Ashton, Gardner and Dyke
Resurrection Shuffle
by Graham Sclater
I recently saw the band perform this live on TOTP2 and it brought back so many memories seeing my old friends again
I spent almost five years living and playing the Hammond organ in Germany much of which was spent playing in Hamburg at various clubs including the Star Club and the Top Ten, both in the Red Light district of St Pauli.
Our band arrived in Hamburg on the 31st December 1963 ready for our first month at the Funny Crow. We had no idea what to expect and our first month was spent in the club a couple of miles across the city but our “rooms” were actually in St Pauli. We had no idea we were living in the centre of the notorious Reeperbahn until the second week into our residency when one evening we were taken by some of the clubbers to St Pauli. We couldn’t believe how different it was at night and were shocked to find that we were actually living there. That night we visited the Star Club and we made it a nightly ritual until I joined a new band and played there myself during 1964, 65, 66, 67 and 68.
In 1964 The Remo Four were signed to Brian Epstein's NEMS organisation, working as backing musicians for Cilla Black and others. With Tommy Quickly they made the Top Thirty with "The Wild Side of Life" in 1964. Manley said, “We used to go on with Tommy for a short spot just before the Beatles.” In 1965 Colin Manley - lead guitar, Don Andrew - Bass, Roy Dyke - drums, were joined by Tony Ashton - Vox organ and lead vocals and they soon became the Star Club house band. They were very successful and experimented with extended jazz pieces at the Star Club and their jazz-rock album, Smile (1966), was ahead of its time.
In 1967 they briefly returned to the UK and were produced by George Harrison for the soundtrack of the film Wonderwall (1969). In 1998 a fine, unreleased track from the sessions, "In the First Place", was found and issued.
During my months playing at the Star Club, the Remo Four were also playing and Tony loved to play my Hammond. He was a superb vocalist and musician and taught me so much. We became very good friends but when I returned to the UK in 1968 we lost touch.
When The Remo Four split in 1968, Manley joined Billy J. Kramer followed by Georgie Fame and spent some years with Clodagh Rodgers and then Freddie Starr. After that he joined the 1960’s Liverpool band, the Swinging Blue Jeans, which was his final group.
In 1968 Tony Ashton and Roy Dyke joined forces with the bass guitarist Kim Gardner who had previously played in minor British groups, The Birds and The Creation - who had also played at the Star Club. The triad simply called themselves Ashton, Gardner and Dyke. Although he wasn’t credited, Mick Liber formerly of Python Lee Jackson played lead guitar with the group.
They released their first single "Maiden Voyage" C/W "See the Sun in My Eyes" on Polydor Records in 1969, but it flopped. They changed record labels and two years later released the single, "Resurrection Shuffle," written by Ashton, on Capitol Records. The track entered the UK Singles Chart on 16 January 1971, and remained in the charts for 14 weeks, peaking at Number 3. It also reached number 40 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was their only hit record, earning them the title of one-hit wonders. Although their follow-up single, "Can You Get It," failed to chart they continued recording and released three albums with little success.
Their last recording session together was in collaboration with Jon Lord on the soundtrack for a B movie, The Last Rebel. The trio finally split in 1972 and they went their separate ways. Although they continued to achieve success with other artists they could never emulate the success of the fantastic track, “Resurrection Shuffle.”
Colin William Manley died in Liverpool on 9 April 1999, Tony Ashton died on 28 May 2001 and Kim Gardner died on 24 October 2001, in Los Angeles, California. They all died of cancer.
Roy Dyke is still playing drums and now lives in Hamburg.
Graham Sclater is a music publisher, record producer and author and is the CEO of Tabitha Publishing Limited.
https://tabitharecords.webs.com
"Ticket to Ride" was Graham's first novel and originally published by Flame Books in 2006. It was re-issued by Tabitha Books in October 2012, with additional reviews and photos. It is a gritty novel loosely based on events during his time as a professional musician in Hamburg during the 60's.
"We're Gonna Be Famous", a children's novel, was our first publication by Graham in April 2009, followed by his second, "Hatred Is The Key", in 2010, which is an historical novel based on true events between 1812 and 1814.
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