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Anyone know where the Samuel Jones Sports club was?


The Quo History Part 1


The Spectres 1962 - In the Second Year at Sedgehill Comprehensive School, Beckenham, Francis Rossi teams up with fellow orchestra member, Alan Lancaster and another friend, Alan Key. With two guitars and an organ plugged into one Vox AC30 amp that had been bought for Lancaster as a Christmas present, they start to practise, Alan is soon replaced by Jess Jaworski on organ and Barry Smith joins the band on the drums. Originally called The Scorpions, the band change their name to The Spectres and play their first gig at the Samuel Jones Sports Club in Dulwich, South London.


1963 - While the Spectres rehearse at the nearby Air Cadets base in Dulwich, they meet John Coghlan, then drumming in a band called The Cadets. John soon replaces Barry on the drums and the band start to write their own material.

It was the sports ground pavillion on the right hand side along Gallery Road before Belair Park. Coghlan went to Kingsdale I believe. They also had some early gigs in the Uplands apparently. Rossi's dad lived on Barry Road and indeed one of my friends once owned one of Rossi's old flats, which was above the co-op funeral parlour on Lordship Lane, where he lived for a while in the late 60s/early 70s. I once saw Rick Parfitt drinking down the Dog about ten years ago. Also the Stones and the Who played at the old cinema/theatre which is now a Weatherspoons in Forest Hill in the early 60s.

This isn't strictly connected, but if you go into the basement of the 'Grove Vale Barbers' on the roundabout (which is currently up for rent), you'll find a big room with bar type seating and the odd beer mat floating around. Does anyone remember this subterranean drinking hole? Maybe it was a secret members-only type place? It obviously hasn't been used for some time, but is fascinating in that way that old forgotten rooms are. Much like when I worked at the Brighton Sea Life Centre and the back corridors held all sorts of spooky Victoriana.


Would be intrigued if anyone can shed light on this.

OK - how about expanding the thread to Lost ED - Sean's Co-op and Kennedy's Sausage Shop, wasn't there a Woolworths at some point on LL and I'm assuming that Barcelona had been a pub at some point?

It's a bit of a Robert Elmsy type thread but it might be interesting?

A former regular of the CPT, who now owns The Hob in Forest Hill, was in the original cast of The Buddy Holly Show. One night the whole cast were in the pub for some charity day, the guy who played Buddy was serving drinks behind the bar, and the music was live... My Dad still gets a far away look in his eyes when he thinks back to these glory days! :)-D

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