The historye of  High Mileage

The precise origins of the band are not recorded, but a minstrel band called Hyghe Mileage are known to have supported Clyffe Richard  on a  concert tour of the Low Countries  in 845 AD. Of  that line up, only Barry remains in the current version of the band.

The next record found by local historians is a reference to Hyghe Mileage performing at the christening party for the Venerable Bede, who went on to become a fan and a regular attender of gigs at that time. The musical instruments of the day were quite different to modern ones, and at that time Barry was rated as one of the best claghorn players around Nottingham.

There is evidence of Hyghe Mileage in Norman times, with a glimpse of Colin visible in a corner of the Bayeaux Tapestry, where he seems to be arguing with Barry. The text under the image is in medieval Anglo Saxon and when translated reveals a disagreement as to what key they normally do Stormy Monday in.  The band still use a lot of Anglo Saxon expressions to this day.

We next find Hyghe Mileage providing the court of Henry the 8^th with entertainment, until they were dismissed when Colin insisted on opening the set with the jazz standard “I ain’t got no body” at the wake held for Ann Boleyn, yet another gig for which they did not get paid. Barry Turner had by now converted to playing lute, and was rated as one of the best lute  players around Nottingham.

The band struggled when the reformation occurred in the Middle Ages, and Colin was forced to learn all the lyrics in the vernacular English language, abandoning his traditional use of Latin. Fans of the band from those days still argue that “The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You” was vastly superior in the original Latin. Undeterred, and only partly influenced by the threat of being burned at the stake, Colin re-learnt the whole set list in time for the 18^th Century.

The Victorian era was a good one for Hye Mylage as they were now known. A musician known as Keith and clad from head to foot in black is known to have played with them during the gothic period. Later they were conscripted to entertain the troops during the Boer War, and were reported to have raised the morale of the troops magnificently. An Officer wrote that after a 3 hour Hye Mylage gig with an 18 minute version of “Crossroads”  as the 5^th encore, his troops seemed to have no fear of death. Sadly, during this time Hye Mylage got through even more drummers than usual. When attacked by Boer guerilla fighters, the drummers always took so long to pack up that they were invariably massacred, and 15 were lost in as many weeks. Only Paul Westmoreland survived, a fact which was said  to be attributable to his motto “bugger the kit, I’m out of here” along with his habit of playing in running shoes.

The 20^th Century brought many changes. The name was recorded as “High Mileage” for the first time and their music came to be more appreciated. Always one to keep up with fashions, Barry took up the new-fangled “guitar” . and Colin became the first front man to use a cordless microphone; nobody could hear him for almost 40 years, when radio P.A. technology was invented.  Barry learnt the guitar so rapidly that rumours quickly spread that he had gone down to the crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in return for his skills. Barry maintained that he had actually gone down to the Co-Op  and sold his soul to the devil for half a pound of Old Holborn and 5 packets of rizlas.

Anxious to avoid the noise and unpleasantness of the second world war, on its’ outbreak High Mileage bravely went straight into hiding. Barry demonstrated his resourcefulness by posing as Winston Churchill for the whole of the war, while the real Winston was kept locked in a basement in Sneinton, distracted by an endless supply of black market brandy and cigars. After the war, people remarked that the noble Mr Churchill never seemed quite the same man again, but that’s what 5  years in Sneinton does to a chap.

The 1950s posed fresh challenges for the band. Incredibly, a young black American singer called Chuck Berry started performing some of their material and claiming it as his own. Colin and Barry considered suing him, but realised that a black singer gigging in America would soon sink into obscurity and was no threat to them. He probably couldn’t afford the trip to Nottingham and no local landlord was going to give him gigs. However, over the next few years a host of white young “beat” groups with names like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles followed Chuck Berrys’ example, and the songs written by Barry and Colin filled the charts. Desperate to prove their ownership, Barry searched furiously for the original illuminated  manuscripts, only to remember that he had used them all to roll  cigarettes when Sir Walter Raleigh introduced him to tobacco in 1588. Other less talented bands plundered High Mileages’ set list and robbed the band of the fame and fortune they had always thought was just around the corner….

Further disappointment came when High Mileage were not invited to play at the official Millenium celebrations, despite pointing out that they did the gig last time.

That brings the story to the present day, in the 21^st Century. Colin retired after 1,000 years service to rock and roll, and mention should be made of the various other ex-members and friends who have played their part in carrying the flame over the centuries, some of whom continue to perform on occasion; Lord Robert de Isles, Rob the Johnson, Barry the savage Jester, Pete the Joker,  Robin of (somewhere near) Sherwood….and all the others lost in the mists of time, cigarrete smoke and alcohol…

As God is my witness (and let’s face it, he’s a bloody good witness to have),

AW 2008  

The first known picture of the early Hyghe Mileage, Barry can be clearly seen second from right :

We next catch up with Hye Myleage during the Boer War. Barry can be clearly seen second from right:  

High Mileage celebrate  the dawn of the 20th century, playing Glastonbury for the first (and last) time. Unfortunately this was some 70 years before the famous annual music festival was launched.

Letter from Brian Epstein to the band, August 1965:

"Dear boys,

Thankyou so much for the splendid audition tape. I found it to be both good and original. Unfortunately, the good bits are not original, and the original bits are not good.

Yours fondly,

Brian"

Recent past ; Colin fronting the band, Barry Savage of Jester on bass:

With Colin again, at the Greyhound :

 The present line-up: