'Henry' makes a return

Drummer Biff is delighted at the prospect of reliving a few past glories with his former band-mates.

The keyboard-player now lives in Canada, and the bass player simply can't be found; but four out of the once six-strong line-up will be back in action when Henry reunite at The Queens Head in Horsham on August 8 from 8.30pm.

"We ran from 1963-68," says Horsham-based Biff who is reluctant to disclose the real name under which he recently retired as a train driver instructor.

"And we did quite well. Going back to that time in 63, The Beatles had just come along and bands were starting. I wanted to be in a band, and there were just three bands in Horsham at the time. We used to play all over the place. We ended up supporting lots of bands all over the country.

"We played with The Merseys in Worthing when they were number two with Sorrow. And we played with The Move. We shared a dressing room with them which was basically a coal hole with a big pile of coke in there. I was chatting with Bev Bevan (their drummer). I was quite interested in talking to him. He was strange, a left-handed drummer!"

The opportunities came thick and fast, thanks to Henry signing with the Beat, Ballad And Blues Agency in Worthing.

"We were playing about three or four times a week. There was lots of work around then."

And inevitably, Biff and the band were hoping that the big time was just around the corner: "There were a few line-up changes, but in 1968 the band decided to go pro. They went to Germany and that was when I quit."

The band carried on, but it didn't work out and Henry folded a year or so later. They all had day jobs, and with the proposed move to Germany, Biff had been worried about the loss of that security. He carried on playing with other bands back home.

As for the reunion, the seed was sown when Biff was interviewed by DJ Mike Read for his book on the south-coast beat scene. Mike asked whether he would contemplate getting the band back together.

"I got talking to one guy who was in touch with another guy. It took a while but we got in touch in the end."

They got together in the studios at Easter. They will next be getting together in the studio on the day of the gig, which for Biff will have an extra special family connection.

Just for the night, his son Chris has got together a support band called Songs Girls Like To Dance To. The mantle is being passed to the next generation.