Mike 'Jets' in for reunion

MIKE SWEENEY

UPPERMILL-based radio legend Mike Sweeney simply cannot wait to roll back the considerable years this weekend as he and his former band, the Salford Jets, storm the stage once again for two very special 40th anniversary gigs.

Sweeney and former Jets' members Diccon Hubbard, Geoff Kerry and Johnny Sax will perform together again for The Dukes Reunion - back-to-back shows named after the first venue the band played, the Duke of Wellington in Swinton.

The venue on Friday and Saturday will be the Grand Palais on Station Road, Swinton, and Sweeney and his pals have been busy in the practice room.

"I'm buzzing," he said. "I've had the 'best of' CD out and listened to the songs again, and it's amazed me how much they've stood the test of time.

"There's odd little bits on odd tracks that have dated, but there's tracks we'll be playing that I haven't played since 1983.

"I'm proud of all the songs we've been rehearsing.

"I'm expecting the gigs to be full, and for me it's great because all my three kids will be there for the first time at a gig together."

Inspired by the punk and new-wave scene at the time, the Salford Jets were formed by Sweeney and Hubbard 40 years ago, but reaching a certain age almost meant Sweeney gave up his musical career before it had properly started.

He said: "It was coming up to my 30th birthday in the September of 1977 and I was going to give it up.

"I thought 'you can't be in a band and be 30'.

"I'd been doing the cabaret circuit in '76, doing stuff I didn't like any more, playing to people who had probably seen it a million times by this time.

"It was also the very beginning of the clubs and social clubs slowly winding down over a period of maybe 20 years or so.

"I was going to give up, but my mate Diccon had a band, we used to get up now and again and sing obscure 60s tracks.

"We soon realised the songs were going down quite well, especially if there were young people in the audience.

"I then heard the Sex Pistols, the Jam, The Damned, the Vibrators in '77, and I realised that it reminded me of the simplicity of the 60s music.

"So me and Diccon got together and thought we'd give it one last try, and that was one last try at gigging, not necessarily at being famous.

"We started playing the Duke of Wellington in Swinton on a Monday night, and it just snowballed from there really. We realised our original stuff was going down as well as, if not better, than the covers we did, so by the end of '77 I'd got my first record deal with Warner Brothers.

"The rest is history I guess, once Phil Sayer at Piccadilly Radio got on to our first single, Looking At The Squares, at the start of '78."

The Salford Jets' two biggest hits, Gina and Who You Looking At?, ensured the band would always be remembered in, and well beyond ,their beloved city, before they effectively split in 1981.

A farewell gig at the Manchester University in 1983 was a 2,000 sell-out. This weekend's gigs see support from Fast Cars, the Trend and Mad Jack's Travelling Circus, and you'll have to be quick if you haven't already got tickets.

Meanwhile, Sweeney has been offering his thoughts on the music scene in his current home-town patch. With the epic Cotton Clouds Festival on its way to Saddleworth and Buzzcocks heading for the Uppermill Civic Hall, the area is a musical hot-bed at present.

Sweeney said: "This area is absolutely buzzing - it's a vibrant, lively place to live.

"Whether you're talking about Uppermill or the surrounding villages, there's live music everywhere. Sometimes it's bands doing cover versions, but there's as many doing their own material.

"It reminds of parts of London that are very village-y.

"Cotton Clouds has been a phenomenal idea. Rick and Max have had the bottle to put it on, and I tip my hat to them.

"Buzzcocks are coming to town, too, and that's marvellous.

"I'm hoping to be at the civic hall some time in 2018. I'm working on a project at the moment, but I can't announce anything just yet.

"The civic is another great venue - it's great to see it packed with people just having a good time."