The Nag’s venue was a place where it was possible to stand at the bar and have the futures famous musicians ordering a pint standing next to you, they were all approachable, one such occasion that I can claim to be part of was when I sat in the bar downstairs and the members of Free walked in prior to playing, I sat at the table with Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirk sitting to my left and Andy Fraser and Paul Kossoff to my right. In these pre internet, pre PC days one communicated via the Royal mail with hand written letters. I had received a letter from one of my cousins that resided in Kent, another cousin had accompanied me to the Nags that night and was standing around the table, some punters were getting Free’s first album ‘Ton of Sobs’ signed by the band, I leaned forward and offered my cousin’s letter for him to read, Paul Kossoff snatched the envelope out of my hand and duly signed it , I hadn’t intended to get his autograph, it was more by default but I still have that signature today some 50 years later, sadly Paul Kossoff died in 1976. Other bands that appeared at The Nags may only be familiar to people who were aware of the progressive music scene at the time but these bands were all part of a rich tapestry that signified progress in music of the future, to witness them arriving from the capital in their beat up Ford transits was something amazing to see and The Nags had them all, the list from memory is as follows…………
Free, Brewer’s Droop, Brinsley Schwarz, Paladin, Alexis Korner, If, Wishbone Ash, Uriah Heep, The Faces, Stray, Rare Bird, Blodwyn Pig, Bronco, Killing Floor, Writing On The Wall, White Trash, Cochise, T2, U2, Ground Hogs, UFO, Burning Red Ivanhoe, Atomic Rooster, Thin Lizzy, Edison Lighthouse, Black Cat Bones, Formerly Fat Harry, Sam Apple Pie, Little Free Rock, Skid Row, Medicine Head, Supertramp, Audience, Ace Kefford Band, Blossom Toes, Black Widow……the list goes on and on.
Another famous face and voice that frequented The Nag’s head was BBC disc Jockey John Peel, John arrived almost every Friday night to enjoy the atmosphere, far from being inundated by the Nags Head fraternity he became just another famous face at the venue, he appeared to enjoy just being part of the audience and most people would give him a nod or a “Alright John?” comment as they passed, he appeared to like this immunity from stardom. Sadly John Peel died in 2004 but his contribution to pushing new music to the general public continued long after those Nags head days.