Charlie Zuber -drums
Gary Turner -bass, vocals
Doug Potter - guitar, vocals
Paul Birchall - keyboards
Dodgems Anthology1978-1980 CD
featured on Vaultage 78

The Dodgems

NEW! Charlie Zuber | Dodgems | Nov 2009
Charlie Zuber Here. See the thing is I never meant to emigrate-or leave the dodgems, its just that Fiji was the closest Job I could get after Maggie Thatcher got rid of my Job as a graphic designer in Sussex University. What can a poor boy do ???

However, I still play drums sometimes, and this photo is taken in my studio in Tasmania.  Pearl Export kit with Zildjian cymbals, and most importantly, the  Tee shirt brought back for me this year by Doug potter, (dodgems guitarist) from Sun Studios USA. 

So if anyone out there knows where the fuck Tasmania is, and wants to come and stay for a night in heritage listed church, check out our studio website at least www.churchstudiofranklin.com.au



Gary Turner
After the Dodgems finished I worked with Bob Grover in the reformed Piranha's until about 1985 then I went back to Art. I've retired from teaching and thanks to a broken back, stopped making sculpture. However I was painting and drawing for some time and exhibiting annually and am now working digitally printing my images on to canvas, and still showing annually during the festival.
Musically (for fun) I've just written a new song with my son, Caspian (who is an excellent musician) and am recording it using email to contact the other members of the band and get their tracks to add to what I've done. It might work, it might just be fun but I'll send you a copy anyway.

Doug Potter | Post–Dodgems
The Dodgems hit the buffers following the departure of drummer Charlie Zuber (to Fiji), and the collapse of their record label, Criminal Records, in 1981 – leaving the Dodgems’ ‘Lost Tapes’, recorded for Criminal with Charlie Charles of the Blockheads depping for the absent Charlie Z unreleased. I left Brighton in 1988 for a job with the NHS in East Yorkshire, where I still live.

The biggest post–Dodgems surprise is that the band is still remembered, and after years of being missing, the reincarnation of Lord Lucan - in recordings and performances of ‘Lord Lucan is Missing’ by Black Box Recorder and in 2005 a 12” vinyl of 5 international DJ remixes released by 12 Apostles under the title ‘Lord Lucan is Still Missing’.

Most surreal moment – going to see Black Box Recorder at the Cockpit, Leeds and watching Luke Haines et al performing our old Dodgems song, to much aclaim by the crowd. Doug

Paul Birchall
I stumbled across this site and it brought back lots of interesting memories. I played keyboards with the Dodgems on two singles and the John Peel session we did. Good to here that Jonnie Condom's still in town. My favorite artist of the time was Dick Damage. Has he still got that white coat?

Doug Potter | May 19, 2001
I wrote/played/sung in the Dodgems during the great times with Piranhas/Nicky & Dots etc. Anyone interested in the Lost Dodgems Tapes, with Blockhead Charlie Charles on drums, recorded for Criminal Records, not issued as company went bust. Also check Black Box Recorder version of Lord Lucan on USA version of England Made Me CD.





Early Dodgems




With Charlie Charles from the Blockheads




Mr Zuber's artwork

Gary Turner <gary.turner7@ntlworld.com> March 2003
Hi, spotty little friends of mine. It's Gary Turner, Dodgems lead vocals and bass. I started the Dodgems in 1978. We actually began as Jet-Slag with Doug Potter (guitar and vocals), Charlie Zuber (drums) and Dave Owen (lead guitar and vocals). I was bass and vocals. Dave, it turned out, was more in to west coast American stuff, so the Dodgems were born as a three-piece, Doug and I wrote our own material and I became lead vocals. We advertised in the argus for a keyboard player and happily met Paul. The rest you know, except about 1990 I discovered we were a cult in New-York, I was mega suprised. It was great recording with Chas Charles (Blockheads), but a band is a band and losing Charlie Zuba was the end for the Dodgems. The Pirahnas finished about the same time, so I joined Bob Grover (Boring Bob) in recreating the Pirahnas. The new line up was Bob (guitar and vocals), me on bass, Mike Roberts (guitar), Dominic Dring (Sax), Jeff Ansell (drums), Colin Spicer (keyboards) Mike Lance (percussion for a while). We gigged around for a few years and then got allergic to Penicillin'. Bob is now into building web sites. I'm making digital art, my web-site is here

Mike Roberts is sound-engineer for Luke Creswell (Stomp) and ex-Pookysnak'n'burger, along with Paul and Johnny from the Pirahnas and Nick Dwyer of Nicky and the Dots. Jeff is still drumming and driving taxis. I don't know what Dom or Colin are doing but Mike Lance is opening a bar in spain. Life moves on! I wonder if anyone knows what happened to our great fan SNIKS'!? Gary
PS: It has to be said I'm not punk daddy anymore. I'm punk Granddaddy!




Dodgems in the Vault


Vaultage 78 Review:
The Dodgems have been together for about a year. They all have demanding full-time jobs- Doug is a social worker, Gary a sculptor and Charlie a designer at Sussex University. They still manage to rehearse twice a week and are keen to broaden their horizons with some gigs out of town. Drummer Charlie Zuber: "We have been called political and we do have strong opinions about things. But you have to keep the message fairly simple because the music’s so loud!" Their best song is ‘Lord Lucan is Missing’. "That is about how irrelevant most of the news is to our lives- it really doesnt matter whether Lord Lucan is missing or not".