One night in May 1957 Clinton Ford walked into the Cavern, sang a couple of songs with the band and stayed for two years before starting a successful solo career. Now living in the Isle of Man, he is able to come over for the occasional gig and recall the days when we used to sprint to the nearest pub leaving the audience in the hands of an intermission group called the Beatles. We hope you will enjoy our blend of instrumentals and songs, and incidentally the debut of our two new members, Pete Darwin playing drums, furniture and anything or any- body within reach of his drum stool, and Robin Tankard on bass, tuba and - if we would let him - clarinet, cornet, piano and violin.

SIDE 1

1. Oh, You California - A shameless attempt to break into the West Coast record market. As soon as Clint had finished yearning for California sunshine, we were tramping the snow-swept streets of Liverpool looking for a pub.

2. The Whitewash Man - First recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall, London, in 1954, this piano rag has been rearranged for the full team. The new version shows how using a tuba for the first time has added another dimension to the band's sound.

3. Get Out And Get Under - When we play this, even teenagers born seventy years after the song was written will join in the chorus. It happens every time. Where on earth did they learn it?

4. Funky Butt - A feature for Don's clarinet, it was first recorded by Sidney Bechet. the story is that the record company got the labels reversed, and the correct title is actually "Where Am I?". In Liverpool the term Funky, Butt means nothing at all, but we heard a rumour that in the USA it's rather vulgar. If so, we apologise and would be pleased to know what it's all about. Although we can guess.

5. Muddy Water - Since Bessie Smith's version, this song seems to have been ignored. Clint's version, with only cornet and rhythm, does full justice to the lyrics.

6. Emperor Norton's Hunch - The only track in the style of the Lu Watters Band, which was one of our early inspirations. The odd title would take too much space to explain, so we will move on to

7. Doodle-doo-doo
We first heard the American college version, but Clint wisely decided the composer's original lyrics
were more suitable, and less likely to offend the listeners.

SIDE 2

1. Chicago Buzz - We have no idea what kind of buzz you get in Chicago, in fact we know absolutely nothing about the tune except that we enjoy playing it. A fine lot of sleeve notes these are turning out to be!

2. Mandy - The introduction by trumpet and cornet is a tribute to one of our idols and is known as "The Wild BiIl bit". It is played "a capella" which is Latin and means the rhythm section have time for one more quick drink.

3. Cornet Chop Suey - We bravely turned the original Armstrong tour de force into a two horn version, on the theory that if we couldn't outplay Louis we could at least outnumber him.

4. My Cutey's Due at 2.22 - One recipe for success in the Twenties was to write a song about a train journey - preferably going South. In the last chorus you will hear a staggeringly corny two bar phrase taken from the original song copy. And why not?

5. Singin' the Blues - It's difficult to believe that the whole of Bix Beiderbecke's recording career was compressed into six short years, yet is still influencing jazz musicians generations later.

6. Bedelia - Recipe No.2 for success was to write a song about an Irish colleen. In case you wonder who Chauncey Alcott was, he wrote Molly Malone, thus proving recipe No.2 yet again.

7. Once In a While - The Armstrong version appeared in 1927, and these days we seem to get more requests for it than for "The Saints". And that is really saying something.