A Brief History of On
The Edge
Formed by a group of
rugby playing friends for a club function, On The Edge have been
around for over twenty years. In that time over 100 musicians
have played for the band, covering good time numbers from the
Blues Brothers to Van Morrison, Simon and Garfunkle to Joe Cocker.
The line up has varied in number from a duo to a full blown sixteen
piece band. The original idea of forming a band is a bit hazy,
but a couple of us used to sing at the rugby club annual dinner
(and anywhere else we could!) and during the summer of 1985 Bruce
Springsteen inspired us to learn a few songs and play them at
a club bash, well that was the plan. As we rehearsed, more influences
crept into the equation and also several other club members, so
in a short while the band had expanded and we could perform 8/9
songs!!
The wife of a good friend was having a birthday bash at the club
later that summer and he asked if we would like to play, what
a memorable night ....... not because we played well but because
the sax player fell off the stage and smashed through the disco
(keep music live in action!). We must have done some good for
ourselves as the landlord of the local pub asked us to play there,
we did and the whole rugby club came and watched and drank his
pub dry which got us the return gig!! Happy landlord, happy band!
The gigs started to roll in as other clubs and pubs were keen
to have a band that brought its own beer swilling crowd with them!
During this time if any money was earned it was put into a fund
to buy the p.a. we thought we should have. After two or three
sets of kit had been stolen from garages and sheds around the
city we bought the big one. This was a series of massive cabs
and little amps that never sounded any good but we thought big
was best, the whole rig filled a transit and that had to be good.
Several mates and family members were "employed " as
roadies and sound engineers, I don't know how much it cost them
to help us but we do thank them for their time and effort. Several
band members left to pursue careers elsewhere in the country and
the itinerant musicians of Bristol filtered through the ranks,
at one Fleece gig we had 17 people on the stage, most of whom
we didn't know! Apparently Andy Sheppard and even Kit Morgan played
with us as mates of mates!!
The band was by now known for its Blues Brothers show and good
time music. The band line up changed again and again as people
playing for fun moved onto other bands in the area. On The Edge
were then asked to play in Europe as a one off, Germany here we
come, anyway five or six summers later the one off was a regular
somewhere in Europe and we have now played in France, Spain, Italy,
and Germany. It was while we were in Norway for a gig that Princess
Diana was killed, the Norwegians were devastated by the news and
it was very weird being there and seeing their reaction to the
tragedy. Anyway, home again we played in Cornwall and made some
good friends there which has led to an annual get together, sometimes
playing at a local pub.
The brass section has seen the most changes during this time and
are collectively known as the Bedminster Horns. This is a mickey
take of the famous Memphis Horns, the Stax Studio brass section.
Singers, guitarists drummers have all come and gone and the current
full line up is 10 strong although I did see two extra brass players
at a gig the other week!!
The titles of the songs have changed and now feature anything
that parties well and has brass on it, even if it didn't originally!
The motto of the band is still "enjoyment" and the show
has moved on quite a bit but always retaining that good time feeling.
The crowd are always brilliant and have even created their own
chants to goad the band on. The beer still flows although most
of the current line up should be on ginger wine or sherry! The
suits and shades still appear for the second half of the show,
some of the music is even soulful on occasion and playing, well
as the martini girl said,"Anytime Anywhere!"
© On The
Edge 2002