Do You Remember The First Time?

I have just been sent the above photograph. It is a picture of E.S.P. Disk-rd live at The Punch & Judy Bar, Newark Palace Theatre, December 7 1980.
The chap with a certain savoir faire and the dress sense of Mark E. Smith playing the bass guitar is me. I find this very hard to believe....I never wore jeans!
This was my first gig. I thought I remembered it well but if you told me that I was wearing jeans as first trouse of choice I would have called you a liar! I always wore corduroy! It was also the time where we had the decency to leave our drinks at the side of the stage. if it had been a gig now the table with the synth keyboard would also act as the "drinks table".
We played as part of the "1980: Waking Up Newark" festival organised by local musician John Bingham and the man behind the Newark & Southwell fanzine "Cautious Talk Seduces Young Children" fanzine; Tim Bop. (Not real name). We got the gig by mailing a demo tape to "Cautious Talk" or "Catsick" as it was known back then...thinking back, they must've been short of bands. I also recommended Lincoln band The Void and they got the headline spot on the night. Apart from ourselves and The Void, there was D+7 (John Bingham's band), Passive Resistance and Subway Razor. Later (in the 1980's) members of the latter two became O Yuki Conjugate. I think the only reason The Void got the headline spot was because they could do the longest set. Ours was 10 minutes. 3 songs = 10 minutes. We were booked as, and billed as "So Commercial", but between booking and performing we had changed our name to E.S.P. Disk-rd.
It was our first and last gig with Rosemary on synth keyboard, she later went onto join The Void for a few gigs. We were asked to play the "1981: Waking Up Nottingham" festival at The Ad Lib Club a few months later but we declined.

I love the picture. It is so 1970's (although it is 1980)! Brown curtains, old beer glasses, nicotine stained ceiling tiles. Beautiful.
I wish I had a recording from the gig. 10 years ago I met John Bingham again. he was working as a barman in a pub near the theatre. He didn't say much. Infact he seemed a little freaked by Dave and I hassling him for memories and recordings...poor bloke, he's probably left the country by now!

Picture: E.S.P. Disk-rd Live. (L-R: Steve Cammack - Bass. Dave Uden - Drums. Rosemary Ingleton - Synthesizer).