Bitten by Monkeys

Alan Hall……………….Bass Guitar & Backing vox
Al - G…………………….Lead Singer & Sex Symbol
Paul Guiver…………..Guitar - Mandolin & Backing vox
Geoff Gore……………Guitar & Backing vox
Tim Hall………………. Drums & Batterie - Teen Appeal
Herbie Scones………..Piano - Organ -Percussion -Accordion & Backing vox

The formation of rock bands is no longer the preserve of sweet young things full of angst, eager to pursue a life of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. No sirree! “Bitten by Monkeys” are a new concept. A bunch of guys who have paid their dues to society who are eager to blast off into their twilight years behaving disgracefully and having a ball.

It all started one summers day in 2007 when Big Al Hall was sitting in his garden enjoying a particularly good brew while his wife was trimming his hedge.
He’d been thinking about putting something together for a while and suddenly had the idea of creating a new band made up of members from previous outfits that he’d been involved with. That would eliminate any ‘ice breaking’ and the chemistry would be in place to get things off to a good start.

First out the hat was Geoff Gore. Geoff harks right back to the days of ‘Generation X’. An electric guitarist firmly rooted in the classic r&b tradition. All the soul of Buddy Guy, but with more bite than a surprised viper. He’d been off the live circuit for a while, but Al tracked him down to a beach hut in Hunstanton where he told fortunes and promoted winkle races. Business wasn’t so good so he didn’t take much persuading to dust off his old strat and get back on the boards. The only proviso was that he brought his old sparring partner Al-G with him.
They’d played together in ‘Easyleaf’ some years before and Geoff had always had a soft spot for that cracked voice that could cause avalanches from six miles away…! On a good night Al-G could make Joe Cocker sound like Aled Jones… They found him alive and well and running a timber yard in Stoke Poges. He found the idea attractive so after checking that his insurance was in order, he pocketed the contents of the safe and put a match to a stack of 4x2’s and headed off down the road. So far so good. What they needed now was a keyboard player.

As fate would have it, Al had recently received a postcard from Herbie Scones, his old band-mate from ‘The Scones’ and, flamboyant front man from the fabled, ‘South Circular Blues Band’. He’d been spending some time in prison in San Fernando, Philippines and was now on his way home. He’d gone there to escape a messy divorce and huge legal bills, but ended up in jail over a misunderstanding about three hundred dollars and a lady-boy from Manila… Anyway, he was homeward bound and raring to get stuck into something meaty. A meeting was arranged and everyone agreed that this might just work.

Al didn’t have far to go for drummer Tim (don’t call me Timbo) Hall. Just upstairs in fact. Tim had taken up the drums when he was thirteen and was now making waves as the new wonderkid on the block. He first hit the scene with, ‘Light the Sky’, but was soon head-hunted by, ’The Claques’. Geoff, Al-G, Herbie and Big Al all agreed that a dash of ’yoof’ and the exuberance that came with it would be a definite bonus. Upping his pocket money by ten bob a week and giving him use of the car every other Friday clinched the deal.

Rehearsals began and it all seemed to come together pretty well, but it was felt that another guitarist would come in handy.

Paul Guiver had worked with Al on various projects in recent years and he seemed to fit the bill very nicely. He was currently on a European anniversary tour with his old band, ’Private Dicks’. The guys caught up with him in Rome and after the show they hit him with the plan. He wasn’t sure, but agreed to sleep on it. The next day, after lobbing his last Euro into the Trevi Fountain he signed on the dotted line and it was cornets all round. Rehearsals resumed and all went exceedingly well. A few trial gigs were arranged and Al’s efforts were totally vindicated.

Here was a band with tremendous verve and power and frightening authority. ’Bitten by Monkeys’ are a force to be reckoned with so watch out, they may be in your town very soon………

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