Lawrence and The Arabians
The Original Group from 1963
Not to be confused with the American group with the same name formed in 1965
From left to right, Dave Rothwell on rhythm guitar, John Hawkins on guitar and vocals, Doug Lane on drums and Robert Lawrence on lead guitar.
The band was formed in 1963
in Bournemouth, England.
We performed at several venues in the Bournemouth area including the 1964
Royal Counties Show in Hampshire,
and a large outdoor show in Poole Park hosted by Bruce Forsyth that had a huge crowd,
plus many other local venues.
We were all attending The
Collegiate School in Bournemouth at the time, and the Head Master Mr. E. Jordan
was kind
enough to let us use the school auditorium for weekend rehearsals.
We actually had a "fan club" with a few members.
We spent quite a bit of time at
Minns Music in Westbourne and Don Strike's Music Shop in Westbourne Arcade. Always wishing we had more money so we could upgrade our
gear.
I purchased my first electric guitar from Don Strike for £10. It’s a comforting thought to know that after nearly a century in business,
Don's son Bev and wife Mavis are still running the shop and their son Paul is waiting in the wings to take over when they retire.
They are all part of local music history, and really nice people.
Don Strike Music Shop
I visited Don Strike's in 2016 and met Bev (Son of Don) who I had not seen in many years.
Robert Lawrence & Bev Strike 2016
Robert Lawrence 1963
The group pretty much broke
up by 1965, and band members went their separate ways.
Robert Lawrence stayed with music for many years becoming a Flamenco
Guitarist under the stage name of Roberto Lorenz and performing with the
group "Flamenco Puro". Robert moved to Oregon in the USA
in 1981, and now focuses on Celtic Folk Music with his wife Jill Greene.
John Hawkins now lives in Ireland and Doug Lane lives in Poole, but I
don't know where Dave Rothwell ended up.
Robert Lawrence & Jill Greene Celtic Page
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All Images and text Copyright Greene-Lawrence Music
2021