After knocking the door, I stood in the porch which offered meagre protection from the typical, never ending rain, wondering if the sound had registered over the drum machine and chord progression emanating from the upstairs studio. As another drop of rainwater trickled down my neck, I thought of re-announcing my arrival. My hand was clenched for a second rap when the door was cautiously opened a crack, just enough to see a single bespectacled eye peering back at me from behind the hardwood bolster which afforded his security. After registering who it was, the door opened fully to reveal the Sassafras Bass Slayer, Raymondo, who stood in his New Zealand rugby shirt, jeans and what appeared to be quilted Tibetan footwear. He instructed me to remove my shoes as he ushered me to the lounge and enquired how I would like my tomato cut!
I sat a while and was fed with coffee and some Bramley Apple Fancies and finally was joined for the start of the sojourn through the career and upbringing of one of the country’s most renowned rock impresarios.
Ray sank into his Ikea upholstery surrounded by an array of expensive acoustic guitars, all of which were within arms length and each having a distinctive tone.
“What do you think of this?” he enquired as he grabbed a Washburn semi-acoustic from its stand and started to pick out a tune from his acclaimed “Milestones” album,
“Great sound isn’t it? How much do you think it cost?” he posed enthusiastically.
“I don’t know” I replied, to which, was quickly retorted
“Guess!”
“£800?” silence “£1000....um...£1500?”
Ray smiled wryly as his fingers worked the fretboard, pulling out a blues riff for a few seconds before he replaced the instrument back on its stand and sprung to his bequilted feet.
“You’ll be ready for your tea Bigun” he said as he disappeared into the kitchen.
He arrived back in the lounge, carrying a tray, which he duly plonked on my lap.
“There you go!....Bon apetito Largeun...!”
I looked down at the plate in front of me to see a ripe, exquisitely carved tomato at its centre...but nothing else!
Ray returned to his position at the heart of his Terpiscovery and looked pensive, searching his mind for a good place to start our journey. He reached to his right and pulled a jumbo 12 string Alvarez, given to him by Yes front man, Jon Anderson, off its stand and strummed a few chords for inspiration before replacing it below the poise angled back-lighter which illuminated the beauty of the wood grain beneath the lacquer. He took a sip of Merlot and then paused before commencing on the rite of passage, which formed his early years.
Ray, a proud Welshman, was actually born in London. Our story begins on 11th October 1951. Ray was the first born of Dai and Henrietta Jones who had settled in London before the war. Dai ran a dairy business with his uncle, where he had worked since leaving school at the age of 15. Later, the dairy was to be expanded and he opened a cafe. He and Henrietta were childhood sweethearts who sat next to each other in primary school back home in Cofadel on Mynydd Bach Ceredigion. The rural life was a far cry from the bustle of Britain’s largest and one of Europe’s most famous cities but they settled into the London-Welsh community in what were daunting but exciting times. World War 2 did not help.
Tragedy struck shortly after the birth of Ray’s brother, Dick, when their father died prematurely of a heart attack. Losing her life partner and soul-mate was almost too much for Henrietta to bear and so during this sad time, the young Ray went to live with his grandparents back in the rural mid Wales heartland, a small village called Trefenter, a few miles outside the seaside town of Aberystwyth.
After settling her husband’s affairs back in London, Henrietta returned to Wales and both she and Dick were reunited with Ray. She bought a modest terraced house on the outskirts of Aberystwyth and devotedly raised the two boys.
As a youngster, Ray went to the local Welsh primary school of Cofadel at the base of Mynydd Bach where his parents had enjoyed and flourished those many years before.
“Growing up in Aber in the ‘50s was really nice” Ray recounted as a smile came across his face. He leant forward and removed yet another guitar from its stand, a bugged Yamaha six string acoustic. He started to strum the chords of a song, long lost in time.
“Do you remember this?” He asked with an open smile beaming from ear to ear. His head dropped as he listened to the chords he was producing as he soaked himself in nostalgia. The song he was playing was “The Cruel Sea” by a band called “The Dakotas”. As he played, he looked across at the wall to one of several framed exhibits of sheet music...there it was “The Cruel Sea” by “The Dakotas” priced at 3 shillings (15p). He stopped playing and recounted the story.
“I was never particularly bright in school...and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I grew up. I wasn’t into any of the academic stuff; I enjoyed the outdoor things like rugby and scouts. I was having piano lessons but wasn’t really into music that much.”
He got to his feet and replaced the guitar gently on its stand before walking over to the framed Dakota’s sheet music and removed it from the wall, looking at it and humming the tune as he did so.
“You see Bigun...in those days, there were no computers and stuff like today, and God I can remember my Grandparents getting electricity! Things were a lot more straightforward, less complicated. All the kids did the same things...like going to Sunday School! I loved going to that! Not because of that itself, you understand but because afterwards, I got to go back to my cousin Elgan’s place. We were studying for the Church in Wales’s exam in Sunday school...seriously bad vibe!” Ray was starting to meander as the memories flooded back.
“You see, we didn’t have a telly or a radio, let alone a record player! But Elgan...and his brother Viv...God!” He exclaimed as he became passionate about his formative years, “They had it all! My other cousin, Mansel was at University!” he added..
It’s hard to believe that now, when you see the array of rock and recording memorabilia that adorns Ray’s repose and the fact that this man has rubbed shoulders with some of the greatest names in rock music on the planet!
“We used to listen to stuff by the Shadows and Beach Boys who were seriously cutting edge back then!...Viv used to play in a band called “The Xenons” ( Viv and Pete are still the Xenon's today ) and he had a red Hofner bass which he used to leave on the chair. I remember thinking that, that guitar was a most wonderful thing! I used to look up to Viv and it was really from then that I wanted to play in a band...like him! Viv Williams is a real nice guy I owe a lot to him and the rest of his family " he added as he handed me the framed sheet music.
“There used to be a lady living next door to us called Peggy Royston...she and her partner Ernie Morgan……. great piano player and MD, used to arrange and star in the pantomimes put on every year in the town’s King’s Hall...each performance was always packed. I remember...one year...about this time, I think I was about 11, there was a band that played in the Intermission...I can’t recall their name but they played “The Cruel Sea”. I’d never heard live music before...and it was then that I knew what I wanted to do...it was the most fantastic thing I’d heard and a realisation came over me...I wanted to play in a rock ‘n’ roll band!”