Do you remember?
This page contains items related to the Cali
Please be patient, some of the photos are large
Flyer for the Super Soul Express bus service which started running in March 1969. This was kindly sent in by Geoff and Sheila Hale
1989 Batchwood Hall Country Club, St Albans
The old Didoz sign is brought out for a nostalgia night. Where is it now? Still at Batchwood?
With Kev Steed, Louie Martin and Tony Paul.
copyright Louie Martin 2003
The Windsock soon after it opened
The oddly shaped Windsock pub at the bottom of the Downs, replaced The Rifle Volunteer which was demolished in 1969.
Watering hole for many a California client pre-arrival; "allegedly", The Tams got rather merry in here one night before going on stage.
This photo was taken early in it's life. By the time it was demolished it was surrounded by mature trees.
When it was being built there was a huge outcry about the eyesore they were putting up. There was an even bigger outcry when they knocked it down.
An advert for luxurious dining at the Windsock.
Please note, you could get a full steak dinner and sweet
for the princely sum of £1.08p
...........the
RSD Hire Company who worked for bands like Ultravox, Judas Priest, The Buzzcocks, The Three Degrees, Jnr.Walker and many others. The hire company ran in parallel to the manufacturing side providing the ideal partnership for road testing and developing new ideas.
A good example of this was the RSD 20-8 Monitor Console. Stage monitoring was still new to many bands usually due to the fact that only large format, expensive monitor consoles were available. The 20-8 changed this over night with its small size and professional features. Not only did all 20 input channels have the now famous 3 band dual sweep EQ, but so did the 8 outputs. With the 9 large VU meters, colour coded controls and individual channel monitoring, the 20-8 was easy to use and always produced good results.
Another move for the company was on the way, this time to the (then) famous 'California Ballroom' about 10 miles away. Famous because just about every pop singer or group played there throughout the 60s and 70s. Like the RSD Hire Company, it provided close contact with touring acts and sound engineers eager to offer suggestions and ideas for improving their performance.
Caesar's Palace
Now here's one for you. Researching dates for the Cali I come across loads of other adverts. Beachcomber was well known to most people as the discotheque attached to Caesar's nightclub but does anyone remember it changing it's name to Dunluwam? I have an advert for the late 60's for Jelly Bread appearing at Dunluwam (ex Beachcomber). I've figured out the Dun and the Lu bit but what was Wam? And who the dickens came up with a name like that? Didn't last long did it.
