When I joined the band it was known as Rough Diamondz, a fine name but if you googled it you came up with another band!

The band was started by Pete (keyboards) and Andy (guitar), who just happens to be my younger brother.  At the time the line-up was the above two plus Steve on the drums, Ricky on bass, Wendy on vocals, and another Andy on lead guitar.  Prior to this a lady by the name of Sandra had also sung with the band alongside Wendy.  It would seem that the band mainly existed to perform at a charity event called Oakstock  (at The Oak public house at Staffhurst Wood, near Oxted, Surrey), on an annual basis!  I started going along to rehearsal sessions on occasions, just as the band was going through a period of change.

Ricky (who Bruv Andy, Pete and I had known for years, and he still comes along to see us from time to time) was having problems with his ears, caused by a combination of work and bass playing, and he saw me as his way out without letting the band down.  He knew that I had played guitar, trumpet and, sometimes, drums in a band in the 1960s, and so handed me his bass every so often to have a go.  Very cleverly done Rick!  I would not call myself a guitarist but I love playing bass.  As bruv says, bass players are often frustrated lead guitarists.  Our present drummer, Stuart, reckons I am a frustrated percussionist.  Pete thinks I am a frustrated horn section and wishes I could still play the trumpet when I come up with the brass parts for him to play on the keyboard!

So, there we have it; guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, but no drummer.  Bruv Andy (from now on referred to as Andy now the other Andy has gone) had to come forward and fill in lead parts, which took some persuading at times but the rest of us knew he could do it.  We have trialled a second guitarist from time to time but have settled on just having the one (unless someone knows differently in the future).  There we were without a drummer and eventually we settled on a man by the name of John.  His drumming improved greatly in the time he was with us but he left eventually as he wanted to do more up-to-date stuff.  The band he joined or formed was called Lower the Tone (YouTube it and there are some performances on there), but he has since moved on to heavy rock.  We are still good friends with John and his wife Julie as, annoyingly for John, Julie likes coming to see us play!  However, John leaves us with a legacy, and it happened like this:  We were searching for a new name, and had so many quite reasonable suggestions that it was difficult choosing.  One night there was a funny smell in the rehearsal room (there often is but we we’ll leave that there!) and we thought we may have a dead mouse or something.  Eventually John traced the smell to an arc in an electrical socket; ‘There’s your mouse’ he said, ‘An electric mouse’.  And so there, in a weak moment one evening, we were blessed with a band name that no-one else was likely to have (or want) that we have to repeat constantly as people say ‘What?’

Stuart became John’s replacement and he has fitted in well as one of the team.  He takes all the insults we throw at him, and sends them back when we need to listen.  To get on in a band you give and take in a humorous and non-vindictive way or you don’t get on and you don’t advance or evolve.  We now had a band that shared in the fun of playing and, despite all our faults, performed a selection of music that appeared popular with all but the heavy rock brigade.  Even the young have been heard to admit that ‘some of this old music’s not bad’!

Wendy had increased in confidence and ability over the years and sang the lead on most numbers, with Pete and Andy doing odd ones and me mainly the soul numbers. Wendy could never make a decision (she laughed a lot about it and we had our mileage out of it as well) but she made a decision that was to be the next hurdle for the band  -  she decided to get remarried!  Now, she didn’t let us down, but it was obvious that singing in the band was going to have to go in due course.

We tried to replace Wendy but it was a time consuming and thankless procedure.  From wannabe no-hopers to almost professional singers that expected to earn serious money (What?!!!!), we heard from a goodly selection.  We were contacted by one lady that was in two other bands but, as we pointed out, on popular nights that would make it two bands out of the three without a singer.  We settled for a lady that, unfortunately, didn’t last long  -  we didn’t really gel and so returned to just the four of us, which is where we are today.  We are not saying that a fifth member would not be considered, but sometimes all the faffing about wastes a lot of time when it is often easier to get on with things and make the most of what you have.  Today we have four people that can get on with each other.  We all have our faults and the person that gets most annoyed is the one making the mistake, the other three having a laugh at their expense, knowing fully that the boot could be on the other foot in the next song!  Perfect we aren’t, but we enjoy ourselves and, after all, it is only a hobby.

The Electric Mouse Band, January 2012