A band by the name of Flashback has been on the York music scene for over 20 years, and has included Pete in it’s line-up for most of that time, playing whatever instrument was needed - bass, rhythm guitar, ukulele, comb and paper - you name it, he’s played it!

The band name was not really his, and he always intended to “ditch it eventually”, but he’s gradually become stuck with it, and a Flashback without Pete just wouldn’t be the same.

Kev had been in different bands with Pete over the years, and even lived in the next street to him, so when, in 2002, he was invited to a friend’s birthday bash, which featured several bands, including a for-one-night-only version of Flashback, he was quite impressed by their choice of ‘sixties songs (not a Roy Orbison, Shadows or Everly Brothers in sight), and when Pete rang him a few weeks later to ask him to join he jumped at the chance. Ah, well, we all make mistakes!

HIP OP

The drummer at that time was “One Drum John,” and this line-up continued for about a year, with the quality of gigs improving (with a few notable exceptions!) Unfortunately, John lived by the band’s motto - “Too Old To Die Young” – and was so ancient that he eventually needed a hip replacement! This led to him playing some gigs standing up, with just a snare and cymbal (hence his nickname), and eventually it proved too much, and he and Flashback went their separate ways – some people will do anything to escape!

There followed a period of eighteen months with stand in drummers, many of whom could only bear playing with Flashback for one night! A lot of Pete’s energy was spent in trying to con people into filling the drummer’s slot, in fact, he tried so hard that it’s almost  certain that a couple of the stand-ins weren’t actually drummers!

MILITARY TWO-STEP

One of the most gullible people roped in were Tony “Gringo” Grinsdale, who, having been in the army, earning a medal for his duties in Northern Ireland (his record for peeling the highest tonnage of potatoes in one month still remains unbeaten), used to become emotionally unstable when Pete and Kev would load the gear into the van “by the numbers.” (“Left, left, left, right, left”) Ah, the bruises earned at those gigs are fondly remembered…

Another poor soul was Phil “Inspector Gadget” Calvert, so called because he had so many drums, cymbals, mics and gadgets with him he has been known to be still setting it all up at the start of the last spot!

At this point the band’s repertoire included many of the rock and roll and Merseybeat standards that they still do today, but that was as far as the sixties thing went for them, there was still songs by Lindisfarne, Status Quo, and T Rex in the set, too.

R&B

However, in the summer of 2004 the trio went to Liverpool’s “Beatle Week” festival, and were so knocked out by the first band they saw – early leather-clad Beatles look- and sound-alikes – tthey all realised that they shared a common wish to move further into that early Hamburg/Cavern R&B scene. Almost immediately the bands image changed to the all black, leather-jacketed outfits familiar today; Hiwatt and Marshall amplification was changed for ‘60s Vox equipment, Kev started using his newly-acquired Hofner 500/5 “Stuart Sutcliffe” bass, and lent Pete one of his John Lennon Hofner Club 40s, until he could find one of his own.

Phil, still officially only one of a number of stand-ins at this time, stripped down his kit to include a lot fewer gadgets, reducing his setting up time to only three hours, and making it look much more 1960s.

Songs that came in moved towards the same goal – Some Other Guy, My Bonnie, Kansas City to name but a few, and the band became very much like the Flashback we know and love today!

On New Year’s Eve 2004 Phil finally gave in to Pete and Kev’s threats, pleading, tearful tantrums and plain old blackmail, and agreed to join on a permanent basis. Little did the world realise what awaited them!

Since then the band have been going from strength to strength, adding a lifesize backdrop of the back wall of The Cavern Club to their stage set up, buying a shiny new P.A. (the loan shark who lent them the money says that at £150 per month it will be paid off by 2010. Probably.)

More and better gigs have included appearances at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, where they now play on a monthly basis, the sixties festival at Whitby Pavilion Theatre supporting The Fourmost and Dave Berry And The Cruisers, and taking part in the 2006 “Beatle Week” festival, including a show on the main open-air stage in front of The Liver Building. Highlights of 2007 so far have been a spot at the official 50th anniversary celebrations at The Cavern, in front of people such as Mike McCartney and Julia Baird (John Lennon’s half-sister), and an appearance at The Beatles-Platz festival in Hamburg for German national TV, on The Grosse Freiheit, where the Beatles spent so many months all that time ago, a case of things having turned full circle for Flashback!

2008 has been a busy year so far for the band, in April they played at The Olympia Theatre in Liverpool, on the same bill as Kenny Ball, Craig Douglas, Chas McDevitt and their mates, The Mojos. A wonderful time was had by all at this venue, formerly known as The Locarno Ballroom, scene of so many Beat Shows in the early sixties.

Following on from their third appearance at Liverpool’s International Beatle Week Festival, Flashback played their 50th show at The Cavern Club in September - not bad for a band with no Scousers in it!

As for 2009, well, with a diary filling up rapidly it looks like the playmates will not be getting much rest, with a few exciting possible projects thrown in too - watch, this space!

Songs that came in moved towards the same goal – Some Other Guy, My Bonnie, Kansas City to name but a few, and the band became very much like the Flashback we know and love today!

On New Year’s Eve 2004 Phil finally gave in to Pete and Kev’s threats, pleading, tearful tantrums and plain old blackmail, and agreed to join on a permanent basis. Little did the world realise what awaited them!

Since then the band have been going from strength to strength, adding a life size backdrop of the back wall of The Cavern Club to their stage set up, buying a shiny new P.A. (the loan shark who lent them the money says that at £150 per month it will be paid off by 2010. Probably.)

More and better gigs have included appearances at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, where they now play on a monthly basis, the sixties festival at Whitby Pavilion Theatre supporting The Fourmost and Dave Berry And The Cruisers, and taking part in the 2006 “Beatle Week” festival, including a show on the main open-air stage in front of The Liver Building. Highlights of 2007 so far have been a spot at the official 50th anniversary celebrations at The Cavern, in front of people such as Mike McCartney and Julia Baird (John Lennon’s half-sister), and an appearance at The Beatles-Platz festival in Hamburg for German national TV, on The Grosse Freiheit, where the Beatles spent so many months all that time ago, a case of things having turned full circle for Flashback!

2008 has been a busy year so far for the band, in April they played at The Olympia Theatre in Liverpool, on the same bill as Kenny Ball, Craig Douglas, Chas McDevitt and their mates, The Mojos. A wonderful time was had by all at this venue, formerly known as The Locarno Ballroom, scene of so many Beat Shows in the early sixties.

Following on from their third appearance at Liverpool’s International Beatle Week Festival, Flashback played their 50th show at The Cavern Club in September - not bad for a band with no Scousers in it!

2009 got off to a bad start, with the news that drummer Phil had cancer of the oesophagus, and the first six months were spent working with that in mind. As has been well documented in the news pages of this site, Phil continued playing right through his chemotherapy, and even to the day before he went into hospital for his operation - what a trooper! Anyway, all’s well that ends well, and he gradually made a full recovery, well enough to play in The Cavern Comes to York show put on in October to raise money for cancer charities, and what a night that was!

Well, as a result of the year’s problems, the band experienced it’s biggest upheaval to date, with the departure of Phil, and replacement by Steve, on drums.

As for 2010 - who knows what the future brings? All we know is that we’ll keep playing beat music for as long as we can!