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THE LOST PRETTY THING / never forgotten / music & film / thank you

Sam Therapy evolved into So What in 1991, Simon White and Paul May sharing the singing duties. Brian did not sing, despite providing backing vocals on more than one occasion with the Pretty Things! All four band members were working full time but rehearsed as often as they could spare the time; some of the band's rehearsals took place at the Kings Arms pub in a village called Headcorn in Kent (apparently BJ Jackson lived there) but most rehearsing took place at the Victory in East Farleigh. It was only when they got their first gig that they decided on the band's name. They came up with “So What!” after the Miles Davis jazz tune of the same name which featured John Coltrane, one of Brian's favourite jazz musicians. The band played blues, soul, jazz, rock and roll, the occasional Irish jig and even wrote some original material together.

During the band's lifetime Brian's non-musical career in insurance came to an end. His elder son Philiip informed me that sadly Brian became ill with depression and ended up having two to three months off work. Having suffered from the same illness myself for the last 10 years, I know myself just how debilitating it can be. Eventually Brian was visited by a representative of his employer who told him to either go back to work or take redundancy. This sounds like a rather heartless ultimatum and there is no mention of any support to help Brian get back to work being offered to him; maybe he was happy to leave. In any event he chose redundancy and that was the end of his 'proper job' but unforunately, according to one of Brian's So What bandmates, he received much less redundancy money than the amount he had been told to expect, apparently due to an administrative error.

Simon White recalls Brian from this time as a nice guy, intelligent, thoughtful and pleasant but with a tendency to smoke and drink heavily. He gave the impression of being lonely (his marriage to Christine was ending around this time) and he didn't seem to have a lot of contact with his two sons. Extremely insular, occasionally he would 'open up' a little and be a bit less reticent than usual. He also appeared resigned to the missed opportunities in his life, for example not pursuing a full time music career and the lost chance to tour the US with the Pretty Things. He had a particular liking for buying ethnic goods (he was often seen wearing a poncho), Cornish pasties, a local brew called Goachers Ale and rolled his own cigarettes. He always played his black Fender Stratocaster and used a valve amp to obtain that particular sound he wanted.

Meanwhile the gigs began to increase, the band obtained private function work through word of mouth, and at one point the band were playing at the popular Maidstone venue, The Exchange. It was here and at another venue called the Bull that two live recordings were made of the band, each containing four songs (see the discography for details). A videotape may also exist somewhere of the band. Simon remembers that Brian really enjoyed playing live (as he had done with the Pretties) and really 'got into' the music, almost as if he enjoyed being recognised as a brilliant musician but at the same time was afraid of the fame aspect which had been part and parcel of the Pretty Things' existence. Obviously playing in a local band did not involve the same pressure of touring and fan hysteria, and to Brian this was probably a relief. He was particularly creative too during the band's existence, working out riffs to try out on the other band members.

Sadly in mid 1993 it fell apart. Brian was partly responsible. Simon White recalls: “We would be waiting to go on stage and realise Brian wasn't with us. He had disappeared. We would find him in a pub, drinking.” Some of the people who knew Brian did feel that he had quite a serious alcohol problem, but this was something he certainly never accepted or admitted to. Others felt he simply loved the pub life, being in bars and enjoying a drink with his mates and watching the world go by. Whatever Brian's level of intake, Paul May recalled that it never affected his guitar playing; Paul remembers Brian as a musical genius.

A Special Performance: This wonderful sequence of photographs were taken by
Terry Coates at the Fountain Inn in Maidstone late in 1994.

About 18 months later, in December 1994, Terry Coates tracked down Brian and persuaded him to give what would be his only known interview, a truly momentous occasion for a Pendleton fan. Much of the info therein has been reproduced on this site with Terry's kind permission, but what is particularly interesting is that Brian seemed to have definite musical plans for the future and, at the end of the interview, when asked if he would take part in an original band member Pretties' reunion (that is to say, the Viv Prince lineup), Brian was most positive about the idea: “The answer is yes-yes-yes. I would definitely do it...I want to do it!” Sadly it would never happen.

What did happen is that Brian finaly left the house in Tonbridge Road for good in 1995 and at some point that year took off for France with a friend named Richard and spent some time in Paris, busking on the Parisian underground system and playing in a few clubs. He became friendly with a musician named Alex who like so many others has very fond memories of Brian and feels privileged to have known him. Eventually Brian's soujourn in France came to an end and he returned to the UK.

In September 1995, Brian accompanied Terry Coates to the 100 Club gig put on to launch the Pretty Things' Anthology album. Accounts vary as to why Brian went along, but it is thought that Pretties' manager Mark St John invited him along as a 'special guest'. Amazing though it seems to relate, according to a bird's eye witness, Brian was allowed to play with the Pretties on an encore of Rosalyn which sounds a little unflattering. It is my understanding that Brian thought he was going to be playing with the band for a while; instead he was left until the very end for the final encore - Rosalyn - which had already been played once! Nevertheless he given a nice introduction and received a warm welcome from those present. The difference between the two versions of Rosalyn is most noticeable. Brian was not seen at any more Pretties' gigs, although he was pictured with Phil May in a music magazine snippet (possibly taken at the 100 Club gig) where he was described as still being “extremely reticent about what he has been up to for the last 30 years.” Surprise, surprise! Brian was nothing if not enigmatic.

He also appeared during the second half of a gig by a covers band called The Fabulous Moose Brothers, made up of musicians who all worked full time. Brian appeared with them for the second half of the gig, playing four or five songs, including the Cult's Lil' Devil and Don't Bring Me Down, which the band had specially rehearsed in Brian's honour! Terry Coates who was present recalls that although the band's performance was somewhat shambolic, it was good to hear Brian play again.

the lost pretty thing