50 years ago music was at its peak, bands were coming together to create history and that includes The Pickwicks. The local Coventry City band consisted of four members: Alan Gee on rhythm guitar, Tony Martin on bass, Malcolm Jenkins on drums and John Miles on lead guitar and vocals.
Many articles surrounding the band have stated that they were originally Tony Martin and the Echo Four but that is in fact false information as only three members were in the Echo Four. The fourth member was actually called Malcolm Watts but during 1964 the year of their formation Watts left to be replaced by John Miles and join the band too then go on and become The Pickwicks. Dressed in top hats and long waist coats as if they had come straight out of the Pickwick Papers they began their journey.
Both bands were under the management of Larry Page during 1964-1965 and released their first and second singles with Decca Records with their cover of ‘Apple Blossom Time’. Overall the band released six tracks on three singles during the space of a year while also touring with what would be described as “throbbing” R&B and rock tracks supporting bands such as The Beatles and The Kinks while also being headliners themselves.
During 1964 a musical relationship was forming between The Pickwicks and The Kinks which went as far as having John Miles as a backup vocalist on the very well known song ‘You Really Got Me’ which was only discovered this year when John Miles confessed to working closely with Ray Davies.
A year later The Pickwicks had been signed with Warner Bros for their third single that Ray Davies would go on to write and call ‘Little By Little’; it would also have Jimmy Page on lead guitar which wasn’t uncommon at this point in time, it wasn’t the first time Jimmy Page had been on a Pickwicks track as during the year prior it has been admitted that he had been on two other tracks during their time at Decca Records. The B side track was also a Ray Davies song as the band covered ‘I Took my Baby Home’ which is also a B side on the first Kinks album following ‘Long Tall Sally’ in 1964.
Although The Pickwicks were shortly lived due to a fall out backstage before their prestigious performance at Albert Hall and also because it was very difficult to find a place that would clean their stage clothing which then resulted in their split in April 1965, some of the members would carry on with their musical career with drummer Malcolm Jenkins going on to join The Ray King Soul Pact/Band. However John Miles aged 23 would have to wait a little longer as in April 1966 he welcomed his first child into the world followed by his second and final child in 1967.
Due to the parental duties John would only carry music as a hobby rather than a career until the early 1970s when he would go on to form a local band with friend Dooch Davies for many years travelling the West Midlands circuit entertaining adults and children in social clubs. John was now working for the Council but tried to maintain his musical career during the nights taking his family with him to the gigs. For a brief period he stopped performing with Dooch to look after his family before again finding a new partner in the form of keyboardist John Baker during the 1990s. At this point in John’s life his children had grown up and he was a grandfather allowing him to take his hobby back on tour.
For 40 years John carried on his spreading joy with his music giving his grandchildren the same experience their parents had by taking them to watch him play shows. They would help carry equipment and even help with sound check if they were feeling really brave before watching their granddad sing incredible covers of songs they’d never heard of but soon fell in love with. It became the norm for John and the grandchildren but with difficulties and illness within the family John let music take the backseat once again so he could care for his family.
Now aged 72 John often reminisces over his career with his youngest granddaughter because to her he’s everything, he is the first person she has ever looked up to not including her parents. Ten years prior he told her to follow her dreams and play the guitar, that there was no limit to what she could do with her Granddad by her side; he was her musical hero. His past has taught her so much and she knows that to get to the top it will take a few setbacks but if John Miles can do it, so can she. John Miles is a musical legend in his own right and those aren’t just my words because I am that granddaughter.