Journey of 1970s Coventry band "Museum"

[dutchman]

Coventry musician Tom Long discusses the band's progress from start to finish


L-R Bob Hopkins, Tom Long, Mark Luty and Gordon Kelly of Museum

Museum were a four-piece band that came out of the area in the early 1970s. Tom Long had been a member of Rugby chart act Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours. I asked Tom to tell me how the band came about. It’s interesting that like many bands, it began with the Coventry Telegraph.

Tom said: “I answered an advert in the Coventry Telegraph placed by Gordon Kelly. He came to my house and we ran through a few numbers.

“It appeared that I knew a lot of the material he was interested in and he signed me up on the spot.

“I don’t remember the exact order of his recruiting the other members, Mark Luty on drums and Bob Hopkins on guitar, but I think he already knew Mark.

“Within a week of meeting Gordon, we had our first rehearsal and clicked musically very quickly. We continued regular rehearsals and I think we did our first gig after about four weeks.

“We went from strength-to-strength doing more ambitious material and by the end of six months, we were doing three or four gigs a week.

“However personality cracks had already appeared and the band split. I think they did a couple of gigs as a three-piece without me and then folded.

“Gordon was a good all round vocalist, guitarist and bass player and Mark was a very good vocalist, drummer, reasonable guitarist and played harmonica.

“We did Meet Me On The Corner by Lindisfarne and he started the number by playing acoustic guitar and the harmonica part while sitting on the drum stool setting the pace on the drums with his feet.

“Mark had plans to go to America to live and work. Museum wouldn't have lasted much more than a year at most anyway, but I regret that it didn't last even a few more months as I really enjoyed the accomplishment of that band.

“There was always this element of wrong time and place, which seemed to apply to all four of us in different ways. It was as if we were all in some kind of transition in our lives and just came together right for that short time.

“I did keep in touch with Mark for a while. He just had two years in America and used it very well. He lived in Bulkington at the time of Museum and when he came back from America he re-settled in the area.

“Unfortunately Bob Hopkins died quite young, not that many years later. Last time I heard Mark was still in the Bulkington area and I met Gordon once or twice at Micom. If either or both of them wanted to do anything again I’d be there with my boots blacked!”

Interestingly, the Bob Hopkins that Tom refers to was actually the Uncle of Andy Hopkins, The Enemy bass player. I’m indebted to Andy’s Mum and Dad, who gave us a superb collection of Museum memorabilia.