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The Nervous Fellas

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One of Canada's Rockabilly bands, The Nervous Fellas began in Vancouver, British Columbia around the winter of 1986. The band took its name from the lyrics of a Smiley Lewis song titled "Real Gone Lover". Their set list comprised obscure covers from the 1950s and their own original songs. They often played at "The Railway Club" ( http://www.therailwayclub.com/ ) in Vancouver, where the idea of the band was formed.

File:The original Nervous Fellas 1986.jpg
The original Nervous Fellas 1986

The original lineup with Butch Murphy on vocals, Ronnie Hayward on bass, Chris Colt on guitar and Al Black on drums played mostly in Vancouver and were known for their stage show and fast-paced rockabilly. In the beginning, they started as an opening act for such bands as The Pogues, Tragically Hip, George Thorogood, and Junior Wells, but it was not long before they grabbed the main stage themselves.

They play rockabilly and blues that are raw, biting, and aggressive

— Tom Harrison, The Province Newspaper Tuesday June 28, 1988


While the band had a strong showing on the college radio charts, they were unable to break into mainstream radio play. The band started to take off when they signed a management deal with one of the top West Coast music agencies 'S.L. Feldman & Associates' and started to tour Canadian nightclubs and universities. Shortly after, the lineup changed and by 1989 the band was Butch Murphy on vocals, Mark (Weldon) Twang on guitar, Ronnie Hayward on bass and John (Hansen) Decan on drums.[1]

  • The Nervous Fellas 1990
    The Nervous Fellas 1990


Personnel

Many personnel changes happened during the Nervous Fellas' short 5 year life. Chris Colt left in late 1987 to be replaced by Mark Twang.[2] Al Black left in 1989 to play full-time in the Last Wild Sons, due to internal tensions and musical differences. Butch Murphy was also in the Last Wild Sons. Al Black was replaced by John Decan. Billy Rogers became the drummer in late 1990.

Billy Rogers had tasted some success with such bands as Johnny Thunders and the Ramones. Billy Rogers died from complications due to pneumonia, at his home in Toronto, on Tuesday, August 7, 2001.

Ronnie Hayward left in 1989 and was later replaced by Pete Turland. Pete, originally from England, had been in The Baskervilles along with Darrel Higham. Turland was also the bassist in England's country swing/rockabilly band Rusti Steel And The Tin Tax.

In 1992, the band officially disbanded and has not toured since. The only original member to stay from the very beginning is Butch Murphy.

In 1992, Butch and Ronnie teamed up to start the Bughouse 5.[3]

Postings of the Butch, Al and Chris jamming at the Railway Club on YouTube in 2007, piqued the interest of rockabilly fans and the original members began talking again after 18 years apart.


The Reunion Show : Nervous Fellas (featuring the original members), Swank, The Deadcats @ Rickshaw Theatre June 20, 2009.

Poster of Reunion show

At the reunion show, a CD release was made available for the first time, which contained lost recordings from 1987. It was recorded in Jimmy Roy's living room as well. They did a few more shows but the original lineup didn't last and performed their last show on October 23rd 2009 at Malone's in Vancouver.


File:Wisehall.jpg
WiseHall

The band resurfaced later in the year with members Butch Murphy, Chris Colt, Phil Addington & Al Black Davidson at the Wise Hall NYE with Cousin Harley with great reviews. Gary Fraser joined the band on keyboards shortly after this show.


The band occasionally shows up in Vancouver playing small sets. They recently did a set in 2017 at the Fairview in Vancouver, a benefit show for long time door man at the Railway, Stan.

There is still a four song unreleased recording of the original band (when Shake Tonight was recorded) that may be released in 2019.


Where are they now? They are all still active in the music scene.


Ronnie Hayward is currently playing with "The Ronnie Hayward Trio". According to his Facebook page, he is now in the West Kootenays in British Columbia.[4]


Butch Murphy has formed a band with his brothers and Gary Fraser - The Murphy Brothers & the Mack Jackets and have recently released an EP. [5]


Chris Colt has a local band in Vancouver called Chris Colt and the 45's.[6]


Al Black Davidson is playing mandolin and drums with the Clanns and as a side man with other roots acts such as Chris Andres [7] [8].


Mark “Don’t call me Johnson” Twang runs a site dedicated to the Nervous Fellas to the point where they disbanded in 1992 and has not been involved with the band since.


Pete Turland lives in Alberta and has released several original recordings.[9]


Phil Addington runs a music store in Vancouver [10] and currently plays with SWANK.


The Nervous Fellas in 2011 L to R Gary, Butch, Phil, Al and Chris

Current Members as of 2011 to present:

Butch Murphy, Chris Colt, Gary Fraser, Phil Addington & Al Black Davidson


The Nervous Fellas name was also used by a band in UK after the original band broke up but does not have any of the Canadian members.

Discography

"American Rockabilly - The Compilation Album" 1988 featuring "Shake Tonight" written by Chris Colt. [11]

'Wild Wild baby' is a fantastic slab of rockabilly. 'Wild Wild Baby' was first released on "The Other Side Of Rock N Roll" and then released on 'Boppin' In Canada': a 1991 compilation of Canadian rockabilly on UK's Nervous Records.[12]

The Nervous Fellas first self-titled release "The Other Side Of Rock N Roll" was produced by Jimmy Roy from the Ray Condo band. It was recorded in Jimmy Roy's living room.[13]

Their second studio recording 'Born To Be Wild' was released on Nervous Records in 1990.[14]

By the release of 'Born To Be Wild', the band had a following and were billed as "Canada's Rockabilly Madmen".

  • The Nervous Fellas - The Other Side of Rock & Roll - Released in 1987 - very rare tape release
  • The Nervous Fellas - Born to be Wild - Released in 1990 http://www.nervous.co.uk/nervousfellas.html
  • The Nervous Fellas - Raw & Biting - Lost recording from 1987 - Released in 2009
  • The Nervous Fellas - Live at the Rickshaw - Released in 2010
Nervous Fellas first release on cassette - rare Ron, Al, Butch and Mark

References

  1. ^ http://www.nervous.co.uk/nervousfellas.html
  2. ^ http://famouslastwordsrecords.com/coffee/a-distant-twang/
  3. ^ https://www.facebook.com/groups/10077905471/
  4. ^ https://www.facebook.com/ronnie.hayward.125
  5. ^ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075BQBNNW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_ZqSSzbJHFQTD0?fbclid=IwAR1wLeSPtUIaZb0uqN9i8ytBXI9JIb_Lgpqc35NMn59b86Q3b2Gw2rk-eQo
  6. ^ https://www.facebook.com/Chris-Colt-The-45s-410804655689793/
  7. ^ https://www.facebook.com/Chris-Andres-Authentic-Outlaw-Country-282539925242432/
  8. ^ https://www.facebook.com/theClanns/
  9. ^ https://www.facebook.com/PETE-TURLAND-106310039296/
  10. ^ https://www.facebook.com/pg/Bonerattle-Music-20049542343/about/?ref=page_internal
  11. ^ https://www.discogs.com/Various-American-Rockabilly-The-Compilation-Album/master/177658
  12. ^ http://www.nervous.co.uk/galler2.htm
  13. ^ https://thenervousfellas.com/free-rockabilly-6-song/
  14. ^ http://www.the-rockabilly-chronicle.com/the-nervous-fellas-born-to-be-wild/

There are two sites each run by a Nervous Fella member. Each tell their own story. Mark and Butch are not on speaking terms.

  • Official site Facebook page administered by Butch Murphy-[1]
  • Official site Webpage administered by Mark Twang-[2]
  • Nervous Fellas on Spotify [3]
  1. ^ https://www.facebook.com/NervousFellas
  2. ^ https://thenevousfellas.com
  3. ^ https://open.spotify.com/artist/00ONFnpqd2jX0LXVbOKsX3
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