When Mark asked me to write a piece for the site I was thrilled at the prospect!  It’s been a long time since I wrote anything about The Rubettes.

I can remember clearly how it all began for me with The Rubettes. I watched the boys perform Sugar Baby Love on TOTP, loved the song, hated the hats! (sorry guys, it’s taken me 30 years to confess to that). Having previously been involved with other bands at Polydor Records I wasn’t unduly anxious when I received a telegram from them the next morning asking me to make contact urgently (days before emails and stuff!!).  When I called them I was asked if I would take on running The Rubettes Fan Club.  I was hesitant at first because I was already very busy with other bands but Polydor convinced me to give it a shot.  Looking back I can tell you it was probably one of the best decisions I made in my life.  30 years on we are all still good friends.

Well as you all know Sugar Baby Love made the number one spot, the boys appeared on tv and the demand for information started.  Soon their fan club was thriving and it was getting too much for me to manage alone.  I remember thinking that if I could just find a fan club member who lived locally to me, perhaps they would help, in return, I was sure the boys would be delighted to meet them.  My luck was in!  On the very same road as me lived Sue.  I have to tell you that when we went and called at her house she found it hard to believe and thought we were setting her up for Candid Camera.  Once she reached our flat, though, that soon changed, she saw all the mail on the floor, envelopes ready for mailing, photographs everywhere and realized that this wasn’t a joke.  30 years later Sue is my best mate and we love each other to pieces.

The first time I took Sue to meet the band was at Granada TV in Manchester and she tried to run away!!!  This was Sue’s first venture into music business land and must have been scarey for her because after all she was a member of the fan club and I won’t tell you which Rubette she was mad about.

Mark said it would be good if I could share some memories with you all.  Where to begin?  I first met the boys in person at Piccadilly Radio in Manchester.  I remember sitting in reception with this guy sitting in the next chair.  I fancied a cig and had no light so asked him did he have one.  He gave me his lighter.  I didn’t think anymore about it – I later realized it was Mick. From Piccadilly Radio we crossed over Piccadilly Gardens to the BBC (it’s not there anymore) and enjoyed some drinks in the hospitality area.  I think I might have got a little drunk (maybe even a lot drunk?) as I hadn’t eaten but was consuming bacardi and cokes very quickly indeed.

From the BBC we went to open a Hypermarket in Worsley.  We were met by hordes of screaming girls and it was difficult to get from the van to the store.  I remember my husband getting scratched and having his hair pulled cos the fans were so excited they hadn’t realized he wasn’t one of the band.  It was here too that a young lady over enthused, fell into a freezer and broke her leg!

Working for the boys was lovely, they were so helpful and co-operative.  I only had to ask!!!  Very quickly I got to know their families, Christina and Kim, Cherrille, Pia, Scott and John’s brothers Ian and Peter, Val, Sarah and Andrew, (plus of course, Shirley and Clayton and Gina).  In fact only recently I had a long chat with Cherrille on the phone, catching up on family news and having a laugh about our past antics.

I remember one weekend Alan had a really huge party at his house.  There were masses of people there and a marquee for the drinks.  Everyone had a splendid time eating, drinking, partying and jumping in and out of the swimming pool.  I remember helping Christina prepare some of the food and I also remember my husband disgracing himself by getting so drunk he was sick.  I can picture , Christina and me joining arms and swaying in front of him to make him think the room was spinning. Alan’s mum was there too, she’s a brilliant lady.  Next day at John’s, Cherrille and I were making a huge roast and deliberately banged and crashed the pots and pans to make John and my husband groan due to their hangovers.

Not content with UK success the boys made it big in Europe and soon fan mail was pouring in from Germany, France, Holland etc.  Everywhere they went the girls loved them.  You can only begin to imagine the amount of mail we had to deal with – some peculiar requests too which perhaps I had better keep to myself to save embarrassing anyone who might be reading this.

Another lovely memory is when Alan offered a trip in his plane to a lucky competition winner and friend.  Sue and I went along for the ride (who wouldn’t) and Alan became quite worried as Sue turned greyer and greyer with anticipation of her flight.  I remember him saying to me “Chrissie if she is sick up there I wont be able to look after her”.  The fans had such a time.  Christina met up with us later and we all went for lunch and Alan bought the girls a bracelet each to remember the day.  They wouldn’t have forgotten it anyway but it was such a lovely gesture.

I remember Ian Richardson sleeping on the floor of my house with the rest of Suzy Quatro’s backing band -my neighbours’s faces were a picture the next morning with all these music types strolling out the door.

We spent many happy weekends staying at Alan’s or John’s –I can recall John reversing his car into a tree one time (Tree?  What tree?).  I remember lots of lovely summer evenings and big gardens and laughter, sitting round the pool at John or Al’s having fun and great conversations.

Another occasion that sticks in my mind was when The Rubettes did a gig at the Ritz in Manchester.  Of course we went along to cheer them on and watch and later backstage had a chat with some of the fans.  After that we decided to go for a curry locally.  When we climbed into the van there was a girl I hadn’t met before already sitting there.  I didn’t really think much about it at that time.  In the curry house there were loads of us, The Rubettes, their road crew, us, my cousin, and this girl.  She never spoke one word so John asked me “What’s your friend having”?  Well she certainly wasn’t my friend, I thought she knew the band – they thought she was with me.  In fact she was one cheeky fan who had dared her way into our company.  Of course the guys let her stay, bought her a meal and signed everything she asked them to.

Something else I remember vividly is turning up at a gig in Blackpool and going to the stage door – they always left my name on the guest list.  The doorman looked at me and said “Oh yes another Chrissie Jones – we’ve had about five already”.

You know what?  I got recognized in a store in Manchester once too – fame at last I thought.  There I was browsing and minding my own business when I heard this tittering from behind.  I turned round and these two young girls were giggling.  The brave one asked me if I was the person who worked for The Rubettes and when I said yes they asked for my autograph.

I first met Mark at a gig in Rochdale.  My daughter came along with me, they hadn’t seen her since she was about 10.  I gave my name at the door and Mark came out to meet me.  What I hadn’t realized is that Mark, himself, had been a one time member of the fan club.  He even kept all the stuff – so it was down memory lane for me again.

One of the nice things lately is that Sue and her husband Nick are publicans.  The Rubettes featuring Alan Williams have played two gigs at their pubs and these have been very special nights – especially The Clock Tower in Didsbury. This was around my birthday and Alan had the whole place singing Happy Birthday to me and both myself and Sue onstage with them.  Hopefully we can have more of these gigs in the future and some of you may be able to join us.

I have so many wonderful memories of my time working with The Rubettes that I could probably write a book about it but the one thing that will stick in my mind forever is that they are the warmest, loveliest, kindest, most professional people I probably ever met.  I am delighted that I have known the guys for the last 30 years – here’s to the next 30.

I would love to hear from any of the fans from the 70’s so feel free to contact me at the rubettes google group via the link below.