I used to go down The Marquee Club where all these R & B bands were
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playing. It was like hearing Big Bill Broonzy with drums, but they were
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British bands. Alexis Korner had his Blues Band. Cyril Davies &
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His All Stars backed Sonny Boy Williamson.
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But before doing any more gigs we wouldn't make the same mistake as
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we'd made before, for this time we'd get a drummer.
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We took an advert out in The Melody Maker, which is a hugh music paper
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in England. "A very important new beat group require the services of an
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extraordinary drummer. Auditions next thursday". The following thursday
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one person turned up. You see, we'd forgotten to put the address of the
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audition down. This was fate, this was destiny, because the young man
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standing before us was no other than Michael Charles Avory.
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We liked Mick. He was a really down to earth, ordinary guy. He was a
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boy scout! Very commendable. But why, why did he wear the boy scouts
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outfit to the audition? He must have thought we were really weird,
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because we were all dressed in those Carnaby Street clothes, you know.
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Dave...Dave and Pete especially. In Mick's eyes we must have looked
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very very effeminate. To say the least. And Mick dressed in his boy scouts
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outfit, so you can understand there's a big difference, a big gulf.
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But Mick looked at us and he said "I like the group a lot, yeah I like the
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group. I like the music you play, yeah, R & B, that's the coming thing,
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ain't it? But if I join the group, I want to make one thing clear. I've got a
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girlfriend and if you haven't noticed: I'm straight". "We can soon change
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that, darling". Poor old Mick. I suppose we did look effeminate to him.
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We just explained that we wanted to create an image for ourselves and,
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you know, be outrageously dressed. But we said "Exactly, Mick. We need
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a masculine looking person in the group, and you've got those features,
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man, you're the guy! Particularly the drummer has got to look hard".
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And so the band was formed. Let's hear it for the band.
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When Big Bill Speaks / The Man Who Knew A Man (Dialogue)
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Ray Davies |