Was checking out a new video from Roualt58 a few days ago ( Such A Dream)and noticed at the end a credit for Richard Ames."That name rings a bell" I thought! Richard was a roadie for Rebel at the start in 1972 moving on to Tour Manager etc and having a fasinating career in the music business.He's also "The Voice" at the start of Face To Face and does that great intro on Mad,Mad Moonlight on the B side of Black Or White," Ladies and Gentlemen, It's The Best Years Of Our Lives with Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel!"
Just launched by Richard is a great new web site...
www.roadstories.co.uk
Well worth checking out,loads of great stuff on Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel and many others who Richard has worked with!

Looks like an interesting site. Can you reveal any information on the Cockney Rebel content Stewart? If there's loads of photos and items that have not been seen before I'd consider subscribing. Never realized he was the guy who introduced the live version of Mad Moonlight.

Your right Paul,it is an interesting site.My decision to subscribe was not taken lightly,but my view was that if it was a book that Richard had published I would have bought it so why not subscribe ? and I'm glad I did. Without knowing what's in your collection it's difficult to give an objective view and also out of respect to Richard I don't want to tell his story and stop people subscribing.All I would say is that Richard was in at The Rebel story at their first gig in 1972 and was there full time until 1977 when Rebel mark whatever it was split! and he has been back on and off ever since.As a long term Fan it was great to see some items and some personal items of Richards that I have not seen before ( as well as some I have) and also Richard has added his own sound bites to the story which brings it all alive!.For me,the site added some interesting gaps in the Rebel story especially from the early days and you can sense that Richard has greatly enjoyed his times with Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel.

I'm always happy to support people who have worked with SH & CR over the years because one thing is certain Mr Harley only gets good musicians around him, so even when not with Rebel there work has to my ears anyway been very decent! and although Richard initially was a roadie even he got to sing on one of the big tracks.....

As you said Stewart, a book from Richard Ames would have been a great read. I guess these days it's a more expensive option to a website that can provide you with audio,words and photos. For the money I think i'll take the plunge and subsribe!

I have a set of autographs from the first band and it includes Richard Ames!!!!

Mike x

That's a shame Mike. If it was his alone it might be worth something!

Richard's excellent site is bound to run the risk of uncovering a few truths that could upset a lot of people. If he's not really careful he will also have to spend hours on the phone to his bank manager trying to raise the funds to cover his legal bills.

But when you look at who he's worked with (Cockney Rebel, Wishbone Ash, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, Duran Duran, Supertramp et al, there is no doubt that he's got the real dirt on almost everything that went on. It's worth remembering that what goes on behind the scenes may actually sound quite boring to a lot of fans, so there is always the temptation to sex it up a bit. Richard hasn't done that and I think his integrity and professionalism shines through.

It will be fascinating to see how the site expands and I really hope we get some feedback from Milton and John. As some fans have commented, we only get one side of the story on the official site, and that story has some glaring gaps due to "airbrushing".