Rob’s website page for : ‘Jam Nights’ …
The Horseshoe
326 Eastcote Lane
South Harrow
HA2 9AJ
Tel. 020 8864 7885
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 !
Latest – 16/5/2020… Jam Night suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown
There will be no Jam Night until further notice.
Latest – 12/2/2019… Jam Night is back…
‘Mac’s Jam Nite’ is due for a return very soon. Since our stint at The Middlesex Arms ended last October, Gavin has been exploring other options to get things up and running again. So we now have a new venue, which is The Horseshoe in South Harrow – the last Thursday of every month, kicking off on Thursday 28th February, 9pm till 11.30pm. So, get down to The Horseshoe and join in at the new Jam Nights.
See you there. BFN, Rob.
BREAKING NEWS – 16/11/2018… Jam Night at the Middlesex Arms is no more ! We’ll be looking to start again somewhere else February / March next year.
Latest – 29/3/2018… Jam Night is back tonight ! We’re back at The Middlesex Arms, South Ruislip – the last Thursday of every month !
See you there !
BREAKING NEWS – 25/10/2017… Jam Night is moving! It’s no longer at The Three Wishes in North Harrow. Tomorrow’s Jam Night will be at The Crock Of Gold in Ruislip High Street.
More soon !
Latest 17/12/2016 : Last Jam Night of 2016
The last Jam Night of the year, at The Three Wishes in North Harrow, was held on Thursday 15th December. It was another great night with a sizeable attendance. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening, as the weekly musical extravaganza wound up for another year. The first Jam Night of 2017 will be on Thursday 26th January ! However, there is a down side – Jam Night is changing from weekly to monthly, on the last Thursday of every month. Apologies for this change !
From all the House Band, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
BFN, Rob.
Latest 31/8/2016 : Jam Night OFF !
Jam Night at the Three Wishes, North Harrow is OFF tomorrow, Thursday 1st September, for one week only. It’s back on again on Thursday 8th September !
Cheers, Rob.
Latest 31/12/2015 : Happy New Jam Night
Hello there !
Jam Night has now finished at Harrow Borough Football Club. A new Thursday Jam Night will start in January at The Three Wishes in North Harrow. ** Starts on 21st ** Hope to see you all there. In the meantime, have a Happy New Year.
BFN, Rob.
Latest 6/11/2015 : New Jam Night at Harrow Borough Football Club
New Jam Night, new guitar ! Lenny gets in tune !
The new Jam Night at Harrow Borough Football Club kicked off ( see what I did there ?! ) last night. It was a fairly successful start especially when you consider the haste with which it was organised ( thanks to Gavin for that ), the fact that it was Guy Fawkes night and the weather was pretty yuk ! Nevertheless, it all went off spiffingly and the small crowd that gathered seemed to enjoy the new venue.
But … Jam night needs support … Your support ! So, please don’t be put off just because we’re not in a pub any more. Harrow Borough is a very accommodating venue so grab your guitar, bass, keyboards, brass or whatever and come and join in. It’s the usual house band, and the same start time of 9.15 on a good day or 9.30 when I’ve plugged in a dodgy lead.
Important note … From now on Wednesday night is Jam Night ! Yes friends, it’s being moved from Thursdays to Wednesdays !!
So come and join in and play on a proper stage ! We look forward to seeing you very soon !
BFN, Cheers, Rob.
Latest 3/11/2015 : Jam Night – Breaking News …
Hi everyone.
Jam Night at The Middlesex Arms has been ‘pulled’ ! The pub management have decided not to continue with the Thursday Night sessions with immediate effect.
However, Gavin has been quick to secure an alternative venue. So, starting on Thursday 5th November, Jam Night will be held at Harrow Borough FC.
Please come down and have a blast !
BFN, Cheers, Rob.
Mac Poole
Latest 22/5/2015 : Mac Poole
It was with great sadness that we learned yesterday, that Mac Poole has died.
I first met Mac in 2005 when he joined the house band. Jam Night was at The Rayners at that time. In the years that followed it was clear that Mac loved drumming, loved a laugh and a joke, loved life, and loved a good ‘ol chin-wag, always having time to relay stories of the people he had met and played with, in his years in the music business. I only ever played with Mac at Jam Nights but it was always great to have him behind you. He will be sadly missed by everyone at Jam Night and my condolences go out to all his family.
Rob.
What’s happening at Jam Night ?
Jam Night at Harrow Borough Football Club – the place to be every Wednesday for all discerning musicians and music lovers. We aim to start at 9.15, technical glitches permitting, to try to ensure we accomodate everyone.
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 11: 45pm. So don’t forget, it’s on every Wednesday ! So grab your guitar, bass, vocal chords or whatever, come down and get up and jam !
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 9.15 going on to 11.45 – the same time, more or less, as previous jam nights gone by at The Middlesex Arms, 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.
So what are you waiting for ? Just grab your favourite axe and come and join in the fun … bring your friends … every Wednesday at Harrow Borough Football Club. As we always say –” Marvellous !” See you there !
… Don’t forget to have a look at the video footage and photos of past Jam Nights – Just click on Photos & Videos above !
< Thanks go to Gavin for 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 Harrow Borough FC 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 ‘Middlesex Arms’ Years
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 !
Archive : 23/9/2013 : Get Well Soon Gavin ! Unfortunately, Gavin is not well at the moment and is in hospital recovering from a recent stroke. I’m sure I speak for everyone connected with Jam Night in wishing Gavin a very speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back at Jam Night soon. Now, that really would be ‘Marvellous’ ! !
*** Jam Night no longer at The Middlesex Arms from 3rd November 2015 ***
I am interested in the jam nights you arrange at the Middlesex Arms and would appreciate any info to confirm when the events are happening? Thanks Eddie
Hi Eddie, the jam nights at the Middlesex Arms are on the last Thursday of the month. All the best, Joel.