The Van Dike - The Life & Times of a Plymouth Club by Jonathan Hill (Books Review)

Van Dike - The Life & Times of a Plymouth Club 1968 - 1972

Van Dike - More Life & Times of a Plymouth Club 1968 - 1980

Van Dike Brochure 1

Van Dike Brochure 2

In the late 1960s, and through the 1970s, many towns and cities had a smaller music venue that allowed up and coming groups to learn their trade, and make a living. In Nottingham there were in fact very few venues that took on bigger groups. Occasionally somewhere like the Albert Hall or Sherwood Rooms would 'risk' a group from the rock genre, but this was infrequent. There was no 'Royal Concert Hall', there was no 'Rock City', and there certainly was no sign of an arena! So here we had 'The Nottingham Boat Club', basically an upper level reception room with a stage, at the side of the river Trent. Here I spent many, many happy, and somewhat drunken, Friday and Saturday nights in my youth. In Birmingham they had 'Mothers', in Redcar it was 'The Jazz Club', Wolverhampton had 'The Catacombs', Aylesbury had 'Friars'. There were many others, and Free played the majority of them at one time or another. They were important stomping grounds, and fuelled many careers. I dare say, if you are 'of a certain age', you had a club just like this in your area too. They are in fact sadly missed these days.

One such venue in Plymouth was the legendary 'Van Dike Club', run originally by Peter Van Dike. Everyone played there, and I mean EVERYONE! The list is ludicrous. A real 'who's who' of groups now considered, important, influential, and downright significant to the burgeoning UK rock scene at the time. Celebrating this particular club, and this important period, there is a beautiful set of books and brochures put together by Jonathan Hill that cover this era of British music history perfectly. If you went to any of the places above, everything here will be familiar to you, the music, the groups, the fashion, and the beer names - Watney's Red Barrel anyone?

Inside these books is a treasure trove of posters, flyers, tickets, reviews, cuttings and photographs, many items not available anywhere else. There's also a compete listing of all the gigs at the venue, shows by Free, Steamhammer, Spooky Tooth, Colosseum, Mighty Baby, Yes, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Groundhogs, Caravan, VDGG... and that's just the first few months of 1969! The level of detail, personal stories from people at the gigs, and competence of the research is breathtaking. You can just browse idly from page to page in sheer wonder, or take a deep dig into the mass of information here. Excellent stuff, and hours of fun.

You'll be pleased to know Free get mentioned quite a bit, and there are some great photographs of them, many full-page, particularly in the 1968-1980 volume. In fact there are great photographs of pretty much everyone! Brilliant stuff, and certainly things I've never seen before. Mott, Tull, Crimson, Floyd and all. The two volumes do overlap a little bit, and include information on the gigs at the Guildhall as well.

What is especially nice is that they all sit very agreeably with 'Heavy Load', and The J.P. James book about Paul Kossoff. In reality they have a very similar feel, in the fact that they are written by a fan, and self-published. They are hardback, and great quality. These are weighty tomes. While I'm aware everything in the current climate is a 'considered purchase', I guarantee you'll have a great time reading through these. Both casual page turning, and proper cover-to-cover reading is hugely rewarding. To study everything here thoroughly, you'll need to put aside some serious time! I loved them, and they really did bring back some fantastic memories from a moment in time when everything seemed far less complicated and hectic (despite all the strikes!) Rose-tinted glasses? Perhaps, but I'm happy to wear them.

100% FAS recommended.

There's also a flyer for them coming in the next issue with more info (#172). In the meantime you can find them on Ebay. Search with 'vandikebook Plymouth' to find them all easily.