== Beggars Opera ==
http://www.beggarsopera.co.uk

Beggars Opera was formed in Glasgow in 1969, by Ricky Gardiner guitarist and played their first gig on the 3rd Dec in that year.
Martin Griffiths, singer, and Marshall Erskine, bass had played with Ricky Gardiner in school band the System, and had worked with him through the blistering hot summer of the Moon landings 1969 on the M40 Motorway Beaconsfield Bypass, to earn some cash.
With the proceeds from this and a loan of £1.000 from Ricky's uncle, John Spence, they were able to purchase their famous cool white Marshall stacks.
Alan Park, organist, was in a residency at the Locarno Ballroom , when he was approached by the band, and Raymond Wilson, drummer of the Beings, was auditioned after responding to the band's newspaper add.
Virginia Scott, who had been studying piano in Italy ,was requested to join the band as their composer of original music in 1970.
With their shiny new equipment and a repertoire of progressive rock covers they quickly landed the Saturday morning spot at the Burns Howff in Glasgow, thanks to John Waterson then proprietor.
Alan Park was a qualified pianist and quickly showed a real talent for arranging the popular classics. Thus tracks like Raymond's Road, a real favourite of the Beggars fans, was born.
Alan responded to this by producing Poet and Peasant and Light Cavalry arrangements of the famous overtures by Franz Von Suppe, into which he and Martin Griffiths inserted tunes and lyrics.
By this time Virginia Scott was contributing original material to the band's pool, and tracks like Time Machine, Passacaglia, Memory, The Fox and Sarabande were created.
The band's identity was emerging and Vertigo, progressive rock label, offered Beggars Opera an album deal and by 1970, just under a year after the formation of the band, Act One, the first of 4 Vertigo albums, was released soon to be followed by Sarabande their first single.
Between 1970 and 1974 Beggars Opera wrote and recorded their four Vertigo albums and toured Scotland, England and Europe extensively. Following their incredibly successful live performance at the Great British Rock Meeting at Speyer Germany in August of 1971,with Gordon Sellar on bass and Virginia Scott on MK2 Mellotron, where the audience topped 112.000, Beggars Opera single Time Machine from the second album Waters of Change, became a Super Hit in Germany.
Beggars Opera were also televised on the legendary Beat Club Bremen show in that same month playing 'Raymond's Road'.
Pathfinder followed as did tour after exhausting tour of Europe/UK.
Martin Griffiths was then to leave the band in early 1972.
Pete Scott, ex of Savoy Brown took his place, having impressed the band with his fantastic ability to improvise and his classical training, at their auditions in London.
Pete was to prove highly popular, eliciting five encores every night from the audiences and introducing a blues flavour to the band's music.
However, at the Get Your Dog of Me sessions, Phonogram Studios 1973, an altogether unfortunate dispute errupted and although Pete Scott had recorded most of the vocals , it led to his highly regretted leaving.
The late Linnie Paterson of Scottish band Writing on the Wall, was quickly approached and stepped in to finish the recording and performed live with the band till 1974.
In 1975 Ricky Gardiner was approached by Jupiter Records of Germany to produce two more Beggars Opera albums.
Ricky Gardiner gathered together Pete Scott on vocals ,Virginia Scott on keyboards and with session drummers Mike Travis, ex of Gilgamesh, and the outstanding Clem Cattini respectively, and completed the 2 albums Sagittary and Beggars Can't be Choosers on Jupiter's less than a shoe string budget.
In 1981 Beggars Opera were briefly reformed by Gordon Sellar and the album Lifeline was released on Vertigo Germany.

And now, here is a complete list of all the musician's who have contributed to Beggars Opera's various incarnations:

Ricky Gardiner: Guitars/ Vox,
Alan Park: Keys/ Organ,
Virginia Scott: Mellotron/ Cello/ Vox,
Martin Griffiths: Vox,
Pete Scott: Vox,
Linnie Patterson: Vox,
Gordon Neville: Vox,
Gordon Sellar: Bass Guitar/ Guitar/ Vox,
Colin Pattenden: Bass Guitar,
Marshall Erskine: Bass Guitar,
Raymond Wilson: Drums,
John Hollywood: Drums,
Colin Fairley: Drums,
Clem Cattini: Drums,
Mike Travis: Drums,
Tom Gardiner: Drums,
George Butler: Drums,
Ed Bicknell: Drums.

http://www.myspace.com/beggarsoperaofficial

http://www.myspace.com/nrtcoburgauto

© 2007 of Ricky Gardiner Songs, c/o John Craig, First Night Records, 3 Warren Mews,