Bev Pegg and his Rock 'n' Roll Band.
The Bev Pegg Rock 'n' Roll Band has been entertaining audiences since 1978. However, several of its members were performing together way back in the late 1950's at the dawn of the Rock and Roll era. The size of the band varied from a trio to an eleven piece. The band played for dancing in Bev’s “Bop ‘til you Drop” style, and in contrast, "The Bev Pegg Fun Night" featured well known pop hits of the 50s and 60s together with Bev's anecdotes and humour from his childhood in the Black Country up to the present day were very popular for village hall functions. To list all of the excellent musicians who have gigged with the band would take up too much space, but those who would be considered regulars based on the number of gigs with Bev over the years are Ken Wright – drums, Harry Rowlands / Roy Parry – bass, Brian Godwin – keyboard, Terry Clarke – guitar, Maurice Turner / Dutch Lewis / Cliff Williams – saxes, Kate Pegg & Patsy Aston – vocals.
Bev Pegg and his Good Time Jazz Gang
Bev's "Good Time Jazz Gang" played at jazz clubs, festivals, corporate functions, exhibitions, birthday parties, weddings and many village hall events. The regular band up to the time of Bev's decision to retire from band gigs comprised of Tony Pipkin / Dave Leithead – trumpet, Zoltan Sagi - clarinet / saxophone, Martin Veasey - trombone, Roger Heeley - piano, Len Thwaites / Jim Sutton - double bass, and Ken Wright - drums. However, Bev had a "squad" of top musicians such who augmented or depped with the band regularly over the years. All of these great musicians knew Bev's jazz repertoire inside out, therefore whoever was on the gig, the overall sound was always precise and in Bev's own style. The band was usually a seven-piece, but to suit various budgets, increased to an eight piece, or reduced to a four piece, yet still retaining that special 1920's/1930's classic jazz feel.
The band definitely gave the crowd a "good time" with its well-known musical repertoire, interspersed with lots of laughs.
Additional documentary videos:
On Friday 4th October 2019, Bev was interviewed by John Hellings for his BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester show "Jazz with John Hellings". The interview was divided into four parts for broadcasting on consecutive weeks during December 2019, with a section included in part of the first hour and one for part of the second hour. This covers Bev's years on the local jazz scene.
Bev Pegg and his Railroad Skiffle Group
The Railroad Skiffle Group began as a brief interlude within Bev's Good Time Jazz Gang's regular shows, and grew from there. The line-up alongside Bev was originally Paul Degville – guitar, Harry Rowlands – bass & Ken Wright – drums. They played a wide selection of 1920s and 1930s popular skiffle songs, together with interludes of acoustic jazz in the style of The Hot Club of France.
In 2013, guitarist Paul Degville sadly died. The superb Pete Hartley joined on violin, and for southern area skiffle gigs, another great violinist Mike Piggott took over from Pete. Whatever the line-up, there was always the addition of loads of laughs with Bev's anecdotes between the songs. As was the case in all of Bev's groups, the musicians were of the highest quality.
Bev Pegg and his Cowboy Band:
Bev formed his Cowboy Band in 2008. The line-up alongside Bev, comprised of Pete Hartley – violin / mandolin, Maurice Hipkiss – pedal steel guitar / Dobro, Harry Rowlands – bass, Ken Wright – drums and Pete Boddis – guitar.Their 2009 CD release "Come Along Boys And Listen To My Tale" was the spotlight album of mid-October 2009 on UK Country Radio, with tracks being played regularly on the station together with other local stations in Birmingham, Bath, Portsmouth, and many others.
“Maverick” magazine summarised the album in their January 2010 issue as follows: "Harking back to the great days of country music by including some fine covers with many surpassing the originals. An awesome album to say the least, performed by a band who are simply just outstanding". As expected, Bev’s Cowboy Band featured plenty of good instrumental solos, and lots of laughs to go with them on their live gigs.
Bev Pegg – Solo Performer
Besides fronting his various jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, skiffle, country bands, Bev also appeared as a solo artist at various venues from folk clubs to village halls to after dinner events. He tailor-made his performances to suit whatever function he was appearing at. In the case of folk audiences, he sang and played a wide variety of traditional folk and local Black Country songs together with some of the several hundred songs he has written and recorded on his various albums over the years. These also include bluegrass, blues, and all styles that might suit the event. Together with all of this, Bev’s hilarious anecdotes of his experiences in the Black Country from childhood to the present day, brought great humour to his performances.
During September 2019, Bev was interviewed by "Creative Black Country" for their project "Finding Our Funny Roots". A video has since been produced for this interview in which Bev talks about his times in both music and comedy.