The following entries are taken from the diary of Chris 'Daktari' Lewis, a roadie with Clown. They describe the band's progress and eventual demise.
January 2nd, 1971 - Gemini 2 Studios, Twickenham, recorded six tracks in six hours.
January 3rd, 1971 - Gemini 2 Studios, Twickenham, put voices onto backing tracks, songs include ' Take my hand ', ' Did you find ', ' Factories ', ' Well ', ' Interlude '.
January 4th, 1971 - Returned to Plymouth.
January 12th, 1971 - Six track LP arrives at Paul's in Plymouth.
February 13th, 1971 - Paul paid £280 for a Gibson bass from Bill Greenhalgh of Exeter, forging his mother's signature on an H.P. form.
February 26th, 1971 - Ley and Alby visit Plymouth with the news that EMI, Polydor and Warner Bros are interested in the band, plus a new label called Neon.
March 23rd, 1971 - Ronnies, on the Barbican, booked for trial gig.
March 24th, 1971 - Paul is confident the band will make an album a year until 1975.
April 8th, 1971 - Clown play Queen's Hall, Barnstaple for £15 supporting Black Widow. They take the stage at 10.30, play one-and-a-half numbers for ten minutes when Alby steps on a metal plate and short circuits the amps.
April 13th, 1971 - Clown's Plymouth debut at Ronnies on the Barbican. Ram played first then at 10.30 p.m. in front of Peter Knight and Mickey Clarke played six self-penned titles in 40 minutes, to much acclaim. Alby commented 'We're not running before we can walk, we're f****n' screaming along!"
June 17th, 1971 - Paid £4.30 for a cheap day return to Paddington for tomorrow.
June 18th, 1971 - Clown play at Chappells and make a demo tape for Stuart Reed. Songs include ' Brighton love affair '.
July 2nd, 1971 - Band go to London. Meet Mickey Clarke and go to Chappells. Had a ten minute work out then walked to EMI in Manchester square. Played an acoustic set in front of Mr. Featherstone and colleagues. Later in talks with Mickey EMI offer between £1,500 and £2,000 to sign the band.
July 6th, 1971 - Alby rang Paul from London to say a representative from CBS was in the audience on the 2nd as was an RCA rep and they both want to sign the band. They will have to return to London for another trial gig, this time electric.
July 9th, 1971 - Got up at 2.30 and drove Paul to London. Met Alby and caught the tube to Chappells. The band practised and were given £36 expenses. Hired some gear and did a gig at La Bataclan club in front of representatives from Warners and Bell. In the evening performed an acoustic set for CBS at Chappells.
July 18th, 1971 - Alby rings Paul to say that CBS have offered a five-year contract, 5% UK record sales and 2½% worldwide with a minimum advance of £3,000.
August 8th, 1971 - CBS offer £4,000. Steve Parrish joins the band. There are now 20 numbers ready for the LP.
August 29th, 1971 - The band move into a house at Meopham, 'Te-Koanga'.
September 1st, 1971 - Hired a K-reg Escort in Gravesend to take everyone around. Five minutes from the garage, with T driving, collided with a car turning right in front of us.
September 3rd, 1971 - Bought a G-reg 2¼ ton transit for £622.50 from a garage in Hammersmith.
September 6th, 1971 - Bought some gear from E.S. Electronics and rehearsed in a village hall at Sutton Valence.
September 7th, 1971 - Rehearsed ' Rumania ' and ' Give me Time '. Steve's piano arrived from E.S.E.
September 9th, 1971 - Rehearsed ' Babylon '.
September 11th, 1971 - Rehearsed ' Motorway ' paying ten shillings an hour for use of the hall, on average £12.50 per week to Mrs. West.
September 14th, 1971 - Rehearsed ' Green grows my mind '.
September 15th, 1971 - Rehearsed ' Interlude ' and ' Cold mice ' at Hollingworth Hall, Sutton Valence.
September 16th, 1971 - Villager complained about the noise of rehersals and threatened to write to the committee.
September 20th, 1971 - Stayed the night with Steve Parrish at Mickey Clarke's house at Crawley. Mickey said as roadie I could expect to earn £2,500 per year.
September 21st, 1971 - Rehearsed ' Lord of the ringside ' in a new venue at Culverstone.
September 22nd, 1971 - Played at Chappells for Stuart who took us to the Mason's Arms for drinks. Paul and I went shopping at 'Get Knotted', 'Upwest' and 'Lord Kitchener's Valet'.
September 28th, 1971 - Had clasps and a security bar fitted to the van for £6.25.
September 30th, 1971 - First time in CBS studio. Mike Ross engineer laid down ' Ringside ' and ' Interlude '.
October 1st, 1971 - In the studio. Mixed ' Interlude ' and ' Lord of the ringside '.
October 4th, 1971 - Rehearsing at Hodsall Street. Stuart Reed rang to say he was having lunch with a guy who wanted to do a TV series similar to the Monkees. Did Clown want to be that group. Ley said yes.
October 5th, 1971 - Rehearsed at Hodsall Street and tried to do the complete set. The first three numbers were tight but came unstuck on ' Motorway '. Steve forgot some of his notes.
October 6th, 1971 - Had a photo session with Tim, the photographer, at Billy Smart's Circus, Bexley Heath. Steve told me he sees the band as a temporary thing. I write that he'll probably be gone by Christmas.
October 7th, 1971 - Dave Jordan, ex-producer of ' Top of the Pops ' came to Hodsall Street to meet the band. Mickey Clarke took Steve Parrish home at 2. His dismissal is imminent.
October 8th, 1971 - While other members went off for the weekend, I drove Ley, Alby and Dave to London to see Stuart Reed of Chappells. He's enthusiastic about ' Lord of the ringside '. Dave Jordan arrived to talk of the TV show. Stuart said that if the BBC showed no interest, Stuart would contact Thames.
October 11th, 1971 - In the evening drove to London and met Dave Jordan in a pub. He put forward more ideas for the TV show.
October 12th, 1971 - Collected our new P.A. system from Eric at Maidstone.
October 12th, 1971 - Billy rang to say he's giving in his notice tomorrow to join us as roadie. Clown have an overdraft of £137 and there is no date for the single release.
October 14th, 1971 - The group ran through their set at Hodsall Street with new P.A.
October 16th, 1971 - In CBS studio from mid day until 2 a.m. Laid down backing tracks for ' Cold Mice ', ' Motorway ', and completed ' Rumania '. Started ' Did you find ' and ' Brighton love affair '.
October 17th, 1971 - In the studio from early afternoon until 3 a.m. working on ' Motorway ', ' Rumania ', and ' Cold Mice '.
October 18th, 1971 - Chappells advance us £200 due to our onrushing poverty.
October 19th, 1971 - Drove to Sutton Valence where Mrs. West agreed to rent us Hollingworth Hall to practise.
October 20th, 1971 - Used our new P.A. at Sutton Valence for the first time.
October 21st, 1971 - Stuart Reed thinks Dave Jordan's ideas for the TV show are too way out. Rehearsed at Sutton Valence.
October 23rd, 1971 - In the studio, recording.
October 24th, 1971 - In the studio working on ' Gone to lunch ', ' Maurice ', and ' Mad mighty iron man '.
October 26th, 1971 - First gig at the Maidstone Corn Exchange after a final practise at Sutton Valance, taking the stage at 9.30 and playing for 40 minutes to polite applause.
October 27th, 1971 - Alby, Dave and Ley had a meeting with Stuart Reed at Chappells. The band are concerned that Mickey Clarke is not getting the band any work.
October 30th, 1971 - Recording at CBS.
October 31st, 1971 - Recording from 2 p.m. until 2 a.m.
November 2nd, 1971 - Tee, Paul, Dave, Steve and me sign on the dole.
November 3rd, 1971 - Alby went to see Stuart Reed and returned with £25.
November 4th, 1971 - Billy joins the band as roadie.
November 5th, 1971 - Band mixing in the studio. Stuart Reed is having trouble finding the band work as no one wants an unknown group. He suggested we get part-time jobs until things start happening.
November 9th, 1971 - Finished mixing the LP. Played the tapes to Stuart at Chappells.
November 12th, 1971 - Rehearsed at Hodsall Street a new song to replace ' Give me time '.
November 15th, 1971 - Mickey Clarke arrived with posters advertising ' The Clown and Raw Material at Gravesend on the 28th '.
November 16th, 1971 - Drove around Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester giving out posters. Nine shillings per ticket, ten shillings on the door.
November 19th, 1971 - Drove around with a table in the van pasting posters and sticking them up.
November 22nd, 1971 - Rehearsed at Hodsall Street. Alby and Lyn move to Chiswick.
November 23rd, 1971 - The band had a pep talk from Stuart Reed at Chappells. There is no more money and the Gravesend gig will be make or break.
November 25th, 1971 - Practised at hodsall Street. The band have gigs booked at Ronnies, Plymouth and the Queens Hall, Barnstaple.
November 27th, 1971 - Rehearsed at hodsall Street. Used the echo on ' Out to lunch '.
November 28th, 1971 - Raw Material played at Gravesend and Clown took the stage at 9.30. The sparse audience clapped along and enjoyed themselves.
December 2nd, 1971 - We have so little money, frequently we run out of petrol. Left at midnight to drive to Plymouth for the Ronnies gig.
Decenber 6th, 1971 - Performed 2 x 45 minute spots at Ronnies for £35.
December 7th, 1971 - Supported Lindisfarne at Barnstaple for £20.
December 10th, 1971 - Back at Meopham. Raw Material rang to see if we wanted to stand in for them at Essex University. Paul hadn't returned so we had to decline.
December 13th, 1971 - Tee, Ley and Alby went to Stuart Reed's office in London to ring universities to find work. Tee came back to say there were nine possible bookings.
December 15th, 1971 - Practised at Hodsall Street, working on new numbers.
December 18th, 1971 - Left 'Te-Koanga', Meopham for good and drove to Plymouth.
December 24th, 1971 - Steve Parrish, pianist, enters Moorhaven hospital.
January 3rd, 1972 - Back in London picked up John, a Canadian, at Victoria Station and drove to Hodsall Street in Kent to rehearse. John fits in well.
January 4th, 1972 - Visited Chappells to ask for £50. Stuart Reed said he'd let us know. Rehearsed again at Hodsall Street.
January 5th, 1972 - Rehearsed again working on ' Swop Show ' and ' Jimmy Wheeler '.
January 6th, 1972 - Drove to Chatham for interview on Colin Slade's Overdrive programme on Radio Medway.
January 7th, 1972 - John told the band at the Hodsall Street rehearsal that he may have to leave the band. Morale is low.
January 10th, 1972 - Rehearsed at Hodsall Street and with nowhere to live, some band members and roadies are forced to sleep in the van.
January 11th, 1972 - Paul, Tee and Billy find a flat in Gravesend. CL finds a bedsit.
January 14th, 1972 - Drove to Chappells and Val Stevens became the new keyboard player. Drove to Hodsall Street to rehearse.
January 15th, 1972 - Drove to London to collect Alby and Dave and the remainder of the group from Gravesend to practise at Hodsall Street. The group are scattered.
January 17th, 1972 - After practise at Hodsall Street Tee informs Alby that if things don't improve by the end of the month, he'll quit the band.
January 18th, 1972 - Had a clear-the-air meeting at which Paul and Tee said they would give the group til the 28th and then possibly leave. Ley said that Clown would continue with or without them.
January 19th, 1972 - Drove to Chappells where Ley phoned Dave Majerrison at CBS to get things moving on the record front. Steve Parrish, Mickey Clarke and Mike Smith, all connected with the group, have recently had breakdowns.
January 20th, 1972 - Pushed the van to get it to start. Rehearsed at Hodsall Street.
January 21st, 1972 - Performed at Leeds from 9.30 til 11 p.m. Songs included ' Oh Susannah ' and ' Ed Welch ' and ' Rumania ' which were performed twice to fill out the spot.
January 23rd, 1972 - Drove from Leeds to Nottingham to play at an all-girls college.
January 27th, 1972 - Drove to Plymouth, after spending £6.47 to fix the van.
January 28th, 1972 - Drove to Penzance to perform at the Winter Garden, backing Manfred Mann.
January 30th, 1972 - Drove back to London and Gravesend.
February 2nd, 1972 - Drove to Chappells for the band to rehearse, including ' Stop, look, listen '. After rehearsals Tee went to Leeds and Paul to Plymouth. Ley unhappy.
February 8th, 1972 - ' Ringside ' release date could be March 10 with ' Interlude ' the 'B' side.
February 13th, 1972 - Took the van off the road, through lack of money to tax it.
February 14th, 1972 - The band went to a photo session and Alby is thinking of contacting CBS to see if they can make any more money available.
February 14th, 1972 - CBS came up with another £200. Clown may be signing with an agency called Acorn and there could be a six week tour with the equals. T and Billy go to Leeds for a party. Paul returns to Plymouth. We are able to tax the van. Acorn like ' Ringside ' and ' White Horses '.
February 23rd, 1972 - Took the van to Meopham garage to have the starter fixed and to get an M.O.T.
February 25th, 1972 - Paul went to London to re-mix ' Ringside '. ' Rumania ' is on the 'B' side and the release date will now be March 24.
February 26th, 1972 - Drove to Fulham and swapped the piano for a wurltizer. T, Paul, Billy and Val have moved to Canning Town.
February 28th, 1972 - The band rehearses at Hodsall Street for the first time for a while. ' Ed Welch ' was changed with Paul putting forward new ideas. The sound from the wurlitzer is disappointing.
February 29th, 1972 - CBS rang Ley to say Clown would be playing at Bumpers next Thursday in front of agents, including Acorn. Rehersal at Hodsall Street went badly after T and Paul walked the eight miles from Gravesend through lack of money. Ley and Val argued. There seems to be a rift in the band with Dave, Alby and Ley on one side, and Tee, Paul and Val on the other.
March 1st, 1972 - Collected the van from the garage and paid the £65 bill. Loaded up the gear from Hodsall Street and Billy took the van, gear and Tee back to Canning Town. Ley and I wondered why they needed so much gear to practise in their flat. We mused that maybe they were planning a moonlight flit.
March 2nd, 1972 - Val rang Ley last night to say he was leaving the band as were T and Paul. Billy was going with them too. Ley went to London to tell Alby and Dave and we all met up in Chappells. Stuart said that Alby, Ley and Dave were still Clown, so while Alby interviewed a new guitarist Will, who had played with Savoy Brown, Ley and CL went to Canning Town to retrieve the van and the wurlitzer. The band has been about to break three times with Steve, then John, and now Val. The remaining members vow to try for a fourth time.
March 3rd, 1972 - Ley and CL drive to Canning Town to collect more gear. Paul and T refuse so CL calls the police who can do nothing. Ley and CL drive to CBS to register the name 'Clown' and then to Chappells to consult a legal expert. Alby, Ley, CL and Peter (legal expert) return to Canning Town to explain the situation. Paul and T agreed provided they received a letter saying they owed nothing to Chappell or CBS. This was agreed.
March 4th, 1972 - Collected the speaker cabinets, and Dave and Colin (possibly new bass player) plus Willy (lead guitar) and drove to Hodsall Street to practise. The new guys were poor on ' Rumania ' and we drove them back to London.
March 6th, 1972 - Sold the piano, which has been swapped back for the wurlitzer, and a cabinet to E.S.E Maidstone for £230. Clown owes E.S.E. nothing and has £110.
March 11th, 1972 - Picked up Nick from Guildford plus his Hammond Organ and Leslie cabinet and Greg, a bassist, to audition for the band. Collected Alby and Dave and drove to Hodsall Sreeet for a successful jam.
March 13th, 1972 - At E.S.E. Maidstone traded Paul's speaker cabinets for a Fender amp for Dave. We gave Eric £30 too.
March 14th, 1972 - Clown rehearse at Hodsall Street and perfect ' Rumania '.
March 15th, 1972 - Clown rehearse at Hodsall Street and perfect ' Ed Welch '. Tee's speaker cabinets are sold at E.S.E. for £100 with which we can tax the van.
March 16th, 1972 - Greg and Nick sign contracts with CBS.
March 17th, 1972 - Rehearsal at Hodsall Street.
March 18th, 1972 - Rehearsals include ' Jimmy Wheeler '.
March 20th, 1972 - Rehearsals at Hodsall Street.
March 21st, 1972 - Rehearsal today with a possible gig at Dartford. CL leaves two copies with Radio Medway for attention of DJ Colin Slade.
March 22nd, 1972 - Borrowed the piano from E.S.E. that we sold to the shop a couple of weeks ago.
March 23rd, 1972 - Sold the congas in Drum City, Shaftsbury Ave. for £60.
March 24th, 1972 - Last rehersal before a gig tomorrow. Another roadie, Nigel, joins, and ' Lord of the ringside ' is released today.
March 25th, 1972 - Clown support Man at the Maths College, Rochester. Requests for an encore resulted in ' Walkin ' and ' Jimmy Wheeler '. The gig ends with Dave, Alby and Greg fighting on stage. Clown are paid £30.00.
27th March, 1972 - Rehearsals at Hodsall Street.
29th March, 1972 - Played a successful gig at Bumpers, London.
April 5th, 1972 - ' Ringside ' has sold out in Peter Russell's for the second time since its release. There is a good review in the Melody Maker, but the Record Mirror thinks that the record lacks something.
April 8th, 1972 - A local builder, Mr. King, is keen on managing the group if Acorn decline.
April 11th, 1972 - ' Ringside ' has sold 1,000 copies but needs to sell 1,500 copies to make the top 50. Rehearsal at Hodsall Street.
April 12th, 1972 - Alby arrives at Hodsall Street with £98 from Chappells, which is shared. CL receives £8. The band rehearse ' Trickster '.
April 14th, 1972 - Rehearsal at Hodsall Street. ' Trickster ' has taken shape.
April 17th, 1972 - Acorn rang Ley to see if Clown wanted a gig at Coventry for £20.00. The answer was yes, the gig was in a pub.
April 20th, 1972 - Rehearsal at Hodsall Street, Meopham.
April 21st, 1972 - Rehearsal at Hodsall Street.
April 24th, 1972 - Rehearsal at Hodsall Street and eight songs are sounding good.
April 25th, 1972 - Clown performed at Bumpers in front of Stuart Reed and a small crowd.
April 28th, 1972 - Clown played the Winter Garden, Penzance, supporting the Lee Riders. The fee was £15.
May 5th, 1972 - With no work on the horizon, Alby visits our agency, Acorn, who reprimand him for damage to the dressing room and stage at Bumpers.
May 9th, 1972 - Clown play at Hodsall Street in front of two rich guys, interested in Clown. They applaud after each song and tell us we'll make a lot of money.
May 13th, 1972 - Clown have signed with Dave King, one of the rich guys. At the same time Ley receives a letter to say we're behind with the H.P. payments on the van.
May 15th, 1972 - The other rich guy is called Maurice. Today Dave King's mechanic started repairing the van including the leaky radiator.
May 16th, 1972 - Nigel and CL begin rubbing down the van prior to a respray. Clown rehearse at Hodsall Street.
May 18th, 1972 - Put an undercoat on the van, then loaded the gear, and with Maurice drove through the night to Plymouth for a Westward TV audition.
May 19th, 1972 - Westward had hired Ballards, where Clown performed three numbers.
May 20th, 1972 - Returned to London and Kent.
May 24th, 1972 - The van is sprayed blue.
May 25th, 1972 - Clown rehearse at Hodsall Street.
May 26th, 1972 - Clown had their photograph taken by the local newspaper and in the evening go to Maidstone College to see The Kinks. There is a minor altercation at the door when Nick is reluctant to surrender his hatchet.
May 27th, 1972 - Clown play a gig at Mill Hill public school taking the stage at 10.30. ' Temptation Row ' went down well, the band were paid £35. Ley wanted to give the money to Dave King. Alby wanted £5 of it and an argument began.
May 30th, 1972 - CL applies for a job at the Imperial Paper Mills for £25 a week, and clowns are painted on either side of the van.
June 1st, 1972 - Maurice and Alby had an argument when on the phone to CBS, Alby fails to endorse Maurice as manager. Ley, Maurice and CL drive to Plymouth.
June 2nd, 1972 - The day is spent putting up posters and an ad in the Herald to announce Clown's appearance at Plymouth.
June 4th, 1972 - Greg rings Maurice to say he wants to leave the band and re-join Shade
June 7th, 1972 - The van was sign written today.
June 8th, 1972 - A new bass guitarist Brian alias Vic Lime joined the band.
June 9th, 1972 - Clown go to Plymouth. Dave is unhappy about ' Clown Road Show ' on the van.
June 10th, 1972 - Clown played at the Guidhall supported by acoustic trio Sky. 100 people came and Maurice took £50 on the door. Greg still with Clown.
June 11th, 1972 - Back to London and Kent.
June 12th, 1972 - In the afternoon Ley quits the band. At 4 p.m. CL leaves Clown.
Footnote
A few months later, after rehearsing new material, Ley, Dave,
Nick, Greg, and new frontman John Morrissey record another album which they
finance themselves. They try to build bridges with CBS and Chapells, but to no
avail, and decide to finally call it a day. Clown is laid to rest at last!
