Mucking around on Moat to Top of the Pops stardom

Between 1973 and 1976 Mud were hardly ever out of the UK charts, notching up eleven top ten hits, including three number ones (Tiger Feet, Lonely This Christmas, and Oh Boy).

And while the band members all grew up in Surrey, England, lead singer Les Gray had a very close attachment to Ballymena which he often described as his ‘home town’ .

Recently, on the ‘Ballymena Past and Present’ facebook site, a clipping from the Guardian of 1974 appeared featuring an interview undertaken with the Mud frontman while the band were staying in the Adair Arms prior to playing the Flamingo.

It has to be remembered that in the troubled mid-70s Northern Ireland was very, very rarely on the touring list for chart topping acts but Les must have convinced the band’s management that bringing their good time rock’n’roll sound to local ballrooms was well worth it.

The Guardian interview in full gives a great glimpse into the life of a pop star of the time.

It’s still absolutely amazing to today’s generation that a band which was enjoying success across the charts would be playing in Ballymena - but Mud were among dozens of hugely popular acts who appeared at Sammy Barr’s famous premises.

Les Gray, lead singer with pop band extraordinary, Mud, isn’t a man accustomed to unneccesary bouts of nerves.

He has played and sang in enough concert halls around Europe to know that butterflies don’t go unnoticed by the average audience.

But last week Les freely admitted that he was worried about appearing before Ballymena’s young people in the Flamingo Entertainment Centre.

A few hours before mud were due to take the Flamingo stage on Friday night, Les, sitting in the lounge of the Adair Arms Hotel, was considering the prospect of playing before what he calls his ‘home town’ fans.

“This means a lot more to me than just the ordinary gig,” he said.

“I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I still look on myself as a Ballymena lad. In England you are just a number but here’s a much more personal friendship between people and I like to be part of it.”

Les, who cuts a distinctive figure on stage with his extravagant taste in clothing, still charihes memories of days spent in Ballymena during his youth.

“I always remember mucking about The Moat and fishing for Sticklebacks at Harryville Bridge ,” he recalls.

“One thing which sticks in my mind was one evening when I was sitting in the State Cinema and there was this crash and all the lights went out. Turned out someone had blown a generator up.”

Many years have passed since Les’s parents moved to London but they still make a regular point of visiting relatives and friends in the Ballymena area.

Now, like the other Mud members, he speaks with a true London accent but unlike many modern day pop stars, he has impeccable manners and is modest with it.

During his stay in Ballymen a he found time to meet and renew dozens of old acquaintances with whom he had shared his Ballymena days.

“I’m surprised how many people I can still remember. It’s almost like ‘This is your life’ for me during this visit,” he laughs.

As front man, Les has naturally become the most popular member of the outfit who have just had their first No1 single with ‘Tiger Feet’.

Mud used firday afternoon to rehearse their next single release on the Flamingo stage but even then Les found time to interrupt the session and chat with callers.

The future seems secure for Mud.

“We’ve got the new record coming out and we are anticipating a big success with it. Then we’ve got several tours and television shows lined up and later this year we hope to be returning to Ireland again,” he said.

“The other boys were a little bit worried about coming here but I was able to encourage them. My mother comes over to Ballymena twice a year and nothing e ver happens to her so why shouldn’t I come?”

Mud drummer Dave Mount said he and the two other Mud members were more than a little nervous about their Irish tour but he added: “It’s been great so far. We’ve really enjoyed it, touch wood.”

Les is confident that Ireland has a big future on the band circuit.

“Audiences here are terrific and I don’t see why other bands shouldn’t make trips to Ireland more often. They are really appreciated here.”

Mud were certainbly appreciated at a packed Flamingo when Les got over those pre-appearance nerves and turned in a superb performance which was lapped up by a boisterous audience.

Despite slight technical problems with new gear the outfit showed all the fire and flair which has shot them to the top of the European ratings.

It’s a long time since the Flamingo had an evening like last Firday’s and for Les Gray, the local boy made good it was an event to remember for a long time to come.

Mud first turned professional in 1968 and the boys played their first professional gig on 31st March 1968 at the Marquee Club, where they became a regular attraction, supporting acts such as Terry Reid.

But by 1972 the band had still failed to make the big time. It was a frustrating time, but they continued gigging all over the country. Then, in late 1972, they got the break they so desperately needed.

Songwriter/Producer team Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who had already had success with the Sweet, were looking for a new band to write for and manage.

Les, Ray, Dave and Rob leaped at the opportunity and signed a contract with RAK records. They were given a new image, new suits and a new song - “Crazy”. The single was released in January 1973 and got to number 12 in the UK charts. Mud had made it at last!

In later interviews it was revealed that the band themselves did not play on either of these two singles (or their b-sides), providing just the vocals. The tracks were actually recorded by sessions musicians, one of which was Pip Williams who would become the bands producer.

“Crazy” and their next record “Hypnosis” were both based on a tango beat. Mud admit that they weren’t too keen on the idea at first and it was touch and go whether they would catch on.

In October 1973 the image changed with the introduction of teddy-boy gear and a rock and roll sound. Their third RAK single “Dynamite” reached number 4 in the charts. The new look and sound caught on and Mud were quickly becoming one of the hottest new bands around.

January 1974 saw the release of Mud’s biggest hit, “Tiger Feet”. An instant hit, “Tiger Feet” shot to number one in the UK charts for four weeks in February and became the number one selling record of 1974. It was knocked of the number one slot by fellow RAK artist Suzi Quatro with “Devil Gate Drive”.

In May 1974 “The Cat Crept In” got to number two, followed by “Rocket” in August which reached number six. At this time MUD also released their first album “Mud Rock”.

By now MUD had become regular guests on BBC’s Top Of The Pops and other music shows of the time. They continued to tour extensively throughout the UK and Europe.

Their second number one single came in December 1974 when “Lonely This Christmas” shot to the top of the charts.

The single stayed at the number one slot for four weeks. Their appearance on the Top Of The Pops Christmas special is almost legendary, with stage hands climbing step ladders to pour imitation snow on the band as they sang. Anyone who has seen the clip will also note Les’ use of a ventriloquist dummy during the spoken part.

As Les told a recent TV interviewer, miming the singing parts was relatively easy, but miming to a spoken part was almost impossible, so he didn’t try!

Mud’s next single, “The Secrets That You Keep”, was released on 14th February 1975 and reached number three in the UK. During March and April MUD were on the road in the UK, Ireland and East Germany and Belgium, where they were voted Number One Pop Attraction.

Mud’s last number one single, “Oh Boy” was released in April 1975, at about which time Mud’s split with Chinn and Chapman and RAK became common knowledge. On 14th June, RAK released “Moonshine Sally”, which had been recorded several years earlier but kept ‘in the can’. It reached number 10 in the charts.

Mud’s second album, “ Mud Rock II”, was released in July 1975, along with their last single for RAK, “One Night”.

This marked the band’s split with RAK and Chinn & Chapman and they went into the studio in July to start work on their own songs for their new label, Private Stock.

In September, RAK released “Mud’s Greatest Hits”, while MUD released their first single for Private Stock, “L’L’Lucy”.

The new single was written by Rob Davis and Ray Stiles and did well, reaching number 10 in the charts, proving that the boys could make it on their own.

“Show Me You’re a Woman”, their next single, entered the charts just as “L’L’Lucy” left. It reached number 8.

Their third album “Use Your Imagination” was released at the beginning of December. The album contained six of their own songs, showing Rob and Ray’s diverse song writing talents.

Mud continued to have minor chart successes during 1976 - the disco inspired “Shake It Down” (May) and the more basic rocker “Nite on The Tiles” (October). Their biggest hit of the year - and their last top ten single -was an excellent cover of the Bill Withers song “Lean On Me”, which reached number 7 in November.

The ‘glam’ period was by now well and truly over. Like many of their contemporaries MUD found themselves out of favour with the younger audience who were by now more interested in the disco beat or the upcoming new sound - punk rock.

In 1977 Les Gray signed to Warner Brothers as a solo artists, releasing his own version of the Mindbenders’ “Groovy Kind Of Love” in March.

When their contract with RCA ended in 1978 Les left the band and appeared in Jack Good’s “Oh Boy” show and TV series.

After releasing several solo singles, including a tribute to Elvis Preseley under the name Tulsa McLean, Les Gray assembled a new version of MUD in the early 1980s. For a short time Dave Mount and Rob Davis worked with the band, but eventually went their own ways.

Les Gray’s Mud continued to tour throughout Europe until Les’ illness forced them off the road in 2003. Les died on Saturday 21st February 2004 in hospital in Portugal, after suffering two heart attacks.