PAUL VERNON CHESTER

Manouche Maestro

Club Django London - Haringey 1955-2000

My Dad also took me to the Fishmongers Arms, Wood Green when I was about 4 years old, to see Diz who played there frequently. I think he started his Club Django just to share his love of Django and playing Django’s music  with other like-minded people, and passing on his knowledge. I think he also liked the idea of the club being near to his home. It may well have been prompted also by the death of his hero in 1953 and his desire to preserve and keep the great man's music alive.

At the age of 10 my Dad began to teach me the guitar, and I very soon started regularly attending his Club Django when it was held at St Aidan's School, in the primary class room to begin with. (Shown in the black & white photograph). The members then were Roy Stevens, Jim Corbishley and Terry Matthews, Eddie started a little later. Early on there was another occasional member called Frank (?) who may be the person with his back to the camera in the photo. On a couple of occasions Diz Disley came along and violinist Dick Powell. I remember begging Dick to let me try playing his violin - which sadly for me, but wisely for him, he would not. As an adult I won’t let anyone anywhere near my fiddle. - Pam -Berts Daughter

Diz Disley, supplementing his day job (as are other members of his group) playing Django's music. Diz and his band of semi-pros played every Thursday at London's Club Django. In his band were Neville Skrimshire and Denny Purrsord on guitars, Dick Powell on violin and Timmy Mahn on bass. Another point of interest is that a pre 16 year-old Diz learnt his Django licks from violinist Norrie Greenwood where at weekends they would go out to Norrie's caravan in the country and play for hours into the night. 

Club Django would hold a Christmas party every year (photo of one of last partys).  Eddie - Bert and Roy Stephens - Some effort with the Decor.

Bob & Mary White who performed in a Hawaiian band, started attending the club in the late 60s. In the 80s ‘the club’ would go over to their house in Ruislip to jam in the gazebo.

Photo of Dad and me (Pam) playing swing at a party on New years eve 1977. I remember it vividly as I had to get up early the following day for a photo shoot with my band in Harrow in the snow.)

Bert did not have a members list, although there are names and numbers scrawled in the back of some of his books. Mary (who played the 'Bertaferri' I now have) & Bob White.  They both attended the Club I think from the late 70s until their deaths in the early 90s. I don't know Eddie's surname - Pam


 

Club Django - Haringey - session circa 1960 - Bert 2nd from right (Roy Stevens) To the left as you look are Jim Corbishley,  Terry Matthews and Eddie (Wilkinson)? - the two left-backs are unidentified.
Bert's 'Club Django' was first in St Aiden's Junior School at Stroud Green, then at Highgate Wood School in Crouch End, then back to Stroud Green in the Holy Trinity Church Hall that you can see on the Django Legacy. It used to run every  Friday evening without fail for nearly 45 years.  Jams continued at Berts house after they stopped playing in the Church Hall,  and then he just used to have a few of the club players over at his house, until he died in 2000.  Other members included Mark Tuddenham and Barry Fowler from Portsmouth. (Barry and the Stollers)


Holy Trinity Church
Granville Road,
Stroud Green,
London, N4 4EL
When the permanent church was completed, the Iron Room became the church hall. The architect of the church was E B Ferrey. A brick hall was built around 1913 to replace the Iron Room, and this brick hall became the permanent church when the old church had to be demolished, having become unsafe. The present church was dedicated on the 15th March 1961.

The original members were 'Jim Corbishley' normally sat to Bert's right, who played rhythm Guitar on a 'Hot Club of London' vinyl record, Roy Stevens, and Terry Matthews. Also in the 1950-60s Diz Disley occasionally visited 'the club', as did the swing violinist Dick Powell.  Dick Powell who was responsible for the fine violin work that's on the first few Rod Stewart albums (Every Picture..., & Smiler) with Bassist Spike Heatley.  Dick also played with Diz Disley.  Some younger members who have passed though the club are still around. Mike Massey of Parisian Swing who now has his own 'Club Django' in Ely & Ian Cruikshank. who attended there for a few years in the early 1970s.  I had also played guitar at the club about 1962-64 aged 10 - Pam

Mike Massey - I attended Club Django from 1969-1975 pretty regularly, and then intermittently until the 'final' meeting in 2000 at Bert's funeral, when Diz Disley, Ian Cruickshank and I 'played him out' at the wake, along with Roy Stevens, his co-founder member. During my regular time at the Club, the main personnel were:  Bert, Roy Stevens, Jim Corbishley (who joined them very soon after its inception), Terry Matthews, Bob White (Bass) and Mary White (guitar), Eddie ?, Dave ? (from Canvey Island, BBC employee and owner of the most beautiful D-hole Maccaferri in impeccable condition), Laurence (Saxes).  During my time we never had a violinist!
 
Members used to visit the Fishmongers Arms (I remember seeing Diz Disley there one evening), but, as far as I know, the Club didn't meet there.  As your info states, the Club met in a variety of locations.  I first encountered it when it met as an 'evening class' in a tiny primary school classroom opposite Bert's house in Stapleton Hall Road, Crouch End.  When the school expanded, the Club was moved to one of the new classrooms.  It also met for while in the Sixth Form Block of a secondary school near Muswell Hill, before returning to the Church Hall around the corner from Bert's house, where it stayed until he died.  This was the hall featured in the Django Legacy documentary.  My final visit to the 'regular' sessions was tinged with sadness.  Mary and Bob White had both died.  Jim was very frail and unable to play.  I met Reg, 'the 75 yr old new boy', as Bert calls him in the film!
 
A typical club evening would start about 7.45-ish, with Roy and Jim arriving somewhat later because Roy had to pick Jim up from Wood Green.  The table around which we sat was always arranged in the same way: Clockwise - Bert top left, then Roy Stevens, then Ted Wilkinson (sometimes), Dave ? (sometimes) then me, then Terry Matthews, then Mary White, then Jim Corbishley on Bert's right.  Bob White stood with his bass between Mary and Jim, and Laurence (Sax) sat between me and Terry when he joined us.  (I'm sure anyone else you may have contacted will give you added info about other places.)  Just as Sacha Distel says on the documentary, around 9.20pm we always played the 'interval' Nuages and then stopped for wine and cheese.  Extra refreshments were added for the Christmas social, when Bert's wife, Olive, sometimes joined us.  In later visits I noticed the wine and cheese had transmuted into tea and biscuits.  The evening finished about 10.30pm.
 
Different members had different favourite numbers on which they would solo or play the tune.  Mary always played 'Louise', Dave featured 'Exactly Like You', Roy enjoyed 'Limehouse Blues' for example.  Not everyone played solos.  Bert usually indicated who might like to solo next.  There was a kind of hierarchy: Bert, Roy, Jim and then others.  Having said that, Bert made the Club the most welcoming, friendly, supportive and encouraging group of musicians I've ever encountered - no egos, no competitiveness, no criticism - a genuine ensemble.
 
Other random anecdotes:  Jim always good-humouredly chided Bert for making the rosette on his 'Bertaferri' (one of Bert's names for his repros) from an old lace design plastic doily and for creating the purfling by drawing around the edge of the instrument with a biro!
 
The documentary mentions Bert's chord books, likening the playing experience at the Club to a church service, when the page number was called for the next tune.  Not strictly true, since it was the tune that was called first and then someone found the page number, but there was a definite sense of ritual, which I quickly identified, long before Ian Cruickshank wrote his script!  Mary bought Bob the Bassist a violin for one birthday, but his rather squeaky attempts sent him quickly back to the bass!  Bert occasionally brought Pam along. The Club used to meet for a Summer Sunday Session at Bob & Mary's house in Ruislip.  Also, in her last months, Mary was allowed to use an amp due to her ill-health, otherwise no amps at all!  Actually not true.  Ted Wilkinson used to bring a small amp along, because he was such a quiet player.  I believe he also had an Eddie Freeman 4-string model, which he insisted on using as a single-string instrument behind all the solos.  I'll check out the pictures and attach names to people as I recall them.   Best regards, - Mike

Mike Massey with D Hole Maccaferri Repro

Terry Matthews was the Club 'office boy', who got there first and put the chairs out.  On my very first evening, following Bert's phoned directions, I approached the dark, heavy oak door of the Victorian primary school and knocked.  With appropriate Dickensian creaking, a young man, with greased-back hair, large glasses and a magnificent handlebar moustache slowly opened it, rolled his eyes at me and said 'Yes?'  Thinking I'd come either to a church meeting or was about to walk into one of those TV mysteries, where the innocent caller is welcomed in and then never seen again, I was somewhat taken aback!  I told him I was looking for Club Django, and, with distinct 'Kenneth Williams' overtones, the young man said, 'Yes, that's right.  I'm Terry, and you are...?'  I told him I was Mike, but from then on, he insisted on calling me 'Micky', which was distinctly unnerving!  Normality was resumed when Bert arrived and gave me a very warm welcome.  I seem to remember that Roy had a small book in which he wrote the subs we paid (5/-  was it?  This was 1969-ish.)  Although I found out about it by word of mouth, Bert used to advertise from time to time in the classifieds of the long-defunct 'Guitar' magazine.  I still have a 1974 copy somewhere with his ad in it!  All it said, very modestly, was 'Club Django.  Private.  01-348-4264'  I never did find out if he received calls from dodgy punters looking for 'something a bit different'! - Mike

What a great idea - I did have some photos that I took at Crouch End but god knows where they are – I used to go there every week more or less to listen to the boys as we say as there was not really anywhere to go – Bert and the boys were wonderful and were always hoping some young players would join them, I remember a few stories about Bert as we talked often.  I took the young violinist Alexandre Cavalier and his father to see Bert and play with him at his house Alex would have been about 10 years old – it was an interesting meeting also Bert never forgave himself for swapping his Maccaferri with one of the other guys there - Roy Stevens  (also Eddie was one of the boys) - as he said that he was not even allowed to play this guitar anymore – Roy died some years ago and left this guitar to his son who was studying to become a luthier what happened to it then I don’t know.  Bert always said to me the secret of Djangos sound was that he used 10 strings not 11’s - lol - not sure how true that is.  I remember the book he used to call the tunes that he had transcribed.  I suggested to Pam when he died that it should all be put into a tuition book and kept going he was very proud of this work – and a lovely lovely man.  He showed me a QHCF signed programme he had from the Brixton Empress - not sure where that went.  Bert had an interesting style as his right hand always looked like he was mixing pastry but I liked the way he played with love and respect for the master always saying fast was not the way to do it – they were all characters and very kind to me – inspirational and all gentlemen of the highest order.  He was very proud that the club was in the Django Legacy movie - Sylvia Rushbrooke - Le  Quecumbar

Another player who came to Club Django occasionally, early on was ‘Ted Wilkinson’ who played a 4 string guitar (Eddie Freeman Special) . We visited him in his flat in Finchley. Ted’s daughter was called Lois, she took on the stage name of ‘Lois Lane’ and had a record in the Top 10 circa 1963 or 64 with her band the Caravelles 1963 singing  and accompanying herself on guitar in ‘You Don’t have to be a Baby to Cry.’ (Lois is in the black & white photograph with Diz Disley and my Dad). She also sang with Diz. - Pam (Berts Daughter)

Lois Lane, Bert and the ebullient Diz

Nils Solberg - For some fine vintage videos of the Diz Dizley's Soho Quintet
Diz, Jeff Green and Nils Solberg on guitars, Dave Etheridge on bass and Johnny van Derrick on violin

Rare image of Dick Powell Violinist with Joseph Reinhardt and Diz Disley Both Guitars Amplified. Circa 1961
Nin Nin's Cable route on his Gypsy 'Homer' - looks a bit of an incumbency. - Is that Guinness he 's drinking - Name those pickups.

Joseph's 'plywood' Mac is featured in the well known sequence with Grappelli et al playing Minor Swing in 1955 (from the Paul Paviot doc, I believe), so whether the Powell photo is earlier than '61 - maybe. - Mike

Great photo and Diz looks so young here. That Joseph Reinhardt guitar is one he made himself I believe. I wonder where that is now? I am sure that Diz played that Mac when I first met him. I played Nuages and I'll see you in my dreams on that very guitar. I had learned two Django solos note for note and Diz was so encouraging. I think that the idea of giving Dick Powell his rightful place in the legacy is a noble one and I hope you receive some positive leads. - Paul Vernon Chester

Swing violinist and Double Bass Player - Dick Powell,  who was responsible for the fine violin work that's on the first few Rod Stewart albums (Every Picture Tells a Story, Gasoline Alley, Never a Dull Moment, ..., & Smiler) with Bassist Spike Heatley.  Dick also played with Diz Disley. It is sad he died quite young and was also an Architect

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Last modified: 13/09/2011