Hoppy | Ijax Allstars | January 2009
Hi punk daddy. Came across the web page for Ijax Allstars via Google (Vaultage ’Äô79) as I was looking to see which tracks we put onto the album ’Äì I knew Reggae Rumble was one but couldn’Äôt remember the other one and wondered if a ref existed to the album; lo and behold, it did! Even more surprising was the link to Ijax ’Äì fame at last, ha ha!! First of all, just to put the record straight regards the photo and confirm Nick McGerr’Äôs assumption, the line-up is, I believe, a later incarnation The Sole Destroyers (although I’Äôm not sure where the venue is), and yours truly (Hoppy, drums) is not in the photo ’Äì maybe I was hidden/hiding (camera shy), or perhaps had even left by then?

The big feller on guitar is Stuart and the bass looks like Rob, with Alan in between, Lou on the mic, and Neil far right. To give you some history on the Ijax Allstars, I had moved to Hurstpierpoint from the Maidstone area in 1973 and knew Andy Taylor from there ’Äì the only person brave enough to frequent the G Ranch in Maidstone (a mid 60s to early 70s mod/skinhead all-night club, although in truth we only really looked intimidating) sporting long hair and wearing a kaftan! ’Äì who had by then moved to Brighton (Havelock Road). Through Andy I got to know Terry Tetlow, who had also come down from Maidstone, and who, along with Andy, had an abiding interest in Reggae music.

Move forward to 1977, by which time I had moved to Burgess Hill and become close friends with Alan and Lou, who then shared a cottage in Albourne. We would often spend time listening to Reggae music, in particular Lee Perry along with loads of other vinyl I had back then. With one thing leading to another, Alan suggested we might get together with a friend of his (Neil) and mess around with some stuff of our own, loosely based on the tunes we were then listening to. So from there, Andy and Terry got involved and we began playing either in the living room or at the cottage with a home-made bass (Alan), lead guitar/saxophone (Neil), rhythm guitar/vocals (Terry), melodica/percussion [much of it home-made] (Andy), and hi-hat and snare/vocals (yours truly), plus a WEM Copycat and a spring reverb unit (with Pete Ladd coming in soon after to oversee the echo/mixing side of things) ’Äì and as was noted, most of our stuff was recorded, even back then, although I’Äôve no idea where any of the tapes are now, if they even still exist.

At this time the notion of a band proper hadn’Äôt really been in the frame but as these things always seem to take on a life of their own, the point duly arrived in early 1978 where this began to take shape, essentially through a link with The Executives (I think I have that right), who offered us support slots at their gigs in Brighton ’Äì and if my memory serves me correctly, our debut was at the Alhambra sometime around March. Needing a name for the band, Andy used to have a piece of card in his hat with Ijax written on it, which Lee Perry had scrawled on the wall of his wrecked studio (Black Ark) amongst other bizarre stuff, and which seemed wholly appropriate ’Äì Allstars signifying that we were essentially an instrumental band (aware, however, that vocals were still needed to some extent in order to maintain audience interest, and which Terry and I used to share, although AT would add a few toast-type bits here and there).

It soon became necessary to practice more often than once a week, and the basement at Davigdor Road was eventually put into use by fixing carpets to the walls and ceiling, as much to lessen the impact for dear old Miss Saxby as anything else, although it did prove useful insofar as our sound was very echo orientated, and thereby eliminated any feedback together with improving sound recording. It was also around this time that Lou began to get more involved with the band, even on occasion adding flute into the mix, as well as some vocal harmonies and the odd lead.

Towards the end of 1979, we returned to the studio and recorded a demo track, based on an old Lee Perry rhythm, which was then presented to a number of labels but without success ’Äì although after the tape had been reluctantly given to a then leading label (which shall remain nameless), a subsequent record (which shall also remain nameless), with a suspiciously similar bass line, reached Number 1 early in 1980. It was around this time that Terry decided to quit the band, while later in 1980 I also decided to call it a day, from whence the band, in name at any rate, more or less ceased to exist ’Äì although the later but short-lived Sole Destroyers did include Alan, Neil, Lou and myself.

So there you have it in a nut-shell, or at least as best as I can remember. While I apologise for any glaring omissions I may have made, any discrepancies are the result of the mists of time (and herb) but I think that’Äôs pretty close to the actuality. Furthermore, it remains one of the most interesting and enjoyable periods of my life, with heartfelt thanks going out to all those who supported us during that time, and wish you all the very best both now and for the future. Peace and love. Hoppy