(circa 1962)
Original Trespassers
- Dave Pain (vocals)
- Ian Hall (lead)
- Richard Thompson (rhyhtm/harmony vocals)
- Tim Grover (drums)
- Mick Cork (bass)
Formed originally by HGS school pals Dave, Richard and Ian who asked Mick Cork to join on bass at some time in the very early 60s. I'm not totally sure when and where Tim came along, but it was probably just as well as he was the only one old enough to drive at the time!
After months of practising we were ready for our first gig, a barbecue at Hythe Cricket Club (The Grove) one night in the summer. Then........ Doing what was no more than a spot of glorified work experience at a factory on Bowles Well Gardens, Richard - a really intense guy - but excellent musician - from Dover chopped the top of his thumb off only a matter of days before our public debut! Tommy was in tears, but we pulled ourselves together and got Dave Caswell to stand in. It all went well, though not as well as it might have, and because Painey didn't rate Twist and Shout we got legendary Folkestone fast bowlers Cliff Stephens out of the crowd to give the punters what they were shouting for! All very well, but we'd not worked out to end the b-song! Painey gave in and learned it and, on our next date at the Hythe Albion sung it SIX times, by request, and duly lost his voice!
Dave was an excellent singer, if a bit country (he'd grown up in Canada). Our repertoire then included stuff like In Dreams (Orbison) and standards like Scarlet Ribbons and The Party's Over to show off his voice. Ian (Hall) suddenly left with his family who emigrated to Australia, it seemed, at very short notice, and for a booking on the Friday at the East Cliff Pavilion (for a Seeboard social) we had no lead player.
Then Tim remembered that the Mirror had run a story about a lad from his road (Surrenden Road, Cheriton) about this guitar mad kid who'd runaway to London/Liverpool to try to get into a band. We tracked him - Ian Taylor - down, persuaded him to come home; practised one night and played the next! Ian Taylor was inexperienced but an excellent musician who went on to replace Noel Redding in the Ones (yes he was that good) before becoming a doctor of music and all kind of other clever things, connected with various universities and music schools. We had some very good times at places like the All Welcome Hut - Brenzett - memorable only cos I can still recall the smell of the toilet! - plus a whole variety of other places. We packed up when Richard went off to uni and Dave moved away because of his job. Good times. And, if I have to say it myself, cos no-one else will, we were not bad!
Mick Cork
