four Notes
South Oxhey group from the sixties.
By Mike Simpson
Back in the early sixties I played in a South Oxhey group called Eddie Falcon and the Four Notes comprising me Mike Simpson on drums, Derek Cole on lead guitar, Ken Fordham on rhythm guitar, Rob Westwood on base and Eddie Ayres lead vocalist , with Kens brother John as manager/roady. Prior to this the group played under the name of Lee Davis and the Reverbs with Garry Davis as singer, before he moved to Ipswich and musical fame as a founder member of Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band.
As part time musicians (we didn’t give up the day jobs!) we played most of the youth clubs in Watford and the surrounding areas, with gigs at Londons County Hall with the Mojos and the Flamingo Club with Georgie Fame and the Blueflames being our nearest claim to fame (excuse the pun). Oh, and an article on the ‘Up and Coming Group’ in the Boyfriend Magazine the publishing of which cost us the equivalent of two weeks wages to the middle man!!
John would collect me from Carpenders Park Station, on my way home from work at Kodak HQ in London, in the trusty Commer van before whisking us away to the venue for our gig. Midnight plus would see us in the Busy Bee on the A41 for a late lunch/early breakfast before home and a few hours sleep as the cycle started again. Our guitarist Ken was a tailor and made all our ‘green lurex’ suites (yes really!) while Cuban healed boots came courtesy of Annello and Davide in London.
Does anyone out there remember seeing us play? If so I’d love to share those memories with you.
Mike (the mod) Simpson
Addendum.
While looking through some old albums recently I came across a photo of the original group when it played under the name of Lee Davis and the Reverbs – as referred to above.
Mike
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Gene and the Cossacks would play at the Clarendon Youth Wing Friday nights.
Hi Mike, John Fordham here, just googled the band and your info came up. Ken is still professional Musician and I hope to see him soon.
jayfordham@aol.com
I ALSO to played at the old shed. CARPENDERS PARK STATION.REMEMBER ALL THE GUYS.l went to Hampden School.
Good memories. David Greenland
I remember Gene and the Cossacks fondly as John Hibberd, bass player, is my Dad. I have one of their record’s recorded on vinyl as a prize after winning against The Small Faces in a Battle Of The Bands. It still plays well on my system. I also play bass and sing..chip off the old block 😉
Hi Jacqui. I remember the gig well, but sadly Benskins is no longer trading and only the owners house remains as the Watford Museum. Eddie was certainly popular with the ladies as you can see by the note above from Michele Prost. Michele managed to track down my telephone number and rang me from Switzerland in an effort to get in touch with him, but sadly I lost contact with Eddie after leaving the group in the mid 60’s.
Mike
Hi Mike, I remember Eddie Eyres, when he sang at Benskins,we dated for a bit , I was very young and silly, met his family , very kind people.
Hi Mike,
My name is Michèle Prost. I’m French. I recognised Eddie Ayres on the picture. I met him in 1971-72. I would be very pleased to hear from him. Did he came from Watford? Thank you for answering me.
Michèle
Talk about the London Bus syndrome; I’ve been checking this trail since I posted the article, and apart from a note from ‘Barry’ I replied to in December 2013 it has remained pretty dormant…until now! As luck wouldn’t have it I didn’t check in to the site until today to pick up on the recent postings – and subsequently missed the re union of the Cossacks, which I would have loved to attend. The photos are great, and I can just about recognize everyone behind the grey whiskers!! Was Don there on drums? Please keep me informed if another event is planned. I can be contacted through Gene’s sister Pat or on-line via the Timberland Owners Club of which I am Chairman.
Hi Ray. Sadly my ‘grey matter’ search engine does not recall the impromptu gig although we were great friends of the Cosgrove family. If it was just me playing I would certainly have upset the neighbour’s as I was the drummer, so was it the whole group? The only Gosforth Lane jam session I can recall was pre my Fournotes days when I think my next door mate Derek Cole was playing his acoustic guitar and I was on base. Not your Gibsons or Fender type – more the Liptons (skiffle group) type. It was made from an old upturned tea chest with a broom handle for a ‘neck’ protruding and a string from the top to the edge of the chest. By adjusting the tension of the string so you got your scales. The gig was on the grass opposite my house number 232.
Ah – memories are made of this!!
Mike Simpson
Brilliant photos , thank you.
The Gene and the Cossacks reunion was fantastic and will hopefully be repeated again soon. Please get In touch! Dad would love to see and hear from old faces!
Robyn Hibberd.
Are there any photographs from Saturdays event that could be put on this site? I am sure fans and old friends would love to see them.
See https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewhibberd/sets/72157649960943380/
My Dad (John Hibberd) was the bass player with Gene and the Cossacks. He grew up in South Oxhey in Trevose Way.
Believe it or not, we are actually holding a surprise Cossacks reunion this weekend (Sunday 18th) at the Seal hotel in Selsey for his 70th birthday!
Short notice I know, however if anybody did want to come along, there is no entry and the gig kicks off at 3PM.
Mike,
I remember watching you play from the garden of Mrs Cosgrove 1st house on right in Brampton Road. You did an impromptu session one sunny afternoon.
Hi Barry. I agree with you about Gene and the Cossacks. We new them very well and in some respects they were our mentors. Mike Knew (lead guitarist) helped our lead Derek and Don helped me improve my drumming. We used to go and see them regularly at the South Oxhey Community Center, which at the time was in Oxhey Drive. Do you remember seeing them play in a competition at the Town Hall where they came second to the Zombies? We came third.I still see Genes (Ericks) sister Pat once a year at a re union so I’m pretty up to date on how he’s doing. Lost track of all the others although I occasionally see Mick at the Horns, which seems to attract the ‘wild kids’ of the 60’s. Cheers. Mike
Gene and the Cossacks! Fantastic! second on the bill to the Small Faces and played them off the stage!