COVENTRY Music Museum curator Pete Chambers BEM writes for the Observer.
RIP Arthur ‘Modie’
So sad to report that Coventry musician Arthur (Modie) Albrighton, has passed away.
He was born in Coventry in 1941 and could play the harmonica by the age of four.
He told me in an interview many years ago: “My dad would take me around the working men’s clubs where I would perform pops and classics.
“Yes, my most treasured memory from my early days, is doing a duet with Larry Adler, live on stage at The Hippodrome (Coventry Theatre).
“My first love was the Blues – I was working as a radio and television engineer and was playing in The Ricky Thompson Band at the time.
“I guess I wanted to try something different, this lead to Peppermint Kreem.”
Peppermint Kreem were formed when Paul Kennelly put an ad in the paper.
Arthur Albrighton answered the ad.
“We were hungry for work and would take anything,” said Paul.
“It was a great way of learning the business, from The Benn Hall in Rugby to Harlaxton Manor in Lincolnshire.
“In fact we worked as much out of the city as in.
“We formed a makeshift band and we used the name ‘The Plague’, said Modie.
“We had heard there was another ‘Plague’ on the road, so we chose a name Peppermint Kreem as we thought no one else would have that one.”
The line up was Paul Kennelly on vocals, Modie on bass, Ray Haywood on lead guitar, Dave Fairclough on keyboards and Tom Ryan on drums.
Things looked good for the band that was until they were lined up for a tour of Scotland in 1968, with the help of Vince Martin.
Sadly, some of the members were not prepared to commit.
It was left to Paul and David Fairclough to join up with a Birmingham based band Glass Forest to complete the tour.
Modie added: “Considering we were a ‘put together’ band, we did very well – I’m so glad that I made it up there though.”
The mark two Peppermint Kreem created the rock opera ‘Revelation 2001’ playing the whole thing live on carnival day at War Memorial Park in July 1973. Sadly, it was never officially released.
“When we reformed in 1972/73 we achieved great things, but the band didn’t hang together and I emigrated to Germany, met my wonderful wife, Eva and continued to play guitar and harps with various bands.
“I was also employed by the US Army at the time and made friends with serving personal, teaching guitar and recording.”
Modie stayed in Germany, in his wonderful country house, part of which was given over to his business ‘Falcon-Studios’.
Here, he recorded up-and-coming artists encourage them and published their original material.
Modie was the brother of Roye Albrighton who passed away in 2016, Roye was a member of the German based Prog Rock band
Nektar, whose album ‘Remember The Future’ made the top 20 in the American charts in 1973.
Both were amazing musicians and both will be sadly missed.
