1978 – Now
Brian Davidson – vocals
Mike Laden – keyboards
Clive Haylett – guitar
Ekkie Eckhart – guitar & vocals
Sparrow – tenor saxophone
Hylton Reiff – bass & vocals
John Somerville – drums
Now brought together a diverse group of musicians from different parts of the Cape Town music scene.
Mike Laden and I had previously played together in Innisfree, while Brian Davidson came from Metallic Sun, which had included Patrick Canovi and Adrian Bekker. I already knew guitarist Clive Haylett from playing bass at various restaurant gigs around Cape Town, including the Main Road and Sea Point areas.
With two guitars, keyboards, tenor saxophone, bass and drums behind Brian's lead vocals, Now had a larger and more varied line-up than many of the bands I had previously played with.
We performed a number of gigs around Cape Town, including a concert at Mowbray Town Hall, where we appeared alongside the Steve Walsh Buddies Band and Safari Suits. The show was billed as The New Wave Road Show and was one of Now's first major public appearances.
Now in the Press
Fortunately, a newspaper clipping from the period survives and provides a wonderful snapshot of the band. It identifies the members as John Somerville on drums, Clive Haylett on lead guitar, Mike Laden on keyboards, Sparrow on tenor sax, Brian Davidson on lead vocals, me on bass, and Ekkie Eckhart on rhythm guitar.
Now was another relatively short chapter in my Cape Town years, but it brought together several musicians whose paths had crossed mine in different bands and projects. Looking back, that's one of the things I remember most about the Cape Town music scene of the late 1970s — bands came and went, but the musicians continually reappeared in new combinations, creating new music together.
