THE STORY SO FAR...
ON November 3, 1982, the world was a rather younger place. (as were the individuals involved in this story...) That was the date on the very first poster to bear the name AUTOMATIC SLIM...
The venue was a small and entirely unpreposessing place just outside Basildon called the Treble Chance, tucked away behind a disused gravel pit enjoyed chiefly by the jet-skiing fraternity and the town's somewhat enthusiastic flytippers..
The band - Tim Aves (vocals/harmonica); Ian Cundy (guitar/vocals); Howard J Bills (bass/vocals); Chris Love (drums) - were a bunch of self confessed Dr Feelgood nuts, so you can imagine what the music was like that night. Almost all of it was covers of songs by the Feelgoods, Wilko, George Thorogood, Mickey Jupp, Nick Lowe, played fast and furous and with commitment, energy and an absolute determination to entertain. The small, but largely appreciative audience weren't quite sure what to make of it - a few muttered into their beer about this band being a flash in the pan, a decidedly short-term project.
Fast-forward almost 17 years to the autumn of 1999 and Automatic Slim had proved the doubters wrong, big-time...
2,500-plus gigs around the UK and continental Europe, working with some of the biggest names in the business, four albums, a string of singles, tens of thousands of miles on the tour-bus clock - and no fewer than four drummers - and Tim, Ian and Howie were still going strong. Drummer Don Moore ended up going down in history as the band's longest-serving by a huge margin and he's still with the band, 15-odd years after signing on the dotted line...
The musical world was changing, however. (Boy George was at Number One, for Christ's sake!!!) Punters' lifestyles and tastes had moved on to the extent where the number of gig-goers who actually "got" what 'Slim were all about was starting to dwindle. So the boys decided to quit while 'Slim was quite emphaticallly still ahead.
2002 brought around the band's 20th anniversary. The temptation to echo the first line of Sgt Pepper's was too strong to resist. After three years of silence, the beast that was 'Slim raised its fearsome head once again for a massive birthday bash which was such a lot of fun it convinced the boys that it wouldn't hurt to reunite for the odd gig now and then.
Since then, 'Slim has returned to the live arena a tiny handful of times each year, picking and choosing the venues and gigs, delighting a legion of friends old and new (evidently tough, raw, fast and furious is back in fashion again - the youngsters LOVE it!!!) and ALWAYS giving 110% commitment on stage.
None of the boys is of pensionable age YET, though some are closer than others! But the general consensus is that the band has NEVER sounded better - and is still able to show many a young band the way to put on a breathtakingly exciting show.
'Slim's Silver Jubilee dawned in autumn of 2007 and the band talked about all kinds of ways to mark the occasion - a tour, a major birthday bash, a brand new album, even. Sadly, these grand designs were defeated by a lack of hours in the day, so the boys decided to celebrate in a relatively low-key manner, basically doing what the band does best - playing a few gigs in small and medium-sized venues around the country. What their good friend and hero the late, great Lee Brilleaux would have referred to affectionately as "jolly-ups".
The final show in this anniversary series was on November 24 in the cosy and familiar surroundings of Kelvedon Labour Club, the joint was jumping and the atmosphere electric - with the legendary Big Bill Hurley from The Inmates even showing up to add his magnificent vocals to the occasion...
What does the future hold for Automatic Slim? Well, nothing's planned so far for 2008, but keep watching this space and regularly checking back, people and you never know - you might just get a nice surprise!
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IAN CUNDY, vocals, guitar; 
HOWARD J BILLS, bass, vocals; 
DON MOORE, drums, vocals.
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