Colin Fox Bass Player
His Story
Colin’s Profile
1969 1975
Myself and my dad were the only musical members in the Fox family, he being a pianist in the war years. I don’t remember too much about him, probably being too young and also being closer to my mother. All I really recall is that he had a band called the “Charles Fox Band”.
During my younger years I didn’t show much interest in music apart from buying pop chart singles. However at secondary school I used to watch a prefect playing piano during break time whilst other kids were playing football in the playground.
I began playing an instrument in about 1969, when I formed a band with friends from a local youth hostel. I bought a Hofner electric semi-acoustic bass guitar called a Commodore as I thought bass would be a lot easier to learn. The Commodore was £10 (think it came off the back of a lorry). The amp I used was a mono 5 watt amp from a record player and a speaker cabinet sourced from a stereo system. We started to rehearse in the lounge of the hostel with the drummer using the armchair as a drum kit!!
The rhythm guitarist of the band mentioned that he had met a lead guitarist in a swimming pool (playing Handel’s Water Music) and had his phone number and asked would I contact this guitarist with a view to joining our band. I found out the guitarist, Roger Cohen lived in Finchley Central. He turned out to be a very talented soloist making up solo’s on the fly! (Although he didn’t know many guitar chords).
Roger Cohen was a Jimi Hendrix fan (at that time I’d never heard of Jimi Hendrix). What converted me to Jimi Hendrix was when Roger played me the track "Rainy Day Dream Away" from The Electric Ladyland album. This was on his reel to reel tape deck; Jimi Hendrix made his guitar talk!!
Though Roger didn’t join the hostel band he did introduce me to “bedroom jamming” i.e. endless guitar solos over rhythm and bass 12 bar sequences. I met other musicians such as John Kaethner (bass guitar) and Steve Cowen who was a lead guitarist of equal talent to Roger but tended to mix other guitarists solo’s with his own inventions.
At one point we were jamming in a local hall and Steve Ellis who was with the band “The Love Affair” dropped in to say hello and see what all the noise was about.
I then joined a band with singer/songwriter “Callun Ray” and Steve Cowan on lead guitar doing Call’s songs and covers. I recall one Summer doing a gig in a field in Alexandra Palace - North London, one of the songs we covered was “Need your Love So Bad” by Little Willie John / Fleetwood Mac.
I used to read ‘Melody Maker’ music paper and in February 1974 I spotted an advert for an audition in Muswell Hill, North London for a band called “The Planets”. I went along and met up with guitarist Dave Braine. We both joined The Planets for one month (!) before forming our own covers band “Bison” in March with Roger Cohen on lead guitar and Rob Hattimore on drums. As a rock and pop covers band, we did pub gigs mainly in London - notably the “Bridge House” in Canning Town - a popular venue for bands at the time. One Sunday lunchtime we were playing there and in the audience were members of a popular pub rock band called “Kilburn and the High-Roads”. I was mainly singing lead vocals when a bass string broke and I didn’t have a replacement but we managed to hold our own despite the setback!
Bison continued gigging successfully until late 1974.
In October 1975 I joined a band called ‘Raw Deal’ doing Rolling Stones type material with Graham Rose (vocals/harmonica); Dave Braine (rhythm guitar); Trevor Hopton (lead guitar); Ian Saunders (drums) during 1976 Ian Saunders was replaced by Steve Balham.
Dave Braine and Graham Rose were the main songwriters with the rest of us chucking in ideas. We used to rehearse in a youth club in Gospel Oak - Kentish Town. Graham Rose worked prolifically in advertising and one day turned up for rehearsals in a Porsche! We started writing songs at rehearsals getting a rough format and Graham would improvise lyrics. Then the following week he would have both lyrics and melody set out - sometimes sounding nothing like the previous weeks rehearsal!!
We recorded an album’s worth of original material but unfortunately our music wasn’t popular at the time as punk rock and the Sex Pistols were in the charts. Graham Rose subsequently became a very successful commercial director in his own right and now has his own company “Rose Hackney Barber” and website.
In December 1976 I quit Raw Deal.
I started working on the Irish show band circuit playing in pubs and clubs, getting work mainly through word of mouth often gigging two or three times a week until I had a motorcycle accident which prevented me from playing for a while..
Incomplete list of bands over my musical career:
(As I can’t recall their names).
Bison;
Raw Deal;
Alan Hayes Show Band;
Callun Ray Band;
Allan Rose Blues Band;
Doc K’s Blues Band *;
Out of the Blue;
Rich T & the Biscuits; June 1995 – May 2005
Southern Cross;
Waveline;
Ten Stone Dead;
The Honeycombs;
Doc K’s Blues Band*
Mick Haase (vocal/ harmonica), Mick Parker (Drums), Dick Callan (Lead guitar), Dave ‘Mad Dog’ Barnes (Slide Guitar).
Dick Callan later replaced by Malcolm Hine
Mick Haase the only original member.
Dick Callan previously from the band Matchbox
