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It’s an absolute fact that Bryan was my mum’s favourite member of Liverpool Scene. She always referred to him as ‘your fabulous drummer.’ That says a lot.” |
Significant Moments...
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BRYAN DODSON
ANDY ROBERTS
Last Tuesday, I heard from Mike Evans that Bryan Dodson had died.
When we formed Liverpool Scene in 1966, we named ourselves after the recent book, and for our earliest gigs we were a 5-piece outfit, with Adrian Henri, Roger McGough, Mike Evans, Mike Hart, and me. Then Roger backed out because the Scaffold had revived their fortunes, and stardom beckoned. We first added Percy Jones, who was a friend of mine at Liverpool University, on bass, and then in 1967 we found Bryan, and he became our permanent drummer.
While it is fair to say that he was never going to threaten the metronomes of this world, Dobbo was hugely charismatic, and adored the poetry. He was a massive contributor to collaged set pieces, such as The Entry Of Christ Into Liverpool, and tonal pieces like Winterpoem, and was always centre stage, leaning forward, totally absorbed with communicating. Mike Hart dropped out of the band in November 1968, and Bryan came even more to the fore as a result. Then, a couple of dates into our break through tour supporting Led Zeppelin, Bryan became terribly ill, with tuberculosis. We had to just truck on without him. We picked up Pete Clarke from the Apple office on our way to the next gig in Southampton, and Bryan’s time with the band was over, after less than 2 years. Only a year after that, the Liverpool Scene had broken up, and I was gone from Liverpool for ever. In the meantime, Bryan had spent 9 months in an isolation hospital in Fazakerley, and I saw him only infrequently thereafter. He was gentle, thoughtful, and full of good humour, with a passion for jazz, and so wafty he didn’t even have a bank account. He was lovingly supported by Chrissie for many years.
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L to R: Percy Jones, Bryan Dodson, Mike Evans, Adrian Henri, Andy Roberts. |
It’s an absolute fact that Bryan was my mum’s favourite member of Liverpool Scene. She always referred to him as ‘your fabulous drummer.’ That says a lot.”