Since I took over, the reins of the MUNGO JERRY FAN CLUB way back in 1994, a lot of fans have berated me because of my constant chatter about the 'original' MUNGO band. By original band, to me that means, RAY DORSET, PAUL KING, COLIN EARL, MICK COLE or JOHN GODFREY and JOE RUSH, the men who were responsible for churning out the most inspiring music that I have ever heard. I make no apologies for mentioning them from time to time - to me, they were simply the best!

Were they that good? To try and answer that, I'll go back to the first time I became aware of them, and that of course was because of 'IN THE SUMMERTIME', which brings back embarrassing memories of a few of us at school making fake sideburns in the Art room and sticking them on our faces, a-la Ray until the teachers put a stop to it. I wasn't at that time particularly into the band, I like everyone else just loved the song. I was too wrapped up in sport to get too involved and I didn't even buy the record. It was 'BABY JUMP' that really made me sit up and take notice of them and seeing them on T.V almost all of the time, I became aware of Ray's lecherous grin and Colin's amazing hammer-boogie piano. On buying, what was to me, the most amazing thing that I had ever heard, I was completely taken in by the record as a whole - Paul's 'THE MAN BEHIND THE PIANO' and the wonderful taste of the band live on 'LIVE FROM HOLLYWOOD'. What a shame (and mistake) it was that the whole set was never released! I began to realise that this band had something, with every track a gem. I have a mate who always used to say that B-sides were always rubbish and not worth playing - not with this band!

I have to own up and say that I didn't buy 'LADY ROSE' at the time of release as the summer months were upon us once again and I was forever on the cricket field, but I had my interest in them kick-started up again by their appearance at Newcastle City Hall, which was I remember, the 16th of July 1971 - a date etched on my mind for another reason as it was the day I left school. The gig was amazing and once again, I was reminded that this lot were something special, so much so that I went out and bought their first album with all my dole money and spent the rest of the summer listening to their happy-go-lucky sounds.

Their next four-tracker, 'YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE IN THE ARMY TO FIGHT IN THE WAR' continued the good times for me and after finding a job and getting paid the princely sum of £2 a week - I get £3 now - I set about filling in the gaps in my collection. I actually bought 'LADY ROSE' last, which now seems strange as it is probably my favourite MUNGO song. I was now starting to think about and play more and more of their stuff more of the time - I was totally hooked and joined the band's fan club in Manchester and was looking forward to a lot of great years ahead when disaster struck. Now my memory is not the greatest (as a few of you could confirm) but I'll remember forever seeing the inside cover of the New Musical Express and the headlines - MUNGO JERRY RE-SHUFFLED - KING & EARL QUIT! I can still remember the total state of shock I felt and I stood there with my mouth wide open for what seemed like an age. I had bought a front seat ticket for their next gig at the City Hall and couldn't believe what I was reading - why, why!

Arguments about having a drummer didn't seem to be a good enough reason to split and for the record, I wasn't keen on having a drummer in the band as after all, part of the attraction of the band was that they didn't have a drummer. I do think that JOE RUSH should have been coaxed into returning on a full time basis, although that may have been easier said than done. I felt that his washboard and overall presence in the band improved the sound considerably. I think looking back, one of the reasons the split bothered me so much was that I was just starting to get into the band seriously when they split up! If things had turned out differently, we could have had a band who went on to add to their impressive collection of successes with more hit albums and (maxi) singles. One more tour of the U.S.A would probably have cracked it, and I am still of the opinion that MUNGO JERRY should have remained a jug band, carrying on in the same vein as before. Ray and Paul could have worked as solo artists whenever it suited them. Red Bus could possibly have cut down on the amount of live work the band were doing - surely MUNGO JERRY were in a position to pick and choose a bit, taking only the gigs they wanted and felt would be best for them. They could have ended up an institution like FAIRPORT CONVENTION or STATUS QUO, recording only the best tracks for albums and singles, regardless of who had written them, making them a stronger band.

Talking to the band members all these years later, despite their differences, I can sense the pride all of them had in their band, and they still reminisce happily with me whenever the subject crops up. The 'original' MUNGO JERRY was a one-off. I liken it to maybe winning the football pools or the lottery, in that it was a once in a lifetime collection of wonderful characters who gelled so well together - I still don't think they realised what they had, they could have achieved so much.

Funnily enough, 1972 turned out to be a great year for all MUNGO fans with a lot of new product available. After a bit of a dodgy start, Ray and his new line-up thrilled us with possibly the best MUNGO album, 'BOOT POWER', which was a delight from start to finish and included some true classics such as, '46 & ON' and 'MY GIRL & ME'. I'm convinced that the full versions of either should have been released as a single, and not the edited versions that appeared on the maxi-single. Both Paul and Ray issued their own solo albums, and how neither of them charted absolutely amazes me, even now. Ray's vocals on, 'COLD BLUE EXCURSION' were for me, the best ever from him and Paul's album, 'BEEN IN THE PEN TOO LONG' remains one of my all time favourites. I think that they both suffered from releasing the wrong tracks as singles. Perhaps Ray should have put out one of the ballads from the album and Paul, maybe 'ZOE', which was the eventual B-side to 'WHOA BUCK'.

'PLASTIC JESUS' should have been a deserved hit for the newly founded KING EARL BOOGIE BAND and would surely have been one but for the B.B.C's intervention and their album, 'TROUBLE AT MILL' and second single, 'STARLIGHT' were more than welcome additions to my ever growing collection. Of course, the Boogie Band disbanded almost as soon as they had started and the various members went their separate ways, Ray carrying on as MUNGO JERRY. Despite what some may think, I have no favourites and remain a huge fan of all of them and hope to hear more and more of my kind of music for some time to come yet.

Outside of the 'original' line-up, I always felt that the 1974 band - RAY DORSET, BOB DAISLEY, DICK MIDDLETON, IAN MILNE, DAVE BIDWELL - was the next best thing. If they had only released an album in the same vein as the Capitol Radio Show with songs like, 'BIG BROWN EYES' and 'TOSSIN'& TURNIN'. I enjoyed the band around 1987 when the Wren Twins gave Ray a well timed kick up the backside just when he needed it. The 'SNAKEBITE' album and line-up were excellent and judging by letters coming in to the fan club, LES CALVERT seems to be the most popular band member in MUNGO history outside of Ray.

To this day, I still enjoy going to see the band live - they can still do it and I have enjoyed both of the new albums - 'OLD SHOES NEW JEANS' and 'CANDY DREAMS' - although I would be lying if I said I loved every track on the later. There are some classics on it, such as 'HIPPIE HIGH HI', 'TALK IS CHEAP' and 'SUNSHINE ARMY' is one of my favourite MUNGO tracks ever. But as with almost every MUNGO album, there are some tracks that I am not quite so keen on. At the moment, I am very much into the KING EARL BOOGIE BAND and I make no apologies for that. I have always enjoyed the bluesy side of MUNGO and I enjoy them, they are a fun band and are an excellent night out. That's not to say that I like them better than MUNGO or vice-versa - I enjoy them both in different ways. Wouldn't it be great to see them both on the same bill?

I really hope that the planned jug band album comes off, and I for one would like to see Paul involved. As much as I enjoy the current MUNGO and BOOGIE BAND (and I wouldn't like to see anything effect the way things are now), it would be great to see and hear what the band were originally like. I still don't know of any fan who managed to see the original band (with Joe playing as well). Let's hope we get the chance to hear it before we all pop our clogs. I still reckon that the gig that the band played at the Record Fair in Newcastle a couple of years back was probably my favourite ever MUNGO gig, when Ray and the band just sat down and played in the old style, reeling off loads of the old numbers that helped make the groups name. Probably the question I'm asked most as fan club 'sec' is, "when is the jug band album gonna happen?" I don't know the answer to that one but I hope it happens soon, and I remain convinced that if they ever do get back together for one last fling, maybe at a MUNGO JERRY fan club convention (something else that I'm asked about on a regular basis), they would be even better than they were before. They have all improved as musicians over the years and wouldn't it be great for us fans if they could come up with a double (or even triple) CD of all those wonderful songs.