Shortly after our TV debut on the "Edwin and Rachelle Show" Duncan Harvey relocated to Bulawayo (270 miles from Salisbury) to train as a teacher at the aptly named ‘Teachers Training College’. A new lead guitarist was sought, which proved easier said than done. The talented ones were already in bands and if truth be told so were the mediocre ones. However the call went out and was answered by a guy named Reg who was duly invited to audition at the house. I don't remember Reg’s surname, which is just as well because Reg wasn't that hot a guitarist. In fact, to continue with the temperature analogy, he was pretty tepid. So it might come as a surprise that we decided to go with Reg. It wasn't that we were in a charitable mood or didn't want to hurt the guy's feelings...no the reason we welcomed Reg into the fold was because of what he brought to the table. When he came to audition along with a guitar and amplifier Reg had a “Watkins Tape Echo Chamber”. Alan, Lea and I were absolutely gob smacked. It was one of the first, if not the very first, seen in Salisbury.
Watkins Copicat tape echo chamber
The Watkins Echo Chamber was an absolutely amazing piece of electronic wizardry. It had the ability to transform a passable guitarist into a veritable Hank B Marvin...pure musical alchemy; and was the sole reason Reg got the job.
The phrase 'familiarity breeds contempt' applied to Reg and the Chequers. After a month or so it was mutually decided that Reg should move on. Although Reg was only with us for a short spell he left behind a lasting legacy... in the shape of his “Watkins Copicat Echo Chamber” which we bought for a princely sum.
So for the second time in a month we were on the lookout for a new lead guitarist. Enter John 'Hodge' Hodgekinson. At the time Hodge was a member of what now days is called a speciality group. A kind of cabaret act that played and sang an odd collection of Bokie (Afrikaans), Country & Western and comedy songs. There couldn't have been much call for a speciality group because Hodge was on the lookout for pastures new. Alan bumped into him and mentioned we were looking for a lead guitarist and Hodge was a lead guitarist looking for a band. And that was that. Alan brought Hodge along to our next band practice. We went through a couple of numbers, he was really good and just importantly he seemed to share our same puerile sense of humour so was invited to join the band.
Hodge’s claim to fame was he single handily emptied a packed ‘Rhodes Cinema’. Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ was showing and Hodge somehow manage to smuggle a live chicken in under his coat. He took his seat in the balcony upstairs and waited for the movie to start. During the scene when the belligerent birds swooped down and start attacking the unfortunate citizens of the town, Hodge slipped the chicken out from under his coat and threw it off the balcony.
The flapping chicken descended squawking madly into the stalls. As it passed through the projector’s beam the bird’s gigantic silhouette was projected onto the screen. A stampede ensued as the panic stricken audience clamoured screaming and hollering to get out.
Fortunately no one was hurt and the infamous chicken came out the ordeal unscathed...so this story had a happy ending.
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