Desert Rock
Wilson, Kepple and Betty | 05.03.2008 14:20 | Workers' Movements
When you have a ‘cunning plan’ to raise morale and make some money for charity by forming a rock band its good to know you don’t have to look to far for the musical talent. Military Police Lieutenant and drummer Dave Wilton had all he needed in his own unit, 158 Provost in the form of guitarists Corporal Ben Leeves and Lance Corporal Phil Smith, bassist Lance Corporal Scott Carney and the Company's own singing chef, Corporal Paul Maidment, all volunteered and 'The Basra City Rollers' were born.
There was however a major problem to overcome due to the restrictions for taking personal belongings to theatre, none of the band members had their instruments with them in Iraq and there were none to be had on the base. This did not deter Lt Wilton who approached all the musical instrument manufacturers he could think of, explaining the plight of the would-be band, and asked for their help.
Fender Guitars, Premier Percussion and Peavey Electronics all agreed to donate the necessary instruments and a PA system. While they waited for the kit to arrive Dave and the band members got to work planning a set list:
"It was quite easy, because we all have similar musical tastes," said front man Cpl Paul Maidment. "We knew that we wouldn't have very much time to practice, so we kept the set simple and fairly commercial going for stuff like Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Song 2' by Blur, 'The Kids Aren't Alright' by the Offspring, the Arctic Monkeys' 'Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor', and 'Gay Bar' by Electric Six, which was a lot of fun!"
With just weeks to go before the end of the Company's tour, the equipment arrived. The band had previously decided that any surplus equipment would be auctioned and money raised would be donated to charity, Help for Heroes; as luck would have it, there was a spare guitar and an electronic drum kit in the offing for the charity raffle.
The band secured a slot at the 'Echos' cafe, where soldiers head for a milkshake and some 'downtime', and for the next couple of weeks, the lads put all their free time into rehearsing, selling raffle tickets and promoting the gig:
"Being a chef, I would finish work at about eight o'clock, then go off to practice with the boys until 1am," said Paul. "Our bassist Scott had been away from the base on detachment until the day before the gig, so we had to go through the set with him at the last minute."
It was to be a one off gig and well worth the effort after the numerous obstacles they had had to overcome, The Basra City Rollers delivered a great performance to an appreciative crowd. A total of £750 was raised for the Help For Heroes charity, which is aiming to raise £5m for the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, in Surrey.
Fender Guitars, Premier Percussion and Peavey Electronics all agreed to donate the necessary instruments and a PA system. While they waited for the kit to arrive Dave and the band members got to work planning a set list:
"It was quite easy, because we all have similar musical tastes," said front man Cpl Paul Maidment. "We knew that we wouldn't have very much time to practice, so we kept the set simple and fairly commercial going for stuff like Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Song 2' by Blur, 'The Kids Aren't Alright' by the Offspring, the Arctic Monkeys' 'Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor', and 'Gay Bar' by Electric Six, which was a lot of fun!"
With just weeks to go before the end of the Company's tour, the equipment arrived. The band had previously decided that any surplus equipment would be auctioned and money raised would be donated to charity, Help for Heroes; as luck would have it, there was a spare guitar and an electronic drum kit in the offing for the charity raffle.
The band secured a slot at the 'Echos' cafe, where soldiers head for a milkshake and some 'downtime', and for the next couple of weeks, the lads put all their free time into rehearsing, selling raffle tickets and promoting the gig:
"Being a chef, I would finish work at about eight o'clock, then go off to practice with the boys until 1am," said Paul. "Our bassist Scott had been away from the base on detachment until the day before the gig, so we had to go through the set with him at the last minute."
It was to be a one off gig and well worth the effort after the numerous obstacles they had had to overcome, The Basra City Rollers delivered a great performance to an appreciative crowd. A total of £750 was raised for the Help For Heroes charity, which is aiming to raise £5m for the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, in Surrey.
Wilson, Kepple and Betty
