More than 40 years after he last played in a band, Terry Wood is back on stage and, discovers Caroline Lindsay, he’s loving it
Back in the 1960s, when Terry Wood was a teenager, he and his pals dreamed of finding fame and fortune with their band Danny and the Demonstrators. With regular gigs at the JM Ballroom and the Top Ten Club, their proudest moment was supporting Sandie Shaw – who had just won the Eurovision Song Contest with Puppet on a String – at Perth City Hall.
Terry, now 73, takes up the story: “Eventually the band morphed into Nice ‘n‘ Easy, with a residency at the Blue Web in Perth alongside Tommy Samson and his Showband – the place to be on a Saturday night. But then life got in the way and just as it looked as if a recording contract was in the offing, the band split up to pursue other careers.
Terry, who tells the full story in his autobiography Almost Famous, explains: “Neil Campbell, the bass player, went to live in Spain but when he came back to Scotland – ironically for the funeral of one of the other band members – we went for a reunion drink and he suggested we all start playing together again.” recalls Terry, “‘Play again?’ I spluttered. ‘I’m too old!’
“But nonetheless we started practising and ended up playing a sold-out gig to raise funds for Help for Heroes at the Meadowbank Inn in Arbroath back in January.
“We managed to raise around £2,000 and now we pensioners have got back the bug for playing we’ve decided to do some more gigs at the Meadowbank and hopefully help some local charities,” he says.
Despite being 45 years since Terry had last played, he’s loving every moment of it and now meets up with the band every other Wednesday to practise for their next gig at the Meadowbank on July 13.
“I think the wife’s glad to see the back of me,” smiles Terry.
Although he stopped playing years ago, he’s played a big part in the world of entertainment in other ways ever since. He ran Abbey Music in Arbroath for more than 30 years, while working as a promoter, putting on shows at the Webster Memorial Theatre in his home town. He was also entertainments manager at the Whitehall Theatre in Dundee until 2011.
Today, in addition to Terry and Neil, the band also comprises Kenny White and Ian Esplin, collectively known as Elliot Junction. “The name just popped into my head,” says Terry. “Elliot Junction was the last stop before Arbroath back in the day when we were travelling home on the train as teenagers.”
With the encouragement of the other band members, Terry feels as if he has a new lease of life.
“I wrote Almost Famous after I retired but never did I think I would be back playing again,” he beams. “In the young days we had aspirations to be famous but now we just play for fun and to raise funds for local charities.”
Elliot Junction will be playing at the Meadowbank Inn, Arbroath on July 13. Tickets cost £10, available from the Meadowbank Inn and Abbey Music.
