Greek Street playing at SHP, Aug '74
This iconic photograph of Greek Street in their heyday is by legendary Bracknell lensman Smart Set. Here he talks to Greek Street frontman Andy Harris about the old days:
Andy Harris: This is actually a historic pic, Smart, because you can see that I have my foot raised, and what nobody knows is that I'm about to squash El Greco, my pet grasshopper, and band mascot. I felt his bones crunch and I knew he'd never hop again. He'd been backstage and got a bit pissed and wandered onto the stage. He spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair but never missed a gig.
Smart Set: Yeah, I remember how you stopped playing and fell to your knees but everyone thought it was part of the act.
AH: Yeah, then someone in the audience from the Grasshoppers Protection League throws a ...
SS: The Grasshopper and Crickets Protection League!
AH: Yeah, the Grasshoppers and Crickets Protection League - lobs a bottle - a full bottle, mind, and it hits Nutley, but Nutley being Nutley picks it up and drinks from it. Turns out later it was piss, but that was Nutley for you.
SS: I missed that though cos I ran out of film.
AH: Then the Hell's Angels started kicking the bottle-thrower and the pigs came and pulled the plug.
SS: I didn't get that cos I was photographing Greco's remains.
AH: He wasn't dead, just injured.
SS: Andy, he was dead. Look at your rockin' boot-heel. There's no way he could survive that.
AH: He could have jumped clear! Why didn't he jump clear?
SS: His reflexes were shot to hell. Years of substance abuse. You never knew.
AH: Then who was that in the wheelchair for the next seven weeks, front row at every gig?
SS: That was a replacement, Andy - Leapy Green.
AH: So that's why he always wore shades.
SS: Exactly.
AH: So you were keeping it from me. About El Greco, I mean.
SS: It was all about the money. If you'd realised he was dead you would have cancelled the tour of Wokingham pubs and the record company would have lost millions.
AH: Man, that was some tour!
SS: 58 dates. Not too shabby.
AH: Well, some of the pubs were! (Laughs)
SS: One night, I walked into the dressing room at The Crispin and found Leapy not wearing his sunglasses. "God!" he said, "I thought you were Andy! You made me jump, man."
AH: But when El Gr... - I mean Leapy - died, the autopsy showed it was from multiple injuries ...
SS: Yes, but Leapy actually died falling from his apartment window. Megacorp Records paid the coroner to cover it up.
AH: Did he fall, or ... ?
SS: He was off his head on a cocktail of PLJ, Coke and Tizer. He thought he could fly.
AH: So it was ...
SS: Suicide, yeah. He jumped. Turned out some of the roadies had been teasing him, saying he couldn't jump like El Greco could. They never forgave him for taking Grec's place. They told him even a one-legged cricket with a bad leg could jump higher than him. Must have pushed him over the edge.
AH: But he showed 'em, didn't he? He showed 'em all, those cowardly cricket-lovers. He jumped real high. High as a goddam kite.
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Greek Street playing at SHP, Aug '74
This iconic photograph of Greek Street in their heyday is by legendary Bracknell lensman Smart Set. Here he talks to Greek Street frontman Andy Harris about the old days:
Andy Harris: This is actually a historic pic, Smart, because you can see that I have my foot raised, and what nobody knows is that I'm about to squash El Greco, my pet grasshopper, and band mascot. I felt his bones crunch and I knew he'd never hop again. He'd been backstage and got a bit pissed and wandered onto the stage. He spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair but never missed a gig.
Smart Set: Yeah, I remember how you stopped playing and fell to your knees but everyone thought it was part of the act.
AH: Yeah, then someone in the audience from the Grasshoppers Protection League throws a ...
SS: The Grasshopper and Crickets Protection League!
AH: Yeah, the Grasshoppers and Crickets Protection League - lobs a bottle - a full bottle, mind, and it hits Nutley, but Nutley being Nutley picks it up and drinks from it. Turns out later it was piss, but that was Nutley for you.
SS: I missed that though cos I ran out of film.
AH: Then the Hell's Angels started kicking the bottle-thrower and the pigs came and pulled the plug.
SS: I didn't get that cos I was photographing Greco's remains.
AH: He wasn't dead, just injured.
SS: Andy, he was dead. Look at your rockin' boot-heel. There's no way he could survive that.
AH: He could have jumped clear! Why didn't he jump clear?
SS: His reflexes were shot to hell. Years of substance abuse. You never knew.
AH: Then who was that in the wheelchair for the next seven weeks, front row at every gig?
SS: That was a replacement, Andy - Leapy Green.
AH: So that's why he always wore shades.
SS: Exactly.
AH: So you were keeping it from me. About El Greco, I mean.
SS: It was all about the money. If you'd realised he was dead you would have cancelled the tour of Wokingham pubs and the record company would have lost millions.
AH: Man, that was some tour!
SS: 58 dates. Not too shabby.
AH: Well, some of the pubs were! (Laughs)
SS: One night, I walked into the dressing room at The Crispin and found Leapy not wearing his sunglasses. "God!" he said, "I thought you were Andy! You made me jump, man."
AH: But when El Gr... - I mean Leapy - died, the autopsy showed it was from multiple injuries ...
SS: Yes, but Leapy actually died falling from his apartment window. Megacorp Records paid the coroner to cover it up.
AH: Did he fall, or ... ?
SS: He was off his head on a cocktail of PLJ, Coke and Tizer. He thought he could fly.
AH: So it was ...
SS: Suicide, yeah. He jumped. Turned out some of the roadies had been teasing him, saying he couldn't jump like El Greco could. They never forgave him for taking Grec's place. They told him even a one-legged cricket with a bad leg could jump higher than him. Must have pushed him over the edge.
AH: But he showed 'em, didn't he? He showed 'em all, those cowardly cricket-lovers. He jumped real high. High as a goddam kite.
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