History of York musicians is ‘saved’ in special family trees

ONE of the things that being a musician in York has taught me, is that musicians never grow old, they just keep going forever – swapping bands and band mates as they go!

Angry young punk bands in the 80s mellow into seasoned rockers in middle age and then try and reclaim their youth in reunion bands or Working Men’s Club acts in later years.

Having co-run York Bands of the Past Facebook group for the past five years, it was immediately apparent that old rockers never die, they reconnect with band mates from the past, swap stories, relive those halcyon days, meet down the pub and decide to do it all over again!

As previously mentioned in my nostalgia articles, York has a thriving music scene which encompasses all eras and ages, so even if a band member has passed on, or moved to the other side of the world, the group can draw other musicians from the huge pool of local talent.

Watching and reading the posts of the members of the Facebook group, the stories, anecdotes and memories, made me realise that a considerable number of musicians have been active in a huge number of bands, constantly swapping members back and forth but also having to be reminded of their early first steps into the music scene. I decided to try to correlate all of this incredible social archive into a project which would take the form of a series of Family Trees, becoming a cross-reference library for the history of York’s diverse mix of musical styles.

For inspiration, I dug out of my collection of rock literature, two books written in the 90s by a historian called Pete Frame. These large A3 style books documented the beginnings to ends of various famous bands, presented in a style and font which enabled a huge amount of information to be crammed onto a page.

Rock Family Trees by Pete Frame. Photo supplied

Pete not only listed all the various bands in chronological order, but annotated them with band members, instruments played, dates the bands split up and side bars about what they did next, who they rejoined and little snippets of fascinating information which made interesting reading for any fans of the band.

As a first step, I contacted various musicians who I thought might be interested, or had good enough memories to produce a comprehensive archive of their past history.

I received about 10 replies immediately, ranging from detailed lists with dates of formation and break ups, band members and what they played, to a vague list of bands written on a cigarette packet in a pub!

Once I got into the project I quickly realised that I could cross reference and trace a York musician’s history though other trees, as they may have been vague about their own memories, but they appeared in detail on someone else’s! Consequently I was able to almost map a specific group’s history though the information I had accumulated.

There’s an old saying, “If you can remember the 60s you weren’t there”, and I frequently had musicians contacting me to say they couldn’t remember which bands they’d been in. I was able to research and help them out with dates and members, which in turn triggered other memories to add to the archive.

Garry Barrett is a good example of a comprehensive family tree. Garry is a respected and talented York musician who retired his voice and guitar some years ago. Beginning his career in a garden shed with the writer of this article, Garry progressed through a series of bands in the 80s and 90s, working with and attracting the cream of York’s musical talent.

April 2000: York Singer Garry Barrett, ex-Stone Cold Sober frontman prepares to journey to the sun after being picked to sing with Hull band The People in Florida. Photo: NQ

Garry was at the time York’s answer to Rod Stewart, and Paul Rodgers of Free. He is also a capable and proficient songwriter and has been associated with York’s local music scene for almost 40 years. In that time he has fronted bands comprised of the highest calibre of local musicians, toured extensively, released albums and been part of overseas residencies. Luckily, Garry was able to recall most of his career in detail, and I was able to fill in gaps from other trees and information.

Some of the trees run to three or four pages, and some even longer and more detailed. It must be a wonderful thing to be able to look back on your career in music, to maybe even have a copy of it framed on the wall. It evokes fond memories of times past, lifelong friendships made, superb performances remembered, and being part of a tradition of “being in a band…”

A page in Garry Barrett’s musical family tree. Photo supplied

After the first flurry of information from the musicians and artists who sent them in, unfortunately interest seems to have waned a little, and it has been a while since I received one from anyone new. All this recorded data is so important – it’s a social record of the last fifty years of York people who took the time to learn to play an instrument, formed a band, entertained an audience, split up, reformed with others, and went through the whole process again and again – just for the love of music and the incredible buzz it gives you.

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As one of York’s older generation of musicians, eventually I’ll be going off to join that great orchestra of musicians in the sky…! Can I appeal to anyone reading this article who would like their tree creating to please get in touch with me either on Facebook Messenger or through the Press (please email maxine.gordon@thepress.co.uk) and send me as much information as they can remember? I’ll do my best to create as detailed a document as I can.

Someday the cliché “ What did you do in the war Daddy?…” will be replaced by “ Didn’t you once play in a rock band Grandad..( or Granny..) ? “ You can point proudly to your musical family tree, and although the only thing now rocking is your chair, you can shut your eyes, and relive all those heady days in your mind.