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... ENGLAND 
The band members Olly Alcock (Lead guitar / vocals, photo left) Mike Kidson (Drums, center)
and John Waite share a tiny one room flat in West Hampstead, Hillfield Road for about a year, where the p.a.
system by necessity serves as furniture
at the same time. (Photo below) With Olly Alcock John shares the vocals as well. „Olly´s voice was a real lead singer´s voice“, remembers John. „I was still a bit of a novice, but he could really sing. I learned a lot.“ And: „We loved the same sort of music and Olly knew all the Free albums. ENGLAND was a turning point for me, musically. It was Olly´s band, but there was enough room to develop musically.“ Everyday life turns out to be some kind of art of survival. Something that a lot of young bands have to learn in the beginning. John remembers that it happened several times that he came home, half starved and completely burnt out. „We lived on Milk, beans and rice, but we played the Marquee in London once a month and outside, all over the country. We were really going for it. It wasn´t because of driving a fast car, it was all about the music.“ But, however, ENGLAD fails and John returns to Lancaster.
Mike Kidson, Olly Alcock, Jesse Rae, John Waite
THE BOYS
Jesse Rae (photo below), ex-part-time-singer of
ENGLAND offers John
to come to
Cleveland / Ohio and John
doesn´t hesitate and as a bass player he joins THE BOYS.
„I
was desperate to play music“, says John. „America was the absolute
highest note you could hit. To get there and play music was all I want to do.“
„We played this raving club scene“, he continues. „There were clubs
absolutely everywhere.“
THE BOYS´ music John describes as a really confused direction.
„We were still trying to find 'our voice' when we split.“
THE BOYS even release an album... In truth it was a confusion but the rumour
is still around.
So a British punk band with the same name -
THE BOYS (photo right) - are the ones that released the album
(photo below)
Singer Jesse Rae,
guitarist Jerry Blaha, drummer Joe Battaglia and bass player John Waite have nothing to do with it
and the mentioned „Honest John Plain“ is definitely not John Waite. (Honest John Plain - on the
right photo above, far left hand corner)
John Waite´s comment:
„I have no idea about any of that.
I really think it´s ungrounded.“ John´s trip to Cleveland didn´t last half a year and completely burnt out he returns back to London. „It didn´t work out,“ hes says. And: „I was missing my girlfriend...“
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