RKmusic

Jam Nights

The Middlesex Arms

Welcome to  :  jam.rkmusic.co.uk

- Rob’s unofficial website for :

‘Jam Nights’ at The Middlesex Arms,

Long Drive, South Ruislip, HA4 0HG

( next to South Ruislip tube

and across the road from Sainsbury’s )

Tel. 020 8845 0667

Click on ‘Photos & Videos’ above to go to the Gallery, where you’ll find Jam Night photos.

Then, scroll down to see Jam Night video clips.   Have a look – you know you want to !

Gigs – ‘MOT’ (The Jam Night house band  - more or less ) have secured some gigs – Click on ‘Gigs’ above to find out more !

What’s happening at Jam Night ?

Jam Night at The Middlesex Arms is proving to be very popular these days – it’s obviously the place to be every Thursday for all discerning musicians and music lovers. We aim to start at 9.30 sharp, technical glitches permitting, to try to ensure we accomodate everyone. If anyone has been left out recently, apologies  for that, but that’s why we’re trying to stick to the 9.30 start time.

We’re encouraging everyone to tune up their instruments before coming up to play. This would be really appreciated as it will reduce changeover times.  So thanks to all of you who tune up in advance !

The night  finishes at 12 o’clock.  So don’t forget, it’s on every Thursday !  So grab your guitar, bass, vocal chords or whatever, come down and get up and jam !

Despite the growing numbers, we still want to see more and more musos ( yes that means you ) joining in, so that the house band can carry on sitting around with their feet up, drinkies on the table and have a listen to someone else performing their favourite music.

The drums, amps, mics etc. are all there waiting for you to use. So you don’t need to lug any gear about (unless perhaps you’re bringing your keyboards with you)  - y’see, there’s just no excuse whatsoever for not dropping in – is there ?

The start time is currently 9.30 going on to 12.00 – the same time, more or less, as previous jam nights gone by at The Star, Daly’s and The Rayners. ( and probably even further back than that. – Remember The Rising Sun, Sudbury Hill, – The Railway, Wealdstone, – The Reindeer, Northwood Hills, – The Plough, Kenton – oooh, happy days ! If you look below at ‘A History Of Jam Night’, you may find out a bit more about the Jam Nights of yesteryear ! ) … Anyway, I digress … back to the present, now where was I ? … Oh yes … All musicians are welcome … any standard … any style  - Not suitable for children – way past their bed-time ( and mine, come to that ) ! !  -  Free entry.

The pub is roomy and does good beer – I couldn’t help noticing the Fuller’s London Pride ! And, they do food too ! It’s also Curry Night every Thursday too these days !  A menu of Curry and Jam served up together on an unbeatable double bill, with amps and poppadoms thrown in.

So what are you waiting for ? Just grab your favourite axe and come and join in the fun … bring your friends … every Thursday at The Middlesex Arms.  As we always say -” Marvellous !”  See you there !

The new look website is here, as you can see ! You may well have seen me wandering about recently with a camera or standing about on a chair getting some video footage. The photos I took at that session have been on the site for a while now along with some archive pictures !  The video has now been added too ! Other clips are also appearing, but in general these will take a bit longer.  I’m beginning to master the art of editing so there will be other Jam Night goodies from the past, as well as loads of other stuff, going on in the fullness of time.

< As always, thanks go to Gavin and Sons for all their efforts in organising Jam Nights, to all the members of the Jam Night House Band, to everyone who comes along to play or to listen and to The Middlesex Arms for hosting this wonderful weekly extravaganza. >

A History of Jam Night…

Yes folks, here it is – at last – what you’ve all been waiting for … Jam Night History

- My recollections of Jam Nights past and present  -  A rough history of Jam Night’s previous incarnations up to the present day – the places and the people that have shaped the Jam Nights we know today !

In The Beginning

Well, for me at least, it all started back in 1989 or 90 at The Plough in Kenton. I started going to the Monday night jam nights with my (then) band, ‘Guess’. I can’t remember how we got to hear about it. I already knew Mark Chudley, so he may well have told me about it. So ‘Guess’ made a few appearances playing three or four numbers from our rehearsed set, joining regulars such as ‘Drug Store Cowboys’, among others. The house band, as far as I can recall, was Mark and Lenny on guitars, Drew on drums, Gavin on bass and Harvey on the mixing desk. This was when I first witnessed the talents of Elliot, Steve Holland, Tony Burt, Simon Freed, among others, although it would be quite some time before I would  get to know some of them.

Moving On

After the demise of the popular jam nights at ‘The Plough’, jam nights moved briefly to ‘The Railway’ in Wealdstone ( now a lovely block of flats !”).  I think the ‘Railway’ jam nights moved to Tuesday nights at this stage and ‘Guess’ did a Thursday night gig as a sort of a spin off from playing at Jam Night.

Heyday

The Rising Sun, Sudbury Hill then became the new home for some years, achieving even more popularity than ever. This period could probably be described as its heyday. All the usual jam night crew were in regular attendance and grew around this time.

Sadly, in 1998, we all suffered the loss of our friend Simon Freed through cystic fibrosis. Simon was a really friendly chap who would often be seen in his Vincent Price jacket, engaged in conversation about guitars, music etc. – Sadly missed !

The Rising Sun was eventually taken over by new owners whose priorities didn’t include the local music scene. Unfortunately, Jam Night became a casualty and was thereby destined for some years ‘in exile’ !

Jam Night returns

Fast forward to April 2005 … Mark Chudley asked me if I’d like to be part of the Jam Night House Band as he didn’t really want to do it and would rather just be a ‘punter’.  So without too much hesitation I said ‘yes’ feeling rather pleased to have been asked. Thanks to Gavin’s efforts, Jam Night had recently made a come-back at The Rayners and was going well until they dropped the bombshell that the pub was to close. The last Jam Night there was in January 2006, before moving briefly, for a just a two week spell, to Sam Maguire’s in Wealdstone. An unresolved financial dispute meant Jam Night would move swiftly on yet again, just up the road to Daly’s, only a few yards further up Wealdstone High Street. This lasted till Febriuary 2007 when due to numbers not getting to the levels hoped for, Daly’s pulled the plug on the the Monday Night Jam Nights.

Gavin continued to look for an alternative venue and in May 2007 Jam Night came to The Star in South Harrow on Thursday nights. With the great transport links on the doorstep and a reputaton for putting on regular music, The Star seemed like the perfect venue. The attendances though tended to fluctuate, struggling to attract the desired numbers. This problem was illustrated by the fact that the House Band would sometimes have to play all night.  Eventually, in December 2007, it was the Star’s turn to bring another close, albeit temporarily, to Jam Nights.

The present

Jam Night made a welcome return on Thursday 20th March ’08 at The Middlesex Arms and has continued to run everyThursday since, except for the break at Christmas / New Year. Having moved from the Star, the new jam night kicked off with the house band and REM’s ‘The One I Love’ which the audience, somewhat larger in numbers than expected, seemed to enjoy and the classic rock and pop continued for about an hour before other performers got up to do their thing, which after all, is what jam nights are really all about !

Archive  :  24/4/09  - Those of you who attended last night’s session will possibly have noticed my absence. This was due to a nasty bug invading my bodily particles – I’ve been struck down with a chest infection. Suffice it to say, I’m now swallowing copious amounts of penicillin type antibiotics, so hopefully I’ll be all better by next week. Hope you had a good time without me – well, not too good a time, eh ? !  Anyway, I took the opportunity to delve into my video archives and found some footage of Jam Night from 28th June 2007 at The Star in South Harrow. So I set about editing it, and now for your viewing and listening pleasure, it can now be viewed and enjoyed by all and sundry – just click on Photos & Videosand you’ll see it there, ready and waiting.  An important word to the hard of thinking  - It’s an archive clip, in the past, not current, from a time gone by ! So don’t go to The Star next Thursday – it’s not there any more – it’s at The Middlesex Arms, South Ruislip – every Thursday !

Archive  :  1/5/09   - The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I was back last night, struggling a bit, but back none the less. Thanks to Martin for filling in for me last week. Oh and don’t forget, Elliott is at The Middlesex Arms on Saturday night, starting around 9pm, so go and see him !  Well, that the end of the commercial break. See you next week …  ”Marvellous !”

Archive  :  22/5/09 - Drummer extraordinaire, Mac Poole looked decidedly knackered after his drum solo last night. It was his first solo for many a long Jam Night, during a bluesy set by the excellent ‘Joe X’. We really ought to treat our old folk better and not grind them into the ground ! The larger than life Drew made an appearance last night, but what was that camp crap he kicked off with ? ? !  Anyway, it was good to see everyone again last night, (including Drew, although don’t tell him I said that ) so hope to see you all again next week.Now, a commercial break : Alan George from The Woodman will be at The Middlesex Arms on Saturday night, 23rd May, playing Neil Diamond and Shadows and other stuff too. Starts around 9pm, so go and see him !    BFN   …  ”Marvellous !”

Archive : 24/07/09  :  Jam Night Band to gig ! - The Jam Night House Band have secured a gig at The Eastcote Arms on Saturday 15th August ’09. The band will be performing under the alias ” M.O.T.”  … that stands for ‘Musicians On Tap’ … and will feature ( other commitments permitting) :  Lenny and Rob on guitars, Marco on vocals, Dave or Ted on Bass, and  Mac on Drums. Proceedings kick off at 9.30, so see you there !