Eating Madeleine with Whyte August - Part 5

The creation of WA3 led to a slow revamp of the set, with old songs being dropped and new ones written. Most of the band had also spent, or were also in the process of spending, hard-earned money on new equipment. Gasp, 70s amateur musos, as you contemplate: Dave has a CSL double-neck and H/H 100 watt amplifier; Martin has an Ibanez Rickenbacker-style bass and Tuac amplification; Crad sings through a Peavey 100 watt PA. And Steve's drum-kit is falling to pieces.

One of the last gigs WA played was in June 1976, again at Salisbury Tech. There was no stage, so WA were on the same level as the crowd. At one point, Crad started dancing – although "falling around" would be a better description – with a pissed folkie who had been singing earlier. At this point, the bouncers, totally misconstruing the situation, tried to throw Crad out – microphone and all. As the WA set promised to stretch into the night, they were told to play their last song, as the "headline" band still had to play. So WA collectively shrugged and started playing Jeremy, which could last up to 20 minutes. In the end, they were ordered to cut it short…

Soon after – around July ’76 – WA fell apart. Dave, Crad and Chris joined a general exodus of Warminster youth to Swansea, of all places. Martin and Steve tried to keep WA going, by recruiting one of the fantasy Gandalf members, Dave MacIntosh, but it didn't work, and so WA came to an end.

It was a common belief in some quarters that Dave was the best thing about Whyte August. But while he might have been the most proficient, it is interesting to note that Dave, Martin and Crad were never in bands again. Steve did jam and record some music with other people – some of it interesting, some so-so. But it seems true what they say about chemistry – the old John/Dave/Steve/Martin band was the axis around which their musical world revolved. Nothing has replaced WA for them since. Sad, isn't it?