Gerry Brooke looks at performances by Renaisance, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds and Cyril Fletcher and Fred Wedlock

BY early September 1978 the touring season, in the doldrums throughout the summer, was just starting up again – so who was there to go and see at the Colston Hall?

Well, over the next two months there was a whole host of top names waiting in the wings – The Shadows, the Tom Robinson Band, The Crusaders, Camel and Leo Sayer to name but a few.

But first off were Renaissance, a progressive rock outfit who had just had a big hit with Northern Lights.

The band, put together in the late 1960s by former Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, later experimented with rock, folk, and classical formats.

Their songs include quotations from – and allusions to – Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov and Prokofiev.

The Post's James Belsey was there, as ever, in his favourite seat.

"Renaissance's following in the richer pastures of the United States has never been in question," he wrote the next day.

"But success in the UK has proved more elusive... until now, that is.

"Fronted by the memorable voice of Annie Haslam the band suddenly have a hit on their hands.

"This tour is cashing in on the success of that single and last night's audience was large enough to prove that Renaissance have made the breakthrough.

"But on last night's showing I was a little less happy about what they are doing with that breakthrough.

"Their committed fans gave then enough confidence to look and act chirpy... but the music was badly balanced, poorly amplified and frankly, a little stale.

"Maybe it was an off night... but I feel that we will hear better music as the season rolls along."

If you wanted a little more excitement in your life than Renaissance could provide – and you were prepared to travel a few miles into North Somerset – then there was veteran soul band Jimmy James and the Vagabonds on stage at the Webbington Country Club.

The Vagabonds, who had teamed up with Jimmy in1964 and relocated from Jamaica to the UK, recorded one of the very first Jamaican ska music albums.

Jimmy and the lads were label mates (and rivals) of Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band.

In the 1970s the band had hit singles with I'll Go Where Your Music Takes Me and Now Is The Time.

The region's folk clubs were also getting back together after the summer break.

Jo Ann Kelly and Pete Emery could be seen at Bristol's Stonehouse club, and the city's very own Fred Wedlock was entertaining at Crockers, on Cotham Hill.

And if you appreciated the wit and wisdom of raconteur Cyril Fletcher, then he was the special guest at Fonthill Garden Centre at Bitton, where he was also signing copies of his new gardening book.