By Phil Spalding

 cambolc.co.uk,  linkedin.com/in/philipspalding66, https://bsky.app/profile/cambolc.bsky.social

The Stranglers song is a good way to kick off this morning’s words from Haverhill on the West Suffolk border with Essex and Cambridgeshire or as we like to call the Greater Cambridge Area.

The heroes I am thinking about are the many bands that Haverhill has produced. I am not just thinking of the contribution that Haverhill Silver Band made as a league one competitive entity who contributed so much to the musicality of the town , but the bands playing contemporary music. On my facebook page I put out a call for contributions to the project that I first started to discuss with Mick from 13th Chime last November. I will be setting up a group later to try and manage the contributions of memories and names of bands. We seem to be getting a bit of a music scene going again in the town with live bands playing at the Woolpack.

So which bands have been put forward so far:

13th Chime who are still going Mick is the one in the top hat.

The Moment, still going as I am reliably informed

An old school friend has shared some tracks via WhatsApp of a local band Possesion that I am going to listen to that included one of our now local accountants.

There are other bands out there. One that was from the early 1970s was Wood Cushion of which Roy Ravell was a member. Interesting story of why they were called Wood Cushions which I will share or may have shared in a previous blog (Cambolc’s Pennies of thought a Webhikers guide to Life Long Learning).

Some photos of old bands I have included below from Haverhill spanning a number of eras I would like to hear more about. The facebook group Haverhill Bands Past and Present might be of interest in communicating information, memories and insights.

Sadly we lost Ed from Andy’s Records recently who would have been a great font of knowledge so maybe we can fill in the gaps from the collective memory. The ultimate aim is to produce a series of blogs and maybe a series of ebooks with proceeds going to support worthy good causes. This will need to be set up properly in the light of the Captain Tom schenanigans. However, that is something for another time to quote the opening line of another song “We have only just begun”.