I can’t say I’ve seen many positive changes in and around Harlow since the Pressure Stops were active in the late 70’s, but perhaps I should leave you to draw your own conclusions.
(Click here to go to previous blogs)
OLD HAUNTS
So, you’ve made it to the end (which is more than I can say for Roy). It’s been a long time in the making and a long time coming. But we’re finally here. Thank you for taking the time to make the journey.
The Past Is In The Past For A Reason
Whilst putting these blogs together, I took the time to revisit some of the places we used to rehearse and play at. I wished I hadn’t. There’s nothing like having your past murdered by an incompetent council to take the wind out of your sails. This is what I found.
The Hare
As you will know (if you have been paying attention) it all started in September 1978, some 44 years ago at The Hare public house.
The Hare Beer Garden
It was here in this beer garden that Roy and I bumped into each other, and we first discussed the possibility of starting a band, which would later become The Pressure Stops. It’s not quite on the same level as say, John Lennon & Paul McCartney meeting at the Woolton Parish Church Garden Fȇte in 1957, but it’s certainly more rock ‘n’ roll.
Hey John, I hear the Pressure Stops are meeting at a pub in Harlow Town
The Hare has not changed a great deal, unlike the rest of my stroll down memory lane
The Hare is still in the middle of Hare Street Springs where it has been for some time. Ironically it hasn’t been flogged off to developers for ill-gotten gains. The Hare is where I first met Steve Coulson in 1978. Neither of us are happy about that.
The Garage at 28 The Downs
The garage at 28 The Downs – one time rehearsal space
The rest of the garages at the back of The Downs are gone. This one remains though, because my dad built his own, at the end of the garden. At some point since, the council came round, flogged off the garages to developers but this one wasn’t council owned.
Here it represents a shrine to the Gods of Rock, as the birthplace of the Pressure Stops. Well, ok that’s a little bit pompous but it was the place where the Mk I version first rehearsed in 1978. Until the neighbours complained. The garages, the fields and the woods are all but gone. Nowadays they’re called Green Hills and Green Park. Unsurprisingly, there’s not a green hill or a green park in sight.
This is what Green Hills looked like before the garages and houses were built.
The Harlow Hay Wain (Oil on Canvas)
This is my dad and grandad in the garden of 28 The Downs in 1963. They’re sitting in the exact place the garage (above) was built about 10 years later. They’re probably discussing the pros and cons of whether or not it’s acceptable to receive stolen goods from the Kray Twins.1. The houses in the distance are Broadfields, near to Netteswell School.
The Pepperpot
The Pepperpot, was our first proper rehearsal room and no longer exists. The two aspects aren’t related.
The Pepperpot was in the grounds of Netteswell School and because it was round it had terrible acoustics. Perfect for us then.
Lower Meadow
Lower Meadow Playbarn – 1st gig location
Lower Meadow Playbarn location hasn’t changed but it does now have swings. This was the scene of the 1979 Commonside Festival. I have no idea if there was a 1980 Commonside Festival but if there was, we weren’t invited to play.
I was unable to take a picture of where the bands physically played in 1979, because it’s a playground and children were playing there (apparently if you even glance at a child these days it’s considered concrete evidence you’re a paedo, and you end up being chased down the street by pike-wielding vigilantes).
Magdalen Laver
The Village Hall, Magdalen Laver – where someone pulled the plug on our 2nd gig
The Magdalen Laver ‘forthcoming events’ board looked a little uninspiring
The Stops once graced a tiny corner of the stage (for about 15 minutes). Richard Holgarth stood on the floor on the right.
Magdalen Laver is an unspoilt wonder of large houses, large fields and a small population. Geographically, it sits on the right side of the M11 to Harlow i.e. the other side.
The Square/Square One
The Square – was knocked down in 2016 to make way for a ‘much needed’ housing development…
…which unsurprisingly hasn’t materialised 6 years later
How it looked once the thieves, sorry developers, got their hands on it
The council named another development “The Square” and hoped nobody would notice. They did.
Benny’s Nightclub
Now a snooker club, JP’s in The Stow is on the site of Benny’s Nightclub where The Stops played on a number of occasions during the late 70’s and early 80’s. More importantly though, Dorringtons is still there. Hurrah!
Parndon Mill
The Mill was our third and final rehearsal room. Being on the top floor had its disadvantages
So, much has changed and not necessarily for the better. Some places, like The Mill and Magdalen Laver have been unaffected by the icy tendrils of Harlow Council. It’s not difficult to understand why.
PRESSURE STOPS LINEUPS
MK I – 1978 – 1979
- Lee Adams – Gtr
- Steve Coulson – Vox
- Roy Phillips – Gtr
- Clive Richardson – Drums
- Steve Byrne – Bass
MK II – 1979 – 1981
- Lee – Gtr
- Steve C – Vox
- Roy – Bass
- Clive – Drums
MK III – 1981
- Lee – Gtr
- Steve C – Vox
- Roy – Bass
- Clive – Drums
- Robbie Tucker – Gtr
MK IV – 1981
- Lee – Gtr
- Steve C – Vox
- Clive – Drums
- Robbie – Gtr
- Mick Richards – Bass
MK V – 1981
- Lee – Gtr/Vox
- Clive – Drums
- Robbie – Gtr
- A Bassist
MK VI – 1981
- Lee – Gtr/Vox
- Robbie – Gtr
- An Other Bassist
- A Drummer
MK VII – 1981
- Lee – Gtr
- Robbie – Gtr
MK VIII – 2004
- Lee – Gtr
- Robbie – Gtr
- Roy – Bass
- Steve C. – Vox
- Niall Kennedy (Kelloggs) – Drums
MK IX – 2014 – 2019
- Lee – Gtr
- Roy – Bass
- Steve C. – Vox
- John McGinn – Drums
SONGOGRAPHY
This is a list of songs we either wrote, started to write, rehearsed, played live or covered, including songwriter or original artist, plus song completion dates where appropriate.
- People On The Side (Roy – Sep 78)
- Control (Steve, Roy, Lee – Sep 78 – June 79)
- Lover Next Door (Lee – Aug 78 – Jan 79)
- Crash Wanderer (Lee – Oct 78 – Jan 79)
- Security Clothes (Lee – Apr 79)
- Eighteen (Lee – Jan 79 – Apr 79)
- Pressure (Stöps)? (Lee – Apr 79)
- Empty Words (Lee – Jun 79)
- Shirts (Lee, Steve, Clive – Nov 78 – Oct 79)
- Communication Breakdown (Lee, Steve, Roy – Nov 79)
- Instrumental #1 (Lee – Apr 80)
- Party Snog/Song (Lee, Steve – Apr 80)
- A Day In The Life (Of A Single Man) (Lee, Steve – Nov 80)
- Bedsitter (Lee, Steve – Mar 81)
- Princes & Pirates (Lee, Steve – Oct 80 – Mar 81)
- Bricks (Lee, Steve, Roy – Oct 80)
- Blue Rifles (Lee – Oct 80)
- Await In Vain (Lee – Nov 80)
- Poor Man (Lee, Steve – Apr 81)
- Nothing From Nothing (Lee – Oct 80)
- The Mackintosh Man (Lee – Oct 80)
- When I Grow Up (Lee, Steve – Oct 80)
- Record Requests (Roy)
- Rich Weekend (Lee, Steve, Roy)
- Young Intellectuals (Lee, Steve)
- So I Know (Lee)
- Success Story (Roy)
- No Friends Of Mine (Lee – Sep 81)
- The Road Of Life (Lee, Steve – Oct 04)
- Reggae Is My Soul (Lee, Steve – Oct 04)
- The Twist (Chubby Checker)
- Breakdown (Buzzcocks)
GIGOGRAPHY
All gigs are in Harlow except where stated
- Saturday 18th August 1979 – Commonside Festival – Lower Meadow Playbarn – Rabbits, Howard Like, Receivers
- Saturday 3rd November 1979 – Futuristic Party – Magdalen Laver Village Hall, Magdalen Laver
- Wednesday 19th December 1979 – Party for Children of 1 Parent Families – Harlow Technical College – No Warning
- Wednesday 20th February 1980 – Square One – No Warning
- Wednesday 27th February 1980 – The Triad, Bishops’ Stortford – No Warning
- Wednesday 30th April 1980 – Square One – Pre-Set
- Wednesday 7th May 1980 – Pop Group Talent Competition – Tye Green Community Centre – Tequila, Dutch Courage
- Saturday 26th July 1980 – The Katherines Festival – Katherines Field
- Saturday 26th July 1980 – Paul Weeks 21st Birthday – A Garden in Nazeing – The Rabbits
- Monday 22nd September 1980 – Brays Grove Youth Club – Spelling Missteaks
- Sunday 28th September 1980 – Airplay Promotional Party – Benny’s Nightclub – Spelling Missteaks
- Monday 15th December 1980 – Benny’s Nightclub – Pre-Set
- Thursday 15th January 1981 – Square One
- Saturday 7th February 1981 – Square One – Spelling Missteaks, Pete The Meat & The Boys
- Sunday 15th March 1981 – Rag & Bone Night – Railway Hotel, Bishops’ Stortford – The Firm, Easy Action, Roger & Dec
- Saturday 21st March 1981 – Square One – The Picture, Unit One
- Friday 27th March 1981 – Rendezvous Club, Epping – Unit One
- Tuesday 7th April 1981 – Louella’s Nightclub – Pre-Set, The Milton Bros
- Friday 10th April 1981 – Stratford Youth Centre, London – The Rabbits
- Saturday 9th May 1981 – Young Socialists Disco, Square One
- Sunday 16th August 1981 – Benny’s Nightclub – Easy Action, The Firm
- Saturday 6th November 2004 – The Square – Easy Action, The Gangsters, The Rabbits, The Sods, Newtown Neurotics
- Saturday 9th August 2014 – Little Channels Golf Club, Chelmsford
- Saturday 22nd June 2019 – Dumptilow Farm, Huntingdon
TIMELINE
1960 – Pressure Stops members born
1965 – Lee meets Robbie, Bernie & Clive at Broadfields County Infants School
1970 – Lee meets Roy in the playground of Broadfields County Junior School
1971 – Lee gets a guitar
1971 – Lee realises he can’t play the guitar
1975 – Roy buys a guitar
1976 – Roy meets Steve at work
1978 – Lee buys an Electric Guitar
1978 – Lee coerces Clive into buying a set of drums.
1978 – Lee & Clive practice in the garage
1978 – Lee & Clive meet Roy and Steve
1978 – All four start rehearsing
1978 – Lee invites Bernie to join
1979 – Lee invites Bernie to leave
1979 – Roy moves to Bass
1979 – 1st Gig – The Commonside Festival
1980 – Release Crash Wanderer on Airplay Records
1980 – John Peel plays record on Radio 1
1981 – Robbie joins on Guitar
1981 – Release Bedsitter EP on Airplay
1981 – Roy leaves
1981 – Mick Richards joins on Bass for one gig
1981 – Steve leaves
1981 – Clive leaves
1981 – Lee & Robbie find a new bass player and drummer
1981 – Lee & Robbie lose a bass player and drummer
1981 – Lee & Robbie decide to call a brief hiatus to the band
2004 – Reform for Stortbeat Collective Gig at The Square 23 years later
2014 – Reform for Lee & Vikki’s Wedding
2019 – Reform for Roy & Jane’s Wedding
2019 – Lee starts to write a potted history of The Pressure Stops
2020 – A pandemic gets in the way
2021 – Interviews other members of the band
2022 – Uploads history to website in the form of multiple blogs.
2022 – Nothing happens.
Other Artwork, Press Clippings & Flyers
Pressure Stops Press
Other Bands Flyers & Tickets
In Books And Online
There are a few places you can find The Pressure Stops in print and online these days, but only if you know where to look. Here are some:-
Harlow Bands Stortbeat (electricsalad.co.uk)
This has a lot of information about Harlow Bands
Harlow Bands TH (electricsalad.co.uk)
Here is a brief write up of the band, which is significant as both Clive and Roy are listed as drummers.
Discogs
Discogs is a site where you can buy Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s etc. including Pressure Stops merch.
Rare Record Collector
An annual book detailing collectable records. Average Price for the Crash Wanderer single? £12. Yes I know: “collectable” and “Pressure Stops” in the same sentence…
LYRICS
Here is a selection of Pressure Stops lyrics. I had to make a guess at a few lines because not all the original lyrics exist anymore and none of us can remember how they went.
Control
My friend has been known to smoke He has been known to break the law One day we all live in hope that He won't have to lie no more Why should he have to do it in shame It doesn't hurt anybody else People always spoil our games They treat us like little girls Too few people got too much control Control over what too many people do Too few people got too much control Control over people like you! We all like to have new fashions We don't want to look the same But it's the people with the hats on They control all of the games If they don't like it you cannot get it In none of your favourite shops yeah One day I will learn to fight it Then I'll be on top Too few people... People always pushing you round Trying to tell you what you should do Why don't you just turn around And tell them what they should do? Could it be with all this pushing and shoving And trying to make you think that their lies are true They have had control for too long yeah Control over people like you Too few people...
People On The Side
People on the side looking at me Going round the track to victory I must push on it's in the stars We wear business suits instead of racing cars I'm a motor racing, power chasing And one of these days I'm gonna catch you I'm a motor racing, power chasing And when I do you're gonna be through Suffer in silence I musn't crash I'm just waiting for the other guy to crack The time is right I'm almost there The other guys closing but I don't care I'm a motor racing... Here comes everybody waiting for the call Coz it's too late now I want more First here for the toast Cause I was first past the winning post I'm a motor racing... I'm pushing thirty now I'm at the top Try to keep ahead cause the others won't stop My wife has left me he was a yob But I'm still happy cause I've got a job I'm a motor racing...
Lover Next Door
I’ve been wandering alone, Since we had that fight. You turned me right around you, Then you turned out our light. Now I don’t even see you, At the supermarket. And now there’s someone with me, But I don’t really like her. Ooh ooh she’s just the lover next door, Ooh ooh can’t it be like before? The wheels they turn me, Round and round and round it. I don’t know where is when, I don’t know who found it. Ooh ooh, she’s just... I try to move forward, But you abandon-ed me. I think I’ve lost touch, And I can never be free. Ooh ooh, she’s just... (SPOKEN) Yeah, you know what it’s like with those girls next door. Playing at relationships and breaking up to go out with the gorilla down the street. They think they’re so cool and gentrified but most of ‘em don’t even know what day it is. Most of ‘em don’t know they’re born! Yeah! Ooh ooh, she’s just... So, listen to this song, And you’ll know how I feel. Just wrap your arms around me, And move in for the kill. Ooh ooh, she’s just... She’s a lover next door yes, you know what that’s for, I’m thinking it every day. She’s my lover next door, you know what it’s for, She’s shows me in every way.
Security Clothes
Don’t ever think you can feel secure, Unless you’re burrowed well into the crowd, Because they’ll do their best to guard you, Away from the loud. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Unless the crowd says it’s okay, Because you can’t be different, You got to do it all their way. And that’s the way it is, Don’t ever try to change it. Nobody wants to go to school today, But you got to go to make it! If the crowd says leave your job, Because they made up their mind about pay, Just get out with the other guys, And don’t go on holiday. Unless it’s somewhere like La Palma, Florida or Majorca. Because that’s where the sunshine stays, And that’s where you pick up the rays, Don’t ever go to the Lake District, Where it’s cold and grey and it makes you sick! And that’s the way it is... So if Sassoon says, “That’s the cut!” The crowd will say, “That’s what we got!” And if Westwood says, “That’s what you wear!” Because it goes with the colour of your pin-style hair, Then you go – and you get it – TODAY!
Crash Wanderer
Sitting in my cockpit leading the pack From my office in the air I make my attack We're riding high but there's ice on the wings Control panel flickers and pulls the loaded strings I'm a crash wanderer (I'm a gonna crash) We're North-West of Vancouver where ice and snow Stretch into the shadows beyond the unknown The mangled wreck of my solo flight Leaves me here to survive the rest of the night I'm a crash wanderer... When you're beneath the stars, in the midnight hours Don't reach out for us, cause you know we won't be there If you think it's so easy, why don't you just ring? I'm a crash wanderer... Fumble on the ice and this is what I get Forget everything I'm doing like everyone I've met This world is so unreal I've never known it so Grab anything you can before it's time to go I'm a crash wanderer...
Shirts
Never used to bother much about the things that I wore People used to laugh and say I was a bore But I got wise and bought me some new gear Now they turn their heads around cause I'm the man of the year Do you wear nice shirts? (course we wear nice shirts) Do you wear nice shirts? (we wear nice shirts they say) Now my problems have completely disappeared Being left on the shelf ain't no longer what I fear Girls ain't a problem, well maybe they are They hang around and touch my shirt, you know that's going too far Do you wear... I got a button-down collar pre-sensitised check Zigzag and stripey with a monotone fleck With no holds barred, I'm out to impress I wouldn't be seen in a string vest Do you wear... It was all ok till I bought a new soap powder Now my shirts look even louder I think I preferred it when I was a bore Cause now I'm going out with the girl next door Didn't realise I was on the way to becoming a sensation I think I might just enjoy a lot more elation Do you wear...
Eighteen
Unloved at school major fool Never up with the rest, not cool Want to get out back on the street Coz now you’re at the age where societies meet Because eighteen is the rage today And I can’t keep up with the pace today Eighteen is the rage today Coz now you gonna find you think you’re now the boss Don’t listen me coz I know you’re the best, can’t think of a reason unless… Out on the town for most of the night Big black eyes, it’s just a fight Practice being you behind a classroom desk You’re no 9 to 5 like all the rest Because eighteen... Now you see what you’ve got, you want it all With a flick of the wrist you fill the Albert Hall Fly your way up to the moon With a band of heroes you’ll be there soon Because eighteen... Now your face is in every paper Put in a bid for the Melody Maker When it’s over, over and done Relax your body in the dying sun Because eighteen...
Bedsitter
Sitting in this room all alone in bedsitter land there's no place to roam The problems I have here I share all alone in this promised place I call home The people all around me they try to refrain, they pass on the streets not knowing their names And as I sit and listen for this train, our lives seem to be one and the same You try to look here, you try to look there, the people aren't worried, do they really care You try to look here, you try to look there, the people aren't worried, it's not their affair Their only friends are a radio tune, it reminds you of that foregone doom And as you sit and stare at the room, you think about the tragedies that loom You're sitting and watching the time go by, I must leave this room I know I must try To find the rhythm, the reason why, or slash these wrists and slowly die You try to look here... Justified was the coroners verdict, a lonely man gives his life in vain Mother wept when she heard the verdict, her son's life had been a life of pain It's not justified
A Day In The Life (Of A Single Man)
Get up at 9 o'clock but I have to be out at 8 Struggle to the bathroom put on my clothes I must not be late Sometimes it all seems worth it but again it don't I go out start my car and join in the daily rush Of the day in the life of a single man Get into work just right say hello to my boss Struggle through the batches of figures to assure that there is no loss Sometimes it all seems worth it but again it don't I sit there and watch the time, the bell rings 5 o'clock It's the day... Get home from work just right I have to be out at 8 We're going down the pub Have a good night out with my mates but all we do is sit and wait Perhaps we'll steal a kiss What happens when I get older and I think about all the girls I missed It's the day...
Blue Rifles
Living on nothing for so long now Middlesex women know him well Could've won it all if he hadn't have been Seen every night looking so thin Search the traps of escalating wealth Now you find you're at war with yourself The beat and bodies they find you clean Could have been somebody if you could've seen Could you see you're moving faster You saw the bullet you saw the master People always try to surround you They're instruments of fun all around you Was it too much fame that made you sink In your bedroom did you think Why you felt so obscure That there could be no cure Slipping across to Berwick Street Stand in the shadows who do you meet? These are my rifles this is my fun This is called my Dope for Guns We saw your face the sticking plaster We saw your skin alabaster You see your life you see it's pointless They see your face it's beneath the surface Was it too much fame... Standing in the market with blue rifles For you!
Poor Man
Poor man looks in the window Sees the things he can't afford to buy Young wife stands next to him And ponders on the reason why They got no money to pay no rent They got no money to pay no bills They've got each other for the rest of their lives Their love will see them through to their next meal Ooh poor man, look at you and me Ooh poor man, happiness is yours for free Cause you'll always have someone to love Poor boy walks down the street Holes in his shoes and dirty feet Sees the poor man hanging around and says Do you want me to lend a hand? Poor man shakes his head and says This is where I've been led you know I'm you in thirty years I hope that fills you with fear Ooh poor man... Poor man and his wife have found As they stand hand in hand Life for them is not material gains Or cashing in on someone else's fame Life is simple not just and fair But they're much richer than any millionaire Ooh poor man
Steve C, Frisk, Gary H, Roy and Me – West Mersea – 2021
If you like the songs used in the blog headers you can listen to them here on Spotify.
The 2004 gig at The Square can be found on the YouTube channel Lee Adams – YouTube
Also, for those interested in such things, an exhibition covering 75 Years of Music in Harlow can be found at Harlow Museum and runs from 2nd July to 10th September 2022.
THE VERY END
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