Punk memories

[Lee Drury]

Hello everybody. It was nice to see a lot of the old faces at the run the other day. Darren phoned me the night before (plenty of notice!) I turned up in all the silly gear you have to wear to go running only to find that Darren was late and didnt even run!! Whos the mug?
Had a good chat with Terry and reminded him of a lot of things that he had forgotten. No one can remember it all and its a shame that I didnt get to have a few sessions with him when he was writing the book, but alas I was having a 'year in France'. Dont ask me how, but I can remember nearly everything to do with the punk/ Dead Flowers/ early Wasted Youth era. Good times.
Kens band the Tickets and my band the Corvettes had both came to an end so we began to go out on the town, always getting lucky! We would talk of starting an east end punk supergroup and the Dead Flowers/ Wasted Youth became just that. Everyone and his dog were in the Flowers, or say that they were. I still have a flyer from thier first gig supporting the Corvettes, which was also the Corvettes last at the Hartley centre in East Ham.
Darren had John (Tickets) McGeadys bass that I later bought from him and still have to this day. Its the ricky that hes playing in the Jealousy video on you tube.
When we began rehearsing for WY there was only Andy, Darren, Ken and me. Mick came a little later and Rocco after that.
It was obvious that Ken was too good a front man to just be the guitar player and there was a strong musical change from the punk that we had all played before. When the rehearsals were finished me and Andy would stay on late and do our own stuff. Much more punky. I wasnt suprised when Andy began moonlighting with the Rejects as he still liked that old punk sound.
In the end I never left, and they never sacked me but it was obvious that we had different roads to go down. I was still a scruffy punk 'erbert' and they were beginning to get that look that later became goth.
The name of the band came about after I had been dropped off at some american girls house in forest gate late one night by Darren and some of the others. I was completely out of the game and when they opened the door to me they said ' Gee man, hes really wasted'.
We all thought wasted sounded much better than drunk, pissed, bladdered etc so began to use this as a new word. Eventually someone (Darren?) came up with the youth bit and the rest is history as they say.
I started another band and thats another story.
I played with Mick Atkins in the October Revolution in the mid 80s and we werent bad if I may say so myself. Very much in the heartbreakers/thunders vein.
I still see mick and hes not too well at the moment. Hopefully he will get better.
I dont normally get involved with all this internet chat  but I wanted to add my little bit and hopefully this will jog some other memories. All the best to all the old Bridge regulars.
Lee.

[TerryMurphy]

Nice to see Lea  Dury again,have not seen him for ten years,then twice in 2 weeks,he more the better for me,he has such a great memory of the Bridge House days,He should write a book.we did agree to get a Picture album together,i also asked Julie who has a load of pics, between the four of us plus Jeff Ellis.we can help to keep the memories alive.Any advanced orders?
Meeting Lee at my grandsons, Masons holy communium.(Darrens second son)
He presented me with a brick that he colllected when they were knocking the building down.So a big thanks for that,we are going to have a special presentation,and Jeff will take some pics,which we will post,T/M

[Julie]

I did send a load of pictures of the old Bridge House regulars, but haven't seen them anywhere on the site! Still got some more pictures to send when my scanner decides to behave itself and let me scan them. I have Tenpole Tudor, Spectres, Modern Romance, The Bishops, among others, so will get them to you as soon as possible.
Good to see Lee posting here too! I must dig out a lovely picture I took of him with my nephew Marc at my legendary party that was gatecrashed by the entire clientele of the BH one night, after I had invited four people!! 

[Lee Drury]

Hello again, that was some party at Julies flat! I remember waking up in the morning and taking little Marc downstairs to get a Mars bar and to play in the couryard of the flats. All the local kids came over to us, probably had something to do with my hair cut! and I ended up having to buy all of them sweets. Cost a few quid even back then.
It was great to be able to present Terry the guvnor, the (Bridge House Brick). I was working on the 48" cast gas main that runs down Stephenson St as they were finishing off the demolition of the Bridge House. I had all the vest and hat neccessary for site entry so I just strolled in and took a few bricks from the wall.
The african security gaurd gave me a look and I told him that I was removing the bricks so that I could give the ghost a new home! He looked at me like I was mad and let me get on with it.
Talking of old rock n roll haunts, Yvonne, Beccy and me have just come back from a show in New York. We stayed in the Chelsea Hotel and were on the same (1st) floor where the notorious Sid n Nancy episode happened. We were next to Dee Dee Ramones old room as well so it was a great experience for me.
I manged to sign one of Hiroyas paintings that hangs on the staircase. My name is there along with Jerry Nolan, Dee Dee, Poison Ivy and many more. If you were into Punk you will know who they all are/were.
In true RnR fashion we were woken in the middle of the night by a party that was going on down the hall. 30 years ago I would have tried to get in!
Underneath the hotel is a second hand guitar shop where all the junkies hocked their guitars ( I have never seen so many old Fenders) and the other side is a tatooists! It really is rock and roll heaven.
Im looking forward to the upcoming official brick presentation!
See ya later.
Lee.

[Julie]

Here it is!  Little Marc is now a lanky six foot 33 year old, but he never forgot his hero, "Sid"!

[Lee Drury]

Nice one Julie, I finally got my own 'little mate' in 1987. He is called Joe and is as tall as me now. Do you still have the photo of you and the Corvettes messing around by the fire exit doors? If you do then put it on the site. Lets get the ball rolling.
Lee.

[Julie]

I do still have that picture, and another Corvettes one! I sent them to Terry for Jeff to put them up here but haven't seen them yet. The second pic is here: http://www.thebridgehousee16.com/fanpics.html
I remember seeing Joe when he was a baby; I think he must be a couple of months older than my son Nick, who was born in December 1987 (and thankfully doesn't look too much like his dad!!) 
I'll try and upload the photos to a photo website, and send you the link. There are tons of old Bridge House punters on there, that you'll probably know the names of!

[Lee Drury]

Brilliant pictures Julie. Seeing them took me back in time for a while there! I remember them all. You have a few pics of Micky Geggus and Vince Riordan of the Rejects along with all the others. Someone else must have a few more as well? I know Jodie had a great collection of photos. Last I heard he was going to spain. Anyone (Tim Mardell) still in contact with him?
Lee.

[Julie]

I nearly didn't put the picture of Pat and June up; I'm still narked about those two thieving gits nicking half my singles collection, to this day!!! 
Glad the others brought back some memories though, we had some brilliant times at the Bridge House and I made some great mates.

[Lee Drury]

Due to my close friendship with Darren I was always around the bridge when it was closed. We got to watch and meet loads of famous rock n rollers as they set up their gear and soundchecked. One day Terry called me over to the bar and introduced me to Steve Marriot. I didnt know who he was and as I was a young punk with attitude wasnt really interested anyway! Steve asked me if I was in a band and I mentioned what we were all doing. He seemed genuinly interested. Terry then told me that Steve was in the first so called supergroup, Humble Pie. I said I dont like all that old hippy sh*t! Terry got embarassed and made excuses about us not knowing our history. I asked a few questions then Terry said he also played and sang with the Small Faces. I said Oh yeah, with Rod Stewart! and Terry shook his head and turned away. Terry then began listing songs that Steve had wrote and sung untill he mentioned Lazy sunday afternoon. I said I know that one and began to sing it and Steve joined in with me and sang the first verse and chorus. It was one of those moments. Then Terry said about Itchycoo park and All or nothing and I was rightly impressed as they have always been faves of mine. He always seemed to be popping in and out of the pub and seemed to be a nice guy.
When Joe Brown played around xmas 78 I was as drunk as a skunk. I was propping up the bar at the aftershow drink when he came over to me and said, excuse me mate. Can I feel your barnet!.  I said ok and he touched my hair and said F#ck me, what have you got on that? I told him I used soap to get it so stiff and spiky. He then told me that he used to have hair just like mine when he was a young man but his stuck up naturally. I have seen photos of him back in the 50s and he must have been very outrageous way back then. At around this time I proceeded to fall over and was unable to get up!  Terry made some excuses for me and dragged me out by my collar and put me in a cab. I ended up in a chinese restuarant in Limehouse some how. I managed to get out without being accosted by the locals and ended up back at Darrens flat in Earlham grove. Andy Cook found me lying on the floor outside the building covered in snow. He might have saved my life for all I know. Those were the days.
Lee.

[Julie]

Do you remember the time you were trying to outrun the cars up over the Canning Town flyover? 
Or the time when someone had written "The Corvettes are flare men" on a poster outside the pub, I remember you doing your nut about that!  But then again, that was in the days when we wouldn't be seen dead in a pair of Lionels, so probably justified!! 

[Lee Drury]

The flyover race was my initiation ceromony for anyone wanting to be a Corvette! I can still remember the faces of the oncoming drivers as they crested the top of the flyover and picked us out in the beams of thier headlights. We would run west to east on the left hand side so hopefully wouldnt meet anyone head on. That was my idea of health and safety! Some of the lads needed a good few pints before they would even consider doing it. Once we had all completed the task I took it one step further by having a 'hang off the flyover competition'. Hardly anyone took me up on that one. The furthest I took that particular dare was when all the B/H crowd came out of the Lyceum one night. We were going to a pub across the water for a last pint and I hung from under the bridge over the thames and with one hand pissed down onto a passing disco boat. I can remember some of the girls getting scared and trying to get me back up. It makes me shudder now. I must have had some kind of death wish.
The Corvettes are flares men was a mystery that I eventually solved. It was sprayed on the wall outside canning town stn. It was Metin of all people. He caught Steve Pear going to work one morning in a pair of jeans that were more Status Quo than Ramones if you know what I mean. His excuse what that he was a mechanic and he didnt want to ruin his best drainpipes! I stopped wearing lionels in 76 and havent worn a pair since.

[Julie]

Sadly I have to confess to now wearing bootcut trousers and jeans. I'm not as skinny as I was in those days, so as the bum gets bigger, you have to balance it out a bit! 
God, I miss the Bridge House and all my mates from those days! We had some great times.
Any more reunions on the horizon, does anyone know?

[Lee Drury]

It would be nice to get up and do a few songs with all of the old faces. Alas we are not gigging constantly, and living in each others pockets as we all were back then.
Ken and Andy would get up on stage after a Corvettes gig and we would do a version of  'Motorhead' with Ken on guitar and Andy on bass. This became a regular feature of our gigs. Towards the end of the Tickets career Ken would invite me on stage more and more to sing some of his older, punkier songs. He told me that he really enjoyed passing on the vocal duties as it let him be a guitar hero! He would go crazy and windmill like Pete Townsend.
One particular night at Ronnie Scotts the crowd were baying for more and the Tickets didnt have any songs left so Ken called me up and we did a few Stooges songs. It was great.
One of my old punk faves was 'Shadow' by the Lurkers. We supported them once and Pete Stride got me on stage to sing the encore. We did Shadow. Brilliant.
The best of the lot was getting onstage with Steve Jones and Paul Cook to sing the 'Rock n Roll Swindle' at the moonlight in West Hampstead. I couldnt believe it was happening.
I got to know them after the Pistols had split and met them one night at an early Tenpole Tudor gig. As Eddie Tenpole had sung the original vocals on the Swindle album I tried to get them together for a rendition of what was one of my favorite songs.
Everyone agreed and as they got on stage Eddie introduced me and said I was going to sing! We did the song and Jonesy was doing his best Townsend impression too! So much so that his guitar strap came off and we had to cut the song short by one verse.
There were only two bridge houseites in the crowd that night. Jeff Wilmott from the Corvettes and Angie. I wonder if anyone has any photos of that as I would kill for a copy of them.

[Lee Drury]

Seeing Rocco the other day was great as we chewed the fat and talked about the old bands and the early days. In the summer of 76 me and Darren, and about 8 others went to see Deafschool at the Roundhouse in Camden. We did the old 9 pints of lager trick, and when they have all been passed back you ask for one more. By the time the barman has gone to fetch it we had all dissapeared into the main hall without paying.
The support band that night were the Clash! None of us had heard of them and they looked to me like the painting and decorating apprentices from the college that I was attending. It all seemed weird as there was a lot of angry shouting, and from the back of the hall it was hard to work out what it was all about. I wish that we had gone down the front and had a better look but it was already time for the next 9 pints trick.
In early 77 me and Darren arranged to meet Rocco and some young punk ladies at Chelmsford to see the Clash on the White Riot tour. When we got there Rocco was in a bad way as he had taken a beating from some bikers in the public toilets. It didnt take long before they spotted us again and they came down the road on thier bikes swinging chains and waving sticks. It seemed like Attilla the Hun and his hordes were coming to finish us off.  Rocco and the ladies ran one way and me and Darren jumped over a 6 foot wall and hid in a garden. If I could have clicked my fingers and changed into a three piece suit I would have done it gladly. We spent the whole day, and the entire gig being attacked by every wierdo and gang in the chelmsford area. There were only three other punks at the gig and we just clung together and tried to ride it out. It was one of the worst days in my life.
As the show was finishing Strummer said that the bikers were waiting outside and to be carefull.  I was going to smash the windows of the hall so that the police would come and we would be escorted from the premises in safety
In the end we hid untill they chucked us out, then ran as fast as we could to the train station.
I have never been so glad to see the back of anywhere as that day.