Slim Chance Musician Drew McCulloch
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This page is a work in progress
Slim Chance Musician Drew McCulloch
I was part of a Scottish song writing duo called LUCAS AND McCULLOCH
We had moved to London from Ayrshire (same County as Gallagher and Lyle).
We were signed to British Lion Music, and were writing songs and touring with a number of acts including John Martyn and The Pretty Things.
We played a lot at The Marquee Club, in Wardour Street. The manager there, Jack Barrie liked us, and he was friendly with THE FACES manager, Billy Gaff.
When Gallagher and Lyle left Slim Chance, Billy asked us to take over.
At the time Robin played guitar, and I played guitar and keyboards.
We were invited round to Billy’s house, and he played us a few Slim Chance tracks.
There was one problem in our mind.
Benny and Graham played an assortment of instruments mandolin, banjo, and accordion all now an integral part of the sound and we had never played them in our lives!
So we did what had to be done; we lied and said we could play all these things!
We then went round to a studio next to Wardour Street (I think), where Ronnie was putting the finishing touches to THE POACHER.
A few beers later, the deal was done, Ronnie introduced us to Kenny Slaven, the eccentric Scottish fiddle player he had found playing in a restaurant somewhere. Kenny was brilliant; he had really set the scene for The Poacher with some stunning multi tracked fiddle parts.
We got on like a house on fire.
OK said Ronnie, you’re in
Fine, when the rehearsals
Rehearsals! We don’t bother with rehearsals the first gig is in Marlow well see you there!
Marlow was about 3 weeks ahead.
We immediately went out and bought a mandolin, a banjo, and an accordion, and spent the next three weeks learning how to play them.
I played keyboards anyway, but the accordion was like playing a piano on its side, which took some getting used to.
We also had a weeks session booked at SAWMILL STUDIOS in Cornwall to record our own first single, and it turned out we spent the last week in Cornwall, and then drove straight to Marlow for THE PASSING SHOW.
We were one of the first to arrive, probably a day or two before the concert to get our accommodation sorted out.
I can’t remember the names of the circus people who met us, but they took us into their caravan, gave us tea in the dirtiest cups I had ever seen, and made us very welcome.
It was amazing.
These guys were the owners of the tent, but were also clowns and fire-eaters, real circus folk.
Eventually everyone else arrived. The caravans arrived, and we all worked out where we were going to stay.
There was a Scottish comedian come folk singer called Bill Barclay booked to open the show.
Bill was a great character, and we decided that the Scottish contingent should share a caravan
So Myself, Kenny Slaven, Bill Barclay and Robin Lucas all teamed up in what was to become The Scottish Caravan a fairly new van with room to sleep four, and a kitchen to boot!
By the end of the tour the caravan was a wreck!
Bill had thrown Robin out of a window for a joke.
A fire extinguisher had been thrown IN through another window for another joke.
Many late nights and drinking sessions (not to mention Viv Stanshall) left the caravan in bits!
Viv Stanshall was booked for the tour as a sort of ring master/ master of ceremonies
He was one of the strangest people I’d ever met. A real English eccentric.
One episode I remember was when Viv came into our caravan for a “wee drinkie”
He had already had several wee drinkies.
Kenny Slaven had bought two Fender Twin reverb amplifiers, with an ECHOPLEX machine. He was trying out some weird fiddle effects in the caravan.
Viv came in, drink in hand, and sat on an amp, spilling drink over it.
Do you mind not sitting on my new amp? said Kenny.
Terribly sorry old bean, says Viv, who then staggers to his feet, and fall on top Kennys fiddle - breaking it into the bargain.
I took us about two hours to convince Viv that he should visit Kevin Westlake’s caravan, where the drink was much better.
Next morning Kevin collared us.
Which one of you sent him into MY caravan?
It turns out Viv had thankfully crashed out soon after arriving.
Kevin left him where he was and went to sleep, only to be wakened in the middle of the night by a noise.
There was no sign of Viv.
Kevin traced the noise to a walk-in cupboard.
When he opened the door there was Viv, trousers at his ankles, saying, “you don’t have any toilet paper do you, old bean?”
Viv disappeared from the tour shortly after.
Drew McCulloch
We were signed to British Lion Music, and were writing songs and touring with a number of acts including John Martyn and The Pretty Things.
We played a lot at The Marquee Club, in Wardour Street. The manager there, Jack Barrie liked us, and he was friendly with THE FACES manager, Billy Gaff.
When Gallagher and Lyle left Slim Chance, Billy asked us to take over.
At the time Robin played guitar, and I played guitar and keyboards.
We were invited round to Billy’s house, and he played us a few Slim Chance tracks.
There was one problem in our mind.
Benny and Graham played an assortment of instruments mandolin, banjo, and accordion all now an integral part of the sound and we had never played them in our lives!
So we did what had to be done; we lied and said we could play all these things!
We then went round to a studio next to Wardour Street (I think), where Ronnie was putting the finishing touches to THE POACHER.
A few beers later, the deal was done, Ronnie introduced us to Kenny Slaven, the eccentric Scottish fiddle player he had found playing in a restaurant somewhere. Kenny was brilliant; he had really set the scene for The Poacher with some stunning multi tracked fiddle parts.
We got on like a house on fire.
OK said Ronnie, you’re in
Fine, when the rehearsals
Rehearsals! We don’t bother with rehearsals the first gig is in Marlow well see you there!
Marlow was about 3 weeks ahead.
We immediately went out and bought a mandolin, a banjo, and an accordion, and spent the next three weeks learning how to play them.
I played keyboards anyway, but the accordion was like playing a piano on its side, which took some getting used to.
We also had a weeks session booked at SAWMILL STUDIOS in Cornwall to record our own first single, and it turned out we spent the last week in Cornwall, and then drove straight to Marlow for THE PASSING SHOW.
We were one of the first to arrive, probably a day or two before the concert to get our accommodation sorted out.
I can’t remember the names of the circus people who met us, but they took us into their caravan, gave us tea in the dirtiest cups I had ever seen, and made us very welcome.
It was amazing.
These guys were the owners of the tent, but were also clowns and fire-eaters, real circus folk.
Eventually everyone else arrived. The caravans arrived, and we all worked out where we were going to stay.
There was a Scottish comedian come folk singer called Bill Barclay booked to open the show.
Bill was a great character, and we decided that the Scottish contingent should share a caravan
So Myself, Kenny Slaven, Bill Barclay and Robin Lucas all teamed up in what was to become The Scottish Caravan a fairly new van with room to sleep four, and a kitchen to boot!
By the end of the tour the caravan was a wreck!
Bill had thrown Robin out of a window for a joke.
A fire extinguisher had been thrown IN through another window for another joke.
Many late nights and drinking sessions (not to mention Viv Stanshall) left the caravan in bits!
Viv Stanshall was booked for the tour as a sort of ring master/ master of ceremonies
He was one of the strangest people I’d ever met. A real English eccentric.
One episode I remember was when Viv came into our caravan for a “wee drinkie”
He had already had several wee drinkies.
Kenny Slaven had bought two Fender Twin reverb amplifiers, with an ECHOPLEX machine. He was trying out some weird fiddle effects in the caravan.
Viv came in, drink in hand, and sat on an amp, spilling drink over it.
Do you mind not sitting on my new amp? said Kenny.
Terribly sorry old bean, says Viv, who then staggers to his feet, and fall on top Kennys fiddle - breaking it into the bargain.
I took us about two hours to convince Viv that he should visit Kevin Westlake’s caravan, where the drink was much better.
Next morning Kevin collared us.
Which one of you sent him into MY caravan?
It turns out Viv had thankfully crashed out soon after arriving.
Kevin left him where he was and went to sleep, only to be wakened in the middle of the night by a noise.
There was no sign of Viv.
Kevin traced the noise to a walk-in cupboard.
When he opened the door there was Viv, trousers at his ankles, saying, “you don’t have any toilet paper do you, old bean?”
Viv disappeared from the tour shortly after.
Drew McCulloch
Drew McCulloch and The Spirit of Slim Chance
https://www.ronnielane.com/drew-mcculloch-and-the-spirit-of-slim-chance.html
https://www.ronnielane.com/drew-mcculloch-and-the-spirit-of-slim-chance.html