The site by Torbay Mods is well worth a visit. The gallery features Max Bygraves on a Vespa at Castle Circus in 1967 and some of the estimated 1,000 scooters who visited Torquay on Easter Monday 1966. Make sure that you have your sound turned on! Later Mod photos from the late 70s and early 80s are to be viewed in The Torbay Mod Squad site. I remember the Mermaid well.
On the topic of the late 70s Mod Revival, here’s the Melody Maker write up of the 1979 March of the Mods Tour. It features the Torquay visit which included Secret Affair, Back to Zero and The Glory Boy.
Thanks to Glynis for the following memories:
“I met my husband at the Yacht back in 1968. I had just been thrown out of the Gibbons for being underaged. What really annoyed me was that I was 18. Anyway I met my future husband when he dropped a pint of beer over me. Such romantic beginnings! Great times – the Yacht, the 400, Casa Marina and the Shiphay Manor Club…
“Does anyone remember Sunday afternoons with the Mods on Vaughan Parade outside Macaris and then Sunday evenings at the pictures usually to see a horror film? Some of the pubs that have closed weren’t originally pubs, like the Rose in Babbacombe. So can’t cry for their loss. The Globe in Babbacombe. I used to live just a couple of doors away and I remember as a young teenager throwing a bucket of water over a rowing couple who had just left The Globe. They came back the next night, but I had gone to see my boyfriend in Leicester. Parents were not pleased.
“Also at the 400 were Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch – have I got that right? The Casa Marina (Peter Foreman) and then on to the Shiphay Manor Club. I was there the night of the murder.”
You’re right, Glynis. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich played at The 400 Club on February 22 1966. They also appeared in Torquay on March 7 1966 and July 17 1966. At least one of these was at the Princess Theatre, with the Walker Brothers. The group had eight top 10 hits, including a UK number one single in 1968 with The Legend of Xanadu, in which Dave Dee famously cracked a whip. Dave Dee died in January 2009 at the age of 65, so here’s a bit of a tribute: The Legend of Xanadu from Top of the Pops in 1968.
Thanks Kevin for this article and prompting the memories of those Mod days in the 60s and 70s. Our club Torbay Mods SC was formed only 3 years ago to enable us to get back on the Lambrettas and Vespas and relive those great days and nights in the 60s! There are 18 members in our club which is one of 4 scooter clubs in South Devon. The original Torbay Mods from the 70s have recently got back together to form a club which they’ve called The League of Gentlemen and the link from the mermaid in your article takes you to their website with fascinating stories and pictures of the past! Recently we organised a scooter rally at Liverton FC near Bovey Tracey which was the first rally to be held near Torbay for many years. Thanks to the efforts of the football clubs volunteers it was a great success and apart from us donating to charities we have also raised enough money to hold another rally there next year. Hope your readers enjoy the websites and thanks again. All the best. paul@torbaymods.com
hi i was a Mod back in 68 i remember back in 67 when all the Mods came to Tobay thats when i decided seeing all those scooters that i wanted to be a Mod, i was in the Mod Squad in 79 and have been scootering ever since i am now in the League of Gentlemen Scooter Club with alot of my old friends from 1979.