Stevie Trudgett (ex-Clientelle): "The urge to perform is never far away"

When I see local bands of today playing in front of a bunch of bored guys I feel deeply sorry for them (basically for bands but sometimes for both). There were times when even locals like St. Albans’ Clientelle played regularly in crowded venues and by the standards of that time they were yet another small time band. Stevie Trudgett (or Stevie T) shares his memories about the long and winding road of the young band from Hertfordshire area.

Hi, Stevie! Tell us briefly about your first steps in music. Who influenced you to be a musician? Did you take some lessons or did you learn everything yourself?

As I grew up in the 70’s I loved all popular music from age 10. Marc Bolan and T.Rex were the soundtrack of my teenage years. Bolan definitely inspired me to learn guitar and play in a band. My mum bought me a guitar and I would ask all the people I knew who played to teach me some new chords. I quickly got the hang of it.

I know that Rik joined the band answering an ad in some paper but how did you get in touch with Roy Powell? Did you have any other members before Roy joined Clientelle?

Roy and I are cousins. We grew up together and formed our first ‘band’ at 14. We wrote some very basic songs using the few chords we could play properly. By the time we were 17 we had our first paying gig. We called ourselves Blue Ice. I had switched to bass guitar by now, Roy on guitar/vocal, Phil Goodfellow on drums and Steve Campbell on lead guitar. When Steve left Bernie Devine (school friend of Phil’s) came in on guitar. Rik joined in 1978 when Bernie left.

By the way, who came up with the name and why was it misspelled?

It was Phil who suggested the name. He had heard it in a Steely Dan song. We just couldn’t spell, but when we found out it was wrong we decided to keep it as it looked better.

What can you remember about Roy’s “Rokit Review”? Was it a fanzine or something? Was it a handwritten or was it professionally done thing?

The Rocket Review started life as a review of recent gigs written up by the fans. It was compiled by “Bermuda Dave” a hard-core fan who was present at every gig in a very vocal way. All hand written on Roy’s mums typewriter, and bits and pieces were stuck in and the whole lot photocopied about 100 times. It evolved into a 12 page fanzine with loads of people contributing to it. I have every issue here and reading it today makes me smile. It was a good way to let everyone know where the forthcoming gigs were.

The band emerged at the time of punk invasion. Were you into this type of music? Did you notice when fans started to turn on to hard rock and heavy metal again?

We were definitely influenced by the punk scene. When you listen to the album it is very obvious. But there was always a heavy rock backbone. Rockit Roy was a metal head, and into the heavier bands. When the NWOBHM began we just kind of slotted into it.

Was there a rock scene in St. Albans back then? Were you friends with Bleak House and As Above So Below or were they rivals?

There was a very healthy rock scene in Hertfordshire. And lots of opportunities for young bands to get heard. We were members of the Musicians Union which helped us to get known by some useful contacts. Bleak House were a little older and wiser than us in a sense that they had been around a bit longer. They saw us as a bit of a threat I think. But the fans would go to both our gigs, and it wasn’t uncommon to see kids wearing denim jackets with both Clientelle and Bleak House patches sewn on the back. There was always a friendly rivalry with all the local bands, but nobody seemed to mind sharing the bill with others, regardless of who ‘headlined’, As Above So Below included.

Phil The Snakecharmer

What was the story with two pythons during some show? Who brought them to the show?

Ha ha. Yes, this was a gig at the Guildford College. We were substituting for a 60’s dance band who had cancelled, and we filled in at the last minute. The act who was on before us was a snake charmer. It was really just a girl who danced around her basket that contained the python. During our set, because the music was not what they were expecting, she decided it would be fun to let the snake out of the basket. It wriggled its way towards us during a song, and took a particular liking to Phil on the drums. Fortunately his eyesight was very poor and he didn’t even notice! We only played our first set, then packed up and got out of there.

The band used to play a lot in The Horn Of Plenty. Tell me about this place. What are your best memories about the shows in this venue?

This was THE place to be. The hub of the local music scene. The Marquee Club of St. Albans. So many fond memories of our gigs there. It was always packed wall to wall, hot and sweaty, sticky floor, and just a great atmosphere. Best memories: The Christmas Parties every year, revealing Clientelle’s first line-up change when Phil left. We brought Witik on stage in a sack, and let him out in front of everyone. The reunion shows we did there were fantastic.

Do you remember the show in Friends Of The Earth when the band almost demolished the place? How did that happen? By the way, what was a typical show of Clientelle?

I do remember a gig for FOTE but not very well. There was an occasion when we set fire to the safety curtain at one show. See the question below relating to this…  I don’t think there was a typical Clientelle show. It really depended on the size of the venue. But we would always spend money on lights and special effects. The sound was very important to us, so a good PA rig was always hired out. Which is why we never made a lot of money.

Who is Woodnymph and how substantial was his contribution to your live shows?

Woodnymph was a pyromaniac. He would concoct various potions that would explode on stage at certain times during the performance. We have some great footage of some of these. I don’t know where he would obtain the gun powder, but we never asked. There was an occasion when he fixed a rocket to the end of Rik’s guitar with the intention of letting it off during a guitar solo, KISS style. It backfired and exploded on Riks hand burning him quite badly as I recall. And another time Rockit decided it would be a good idea to run under one of the fireworks as it exploded bare chested. Ouch… But after time the ‘show’ was something that everyone expected.  

Woodnymph's pyrotechnics in full flight

What are your best memories about the recording of the first single “Can’t Forget”? How did you found that Quest Studio in Luton? Why didn’t you use the track “Destination Unknown” in the single?

It was a hot summer in 1979. We had 2 days at the studio. It was the first time we had ever been to a studio and we were lucky to have Dave Cook looking after us. He was a very good producer and made us feel comfortable. Bleak House and Toad the Wet Sprocket had used Quest for their singles, so it was an obvious choice for us. “Skyflier” was the bands anthem so we wanted to record this. “Can’t Forget” was a new song at the time and we really liked it. “Destination Unknown” was just a bit different and we wanted to experiment. We didn’t think it really represented what the band was about, and as the single was intended to be used for promotion purposes, it was left off.

What are your best memories about the show in support of Saga? Were you received well by their fans and crew? Was it the biggest show of Clientelle?

The show with Saga was a bit of a disappointment. It turned out that we were not to be playing on the same stage as the Canadian proggers, but on a smaller stage downstairs. They had their own tour support. Not the biggest show for us, but one of the first outings into the London circuit. It did mean we were able to watch the Saga show of course!

Working hard in the studio

Tell me about the recording of the album “Destination Unknown”. Were you satisfied with its sound? Did it take long to record everything?

This was a great time for the band. We were gigging a lot, so the songs were tight and well rehearsed. For that reason it didn’t take too long to record them. It was fun doing the overdubs on “Missing Presumed Dead”. I remember being in the control room listening to Rik trying to get the backing vocal take right on “Play To Win”. I remember having about 45 minutes left of our time, and deciding to record a live take of “Nice Girl”. What you hear on the album is what we played first take. No overdubs at all. It has a very live feel to it. We recorded the 6 new songs over 2 days, and went back 2 evenings to mix it all. I still have a recording of us all sitting at the mixing desk listening to the play back and deciding how it should sound. Priceless.

Do you remember your deal with Banana Records? Was it decent enough? Did they tried hard to push the band?

The deal with Banana Records was purely financial. They would front the money to press the album and print the sleeve. 500 copies only. We just needed to pay them back. So any promotion and distribution of the record was done by us. I felt as a record company they could have done more which would have been good for them as well, but we hoped it would lead to greater things.

Derek Oliver of “Kerrang!” compared Clientelle to Motorhead and Judas Priest which wasn’t really accurate. Do you remember other reviews and responses on the album? Was it well received?

I absolutely agree. A strange comparison which made me wonder if he actually listened to the band at all. We had some good reviews, and some not so good. On a local scale it was well received. The music press that did review were not that impressed and thought it sounded “thin”.

Clientelle used to tour with Moonstone with John Payne who later went to Asia. Do you remember that wine battle between John and Rik? Who won it? What else antics from touring can you recall?

John Payne could really drink. It was after a Rock Extravaganza at Dunstable Queensway Hall, that Rik and John decided to have the drinking contest. I thought it was Tequila but I could be wrong. Another time Rockit wanted to do a costume change half way through the set. He changed in the toilet back stage, but locked himself in. He missed the rest of song. Boulder (road manager) rescued him. Van breaking down after support gig with Steve Getts Dirty White Boys. Hitching it home, and Phil falling down a ditch. Rockit and Rik getting arrested 2 hours before showtime for squirting people with a water pistol at the local park…. Phil getting strangled in mid song by an angry punter when he said we were “too loud”.  Some of the other acts who used to make up part of the Clientelle “show” were: The Edmonton Sisters (bikers from North London who dressed as women and performed a song and dance routine), Enrico Wlly and his Performing Squid (a hippy and his dead squid pickled in a jar) and BigBird the first punk poet (in the vain of John Cooper Clarke).

Witik, Stevie, Rockit and Rik,1982

When Phil left Martin “Witik” Whitewick replaced him. Tell me about him a bit. What kind of drummer he was? Why did he spend less than a year in the band?

Witik was a very heavy drummer. Solid. He surprised us by accepting the invitation to join Clientelle from Toad the Wet Sprocket. TTWS were managed by Ian “Sparky” Harrison, and each member had a separate contract, which gave Sparky 10 % of all earnings. When he left TTWS the contract still stood. He paid the 10% from his own earnings at each gig so that was fine, but when it came to the Hawkwind tour Sparky demanded that his cut was paid from the bands fee. There was no way out of it for Witik, and reluctantly had to leave and go back to TTWS. But his time with us did us good. It hardened up our sound, and the songs we wrote during his time at the drum kit reflected that. We matured as players.

Martin left 3 days before the tour with Hawkwind and Dave Ashcroft stepped in which was insane. Did you rehearse like crazy those 3 days or were you forced to change your set a bit and drop off some songs?

Dave was an obvious replacement at such short notice. He was already a good friend of the band, a top drummer, and new most of the songs as he operated the lights for us on occasion. We did rehearse solidly for 3 days though, but as our set was only to be 30 minutes we soon nailed it.

Rockit, Rik, StevieT, Dave Ashcroft, 1983

What are your best memories about the tour? How did it become possible? Did Hawkwind and their crew treat you well? Was it a lot of fun or were Terry and the rest of them are tired of touring?

The tour was a lot of fun. Every bad boys dream! It came to us via Barry Clarke who was a local concert promoter with contacts at Hawkwind from the early days. He was the closest we came to having a manager. It was February and very cold. Snowy on some days I remember. The opening night at Bradford was a bit of a nightmare. Just about to start the show/tour when there was a power failure at the venue. So the start of Dave’s Clientelle days was a drum solo! What a way to open for Hawkwind! The band and crew treated us very well. We always got a sound check and an invite to the after show parties.

It seems that after the tour the band was about to split-up: Dave was replaced by Ian Disspain but he quit soon after that and so did Rick. Why was that? Were you disappointed with the tour or were some member just sick and tired of trying to get a major deal?

I can’t remember exactly why or when Dave left. It was a shame, but he is a very versatile drummer and I think he wanted to push himself more. But he kept coming back for the reunions so I think he liked his time with us. The tour was a great success and on the back of it we had 2 nights at the Marquee club. There was interest in the band, but Clientelle never really had any management. This was frustrating for us. Another record deal had just fallen through as well. When Dave left Rik decided to give it one last push, so Ian was recruited and a photo shoot, rehearsals and writing got underway. 2 gigs at The Greyhound with Stray went well. But when Ian got a better offer, Rik couldn’t face going through the whole process again with another drummer.

Tell me about the live album “Live Takes”. When and where was it recorded and what songs were on it?

After the disappointment of the deal with Rarn Records falling through, we wanted a recording that was up to date with where the band were. The Hawkwind tour provided just the thing when the out front sound engineer gave us a tape of our show in St Helens. It was recorded straight from the mixing desk, so was good quality. We did the same at a local gig in Watford and set about listening to the songs and selecting some for a cassette tape we could sell at gigs. We had also recorded a spoken day to day diary from the Hawkwind tour which was interesting to play back, so thought we could include some of the narrative in between the tracks. We brought a load of cheap cassette tapes and copied them ourselves.

The track listing was: “She Likes To Ride (Fast Bikes)”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Leader”, “Movin’ On”, “She Takes Me High”, “Got a Feeling”, “Journey’s End”, “Workday Blues”, “Class of Her Own”, “Battle of Avalon (parts 1 & 2)”.

Terry, Stevie T, Rockit and Bernie, 1984

How come that Bernie Devine who was in the band before Rik returned to Clientelle? Did he change your approach to songwriting and live performance?

Bernie was available at the time, and we asked him to join the new look Clientelle. The song writing definitely changed. It was almost a completely new set of songs. But we didn’t have quite enough for a 90 minute set, so 2 or 3 had lengthy guitar solos at the end!

Why did you decide to extend the line-up with Bernie’s brother John who played keyboards? How did you fans receive the new line-up?

John played keyboards for us at the recording sessions for the new demo. They fitted in well with the new songs and gave the band a new sound altogether. It was the 80’s! I think the fans liked the new set but were a bit confused because we kept the name. We did a 20 minute slot in the set of some old ‘Telle favorites though.

In 1985 Clientelle recorded the demo with the songs “The Jet Set”, “Black Cloud”, “'71 (Still Boppin')”. Where was it recorded and who produced/engineered it? How do you view the demo nowadays? Was it a more matured approach to the music or did you try to be more commercial to get some airplays?

It was recorded at Bombay studios in St Albans and produced by Steve Rodford (the son of Kinks bassist Jim Rodford). Personally I love the demo, and can remember coming back from lunch and listening outside the door to Bernie playing the acoustic guitar parts on “Black Cloud”. Terry’s BIG drum sound is so typical of the era. We were certainly aiming at the commercial side of the music biz and airplays with that one.

As far as I understand, the band was basically done by 1985. What happened?

We had a couple of bad gigs. The spark had fizzled out. The last official gig was supporting Y&T and although we played well, the young crowd that followed us had grown up and moved on. It was time to call it a day.

As far as I understand, Rik Taylor died in 2000’s. When did it happen and what caused it? Tell me about the show in his memory. Did you play Clientelle’s songs with your ex-bandmates?

Rik suffered a suspected heart attack in November 2008 and died instantly. He was with Dave Ashcroft at the time. I had just made contact with him again after a few years. Thank goodness for Facebook. A memorial gig was arranged by his close friends, and the who’s who of the local music scene turned up to perform in his honour. For reasons only he knows, Rockit did not want to be part of it, so Dave, Bernie and myself performed 3 Clientelle classics — “Nice Girl”, “Movin’ On” and “Skyflier”. It was a fitting tribute.

Rik memorial gig: Stevie, Bernie and Dave

Were you involved in the re-issue of the album in 2015? Where and when did the songs “Journeys End”, “Workday Blues”, “Class Of Her Own” and “Movin' On” were recorded? Did they remain unreleased until the re-issue came out?

Yes I was involved in that. Sonic Age approached us with the idea of a re-issue of “Destination Unknown” with bonus tracks. We were a bit peeved about some dodgy bootlegs that were available so agreed to their terms. Those 4 tracks were recorded at The Horn of Plenty at a reunion gig in 2001. Dave is drumming. I took the decision to add some keyboards in the middle section of “Movin’ On” because I know Rik had big ideas for that song, but as we never recorded it in the studio this was as good a chance as any to see what it could have been. I am pleased with the end result overall.

What you’ve been up to since the 80’s? Did you play in any other band after Clientelle?

Due to bringing up a young family, I didn’t do much musically for the next 10 years after 1985. But the urge to perform is never far away. In the late 90’s I played with a few covers bands. Then formed a 3 piece “Heavy Traffic”. Both my sons play in bands, and I was pleased to produce their first CD. My first venture to that side of making music. These days I play with another ‘Steve’ in an acoustic duo called G&T. Very bluesy…

Do you still stay in touch with your ex-bandmates?

I am still on speaking terms with all of them, but the only one I have regular contact with is Phil. We are writing songs together and that is a lot of fun. He writes a lyric, sends it to me, I put it to music and send it back to him. He adds some ideas, sends it to me and so on… Thank goodness for the internet!

Feel free to add anything you want about your time with Clientelle and beyond.

Just an all round positive experience and some great memories. Pity we never took the next step up the ladder. I do have an archive of recorded material though. Including master tapes for “Live Takes”, the complete Hawkwind tour diaries, rehearsals from very early on and various live recordings from over the years. It is good to listen and see how the band evolved. Box set anyone…?