The Singers Tale- Bands over the years. Uncle Dog. ‘We’ve got time.’

Uncle Dog 1972 a track with Paul Kossof – Guitar

Old Hat. Uncle Dog.

This album conjures up memories of Notting Hill Carnival in the early days.  My son playing his drum kit on our door step… Performing at the first festival on Worthy Farm, Pilton, which became the big one.. Glastonbury. John Porter wearing a pair of high heeled  boots with one heel missing. Hop- along. Sammy Mitchell being very ill, and becoming a little bizarre, as we all did back then. Endless hours on the road in Ford Transit vans. Dave Skinner, who wrote a lot of the songs, and made me laugh a lot and I miss him in my life. Last I heard of him, he was in Australia. My friend, the late Paul Kossof, from the band Free, who guested on We’ve Got Time. 4 years later my sweet friend was dead. Time passes and I wonder where we all are?      

 They say if you remember what you were doing in the 1960’s, if you are old enough to have even been around in those distant days!!! you were not really there.I was, and it seems to apply to most of the 70’s for me.Hazy memories. Crazy times. My son Sam was a little boy, & we  were living in a tiny flat in 8a All Saints Road, Notting Hill Gate, next door to the Mangrove Cafe……in fact much more than a cafe.. & the carrot juice was the best in London..run by a wonderful man named Frank Critchlow.

A very different scene back then in 1972- looking at that same road now in 2000.   The Pub in which the band are all sitting, and I sat in it a lot…. was called The Apollo, a name sake of the famous New York theatre, venue for so many of the artists who inspired me back in the 60’s and before. I had to ring my friend the guitarist Neil Hubbard, to find out the name of that Pub. I had forgotten!

 Lots of stories to tell.       Sweet and sorrowful times.

Photos Guy Cross

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