EXCLUSIVE – Unseen Pics Of The Ruts in North Wales
Paul Mattock (pic above in Feb13) is the calm, mild-mannered drummer for the insanity that is Rabo De Toro, he was also the original drummer of the seminal punk band The Ruts.
They formed in August 1977, as Paul explains; ‘Punk happened. Malcolm [Owen] really got into it and started writing punk songs with Paul Fox. It started out as a bit of a laugh. Dave Ruffy fancied himself as a bass player and I played the drums. We got some cheap studio time and went in and recorded some of the songs, Lobotomy, H Eyes and In A Rut (listen here). As soon as we played In A Rut, we knew it could be a hit. It was from this track that we got the name The Ruts.
They became highly regarded as one of the best punk bands of the second wave on account of them coming to prominence in 1979-80. Their classic singles In A Rut, Babylon’s Burning, Something That I Said, Jah War and Staring At The Rude Boys all displayed an edge that was a cut above many of their contemporaries.
If you add their outstanding album ‘The Crack’ (released Sep79) to your record collection then you’ve enhanced your musical prowess ten-fold… It is that good.
It all sadly came to an abrupt end when singer Malcolm Owen was found dead in the bathroom of his parents’ house in Hayes, from a heroin overdose on 14 July 1980 at the age of 26. The band continued as Ruts DC until 1983, in a heavy dub direction. They reformed in 2007, performing new material (as well as old) closer to the bite of the classic stuff. Make sure you catch their excellent live shows.
Before the punk explosion however, this group of people were an out and out heavy rock ‘n’ roll band called Aslan, whose root lies in Anglesey North Wales. They did mainly self-penned stuff from the bass player Dennis Laing and Paul Fox. Although Paul Mattock did some drumming in the band, the main drummer was a guy called Laurie Jellyman (who went on to do a lot of top session work in London) with Malcolm Owen playing a little rhythm guitar.
Paul says; ‘We were all hippies doing what hippies do. We put on our own gigs usually at the Beach Hotel in Trearddur Bay (now a block of flats). How we got here was that some friends of mine, including Malcolm, had done a road trip across India at the start of the 1970’s and when they got back to London decided to move to the country and live the hippy dream.
‘They ended up on Anglesey, not realising that it was an island until they got to Holyhead, decided to stay and I joined them a year later, which was the beginning of my love affair with Anglesey, and North Wales.’
Paul has unearthed some never seen before photos of the band and has kindly shared them with us…
‘Paul Fox and Malcolm Owen, were part of the Anglesey rock band called Aslan. These photos were taken at a rehearsal in the loft of a barn that a local farmer let us use. Often in the winter the farmer would keep his cows in the barn and we’d have to negotiate through them with all our gear to get up into the loft – 1974 I think. The girl in the picture was Malcolm’s girlfriend Rocky. I never could find out what happened to her. Went to live in Ibiza so I heard.’
[pic above] Paul Fox on guitar and Laurie Jellyman on drums.
[pic above} Jock and Paul Fox
[pic above] Jock on guitar. Laurie Jellyman on drums. Paul Mattock sat in the corner.
[pic above] Laurie Jellyman on drums. Paul Mattock in corner. Rocky (Malcolm’s girlfriend). Malcolm Owen on guitar.
Paul says, ‘I use to share the drumming with Laurie, but he was an exceptional drummer. Apart from Rocky, I’m the only one in these pictures who is still alive… Now there’s food for thought!’
Check out Rabo De Toro on Bandcamp
October 2, 2018 @ 2:10 pm
Wow, thanks for these pictures. Today, after many many years, I thought about Laurie Jellyman and wondered if he was still around and found this website. I knew Laurie a bit in London, used to hang out in the 90s, he was quite a character. I knew he was an amazing drummer, saw him play with a local band (I think) a few times, just phenomenal. Figured he might not be with us any more, such is life.
October 2, 2018 @ 2:30 pm
Wow, after many many years I today suddenly wondered if there was anything about Laurie Jellyman online and found this! I knew him a bit in the 90s in south London, he was quite a character. Had no idea he played with the Ruts, used to hang out a bit and saw him play in a local pub, phenomenal.
October 3, 2018 @ 8:34 am
Ah, I did post twice!
May 31, 2019 @ 7:32 pm
Stunning photos. I knew Malkie, Paul and Laurie when they were living in squats (not Laurie) in West Ealing in the 70’s Recently been in touch with Moby Medina in the States who used to jam with them
January 19, 2020 @ 6:18 pm
Hi, is this the Laurie Jellyman that I knew in 1978 ish? He was the drummer in the George Bradley Band at Top Rank, Watford. He lived in Yeading Lane, Hayes, Middx. His Mum was lovely. He was, I think very talented. I hope he is still drumming somewhere. He broke my heart. Kathy Rodel.
November 20, 2020 @ 5:12 pm
Yes Laurie did live near Yeading Lane in Larch Crescent. I am his sister he sadly passed away 8 years ago.
November 21, 2020 @ 11:34 am
Hi Kim and Kat, I got to know Laurie and Malkie through the squat in Marlborough Road West Ealing. Fun and dodgy times. Laurie had some really powerful thai sticks – haha. There was a practice band with Laurie, Moby Medina (a Hendrix in his time), Malkie, Paul Fox and I forget who on bass. I got back in touch with Moby in the States – he is still playing. Sad to hear about Laurie – he was such a nice guy. I was doing some work with a hospice near Ruislip for fundraising called Michael Sobell and they have or had an annual Paul fox tribute day as i think Paul played to raise funds for them.
January 12, 2021 @ 12:28 pm
Hi Kim, sad to hear that Laurie is no longer with us. I remember him,you and larch crescent very well. He was our drummer around 1967/1968, in a local band called Blues Convention. The core band were Laurie (drums, vocals) , Colin Wilson (lead guitar, vocals) and me, Pete Berryman (Bass / rhythm guitar). We played a mixture of blues/Hendrix and Atlantic soul and gigged at weddings, Youth clubs (we practiced and played at Pinkwell YC in Hayes ) and anywhere else that would have us! Although Laurie was quite young he was already an incredible talent and a real character. I have lots of fond memories of him. I still have some memorabilia of the band (tickets etc) including some flyers / business cards with the bands name on it stating to contact L Jellyman on the Larch Cresent phone no. I lost contact with him when I left school so was not aware of the Malcolm Owen connection. Malcolm went to my school (Mellow Lane in Hayes) and I was aware of him, but he was a few years younger than me. Glad to have found this website as often wondered what happened to Laurie.
March 28, 2021 @ 3:39 pm
Hi Peter my goodness I had forgotten that name The Blues Convention I remember when Laurie first played with you and he was all excited about the group ! How time passes so quickly. He played with so many bands when he did his session work I just wish I had listened more when he would go on about it but being his younger sister I tended to switch off. Regret that now. My son has found a few things on the internet where his name comes up if you type Laurie Jellyman Drummer in the search bar. Thanks for your comments.
Take care
Kim Wilkes (formally Jellyman)