Aylesbury's Music Scene in the Sixties and the Birth of Friars

Film maker, journalist and author Paul Kendall says in his book Looking for America “Another important source of musical discovery was Mr Pike, one of the chemistry teachers at my school, who held listening sessions during tutor periods. It was he who introduced me to The Incredible String Band and Captain Beefheart, among others”. During that time, Robin interviewed Leonard Cohen and Mick Jagger and later started the Division One music club in Wendover. Bands presented included the House Martins and Primal Scream.

Kris Needs grew up in Aylesbury and was involved in Friars from its inception, designing the membership card and then the flyers. Transformed by Bowie’s Friars appearances Kris designed the membership card for Bowie’s fan club which was also based in Aylesbury, and then started the fan club for Mott The Hoople. After working on the local Bucks Advertiser he was made editor of Pete Frame’s Zigzag in 1977, a position he held for five years whilst also writing for NME. Kris is a true Aylesbury legend. He is regarded as one of the most important rock journalists of the past 50 years and has written hundreds of music articles for magazines such as Mojo, Classic Rock, Prog and Rolling Stone and has written books on artists including Keith Richards, the Clash, George Clinton, Blondie and Suicide. Kris designed the artwork for this event at the Norman Bragg.

The afternoon will open with a presentation by Stephen Daglish and David Stopps covering the fascinating Aylesbury Music scene pre-Friars from 1960 to 1969. Artists who appeared in Aylesbury during that period included the Rolling Stones, the Ronettes, Adam Faith, Guy Mitchell, Lonnie Donnegan, Sam Cooke, Lee Dorsey, Gene Vincent, Johnny Kid & The Pirates, Geno Washington, The Small Faces, The Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Long John Baldry with Rod Stewart, John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Arlo Guthrie, The Hollies, The Spencer Davis Group and many more. Stephen researched and designed the website Aylesbury Music Town which is a comprehensive overview of music in Aylesbury pre-Friars.

In September 2024 Friars presented the first of, hopefully, a series of annual events in the Norman Bragg Studio at The Waterside concerning Aylesbury’s music history. It was an overview of Friars Aylesbury’s first 55 years from 1969 – 2024. Next year it is hoped that the focus will be on the Friars Aylesbury Phase Three Civic Centre years of 1975 to 2010.