A1 HISTORY DUNBAR

Nick  and  the  Sinners

Jimmy Bain (Lead Guitar) b. 19/12/47,  Newtonmore, Inverness-shire, d. 24/01/16

Jimmy Gaffney (Rhythm Guitar) b. 26/02/48, 108 Lammermuir Crescent

Robin Johnstone (Drums) b. 03/11/46, 12 Boroughdales

Alan Pratt (Drums) b. 07/07/49, Glasgow

Jimmy 'Topsy' Marr (Vocals)  b. 19/12/44, 1 Countess Road

Lloyd Togneri (Bass Guitar) b. 03/09/47, *5 Friarsbank Terrace

(*All Dunbar unless otherwise stated and Lloyd born at Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh)

DUNBAR GRAMMAR SCHOOL S2F

Top: James Tait, Alec "Yo-Yo" McDonald, Kenneth Ness, Geoffrey Hitchcock, Dougie McMinn, David Pettigrew and Howard Anderson.

Middle: Bobby Herring, Jimmy Field, Maureen Foggo, Beverley Sayer, Myra West, Alice Glass, Ann Black, Kenny O'Donnell and Jimmy Bain

Bottom: Nancy Chapman, Violet Hannan, Anne Halliday, Lorna McCandlish, Helen Findlay, Ingrid Peitch, June Hogg and Margaret Patterson.

                 Dunbar Grammar School/Rugby First XV (16)*        1962-63

Top: Robin Johnstone, **Rob Brown, **Davy Blacklock, Dick James, John Fallon and Roger (Joe) James

Middle: Jimmy Bain, Jimmy Cribbes, Ally Lorimer, **Ian Jenkinson, Stewart Carruthers and Mr Roxburgh

Bottom: Howard Anderson, (E) Graeme Paterson, Jimmy Gaffney, Lloyd Togneri and Billy (Howfer) Paterson

* No wonder they were successful!

** Rob Brown died aged 57

** Davy died in his early 60s

** Ian Jenkinson also died in his early 60s

+ Martin Rayner (not pictured here) died aged 57.

(E) Graeme emigrated in 1963/64 with his mother plus Harry and Ronnie Farish.

The Forester's Arms, on the left (Gordy).       The taller of the two ladies is Gracie Huntly

                             DUNBAR PRIMARY SCHOOL P7A (QUALIFYING) AUG '58            (THELMA)

(There were 5/6 intakes into Crudens' 57/58 extension onto Allan's build of 49/51)

FORM TEACHER: Miss C(hristina) G(len) L(awson) Donaldson = Ena/Ina

TOP: JIMMY BAIN, Kenny O'Donnell, David Rutherford, Billy Paterson, Graham Paterson, Willie Watson, Reggie Dyer, Alec Marr

UPPER MIDDLE: Wattie Butler, Tommy Hearn, Heather Fell, Alison Tevendale, Alice Glass, Christine Murray, Ally Robertson, LLOYD TOGNERI

LOWER MIDDLE: Margaret Darling, Davina Cathie, Greta Prince, Catherine Brunton, Marie Phillips, Janey Robertson. Helen Hannan, Joan Rutherford, Laura Corrieri

BOTTOM: BRUCE SMITH, Gordon Thomson, Jimmy Smith, Douglas Sinclair, Alec Brunton

The Three Pals are in BLOCK CAPITALS

 NICK AND THE SINNERS (Lloyd)

Clockwise from top right: Jimmy Bain, Lloyd Togneri, Alan Pratt and Jimmy "Topsy" Marr.

One only had to be in the changing rooms, in the summer of Sixty Six, to hear the rafters rocking under the Pool Ballroom. We were listening to Toto McNaughton's extemporised version of Mann and Weill's classic 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place' (above is The Animals' somewhat quieter version). Accompanying were guitarist Jimmy Bain* and Smiggy Smith in the duos post-Embers and Grant Hardy but pre-Three's a Crowd mode. Where Linnie Patterson and Alan Pratt were god only knows but this pseudo-supergroup were quite appreciated.

* Baino never needed to read music - he was a natural - until he met Blackmore.

Jimmy, a complex, talented character, was afforded quite a degree of latitude when in fourth year at Dunbar Grammar School. Headmaster Johnny Muir allowed him to have collar length hair over his ears and to wear his 52/- thick denim jeans to school plus play-the-kip to his heart's content - quinsy of the throat indeed! When questioned why he was allowed such leeway Muir would retort "He's a musician!".

A sense of retributive balance was restored when Jimmy Bain appeared in our 3/4 year's smoker's howff**, actually the first floor duffies adjacent to the science labs. He tantalisingly displayed a packet of 20 Benson and Hedges' tipped. Suffice to say, the dog-end dowp and nick smokers amongst us left him with a packet of 10. 

** Jim S the Janitor at least had the good grace to act as our look-out.

Lloyd Togneri's Reflections of my Sixties II

My first memory of pop music was 'Rock Around the Clock' with Billy Haley and 1st to be bought for the house a 78". The first 45" was Living Doll by Cliff Richards. On going up to Senior School at Woodbush, Jimmy Bain was in the same class. He and his family had come to Dunbar, taking over the tenancy of the Forester Arms public house. Jimmy's older brother John who played piano (I think) formed a jazz band with Johnny Jannetta on drums and Norrie Laing playing Double Bass in the upstairs bar in the Foresters.

This was a time of so many groups being formed, led by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones etc and including Nick & The Sinners being born out of the pub's beer cellar. John, being a joiner to trade, made our first guitars and the original line up was Jimmy 'Topsy' Marr (vocals), Jimmy Bain (lead guitar), Jimmy Gaffney (rhythm guitar), myself on bass and Robin Johnston on drums. I always regret not having kept that first guitar... The music we played was basically covers of the current top 20 and rhythm & blues classics. Jimmy Bain had such an ear for music and could listen to a disc playing and replicate it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the same ear and learned by rote!

The band's first ever performance was the Dunbar Pigeon Club Hogmanay dance in circa 1961 and we were presented with whisky to celebrate, also our first hangover!

At the beginning we mostly played locally in Dunbar, West Barns, East Linton and Haddington. It was at the Nungate Hall in Haddington on a Sunday night we first heard a 12 year old Alan Pratt playing drums. Shortly after this Robin joined the Navy and Alan was invited to play for us. By this time we had bought proper guitars from Pete Seaton's shop in Newington, Edinburgh. This new equipment was Burns guitars and Selmer Amplifiers.

We began to spread our wings and played all through the Borders to Carlisle and South to Amble. Many of the dances were run in conjunction with the Borders heats of Butlins Bathing Beauty Contests.My wife Maureen and friend Alice often ran buses for us at the weekends. We were all, of course, in the same class at school apart from Topsy who was an apprentice joiner.

Then Jimmy Gaffney left the band and we once again upgraded our equipment at Pete Seaton's where I bought a lovely white Fender Bass again regretting not keeping it as it was my pride and joy. We were still quite successful playing all over including Fife and the American Sergeant's Mass at Kirknewton which was quite an experience as we were, to all intents and purposes, on "US soil" whenever you went through the gates. This is where I had my first proper American hamburger. I also remember, very fondly, often playing on the roof of the open air swimming pool while people bathed and danced until midnight. Great times...

After we began there were other bands that I remember starting up... The Rebel Rousers with Vic & John Lough and John Cregan. Also The Conspirators with Campbell Berrie, David Pettigrew, Rob Brown etc.

Eventually, school finished, enthusiasm waned and things moved on, but Jimmy Bain and Alan Pratt, accomplished musicians as they were, made careers in the pop industry.

It was a magical time and as a cousin of mine used to say "all you need is a cigarette, a dame and a beautiful sunny day.