More about the guys in Spinaker...

Choppa

The Prof

Lardyboy

Heinz

GroupieBabes

Roger Anthony Charlie LeRoux Aristotle, KFC
began life early in 1971, at the age of 13, and came from the shallow end of the gene pool. He arrived spectacularly in Brighton with his entrepreneurial family, mad dog and several brothers and sisters, not least of whom was the gorgeous Penelope, who dated nearly everyone in sight - in fact only slightly less than HT and JD put together.

His guitar-playing is legendary, as is the internationally-recognised inadequacy of every motor vehicle he has ever driven. Smashes and electrical power-outs were almost as multitudinous as empty petrol tanks. In adulthood, he drives an E reg 5 series Beamer which is fairly close to mechanical failure most days.

Spinaker was an important training ground for Rog as he developed his pleckypick, his mullet and his lethal foot odour, walking many miles from central Brighton to Patcham and back again via Ditchling Road and Beaconsfield Villas.

Roger was introduced to sailing and to bromide in his late teens, and began a passionate involvement with the former, and passionate involvement with many other women, due to lack of the latter. He learned how to luff, tack, cast off and many other essential maritime activities.

By this time he was at university in Essex, where he studied Alcohol and Physical Excess for a couple of years, spent mostly in student bars and then riding in lifts.

He went out to Greece for a gig, and stayed for twelve years, skippering flotillas of holidaymakers, showing them how to luff, cast away, ride jetskis, drink retsina and listen to his many songs in various bars for a kickback, which is only fair, it seems to me. Following a short spell in the UK, he continued his sea-going career with fancy yachts and mingling with the rich and famous. This was cut short by inadvisable handling of a case of wine, which left him incapacitated, but not in the way such an item would normally.

He dabbled with telecommunications software and is currently chief barnacle-buster in a yachting yard on the south coast of England. His band FatCharlie and the Archenemies is a much-sought after headline at parties, especially in the Earl's Court area.

His considerable prowess in the babe-magnet department has recently paid off big-time, as regards top groupie

Professor Dr Timothy M'Onncrieffff Jack Hellmitt Watson BSc, pH7.3
was fortunate enough to attend Patcham Infant and Junior schools, along with his friend Andy Back (of whom a little less, later). He excelled at conkers and cheesecloth, and soon got involved with HT, briefly.

It was Dr H who started the band, inviting all the girls he fancied to become members, and then realising he'd need some additional musically talented people. So Tradd was born, and faded. The band turned out to comprise guitar hero Rog H'Ariss, the extraodinarily prodigious talent that is Richard 'Dick' 'Arrangement' Hines and the larger than preferable Andrew Baz, of whom some in a moment.

Dr T had what was considered a small bedroom, but it saw many hours of rehearsing and careful sculpuring of songs as the band put together a vast array of folk songs and history of gigs. Tim kept a record and administered the concerts, while spending a small fortune amassing a range of musical instruments: 6- and 12-string guitars, Charlie the double bass, an accordian, a banjo and a mouth organ (hereinafter referred to as 'the gobiron').

Leaving school wasn't an option for Tim, so he went to college and has remained there ever since. The mass of information he gathered from Grey's anatomy and several other textbooks has stood him in good stead as he joined the 1980 Olympic Judo team in a medical way, and then went on to become an internationally-demanded authority on electrical stimulation of damaged tissue, which doesn't mean shoving your fingers in the plug socket and thus connecting yourself to the national grid, but is more to do with tiny differences between physical manipulation and cranial osteopathy, which sounds a bit technical, doesn't it? Well, Dr W is the best in this world at that particular technicality.

Latterly he has rediscovered HT, who started it all, which is nice. He listens extensively to Led Zeppelin and still plays the bass, banjo, mandolin, kazoo and gobiron.

Riccardo Giovanni Gianluca Dandruff BLT Hines BA,
enjoyed a childhood packed with Lynryd Sknryd in his basement, along with Don Maclean and Carpenters albums. His fingerpicking style had not only skill and determination but was adapted in other areas of life. He would pick up things with his fingers with very little caution, sometimes finding that he was consuming dangerous stuff.

He began a traumatic relationship with political comment, and anoher similarly dangerous flirtation with the legendary JD, which was to dominate his teenage years. He studied under Mrs Gardiner and many others, and quickly proved his songwriting skills, penning the glum Jimmy 'oh reality, you're so vile,' the extraordinary I've got the JD blues, and the truly awful Tricky Dicky song, none of which should we have wheeled out in Spinaker concerts. Well, one out of three.

But some of the songs were really rather good, despite the eagerness with which Richard included new chords, and they captured the intensity and urgency of his faith, which is fair enough

Having passed his A levels, he went to Colchester to watch the traffic lights change while he exercised his political muscles. Fortunately, he didn't go on to represent anyone, but took his enthusiasm to South America with a missionary society with the creative name South America Missionary Society. There he met Janet and married her, and together they spawned a small crowd.

After a while, they returned to Janet's native New Zealand, where Dick works as a driver for some other blokes before filling his day with some admin and throwing his weight about as a headteacher. He's enjoyed living in NZ, as it's almost far enough away from JD.

We welcome him back to dear old blighty for a short visit and trust we shall see him again whenever he is able to make the journey.

Andrew Az Lardyboy Cakeeater Bakko Chipsnbeer Baz (no qualifications)
was suddenly thrust into the frame with HT when she returned to the available list, and he was quick to be invited to join Tradd which later became Spinaker, once he'd offended the two girls into leaving in disgrace. His vocal talents and interesting introductions to the songs were what kept him in the lineup, once he'd finally been persuaded to drop the guitar-playing. His ability to remember the lyrics of some of his monologues was never in doubt; everyone knew he wasn't up to the task.

His school career was more a case of 'once more with feeling' than the more common and garden 'pass exams', and he spent an extra year in the place, becoming absorbed into the school year that was peopled by members of River Nile, including Adrian Chorlton, Mark Newman, Melvyn Creighton, and.for a while, Douggie Scarratt.

He didn't study anywhere, but joined the ranks of the pen-pushers at a local building society head office. It only took him more than a year to realise he was really, really hopeless at this, and so he quit, and went to be trained by Campus Crusade in London. He went to live in Cardiff and then returned to Brighton in time for the appallingly-named campaign Life Anew 82. He started to write songs and quickly stopped again.

A few years of evangelistic semi-magnificence followed, and then a range of jobs which taught him everything he knows about marketting and advert design. This was just enough for him to bluff along for few years in the business, but he's finally realised that his first skill is writing, and so that's what he does, effectively fooling quite a lot of people.

Recent months have exposed his sugary blood and he's been medically recognised as a total bloater.

and what about our Top Groupie?
Suzanne O'Reilly Downer-Down, hey Downer-Down, BA
was there or thereabouts throughout the Spinaker years, despite giving her heart to a member of River Nile, which was never going to endear her to us. However, her extreme presence in the Balalaika Ensemble did not go unnoticed, especially in the satiny blue tunic Mrs Cooper-Soviet designed for her. After a much-remembered party (remembered by Az Baz, that is) she gave him the brush-off and settled for lesser men.

Following this, Roger moved into her home at the invitation of the local pliers-breaker, and then she continued her school career while the rest of us gave in to the reality of passing years. Her family came along by the traditional method, and her home was soon established mere yards from various places of work occupied by Az Baz over the years, without either of them realising how close they were emotionally and in proximity.

More recently, she has emerged as one of the groupies of choice, particularly in the sphere of influence that is Chopper, since they plan to marry in the summer. Brilliant or what?

One must never forget

Jane Jumpers McMoody O'Really Crowther (nay Fitch, nee Fitch), who travels extensively between France and England and is gently bonkers on account of this dichotemy.

Her school career was enjoyable, thanks mostly to Remi, who introduced her to Gauloises and all things French, and she has remained interested in France ever since. She married and moved to the ourtskirts of Paris, where she has become mother to four children, the youngest of whom proved to be easy to reduce to tears when mercilessly teased by children's specialist Az Baz. She has been at many of the reunions (indeed, she has instigated most of them) and tends to leave them a little early on occasion.

And I can't really stop without mentioning

Penelope Fenchurch Parker Stylistic Schofield BAHons, MA, DipMS a much sought-after babe of the times. Sisterillo of Roger, it has to be said that she established dangerously warm friendships with many of the band members, who were, it has to be said, alarmingly handsome (for proof, see Tim's photo page - click here) and pitifully available .

For example, she dated Tim for a while, and they parted. Then she turned her not inconsiderable attention to Az Baz, understandably. She said she was impressed that he knew the words to When I survey the wondrous cross, despite not knowing the words to many of the songs he performed. Crazed with passion, she put on her best grey cardi and made a play for him, with considerable success. Pet names between them included 'sugardrawers' and 'honeybunch', which defies explanation.

Once their romance was shattered, she sought comfort in the arms of Richard, which was unwise but earned her a full house. No other groupie has loved so thoroughly, and her sloppy kisses are be remembered over the decades which have since passed.

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