In May 1965 a group of young chaps from Salford and Swinton who called themselves The Rogues were intent on world domination of the musical kind.
The Eccles and Patricroft Journal’s music columnist ‘Tempo’ told of this local band and assured his readers that they were destined to be the Next Big Thing.
The band consisted of lead vocalist Albert Wood, 16, 15-year-old lead guitarist and harmonica Mike Amatt rhythm guitarist Brent Forbes, 16, 17-year-old bassist Diccon Hubbard and Terry ‘Tex’ Rogers, 17, on drums.
They had been rehearsing together for 18 months and could boast of having equipment worth £450.
They had already played at clubs in Manchester, Salford, Eccles, Bury and Middleton and explained that their favourite numbers were, ‘Mary Ann’, ‘Find My Way Back Home’, ‘Can’t Explain’ and most hits by Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones.
The group’s name used to be The Jokers but they changed it after a fan remarked that they looked like “a bunch of rogues”.
We learn that the band had stage outfits in which the four instrumentalists would wear red waistcoats, white tab collared shirts, black knitted ties, dark trousers and black cuban heeled boots.
Ever the rebel, frontman Albert would wear a blue waistcoast instead of a red one.
The Rogues also had a manager, Mr Jim Shephard, who owned the Princes Cinema in Monton and he would guarantee them bookings.
The band did release one single on the Deccal label called, ‘And You Let her Pass By’ which, sadly, bombed by all accounts.
So what became of The Rogues?
Some of the members of the band went onto other groups and I recall Diccon Hubbard being in ‘The Salford Jets’ fronted by Mike Sweeney.
Do any readers have any memories of this band of rogues?
