Controversy

In 1977 Dave told us he would reluctantly be leaving the group as his employer was relocating about two hundred miles away, this meant to keep the group going we had to find a replacement and this was going to be a very difficult thing to do.

We auditioned quite a lot of guitarists to replace Dave, all of which were quite competent with their playing abilities, the only troubles were that either their musical tastes were different, or they did not have the right personality, or they were only in it for the money (what money?). We did have a couple of very near misses with two guys who would have maybe fitted in well enough, but the groups they were in at the time talked them round to staying with them, (can`t blame them for that). Eventually a guy also called Dave said he could help us out till just after Christmas, I`ll call him Dave R to save confusion.

Dave R was (and still is) a very good guitarist and a really genuine person (that sounds better than nice doesn't it?) He had played in a few local bands over the years and it showed in the way he fitted in without seeing the join... if you know what I mean. We carried on gigging until the end of January 1978 as that was when Dave R had to leave us. We had decided to disband and each go our own way after Dave R had finished gigging with us. This was quite a sad time for us because I don`t think any of us wanted it to end, but trying to find another guitarist to gel with the band and think in a similar way to us was going to be a struggle and the band would just not be the same. So on Sunday the 29<sup>th</sup> January 1978 we did our farewell gig at the Albion Club in Connah`s Quay, Deeside. The end of an era, well not quite we found out that Dave (The Rave) was going to be back home for a few days in February and we arranged a re-union gig with him at the Gresford Colliery Club just outside Wrexham on Saturday 18^th February 1978. Most bands have a reunion after 20 years, not us... 3 weeks!

Dave still keeps in touch and if he gets the chance he will stand in with us just for the hell of it. That`s the way it is with some bands, it`s like a marriage, some ups and some downs but always better when sharing them together. (Yea OK if you want to put your fingers down your throat please yourself...but don`t knock it till you try it).

I`ll finish this episode by telling you that Dave R went on to run the ABER recording studio in Flintshire (this is why he had to leave the band as he was setting the studio up and running at the time). I have also heard that his son is now a very competent keyboard player. If I hear from Dave R then I`ll let you know.......

That`s the end of the Controversy story, but other bits will probably appear every now and then. I know this is written in the first inst but these are the things I know and if the others give me their recollections I will post them for all to see...Tatty

Just to say I have been in touch with Dave R and he is still playing guitar (and teaching guitar).