The
Rubies - Dean and Tony (Photograph
c/o Strange Stories)
The
Rubies Live - 1979 - L-R: Steve, Dean, Paul, Tony and Warren (Photograph
c/o Strange Stories)
...The
Story...
The
Rubies played on the Southend scene around 1979 - 1980, and are still revered
as an electrifying live band by those who saw them. The Line up was Dean
(Deeno) Kennedy on Vocals and Guitar, (Also of Deeno's Marvels), Warren
Kennedy on Vocals and Guitar (Warren would go on to join Eddie and The Hot
Rods on Guitar in the mid -1980's), Steve Weston on Keyboards and Harp (He
played on the Dr Feelgood album 'Fast Women Slow Horses'), Tony Cranney
on Bass (Tony also played in The Screaming Ab-Dabs, joined Eddie and The
Hot Rods in the early -1980's and then played in Steve Hooker's Shakers
in the mid-late 1980's), and Gary Thompson on Drums (Gary also played in
local Powerpop band 'Tonight', who achieved chart success with their infectious
single 'Drummer Man'). Paul Spurt (of The Spurts) and Dave Dyke (of Idiot
/ Speedball) also had stints at the drum stool.Live, the band would mix in some great originals along with a selection of covers, which included 'Kicks' by Paul Revere and The Raiders, 'Arnold Layne' by Pink Floyd, 'Seven and Seven Is' by Love, 'Stepping Stone' by everybody!, 'Hey Joe', and as the set closer 'I'm Not Like Everybody Else' as made famous by The Kinks
The band could often be seen at venues such as The Shrimpers Club, Barons, The Top Alex etc and were a favourite of Alf's. Rubies aficionado Dave Jones is pretty certain the largest venue they played was Camden's 'Music Machine', supporting Eddie and The Hot Rods in 1979.
After the demise of The Rubies in the early 1980's, Dean and Warren Kennedy would go on to form 'The Canvey Island All-Stars' (whom Dave says 'sound like the Rubies used to'). They released one album which included 'Seven and Seven Is' as well as a reworking of an original Rubies number called 'Crazy'.
The Rubies and The Vicars used to gig regularly together too, and it is also of note that Dean and Warren Kennedy wrote the track 'Never Too Late' with Alison Moyet, for her 1991 album 'Hoodoo'.
Thanks to Dave Jones and Steve Hooker for help with the profile