By Nick Warburton
The All Night Workers/The All-Nite Workers was a name used by around 30 musicians from West London for a series of interrelated bands that spanned the years 1965-1972. In the fourth part of an exhaustive history, Nick Warburton turns to The All Night Workers’ second incarnation; an entirely new formation that evolved out of another West London band, The Missing Links and took on the name in mid-October 1967.
The All Night Workers, spring 1968. Left to right: Doug Ayris, Malcolm Randall, Iain Pitwell, Mick Wheeler, Brian Mansell, Johnny Baker and Geoff Glover (Photo from Brian Mansell)
The All Night Workers #4 (October 1967-February 1968)
- Iain Pitwell – lead vocals
- Brian Mansell – lead guitar
- Ray Deville – organ
- Roy Doughty – bass
- Geoff Glover – sax
- Johnny Baker – sax
- Malcolm “Doc” Randall – drums
With the Mick Wheeler and Brian Sell version of The All Night Workers dead and buried in early October 1967 (see part 3), an entirely different (yet related) bunch of musicians adopted the name immediately afterwards – Sunbury, Middlesex band, The Missing Links.
The new outfit featured Wheeler and Sell’s former mate from early 1960s group, Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers – Brian Mansell on rhythm guitar (see part 1) and drummer Malcolm “Doc” Randall, who’d previously played with Sell in Rey Anton & The Peppermint Men during the mid-1960s.
Formed in February 1966, The Missing Links were led by singer Charles “Chunky” Huse, who was Brian Mansell’s cousin and had been road manager for Simon Scott & The All-Nite Workers in mid-1965 (see part 2). The Missing Links also originally included bass player Roger Bricker, drummer Mick Geale and organ player Ray Deville.
Hailing from Osterley, Middlesex, Ray Deville had previously been a member of Brian Bentley & The Kingsmen in the early 1960s, Jamaican singer Millie Small’s band The Embers during 1964 (allegedly playing organ and harmonica on her hit “My Boy Lollipop”) and was resident lounge organist at the Master Robert Motel in Hounslow. During 1964, he’d also appeared on Granada TV backing Jerry Lee Lewis.
The Missing Links, however, changed personnel around November/December 1966 when Brian Sell’s old mate from Rey Anton & The Peppermint Men, Malcolm Randall took over from Mick Geale on drums.
After the demise of Rey Anton & The Peppermint Men in mid-1965, Randall had gone on to work with Hounslow outfit The Dae-b-Four, playing with this band from August-November 1965. After that, he had worked as a freelance drummer with various artists and had participated in Ike & Tina Turner’s touring band in October 1966 before then joining The Missing Links.
Working as a camera grip during the day, Charles “Chunky” Huse decided to abandon a career as a singer and concentrate on film work, later working extensively on the James Bond films. During late 1967, he approached Randall’s former band mate from The Dae-b-Four, singer Iain Pitwell at the BOAC Club in Heston, Middlesex about taking over from him in The Missing Links.
Originally from Hounslow, Middlesex, Pitwell had started out in 1962 with The Stringbeats, which included Gerry Light (lead guitar); Dave Williams (bass); Colin Layton (rhythm guitar); and Bob Dean (drums).
Iain Pitwell left The Stringbeats in spring 1965 to front Hounslow’s “Mod” icons The Dae-b-Four, featuring future Love Affair guitarist Rex Brayley, and stayed with that band until late 1966. During 1965, Pitwell also worked as a milkman and this is how he first met Malcolm Randall, who he introduced into The Dae-b-Four in August 1965.
With Mrs Herbert managing them (and thereby retaining another link with Wheeler and Sell’s version of The All Night Workers), the remaining members of The Missing Links – Brian Mansell, Malcolm Randall and Ray Deville took over The All Night Workers’ name, recruiting Iain Pitwell as lead singer and adding bass player Roy Doughty from Doug Ayris and John Sergeant’s former group, The Legend.
Roy Doughty had started out with Staines, Middlesex band The Belleville T. K’s during the early 1960s but had joined The Legend in early 1964. His predecessor, Brian Hosking, lived close to him in Whitton and handed him the job when he left to join The Smokestacks full-time. Doughty remained with The Legend until late 1966.
To fill the vacant sax spot left by Kenny Power, Mansell and Doughty recruited Geoff Glover, who was originally from Enfield, Middlesex but was seeing a girl from Twickenham. Glover had first met Mansell when he was stationed at the Army School of Music at Kneller Hall in Twickenham in 1964.
Later Glover returned to his regimental band, “The Black Watch”, which was then stationed in Germany. After leaving the army in January 1967, Glover got a job in the City and started to look around for a semi-pro band to play with. It was around October that he ran into Mansell and Doughty in Twickenham and signed up for the second incarnation of The All Night Workers.
According to Mansell’s diary, one of the other applicants for the sax position was Alex Young, who may be the same musician who soon found fame with Grapefruit as George Alexander.
Former All Night Workers’ member Ronny Butterworth (who still sat in occasionally at gigs) introduced his school friend from Feltham, Middlesex, sax player Johnny Baker to complete the second line up.
Not long after, The All Night Workers dispensed with Hans Herbert’s mother and took on new manager Ted Hare, who was working as the sales manager of Radio Rentals in Twickenham at the time and knew Iain Pitwell.
Ted Hare immediately secured some important dates, most notably further gigs at the California Ballroom in Dunstable as well as the Starlite Ballroom in Greenford and the Starlight Ballroom in Crawley.
As a side project, Iain Pitwell also participated in some sessions with Roger Webb around November/December 1967, providing vocal tracks for Scott Walker, who was touring Japan at the time.
Two notable gigs during this time were support slots for Duane Eddy at the Starlite Ballroom in Greenford and Edwin Starr at the Starlight Ballroom in Crawley,West Sussex. During this period, the group also opened for Amen Corner at Coronation Hall in Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey.
Around January 1968, Ray Deville departed to join Dusty Springfield’s backing band. Then a month later, Roy Doughty left to return to university. Deville continued to play after moving to Stourbridge but died on 9 May 2013.
Doug Ayris joined the new version of the band after playing with Mick Wheeler’s version of Deep Purple. This line up then recorded Ted Hare’s “Rock Is Here To Stay” with Pitwell singing lead vocals. The group also recorded a two-track acetate during this period – covers of “Morning Dew” and “Fanny Runaround”.
Rock Is Here To Stay – excerpt
Not long after, The All Night Workers also decided to bring in a second singer to share the lead vocal spot with Pitwell, and Mick Wheeler was invited to join, doubling up on congas.
Notable gigs:
- 22 October 1967 – Flamingo, Soho with The Ebonys (billed as The All-Nite Workers)
- 28 October 1967 – Flamingo, Soho with The Stuart James Inspiration
- 29 October 1967 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, Middlesex with Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band and Marmalade (billed as The All-Nite Workers)
- 13 November 1967 – The Hop, Woodhall Community Centre,Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
- 17 November 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable with The Temptations (most likely date)
- 19 November 1967 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers
- 1 December 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (most likely date)
- 2 December 1967 – Parke Davis Social Club, Hounslow, Middlesex
The All Night Workers #5 (February-June 1968)
- Iain Pitwell – lead vocals
- Mick Wheeler – lead vocals
- Brian Mansell – lead guitar
- Doug Ayris – bass
- Johnny Baker – sax
- Geoff Glover – sax
- Malcolm “Doc” Randall – drums
Soon after joining, Mick Wheeler and Iain Pitwell shared lead vocals on a second Ted Hare-penned recording – “I Can’t Help It”. On 30 May 1968, the band played a gig at Uncle’s in St Hilda’s Hall, Ashford, Middlesex to promote the recordings.
The band picked up plenty of work thanks to the persistence of Ted Hare and Ed Morino, an American DJ that Ted Hare knew at the BBC, who started helping to book gigs in spring 1968.
During June, however, Wheeler started to take a back seat, leaving Pitwell to become the main focus of the band. Soon after, he left to work with local rivals Jo Jo Gunne but would occasionally sit in with The All Night Workers at gigs.
The new line up (without Wheeler) continued to gig incessantly and regularly played around the Crawley, West Sussex and Dorking, Surrey areas.
Notable gigs:
- 23 March 1968 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley with D J Pete Drummond
- 30 March 1968 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley with Colin Berry
- 19 April 1968 –California Ballroom, Dunstable with Ike & Tina Turner Review
- 27 April 1968 –California Ballroom, Dunstable with Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
- 30 May 1968 – Uncle’s, St Hilda’s Hall, Ashford, Middlesex
- 19 June 1968 – Wallington Public Hall, Wallington Surrey with Freedom, Mark Writz, Grapefruit, David Essex, William Kimber and others
Jo Jo Gunne (Circa June-circa December 1968)
- Alan Barratt – lead vocals
- Mick Wheeler – lead vocals, congas
- Simon Sparkman – lead guitar
- Ken Carroll – organ
- Don Bax – bass
- Ronny Butterworth – trumpet
- Alan Townsend – trombone/trumpet
- Paul Mayer – drums
When Mick Wheeler started working with Jo Jo Gunne the band had been going for nearly three years. Simon Sparkman, Don Bax and Alan Townsend had been there from the outset while former Penny Blacks’ members Alan Barratt and Paul Mayer came on board in September 1967.
Former All Night Workers trumpet player Ronny Butterworth joined slightly later, around early October 1967. Ken Carroll, Wheeler’s former band mate from Deep Purple, joined Jo Jo Gunne around February 1968. The new line up signed to Decca Records and recorded one single, “Every Story Has An End” c/w “Should Live Like That”, released in July 1968.
Later that year, Sparkman left the band, followed in quick succession by Butterworth, Carroll and Townsend (the latter joining The All Night Workers before signing up with The Roy Young Band).
Jo Jo Gunne (January 1969-July 1969)
- Alan Barratt – lead vocals
- Mick Wheeler – lead vocals, congas
- Dave Wendels – lead guitar
- Don Bax – bass
- Dennis Fisher – sax
- Paul Mayer – drums
New lead guitarist Dave Wendels had quite a rock pedigree. His accomplishments included stints with Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Lulu & The Luvvers, Tom Jones & The Squires and Soul Survival.
Stripped down to a six-piece, Jo Jo Gunne returned to the studios to record a second single for Decca in spring 1969 – “Beggin’ You Baby” c/w “Bad Penny”, released on 25 April 1969.
Around mid-1969, a new line up was formed with Wheeler joined by lead guitarist George Williams, bass player Billy Ball and former All Night Workers drummer Malcolm Randall. Wheeler, Williams and Ball kept the band going into the mid-1970s with new members when it eventually became a later version of The Love Affair. Wheeler then went on to front The East Side Cruisers.
The All Night Workers #6 (Circa July 1968-circa January 1969)
- Iain Pitwell – lead vocals
- Brian Mansell – lead guitar
- Doug Ayris – bass
- Johnny Baker – sax
- Geoff Glover – sax
- Malcolm “Doc” Randall – drums
With Pitwell largely fronting the band on his own throughout the second half of 1968, The All Night Workers continued to pick up gigs. However, around January 1969 the singer had had enough and left, later moving into promotional work. He currently runs the Mod Generation website and manages the band, Redeye.
Notable gigs:
- 6 July 1968 – New Pink Flamingo, Soho with Rhubarb Tree (billed as All Nite Workers but may be another band)
- 10 July 1968 – Civic Hall, Dunstable, Hertfordshire with The Easybeats and others
- 2 November 1968 – Industrial Club, Norwich, Norfolk
- 20 November 1968 – Dorking Halls, Dorking, Surrey with The Easybeats, Love Affair, Freedom and Hopscotch
With Iain Pitwell out of the picture, Doug Ayris found a replacement in Clyde “Clive” Barrow (aka Burrows), a Shepherd’s Bush singer who had been fronting John Brown’s Bodies for a number of years.
John Brown’s Bodies had opened for The Who and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers at the Goldhawk Social Club in the early 1960s and apparently became the first rock band to appear at the Hammersmith Palais.
See the final section of The All Night Workers story in Part 5.
Copyright © Nick Warburton, 2012. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission from the author.
To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com
Many people helped piece this remarkable family tree together. My personal thanks go to: Mick Wheeler, Brian Mansell, Malcolm Randall, Iain Pitwell, Roy Doughty, Geoff Glover, Johnny Baker, Doug Ayris, Brian Sell, Clyde Barrow, Ted Hare, Brian Hosking and Alan Barratt. Most of the gigs were sourced from Melody Maker. The California Ballroom, Dunstable, website, which is currently unavailable was also incredibly useful. The Eastern Evening News, County Post, the Times-Herald, the Middlesex Chronicle (Hounslow Edition), the Harrow Post and the Crawley Advertiser were also a mine of information.
Comment from Nick Warburton:
Clyde “Clive” Barrow’s band, John Brown’s Bodies featured:
Chris Andrews – bass
Jim Shanley – guitar
Dave Morris – drums
Clyde would love to hear from you so please get in touch via Warchive@aol.com
