This is not a complete discography. There certainly are some recording sessions that I don’t know of.

I have tried to mention every song only once. However in some cases it would be confusing to mention some song only once. For example, when Shakin’ Stevens’ LP “A Whole Lotta Shaky” was released in 1988 it was combination of new songs and old songs from the early 1980’s. Not to mention old songs would leave wrong impression that Micky didn’t play on those cuts.

Information of recording sessions that are not listed here is welcome.

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SHAKIN’ STEVENS & SUNSETS

I’M NO J.D. LP
CBS Records, 1971

Right String Baby / Come Along With Me / Rock’n’Roll Singer / Honey Don’t / Superstar / Sea Of Heartbreak

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SHAKIN’ STEVENS

MARIE MARIE LP
Epic Records, 1980

Baby If We Touch / Marie, Marie / Lonely Blue Boy / Make It Right Tonight / Move / Slippin’ & Slidin’ / Shooting Gallery / Revenue Man / Make Me Know You’re Mine / Two Hearts / Nobody

Comments: Micky told me that he played on all the other songs on this LP than except “Hey Mae”. Roger McKew plays lead guitar on “Lonely Blue Boy” and “Make It Right Tonight”.

THIS OLE HOUSE single
Epic Records, 1980

This Ole House / Let Me Show You How

Comments: Micky also sings background vocals on “This Ole House”.

SHAKY LP
Epic Records, 1981

Mona Lisa / You Drive Me Crazy / I’m Knockin’ / Don’t She Look Good / It’s Raining / Don’t Bug Me Baby /Don’t Tell Me Your Troubles / I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter / This Time / Baby You’re Child / Don’t Turn Your Back / Let Me Show You How / I’m Lookin’

IT’S RAINING single
Epic Records, 1981

It’s Raining / You And I Were Meant To Be

SHIRLEY single
Epic Records, 1982

Shirley / I’m For You

GIVE ME YOUR HEART TONIGHT LP
Epic Records, 1982

Oh Julie / Vanessa / Shirley / Too Too Much

HOW MANY TEARS CAN YOU HIDE single
Epic Records, 1988

How Many Tears Can You Hide / If I Really Knew

HOW MANY TEARS CAN YOU HIDE maxi single
Epic Records, 1988

How Many Tears Can You Hide (extended version) / If I Really Knew

Comments: In this case an extended version means an extra guitar solo in the end of the song.

A WHOLE LOTTA SHAKY LP
Epic Records, 1988

What You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For / How Many Tears Can You Hide / Jezebel / Sea Of Love / True Love / Just One Look / Oh Julie / Do You Really Love Me Too / I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter / Hello Josephine / Woman (Look What Have You Done To Me) / Heartbeat / Tired Of Toein’ The Line / Mona Lisa

I MIGHT single
Epic Records, 1990

I Might / Love Won’t Stop

THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF MUSIC… ROCK’N’ROLL LP
Telstar Records, 1990

Love Attack / I Might / Yes I Do / Tell Me/Tear It Up / My Cutie Cutie / The Night Time Is The Right Time / Pink Champagne / If I Lose You / Queen Of The Hop / Rockin’ The Night Away

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE LP
Epic Records, 1991

Rockin’ Little Christmas / White Christmas / Sure Won’t Seem Like Christmas / I’ll Be Home This Christmas / Silent Night / It’s Gonna Be A Lonely Christmas / The Best Christmas Of Them All / Merry Christmas Pretty Baby / Christmas Wish / So Long Christmas

Comments: Album credits claim that Micky plays on all the tracks but he’s not the guitarist on “Merry Christmas Everyone” or “Blue Christmas”.

RADIO single
Epic Records, 1992

Radio / Oh Baby Don’t (Outtake)

Comments: Micky plays only on the b-side.

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DAVE EDMUNDS

I HEAR YOU KNOCKING single
MAM Records, 1970

I Hear You Knocking / Black Bill

BORN TO BE WITH YOU single
Rockfield Records, 1973

Born To Be With You / Pick Axe Rag

Comments: Micky plays only on the b-side.

TWANGIN LP
Swan Song Records, 1981

Baby Let’s Play House

Comments: “Baby Let’s Play House” was recorded in 1968 but it was released 13 years later.

D.E.7 LP
Arista Records, 1982

Deep In The Heart Of Texas / Louisiana Man

Comments: Micky told me that he played on “Deep In The Heart Of Texas” although record sleeve doesn’t mention that.

THE WANDERER EP
Arista Records, 1982

The Wanderer / From Small Things Big Things Come / Your True Love

Comments: Some pressings of “D.E.7″ had this free live EP which was recorded at The Venue (London).

I HEAR YOU ROCKIN’ LP
Columbia Records, 1987

Girls Talk /Here Comes The Weekend / Queen Of Hearts / Paralyzed / The Wanderer / Crawling From The Wreckage / Slipping Away / Information / I Hear You Knocking / I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock’n’Roll) / Ju Ju Man

Comments: This is a Live LP which was recorded at Roseland (New York City), The Venue (London) and The Capitol Theatre (Passaic, New Jersey).

BACK TO THE BEACH (Various Artists) LP
Columbia Records, 1987

Wooly Bully

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MEMPHIS BEND

RIGHT STRING BABY single
United Artists Records, 1973

Louisiana Hoedown / Right String Baby

UBANGI STOMP single
United Artists Records, 1976

Ubangi Stomp / Tennessee

GOOD ROCKIN’ TONITE LP
United Artists Records, 1977

Boogie Woogie Country Girl /Mystery Train / Big River / Ting-A-Ling / Honky Tonkin’ / If You Can’t Rock Me / It’s My Own Business / Maybelline / Settin’ The Woods On Fire /Good Rockin’ Tonite / Tennessee / Red Hot / Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Comments: Album credits claim that forth song is “Ain’t Got No Thing” but it’s really “Ting-A-Ling”. Micky sings lead on following tracks: “Mystery Train”, “If You Can’t Rock Me”, “Maybelline”, “Good Rockin’ Tonite”, “Red Hot”.

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GERAINT WATKINS

IT’S ROCK’N’ROLL VOL. 2 (Various Artists) LP
Super Beeb Records, 1978

Don’t You Lie To Me / Flip Flop & Fly

GERAINT WATKINS & DOMINATORS LP
Vertigo Records, 1979

Man Smart Women Smarter / Casting My Spell / In The Night / Grow Too Old / Blue Moon Of Kentucky / Gotta Find My Baby / Paralysed / Nobody / Deep In The Heart Of Texas / Don’t You Just Know It / If Walls Could Talk / My Baby Left Me / Cakewalk Into Town

Comments: Micky is one of the vocalists on “Don’t You Just Know It”, he plays bass on “Deep In The Heart Of Texas”. On “Blue Moon Of Kentucky” and “If Walls Could Talk” he sings background vocals. He also plays percussion on “If Walls Could Talk”.

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CARL PERKINS

IT’S ROCK’N'ROLL VOL. 2 (Various Artists) LP
Super Beeb Records, 1978

Matchbox / CC Rider

JET PROPELLED THE 1978 COMEBACK CD
Sanctuary Records, 2002

Matchbox / CC Rider / Glad All Over / Be Bop A-Lula / That’s All Right Mama

Comments: This CD includes Carl’s complete 1978 It’s Rock’n'Roll session. Micky’s name on record sleeve is Micky King!

BLUE SUEDE SHOES: A ROCKABILLY SESSION CD
Snapper Records, 2006

Ringo Starr: Honey Don’t / Ringo Starr, Carl Perkins & Eric Clapton: Matchbox / Mean Woman Blues / Turn Around / Rosanne Cash & Carl Perkins: Jackson / Rosanne Cash: What Kind Of Girl / George Harrison: Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby / Carl Perkins, George Harrison & Dave Edmunds: Your True Love / Medley: That’s Alright Mama, Blue Moon Of Kentucky, Night Train To Memphis / George Harrison & Carl Perkins: Glad All Over / Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On / Gone Gone Gone / Blue Suede Shoes / George Harrison, Dave Edmunds & Carl Perkins: Blue Suede Shoes / Gone Gone Gone

Comments: This CD was recorded live in London, October 1985. Micky plays acoustic and electric guitar. He doesn’t play on following songs: “Boppin’ The Blues”, “Put Your Cat Clothes On”, “The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise”.

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MAN

CHRISTMAS AT THE PATTI 10″ LP
United Artists Records, 1973

Dave Edmunds & Micky Gee: Jingle Bells / Run Rudolph Run

Comments: Welsh band Man held Christmas party/live concert at the Patti Pavillion (Swansea, Wales) on December 19th 1972. This record is a document of that night.

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ANDY FAIRWEATHER-LOW

MEGA-SHEBANG LP
Warner Bros Records, 1980

Night Time Djuke-Ing / Hard Hat Boogie / Whole Lotta Someday / Bingerama

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VARIOUS ARTISTS

PARTY PARTY LP
A & M Records, 1982

Dave Edmunds: Run Rudolph Run / Sting: Tutti Frutti / I Need Your Love So Bad

Comments: Album credits claim that Micky plays on the Dave’s track but I think that there’s only 1 guitarist, Dave.

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PHIL EVERLY

PHIL EVERLY LP
Capitol Records, 1983

Phil Everly & Cliff Richard: She Means Nothing To Me / Phil Everly & Cliff Richard: I’ll Mend Your Broken Heart / Phil Everly: Oh Baby Oh (You’re The Star)

Comments: Mark Knopfler plays lead and Micky handles rhythm on all the 3 tunes.

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THE JETS

BLUE SKIES single
EMI Records, 1983

Blue Skies / Tonight Will Be Alright

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MARSHALL DOKTORS

WORRYIN’ KIND single
Rewind Records

Worryin’ Kind / O Kay

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NORMAAL

DE BOER IS TROEF LP
WEA Records, 1983

De Boer Is Troef / Kisjeskearl / Ies Kan Liehn / Lever Moar In / De Atoombom / Ik Val Altied Um (Vroum Hanselman)

DE KLOP OP ROCK LP
WEA Records, 1984

Deur Sneeuw En Kolde Veute / Luie Leen / Dansen

STEEN-STOAL EN SENTIMENT LP
WEA Records, 1985

Elektronika Woemahoeptjoep / Diana

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WILLIE AND THE POORBOYS

WILLIE AND THE POORBOYS LP
Mercury Records, 1985

Baby Please Don’t Go / Can You Hear Me /Revenue Man / You Never Can Tell / Saturday Night / Let’s Talk It Over / All Night Long / Chicken Shack Boogie / Sugar Bee / Poor Boy Boogie

Comments: Micky is the lead vocalist on “Revenue Man”.

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JERRY WILLIAMS

ONE AND ONE LP
Sonet Records,1987

Naturally / I Wanna Love You / Worryin’ Kind / Friday Night

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NICK LOWE

PINKER & PROUDER THAN PREVIOUS LP
Demon Fiend Records, 1988

Lovers Jamboree

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KATSQUIRE

COMIN’ TO YOUR TOWN CD
Kat Records, 1992(?)

All Work And No Play

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TED HEROLD

READY TEDDY! LP
Teldec Records, 1982

Cool wie Humphrey Bogart / Ready Teddy / Alte Liebe
rostet nicht / Jetzt oder nie

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FRANKIE ALLAN

JUST A COUNTRY BOY single
Rockfield Records, 1977

Just A Country Boy / I Need You Every Hour

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MIKE READ

PROMISED LAND single
MCA Records, 1984

Promised Land / Somebody To Love

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BILLY

BILLY LP
Polydor Records, 1984

Tous Les Sarmedis Soirs (One More Saturday Night) / Bye Bye / Je Me Sens Loin De Vous / Le Rock a Billy / Quand J’serai Grand J’serai Vieusc

Comments: Micky plays electric and acoustic guitars on these tracks.

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TOM JONES

TOM JONES ON STAGE EP
Decca Records, 1965

Bama Lama Bama Loo / I Can’t Stop Loving You / Lucille / Little By Little

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ROB ASH

Rob Ash is a Welsh gospel musician. Micky did sessions with him, but I don’t know any other details.

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I’d like to thank Jaap, Stuart Colman and Phil Morgan for their help.

On leaving Tom Jones, Micky  returned to his home town Cardiff in Wales, which, during the late 1960′s, was a melting pot of musicians where Micky had many friends. One of which was Andy Fairweather Low who lived in the neighbouring district to Micky. Micky lived in Rumney and Andy lived in Llanrumney and they would each hang out at the local youth clubs, coffee bars and pubs.

Andy also worked in the Barrett’s Music Store in town where he met musicians from all over the city. Andy’s band at the time was The Sect Maniacs which was in main a soul band and it had had a number of personnel changes. Micky joined them for a while. Members had included Roger Jones, Trevor Wright, Kenny Sherlock, but also Gary Cooper formerly of The Gary Edwards Combo who had minor hits during the twist craze. Gary was an old friend of Micky going back to school days.

But there were more changes to come because Andy was putting together a brand new band assembled from three local bands. There was Clive Taylor bass and Neil Jones guitar from The Dekkas, Dennis Bryon drums and Derek ‘Blue’ Weaver from Brother John and the Witnesses, and Andy from The Sect Maniacs. Then add a couple of sax players, Alan Jones and Malcolm Davis and you had a new super group to be called Amen Corner. But this was not for Micky!

Micky’s next local band was Arthur Mellow who played 1950′s Rock ‘n’ Roll and versions of psychedelic Beatles songs. Arthur Mellow was a three piece band and the Beatles’ songs were full of overdubbed instruments and sound effects. These would have been pretty interesting for us to hear. For example, one song they use to play was ‘Day in a Life’ on which Micky fingerpicked the
melody!

It was now in any case the age of the studio with it’s added sound effects and post production so it isn’t at all surprising that another of Micky’s Cardiff friends was experimenting with sound recording. Step forward Dave Edmunds. Dave also had his own band Love Sculpture, and was enjoying success in the charts with the rock version of Katchutarian’s classical piece ‘Sabre Dance’ which reached number 5 in the UK in November 1968.

However whilst the band were enjoying their success they had already decided to split. But the management company AMA, later to become MAM, offered the band a six week tour of the States and to this they reacted “Great!” The band thought they would do a stint in the States and then break up. The tour was of the USA and Canada and it was thought that the band needed a better drummer and guitarist, so in came Terry Williams on drums from Swansea and Micky Gee on guitar, just for the tour.

The tour turned out to be a disaster: people expected classical pieces like ‘Sabre Dance’ but the band played for example, Elvis Rockabilly recordings like ‘Baby Lets Play House’. It was also a badly organised tour – gigs were too far away from each other and so on. At one point they were the warm up band and the band had to play to a really big crowd. Nerves were the the order of the day and the band panicked. But showing true grit Micky went out front on his own and played some Chet Atkins tunes to albeit a baffled audience!

The tour ended in Canada where they discovered that they had earned barely enough money to buy the return tickets home! Anyway, after the tour the band did split up. Dave Edmunds concentrated even more on his studio work, the studio he had helped to build at Rockfield near Monmouth, Wales. Here he was allowed lots of free studio time.

One of the songs he started to record was a quite unique version of Smiley Lewis’ – ‘I Hear You Knockin’ and it was for this recording that Dave invited Micky to play on. It was Dave’s next single release and out of the blue it became a massive number 1 hit in the UK and a number 4 hit in the USA. But we know that only Micky could have made this happen.

________________________________________

(This is another chapter from Ari Niskanen’s biography of Micky Gee and hopefully more chapters will follow together with a complete bibliography and discography – Phil Morgan)

After weeks of concentrated gigging, Micky and Tommy were given a brief holiday and they nipped home to Wales. But unknown to them studio time had been booked to record a Beatles tune “With A Little Help From My Friends.” This had been a Cocker stage favourite that Micky and Tom had helped to arrange. On finding out about ths Micky and Tommy quit in January 1969. There is a book out about Joe Cocker that states that Micky and Tommy weren’t up to it, which seems hard to believe. Anyway “With A Little Help From My Friends,” now with the now famous Jimmy Page on guitar, became a smash hit in October of 68 and a UK No 1.

Micky now back home in Cardiff started to work with various Cardiff rock n roll bands, musicians and singers, and then in 1970 Micky launced himself into a brand new venture. This ran alongside his other projects, and saw him once again working with his old buddy from the Joe Cocker Grease band days, Tommy Reilly. With Tom on drums and vocals, Lincoln Carr, also from Rumney in Cardiff where Micky grew up, on upright and electric bass, and Micky on lead guitar and harmony. But now in this band Micky would sometimes take the lead vocal. This band was quite successful and the Welsh Rockabilly trio stayed together for the next seven years.

Memphis Bend played local gigs from 1970 to the mid 1970’s and on Wednesdays they played at the Moon Club in Cardiff, which was on the top floor of a fruit and veg warehouse, located on the Hayes. Sometimes they had guests like Dave Edmunds and Geraint Watkins. Usually playing local gigs, Memphis Bend did go to Holland in the early 1970’s. Their set consisted mainly of 1950’s Rock’n’Roll like: “Bird Dog”, “Honey Don’t”, “Queen Of The Hop”, “White Lightning”, and “My Way”. But Micky would also feature in three guitar instrumentals: Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk”, Jeff Beck’s “Jeff’s Boogie” and the Yardbirds’ “Steeled Blues”.

During the mid 1970’s they recorded two singles. The first one was “Louisiana Hoedown” with the flip side “Right String Baby”(1973). “Louisiana Hoedown” is a quite unique Memphis Bend song. Whilst the other stuff that they recorded was Rockabilly or Country music, “Louisiana Hoedown” reminds me of The Band. Micky was really into The Band but he wasn’t so keen on Robbie Robertsons guitar playing, rather it’s the drumming and singing of Levon Helm that he loved. Not just for the way he sung but the whole persona of the man. Although Memphis Bend were only a three piece band, for this song they did a lot of overdubbing. For example, the song’s intro has three different guitars, and the result is a little bit garbled. This “wall of guitars” sound, makes Micky sound like a typical 70’s rock guitarist! Then again on “Right String Baby” Micky’s guitar has a lot of overdubbing. Here there are two lead guitars that trade licks. So the overall sound on this single is much rougher and modern than on other Memphis Bend records. In contrast the second single was “Ubangi Stomp”/”Tennesee”(1976), and the A-side is a good, solid version of Warren Smith’s Rockabilly classic.

By the middle 1970’s Memphis Bend were to back one of Micky’s heroes: Chuck Berry. Memphis Bend, plus a piano player, backed Berry on two gigs: at a festival at Buxton in Derbyshire, England on 21st July 1973 and at The Rainbow Theatre in London on 7th September 1973. However, the Chuck Berry whom Micky admired didn’t exist anymore. During the 1950’s Berry had been an innovator of popular music, wrote great songs and played wicked guitar. But by the 1970’s he had a “couldn’t care less” attitude. Even his recordings were just rehash versions of his old material. Then when he played live gigs his guitar was often out of tune. Another thing was that Berry hadn’t had his own band since the 1950’s, so concert managers provided bands for him. Then Berry often had this habit, during the first few numbers, of giving his backing musicians solos. Chuck would then ask the question to his audience “isn’t he great?” But when he gave Micky, a master of Chuck Berry style solos, who could play Berry riffs like a demon, a solo, there were to be no questions to the audience! Not only that, Chuck never gave Micky another solo. It’s impossible to know what Chuck thought but he acted in a similar way towards Keith Richards in 1972, who was also a disciple of Berry. Keith later told reporters: “Chuck didn’t want to be upstaged.” Micky and the band were going to go to Paris to back him the very next night, but Tommy decided that Chuck was a waste of time, and they pulled out.

Memphis Bend recorded their only LP, “Good Rockin’ Tonite”, in 1977. During their gigs they played all kinds of 1950’s Rock’n’Roll music and country stuff, but with recorded material it was Memphis and Sun Records that was their focus. Sun Records was a legendary Memphis record label where Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins started their careers. For “Good Rockin’ Tonite” Memphis Bend recorded five songs that were originally released on Sun Records: “Mystery Train”, “Tennesee”, “Big River”, “Red Hot”, and “Good Rockin’ Tonight” plus the A sides of both their singles, “Right String Baby” and “Ugambi Stomp.” Carl Perkins’ “Tennesee” was in praise of Tennesee itself, and it’s music. Even the graphic on the “Good Rockin’ Tonite” sleeve reminds us of the Sun logo.

To say that the recording sessions of the LP were unusual would be an understatement. Memphis Bend had to record secretly. There was another band in the studio during the daytime, and it was only when this other band went to bed, that Memphis Bend were able to sneak in and record their own LP. So Memphis Bend used this other band’s studio time, and at 4 am. they would put the microphones back in the places where the other band had left them. This routine went on night after night. Who was this other band? Queen!!! Freddie Mercury and the guys! They were recording their legendary LP “A Night At The Opera” right there in Rockfield. This was the LP that included “Bohemian Rhapsody” and I think that even today the Queen guys didn’t have a clue what went on. Memphis Bend had been having problems with their record company so this was probably the reason why they had to record this way.

Micky’s playing is great throughout the album and inspired. He plays a fluid James Burton style ‘chicken pickin’ lick on “Big River.” There is also a great intro on “Settin’ The Woods On Fire.” Here Micky and guest musician, pedal steel player B.J. Cole, play the intro, with Micky playing descending notes and B.J. playing ascending notes. Both these things are happening at once. On the title track’s first solo, there is a great “question – answer” session with phrases, where Micky plays the first lick on the lower strings and then “answers” it on the higher strings. Then later on the song’s second solo there are beautiful Chet Atkins inspired rolls. On “If You Can’t Rock Me” Micky again does some great fingerpicking. At the end of the first solo Micky plays one of my all time favourite guitar licks. The song’s key is C and the first six notes of this lick are part of the C major scale (G,F,E,D,C,H) and the last six notes are part of the C minor scale (Bb,Ab,G,F,Eb,D)!! I remember when I asked Micky about this lick, and he smiled and said something like “that lick don’t make any sense but when you play it fast it sounds great.” After this album Memphis Bend disbanded, a clash of ego’s perhaps, who knows! All in all, although the guitar picking on this album is brilliant, I personally prefer Micky’s later work with Shakin’ Stevens, where even more of Micky’s personality came through.

_____________________________________________

(This is another chapter from Ari Niskanen’s biography of Micky Gee and hopefully more chapters will follow together with a complete bibliography and discography – Phil Morgan)

An LP from Cardiff rock ‘n’ roll outfit Memphis Bend, who disbanded two years ago, will be released in the autumn.

Bend – Mike Gee (guitar), Lincoln Carr (bass) and Tommy Riley (drums) – got together again for the “one-off” album at Rockfield Studios which will be put out by United Artists.

The company have just put out a 45 from the band called Ubangi Stomp, taken from tapes the band made two years ago.

Tom told me, “This all came about because United Artists dug up the old tapes. But we have absolutely no plans to get back together – we are all into different things now.
If the record sells all we will do is pocket the royalties. The LP is rock ‘n’ roll ‘Fifties style, with a country feel.”

Cardiff pop star Dave Edmunds, B.J. Cole and Mick Weaver played on the session at Rockfield. Bend’s single of two years ago Louisiana Hoedown has become a collector’s item – selling for £5 a time in London.

I’m using OCR software to extract the text, so if you see any gibberish please contact me using the button above.

If you had been in Cardiff at midnight on a Wednesday night in 1975 and had made your way to the bottom end of The Hayes, you would have heard music coming from the dimly lit backstreets behind the old Mill Lane open air market.

The music would have become louder if you had gone into the backstreets, turned into New Street and found a narrow staircase that led up to the New Moon Club.

Inside the club you would have seen Red Beans and Rice playing an eerily authentic mixture of Chicago and New Orleans blues, Cajun music and rock and roll.

The New Moon Club is not there anymore because New Street has been demolished, but rhythm and blues is still alive and well in Cardiff. Red Beans and Rice forms part of the trunk of the Cardiff rhythm and blues family tree   a tree which has spread its branches wide.

Tommy Scott was to revert to his original name of TOM JONES … and he never looked back.

The instigator, and only constant member, of the band is drummer Tommy Riley who formed Red Beans and Rice in 1975. Under his guidance the band has resisted the fads of the last nine years and has continued to produce music of quality. Red Beans and Rice has proved to be an enriching experience for dozens of musicians wishing to explore a wide range of American R’n'B music.

Tommy Riley said of the band: “The idea of Red Beans and Rice was to play all types of R’n'B music rather than just one particular type, whether it was just soul, just rock and roll or just blues. We wanted an amalgamation of all of it. ”

His roots in RWB go back a lot further than the forming of Red Beans and Rice. In the early and mid’60s he was the drummer in a rock and roll band called The Sons of Adam. Dave Edmunds was on the same club circuit with The Raiders and so was a rock and roll band called Tommy Scott and the Senators. Tommy Scott was to revert to his original name of Tom Jones … and he never looked back after that.

(Left: The original Memphis bend   left to right: Lincoln Carr, Micky Gee and Tommy Riley.)

The guitarist in The Senators, and later with Torn Jones and the Squires, was Mickey Gee, now one of the most respected rock and blues guitarists in Britain   a musician’s musician.

During the mid’60s both Tommy Riley and Mickey Gee played, at separate times, with Dave Edmunds’ band, Love Sculpture, and in 1968 they both joined Joe Cocker’s Grease band.

They were together again in 1973 playing the dreary working men’s clubs of South Wales. Recalling that time, Mickey said: “We were playing some nowhere gig up the valleys in between the bingo sessions. The singer collapsed in the middle of a number. Tommy and I looked at each other and he said: ‘We’ll share it, you sing one, then I’ll sing one, so we can get our money’. “They did just that and it worked. With the addition of Lincoln Carr on bass, the trio became Memphis Bend.

The sound was rockabilly. It was, added Mickey, “just like the Stray Cats are doing now, except we didn’t have a string bass and I didn’t have the hair”

In 1973 the New Moon Club was a down market ‘chicken in the basket’ night club. Mainly frequented by bus drivers, it was open only at weekends until Memphis Bend secured a Wednesday night residency. For a year the trio entertained the more discerning members of Cardiff night life before splitting up in 1974.

Mickey Gee was quiet for the next few years until 1979 when Mik Flood, then Artistic Director of Chapter, invited him to play in Alan Osborne’s Terraces at Chapter under the musical direction of George Kahn of The People Show. Shortly afterwards Mickey joined the Shakin’Stevens’ Band alongside pianist Geraint Watkins, and they both also played with Dave Edmunds’ band. Whilst with both bands, Mickey was in great demand for recording session work, as he is today. Now he is working with Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones.

After the demise of the original Memphis Bend in 1974, Tommy Riley kept the band going until 1975 when he formed Red Beans and Rice with Lincoln Carr, Graham Williams on guitar, and Geraint Watkins. With the introduction of Geraint on piano and accordion, the sound became New Orleans blues. Then Geraint left for London where he worked with Stiff Records and formed his own band, Geraint Watkins and the Dominators.

Red Beans and Rice went through some changes, the most important of which was Tommy’s teaming up with local soul legend Lavern Brown in 1976. With the addition of Geoff Coleman on guitar, Mike Pace from London on sax, and Bennie Herbert on bass, Red Beans and Rice brought the soul sound of the ’60s to life.

That line up ended in 1980, shortly after Lavern secured a contract with Chiswick Records. Mike Pace joined the Jools Holland Band with bass player Pino Palladino, who is now with the Paul Young Band. Before joining Jools Holland, Pino had been a member of the Dominoes – a Cardiff-based trio Peter Wenger on drums, formed in 1980 by Mickey Gee.

Meanwhile Tommy Riley briefly adopted the name of The Sole Distributors for his band, but by 1981 had reverted to the name of Red Beans and Rice. Through the following years the band has, developed a’40s style swing blues. Indeed, by 1983 it had swelled to a seven-piece band with three saxophones.

In 1982 Lavern joined up with Geoff Coleman. Mike Pace joined the band, too, along with brilliant young pianist Rob Ford, Paul Westwell on drums, and Neil Jones on bass. That was the beginning of the Lavern Brown Band. The band’s soulful blues still survives now.

Many other local musicians developed R’n'B from the ’60s into the ’70s. Bands such as Stiletto, The Nicutinos and The Cadillacs all added to the strength and depth of Cardiff R’n'B. Now, in the’80s, Red Beans and Rice is still playing and so is the Lavern Brown Band. There is Snatch It Back, Fire Down Below and the crazed blues of The Red Hot Pokers, too. Soul music has been kept alive with Dansette and now the Madassa
Soul Band.

Back in the 1960s Tommy Riley, Dave Edmunds, Mickey Gee, Lavern Brown and a handful of others developed an authentic approach to American R’n'B music. That approach reverberates through the music being played in Cardiff today.

It took me three years to learn those chords. C and G were easy, but F was hell!”

When asked what first interested him in playing music, Mickey Gee had to delve back to
1959: “The thing that started me playing was my Uncle Sid, and who knows Uncle Sid? But dammit if he hadn’t been there,  I wouldn’t have been here. Uncle Sid was a house painter from Llanrumney. He’d be there in his painter’s overalls with a two quid guitar, strumming three chords. It was magic. It took me three years to learn those
chords. C and G were easy, but F was hell! ”

Here’s to Uncle Sid and the continuing excellence of R’n'B in Cardiff.

1985 – Carl Perkins and friends.
Taken from sounds magazine November 02 1985

The line directly under the picture reads…
“No 1 have not got a light, er. . . sorry, what did you say your name was?” Plc LFI

TWO FOR the show … two Beatles for the Carl Perkins (above right – you better believe it!) show, that is. After all, the Fab Four were the best advertisement Carl Perkins ever had. The royalties he got from their covers of ‘Matchbox’, ‘Honey Don’t’ and ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby’ plus ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ were enough to ensure that he never needed to write another hit. Which is just as well, because he didn’t.

But no matter, Carl’s place as part of Sun Records (and therefore rock and roll’s) million dollar quartet is assured, and when he asked for assistance in recording his TV special In London, Ringo – looking more and more like a teddy-boy version of Yasser Arafat these days – and George Harrison -ageing elegantly and seemingly without a care – were among the first to send back their reply-paid slips (seriously – Carl had sent them each a personal video with a form for them to fill in!). Their example was closely followed by Eric Clapton, Dave Edmunds, Earl Slick and sundry ex-Stray Cats.

But amid all this glamour and glitter (obligatory female presence was provided by Roxanne Cash and Britt Ekland) sashaying in and out of the Limehouse TV studio lending their illustrious presence, one bald gentleman in a grandad vest, black cords and sneakers sat in the background hunched over a guitar growling out a tight, constant stream of rockabilly rhythm which was the foundation for the whole show.

Nobody knew who he was afterwards, and it took half an hour of persistent nagging (while the Fleet Street boys were trampling all over Carl in their futile attempts to get a word with George) to discover that his name was Micky Gee and that he was a close friend of Dave Edmunds. It figures. Don’t step on his blue suede shoes.

Many people mistakenly refer to Micky as “Mickey”.  Take it from me, he preferred to be called Micky – Period!!! , even though on many websites, album covers and newspaper articles he was referred to as Mickey.

You will, however, sometimes see his name spelt as Mickey on this website.  This is because lots of people still remember him as Mickey and that’s OK by me.  I just wanted to put the record straight!

Micky was born on 03 July 1944 and was christened Michael Richard Gee.  His place of birth was – 13 Garth Street Cardiff and he passed away at the University Hospital of Wales on the 21 January 2009.

List of artists that Micky has either played/jammed with or played for…

Tom Jones – Joe Cocker – Eric Clapton – Mark Knopfler – Chuck Berry – Bill Wyman – Charlie Watts – Dave Edmunds – Andy Fairweather Low – Shakin Stevens – Geraint Watkins – Albert Lee – Carl Perkins – Gary Moore – Arlen Roth – Jimmy Page – Sting

Lots more to be added. Can anyone help me? I can’t remember them all.

His major guitar influences…
Chet Atkins – Merle Travis – Jerry Reed – Albert Lee – Eric Clapton – Danny Gatton – Scotty Moore – James Burton – Carl Perkins – Roy Buchanan – Jeff Beck – Lonnie Mack – Jimi Hendrix – Buster B. Jones – Blind Blake – Joni Mitchell – Marcel Dadi – Joe Maphis – Johnny Burnette

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