Dave Clemo- Those were the days

Our version of Mary Hopkin’s 1968 hit was recorded back in 2007 for a projected album of cover versions that was never completed. Our cover of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s ‘Never had it so Good’ was part of the same project. The basic track was recorded in a single take and the overdubs completed the same day.
The images in the video are of various pubs that I frequented down the years. Many of them were demolished years ago. The first pub in the video was The Foresters in Wandsworth (now home to a mental health charity.) My band had a residency there in 1972. The second pub was The Admiral Blake (aka The Cowshed) in Ladbroke Grove, London. It was my father’s local for many years. The exterior shots were used in Al Murray’s comedy series ‘Time Gentleman Please.’ It was demolished some time ago and the site is now a block of luxury flats. The third pub is The Black Lion in Northampton which was a legendary live venue that my band played several times. It is now called The Wig and Pen and still hosts music events from time to time.
The pub in verse 2 was The Duke of Clarence in Holland Park. I was a member of a folk group that had a residency there back in the 70s. It was demolished years ago.
The Romany in Northampton was another music venue that my band played in the late 1970s, and another one that is no more.
The Abington in Northampton is one that is still open but doesn’t offer live music. I lived just around the corner in the late 70s.
The Cherry Tree was said to be Kettering’s oldest pub. It was a thriving music pub that has now been gentrified and given a new name. Likewise the pub next door. The Old Market Inn was another once great venue that has been refurbished and is no longer home to live music.
Those were the days.
Those were the days.