Army & Navy

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The Army & Navy Chelmsford
 
  
  
I recently met with Sean Hudson former promoter of the Army &Navy music venue in Chelmsford.What sort of pupil were you at Boswells
 
 
I did not care very much for school, I was absent towards the end ofthe fourth year onwards. I never really cared much for rules etc, myuniform consisted of black trousers, Doc Martins, silk black shirt andan American baseball jacket! (this was the 80s). I sat one exam. Ihave an older sister who influenced me very much musically as shewas very into her music and I have two younger brothers. All my familystill reside in Chelmsford.
What sort of bands were youseeing before you musicpromoting days.
Punk really, never saw any otherbands as I was at that point prettyblind to other genres. I havealways liked rock & heavy metalthough.

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What sort of albums did you have in your collection in youryouth.
Surprise, surprise, punk & skinhead music. I was a massive Oi! fan(still am ) and the first record I bought (in 1981) was The Sex Pistols'God save The Queen' and my second was The Exploited 'DeadCities'. Although I have to admit to being a big Adam Ant fan and acloset Gary Numan fan!
What did you do when you leftschool and how and when didyou become a music promoter
When I left school I joined atravelling fair but soon came backand became a tyre fitter. I did thisfor a year before going off the railsfor two years, in and out of variousjobs and many a run in with thepolice. In 1990 I started work at theLittle Chef in Widford and stayedthere for two years. It was at thistime ( or slightly before ) I hadbeen doing mail order recordswhich led me into doing a punk/Oi!fanzine called Welcome To TheReal World which ran for 5 issuesand was distributed all over theworld. I also did a little bit of writingfor Metal Hammer magazine whowere doing a punk section. Whilstdoing this I got to interview all myheroes such as Cock Sparrer, GlenMatlock, Sham 69, The LastResort, Splodge and also metsome great people. I rememberinterviewing Ronnie Thomas fromthe Heavy Metal Kids and we wentfor a meal on Carnaby Street and Ifelt like I had met royalty. That wasone of my best interviews but Icould do so much better now.
I started going to the Stick of Rockin Bethnal Green that was run bySteve Bruce, the drummer withCock Sparrer sometimes I stayedthere for the weekend seeing alltypes of bands. I then thought tomyself why was I here in Londonwhen I could promote a venue inChelmsford and bring the bands tothe towns so I set to work onachieving this goal. This was 1992and I originally bookedChelmsford’s YMCA for a HeavyMetal Kids, show with their newsinger 'Dave Demarco, gig forDecember 11th 1992 but switchedto the A&N and the rest is history!In fact the first band I booked was

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a Psychobilly band called theKlingonz about 140 turned up forthis gig. Previous to this the socalled Kings of Psychobilly TheMeteors had played the venue.
Army & Navy Flyer c/o Steve ClarkCan you tells more about the early days and the Army and Navybecame a major venue on the music scene.
The Landlord of the Army & Navy was Martin, at first myself and JohnDunn were allocated two nights a week to promote new acts to thevenue. I remember booking Glen Matlock a former member of the SexPistols the fee was £250.00 and only 120 turned up and we lostmoney on that gig. Admission was £2.50. He told me the Sex Pistolswould never reform! We also booked many other Punk bandsincluding UK Subs, The Exploited, 999, Peter & The Test Tube Babies,The Anti Nowhere League, Splodge etc etc
John Dunn was the former promoter at the Y Club but now we wereworking together and our 2 nights a week at the A&N had now beenincreased to include an Indie night on a Thursday. And soon we werebooking alternate Fridays and Saturdays and later Mondays &Tuesdays.
I understand you booked inOasis
No, I didnt, John Dunn did. I turnedthem down to headline an alldayer.Oasis were booked in 1994 and wesold 350 tickets in advance of theshow, the official capacity of thevenue was 260. Oasis had justreleased their first singl and by thetime they played it had just goneinto the UK charts. The supportwere called 'Elemental Child' therewas another band that night but Icannot remember their name, Iremember the Gallagher brothershaving a massive water fight in thecorridor and back room before thegig. So to put pay to all bullshitrumours, 350 turned up, it was soldout in advance and they neverplayed more than once. Accordingto Chelmsford folk lore, there was20,000 people there on the night!
Around this time we had booked inCanadian band Moist andScandinavian rockers Clawfinger,in 1995 John had left the A&N andI was booking all the bands myself.Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays andSaturdays. Wednesday andSunday night were designated asgay evenings that proved to bevery successful. ( The gay nightsactually kept the venue afloat) Wealso booked tribute bands and Iremember putting the AustralianPink Floyd on, one of their first gigsin the UK. I also booked them in

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Southend and it was a jointpromotion. The promoters pulledout a week before because theyhad no confidence and on the daythe pier caught fire but the gig soldout and I made a fortune. They arestadium fillers now all over theworld!
When did the Brewery first try close the A&N down.
The Brewery wanted to close the Pub in 95 and John went to the YClub, but a campaign was launched to save the now famous venue. Apetition of 6500 names signed and together with the help of theChelmsford Yellow Advertiser newspaper who headlined the fight, theVenue was saved for now.
What other big name bands did you book in from 1995
Just to name a few Kula Shaker, Sterophonics, Headswim, SuperFurry Animals, Idlewild, Elastica, Longpigs,Wishbone Ash, Feeder,Garp, Sleeper, The Mission, and Dogs D' Amour. Midge Ure, In factthe V festival had started in 1994 and a lot of the acts that played herewent on to headline or be a major attractions in future festivals atHylands Park.
In 1999 Martin the landlord left the Army & Navy and I took over thewhole venue, that by now was well established, this was a busy time. Ihad booked in such local bands as The Filaments, The Big, Ac Slater,Thaed, Tellercreep, ISM and created a scene with these bands. Thelast 18 months of the Navy was the busiest and the local scene was atits best since 1993 when we had great local bands like Garp, TheKites & Vybe Trybe. They were great times.
 
What was your personal bestmoment
My best moment was booking inmy favourite band from Australiawho played their first UK showhere at the Army & Navy in 19years, the band were called RoseTattoo , the lead singer was called'Angry Anderson' they had workedwith AC/DC the sound was aheavy metal mix with blues androck. There’s nothing like havingyour own personal favourite bandplay in your venue. There was lotsof other moments but looking back,the A&N could never happen now,you would never get away withwhat we did, nor would a brewerylet it happen. It never turned overfortunes for anyone.
I wanted to book Sham 69 butJimmy Pursey refused to play hereas he thought that Chelmsford wasa Fascist town and his band mayget targeted.

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Did you book bands right across the music spectrum.
Yes we booked soul bands like Junior Jump who played a summer gigand a Christmas show every year, this band always attracted a fullhouse, Ska bands included The Beat, Selecter, and Bad Manners,Reggae bands like Bush Fire and even Judge Dread. Psychobillybands like the Meteors. Blues bands such as Nine Below Zero and DrFeelgood. So as well as all the Rock, Indie, and Punk we did have agood mix of music. In 1992 we booked a four band real skinhead gigwhich included Argy Bargy, no venue at that time was touching suchstuff. We tried comedy in the later years at the back of the venue andTim Vine played there and we did accoustic nights in there as well withthe likes of The Almightys Ricky Warwick and Jim Diamond (remember Boon theme tune ) who played a blinder with SnakeDavies. We did AOR ( Tyketto, Magnum etc) Folk metal ( Skyclad),tribute bands, thrash, death metal etc etc.
I remember reading in the localpress about controversialbands, Rockbitch and ImpotentSea Snakes.
Rockbitch was a femalePunk/Metal/Goth type band thatwere known for performing withtheir kit off and incorporatingsexual acts into the show. The firsttime we booked them only about50 people turned up, three of thegirls went nude, they would throwout into the audience a condomand who ever caught it would beoffered oral sex or more The nexttime we booked them word had gotout about them and the local EdgeMagazine ran with the headline“LOCK UP YOUR SONS, ROCKBITCH ARE IN TOWN” needlessto say we had 500 turn up thatnight. We did book them for a thirdtime and one of the female bandmembers fell over on stage andtwisted her ankle that night.
I then booked in a band called TheImpotent Sea Snakes they werefrom Atlanta. America’s answer toRockbitch. They are also known forsexually explicit performances andlyrics, the male member’s dressedin drag and the female wore nextto nothing. The gig went well and Ire-booked them and this time Imade a huge banner that hung bythe Army & Navy roundabout for allto see. The banner with Americanstars and stripes said “MOVEOVER ROCKBITCH THE YANKSARE IN TOWN”. Things weregoing well I had sold 350 advancedtickets but unfortunately the daybefore the gig the Police turned upwith two council officials. I was toldif the show went ahead my licence

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could be in serious jeopardy, soafter considering the situation theconcert was cancelled.
Favourite memories
Lots!! Loads of late night drinking sessions with various bands, mostmemorable being Buster Bloodvessel from Bad Manners who toldsome great stories. Drinking with various ska faces and the drummerfrom the Specials telling me they would never reform. The bandcompetitions bringing in huge audiences and big money. The infamouspromoters diary which was my chance to sound off about what I reallythought. I once said a tribute to Ian Dury called The Blox sounded likeChas & Dave building a shed! It wasnt a popular comment. It gotserious hits on the website and I wish I still had it. Even the lateMelody Maker magazine commented on it! Making Back To ThePlanet sell out and then touting our own tickets outside!!
Best shows
The Dogs D'amour were veery special to me for personal reasons.Reef were great and Skyclad were very captivating. There was toomany really, ten years on my memory is a bit hazy. I still have thediaries from 1992 - 2002, there isnt much missed out of them.
Did any VIPs come to gigs here.
Yes Fergal Sharkey, Gary Numan, members from The Prodigy andBlur could often be seen in the audience and Reg Holdsworth!.
Your Worst Moment
My worst moment was when the Army & Navy closed in Oct 2002 tomake way for a new sports bar called Arena Army & Navy. Our last gigwas on the 20th October 2002, we had over 800 people turn up. Topof the bill that night was 'The Big” The gig ended a bit sadly really withthe entire place getting trashed. Bit sad really and I never got my headaround it.
What did you do after the A&N
I brought Colchesters Twist and renamed it the Soundhouse. It wasthe worst move I ever made! I lost 90K and never got paid for thevenue when I supposedly sold it. I nearly had a breakdown because Iwas going through court cases over trying to keep my licence.Chelmsford would have given their right arm for a venue like the Twist,Colchester never deserved it. I nearly did a year there and againbooked some great acts like Snow Patrol etc but by January 2004 Ihad had the music knocked out of me. Whilst at the Twist, I wasrunning fortnightly gigs at the Marconi club in Beehive LaneChelmsford. These were stormers in terms of attendance, nearly 800at each gig just with local bands! I was also involved with ChelmsfordsCave but was only being used for the licence! It was such a shame novenue could be found in Chelmsford full time. Marconis eventuallystopped the gigs because of idiots trashing the place. So fromColchester I went onto Ilfords 'famous' music venue The Cauliflower.This venue stood for everything I hated about live music venues. Itwas full of tribute bands and cover bands just like the Twist was whenI took it over but there was no point changing it. The venue and itscrowd were so set in their ways. I had death threats from regularbands that played because I wanted to upgrade things etc. I was onlya manager and didnt have to pay the bands as the brewery paid them.I tried a bit of alternative but it never really worked. I got sacked!!Thiswas because I had thieving bar staff and I was loved up and the lastthree months I was hardly there. I deserved it. Believe it or not I dohave a few good memories of the Cauliflower and there was somegenuine people there. I did nearly a year there. I then went onto run

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'normal' pubs before retiring in 2007. I dont miss pubs or running a livemusic venue.
What music do you listen to now and do you still go to live musicgigs.
I still like to listen to range of music from AC/DC. Elvis to JohnnyCash. Also this year I will be attending the Rebellion Punk Festival inBlackpool.
 
 
Maurice Hyde
 
 
 
 
 
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chelmsfordrocks@yahoo.co.uk 
 
 
 
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