Lenny plays for Amber
Those of you who regularly read this site especially the discography sections will have seen the name Jason Atkins many times. Jason is a long time collector and fan of all things DC5 , contributor to this site as well as being drummer in a very good 60's revival group called "Cloud Nine".
Jason and his wife Lyn's first child Amber was born with cerebral palsy. Now six years old, she is wheelchair bound but works very hard to overcome her disability. As part of their efforts to raise the money needed for their wonderful happy little girl to receive the best physiotherapy treatment possible they arranged a charity night at "The Talk" a night-club style venue in their home town of Norwich on 31st May.
Amber Atkins
One of the acts Jason contacted to support the event was the Cambridge Guitar Orchestra which features amongst its musicians Lenny Davidson and his son Max. The CGO were delighted to give up their free time to play at the event and Len also agreed to "guest" with Jason's group on a number of DC5 songs.
Lynn and I travelled down from the North East for the event and met up with DC5 fans Dave and Lynda Rockall from North London who were keen to see Len play and had generously obtained a number of outstanding prizes for the evenings raffle and auction.
Although the events for the evening weren't due to start until well after 7pm the hall was filling up quite nicely a lot earlier. Those in attendance then were treated to the CGO rehearsing their routine in a quiet atmosphere.The first part of their performance being entirely acoustic but the second part had Len on an electric guitar leading especially on "Windmills Of Your Mind" and "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat". As the CGO left the stage the venue filled up to capacity and eventually there was standing room only.
Len with Jason .... and with John Briggs
Len took time to seek us out and chatted for a while also signing Lynda's DC5 cds and posing for some photos. I was surprised by Max his son as the last photos I'd seen of him were as a small boy. He is now a tall good looking 16 year old and a valuable member of the CGO in his own right.
By the time the CGO returned to perform the crowd noise was massive and when they started their performance they were completely drowned out. Despite appeals for "quiet" and the use of the electric guitars in the second half of their act it was virtually impossible to hear them perform at the rear of the venue which was very sad.
After the GGO a local singer called Rob Charles who the compare announced as "Ray Charles" performed a series of catchy and danceable "oldies" which kept a good crowd on the dance floor.He was followed by "Cloud Nine" with Jason on drums. They went through a repetoire of Searchers, Hollies, Tremeloes and other 60's standards in excellent style, the lead guitarist being especially good.
Len plays DC5 with "Cloud Nine"
They then announced they'd do a series of DC5 numbers and introduced Len as he joined them on stage. Unfortunately there seemed to be a problem with the sound on Len's guitar and he left the stage almost immediately, the group swiftly moving onto a different number than planned. At the end of the song Len returned and they moved into "Over and Over". This was followed by "Catch Us If You Can", "Bits and Pieces" and "Glad All Over". Finally they performed the song sung by Len which made Number 2 in the UK charts in 1967 "Everybody Knows". Len then left the stage to rapturous applause while "Cloud Nine" continued their impressive performance of 60's music for another 2 hours or so.
In a short intermission during their performance the raffle draw and auctions took place and
Jason's wife Lyn thanked everyone for their support and announced that the money raised to take Amber for specialist physiotherapy would mean she could make a number of visits rather than just the one targeted by the evenings events.
It was therefore a successful evening on all fronts. The money raised was exceptional, the acts very good and the crowd enjoyed themselves and went home happy. Of course we got to see Len perform again too! The only down side being the noise during the CGO's performance.
There is to be both a DVD and a CD of the event available for purchase, all proceeds of course going towards Amber's care. For enquiries please email Jason at jason-lyn@ntlworld.com
The CGO have also generously donated a unique large fully signed mounted photo of the Orchestra
( including Lenny of course! ) to the fund for Amber's care. Readers of this site having the first opportunity to make an offer for it. It will go to the highest bidder and bids should be made to
enquiries@cgo.org.uk or via "Contact Us" on the CGO website www.cgo.org.uk
where you can also purchase cd's of the CGO featuring Lenny of course!
John Briggs
