Jameson Raid – a brief history
“Let me take you back in history to 1895…..” – well maybe not that far, but let’s start with 1973. At this point John Ace (the Bass) and Ian Smith (Lead Guitar) were budding rock musicians at a Grammar school which they both attended in Sutton Coldfield. Their first band “Spectaté II (rough translation from Latin is “Look Twice”) first performed to a paying audience, with their drummer Pete McCann and rhythm guitarist Pete Davis, at the Tramps Ball at their school, summer 1973. This line up survived, (the operative word), for a year or more until the inevitable happened when the band split, when some of the members followed the more conventional rights of passage of teenagers, to university. Ian, however, left the UK for a life on the ocean waves. John continued to play in a couple of bands at Aston Uni and eventually met up with Stewart (rhythm guitarist) and A. N. Other (name forgotten) to form a covers band. When this band split John persuaded Ian to return to the UK and, with Stewart, on 15th June 1975, the three formed the basis of what was later to become Jameson Raid. Only a drummer was needed. An advert in the local paper and one audition session later, a drummer was chosen. He was talented and had a good looking drum kit. Unfortunately his nocturnal activities were less than legitimate and when he discovered, over a casual pint in The Railway in Curzon St., Birmingham, that Stewart was a police officer by day (and night), the drummer disappeared without a trace……. Enter Phil Kimberley – a close second choice at the auditions, drum kit not so good, but he lived locally and showed promising signs of talent, looks can be deceiving. Phil joined on 6th July 1975.
By 26th August the band was ready to play its first gig at The Boldmere pub, under the name of Notre Dame. Not happy with that name, but not being able to agree between them anything more suitable, the band settled on a suggestion from their roadie, Nick (Boz) Freeman who, during his time at school, recalled the name of a battle during his history lessons – (Amazing – not the name, but the fact that Boz recalled anything from school was a minor miracle) “…..and so begins the story - of The Raid”.
