Graham

Lead Singer

My love for music began at the beginning of my teens ,even though i had an early apprenticeship through my mam who constantly played old greats like Sinatra, Bennett ,Cole, and Streisand carving a place in my list of favourites in the vocal arts .As my teen years progressed i joined up with a brilliant acoustic guitarist with a magic harmony voice ,in my senior school we would entertain our school pals with covers from the likes of Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Stills and Nash ,the Beatles etc ---,once i had established myself as a vocalist after desperately failing as a musician i left school and started following friends around who had established themselves in groups most of which were R&B,i was a couple of times asked to fill in for vocalists who for whatever reason were unable to fulfil their roles. This was my turning point for my musical future .I can't recall my age when i auditioned for the band Heat Treatment but it was along time ago, then we became Funktion ,then Street Level around 1985, the bands name was Life and Soul when i decided to leave and follow a solo career as a vocalist around clubland ,the highlight was being the support act for the Three Degrees ,i retired twenty years later but Street Level are back and so am i.

Started paying in early teens - loved the Stones and the Beatles
My Dad played guitar and he got me started - there was always a guitar in the house
Saw my first live band aged 13, at St Nick's youth club (near the Barnes) Band was the Enterprise - Billy Elliott vocals, Mick Grabham guitar (Procal Harum), Nigel Olsen drums (Elton John) ... didn't know bass player .... and then I was hooked.
Around 18 - 19 started playing clubs in my band FREIGHT - proper rock stuff Led Zep, Hendrix, Purple, Ground Hogs etc
But unlike most other rock guitar players .... I also loved all the Soul and Funk music in Annabelle's nightclub
I left Sunderland and FREIGHT and moved to Manchester for my Computer Studies degree
When I retuned - PUNK had taken over - and I hated it - so I answered an advert to join a Soul / Funk band - HEAT TREATMENT with Trev, Nige, Graham, Cliffe etc...
so then LIFE AND SOUL, STREET LEVEL etc etc
When these bands split up I want back to rock music - which was making a revival around the pubs - joined THE WHOLE HOG over 20 years ago - and still gigging.....


I won't mention all the guitars and amps I have had over the years.... Carol might find out how much I have spent !!!!!

John Scollen

Saxaphones

So, my musical journey started in 1962 i heard this wonderful wailing harmonica coming from the tiny record player at my youth club, love love me do sang the Beatles and i immediately did love them, I was hooked and at the tender age of thirteen and had to form a group.
FIVE TO ONE AGAINST. (Drummer)

Over the following years evolving into ,Silas Kool, The Debonairs, Brown Suggar, Show Toppers, and finaly made the telly as
Love Train.

In 1980 after a very successful few years with Love Train, several TV appearances an album that sold quite well and voted top northeast band and clubland award winners ,

I had to quit the band to concentrate on being a responsible husband and dad building a business.
Despite my good intentions my old friend Nigel who was our Love Train drummer for some time,came to see me one day and persuaded me to go along to a rehearsal with his new band Funktion,

"just a bit of fun said i to the missus."
"Next thing you'll be on the road again said she"

and of course next thing you know Funktion hit the road,it was great fun an eight piece soul funk outfit and we went along quite happily for a couple of years ,
unfortunately Nigel decided he had to quit the band and being the only Funky drummer in the north east he was very hard to replace.
We struggled on for a while but couldn't find anyone really good enough to fill his drum stool, so I suggested to the lads we should become a songwriting band just working on our own stuff in the attic studio i had made above my shop.

We carried on working till 1989,albeit under a different name, this is what happened.We finally got a really good drummer, Keith Hales, thanks to our good friend and Sunderland legend Pete Dodds also known as the king of the practice rooms he even had a song named after him by the Toy Dolls . Unfortunately soon afterwards we lost our trumpet player and Trevor was tasked to find us a new one by placing an ad in the Sunderland Echo, Trevor told us he had two people to audition so we booked one of Pete's rooms , imagine our surprise when a girl turned up and she didn't even have a trumpet!! Trevor said well didn't think we would get a trumpet player so I also put girl backing vocalist as well, We're still trying to figure that one out, but this was the result , Street Level became,Life and Soul.

Life and Soul ended up being a pretty good covers band for a while but happily it's Street level that is now reunited and re-energised so look out for our new songs .

Trevor Coles

Bass guitar

CHINA GROVE, Trevor Coles, Derek Orr, Allan Rowe ,Peter Hart.
Started in 1973 when i was 20 in a band called China Grove ,we covered a lot of Doobie Brothers songs and one of their album tracks was called China Grove so we took our name from that. We got a good reputation for Doobies and Status Quo covers between 1973 and 1977 around the working mens clubs in the north east ,i left them in 77 and didn't play again untill forming Heat Treatment Soul and Funk band in1978.

HEAT TREATMENT 4 PIECE-
Trevor Coles, Tom Hedley ,Steven Clifford ,Nigel Atkinson

HEAT TREATMENT 8 PIECE-
Graham Sparks Paul Wilson ,Trevor Coles, Steven Clifford ,Malou Rodgerson Nigel Atkinson ,Gary Haley ,Paul Moran

.Heat Treatment ,a four piece band ,vocals /guitar ,bass, drums and keyboards ,covering soul and funk tunes ,popular around 1978--79,leadsinger and guitarist Tom left ,so in searching for a new singer we found Graham Sparks .Paul Wilson came in on lead guitar and the banded expanded to an eight piece with female lead vocalist Malou Rodgerson the line up was completed by Paul Moran and Gary Haley as Trumpet players.

FUNKTION

Heat Treatment came off the road in 1979 and re-emerged as a band called FUNKTION,
the members were Dave Chester, Trumpet ,Allan Marshall Sax, Paul Wilson Lead guitar ,Graham Sparks Lead vocals ,Me Bass guitar, Nigel Atkinson Drums ,and we were joined in 1981 by John Scollen on Congas and Sax and Peter Watson on keyboards.

STREET LEVEL.

Funktion evolved into Street level with Chris Landa replacing Nigel on drums,we made bold attempts at original songwriting and went to London in1985 to record a double A side single at Greenhouse studios.

LIFE AND SOUL

Eventually after further line up changes we became Life & Soul returning to working mens clubs around the north east, finally disbanding in1989.Ididn't play again untill 2000 playing in various pub bands including The Barnstormers ,Moondance

,Suburban Idles, The Funky Buddahs ,and Buddah Lounge Band.

I gave up gigging around 2013 and i'm currently involved in recording original songs with most of the original members of Sreet Level.

Peter Watson

Keyboards

Allan Marshall

Saxaphones

Kieth Hales

Drums

Rhythm guitar