Filthy Beast The Rehearsals

Rehearsals or "practises" as they were more often referred to, were an important part of the band's evolution.  In the early days they would practise in Mike or Peter's front room, their parents, as parents do, put up with the noise and very rarely complained.

Wildhern Youth Club

At their first gig Marianne, a girl who worked with Peter (he had a Saturday job) was impressed by the band and said that if they wanted to practise in front of a live audience she could arrange it for them.  This led to regular weekly practises at Wildhern Youth Club in the village of Wildhern which is to the North East of Andover.

This was a great way to gain "live" experience but no good at all for developing new songs as the audience did not appreciate the experimental stop-start nature of this process.

The practise sessions at the youth club lasted approximately 18 months during which time both Mike and Peter met the girls who were to become their future wives.

Pickett Piece Village Hall

The last and best practise venue was Pickett Piece Village Hall, a delapidated nissen hut, which was far enough from anywhere to allow the band to practise at full volume.  Practise sessions were usually on a Wednesday evening and Peter would leave work on time, load his speaker and amplifier and the PA speakers and amplifiers from his lock-up garage into his Ford Cortina and drive to the village hall.  Then a quick walk along the road to pick up the key and pay Mrs Shields the princely sum of ten shillings, and back to the hall to set up the gear.

By this time Mike and Terry would have arrived with their own gear and they would set up and then practise until late evening.  The photographs below were taken inside and outside the hall by their Manager Roger Page; there is no record of the date but it must have been sometime in 1974 or 1975.

Re-prints were ordered for three of the pictures so they must have been used to send out to potential venues.