Lineup - THE NIGHT WRECKERS

DEKE ROBERTS – was born at a very early age and even as a child he could be found with his little ukulele in his hand.

His first musical encounter, when still a teenager was with a band ‘THE NITE WRECKERS’, he was shortly followed by a certain Barry King

Deke grew up listening to Latin American, African and Blues and this was to show up in ‘The Nite Wreckers’ choice of music. The band found it difficult to get gigs, due to what was considered a dangerous name, so they became ‘THE UNNAMED’ and then ‘MOTHERLY LOVE’ until the band finally split up

After this Deke joined ‘DIESEL DOUGHNUT’, a psychedelic band with Nick Clack and they were joined shortly after by Richard Witoszynski. They were to be part of a more adventurous outfit ‘Boss Radio’. Deke has had several versions of ‘Boss Radio’ and subsidised this by playing in show bandsAfter this he stopped playing, so that he could care for his elderly mother. When his mother passed away, Deke started attending some Oxford Jam sessions, which led to meeting Nick, Barry & Richard again – hence ‘THE NIGHT WRECKERS’

BARRY KING – Teenage pair, Barry and Deke were original members of ‘THE NITE WRECKERS’ and subsequently ‘THE UNNAMED’

Barry stepped back from playing in public after quitting ‘THE UNNAMED’ and started to concentrate on family life (though still playing his guitar at home)Around 2015 he was encouraged to attend some Oxford jam sessions, firstly he went just to watch the other musicians, but gradually came round to the idea of participating againIt was at one of these sessions in early 2016, that he reconnected with Deke and was introduced to Nick and the seeds of ‘THE NIGHT WRECKERS’ were sownBarry is now back to enjoying his music again and is an integral and important part of ‘THE NIGHT WRECKERS’

JOHN KESTON HOLE – John has played in numerous rock, blues, contemporary and traditional folk and jazz groups since his inaugural gig in 1978. Hailing originally from Ashford in Kent, he has been based in Oxford for 25 years.

His guitar of choice is a 1974 Gibson Les Paul deluxe except when touring overseas – when the insurance is prohibitive. In that case it’s a tasty little Hamer that gets to see the light of day (well, dead of night actually but – hey).He once asked the sound engineer at a gig to turn down the volume of his on-stage back line – apparently the first time this particular phrase has been heard issuing from the mouth of an electric guitarist, anytime, anywhere.He also plays alongside Nick in ‘THE MISSING PERSIANS’

JAKE KIRKPATRICK – is now the bass player – (INFO & IMAGE TO FOLLOW).

NICK CLACK – Played his first gig at 12 years of age, so has experience in lots of different styles, including psychedelic, rock, folk, jazz, blues, r&b etc. etc.

He, & Deke first worked together in a psychedelic band ‘DIESEL DOUGHNUT’, which morphed into the first ‘BOSS RADIO’ lineupAfter this, Nick moved abroad where he became a fully professional musician playing extensively in Australasia. Upon his return to the UK, he lived in Yorkshire where he gigged regularlyUpon his return to Oxfordshire, Nick gigged in several bands incorporating all forms of music, except for classical and country & western (sic!!)He has played at many major venues and festivalsIn the nineties, he & Deke formed ‘BOSS RADIO mk3’, to play the music of Frank Zappa. When this band folded, they lost contact until January 2016 where upon meeting up, they discussed putting something together again, hence ‘THE NIGHT WRECKERS’