大象传媒

Bob Stanley delves into Sheffield's underground Beat Scene and it's main band, 'The Sheffields'

Sheffield's golden pop moment came in the early eighties with the synth-led success of the Human League, ABC and Cabaret Voltaire. But it held it's own in the sixties, and in Joe Cocker and Dave Berry it gave us two of the eras most instantly recognisable singers.

Sheffield nightclubs in the sixties included the Heartbeat (which later became northern soul all-nighter venue Samantha's) and the Penny Farthing, where Emperor Rosko was an occasional DJ, and local football hero Tony Currie was a regular.

The Sheffields were managed by the local nightclub king, Peter Stringfellow, who ran the Black Cat (where Dave Berry and the Cruisers were regulars) and later the Blue Moon. Originally called the Vampires, the Sheffields got their break when they won a 'battle of the bands' contest at the City Hall in September 1963, organised by Stringfellow.

The judges were particularly impressed by singer, harmonica player and organist John E Alexander, who was also the group's songwriter.

One of the judges was Tony Hatch, and he signed the Vampires to Pye, renaming them in the process. They cut three Hatch-produced singles for the label, all valuable rarities these days, before splitting in 1965.

The Sheffields main claim to fame is that they backed Little Walter and Memphis Slim on their 1964 UK tours. Their show with Little Walter at the Black Prince in Bexley was recorded by journalist Dave Williams on a reel to reel tape recorder he'd borrowed from his mate, Jimmy Page. Hats off, Dave. You've got to wish more people had had the foresight.