During 1964, my brother David was an apprentice mechanic at Palmer and Evans Motors at Phillips Parade; also at that time there was a chap named John Horrell, a friend of David's. Knowing that David had bought an electric guitar and amplifier; he invited him along to Townhill Youth Club run by Mr. Bryan Coffey. The group John was playing with were losing one of their guitarists, a lad called David Franklin, who was becoming resident Deejay at the nearby Tower Ballroom. David didn't have his own transport, so I took him up to the Club where the group rehearsed. The band was known as The Panthers and consisted of John (bass,) Roy Anderson (drums) and Pete Ham (guitarist).

My brother was accepted into the group and practice went on for some months. After a while, John Horrell's Mother arranged for the group to play at The Patients Dance at Cefn Coed Hospital with the resident band there she was a nurse at Cefn Coed. I helped out with the transport as I had a car and the group's van only had one seat, for driver, Bryan Coffey.

The Panthers then took some youth Club bookings and played some Public Houses, some quite rough. The youth club was in Trebanos School Hall and the one pub I remember was The Fountain Inn at the bottom of Camarthen Road, by Dyfatty Lights. By now, I had become Manager/Roadie and we were to play at a Talent Contest at Abercrave Miner's Walfare Hall, which we found out about from Don Burrows who worked with my Brother and John Horrell. Don was a guitarist with the resident band - a group called The Jaguars. Their lead guitarist was Frank Bloomfield, the drummer Terry Gleeson and Ron Griffiths played bass.

The boys played really well and seemed to go down well with the audience, but they came third: The Jaguars won, and a vocalist came second It really affected Pete more than anyone.

The Panthers then changed their name to The Wild Ones, after reading about the Mods and Rockers riots in Brighton. We then played at the Embassy Ballroom (now called Barons) with quite a few groups and Pete had brought along with him a refurbished PA amp he had worked on - I think it was called a Vortexion, quite a good amp a lot of the groups used them. Halfway through the number, the amp blew-up, which meant a long pause without music, which did not go down well with the audience. The gig was a disaster and this set-back was too much for Roy Anderson, who decided to leave the group. Terry Gleeson replaced him, he was from Clydach and had his own van to carry the drums in. Almost at the same time, John Horrell left - he had accepted his limited musical ability and tired of frequent disagreements with Peter.

Peter and I then went to see Ron Griffiths playing with The Jaguars at The Dolphin Hotel. We approached him after the gig and asked if he would like to join The Wild Ones. He agreed to this, after attending one of our rehearsals and hearing Peter's guitar playing, which at this time, was really good.

About this time, a group arrived on the scene from Reading. They were also called The Wild Ones, so a change of name was on the cards again...

Large lists of names were made out, but it was Ron Griffiths who saw the name place by High Street Station, called Ivey Place, an unusual spelling. This became the new name for the group The Iveys.

Practice was a problem. We used various houses, but upset the neighbours. My parents let us use their house a few times, but this caused a few problems around the house. We used the house for promotional photo takes and we would meet here if the booking was a good distance from Swansea. The boys came there straight from work, had a quick wash, something to eat and then would dash off to the gig. The first gig the group played under The Iveys was another talent contest at Bonymaen Rugby Club, but again they could only come third. Then bookings came along at The Vivian Hall in Blackpool, Stewart Hall, Sketty and The Arts Centre at Swansea University where we had trouble with the PA again! At this time, my Dad was helping with the transport, using his big car to carry equipment, etc. Dave then bought a new AC3O Vox Amp Supertwin.

Both Dave and Peter were now using Harmony Meteor guitars, which The Rolling Stones had used. My Dad stood Guarantor for the Amp and other equipment, as he was the only private householder of -all the parents.

We then got some money saved to buy a van, but not enough, so we played some gigs at The Empire Cinema in Port Talbot On New Years Eve, we had to use my car, my Dad's car, Terry Gleeson's van and another car from a man called Les Saville. Les worked with Peter at Jack George's Radio and TV shop in Mansel Street, Les also Deejayed at The Ritz Night Club in Skewen. We played some more gigs at The Fountain Inn; it was quite a rough place, but we would play anywhere.

Then The Iveys bought their first group wagon. It was an old Bedford Minibus, which Dave used to look after mechanically, but one of the sliding doors used to come off the track and fall on the floor if you pulled it back too far. This always seemed to happen in a Service Station and would usually start an argument. (But it would all finish up a big laugh!)

By the end of 1964, we had started to get more bookings, as the sound of the group improved with better equipment. We played at Clyne Castle Cellar Club, The Ritz in Skewen and Craig Cefn Parc Community Centre. We started to used Clydach Scout Hall for practice on Sunday afternoons. This was organised by Terry Gleeson.

The Iveys had started to get gigs from Jayvee Entertainments, with the help of Les Saville. The Ritz Club was run by Jayvee, of whom Vernie Ley and John Taylor were owners. We got on well with the local groups and the Swansea and District scene was great. We would all meet up at The Orient Indian Restaurant in Alexandra Road, Swansea, after our gigs. A lot of groups would have meals on the slate (eat now, pay later) at this place the waiters were great. Often, there would be a punch-up with some of the other clientele and everybody would get out without paying!

The groups from outside Swansea were always made welcome: Amen Corner; Dave Edmunds, The Bystanders, The Who, Mojos, The Hollies, Pink Floyd would all call for a meal.

We started to have quotes in the Beaterama page of the local paper The Herald of Wales, these were written by Gary Radd, who was actually Con Atkin, Assistant Editor of the Newspaper (it was a charged for paper in those days). At the beginning of 1965, we had a problem that was getting worse; Terry Gleeson worked shifts and this was causing problems with our bookings. We had to turn some down every fourth week and try as Terry may, he could not get another job as an Engineer. He tried his best but decided to leave as this had gone on for quite a while and the rest of the group was getting fed up. Anyway, he didn't mind as the rest of the boys were a bit younger than he was and their musical tastes were going in different directions.

We started to search for a new drummer, advertising in the local Paper Ron Griffiths had heard of this drummer called Mike Gibbins, who played with a group called The Misfits. Ron went to see him and Mike agreed to an audition with us. Mike was a heavier drummer than Terry and had more presentation, my brother recalled. I thought he had the driving beat of the modern sound and was quite vibrant. It lifted the band in sound and Mike was welcomed in progress was swift. The Iveys started to get good reviews in the Beaterama page, we were moving up the pecking order with Swansea's booking agencies.

The group were then approached by Pylot Promotions, who were signing up a lot of local groups for Pop Concerts in Theatres and Cinemas throughout South Wales. We played The Lodge Cinema in Briton Ferry first, then various others throughout the area. One booking was at the Lyric Cinema in Camarthen. The day it came, it snowed so bad while the concert was on that the roads got blocked and nobody could get home that night. All the groups had to sleep in the foyer of the cinema, all returning home the next day.

Not long afterwards, Pylot Promotions released us due to their lack of bookings. We immediately signed up with Jayvee Entertainments, who had been giving us the occasional gig, after I had pestered them. We really took off We started to play seven nights a week, due to our rising standards and public demand. Dave, Pete and Ron got new equipment and new PA Equipment was purchased, for which my Dad stood Guarantor. We were using my parents home for meetings before gigs that were some distance from Swansea and our new Commer van would be stationed ready for a quick get-away. When we bought this van, it was only painted with undercoat but we all got stuck in and hand-painted it blue. I put in a partition to section off the equipment, covered the rear windows with plywood and fitted new security locks. Dave and I put in a new gearbox. So now we had good transport. The boys now had good stage gear (mod type,) and the sound balance was great.

The Iveys started to support all the big groups who played the area. The Who, The Hollies, Lulu, Screaming Lord Sutch, Spencer Davis, The Yardbirds, Moody Blues, PJ Proby, The Merseybeats, Rockin' Berries, Wayne Fontana, Pink Floyd, Brian Auger with Rod Stewart, The Mojos, The Fortunes, The Honeycombs, Nashville Teens, Unit Four Plus Two and Manfred Mann, who did not mix with the support groups, much to the disgust of ourselves and The Eyes of Blue.

The Who were particularly friendly, allowing The Iveys to use their massive equipment.

We played all over South Wales; Brawdy Fleet Arm base in Pembroke was a great place to play. We would get there on Sunday afternoon and be given a slap-up dinner before the evenings dance in the same mess hall. Another in Pembroke, was Haggars Ballroom. The German Panzer soldiers that were training at Castlemartin Range would stand to attention and clap quite loudly. Llandeilo Town Hall was a strange place. The stage had chicken wire from floor to ceiling, across the front of the stage, because at the end of the night, glasses would be thrown at the stage, along with the occasional chair!

The Swansea and District music scene was unbelievable in its close-knit camaraderie. Once, Ron Griffiths was taken ill with appendicitis and had to go to hospital, Martin Ace of The Jets stood in . Everybody would watch each others gigs and encourage one another; very little one-upmanship. If there was a big charity night at The Ritz in Skewen, the boys in each group would jam with each other. The attitude in spirit was great and I remember coming home one night from a booking, we were coming through Stepaside in Pembrokeshire, and came across this broken down van, It was The Bystanders. David had a look at the problem, but it was too big to tackle, so we took some of the group with us to Swansea to pick up a replacement vehicle. Groups tended to lend each other equipment if it broke down. A great friendship existed between the bands, I could not get over it.

I remember one evening, when The Iveys became the beneficiary of this solidarity...

The group was playing at The Big Tin Mumbles and little did they know it but they had been tagged for a punch up by a local gang. This bloke got on stage and tried to commandeer the mike that David was using to sing with. I climbed on stage and tried to get him to leave, but was mistaken by the bouncers as being one of the audience and thrown offstage. I landed at the bottom of the steps by the fire-exit doors, to the side of the stage. By this time, Dave had started scuffling with this fellow; so I got back on stage again. By this time, the whole Hall had erupted; pandemonium. I was thrown offstage again, after setting into other members of this gang, who were all on stage by this time. Finally, all the local groups turned up outside the venue as word had got around. The Eyes of Blue, Jets, Corncrackers, Liquid Umbrella, etc. all there to help us. It was as if there had been a rallying call.

I recall when we played with Lulu and The Luvvers at The Ritz. Their PA system broke down, so they borrowed ours for the set.

On or about Friday, 11 March, 1966, we were playing The Regal Ballroom, in Ammanford. Topping the bill were The Mojos, with The Iveys in support. As the boys were halfway through their set, this old chap came up to me and said, "I thought The Iveys played with a lot of soul and their singing was brilliant. I think you got something there". This old chap was Bill Collins, Road Manager with The Mojos; he came from Birkenhead. I recall his enthusiasm at seeing and hearing The Iveys. We all went into The Mojos minibus for a chat together. Collins was saying how interested he was. It was obvious he had been taken by the boys performance. Collins stayed in touch, writing letters by the dozen, Bill was tremendous at writing them. He could write a forty-page letter with little effort, he definitely had the gift of the gab. Unfortunately, I threw the letters and posters, etc. away in anger when my brother later left the group.

Collins eventually came back to tape one of the boys performances at a club in Neath. He was impressed that he captured the essence of the boys act, which at the time, was heavily rhythm and blues oriented. The Iveys knew they were being studied and though intrigued, were still dubious.

In the following months, Bill Collins came to Swansea quite a few times to see the boys. He was always put up at my parents home in Oxford Street, Swansea. My Mum always recalls the times that Bill Collins would help himself to the drinks cabinet, especially the whisky, when nobody was home.

One day, Bill Collins phoned me to say that an opening had come up for the group. The Mojos were signed to The Harold Davidson Agency in London. Also linked to this agency, was an Impresario called Robert Wace, who had The Kinks, The Small Faces, together with a chap called David Garrick, an Opera Singer turned pop star. Wace was also involved with The Rolling Stones and Garrick had a Stones number in the charts, called "Lady Jane". He needed a backing group for touring. Collins asked if we would come up to London and audition for Garrick at a club in Soho. At this time (June 1966) The Iveys were playing every night of the week and sometimes twice a night, or day. They were so popular; being exclusively booked through Jayvee the largest agency in South West Wales. The boys agreed to "give it a go", accepted Collins offer and set off for London. We left on a Friday morning and Peter Ham, who had only just passed his driving test, wanted to have a go at driving the van. I told him to be careful, as it was important we got to London on time for the audition. He got carried away in the excitement and soon blue flashing lights and sirens were seen and heard. We were stopped and booked for speeding, but Pete was so excited he just brushed it off like it never happened. That was Pete.

We spent the night at 7, Park Avenue Golders Green, where Bill lived with his group, The Mojos. He kept me up practically all night talking all about his plans for The Iveys. I used to drop off to sleep sitting in my chair The next day, we went to the audition at The Rehearsal Club near the Windmill Theatre, in Soho. A few other bands had been in and done their bit and the boys then had their turn. They had rehearsed Garrick's "Lady Jane" and then did a few other numbers. He was really impressed and wanted the group as his backing group there and then.

The big problem that needed to be sorted out was the boys careers. Dave was a motor mechanic with a few months off finishing his apprenticeship. Ron was also close to finishing his as a gas fitter. Peter was now working for his brother John, who had taken over Jack George's business and shop. John Ham did not take to Bill Collins, he thought he was a romantic, but Pete wanted to go, so he didn't stand in his way. Mike Gibbins was fed up with his job anyway, it was in design graphics.

We arranged to have a meeting at The Swansea Castle Hotel, in Oxford Street. Bill Collins came down from London and started waffling on. He went on a bit, how he could only promise "blood, sweat and tears, it might take a while and we'll have to live cheaply", were his words, "but we will make it".

Bill's talk convinced everybody and all the careers were sorted. Camp beds were bought to sleep on in the lounge of Park Avenue, where they all would live. Bags were packed and insurance sorted for the van for new drivers and addresses. Bill Collins would now take over from me as the boy's manager. I went into Jayvees office to explain what had happened and cancel any future dates we had for the time being. Jayvee wished the boys all the best and said the door would always be open if they came back at any time.

I went with the lads to London to rehearse with Garrick at a recording studio in The Old Kent Road. I remember Frankie Bloomfield, a friend of the band, came along as well. Because I took unpaid leave from my job as a joiner, I got the sack on returning from London. This was sometime in June, 1966.

Around the beginning of July, the boys left Swansea for their first taste of fully professional life with David Garrick. Then they went up to Shrewsbury and played their first gig at The Severn Club. From this point on, I only saw the boys playing when I was up in London at weekends, or holidays. I went up with Frankie Bloomfield and my first wife Ruth, to celebrate David's 21" birthday. He celebrated it early as the boys were due to play three Liverpool clubs in one night: 30 October, 1966. One of these clubs was the original Cavern.

The boys all came down for my wedding on 3 September, 1966. Dave was my Best Man, while the other three were Groomsmen. Collins was also there and he and his group (The Mojos) stayed at my Mum and Dad's house. The Iveys played at The Glen in Llanelli that night

One booking I remember well around this time (June 1967) was at Swansea University's Reftectory Hall, supporting The Simon Dupree Band; chart-toppers at that time. After Simon and his group did their stint, The Iveys came on and it was obvious from the audience reaction that they were going down the best. Their performance was spot on. All of a sudden, in the middle of a number, the power to the boys amps went off. We noticed some of the Roadies to Dupree's band behind our equipment. They scurried off and we realised they had pulled the mains plug out. What a thing to do! Anyway, the boys went onto play them off stage. Great!

The group picked up some London bookings through Terry Oates Productions. I remember Collins telling me he had a plan for David to play up to one of the booking staff a girl named Sue Wing, who had given the group some bookings. The plan backfired, as David and Sue got very attached and things became serious. During a tour of Ireland, David had to apologize to Garrick for being the centre of the fans attention when on stage. Garrick did not like it. Sue Wing was now starting to come over to the boys home, and to their bookings. She was getting The Iveys quite a few bookings, helping them to stop starving, as Bill Collins did not allow them much money. I used to take them food from my Mum when I went to see them in London, as their cupboards were always bare.

Collins then tried to get David to finish with Sue as he did not like her intrusion. He wanted full control, without outside influence, which also included mine; not that I offered.

David told me Mike and him used to sneak out of the house and go to a Nightclub, when Collins wanted them to practise and write songs. Collins did not realise that not everybody is the same and David had little interest in writing songs. Where David knew his limitations and likes, Collins didn't know his own, though David loved the singing part of the group and had a good voice.

Things were getting sour and David told me he was being moved to the side of the stage. He was "being sent to Coventry" as we call it.

David wrote to me quite a bit during these times. It hurt me to think of what my parents and myself had put into the group and what everybody was doing to David now. Then the group had a booking at The Glanmor Club in Swansea and I confronted Bill Collins about what was happening about David and the group. It was obvious Collins didn't like the intrusion of Sue Wing. It suited him on the booking side of things, but he was all one-sided and would find out later when other girls intruded on his "hallowed ground". I think David was too strong a character for him and knew his own mind. He didn't like it that David would stand up to him and not be easily led. Anyway, Collins and I had a right old ding dong of an argument and David got in between us before I clocked him one!

Collins could be very arrogant and cold and easily forget any friendship and hospitality that existed. He went on to say that David was finished with the group, as he wouldn't pull his weight - what a joke! David told me nobody was speaking to him. To my amazement, David agreed to stay with The Iveys until a replacement could be found, but Collins had already lined somebody up.

So David finally left the group, or was moved out, sacked as I see it and joined a group called Ruperts People who had a song in the charts and were managed by Joe Brown of Joe Brown & The Brothers fame. Not many months on, David and Sue returned to Swansea and got married.