Marshall Scott and The Deputies in March 1963
John Holden, George Scott, George Reid, John Armstrong, Don Pattinson

Marshall Scott and the Deputies were formed in West Cumberland in the early sixties and found fame (if not fortune) later in the sixties, recording for EMI at Abbey Road in the same studio as the Beatles, touring in Europe, making promotional films (the forerunner of today's pop videos), appearing on radio shows with Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and Cat Stevens and having their own fan club with regular newsletters.

The original line-up as shown here was (Marshall) George "Pod" Scott on vocals, Donald Pattinson on lead guitar, George Reid on drums, John Holden on bass and John Armstrong on rhythm guitar. They became very popular in West Cumberland, playing in all the usual venues such as the Princess Hall in Workington and the Miners Welfare Hall in Siddick.

Their fame then spread throughout Cumberland, playing at venues like the Cosmo Club in Carlisle and then into Westmoreland and Southern Scotland.

In 1964 Don Pattinson left the band to form The Renegades with members of other Cumbrian Bands and John Armstrong took over on lead guitar.

In the sixties the only hope of making records and finding national fame lay in London. Marshall Scott and the Deputies were one of only two or three Cumbrian Bands who took the plunge and re-located to London.

They initially lived in a B&B in Finsbury Park at £4 a week each and set out to find a manager while playing in small clubs and finding jobs (such as working in a timber yard and coffin making) to eke out a living.

They found a manager through the music press and signed up with the Norton York Agency and recorded a demo disk at Chiswick's Modern Music Centre of two of their own songs "New Love" and "How It Oughta Be" which led to what all upcoming groups dreamt of - an audition with EMI records.

The band was originally going to be produced by George Martin but due to his involvement in a Beatles LP he passed them over to Walter Ridley who also produced The Swinging Blue Jeans.

After playing four of their own numbers at the audition they were told by the producer that the audition was going to become a recording session and they were given a recording contract with HMV records which led to their playing in bigger and better clubs .

The downside of having a recording contract was that the record company decided where the band could play and when they had to be available for recording.

After one gig the band were approached by a lady from the Lebanon who wanted to fly the band out to play in the Miramar Hotel for £200 a night at the hotel's expense but EMI overruled it. They also stopped the band from taking up an offer to tour Sweden.

When the day came for them to record their first single "Same Old Feeling" at EMI's Abbey Road studio they found that the band following them in the studio was the Beatles and they set their gear up alongside Ringo's drums which to George's surprise was the same black Ludwig set as his!

When the lads had finished their session they were asked if they would like to stay on and watch the Beatles but, being true Cumbrian lads, they replied "Nah, we're going for a pint".

EMI also decided the name "Marshall Scott and the Deputies" was to be too long for the record label and so it was shortened to "Marshall Scott Etc" under which name their records were released.

The single was backed by their own song "How It Oughta Be". The Beatles session produced "Paperback Writer" and the session before the lads had been for the Swinging Blue Jeans.

In the October 1965 issue of "Jazz Beat" in a feature on "The London Cavern" the magazine said "Monday nights are strictly for the stars, I mean groups that really made it, like Zoot Money, the Moody Blues, the Animals and Spencer Davies. Every Sunday there's a Cumberland group, Marshall Scott etc. - four musical genii with a unique sound and a sure fire hit for release on HMV"

A promotional film was shot for the record in Woburn Abbey and was circulated by Pathe films to all the ABC cinemas in the country and also went round Canada and the USA. Their single led to appearances on the radio program "Swingalong" where they performed live alongside stars such as Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and Cat Stevens.
The record was much played on the pirate radio stations (this was before Radio One) reaching the Radio London Top 40. They then found how the music industry worked in those days, being asked for £250 to ensure further plays on the station!
One big appearance for the group was at the Hammersmith Palais with its revolving stage. Unfortunately just as they were about to start their first number drummer George's chair fell off the back of the stage and he disappeared!

In 1966 the band went on an European tour which zig-zagged between Switzerland and the north of Germany (at one point they played two nights in Switzerland followed by two nights in Kiel followed by two nights back in Switzerland) in a van which could only manage 45 mph and with George Reid as the only driver. The tour introduced the lads to the nightlife of Hamburg, including the famous Star Club where the Beatles had been regulars.

The band's second single "Going Where the Loving Is" / "Come to Me" was released on March 17th 1967 and featured as backing vocalists Kiki Dee, Madeleine Bell and Leslie Dawson who were Dusty Springfield's backing group and happened to drop in on the recording session. The record was well received by the music press, being given a marvellous review by the NME's "Alley Cat" and featured in the "Record Retailer". Radio London made the record "Climber of the week" and Radio Luxembourg ran a "Marshall Scott etc." competition with a prize of five guineas (i.e. £5.25!)

The record was supported by another short promotional film which started with the group outside Buckingham Palace in a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud (with Senator Robert Kennedy among the watching crowd) and showed them rowing across the Serpentine in Hyde Park and driving a pony and cart.

Other publicity stunts included kitting out the lads in western clothing and driving them down Fleet Street in London in a stagecoach and playing for two days in a shop window in Windsor High Street. For sales of their first record they were paid a halfpenny a copy but on the second one they got a penny!

By this time the band had their own fan club run by Margaret Powell and Sue Cherry which issued regular newsletters and photographs. In the issue of March 1967 they reported that Alan Coleshill (a Londoner) had taken over from John Holden on bass guitar.

A demo of "Same Old Feeling"