Article by Mike Clifford MT 27/28  June 1999

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KATS at the Blacksmiths in Barwell, Mike Clifford, Kathy Boorman, Harry Heppingstall and Jeff Lockett.

Pre-Kats
 I had stopped playing the guitar live for many years.

In the 70s I had played with a few ad-hoc local bands such as Beans On Toast and Mad Gran and several other weird and wonderful concoctions at places like the Union Hotel and John Cleveland. Members included people like singers Alan Bates and Alan Poole, drummer Gordon Hayes (of Nervous Records) saxophonist Stu Price and many others, too numerous to mention. I played in a rock band in Brighton for a few months.

On my return to Hinckley in 72, I played a lot with a pianist/ organist Keith Brown (nick-named Kipps) who played with recording band Spring. As a result of this contact I played a few jam sessions down at Rockfield Studios with Pique Withers (later to join Dire Straits) and Ray Martinez  (Who joined many an impressive tour and eventually joined Shawaddywaddy)

 In 73 I went to art college and gave up gigging - it didn't bother me much. My great love was song writing.

 Many moons later, in 1986, when I just come back from teaching in Oxford, a friend, Mick Tynan, came over from Leicester and we headed off to the Queens Head to play pool, but on the way we stopped at Bentley's wine bar, where they always had some band on. When someone asked me if I wanted to play guitar, I  just said 'Yes' for some reason. A bass player and a singer came up. We just played a 12 bar blues in E, See See Rider, I recall, and I had a bit of fun playing the blues.

 Later I said to Mick: "I enjoyed that! I had forgotten how great it is to play live.” And that got me back on the road again, and yet I was the age to give it up, not take it up: 37.