SATELLITES IN ORBIT 4

CHAPTER 4
Soon things were to get better in the way of bookings.  One of Mac’s friends down in London got them a booking at the Chenil Galleries, Chelsea to play for a Ball organized by the “20th Century Fops”.  The Group were somewhat amused at what they saw on arrival at the Ball as the males were mostly dressed in Dandies clothes with lace cuffs to the jackets & breeches, shoes with buckles  & lace collars, & perfume! This was much in the style of Beau Brummel who paraded about in Regency dress. It was like being transported back in time without a Dr Who “Tardis” in sight! The Ball went very well & the Satellites made many fans that night.
This was to be a springboard for many more High Society bookings, including one for the daughter of the then Home Secretary, R.A.Butler, usually known as Rab from his initials.
The Ball was reported in the London Evening Standard the following day as follows: -
“The New Dandies”
One aim of the newly-formed Twentieth Century Fops Association is, according to its President Mr Philip Townsend, to “introduce more decorative forms of dress to the English male than has so far been shown in the last 20 years.”
The Association’s 15 Committee Members took its raison d’etre seriously to heart at the Chenil Galleries, Chelsea last night. Mr Townsend wore black boots, a ruffle, & a mink-brown topper. Chairman Aubyn de Margary wore breeches & a silver wig. And the 350 guests?  The men wore dinner jackets; the women, short skirts – which were of course, more convenient for dancing to the High Curley Stompers and The Satellites. The Satellites, tastefully dressed in mauve suits & orange ties,
thumped vigorous tunes for dancing debutantes like Miss Nikki Trethowan. Mr de Margary fingered a lace handkerchief. “It’s a Regency handkerchief,” he said. “It belonged to my family. We date back to 1004.”
There was also an article in The Guardian newspaper regarding the dance in Aubyn de Margary’s obituary when he died in 2005 aged 63.The night before the Fops Ball at the Chenil Galleries, Aubyn de Margary & Philip Townsend were invited on to the current affairs Television programme Nationwide. Not all viewers took kindly to the sight of these two outrageously dressed toffs being interviewed while ostentatiously taking snuff. When they were followed on camera by a man who had been invited on to talk about some alligators that had been discovered living in the sewers of American towns, one irritated viewer called in to the programme to say, “Why don’t you throw them to the alligators?”
The singing duo Peter & Gordon (Peter Asher & Gordon Waller), who later had four number one hits, topped the bill at the ball. Aubyn de Margary riled Peter, (Brother of actress Jane Asher) he not being the only one to be upset by this chap, by saying “I’m going to call them Gordon & Peter because Peter can’t sing.” Cynics attributed much of their success to the fact that Paul McCartney was Jane Asher’s boyfriend, & generously wrote two of her brother’s hits. Self confident to the point of bumptiousness, Aubyn was much in demand at cocktail parties & balls qualifying as a “Deb’s Delight”.
Originally this was the title awarded to pianist Nat Temple who played a gig at Claridges Hotel with The Satellites as support band. He was at the time in great demand at such events as he also had his own programme on B.B.C radio. This was some gig & the Satellites were greeted at the main door by a doorman in all his finery & shown by him into the Hotel. The group were taken to one of the large bedrooms, which was to become  their changing room for the duration of the Ball . They then had to get all their equipment into the ballroom & set up. After this they went up to the room allocated to them, changed & were ready to give their best. The Ball was a very fine affair, the Satellites alternating with Nat Temple. The debutants & their escorts danced all evening & dined, with the group being included in the food & wine & were very reluctant to head back to Sleaford in the very early hours of the morning when it would have been much more comfortable to have stayed there at the Hotel in comfort & luxury instead of trying to get some sleep in their van on the way back home. However, the drink they had imbibed enabled them to get some sleep!
This was the main problem for the lads as they were all in full employment except for Mac who was part time selling door to door. Adrian left the Satellites to join another local band.