Once upon a time, many moons ago in a far off land called Lincolnshire our story began. It was back in 1982 when Paul Hooper Keeley and Tim Mitchell Smith got together with their newly purchased guitars and decided that it was time to start a band. Of course, with them both being Mods (and Small Faces mad) it made perfect sense that the embryonic ensemble would have to be a Mod band!
With Paul on Rhythm and Tim on Lead, Lisa joined on Bass, James on Guitar and Ian on Keyboards. These new recruits didn't last long and soon Chris had become the bands first drummer, with Andy taking over the Bass thing. In these early days of garage rehearsals The Threads, as they were now known, were already playing original songs, such as "Break Down The Barriers" and "Sorry", as well as covers of "Substitute", "All or Nothing", "That's Entertainment", "Private Hell", "Heatwave", "In The Midnight Hour", "Batman", "Rat Race" and "Bed and Breakfast Man". As the rehearsals continued through 1983 the routine was extended to included additional original material such as "She's The One", "In This Town", and the first version of "Alison".
1984 beckoned and it was time for the band to come out from the relative safety of the garage and do their thing "live" in front of an audience. Irritated neighbours and people from all across town had commented upon the improvement of the sound from within the garage and so a number of College Parties and Youth Clubs throughout Lincolnshire were hijacked for this purpose. Our great self-promotion from the start ensured that almost 30 Mods from Spalding gatecrashed our first ever gig and almost caused a riot. It was safe to say that The Threads had arrived!
More gigs followed and the word soon spread, with our core following from Spilsby, Boston and Spalding growing rapidly. It was February 1985 and, following another series of gigs, Andy decided to concentrate on the college band that he was also in. A search for a replacement drew a blank so Tim made the ultimate sacrifice and packed away his lead guitar and bought a Bass. With a longer neck and less strings to contend with the band went back into rehearsal – this time promoted to the double glazed dining room at Tim's parent's house. With a tight sound developing, a newly painted backdrop and a photo session completed it was time to address the National scene.
One of the best known photos of the band ever was the picture of the 3 of us in Parkas, on the War Memorial in Spilsby, over which we had draped a Union flag. This picture, along with a brief biography, featured in many modzines throughout the summer of 1985 but most notably within "Fire ‘n' Skill" – Paul Sawtell's excellent publication from Cambridgeshire. With our new found profile we headlined a Mod event in Peterborough while more coverage was received, this time from "In The Crowd". This was important – from this feature we were contacted by Michael Bull who noted that we were looking for a keyboard player. He was invited to rehearsals and joined the band immediately. The summer of '85 saw great changes to the band – no sooner had Michael joined than we were introduced to Guy Brader, a Mod lead guitarist from Boston who was between bands. Chris lost interest in the drum stool so as we signed up Guy he brought along an excellent drummer he had previously played with – Tony Wheeler. What had now been created was the best line-up The Threads were to have, with a whirlwind of gigs, features, recordings and releases to follow.
Intensive rehearsals of a new line up and a new set followed. The original material was now complemented with covers of "For Your Love", "Till The End Of The Day", "Stepping Stone", "Wipe Out", "Almost Grown", "With A Girl Like You" and "Just Can't Seem To Stop" along with the more regular covers of "Substitute", "All or Nothing", and "In The Midnight Hour". A number of low key gigs followed building up to their support to The Rage at the Lincoln Mod Rally in September 1985. The Threads played their hearts out to which the crowd immediately responded with great enthusiasm, so much so that the crowd had little left to give to The Rage who played a great set with Derwent commenting upon our great performance. Following the "live" set the band were swamped by requests to play at other such events up and down the country, including a Mod Alldayer in Mansfield (also featuring Yeh-Yeh and the 5:30), headlining at the Leeds Astoria, playing in the Countdown Cup 5-a-side tournament on Hackney Marshes and an invitation to play at the Mod Aid Alldayer at Walthamstow in December.
In the meantime The Threads decided it was time to record some of their original works and so in October they hired a studio in Spalding and recorded what became the "Mind The Threads, John!" demo tape. These recordings featured 4 songs, "Alison", "Sorry", "She's The One" and "In This Town" and captured all of the energy and excitement of the "live" sets, as well as the rawness of a band going into the studio for the first time. For light relief The Threads played at a charity event in Michael Bull's village along with The Inclyned. Simon Groom and Goldie from Blue Peter were hosting the event and in a surreal and bizarre sequence Simon Groom ended up playing drums for the band during an encore of "Stepping Stone" while Tim and Michael almost raffled Goldie off to a local scout. Needless to say we didn't earn a Blue Peter badge but did get mentioned on the next edition of the programme. December brought the Mod Aid Alldayer and what a great and well attended event it was. Paul reminded the crowd that we were all there to help raise money for Ronnie Lane's ARMS charity before the band went into a blistering version of "Almost Grown". Playing along side the likes of Makin' Time, The Moment, The Way Out etc was superb. Paul and Myk were invited to play in Eleanor Rigby's band along with Derwent and the Way Out, although in the end Paul dropped out but Michael "Myk" Bull's big keyboard sound certainly made a large contribution to the overall sound. In fact it was following this event that Waterloo Sunset Records started to take an interest in The Threads. From this gig came a "live" double album on the Phoenix label with The Threads track used being "Sorry".
1986 arrived and more gigs came rolling in with the pick of the bunch being The Purple Hearts Allnighter at The Wirrina in Peterborough. With approx. 2000 in attendance The Threads received a tremendous response to their set which now included additional originals such as "With Ourselves", "Step Back", "Hey Little Lady" and "Lou's Blues". It was also the night that Russell from Waterloo Sunset asked The Threads to appear on a 4 artist EP with Eleanor Rigby, Martha Reeves and The Reaction – quite a varied combination. Being in constant contact with the Phoenix List meant that any opportunities were often mentioned to them. The Waterloo Sunset scenario was not well received by Mark Johnson who was currently having a spat with them over Eleanor's non appearance on the Mod Aid album, Russell's rival "Britannia List" and who knows what else. Our news prompted Mark, within a few days, to come back to us with a counter offer – and hence the formation of Unicorn Records. It was decided that an established artist would be required to get the label going and so The Times version of "London Boys" was the initial 7" release. Then came The Threads, in what was to become the Phase III series in which each band had one side of a 7" EP to put out a double A-side single.
Further gigs followed around the country, some supporting the Moment, others headlining ourselves. We played the Lowestoft Mod Rally at Easter in what was a fantastic rally and weekend for many reasons. Many new friends were made in what was a very happy time for The Threads. With Ed Ball of The Times in charge of production, the band set sail for the Slaughterhouse Studio in Driffield, Yorkshire. This was the home of Prism Records, the record label and recording studio responsible for bringing us The Gents. In these northern surroundings, with the World Cup on TV, the band settled down to record "Step Back" and "Alison" for the Unicorn project as well as the original version of "A Teenage Dream". The addition of Al Wood to the sessions embellished our sound to include brass. After the recording sessions it was back on the road with a mini tour of Scotland and some gigs back in our native Lincolnshire. It was also a time for writing and rehearsing new material such as "The Man With A Thousand Faces", "Joanna", "She Is A Stranger", "The Art Of Making A Living", and "Good Life". Around this time Guy parted company with the band and The Threads carried on as a 4 piece.
While using the Slaughterhouse studios the label MD took a liking to the band and before we knew it we were discussing a 2 singles and an album deal with Prism Records. The plan was to record 5 songs for a 7" and 12" single, then record a full length album which would have a single taken from it (with a couple of bonus tracks for the B-side). Back into the studios we went and recorded "Hey Little Lady" as the A-side of the first single (with a shortened version for the 7"). We recorded "Joanna" and "With Ourselves" as the proposed B-side with "Teenage Dream" and "She Is A Stranger" being recorded to add to the 12" single. These tracks were mixed in the early days of 1987 and were mastered, stamped and pressed onto white label copies. The proposed album was discussed and had the working title of "The Art Of Making A Living" with various tracks rehearsed and rearranged in anticipation of the recording sessions. We awaited the release of the single on Prism, and waited, and waited, and……………waited. Various conflicting stories were passed on via Prism such as heavy release schedules, awaiting promotional materials etc. In the interim we were asked to contribute a track to a forthcoming Unicorn compilation album and so on FA Cup Final day in 1987 we recorded "The Man With A Thousand Faces" at The Blue Rooms studio in London. Tony Wheeler had thrown in the towel (probably due to the long wait with Prism) and so Nick Foreman of The Inclyned took over the sticks for this recording.
Unicorn to the rescue once more – it was suggested that with the 5 songs "in the can", with remixes of the Phase III tracks, and the recording for "Unicorn II – Modern Times", there was enough material to put out a mini album. We agreed, and put the Prism delay behind us. Unicorn put out a release to tell the world of this album, but because we hadn't decided on a name had put "As Yet Untitled" on it. Paul decided that this should be the title of the album much to the dismay of the record label (and Record Week who called it "the annoyingly titled As Yet Untitled"). The album was well received by the music world, the modzines, and the scene itself – with it's big keyboard sound and pop sensibilities creating quite a groove. It went to number 10 in the French Radio Lille charts and showed at number 8 in the Lincolnshire regional charts. Off again for more "live" work The Threads toured England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Back again to England they help to organise the National Mod Meeting and weekend event in Lincoln that saw The Threads and The Risk play both nights. They met up again in November at the 100 Club in Oxford Street to appear at a Unicorn night and where both bands were recorded. The latest Unicorn project eventually saw the light of day as "Out and About", a "live" album that dedicated itself on one side to The Threads, with The Risk having a side to themselves.
It was the end of 1987 that saw the departure from the band of Myk. Paul and Tim went into the studio and recorded "Goodbye" and "Happy", and were subsequently joined by David "Tetley" Edley on guitar/vocals. Another studio date saw the recording of "Memories of my Misspent Youth", "Square One" and "Lonely Street" (plus radio jingles) and was followed by the return of Tony Wheeler on drums. On the road again, this time the destination was Germany with the band playing in Hamburg supported by Studio 68. Returning from Europe the band went into the studio to record a new 7" single which it was to release on it's own label. "Feeling Blue" and "You Say…I Say" were the tracks recorded but, before the label really got going (and with the second Mod Aid Alldayer coming up) everyone drifted in their own separate directions. Not to be beaten, Paul played the Mod Aid event as a solo set (headlined by Steve Marriott it was a fantastic opportunity for Paul to meet his all time hero) , and then went away to carry on. With new band members and a few low key gigs under their belts The Threads went off and toured Europe, returning to record a 4 song tape called "Ten Days On The Reeperbahn", before embarking on a full scale UK tour through 1989 playing every venue possible. Gaining interest from Voltage Records "Cold" was The Threads contribution to a 4 band EP. In 1990 "Dare" was recorded and released as a 7" Flexi single and attracted interest from a number of major labels. Unfortunately, due to differences, the bass player walked out just before a showcase gig had been arranged in London with Fiction Records, and another near miss occurred. Changing the line up again, The Threads continued to play all over the UK, but for Paul it wasn't the same as before. Therefore after one final UK tour, which culminated in 5 nights in London, The Threads unofficially ended on 1 st May 1991.
But that is not quite the end of the story…….Guy Brader jetted back into the UK for a few weeks, during which time Paul, Tim, Myk, Guy and Tony (plus Tetley) were back together in a rehearsal room in Staffordshire. Detour Records then released a 22 song anthology CD of The Threads called “Step Back In Time” (DRCD026) and this line up played a 40 minute set of Small Faces covers at the Small Faces Annual Convention in 2000. November 2001 saw this line-up (minus Guy Brader who had returned to America) record two Small Faces covers, “Green Circles” & “Almost Grown” for Tribute Album Projects, and the a new double A-sided 7” single, “Sorry” & “In This Town”, for Twist Records. The Threads are then going to go back into the studio over the winter months to record all the songs intended for the Prism album, plus others that were played "live" but never properly recorded for a new album, “Long Apart and Worlds Ago” for Twist, which will feature a number of high profile “special guests” from all periods of the Mod scene. A number of selected gigs are being planned for the UK, including a guest appearance at John's Children's Christmas/New Year party show at The Monarch, Camden Town, on 29 th December 2001.
