Fumble – History of the band 1962-1982

Des and Mario have been friends since they were about 3 years old. At 15 they founded a band called 'The Iveys' with Mario's brother Remo on bass and John Watson on drums, who wsas later replaced by Bob Davies.

1965 - Single at Abbey Road Studios
Their music was Shadows and Cliff Richard Style, they toured Sweden in 1965 and even recorded a Single in the famous Abbey Road Studios.

1965 - Swedish TV-Show
Later that year they were in the Swedish TV-show "Drop In" with Sony and Cher, The Loving Spoonful and the Kinks. Due to the success of the band EMI

The Iveys disbanded in 1966 when Remo got married and Bob Davies joined the army.
Later that year Des and Mario met Sean and Barry - The Baloons were born !

Under the name of 'The Baloons' Des, Barry, Mario and Sean began touring clubs and universities around the UK and Europe.

1967 - Touring Bulgaria and Rumania
They even played in Bulgaria and Rumania, which was fairly unusual for bands at that time.

1968 - Star Club and Cavern Club
In December 1968 the legendary Star Club in Hamburg saw them supporting Spooky Tooth for 10 days, and in 1970 they played the Cavern Club in Liverpool for the first time.

A new band name
During a skiing-holiday in Switzerland in late 1971 Mario broke a leg and ended up in hospital - where he had plenty of time to think - and thought about a new band name - FUMBLE

1972 - first LP and tour with Bill Haley
Fumble - with the same line-up as the Baloons - recorded their first LP in 1972. It was also the year when they went on their first major tour supporting Bill Haley in Germany.

1973 - David Bowie, Chuck Berry, Reading Festival
A US-tour with David Bowie followed in spring 1973. Back in Europe they performed on the famous German TV-show Musik Laden. The summer of '73 saw them playing several festivals all over Europe. The Reading Festival, Alexandra Palace Festival, the Clitheroe Festival and Roskilde Festival in Denmark.

Several headlining tours followed in 73 and 74, among others Denmark and Germany, The Reading Festival 1974, and a European tour in 1976 supporting Fats Domino.

temporary band members
Fumble were a four-piece band with the same line-up throughout the years, but they had additional musicians at times. Dave Christopher, who played guitar on their second LP "Poetry in Lotion" 1974, Dave Bennet in 1975 and Kevin Adderley until 1976.

1979 - Live LP
By the end of the Seventies Fumble had played with Chuck Berry several times, supported Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney, and were regulars in clubs like the The Cavern Club in Liverpool, The Marquee in London, Dingwalls and the Rock Garden. They had released two LPs and nine singles in the UK, and a live bootleg LP which was released in 1979 and contained live recordings from different venues.

1978 - Elvis - The Musical
Fumble provided the background music for the West End musical ELVIS, featuring Shakin Stevens and P.J.Proby. The show was voted Best Musical of the Year 1978 and ran for 19 months at the Astoria Theatre in London.

1979 - Jack Good's 'Oh Boy!'
1979 saw a change in style. Dressed in pink suits, Fumble played in the Rock'n'Roll TV show "Jack Good's Oh Boy", featuring Shakin' Stevens, Alvin Stardust, Lulu and Freddie "Fingers" Lee. The shows were broadcast all over Europe in the early Eighties.

1980 - South Africa with Bill Haley
Fumble resumed touring in late 1979. In June 1980 they went to South Africa to support Bill Haley on his very last tour.

1981 - German LP
In 1981 they recorded another album "It's only a Rock'n'Roll Game", which was released in Germany only. Two singles from that album were released in Germany: "Wasn't That A Party" in 1981, and "Feel like Rocking Tonight" in 1982.

At the end of 1982 the band stopped touring, but continued to play occasional gigs in their home town Weston-super-Mare.