The Beginning...

Nigel Sattin, the bass player with Down At Heel recalls the group's genesis in early 1977.

"The band came together from two local bands, 'Free Spirit' and 'Moocher'. The reason why is shrouded in the mists of time but the most probable reason was that we didn't like the other people in our respective bands."

From 'Free Spirit' came a guitarist and drummer - Gavin Simonsen and Chris Downton respectively - and the group 'Moocher' was to provide Nigel Sattin on bass and vocals.

The first name chosen for the group was Stranger, but this was changed to avoid confusion with another outfit in Wales. Also, in the 70s the so-called -ER bands (with those letters at the end of their name) were reported to be doomed to failure and no chances were to be taken that might jeopardise any future success.

Early rehearals took place on the Starr Gate Industrial Estate, Halfway House, Blackpool on the borders of Lytham St Annes. A small factory unit making - of all things - handbags was to provide a venue where the band could make as much noise as they wanted without disturbing anyone else for miles around. The night watchman did complain that his guard dog spent certain nights of the week howling miserably, but hey...that's rock'n'roll.

Blackpool, with its Golden Mile, might have seemed like an ideal place for a young band to find work but Down At Heel was an out and out rock band and the clubs really only required 'cabaret' bands. As normal in the UK, gigs were to prove sparse and far between, but cherished all the more because of that. Nigel Sattin recalls, "Down At Heel played its first ever gig at Blackpool Catholic Club as a three piece."

Early Comings and Goings

Soon after, Mick Roberts, a tall man who played a cream Gibson SG Junior joined on guitar and more gigs followed. But it was felt that a vocalist was needed, not to replace Sattin's singing, but to complement it and give the bass player more freedom in playing. In early Summer 1977, Nigel Sattin sat in a Blackpool music store as a bonde-haired young man came in to buy a microphone, concluded his business and left. Prompted by the shopkeeper Sattin ran after the stranger.
   "Excuse me," he began, "but are you a singer?"
Thus began a great friendship, but it was almost never to be, for the singer, Nick Clube, lost his nerve just before the first audition and didn't show up. Apologies were made and a second date fixed. This time promises were kept, and everyone soon discovered a shared love of Deep Purple, Free and other rock acts. Simonsen was not convinced, but as they adjourned for drinks at a nearby pub, Sattin told Clube, "You've got the job, by the way."

Within two rehearsals with the new recruit Mick Green decided to leave, probably because he felt that his musical tastes did not quite match those of the the now majority of the group. Indeed, the trio of Sattin, SImonsen and Clube were to form the artistic hub of the band, and were on the whole, great friends.

A Second Guitar

As material was prepared for a gig in Millom, Cumbria certain songs were just not working with one guitarist and Mick's contribution was missed. At this point Clube went out to the car and brought in guitar and amplifier, having been hoping for just such an opportunity. At the end of the rehearsal, Simonsen asked, "How long have you been playing guitar?"
   "About three, four years," replied Clube.
   "Have you ever thought about giving up?"
It was a comment that was to be the focus of much humour in the months and years to come as Clube's guitar playing quickly became integral to the band. Ahead of the (so-called) New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Down At Heel developed a modern twin guitar sound and approach to music that should have put them firmly at the head of the new movement.

At this stage, the band rehearsed two nights every week, each member eagerly awaiting these hours of magic in their lives. Sattin worked for the Land Registry and Simonsen at a local light manufacturing company. Downton was a local Art student, and Clube was studying at Leeds but worked in a local gift store during the long Summer holidays, and that allowed the band to integrate well at a personal level before term started again and rehearsals had to switch to once a week at weekends. They socialised regularly at Jenks Bar situated in Blackpool's Talbot Square opposite Yates Wine Lodge and often met at Simonsen's family home in St Annes where Gavin's mum gave a warm welcome to the long-haired young men with their guitars.

"It was the time of our lives - exactly what Bryan Adams meant in that song of his, Summer of '69," recalls Clube. "Things were on the up..."