John Science Talks Exclusively To Thisisull.com - Sixties Bands and The Seventies Fast Food Phenomenon (1/7) By Michelle Dee and Cilla

(1/7), (2/7), (3/7), (4/7), (5/7), (6/7), (7/7).

Photograph Gallery Pioneer Cafe Jameson Street Gallery , Yankeeburger Jameson Street Gallery , Yankeeburger Hessle Road Gallery 1, Gallery 2, Gallery 3.

... he rang me up and said, 'John, I've got this group. Don't know whether you've heard of them or not, but they're called The Beatles. They've just come back from Hamburg...' It's a wet Friday, the one a week before the floods last year, and we are drinking Cappuccinos, sitting in the lounge at The Village Hotel. We are here to meet Mr. John Science; successful businessman, entrepreneur and pioneer, from both the entertainment and catering industries.

In the late fifties/early sixties he ran one of the hottest night spots in town, The Gondola : the first coffee bar selling coffee and coke but no alcohol. It was strictly soft drinks back then. But John is perhaps better known, to many residents of Hull, as the man behind the Yankee Burger Fast Food name. John is accompanied by his wife, Carole who he met at The Gondola. She has been the great source of strength and support that John has needed throughout his career to not just accomplish something, but to radically change the face of catering in this country altogether.

He has with him various pictures, brochures and newspaper clippings. He picks one out almost at random; a black and white picture of a band called The Undertakers and begins with great enthusiasm to talk about the halcyon days and nights that shaped the entertainment scene in Hull. 'A group from Liverpool,' he explains, 'A fabulous group. They came to Hull. I think the line up was guitar, drums and 2 or 3 saxophones; they dressed up as undertakers and went down a bomb.

I thought I'd book them again and I said, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do - I phoned up a company called Gartons - an undertakers. I ordered a hearse (remember, this was in the sixties).

I asked if we could get it wired up so we could have the band playing on the roof and a coffin inside. Everyone thought it was a great idea.' So one day whilst at work at The Gondola John had a call from the chief constable: 'Er, it's come to our notice that you're trying to have a hearse in the streets of Hull with a coffin inside, playing music on the top. John said, 'Yes'. The chief constable replied 'Not in my city, you're not'.

John explains, 'It seems fairly innocent now, but in the early 60s it was considered to be in bad taste.'

The Undertakers publicity stunt was cancelled once the police got wind of it and the whole affair received swift censure. How times have changed. 'There was a lovely club in Sheffield,' John recalls, 'Called, The Esquire Club, I used to go over there with a friend, Martin Dale who was an agent in Grimsby. We arrived there one day and Martin asked would I like to meet Vance Arnold. I thought, who the hell is he? Anyway, we went into the dressing room and there was nobody there - in the corner was a guy huddled up, asleep. It was Vance Arnold. Martin said, 'He's very good'. I went over and woke this guy up....

Continued .... Next Page (2/7)

Photograph Gallery Pioneer Cafe Jameson Street Gallery , Yankeeburger Jameson Street Gallery , Yankeeburger Hessle Road Gallery 1, Gallery 2, Gallery 3.

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