In the late 1960’s & early 1970’s City Beach surfer Ross Utting was a Blaxell Surfboards team rider & State Schoolboys & Open Mens finalist.
1970 Ross Utting with his VW sedan and surfboards in Floreat. Photo courtesy of Ross Utting.
Ross has travelled extensively, including a couple of years living overseas in the mid 70’s. Read about his 70s travel adventures as a young bloke in Related Content below.
This is Ross’s story of a chance encounter with a blues/rock music legend on one of his overseas travels in the mid 80’s.
As a young bloke I was introduced to the blues by Norm (Dot) Kitson & Bruce (Lumpy) King who were into the likes of Leadbelly, Muddy Waters & BB King. I was hooked & still am. In the early 70’s, like a lot of others, I followed bands like Bakery & Fatty Lumpkin around pubs in Perth such as the White Sands & Sandgroper. For a bit of variety we would go & see a great jug band called Mud, who played in atmospheric dives like the Governor Broome Hotel & at backyard parties around Claremont & Nedlands.
Living in London in the mid 70’s, the music scene was unbelievable & I took every opportunity to see bands in pubs, clubs, theatres & the free concerts in Hyde Park on Sunday arvo’s. However, apart from having the odd chat with the Mud guys at parties, I never met any of the musicians. This changed unexpectedly in 1986 when I spent some time exploring the Californian coast from San Francisco down to northern Mexico.
When I rolled into Santa Barbara with my 3 companions we hooked up with a friend of a friend, who happened to be a drummer in a band. The guy’s name was Scott & one night we arranged to catch up at a bar on the Santa Barbara pier, cos he said there were a couple of outstanding blues musicians playing.
With no expectations beyond having a few Buds (Budweiser beers), we rocked up to the bar on the pier & it’s pretty quiet crowd wise, but the vibe & music is fantastic. Scott tells us that despite living in Santa Barbara he is currently working in Los Angeles, about 100 miles & a 2 hour commute away. So he can’t stay too late. Looking around the bar from up the back where we sat so we could chat, I noticed mostly small groups at tables, with the exception of one big table right in front of the stage. All women & one bloke. I remember thinking “that’s a bit odd”.
The night rolls on with plenty of Buds til Scott departs to try & get a couple of hours sleep before his work commute. The musicians are having a break & just sitting on the stage talking to each other. I loved their bluesy sound so grab my beer & wander up telling them so & asking where I can get a recording. One reaches down & pulls a vinyl LP out of a box. The musicians were Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan.
They were great blokes & really friendly. I later found out that they played at opening ceremonies for multiple venues at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Anyway, after a while one of the guys says “one of our mates has toured Australia” & calls over my shoulder “hey George” & beckons the bloke from the big table with the pretty women. I turned around & bloody hell, coming towards us is George Thorogood. We all chat until Tom & Kenny say “we better get on with our next set”. George grabs my vinyl LP & writes on it, as do Tom & Kenny.
That vinyl LP was a great trip memento, but wished I taken my camera that night.
George, Tom & Kenny’s writing on my ‘Who drank my Beer?’ vinyl LP.Pics of George, Tom & Kenny from vinyl LP albums.
After that night I wondered what other celeb surprises might turn up in California.
None did. The closest I came was the mural of Miki Dora on the iconic beach wall at Malibu & catching up with my mate Herman Munster.
1986 USA Calif. Malibu Beach Miki Dora wall. Ross Utting pic1986 Ross with Herman Muster in Los Angeles.
The real highlight of the trip was the spectacular Californian coast.
We broke up the trip home by spending time on Oahu & Maui & more beautiful waves & scenery.
1986 Bixby Canyon Bridge, Big Sur, Monterey, California.
In Hawaii I remember nearly falling from the rim of the Diamond Head crater when scrambling out on a crumbling edge to get a pic with nothing in the foreground.
Still shake my head, what an idiot. I could have died. It was very early morning with no one around.
Waikiki from atop Diamond Head on island of Oahu Hawaii
Ross is still a keen surfer and regularly surfs Yallingup, he is well equipped with yellow Yahoo surfboards.
2020 Ross with his yellow Yahoo surfboards at Dunsborough. Jim King pic
Thanks Ross, for sharing your surf travel memories.
In the late 1960’s & early 1970’s City Beach surfer Ross Utting was a Blaxell Surfboards team rider & State Schoolboys & Open Mens finalist.
Ross has travelled extensively, including a couple of years living overseas in the mid 70’s. Read about his 70s travel adventures as a young bloke in Related Content below.
This is Ross’s story of a chance encounter with a blues/rock music legend on one of his overseas travels in the mid 80’s.
As a young bloke I was introduced to the blues by Norm (Dot) Kitson & Bruce (Lumpy) King who were into the likes of Leadbelly, Muddy Waters & BB King. I was hooked & still am. In the early 70’s, like a lot of others, I followed bands like Bakery & Fatty Lumpkin around pubs in Perth such as the White Sands & Sandgroper. For a bit of variety we would go & see a great jug band called Mud, who played in atmospheric dives like the Governor Broome Hotel & at backyard parties around Claremont & Nedlands.
Living in London in the mid 70’s, the music scene was unbelievable & I took every opportunity to see bands in pubs, clubs, theatres & the free concerts in Hyde Park on Sunday arvo’s. However, apart from having the odd chat with the Mud guys at parties, I never met any of the musicians. This changed unexpectedly in 1986 when I spent some time exploring the Californian coast from San Francisco down to northern Mexico.
When I rolled into Santa Barbara with my 3 companions we hooked up with a friend of a friend, who happened to be a drummer in a band. The guy’s name was Scott & one night we arranged to catch up at a bar on the Santa Barbara pier, cos he said there were a couple of outstanding blues musicians playing.
With no expectations beyond having a few Buds (Budweiser beers), we rocked up to the bar on the pier & it’s pretty quiet crowd wise, but the vibe & music is fantastic. Scott tells us that despite living in Santa Barbara he is currently working in Los Angeles, about 100 miles & a 2 hour commute away. So he can’t stay too late. Looking around the bar from up the back where we sat so we could chat, I noticed mostly small groups at tables, with the exception of one big table right in front of the stage. All women & one bloke. I remember thinking “that’s a bit odd”.
The night rolls on with plenty of Buds til Scott departs to try & get a couple of hours sleep before his work commute. The musicians are having a break & just sitting on the stage talking to each other. I loved their bluesy sound so grab my beer & wander up telling them so & asking where I can get a recording. One reaches down & pulls a vinyl LP out of a box. The musicians were Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan.
They were great blokes & really friendly. I later found out that they played at opening ceremonies for multiple venues at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Anyway, after a while one of the guys says “one of our mates has toured Australia” & calls over my shoulder “hey George” & beckons the bloke from the big table with the pretty women. I turned around & bloody hell, coming towards us is George Thorogood. We all chat until Tom & Kenny say “we better get on with our next set”. George grabs my vinyl LP & writes on it, as do Tom & Kenny.
That vinyl LP was a great trip memento, but wished I taken my camera that night.
After that night I wondered what other celeb surprises might turn up in California.
None did. The closest I came was the mural of Miki Dora on the iconic beach wall at Malibu & catching up with my mate Herman Munster.
The real highlight of the trip was the spectacular Californian coast.
We broke up the trip home by spending time on Oahu & Maui & more beautiful waves & scenery.
In Hawaii I remember nearly falling from the rim of the Diamond Head crater when scrambling out on a crumbling edge to get a pic with nothing in the foreground.
Still shake my head, what an idiot. I could have died. It was very early morning with no one around.
Ross is still a keen surfer and regularly surfs Yallingup, he is well equipped with yellow Yahoo surfboards.
Thanks Ross, for sharing your surf travel memories.
Related Content
Ross Utting’s Travel Odyssey 1974-75 posted 19 April 2017
KIDS IN PARADISE – Surfing City Beach in the 1960’s by Ross Utting posted 20 July 2016.
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