Lyndon Nutkins: vocals, percussion
Martin Mays: vocals, guitar
Kevin Wood: guitar, bass
Tim Vogt: bass
Boogie Ward: percussion
Martin Holmes: keyboard
Tina Winter: keyboard
Smartie: Keys, guitar, vocals
Phil Stark: Drums
Jay : Saxophone
In the late 80s and throughout the 90s, there was a tremendous – legendary, even – band from Southend called Bushfire. Their membership changed a lot over the years. I had missed out on seeing them during this phase but knew a few of them socially.
Fast forward a few decades, and with the Bushfire name now dormant, a few old members decided to keep the, er, bushfire burning with a few gigs under a new name. Martin had been jamming with them of late, and they had formed a band called Snuff Daddy, which was short-lived and morphed into The Usual Suspects (also the name of a pub quiz team we formed about this time.)
I was delighted to get the call from Martin to add a few backing vocals for old time’s sake, and for once not to have to worry about being behind a guitar. Self-confidence, however, turned out to be an issue, and with nothing to hide behind I started wearing dark glasses and bashing a cowbell around when not required to sing. Boogie, a superb percussionist and a gentleman to boot, didn’t feel I was muscling in on his territory and encouraged me to join in. Eventually, as the photos reveal, I ended up playing some backing guitar – I’d forgotten that!
The band’s musical pedigree was impeccable. The core members of Bushfire were time-served veterans. Tim was an in-demand session bassist who had played on Dido’s album, and on one occasion we were joined by Jay, who had played saxophone in Bad Manners!
We did a handful of well-received gigs, including a couple of appearances at the early Rochford Festivals supporting one of my heroes, Glenn Tilbrook. It was good to once again be in the company of professional musicians and to have a good time making music again.