Bill kept rhythm with The Rustics            
On the drums..

Playing at The Quay Club, Plymouth 1964

Bill Covington has come a long way since he began playing drums in Plymouth when he was 15.
He has played with some of the biggest and best names in the business, and provided these cracking pictures - and some memories of the '60s entertainment scene in the city.
Bill told me: "Dennis Smith was my drum teacher. I worked with his sister Betty at Winnicott's in Ebrington Street"

Damaged

"I played in a few local bands in Plymouth: The Tactics, The Cushions, The Bitter Few and the Big E Combo alongside Mike Barnshaw.
The clock on the wall in our photo at The Quay Club fell down one night and seriously damaged Mikes beautiful Epiphone guitar.  Frank, the drummer in the Betterdays, took the photo - it was 1964 and the Quay Club was in full swing.
"I also played at The Rooftop Club, over Burton's. Probably the best local band I remember playing with there was The Statesmen, with Eddy Hayward on guitar and Ron Briton on drums.

Eddy was such a fine player. I remember played a piece alongside Bert Weedon in Gordon Clark's Music Centre in Sherwell Arcade in the early '60s.  For my money, Eddy gave Bert Weedon a lesson.
"The NAAFI was another music venue as was the Guildhall - but for sheer excitement, nothing could beat a night at the Quay Club listening to The Betterdays - one of the finest bands I've ever heard.
"I played alongside many a famous band in the '60s The Kinks, The Pretty Things, Procul Harum - none of them came close to The Betterdays.
"I was proud to be asked to join the band when Frank left".

 

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