This nostalgic tour ushered me back to the early '60s to the music scene in Britain, a time of revelation. It was forging forward as never before, a new age had dawned. A force greater than gravity pulled Colin Stoddart from his otherwise quiet life into the waiting arms of music and soon to his revered guitar. It was a match made in heaven.

The well-written storyline was laced with many pictures that called back to his early days of music; they consisted of posters of their gigs, the vans they used for getting around, one of their first official band suits and a group fan club picture; it added a nice personal touch to his fond memories.

They were young and for them, back then, money was tight. To get to their gigs, every shilling they could rub together was put toward getting wheels. Great detail was devoted to the time needed for setting up for the shows, their occasional side-stepping bar fights while playing and undivided attention to becoming a tighter band.

Colin was being drawn in to everything he had ever hoped for. A potential rock star in the making, realistically, he also knew deep down inside that they wouldn't quite reach that star. Very few did. They gave it their best shot and that was all that mattered.

The narrative began on the busy beaches of Brighton. While on vacation, seventeen-year-old Colin and a few of his mates got themselves into a pickle. Attributed to adolescent hormones run amok, they got involved in a senseless gang confrontation with the Rockers; they were a rival music culture group, no more. In the melee, a shotgun was fired. Fortunately, no one was injured. This incident would later find Colin in court. He would live to regret his participation in it for all the anguish it had caused. It was a lesson learned the hard way. It reminded me of West Side Story - the Jets and the Sharks. The culture clashes were short-lived.

Putting that all behind him, it was time to move on. After much practice, Colin learned to play lead guitar and had formed a band called Johnny Lonesome and The Travellers. Over time, they became the support group for The Who, Tom Jones, The Dave Clark Five, the Merseybeats, The Love Affair, The Hurricanes, Bee Bumble & The Stingers, not to mention many others. Their enthusiasm to succeed was endless.

Lastly, they would later endure another name change to become known as The Candles; it gave them greater notoriety. Capping off his illustrious career, Colin's most remembered, greatest claim to fame was playing on the same stage with his most admired musician, Jerry Lee Lewis, goodness gracious...

My thanks are sent to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this digital edition in exchange for an unbiased review.

A thoroughly interesting glimpse into the music & cultural past of '60s Britain. Colin's love of music takes him from fan to performer, encountering heroes along the way

Headline : An Ordinary Guy’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Experience
Stars : 4
I very much enjoyed this book as it told what I suspect is a very common story. This is not a tale of rock ‘n’ roll excess or rubbing shoulders with the stars at celebrity parties – though there were a number of brushes with other musicians who would go on to stardom.
A story of what might have been? Well probably not as the groups Stoddart played with were content to be jobbing covers bands. Nothing wrong with that but not the way to fame and fortune.
Travails with band members, vans, crowds and vans again are scattered throughout the book. Stoddart does a good job of recording just what it was like in the local music scene.
An enjoyable read and clearly the love of music kept he and his mates working away for relatively little reward.
This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Note :
This book was reviewed on Amazon on 13 August 2018
https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2I460A4XAWHQW/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This nostalgic story is essentially the autobiography of Colin Stoddart from the beginnings of his interest in playing the guitar in a band and through the hostile mods and rockers era. It was a fascinating insight into the music of the time and what life was like for an up and coming group, often rubbing shoulders with others that are now very well known indeed. It gives you a real sense of the passion and hard work required to achieve success but also the fun and adventures they had along the way. A great read for anyone interested in the 60's music scene. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC.

Most of us Americans were introduced to the Mods and the Rockers in The Who's epic movie, Quadrophenia, with its brilliant battle on Brighton beach, trench coats, Vespa scooters, and all. To us, the Mods were the people in The songs Love Reign Over Me, Bellboy, and the Punk and The Godfather. Stoddart's biographical tale begins with an even earlier version of the Mods and the earliest of the giant brawls with the Rockers. What stands out in the re-telling is naïveté and innocence and getting swept up in all the madness. Getting arrested and having court dates were shocking to these kids. What also stands out is how they had day jobs as clerks, tellers, and the like at risk due to the well publicized arrests.

The bulk of the story features Stoddart's band, first as Johnny Lonesome and the Travelers and then as the Candles. Although they often found themselves backing future stars like The Who, Jerry Lee Lewis, or Tom Jones, neither the Candles nor the Travelers made it to the big recording contract. But, that's part of what makes the story so interesting. It's not a tale of rich and famous celebrities who barely remember struggling, but filled with anecdotes about being an opening act, bar fights, near riots, broken down vans, guitars forgotten at home, moping over a French girl, and getting lost and nearly running out of gas. Well-written. It not only captures an era, but fills that era with life and vigor.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

The man who didn't meet Rod Stewart.

Colin Stoddart's book "Mods To rockers " is the story of him and a group of friends who form a band in the early 60's and become "nearly famous". From schoolboy band to local heroes then onwards and upwards to supporting well-known bands of time,some of whom are megastars today.
It's an easy read,I read it in a day, though i do read a lot quicker than most,and Colin's writing style is such that at it's almost like sitting in a pub listening to his tales. What made it more interesting for me personally is that I've also just read music promoter Don Arden's autobiography,Mr Big. Arden,a rather unpleasant character it has to be said,tells of the American artist's tours he organised and his experiences with such "characters" including Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent and coincidentally it appears that Colin Stoddart's band were support to both performers on those tours.
The book is well researched and there were several snippets of information about places I know,being brought up on the other side of the river to Colin,that I didn't know,how Blackheath got its name for example and why the Blackwall Tunnel isn't straight. He's also checked his memories from so long ago on the internet,hence the title of this review,you'll have to read the book yourself if you want the story behind that one. He didn't meet Rod but he did meet a lot of other very well known artists and how many of us can casually drop into a conversation,"then there was time Keith Moon bought me a pint"?
Big thanks to Colin Stoddart,his publishers and Netgalley for my copy of this very entertaining book,full of the snippets of information I love to collect about well known bands and singers ,"before they were famous", reminiscences of the mad,bad ,pre-gentrified London and basically a good story well told.
My part of the deal is an unbiased review..........and this is it.

What a surprise I got when I realised that this is written by someone who lived through the excitement of the early to mid 60's in and around London. I thought it would be an account of life during that time, by an outside observer, but instead found it to be an account of a band who actually lived through this exciting time in music history. Romford
band The Candles (previously Johnny and the Travellers) are not a well known band from that era, but they have lived a dream most people can only wish for. They met the heroes of the day and shared appearances with these musicians. Mentioning their interaction with a host of my heroes of that time....famous bands like The Who The Shadows, Tom Jones, etc. A well written biography of a band who lived this time to the full, written by their lead guitarist. A definite 100% recommendation to anybody who lived through this time or who wished that they did to read this gripping account of the most celebrated time in music history. I was given this book for free and wrote this review voluntarily. I would have been more than happy to pay for this book

I grew up an American child in the 60's, but remember reading all about the mods in our teen magazines. They mostly concerned themselves with Carnaby Street fashion, more that Mods themselves, but I'd read small bits of info about the Mods here and there and wondered about them. Then the who came out with Quadrophenia! I learned a it more. But still had questions! Thank you, Colin Stoddart for writing this amazing book! As an eyewitness to history, and an insider to the Mods, you have answered all my questions! I do recall hearing about some of the things and events you wrote about, but it tied them together and made sense of it all. If by chance you have more memories you'd like to commit to a book from that time period, I'll be happy to read it!

This novel was a well written biography of a band who dreamed of making it big during the music revolution of the sixties. Loved the interactions with some of the huge names of the times. Unique perspective written by the lead guitarist. The band lived to play and tho they never made it to the top, the love of music shines through .

Mods to Rockers by Colin Stoddard is a 2016 publication.

A personal walk down memory lane, exploring a brief, but interesting period in 60s British music scene.

I’m not quite old enough to recall the mod versus rockers period, but I had heard the phrase ‘Mods’, of course, and probably like many people, associated that word with ‘The Who’ and ‘Quadrophenia’.

However, Colin Stoddard was a part of a Mods versus Rock dust up years before the media took an interest- which is where our story begins...

Colin and his band flirted right on the cusp of stardom, rubbing elbows with people who did become quite well known. The history is interesting, but Colin’s own personal journey with his group, ‘The Candles’, and through the Mod subculture is fascinating and unique.

The history itself is certainly interesting, but Stoddard’s voice, and personal insights and experiences, are what makes this book stand out. His reminiscences are clear, vivid and colorful, and it is obvious he remembers this time fondly.

Overall, this period of time is mostly unfamiliar territory for me, so I found it to be quite interesting. I enjoyed reading about the clothing styles, the music, the historical vibe of the early 60s in Britain.