Coach House Club is born
Last updated 09:18, Saturday, 12 April 2008
Around the time we’d returned to The Howard Arms in Brampton (autumn 1966), local businessman and jazz fan Dougal Kyle bought Allenwood House, near Heads Nook, with a view of having a jazz club being held there.
The band liaised with Dougal and application was made to Border Rural District Council for permission to form a private members club.
The application was recommended to be turned down by the Town and Country Planning Committee on the grounds that: “A jazz club would destroy the peace and quiet of the countryside contrary to the principle of maintaining natural amenities,” and would “generate too much traffic for quiet country roads”.
However, representations were made to the council, including an impassioned plea from smooth-talking Mick Potts himself, and eventually permission was granted and on December 7, 1966, Mick, as chairman, was granted a club registration certificate at Brampton Magistrates Court and The Coach House Club was born.
Sunday February 12 1967 saw the opening of the club. All members of The Cumberland Jazz Club were automatically eligible to join, and the first year saw a membership of well in excess of a thousand – not all jazz fans, as Saturday evenings later featured the Edenaires Dance Band and the Dave Ruddick Band.
The opening night line-up was Mick Potts (trumpet), Norman Heeley-Creed (trombone), Billy Douglas (clarinet and saxophone), Colin ‘Sycamore’ Smith (double bass), John Smith (banjo), Jim Willis (piano) and Albert Holliday (drums).
New ground was broken with the booking of professional bands. 1967 appearances including the first of several visits by The Chris Barber Jazz Band, Bob Wallis and his Stormville Jazz Band, which at the time featured Terry Lightfoot, and The Red Onions Jazz Band from Australia. The year finished off (almost) by a Christmastide Party which apart from The Gateway, featured The Milton Lonning Jug Band – the brainwave of Peter ‘Squire’ Myers.
1968 saw the first of several visits to the Coach House of the legendary Teddy Wilson, who, in an illustrious career stretching back to 1931, had played piano with such jazz giants as Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Billie Holliday.
He was accompanied by The Dave Shepherd Quintet who were themselves to visit the club many times in the following years.
Mick formed a strong friendship with Teddy and they became long-distance buddies, often playing piano duets when they met up.
The annual Warnell Fell outdoor session had to be abandoned because of rain, but, undeterred, we reverted to Plan ‘B’ which was The Oddfellows Arms at Caldbeck and the piano, which went to all the out-of-club sessions, had to be manhandled up the stairs to the function room and back down again – needless to say Cyril Lowes, the piano tuner (and popular dance band leader), was regularly called out.
n Were you a regular at The Coach House Jazz Club? Let Timeline know your memories.
