Music box - visit Swindon's Old Town cellar

(Next)

Click here to select from a dozen Missing Link tracks..

In the beginning...

(Top) (Next)

I started jamming with Andy, the flautist from a previous band (Jabbawocky), in the early part of 1992.
Jon, originally in SBG and The Fridge was soon persuaded to jam with us.
Another drummer (George) introduced us to a bass player called Rob, who then joined us .
Some stranger called John turns up saying he was a bass player looking for a band, and were we a band looking for a bass player?
Another Rob was over the house having tea, when he decides to lend his tonsils to singing. Already in a rock-a-billy band as a gifted guitar player and beer drinker, he hangs up his guitar to howl with us.

Missing Link is born..... The name originates from the quest to find how we humans evolved or came about. Perhaps we mutated from a primate resembling a monkey and survived because we are intelligent, dextrous and have the ability to utter a huge variety of sounds.

Or is the answer that a small party of space aliens, on a drunken night out, park their space craft somewhere and forgot where it was. Needing a shag, and somewhat enubriated, they find carnal pleasure with the closest resembling earth creature (blind drunk, I should imagine)... the human race evolves.

After getting our act together long enough to get half a dozen songs written, we go down to the Brown Jack pub in Wroughton and join a free-for-all jam session which happened every friday. Many notorious Swindon musos enjoyed the sessions and grub was supplied free by the french landlord Freddy.

The songs Jabbewocky, Missing Link are born as well as a string of songs that are not destined to last.

A twist of vocalists

(Top) (Next)

Rob the vocalist leaves us to do his own thing...
... and is quickly replaced by Jo(anne). Jo, a very talented singer, came to the band with something that none of the rest of the band had: training. She soon learned the songs and added some of her own.

New songs are written, notably Thank You. We are soon playing at local pubs and parties.

The music does not remain the same

(Top) (Next)

Sean, a guitar player, whom I had met at a jam session at the George pub, joins the band and adds his talents, which are impressive.
Soon after Andy decides to take a leave of absence and learn to play the saxophone...and joins us again after he has.

New songs arrive with the inspiration of Sean and songs As High as a Parrot, Forgotten Thought and Folk Rock evolve from the twin guitar routines. Sean brings one of his own songs, Breakaway, to our set. After a string of gigs, Jo decides to leave us and have a baby. This marked the end of our ForeTelling.

What, another vocalist?

(Top) (Next)

The vacancy for a vocalist is soon filed by Chris, who I had met in the Beehive pub. He seemed to think we were in a band, so he got the job.
Kevin then joins us as the axe-man, after he is brought to band practice in the cellar by John He takes over from where Sean left off and giving it his unique brand of skill.
John now leaves us as bass player to join the Hampsters from Hell to get out and do more gigs, but introduces us to Mac before he goes.

After a bit of a learning curve, we move on to write new songs, with Chris writing the lyrics. Our first gig is at Groundwell farm, June 1996. This was the day Spain and England went to penalties and England won. Further gigs at the Prince of Wales consolidate the initial time taken to bring Chris from a howler to a singer and develop a new set of songs.

Who's the bass player?

(Top) (Next)

Mac now leaves us to work in Scarborough, but re-joined us for two gigs, one at Groundwell Farm and the other at the Prince of Wales.
From this moment both Kevin and myself shared the bass playing between us. This was partly because it remained possible (at first) that Mac would be able to gig with us once in a while, and partly because we wanted to.

New songs include Tomorrow in Another Day and Head Sore. We play again at Groundwell Farm in february 1997 with our revised set. We then spend some time working on new material acoustically and bring Red Light Lady, Waterside, and Monkey to our repetoir. We play next with mostly all new songs at Groudwell Farm March 1998, Half Cut.

We are currently working on several new songs.

The current line-up is...

(Top) (Next)

Andy Ottaway - Flute, Saxophone and bass guitar.
Martin Wiltshire - Lead, rhythm and bass guitar.

Upcoming gigs

(Top)

There are currently none. Possible tour with Kevin Dixon in Spain this summer.

(Top)