IT’S so sad to report the passing of Alio Maynard. His band-mate Horace Panter left this lovely tribute on social media, and I really couldn’t say it any better.
Horace, over to you.
“Alio Maynard has died.
“We formed Blues2go in 2002 with George Goode and Pete Gardner and spent the next 20 years playing music together.
“We once played in Burton on Trent and also in Cheltenham but that was the furthest we ever went.
“We would do The Kingswood Tavern in Nuneaton, The Punchbowl in Warwick, The Beer Engine and The Broomfield Tavern in Coventry.
“We would start with ‘Every Day I Have The Blues’ and usually finish with ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ (Buddy Guy by way of Stevie Ray Vaughan).
“Our audiences were mostly indifferent but there were generally a handful of people there who were into it.
“I loved it. Thank you Alio. It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life having you as my friend.”
Coventry’s Bohemia
Far Gosford Street on a Friday Night.
I recently visited Far Gosford Street in the night time and was hit by just how unique this area has become.
I’m no stranger to the area – I have lived but a few miles from here for some 68 years of my life and I have seen many changes.
The road that runs from Ball Hill into the city centre has always been something of wonder, as I recall spending hours crate digging at Cranes Records and later doing the same at Hit’s Misses and Vintage records. Now I repeat the task at Just Dropped In Records at Fargo.
Master songwriter Geoff Veasey once summed up the zeitgeist of the area in his superb song ‘Fargo on a Friday Night’. I personally don’t know another area in Coventry quite like Far Gosford Street.
With the myriad of cafes and food shops, you can eat the world – and if it’s a haircut you are after, well… ‘spoilt for choice’ is an understatement.
But there is a vibe here. I know the area has had its fair share of problems, but standing there on a rainy Friday night with the lights reflecting on the wet road, the area is undoubtedly Coventry’s own Bohemia. While I’m not suggesting that Jack Kerouac or Isadora Duncan would have felt at home here (but they may have), this is still a really special place in our city that probably doesn’t get the love it deserves.
Fargo Village on its own has so much to offer, but step out into the street and people-watch for a while, take in the smells of the restaurants and be prepared to be transported beyond Coventry.
I once developed a project called ‘The Music Mile’. It was a map that highlighted the musical history of this area, including Backbeat and Ramp studios, Strings N Things guitar shop, the site of the Hand & Heart where The Specials played in the late 1970s, the flat above William Hill where the song of the moment ‘We’ll Live and Die in these Towns’ was actually written.
Even Lieutenant Pigeon recorded and released a song entitled ‘Gosford Street Rag’. Back in the late 70s it seemed that every other shop was a second hand shop and it was here where 2-Tone fans (and the bands themselves) got suited and booted.
In the day, Fargo goes about its business as usual, but at night this place turns into something that you would probably visit in another city, so it’s time to make a song and dance about this great place – our very own Bohemian Rhapsody.
Written by Pete Chambers BEM
