Dave Lacey and The Corvettes

STOURBRIDGE

Updated December, 2024

Dave Lacey lead vocal, plus occasional guitar, bass, piano
John Jauncey bass guitar
Winston "Django" Jones lead guitar
Roy Pinson rhythm guitar
Malcolm Thompson saxophone, piano
John Dudley drums
Adrian Crowley drums
Phil Savage bass guitar
Peter Goring bass guitar
Paul Gubbins bass guitar
Richard Gubbins rhythm guitar
Bob Brettell occasional lead vocals
Dave Cutler bass guitar

Written by Brian Nicholls

A popular Stourbridge group formed in the early sixties, "Dave Lacey and The Corvettes" became regulars on the famous Regan Ballroom circuit and other venues throughout Birmingham and the West Midlands. They had three major record labels expressing an interest and were to release two songs for Phillips and contribute two tracks to a rare Decca compilation album called "Brum Beat".

Dave Lacey and The Corvettes became the first-call support act for visiting American and British Top Ten artistes such as Dusty Springfield, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. They went on to enjoy a career spanning over half a century in various guises and line-ups. This is their story;

"I saved up and bought a Hofner President guitar and Bert Weedon's 'Play In a Day' tutor book"

Dave Lacey and The Corvettes as an entity had a lifespan of eighteen years. That has to be something of a record considering the average life of a provincial pop group was around two to three years. They came together in the late fifties as "Fred Corn and The Combine Harvesters" and morphed into "The Corvettes" in 1960. Dave was invited to join The Corvettes that year, but only agreed on condition that lead guitarist Win 'Django' Jones also came along with him.

In those days, 'him and them' groups like "Buddy Holly and The Crickets" and "Cliff Richard and The Shadows" were the norm with the lead singer wearing a different coloured suit to his backing group who normally comprised of two guitars, bass and drums - often referred to as The Buddy Holly model. Dave Lacey became the ideal frontman who used every available inch of the stage area.

Like all groups, they had the inevitable personnel changes, but what is considered the 'classic' Dave Lacey and The Corvettes line up comprised of Dave Lacey (lead vocals plus occasional guitar, bass or piano); Winston "Django" Jones (lead guitar); Roy Pinson (rhythm guitar); John Jauncey (bass guitar); and Chris Hayes (drums). However, all of the other musicians who passed through the ranks contributed to the eventual success of the group.

Although The Corvettes sang backing vocals it was Dave Lacey who was the voice of the group. His early influences were Frankie Laine, David Whitfield and Ronnie Ronalde. He actually practised the final note of Whitfield's 'Cara Mia' for weeks until he could reach it. He was particularly taken with Ronalde's yodelling and went on to win a talent contest on the strength of that by singing a Frank Ifield hit song.

Dave said; "I would describe myself as a vocalist and frontman. Although I do play guitar and bass when needed, I also use a piano for working out chords for new numbers. When I started work, I saved up and bought a Hofner President guitar and Bert Weedon's "Play In a Day" tutor book."

During his first months at grammar school, Dave developed a liking for Lonnie Donegan and formed a skiffle group, but after seeing the film "Blackboard Jungle" he finally discovered his music. After hearing Bill Haley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley all he wanted to do was play rock 'n' roll.

Dave continued; "My guitarist brother and I bought 78s, which we played on a wind-up portable record player, Apart from Elvis and Carl Perkins, my other main influences were Bill Haley, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Chuck Berry, Don Gibson, Jerry Lee lewis and Buddy Holly. I did win five bob (25p) bets that I would not get on stage at The Vic in Lye and sing with the local group, but five bob bought more than two pints in those days."

"My main inspiration for rhythm guitar was Bruce Welch of The Shadows"

In November, 2022, I was fortunate in that I had the opportunity to interview founder members Dave Lacey and rhythm guitarist Roy Pinson. I reminisced with Roy that as wannabe's we were in awe of his ability to span six frets with ease on the guitar fingerboard in order to perform the then popular Chuck Berry-type power chords.

Roy explained; "Yeah, you see I have exceptionally long fingers like Chuck, so it came naturally to me. I was not interested in playing lead guitarist parts, and my main inspiration for rhythm guitar was Bruce Welch of The Shadows."

"My Mom and Dad bought my first guitar which was a Spanish acoustic and all along they were very supportive, so as I improved they bought me a Watkins Rapier solid electric guitar and a ten-watt amplifier from The Bandbox in Snow Hill, Wolverhampton which I eventually used for the earlier gigs. They also let me convert the front room of our house into a rehearsal room and stick empty egg box trays on the walls to absorb the sound. It was where The Corvettes built up their early repertoire. Our first drummer was my cousin Dave Little."

When the fortunes of The Corvettes improved, Roy was able to invest in a much more desirable cherry-red American made Gibson electric guitar which amongst others, he still uses to this day.

Dave Lacey continued; "After a few skiffle sessions in later school years and scratch bands at the local Brook Street Youth Club in Stourbridge, I joined "The Corvettes" who were formed in Stourbridge by the late brilliant bass player John Jauncey, famed for his playing without a strap. John emigrated to Australia in 1978, still putting groups together in Oz, but died suddenly at home in Townsville some four years ago."

"She put money up front for stage suits, instruments and decent Fender amplifiers but, we had to pay her back in deductions from our gig money from early bookings at The Presbyterian Hall in Stourbridge which we ran as a club, The Richardson's Hall in Wordsley, and the YWCA in Stourbridge where it all started."

Regarding the choice of music played by Dave Lacey and The Corvettes, Dave went on to say; "Most of the music we played was covers, the repertoire chosen by consensus. It was not just what we liked, but whether we could do the numbers to a satisfactory standard. The exception was during The Corvettes days when we did some of our own numbers."

Roy's Mom got them an audition at "The Plaza Ballroom" Old Hill where they won a six month contract that was to eventually last six years during which time they appeared at The Plaza ballrooms "Old Hill" and "Handsworth", along with "The Ritz" in York Road Kings Heath, and at "The Brum Kavern" club in Wordsworth Road, Small Heath.

The group were managed by the famous local entrepreneur Mary "Ma" Regan who owned the four ballrooms along with her rather eccentric husband Joe who provided assistance. In addition to performing headline shows in their own right, Dave Lacey and The Corvettes supported a total of fifty eight acts in their day - of which sixteen were from America.

"She burst into our dressing room and said; Don't any of you lot dare touch my hair!"

In 1962, me (Brian Nicholls) and my mates as a group of wannabe's calling ourselves "The Fleetwoods" would make the pilgrimage to The Ritz ballroom every Saturday night to see the groups on the Mary "Ma" Regan ballroom circuit along with headline acts from Britain and America. Apart from Dave Lacey and The Corvettes - who were particular favourites of ours and obvious role models - other Regan sponsored groups were The Modernaires, The Barons, Carl Wayne and The Vikings, Keith Powell and The Valets, Carl and The Cheetahs, The Redcaps, and The Blue Stars.

All these groups were expected to open for the headline acts and in the case of the Americans, let them use their amplifiers since they all travelled light bringing only their guitars, bass and brass with them. Being well-equipped, Dave Lacey and The Corvettes were Ma Regan's 'go to' group as an opening act during their six years tenure with her agency whereupon they supported around sixty visiting acts - including twice for The Beatles!

Much to the chagrin of most groups, Joe Regan (Ma Regan's husband) would constantly creep on stage and fiddle with the amps. On one occasion, "The Cyclones Rock Combo" (a sort of Cliff and The Shads tribute) were playing the Shads' hit 'FBI' in which they, during the middle eight, do a half turn to the right and then to the left. But as Joe was getting up from a crouch position, he was hit full on in the face with the headstock of a Fender Precision bass and rendered semi-conscious!

Given that the average weekly wage for a forty two hour week was around seventeen UK pounds, Dave Lacey reckons the Regan groups were quite well paid. They were often required, along with visiting artists to "do a treble" which meant performing at three Regan ballrooms in one night! They were paid ten pounds for the first and fifteen pounds for each of the subsequent two.

In their 'Love Me Do' days when The Beatles were doing The Cavern and before they were "Fab", John Lennon told The Redcaps Mick Walker that they were paid twenty quid for each of The Plazas (Old Hill and Handsworth). Ma Regan held them to their original contract - even though they were starting to command 100 per gig at that early stage of their career.

Dave Lacey was quick to point out the impeccably good manners and politeness of the visiting American artistes. This was especially true of Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins who gladly signed albums and thanked him for the use of The Corvettes' Fender guitar amplifiers and drums.

A bemused Dave also told me that whenever they opened for The Rolling Stones they always called him "Sir" and my personal take on this conundrum is that, whilst the bespectacled, immaculately groomed and attired Mr Lacey may well have looked and sounded like Buddy Holly, he nevertheless might also quite easily pass as your school maths teacher!

Dave's biggest thrill however, was supporting Dusty Springfield. Dave remembered; "Her voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. She burst into our dressing room with a grin on her face and said whilst pointing to her head; Don't any of you lot dare touch my hair!"

Dave Lacey and The Corvettes were riding the crest of a wave during the mid sixties - a period known as the "beat boom" with bookings occupying four nights a week. The band had previously won a beat group contest sponsored by the Birmingham Evening Despatch newspaper. In 1964, they were one of five top West Midlands groups selected by Decca Records to appear on their "Brumbeat" album. Dave Lacey and The Corvettes also had a single released on the Phillips Records label in 1965 that featured two original compositions 'That's What They All Say' and 'I've Had Enough'.

Dave Lacey continued; "None of us had transport except good friend and eventual road manager John "Sam" Sheppard who also co-wrote the B-side of our first record on the Phillips label. We also had another friend in John Head who also helped, but sometimes, we had to catch the bus as there was only room for the gear in his Morris Minor van!"

There was also the myth that a group had to "Go to Germany" and spend time there performing in the clubs (like The Beatles did in Hamburg) in order to come home a much tighter unit than before they went. Local groups such as The Modernaires, The Jackpots, and including Dave Lacey and The Corvettes never set foot in Germany and were as tight a band as any you could think of. Even top recording group "The Searchers" refused to go to Germany and they don't come any tighter than that!

"I've Had Enough"

Dave Lacey and The Corvettes, as a 'brand' had a lifespan of eighteen years! This was remarkable considering the Birmingham music scene was incestuous with members being constantly "poached" - and a particular place for that was at "Alex's Pie Stand" where loads of local groups met up after gigs. Another more seductive 'demon' was the ubiquitous girlfriend of a band member who might eventually deliver an ultimatum with the dreaded words... "It's either me, or the group!"

Following six years of regular performance, Dave Lacey and The Corvettes resigned from the Regan circuit to concentrate on their day jobs and a less hectic schedule of bookings, deciding where and when they played. Founder member Roy Pinson decided to leave and concentrate on the folk music scene, but teamed back up with Dave after a few years to perform again under a variety of styles and names. The famous Ritz Ballroom in Kings Heath finally closed its doors during the 1970s to become a bingo hall.

The band remained semi-professional as they also all had good careers to fall back on, but they could prop the bar up with any Brum group you could care to name. Of course, like all pop groups they had personnel changes along the way and to all things there is a season. They even went through a Status Quo/heavy rock phase! Their final gig as "Dave Lacey and The Corvettes" was at The Miners Club at Wollescote in 1979.

During the decades that followed, the band morphed into "The Dave Lacy Alternative" followed by "Green Light", and then "Dave Lacey and Buddies". The line-up finally became just "Buddies" which was a Buddy Holly tribute band undertaking a two hour show titled "Not Fade Away" about the Buddy Holly story and featuring over forty of his songs. This line-up also included lead guitarist Dave Brettel from popular local band "Sundance" and bass guitarist Anthony Smith who played in 1960s group "The Clippers".

In 2017, local rock legend Robert Plant appeared on the BBC 6 Music Programme and recalled watching Dave Lacey and The Corvettes as a 14 year old grammar school pupil from Halesowen. Plant stated that his first foray into live music wasn't an artist from the hit parade because, in the Black Country there was nobody bigger to him than Dave Lacey and The Corvettes. Whilst their success was limited to the Midlands scene, they were more than heroes in the eyes of Robert Plant. In recent times, he was known to seek out the group when at home and perform a guest spot with them.

The group had diversified into a general rock 'n' roll tribute and later, traditional Country and Western material. At our meeting, Dave presented me with three superb CDs of Buddies material - the content of which stands head to head with the best in the business. On 17 December, 2019, Dave Lacey informed all followers via Facebook that... "With the sad passing of Dave Brettell last year, Buddies have ceased performing".

Note; Dave Lacey and The Corvettes should not be confused with another group called The Corvettes from Birmingham who were on a different compilation LP called "Brum Beat" that was released by the Dial Records label in 1964.

Text and photos on this page are supplied by Brian Nicholls with special thanks to Dave Lacey and Roy Pinson for permission to use the images shown.

Copyright © Brian Nicholls

Dave Lacey and The Corvettes 1960s Record Releases

Decca "BRUM BEAT" various bands album DECCA LK 4598 (1964):

Clap Your Hands/Unlucky Am I

Singles:

That's What They All Say/I've Had Enough (Phillips BF 1419) 1965

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