THE BLUE CAPS

 

This is Johnny and the Blue Caps (1960) taken at the Gladstone Hotel (Hammond Ales) Bridge Street, in Middlesbrough. The band, playing to a full house as usual, had a residency at this venue every Tuesday night and shows Charlie Peacock, Eric Whitehouse, Mick Kemp, Johnny McNaughton and Howard Rayner.

The Blue Caps introduced the horror sketches into their act after working with Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages back in the early sixties at the Majestic Ballroom, in Darlington. Eric, seen here as "Jack the Ripper" says: "I think Jimmy Page was with Dave Sutch back then. "This was before Ritchie Blackmore and Jeff Beck joined the band. "I often had to swing off balconies on a long rope onto the stage and "Kempy" once or twice set fire to my hair for a laugh.

The Blue Caps with some screaming fans at Deaf Hill Dance about 1964.

The Blue Caps, seem here early 1966, were the only Teesside band ever to perform on the main stage of the Globe Theatre in Stockton, Eric Whitehouse informs me. The line up (left to right) is Les Bennet (bass guitar & vocals) Peter Embleton (vocalist and ex-Del and the Falcons, Fiesta compere, and who later worked under the name of Peter Saint) Mick Kemp (drums and vocals) Ian "Tex" Peacock (guitar & vocals) and Eric Whitehouse (guitar and vocals).

To view the captions, and photograph details of these early Blue Caps images, click on the screen and use the small paper icon on the lower left. The photographs will continue to show with the captions. You can view them at your own pace by using the left and right arrows.

Under Saltburn Pier - photograph © Jack T. Marriott

Sunny Saltburn-by-the-Sea with an early Mick Kemp public address system!

Charlie Peacock, Eric Whitehouse playing a Harmony Meteor guitar and Mick Kemp.

The photograph above shows Ably Smith - alias Tony Martin - Mick Kemp and Eric playing a Harmony Sovereign guitar.

Old Stillington Club, about 1965.

Here's a rare find taken on the eve of the Evening Gazette Rhythm Group Final - Monday 30th March 1964 - hence the lucky mascot. Eric says "I was only a bairn - 17 years old, all sweet and innocent and spotty!

This is the band's second hand J4 which they bought from Fyffe's Bananas. The gentleman at the door is Mick Kemp's cousin, Robbie the Roadie with Eric on the right.

Howard Rainer and Eric Whitehouse as Texas Moon. This was taken in 1987 when they supported Joe Sun & Solar System at the Yorkshire Trucking Spectacular at Pickering Show Ground.

The Evening Gazette's "Remember When" featured The Blue Caps on July 31st, 2009.