The Half Moon Pub in Putney, London, has been hosting rock’n’roll gigs since 1963, making it one of the oldest live venues in the capital. In 1980, I was studying at Garnett College (now University of Westminster) and living in Roehampton. Every Friday night, I would join a group of fellow students to check out the live music at the Half Moon.
The Blues Band was the resident band, led by ex-Manfred Mann singer/harmonica player John Paul Jones and lead (slide) guitarist Dave Kelly, but there were also one-off gigs by various visiting acts, mainly blues and classic R&B bands, such as Rocket 88, set up by Rolling Stones’ keyboard player Ian Stewart and blues stalwart Alexis Corner. A chap called Charlie Watts often played on drums, and if we were really lucky Dick Heckstall-Smith would play two saxophones at once.
One gig has remained in my memory…
