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OUTRAGE
Green Onions: Hells Angels
Bolton
Rod Gerrard: Lead Guitar. Tom Dewhurst: Drums.
Geoff Parkinson: Bass Guitar. Valentine Weaver: Keyboards.
"Hells Angels were originally formed in 1962 by Rod Gerrard and Dave Burns playing mostly instrumental's. John Booth joined on bass guitar - vocals along with his pal Luke Hilton.
Eventually two rhythm players proved one to many and Dave Burns left. Terry South joined on drums along with a singer who proved unreliable, so Rod became lead guitarist - vocalist.
Hells Angels were a cross between the early Kinks and The Pretty Things and with Eddie Davies - Rod's brother in law - managing them. We became a very busy band indeed often playing up to six days a week with the odd all nighter at the Heaven & Hell Club - how appropriate - and the Manchester Cavern at Cromford court, along with the occasional appearance at one of our old favourite clubs - Wigan's very own Room At The Top. After a good run with a stable line-up Rod managed to poach my guitarist - harmonica player Dave Nightingale in to the last line-up before finally splitting around 1964.
Terry South the drummer went on later to become tour manager for the Sid Lawrence Orchestra. Rod Gerrard later joined Farnworth band Green Onions who, with a major change of musical direction, became Outrage.."
Green Onions to Outrage..
..at The Queens Cleveleys in 1965 where The Yardbirds couldn't make it. We were scared stiff of the challenge of this gig and it wasn't made any easier for us by the group who played in the hole in the wall opposite! They were a Blackpool band called Lee Wade and the Wild Ones. They had great gear and put on a superb show.Not sure how we fared against them with our bluesy stuff which we later dumped for a more contemporary style similar to The Creation, Action, Small Faces and The Who.
Derby University in the spring of 1966.
We are showing off our new suits bought from John Steeles - of The Animals fame - boutique in Newcastle.Note the snazzy white Hammond M102 which weighed about the same as four bags of coal and still accounts for my droopy privates and the ability to only sing - if that is what you call it? - in falsetto.
Ashton-under-Lyne Palais in 1965.
One of the many beat group competitions which seemed to proliferate at the time and
heaven knows how - but we actually won it! We pocketed the grand total of £50 and although it wouldn't keep us in the lap of luxury for long, it was better than the £8-£10 booking fee that most bands managed in those days - including us.
After this gig the money went up - but not enough - and the gigs rolled in courtesy of manager Don Read who managed to see and nurture something in us that even we were struggling to fathom.
Rod and I went to audition for guitar and bass parts in Farnworth band Green Onions. At that time they had a vocalist- harmonica player who was pretty good, but didnt want to commit fully as much as the rest of us, so it was decided by the three non-lead-vocalists that Rod was the man for the job - even though he wanted to concentrate on his playing. We told him.. 'what sort of idiot would want to do that? You are the vocalist! .Being the easy going man that he is, he went along with it for a quiet life.
Playing the blues stuff also wasn't our flavour of the month for either of us, so a more contemporary direction would be persued. It didnt take long before Don Read - who had an agency in The Beachcomber Club, Bolton - showed an interest in us due to the resident DJ of the time - and he signed us to a five year management deal with the promise to get recording as well. He did this with Warner brothers with Kim Fowley producing.
We took our first ever trip down to CBS Studios at Old Bond Street, London to record four tracks which included 'Man with Money' - an Everly Brothers track with a heavier treatment 'Circles' - otherwise know as 'Instant Party' which was a Who, Pete Townsend song, 'Outrage' - which was written by Don himself - a song which we never played on stage. Another one called a 'Funny Way of Eating Chocolate Cake' which took the same route. Where the tapes went is anyones guess?
We did the usual round of gigs including Liverpool Cavern Club, The Grafton Rooms and just about every Manchester venue there was apart from the Twisted Wheel.
This large poster was printed by Thompson Newspapers and is believed to be one of the earliest ever 'Dayglo' type of poster. It was designed my Michael Chapman, who was an art teacher at Bolton College where our Hammond player Valentine Weaver and drummer Tom Dewhurst both studied. Michael has released dozens of folk type albums in his own right, some on the Harvest Label and I believe once played with Mick Ronson of David Bowie fame. They both came from Hull in Yorkshire. Ronson was also in the Yorkshire Rats who were in a TV battle of the bands with our own Lancashire Rats - a particular favourite band of mine.
Rod Gerrard.. After Hells Angels and Outrage et al.. had a colourful career..
1968-70: Sunshine.. A busy band who occasionally backed Wayne Fontana and did the usual tours of the American Military Bases in Germany and Italy along with many recordings which probably still remain in the BBC's archives..
72-76: Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders..
77-81: The Salford Jets.. Numerous recordings on various major and indie labels.
88-95: Hermans Hermits..
1995: The Retro Rockets..Formed in Florida with Joey Molland of Badfinger and various ex member's of Warren Zevon, Frank Zappa's Band and Loggins & Messina.
Now living in Denver, Colorado having played in a busy function band, Rod is enjoying a well earned retirement after fifty solid years of playing at the very top of the rock 'n roll game.."
Geoff Parkinson: September 2011 | 
