THE OXCENTRICS 1974-77
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Notes on History( memory dump)
Adrian Sheen was the original manager, organizer and singer
The band was based at University College Oxford.
Rehearsals were at first in the practice room Univ.
Steven Bishop was actually the first trombonist but he only did 2 rehearsals on a bass trombone. As Steve had the wrong type of trombone he asked Paul St J Smith to take over and subsequently left. In the initial rehearsals the arrangements and idiom were distinctly heterogeneous. The 20style was not settled upon as the charts were of all different types of music and vintage, including big band and Jimmy Lally, dance and even 1960s arrangements.
A previous band the Broad Street Stompers broke up and their
old gigging pad was acquired which was mainly Dixieland, the
Paul and Richard Keeble had a band before college and Paul donated lots of Dixieland stuff he bought at BRONS in 1972. Paul still has the originals! I have a hand written list of numbers from the back of my 1975 diary. The Dixieland style was agreed and settled upon. Thereby the repertoire was started.
Paul discovered from Anthony Baines, the musicologist, a name of a band in the 1920s called the OXONTRICS. The name was changed slightly and agreed and the Oxentrics were born.
Original personnel include: -
Olly Weindling Clarinet
Glynn Lewis Tenor Sax
Trumpet??? Geoff/ Adam Brett and sometimes Richard Keeble
Paul St John-Smith Trombone
Graham Downing Banjo
Herbie Kuta borrowed a bass Tuba (BBflat) from the Bate collection, again courtesy of Anthony Baines.
Pianist???? Simon Wallace
Frequent Deps. Include: - Hugh Wallis Dep.Tuba, Richard Keeble Dep. Trumpet
Al Sheeley Drums
Gigs from75 onwards
Lifted from my old diaries for 1975 to 1977
(I haven’t included all the rehearsals)
It looks like I got involved about March 1975. We did a U.C review with the band on 8/3/75
The review was FOOD orientated and OXFAT was born.
The rag day parade on the lorry was 3/5/75. We had to be at
We did a beer cellar gig at Univ. with a JUG band and cabaret on May 25th.
My girlfriend at the time (The long suffering Rosemary) seems to have accompanied us!
Hugh Wallis took my cousin Susan and I think I nearly ended up with him as a relative.
21/6/75 See GD ?
We did a Polytechnic ball on June 27th
When was the E C T review? Was it Etcetera’s?
We branched out and went to
After the gig, I remember sleeping on the floor.
Richard Keeble the trumpet player that time took me down there in his VW beetle. I remember going on the beach the next morning and everyone Quoting from the review; especially the worst lines!
After the summer break we met up again. I recall going to the Great Gatsby at Catz
(Oct 20th1975) with the band. Did we play beforehand?
On Oct 23rd it looks like some of us moved a
prepared purple piano from a house in Summertown and accidentally jammed it in
the front door of the music faculty in
After an evening listening in the Jazz club we performed the “Time Ceremony” drinking port while walking backwards and putting the clocks back at Merton. This was 25-26 /10/75. This tradition was recognized and reported on University Challenge last year. I suspect this was one of the first! Who else was there?
I have written down Laura, Helen, Hugh Wallis and BARRY PRESS whom I believe/suspect INVENTED the tradition in 1993/4.
We played at Hugh Wallis’ party at Keble College in the JCR (again with Richard Keeble on trumpet). Didn’t Laura and Helen Wilson undress and dance in front of the band?
Was
What was the OUSU gig about on 19/11/75?
I have Graham’s 21st birthday down for 22/11/75. St John's JCR
We did the Merton Ball on Dec 5th 1975 and have the photo to prove it!
Is it possible that we did
In 1976 we continued on the up and up. I noted an incident at the Penny-farthing pub with Glyn and subsequently reporting some yobs to the police.
I think the Disco was cancelled on 7/2/76 and Glyn, Herbie and I went to a party at Merton.
13/2/76 I note we went to
14/2/76 was an OUSU dance we played. I’ve noted that we stayed in Glyn’s room till 4am.
21/2/76 The sailing club at the
22/2/76 A party in St Annes
28/2/76 I don’t recall a
Does anybody remember gate crashing a party after a wind orchestra concert on 31/1/76 and playing uninvited to the perplexity of the hosts? This could have been 22/5/76
Didn’t we do the recording and the played at the Roebuck on Feb 29th 1976?
I have various Jazz club dates, all at the Roebuck on a Sunday.
Opportunity knocks at Kneller Hall 19/3/76 thanks to
Wasn’t there high security at the gate and my little Datsun 120Y and all the instrument cases was searched for bombs?
Our comments made the soldiers laugh and they asked if we
were students from
Do you remember the dustman from
Weren’t we nearly thrown out for laughing too much?
I think we played Lulu.
OUCA party.
Mayday 6am (outside Univ. at 5am) and later that day punting (Another picture 1/5/76).
The night before Mayday some of us stayed up all night! I have a picture of four trombones ( one of them is me) outside the launderette in North Parade playing quartets at 1am. The other trombonists all came to listen to us at 6am.
Jesus Ball 19/6/76
I seem to remember having to go to two balls on that night, one with another band. I got into trouble juggling the two as I invited a different girl to each.
A party at New college 23/6/76 the day my finals ended.
I remember having 2 pints at lunchtime at the Kings Arms and
getting so intoxicated due to a combination of exhaustion and an empty stomach,
I had to be helped back to my room in
Ox nut dinner---in a field wasn’t it? 24/6/76
Chris played the drums using some outsized carrots.
Magdelen Ball 25/6/76
You are right we had a party on 26/6/76 but it was John Prior’s birthday
Rhode’s House 3/7/76 when we stayed in my room in
25/11/76 I have a St Hughes gig down. I forgot my music and had to play from memory.
6/12/76 Magdalen Ball I have as cancelled!
My second diary suggests we did a gig at Tate and Lyle on 10/12/76 in Reading. Is that when Mike Southon joined and Adrian left?
17/12 I also have down Frensham Heights Surrey.
After that Laura K-Lassman does some of the arranging of things and managing the band.
Paul graduates 1976. Glyn Olly and others in 1977.
Jan 7th 1977 ?? Herbie’s 21st birthday
Jan 21st Chile party at the Newman Rooms. I have noted down that I was introduced to Anne Wanklin Who was she?
25/1/77 We did play at a Burn’s Night at St Cross. I haven’t eaten Haggis since.
28./1/77 We seemed to have done a Poly. Gig in the Town Hall
1/5/77 Mayday again at 6am.Later that day some of us played Berlioz in Canterbury Quad with Hugh Macdonald conducting. Maybe this is the year with all the extra trombonists.
May 14th Catz party
May 15th Oxcentrics at the Roebuck.
28/5 Beggar’s banquet at the Boathouse
3/6 Jesus gig outdoors at lunchtime.
I tried using a valve trombone from the Bate collection. It was hard work.
10/6/77 We did a party in Oriel
11/6 St Anthony’s dinner Paul Thomas was on Trumpet?
18/6/77 Teddy hall ball
22/6/77 I have the Newman Rooms down with The Australian CC
It was a bit Hooligan.
23/6 A party in the parks, I remember going with a horn player from Somerville who was quite perplexed by it all!
24/6 New college ball30/6
London gig30/6/77 Courtaulds Institute ? Mike’s
2/7 Norfolk Hunt Ball.
I remember Mike teaching the audience to pogo???? Didn’t we play Tiger Rag with Mike sitting on my shoulders whilst my trombone did the growls?
The band on after us complained that they could not follow that!
6/9 Opposite Lock Birmingham.
Paul stays at Oxford and forms a new band, which plays on into the 1980s. It is managed by Claire Jarvis at LMH. This includes Paul Thomas, Yva Thakurdas, Jon Hill, Tony Augarde and others from a big band called “MC squared”. Paul had the pad at that time but passes it onto Olly in 1980 something after a gig when Olly leaves his clarinets behind and looses them. Paul has no further contact!
Yet another splinter Oxcentics formed in London Olly/Chris/Mike during 1980s.
Didn’t we have a reunion at Olly’s in the 80s
Since1992 I have run a similar band using some of the Oxcentrics’ library with my wife Lindsey who is a clarinetist, (and more recently my 2 daughters Bethany and Hannah), keeping on the family Dixieland tradition.
