Chapter 13

Summer. 1965.

The gang now regularly drank in the ‘Fountain Inn’ a pub near the ‘Kavern’. It was a rather rough pub, but the landlord did not mind having a bar full of leather jacketed boys and girls spending their money, who sometimes when they had too much to drink got rowdy or had a fight, as there was not much of value to break in there anyway.

Some new lads had recently joined the club from the next small town to where Danny, Tom and Sean lived. Most of them they knew from school days and were a good crowd, but there was one guy who for some reason, both Danny and he both took an instant dislike to each other.

His name was Sid. He did not, at this time, have a motorcycle, but bummed a lift from one of the other guys. If you did not own a bike, then you were not considered to have the right to an opinion as to what went on in the club, that was just the way it was. But this guy was not content to just mix and have a laugh with all the lads. He was a super piss taker. One of his favourite’s was to make a comment about Danny’s lack of inches with comments such as,

“Do you need a hand to get your bike off its stand, Danny? If you do, then you only have to ask.”

Danny could take a joke, it had never worried him to be short. He often took the piss out of himself, but with this guy it was different. Danny had a girlfriend at the time who was a strong girl, so much so that some nights when they were about to leave, he would walk out into the ‘Kavern’s yard to find she had already started his Tiger 100 and even taken it off the stand. So, all he had to do was lift his leg over the saddle and they were away. So good was she at doing this that some of his friends would call out to him, “You will never find another girl like her, son. Best hold on to her.”

In fact, they were right, he never did find another girl who did that for him. Her name was Linda, but her nick name was sheep dog because of how her hair hung over her eyes like an old English sheep dog. One night however things came to a head when Sid made some comment about Linda having to start Danny’s bike for him, then added for good measure did she need to help him out in bed and if so, could he be of any help.

Danny was about to confront him when Linda placed her hand on his arm saying, “Please, let me deal with him, Danny.”

All his friends were now looking on, so he nodded, “Okay, he is all yours.”

All activity in the room came to a halt as Linda slowly got up from her seat and moved over towards Sid, who now looked more than a little bemused. Then standing in front of him as the whole room looked on in silent anticipation as to what was about to happen, she first placed her hands on each of his shoulders then looking straight into his eyes said, “Sid, I have known some twats in my time, but you are by far the biggest, that boy,” she now turned looking Danny’s way before continuing “can, although small handle a bike, but as for you the fact is no one here yet as ever seen your arse on the front seat of a bike. And as for in bed, do you hear me complaining?”

She then suddenly reached down grabbing his genitals, before adding as she once more looked around the room, “I thought so, just a small pair of balls.”

Linda now turned and returned to her seat as the whole room cheered, leaving Sid looking red faced and for once lost for words.

Later that night as Danny and Linda stood in the seclusion of an alley next to her house saying good night, Linda commented that she hoped she had not made the situation between him and Sid worse. Danny was so proud of her and what she had done, but words for once failed him, so he just kissed her.

Suddenly the sound of a bike’s twin exhausts made them look up, as Sean pulled up on his Rocket before shouting, “Come on lover boy, we are all going up the ‘Wood’ to get some chips. So don’t stop there snogging all night.”

With that the front door of Linda’s house opened, revealing Linda’s mother complete with a head full of hair curlers who called out, “Turn that bloody engine off, some of us have to get up for work tomorrow.”

Then looking towards Linda, she added. “Young lady, get your arse in here.”

Linda gave Danny a quick kiss and ran into her house. Her mother meanwhile still stood looking out at the two boys like some Nazi sentry, who as Danny kicked his Tiger up, the combined sound of the two bikes’ exhausts drowned out the swear words that she called after them as they shot off down the road laughing.

One wet evening all the gang were crowded in the cellar of the Kavern, where when it was full there was hardly room to swing a dead cat. This being a Wednesday meant that most of the boys were skint, only being paid on a Friday. Maggie Brown being bored, had for some time now been tormenting a couple of the boys, so when she left the room to visit the toilet, they decided to pay her back.

Once she returned, Ginger Mick and Nico called for her to follow them out into the yard making the excuse that they wanted to show her something. Once in the yard two more lads Padlock and Alex helped them to grab her, and with great difficulty they tied her to a long broom handle, ignoring her screams plus the obscenities that now flew in their direction.

All four boys now carried her down the street towards the ‘Fountain Inn’. Before reaching the Pub they came to a row of houses. Here they knocked on the door of the first house which was answered by a huge black guy. Before he could ask what was going on they threw her into his hallway, then ran as fast as they could back to what they thought was the safety of the ‘Kavern’.

The black guy disappeared into his house before reappearing with a huge carving knife. At the sight of this Maggie let out another series of screams, only to stop when she saw the guy only intended to cut her loose. After reluctantly thanking him she stormed off broom handle in hand towards the Kavern. As she alighted the cellar steps the whole room went silent as our four brave heroes tried in vain to conceal themselves among the crowd. The first one to fail in this manoeuvre was Ginger Mick, who having been cornered now tried to bluff his way out of trouble by saying, “I have always said that you can take a joke, Maggie.”

As she hit him on his head with the broom handle, her answer was, “A joke? It is no joke when some bastard comes towards you with a carving knife or perhaps you think it is.”

She raised the handle once more. But Mick choosing survival over valour, tried in vain to apologise.

The other three culprits emerged from the crowd looking somewhat apprehensive as they followed suit and after promising to pay for her drinks for the whole of the coming weekend the matter was resolved amicably.

Tom and Danny for once were relieved they had not been part of this adventure as Maggie’s temper was well known to them.

Both Tom and Danny were not privy to all Mazza’s nocturnal activities, but one night as they discussed at length what they might consist of, both were worried he would end up involving them in something more serious than just a few stolen motorcycle parts.

On this same night just as the two of them were about to fall asleep they were awakened by someone throwing pebbles at the bedroom window.

Tom being as laid back as usual told Danny to ignore them, as they then would soon give up was his advice. But Danny being naturally nosey had to open the window, where he found Mazza standing outside in the pouring rain wearing just a lightweight suit, that was covered in what looked like red mud.

“What the fuck do you want, Maz?” he called out.

His reply was, “What do you think I want? Supper? It’s pissing down with rain, and I have got the Jag stuck in some mud over at the clay pits.”

“Well, why not get it in the morning,” Danny innocently asked.

“Because you, brainless twat, I have someone in the car and if my Mrs finds out, I am dead. So, move your arse down here and get your bike out so that we can go.”

Danny shut the window then looked at Tom who grinned. “I told you not to look out, but you would not listen to your cousin so have a nice trip.”

As Danny crept out on to the landing there was a deathly silence. This was broken suddenly by the sound of his aunt and uncle snoring in the next room. He crept downstairs only to be met there by Prince, their whippet. After stroking him and sending him back into his bed he left by the back door. He pushed his motorcycle out of the shed into the pouring rain, to meet his friend who stood waiting on the road holding his aunt’s clothes line prop in his hand, all eight feet of it.

“What the bloody hell do you want that for?” Danny asked.

Mazza ignored this and jumped on the back of the bike, holding the wooden prop like the knights of old once held their lances. Mazza then called out, “Let her roll down the hill before you start her up or everybody will hear us.”

This they did and once on their way Mazza guided his friend to where the Jaguar was stuck. They only passed one person on the way; it was a man who seemed to be drunk as he staggered home. After looking at them as they rode by he shouted, “What the fuck are you going to do with that pole?”

Mazza gave him the courtesy of a quick reply by shouting, “Sticking it up your arse, if you do not shut up.”

On arriving at the clay pits Danny was curious to see who was in the Jag. This he soon found out, as Mazza pulled someone out of the car, who Danny now recognized as the bar maid from their local, wearing what looked like a fur coat and not to his eyes much else.

Mazza instructed Danny to get into the driving seat, the woman who it turned out was called Mo, he instructed to heave on the rear bumper while he used the prop under the rear wheel to lever the car forward. Danny let the clutch out gently as the car rocked back and forward, but it still seemed reluctant to budge, suddenly there was a loud crack which made the woman scream. After more swear words Mazza threw the two broken halves of his aunt’s prop over some distant hedge. This was followed by more cursing, most of it now being directed at the poor woman who was by now as covered in red mud as he was.

Once more the procedure was repeated, then as Danny gave an extra push on the gas the motor car shot forward off the mud on to the tarmac road. Mazza almost threw the woman bodily into the back seat and jumped into the car himself, before shouting as he drove off, “See you in the morning, son, thanks.”

And with that he was gone leaving Danny standing soaking wet in the pitch dark. When later he returned home and finally climbed into bed, he was freezing cold, where to add insult to injury, Tom warned him in no uncertain terms not to put his cold feet anywhere near him.

The next morning Danny had intended to keep out of Mazza’s way, but this was not to be, as his friend called to see him, and once they were alone telling him what to say to explain to his wife how he came to be home so late the night before and, in the state that he was in.

As they arrived at Mazza’s house Danny tried to test the waters so to speak with, “Good morning, Tricia.”

At first there was no reply as he entered the kitchen, where his friend’s wife sat smoking a cigarette wearing a face like thunder. “And what have you got to say for yourself, young man, that suit alone that he was wearing last night cost me over twenty quid at Burtons, I will have you know. And what is more you, young man, will be paying the cleaning bill for it.”

Danny stood wondering what this had to do with him, so he just shook his head without answering her as she continued, “You may just shake your head, my boy, fancy asking my Ray to come out on a filthy night like last night, just to pick you up with some girl, because you had broken down in the bloody clay pits. Why the bloody hell were you there anyway on such a night?”

Danny was lost for words as the tale his friend had spun his wife began to become clear to him. He looked daggers at his friend who behind his wife’s back was mouthing ‘sorry’.

Danny finally found his voice as he assured her this would never happen again.

Tricia put her arms around Mazza saying, ‘He is just too soft for his own good, are you not my darling?”

Once outside and out of earshot of Mazza’s wife, Danny called his friend everything under the sun, adding that his aunt was now convinced that someone who lived over the back of them had stolen her line prop. After saying this they both saw the funny side of this episode and could not help but laugh.

One concession Danny did however get out of Mazza over this little adventure was to allow him the use of the old Ford 15cwt van from the workshop, to attend the local dances on a Saturday night. This was the one night of the week when Danny, Tom and Sean did not wear their leather jackets but put on a suit.

They had at this time a friend from the nearby ‘Beachdale Estate’ who was a little older than them named Tommy Lilly. He had once been a rocker riding a big red Norton 600cc Dominator, but now had given up bikes for a car.

Tommy also had become a Mod, but this fact was overlooked as he was the main door man at a small but classy dance hall in Walsall called the ‘Casino’. Top groups regularly played here, the ‘Moody Blues’ being one of them.

During the day Tommy ran a tea chest repair yard, where one of the lads who worked for him, whose name was Gordon was real keen on the Beatles, so much so that he revealed to Tommy one day that he desperately wanted a Beatle style haircut.

Tommy, ever keen to try out new skills duly attempted to give him one. By now you may have gathered that Gordon was not too bright. On viewing his hair in the mirror though he was pleased. But now said he wished his hair, that was a mousy brown colour was dark brown like George Harrison’s. Tommy elected to fix this by applying with a shoe brush, a coat of dark brown boot polish, on to his hair.

Sean and Danny were in Tommy’s yard having a cup of tea when he did Gordon this dubious favour. They both encouraged Gordon by saying that he now looked like the double of George Harrison. All it seemed was well, that is until the next night, which being a Saturday meant they all were going to be at the ‘Casino’ dance.

That night the three boys were let in for nothing at the Casino’s door by their friend Tommy Lilly, and once inside they soon found some unattached girls to dance with. In passing they had noticed that Gordon was on the dance floor dancing with some girl in a white dress. The ‘Casino’ dance hall was situated up above an arcade and this being summertime it was very hot in there, so hot that as the evening wore on Gordon began to sweat, this resulted in the boot polish on his hair beginning to melt, causing it to run down his face and neck. The girl he was dancing with wore a white dress the top half of which was now streaked in brown, she on noticing this began to scream, pointing to Gordon who resembled a streaky Zulu warrior.

After coming across to calm the situation down, Tommy felt somewhat responsible for the situation, so he asked if the boys would do him a favour and take Gordon and the girl with the stained dress home in their old van. Tom and Sean were pissed off with this suggestion because they had promised a lift home to two likely girls from the ‘Delves estate’.

Danny not being included in this set up offered his services to drive the van, after which he was just glad to have an excuse to leave and go home.