Re-creating the beat scene of the 1960s

They are days Bernie Smith, of Berns Drums in Chichester, remembers well - days he's intent on recreating.

Bernie and his fellow musicians from the era are putting together a 60s night at The Riverside Caravan Park, Bognor Regis, on February 20.

"There were 13 different Bognor groups, and some of them were very good," Bernie recalls. "Why it happened in Bognor, I don't know.

Perhaps it was because it was a seaside town. Chichester didn't have the venues, but in Bognor virtually every village hall or church hall had a band playing.

"It was just a hotbed for the local music scene. It was all based in Bognor, with some in Worthing and some stuff happening in Littlehampton. All along that little strip of coast, there were guys listening to Radio Luxemburg and wanting to play music."

And Bernie is getting those that are still around - and still alive - back together for a special night, featuring available members of Johnny Devlin And The Detours, The Diamonds, The Southbeats and The Fenmen. All were Bognor area bands, with The Fenmen coming from Chichester/West Wittering.

"I was with Johnny Devlin And The Detours. They started in 1961/62, but I wasn't there right at the start. I joined them in about 64. At that time, I was with them for two years and then they became another band when Johnny Devlin left.

"The Detours carried on and became The Noblemen backing a guy called Beau Brummell. He was around at the same time as P J Proby and Tom Jones who were all wearing Regency gear.

"Beau Brummell's real name was Mike Bush. He was from South Africa. He came over to this country and got involved with an agency in London.

"He was working on the lifeboats off Worthing beach when we met him.

And the band renamed, becoming Beau Brummell And The Noblemen. I was the drummer with them and that kept going for about two years."

It was the era when everything was happening, Bernie recalls: "The 50s were for the Americans, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, all those guys over there. In the late 50s we had Cliff Richard, Marti Wilde, people like that - and then it changed in the 1960s.

"It was the permissive society. We even had a teen hotel in Bognor. Can you imagine that! We had the mods and the rockers. The Who came down to Bognor and Brighton, and it was a time when there were massive changes. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones changed the whole landscape. A lot of English bands were doing covers, but they started writing their own music. It started encouraging more and more bands to perform."

And so it all exploded, with Bognor very much doing its bit towards all that happened in the big popular music explosion

Anyone wishing to relive it can do so at Bernie's 60s reunion. Tickets are available from Berns Drums in Chichester at 8 a ticket (01243 816600) or from the Riverside Caravan Park directly (01243 865823). The night is in aid of Chichester's St Wilfrid's Hospice.

The reunion builds on the success of a similar reunion which also supported St Wilfrid's, back in 2003 in memory of Barry Benson, another key play in the 60s Bognor music scene.