Brighton legends The Chefs were back in the day signed to Attrix Records, who were based at 3 Sydney Street in the North Laine area of Brighton. The Chefs released two tracks on the classic ‘Vaultage 79 (The Other Side Of Brighton)’ compilation album, and then dropped two EP’s in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s on the label, before signing to Graduate Records. The first being their self-titled EP which saw the release of ‘Sweetie’, ‘Thrush’, ‘Records And Tea’ and ‘Boasting’, the second being the three track ‘24 Hours’ EP, which featured ‘24 Hours’, ‘Let’s Make Up’ and ‘Someone I Know’. Their Graduate single release featuring ‘24 Hours’ and ‘Thrush’.
The Chefs lineup of James McCallum, Helen McCookerybook, Russ Greenwood and Carl Evans recorded a BBC Radio 1 session for John Peel on 5th May 1981. It was transmitted on 11th May and featured ‘One Fine Day’, ‘I’ll Go Too’, ‘Love Is Such A Splendid Thing’, ‘Northbound Train’ and ‘Springtime Reggae’. The band also recorded a session for Richard Skinner. The band played gigs all over the UK as well as some of Brighton’s early iconic venues such as the Alhambra, the Skate Park, The Richmond and the original Concorde which was situated above Brighton Aquarium and one I was fortunate to have attended.
A compilation of their Peel sessions and other tracks is available on Damaged Goods Records, (see HERE) and a vinyl of their unreleased Graduate album will be coming out on that label in 2024. They are currently recording the songs which they hope to release next year alongside a ‘lost’ Chefs album that was never released at the time.
It has now been announced that James McCallum (one of the guitarists in The Chefs), and Helen McCookerybook (bassist/vocalist in The Chefs), will each be performing live and then will be followed by their guitar duo covers of four original Chefs songs. This event will be taking place on Friday 27th October here in Brighton, but not at your usual venues, this night will be happening at Nusoul Studio, which is located at the basement of Woodingdean Youth Centre on Warren Road, Woodingdean, Brighton, BN2 6BB. Folks can hop on either bus 2 or bus 22 or even walk from Elm Grove if they wish and their reward will be a cheap bar at the venue.
This is a unique chance to see them reprise a sold-out gig they played together in London in January.
Tickets for this event can be located HERE.
