Jim Riley is a much-loved and well-respected participant of the thriving music scene in the Medway Towns. Known latterly for his work as chief engineer at Ranscombe Studios, his career in music began in the mid 1970s.
Jim was born in the back streets of Chatham in the early sixties. His earliest memories of music can be attributed to his father’s love of Hank Williams, Roy Acuff and Ray Charles. During the early seventies Jim’s musical tastes ranged from The Sweet to Black Sabbath to James Brown, but he began exploring the music industry seriously while listening to The Rolling Stones, whose influences were, like the music he’d been exposed to as a child, rooted in the Blues.
At the age of 16, Jim left school and worked as an apprentice carpet fitter. He recalls sitting in the work van with his colleague who told him, ‘Oh well boy, this is you for the rest of your life’. Jim, however, had other ideas, and along with a childhood friend, bought a 30-watt Winfield amp from Woolworths, a guitar, a chord book and pitch pipes and taught himself to play.
From humble beginnings practising in his bedroom night after night, and along with a couple of other friends, Wipeout was born. Jim was chosen to be singer, but still keen to play an instrument, he taught himself harmonica. The harmonica went everywhere with him and he recalls night-fishing under the stars playing quietly to himself.
Wipeout
Wipeout secured rehearsals in the upstairs rooms of the Good Companions club where one day a young punk with orange hair wandered in and started dancing. That was the beginning of Jim’s 34-year friendship with Billy Childish. Wipeout’s first successful gig was at The Chatham Chest pub covering numbers by Status Quo, The Rolling Stones and old Blues songs through just one amp.
This was followed by a gig in the Pentagon Centre, which caused some controversy largely due to the noise and all the feathers that were somehow liberated from their pillows during the gig. Wipeout made the front page of the local newspaper, demanding more venues for local residents to enjoy music. Eventually the council agreed to run a monthly disco at the town hall (now The Brook Theatre), a first in a town that had virtually no night-life for young people.
By 1979, along with Adrian Meads (one of Wipeout’s founding members) Jim turned his attention to songwriting. Under manager Mickey Modern, they were playing several prestigious London venues including the Marquee and Dingwalls, supporting 9 Below Zero, Dr Feelgood, Bo Didley, Dave Edmonds, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Ian Gillan and the Paul Jones Blues Band.
During the early 1980s, two singles, an album and an EP were released. The single, a cover version of Baby Please Don’t Go, was played on Radio 1 as record of the week, and the band was interviewed by the late Alexis Corner. Wipeout had a huge following, unusually made up of both Mods and Rockers.
Wipeout eventually split, and Jim joined The Agenda in 1984, followed by The Killer Rabbits in 1985. It was at this point that Jim met John Pritchard. Jim and John wrote and recorded several songs together using John’s small 4-track studio. Eighty songs later, they came very close to signing to Warner Brothers. They also wrote a soundtrack to a film, Heart of the Warrior which, like the Warner Brothers deal, never saw fruition. In 1986 Jim joined The Brothers Grimm.
Touring Europe and playing the bike shows, the Grimms were a hugely successful parody of The Blues Brothers and Jim was at last able to give up his day job at GKN Kwikform, where incidentally he met Chris Broderick (The Singing Loins) who, like Jim, had a dream of moving away from his dead-end job. In 1987, Jim met Glenn Barnes and formed Spellbound, initially a duo that later included Steve Crisp and Andy Jenkins. During this time, he continued to work with the Grimms until 1991 when Jim left to form The Absolute with Jeff Everett. The band split in 1993 after just one album.
The Herbs
In the same year, Jim teamed up with Kris Dollimore, John Keeble (Spandau Ballet) and Steve Smilie, to form 69 Daze. Jim found himself at the Marquee once again, this time playing to several ‘celebrities’ as part of a lively night club scene. During this time he met Dean Howard who was looking for a singer. He had a studio in his garden and there an album was made. Along with Russell Kennedy from The Absolute on bass and John Keeble on drums, The Herbs were cultivated. A hugely popular band in Europe, The Herbs toured extensively, supporting Status Quo during the mid-nineties.
By 1996, Jim was writing with Stuart Cunningham, and along with Glenn Barnes and Vernon Hampton, The Gurus of the New Millennium took shape. They were later joined by Tom Langridge (Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds). Storming local venues, and producing three albums, the band was enormously successful until the late 1990s.
Jim’s health deteriorated at the end of 1998, he lost his confidence and didn’t play at all for a couple of years. Gradually, as he became better, Jim decided to try his hand at recording and in 2002 Ranscombe Studios was born, situated initially at Ranscombe Farm, and later at its present site – The Function Rooms in Rochester. The first album he produced was for Stuart Cunningham.
Since its inception, Jim has produced albums for Billy Childish, Graham Day, The Singing Loins, Lupen Crook, Theatre Royal, James Taylor Quartet, Maker, Sally Ironmonger Trio, Ben Jones and The Lovedays, Pete Molinari, Len Price 3 and Zombie Met Girl. Bands come from as far away as Newcastle and France to record at Ranscombe.
The analogue production sounds ‘warmer’ than the more clinical sound of digital production. Jim says, ‘digital is manipulative and can make anybody sound good, rather than capturing the sound of a band as a raw talent and capturing the essence. I would rather do ten takes of something until it is right than rely on a computer and software to manipulate an artist. Digital has its limitations and is a representation of the sound’.
The studio has a warm, lived in, comfortable feel (once you get past the chill atmosphere and ghosts in the outer area). Jim provides an excellent environment for creativity and is always there to help with the sound and the production and bring out the best in anyone. He will always jump in and help out with guitar and harmonica if required, giving 100% every time.
Jim is a warm, friendly, big-hearted man and like many others who are born and raised here, is very loyal to his Medway roots. There is now a highly successful cultural element to these towns, thanks in no small part to Jim Riley.
Janey Lowrey
Photograph (c) Shooting Suzie
