Colin Hare has never forgotten his first visit to Dundee in 1969.
The 1960s pop heroes Honeybus were on a tour of Scotland when they stayed the night at guitarist Jim Kelly’s mum and dad’s house in Linlathen.
Fame and fortune
It was Easter Sunday and the band came along to the Den O’ Mains where Jim’s family used to gather each year.
Jim was an apprentice fitter at Bonar Long and played with the Wise Brothers at the age of 16.
In the early 1960s he joined the Durelles as lead guitarist and vocalist.
They later changed their name to Mark Dayton and The Honours.
The band travelled to Germany in search of fame and fortune, but nothing was to come of the venture.
In the late 1960s Jim headed for London, where he joined Honeybus.
Friends with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, Jim was added on guitar after lead singer and songwriter Pete Dello left as he did not want to tour anymore.
Jim and Colin played together in Honeybus who are remembered for their 1968 hit ‘I Can’t Let Maggie Go’.
But arguably much of their best work was made shortly after that breakthrough when Jim joined before the group eventually fell by the wayside in the early 1970s.
Jim, whose guitar playing was compared to George Harrison, returned to Dundee where he enjoyed more success with the Sleaz Band.
He had a spell with local band Hunters Key from 1975 but Jim would go on to suffer from a brain tumour and he died at the age of just 49 in 1995.
Old haunts
Colin never forgot his old friend.
He kept in touch with Jim’s family in Dundee.
He told them how he wanted to return to the city to visit Jim’s old haunts and speak to those who knew him best.
That’s exactly what he did in February 2020.
Colin didn’t expect the return visit after 51 years to be so emotional.
He met with Jim’s nephew Pat and Jim’s old buddies Mike Dolan, Stan Tindal, Kenny Kindlen and several more in the Old Bank Bar in Dundee.
The following day they met again for lunch in McDonald’s.
Colin decided to compile a new album in memory of Jim after leaving Dundee.
‘For the Benefit of Mr K’ features the song ‘See Those Eyes’ with lyrics written by Pat.
Pat had an idea about writing a song for Jim and began scribbling down some lyrics before he got in touch with Colin.
Within three days Colin had come up with the tune and also the recording of the song.
The recording was sent over to the USA and session players added the important string section.
Songs Jim performed on with Honeybus also feature on the album along with Jim’s 1969 solo single ‘Mary Mary’.
Castle ruins
Colin also composed a new song for Jim called ‘The Way Old Friends Do’.
Colin sings the lyric: “I lost a friend, didn’t get to say goodbye when he was at the end”.
Jim’s nephew Pat said it is a very emotional album.
He said: “It is hard to believe but this year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the Honeybus LP ‘Story’.
“The last time Colin had been in Dundee was in 1969 when he and the rest of the band stayed at my grandparents’ house in Linlathen.
“The band were on a tour of Scotland back then.
“It was also Easter Sunday and all the family met at the Den O’ Mains.
“Some of the band members took me up the castle ruins and played football with me.
“I was just nine-years-old and I still remember the day very clearly.
“Colin had always said that he wanted to come up to see the city and meet up with some of Jim’s old pals.
“So, in February he finally flew into Dundee and we met up at the airport.
“It was amazing to see him again after so many years, but our meeting was also tinged with sadness because my uncle Jim was not there to meet him.
“He would have loved this reunion with his old bandmate.
“We went back to my house and had a blether all afternoon.
“Poor Colin never got a chance to see any of the Dundee sites as I talked so much!
”At night Colin and I met up with some of Jim’s old bandmates.
“From The Honours were Mike Dolan and Kenny Kindlen.
“Sadly, former Honours drummer Ronnie Cooper and lead singer Drew Larg could not make it.
“Also, there was Stan Tindal from the band Crystal Cut.
“Stan played with Jim on many gigs over the years and was also an old neighbour.
“It was a great night with many laughs and stories told.
“I think Colin really felt the affection each and everyone of us felt for Jim and I am sure this is what gave him the idea of his tribute CD to Jim.”
New generation
The next day they met more of Jim’s mates before Colin headed back to London.
Pat said: “I am sure this new CD will introduce a new generation to Colin and Jim’s music and let new fans hear the real talent of the Honeybus.
“The group still have a massive following and have a cult status within the music industry.
“Jim Kelly was an amazing guitarist and singer and without him I would never picked up a guitar in 1971.
“It was strange that I found myself working with some the same musicians he worked with years earlier.
“He opened a lot of doors for me within the music industry and was highly respected.
“Colin’s tribute to Jim is the icing on the cake and very much appreciated by the Kelly family.”
Tears of joy
Colin said Jim’s memory lives on despite his tragic death in 1995 and he will never be forgotten.
It was, for me, the best time of Honeybus.”
He said: “My days with the ’Bus were a high point, not just because of the hit record but because as a band we were respected in the business and had good credibility with other bands.
“We did numerous TV appearances in Holland and I remember flying out quite regularly from Southend Airport in a small chartered plane with the lads and had tremendous fun.
“Pete Kircher and Jim Kelly were very witty guys and we often laughed so much the tears were flowing down our cheeks.
“When Jim joined the band it was like a new beginning. Now we could really get stuck in. We rehearsed hard and once out on the road the band became a really tight unit.
“Jim’s playing was great, not brilliant, but always appropriate like, say, George Harrison and he really looked the part. Now we had a strong front line of striking-looking guys and we played and sung as one unit.
“It was, for me, the best time of Honeybus. Jim’s music will live on in the ‘Story’ album (now listed as one of 1970’s best-ever albums in Mojo Collection) and of course those March Hare tracks.
“It was a great privilege for me to have played with Jim Kelly, Pete Kircher, Ray Cane and Bill Bremner and all the others who sat in on sessions. I am thrilled to think there is a piece of work that will live on after we’ve all gone the way of all things.”
Compared to George Harrison
Ronnie Cooper, who played with Jim in The Honours, said the Dundee guitarist was “ahead of his time”.
“Everyone had great respect for Jim and I never came across anyone that had a bad word to say about him,” he said.
“He was just exceptional and definitely one of the best guitarists I have ever worked with.
“He was compared to George Harrison and Jim could certainly match George and probably more.
“Jim was simply ahead of his time and his work deserves to be more widely known.”
Music mogul Terry Noon started in London in the swinging 60s and went on to work with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, becoming one of the most admired music publishers of his generation.
In five decades he handled the catalogue for some of the world’s top song-writing talents, including Jimmy Webb, who was responsible for some of Glen Campbell’s greatest hits.
Elusive hit song
He said he saw Jim in a mould with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Phil Lynott (of Thin Lizzy) and Eric Clapton.
“The single ‘Mary Mary’ was not as strong a song as I wanted for Jim’s first release but it got a lot of people talking about his incredible talent,” he said.
“The only thing lacking about Jim was the lack of a hit song, which in those days was really all a record company cared about unless you were already a name.
“Later, Jim was to amaze me yet again when he turned up at my office with the Sleaz Band, surely one of the most exciting bands to watch on stage at that time.
“With the contacts I was making both in the UK and America if I had found that elusive hit song for Jim he would, without doubt, have gone on to be an international success.”
The album is available by contacting colinhare1@gmail.com
