After
his spell with The Flowerpot Men Carlo realised it was time to
support his family by getting a 'proper job'. One such venture
into the real world involved Nick Simper (Deep Purple and Johnny
Kidd & The Pirates ex-bassist, whom he had met while on the
road with The Flowerpot Men), and together they opened up a
greengrocers shop back in Carlo's native Wembley. This venture
lasted but a year, during which time Iris gave birth to his first
daughter Giselle in 1972.
Carlo
also attended the famous Rock and Roll show at Wembley in 1972. He
saw Mick Jagger backstage but, after all these years, was too
embarrassed to say hello! Also there was Keith Moon. He bought
Carlo a drink at the bar and they chatted about the Heavy Friends
album on which they had performed together, and Keith was
embarrassed to see that his name was bigger than Carlo's on the
sleeve, even though he had only played a couple of numbers on it.
Carlo also got to speak to his hero Chuck Berry backstage, and
they talked about the piano player Johnnie Johnson.
Watch
Heinz and Screaming Lord Sutch at the Wembley Rock &
Roll show, 1972
The
greengrocers venture did not herald the end of Carlo's
musical career. He joined yet another band at this time:
Hurricane, which was put together by producer Mal Gray,
and included pianist Freddie 'Fingers' Lee, guitarist Dave
Wendels, and bassist Stuart Colman - see left.
(Stuart and his wife Janet are Godparents to Carlo's eldest daughter). Other
musicians involved with the band included Dick Middleton
and Matthew Fisher. Their single 'Mama Was A Honky Tonk
Woman' had good reviews and they got signed to Decca, but
did not manage to achieve further success than that.
Carlo
then got a full-time job delivering bread for Mothers
Pride. This entailed rising at 3am, which had to be done
at this stage because another daughter Emma was born in
1976. (He eventually stayed there for 12 years, until he
was made redundant in 1986.)
Hurricane:
L-R Dave Wendels, Carlo, Freddie 'Fingers' Lee, Stuart
Colman
So
by 1977, Carlo wasn't drumming at all. However, the pub at
the end of his street had advertised a gig that included
singer Frankie Reid and Mitch Mitchell on drums, so Carlo
went along to check them out. Frankie asked Carlo if he
would do some gigs with him, but Carlo was without a
drum-kit at this point, so Mitch offered to lend his. It
was during this time that Carlo got asked to play with yet
another legend. "I received a phone call from the
bass player and broadcaster Stuart Colman, who I had
worked with in Hurricane, who said, "get your gear
ready - we're backing Carl Perkins at the Nashville Rooms
in London in a couple of hours". After arriving at
the gig with Mitch's drums and meeting Carl Perkins, we
rehearsed a couple of numbers, joined by Dave Edmonds on
guitar and Geraint Watkins on piano. Later we did the
show, including Edmonds' number one hit 'I Hear You
Knocking'. This Carl Perkins gig was also recorded without
prior knowledge". It was released as 'Jet Propelled:
The 1978 Comeback'.
Carlo
(left) performs with a hero, Carl Perkins
Carlo
then began gigging again on a regular basis with his new
friend Frankie Reid on vocals, Nick Simper, and
guitarist Pete Parks (ex-Warhorse), both who were at the
time in a band called Dynamite. From 1977 Flying Fox,
as they were collectively known, performed rock and roll
covers in the working men's clubs and pubs of West London,
employing various singers after Reid's emigration to
Australia (other regular singers were Jimmy Royal, Ronnie
Harwood, and Marie Dunn, with Marie's husband Tony Hall
playing sax). They all became very good friends, holding
lots of parties and going on holidays together with their
families. Their set went down a storm wherever they
played, as Carlo's driving beat had not been lost
throughout the years. But sadly the venture came to an end in
1984 after internal differences.
Carlo
drums at the North Pole pub in North Kensington
1978, a regular Sunday night gig for Flying
Fox. Line-up Pete Parks guitar, Frankie Reid
singer, Nick Simper bass, Carlo's life-long
friends.
Carlo and Nick Simper
early 80's.
It was
while he was with Flying Fox, in 1978, that Carlo was asked by the owner of the 100 Club in London to
perform a special gig. "One day I got a phone call
from the 100 Club in London asking me if I would get a
band together to back Roscoe Gordon. I asked Pete Parks on
guitar, Nick Simper on bass, and Sid Philips on sax. We
rehearsed with Roscoe the afternoon of the gig. At around
11pm, while we were on-stage, there was suddenly a buzz in
the club. In had walked a big guy who knew Roscoe from way
back, they were great buddies. He walked on to the stage
asking Pete if he could use his guitar, then he the
proceeded to go into a blues song. It was the great B.B.
King! He had been in town and had just finished a gig at
the Hammersmith Odeon. We performed about four numbers
with him, slow blues numbers, and I briefly told him how
good it had been before he left as quickly as he had
arrived. The show was recorded and released on album
without our knowledge. There is a photo on the wall of the
100 Club still today of B.B. King when he performed there
and you can see me drumming in the background!" B.B.
King's support, the Bobby Bland band, were also there, and
Wayne Bennett their guitarist also played that night.
B.B.
King and Carlo at the 100 Club, 1978
During
the 1980s, Carlo had stayed friends with Ronnie Harwood
(see right), whom he had met in one of the line-ups of The
Savages and who had guested with Flying Fox occasionally. In 1982 Ron,
who had a talent for writing catchy ballads, had managed
to convince Carlo's old pal Stuart Colman from the
Hurricane days (by now a rock 'n' roll DJ and record
producer for Bill Haley, Billy Fury and Shakin' Stevens) that his new tune You Drive Me Crazy would be a
sure-fire hit for Shakin' Stevens. It was a million-selling single and won him an Ivor Novello award in 1981.
By 1985 Ron was desperate for another hit - and Carlo to
work in music again after the Flying Fox split. So they
formed the band Florida Sun, a record company called
Sparkle, and recorded an album of Ron's songs. Although
they managed to receive quite a lot of airplay on Radio 2
with their first single, the music was not very commercial
and did not sell too well. After another failed venture of
trying their hands at Europop, under the name of Bandana,
the pair gave up - and Carlo stopped drumming after 30
years.
Ronnie
Harwood in 1985
After
being made redundant from Mothers Pride, Carlo started his own
business doing much the same thing, delivering wholesale bread to
caterers. This was quite successful, and he began to realise that
there was probably never going to be a financial future for him in
music. In 1991 Carlo continued the theme of catering and bought 2
hot dog/burger trailers, which he operated until 2001 with his
wife Iris, at Wembley Stadium market. These businesses bought him
more financial rewards than the music business ever did.
Hurricane:
L-R Dave Wendels, Carlo, Freddie 'Fingers' Lee, Stuart
Colman
Carlo
drums at the North Pole pub in North Kensington
1978, a regular Sunday night gig for Flying
Fox. Line-up Pete Parks guitar, Frankie Reid
singer, Nick Simper bass, Carlo's life-long
friends.
It was
while he was with Flying Fox, in 1978, that Carlo was asked by the owner of the 100 Club in London to
perform a special gig. "One day I got a phone call
from the 100 Club in London asking me if I would get a
band together to back Roscoe Gordon. I asked Pete Parks on
guitar, Nick Simper on bass, and Sid Philips on sax. We
rehearsed with Roscoe the afternoon of the gig. At around
11pm, while we were on-stage, there was suddenly a buzz in
the club. In had walked a big guy who knew Roscoe from way
back, they were great buddies. He walked on to the stage
asking Pete if he could use his guitar, then he the
proceeded to go into a blues song. It was the great B.B.
King! He had been in town and had just finished a gig at
the Hammersmith Odeon. We performed about four numbers
with him, slow blues numbers, and I briefly told him how
good it had been before he left as quickly as he had
arrived. The show was recorded and released on album
without our knowledge. There is a photo on the wall of the
100 Club still today of B.B. King when he performed there
and you can see me drumming in the background!" B.B.
King's support, the Bobby Bland band, were also there, and
Wayne Bennett their guitarist also played that night.
During
the 1980s, Carlo had stayed friends with Ronnie Harwood
(see right), whom he had met in one of the line-ups of The
Savages and who had guested with Flying Fox occasionally. In 1982 Ron,
who had a talent for writing catchy ballads, had managed
to convince Carlo's old pal Stuart Colman from the
Hurricane days (by now a rock 'n' roll DJ and record
producer for Bill Haley, Billy Fury and Shakin' Stevens) that his new tune You Drive Me Crazy would be a
sure-fire hit for Shakin' Stevens. It was a million-selling single and won him an Ivor Novello award in 1981.
By 1985 Ron was desperate for another hit - and Carlo to
work in music again after the Flying Fox split. So they
formed the band Florida Sun, a record company called
Sparkle, and recorded an album of Ron's songs. Although
they managed to receive quite a lot of airplay on Radio 2
with their first single, the music was not very commercial
and did not sell too well. After another failed venture of
trying their hands at Europop, under the name of Bandana,
the pair gave up - and Carlo stopped drumming after 30
years.