Smiths bass player Dale Hibbert opens Todmorden coffee bar (video) - todmordennews.co.uk

I go to Tod to buy loose tea from the coffee/tea specialists in the indoor market. I like to sit at the bar, have a nice warm drink and leisurely select some tea to take home. Looks like I may have to change my routine? I might call in on Saturday.
 
"Customers calling in at a new coffee bar in Todmorden have recognised a familiar face behind the counter.
Dale Hibbert, who was the bass player in the original line-up of influential 1980s band The Smiths, has opened Kava, on Halifax Road, with his wife Sveta.
Check out this video of Dale and Sveta giving a tour of the coffee bar and talking about their new life in Todmorden."

Video: Smiths’ bass player opens Tod coffee bar - Todmorden News
 
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Ooh, just over the hill. Might pop in.

P.

Give it a miss and go to the bare arts brewery and sample a crate of ale instead.
I had a great time there and in the next room was a gathering of folk who turned up with musical instruments and just chill out drinking and singing all night, a real bunch of cool cats they are, brilliant atmosphere. (Is it still there ?)


Benny-the-Butcher
 
The Smiths were never the same once Dale Hibbert left.
 
I think most Smiths fans have no idea who he is, or care, or both...

- marred.
 
Dale played bass at the first Smiths gig at the Ritz, supporting Blue Rondo A la Turk, James Maker was
also on stage [sorta Bez] as a dancer or whatever.

After that gig Dale and James Maker were out of the band ' as the Mozipedia says' Dale choose to leave himselve cause he heard Morrissey and Marr were about to make it a 'gay' band', which cannot be verified but that's what Dale says', in the Mozipedia


for the unknown

Dale sold also ' the tape of ' I want a boy for my birtday' , which never was played again by The Smiths, it's a cover b.t.w. from the Cookies
 
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Give it a miss and go to the bare arts brewery and sample a crate of ale instead.
I had a great time there and in the next room was a gathering of folk who turned up with musical instruments and just chill out drinking and singing all night, a real bunch of cool cats they are, brilliant atmosphere. (Is it still there ?)


Benny-the-Butcher

A brewery in Tod? Last one I remember was the Robinwood up the Burnley Road, which owned the Staff of Life. Do tell more...wait - I know where that is, near the bottom of the Bacup Road, drive past it regular enough...

P.
 
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A brewery in Tod? Last one I remember was the Robinwood up the Burnley Road, which owned the Staff of Life. Do tell more...wait - I know where that is, near the bottom of the Bacup Road, drive past it regular enough...

P.

Ah Bacup ! The local town for local people.
I'm sure the league of gentlemen had Bacup connections. And its in the crap town book as well. :crazy:
 
according pasion just like mine,
The first two concerts were done as a 5-piece band, including Morrissey friend James Maker as dancer.
Dale Hibbert played bass for the first gig, Andy Rourke replaced him in between then and the second gig.
So by the third concert, the final classic line up of Morrissey, Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums) was fixed.

setlist
4 October 1982
Ritz, Manchester

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
Suffer Little Children
Handsome Devil
I Want A Boy For My Birthday

The second gig:

25 January 1983
Manhattan, Manchester
Handsome Devil
The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
What Difference Does It Make?
These Things Take Time
What Do You See In Him?
I Want A Boy For My Birthday
 
http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/new-daily-grind-for-musician-1-6018247

A musician is full of beans for his new career after swapping the recording studio for a coffee bar.

Dale Hibbert’s daily routine used to involve giving Morrissey a lift to rehearsals on his bike in the early days of The Smiths, but he has now settled into a daily grind of coffee beans after opening Kava on Halifax Road, Todmorden.

Dale, who was the band’s original bass player, says he is much happier in this new chapter of his life.

“It’s going much better than expected,” Dale said.

“We have got lots of regulars now, people who come in four or five times a week.

“We seem to have been embraced by Todmorden and welcomed to their world.

After a successful spell in the music industry, which included becoming a partner at Spirit Studios, he had a change of direction and spent a decade as a horticulturalist.

But then he discovered a new passion - coffee.

After spending time living in Australia and Prague, he returned to the UK with the aim of setting up his own coffee bar.

On a visit to Todmorden, he found the ideal location and served his first latte at the premises last month.

While living in Prague he met his wife Sveta, and they run the business together.

Their time in Prague has influenced how they present drinks at Kava - the Czech word for coffee.

Each order is served with a glass of water to cleanse the palate between sips, as is the Czech custom.

Other worldwide customs are also incorporated, such as serving tea in a Japanese cast iron pot to keep it warmer for longer.

“A musician’s lifestyle didn’t suit me,” he said. “I’m much happier doing this.

“We hope to be here for quite a while.”
 
Dale choose to leave himselve cause he heard Morrissey and Marr were about to make it a 'gay' band', which cannot be verified but that's what Dale says', in the Mozipedia

that would have been pretty hard since Johnny was with Angie and I couldn't see Mike Joyce outing himself as gay since it's obvious he's straight and got a blokish "hard as nails" approach. I think Dale was kicked out myself.
 
As I recall, Marr denies the 'gay' thing, but asked him to leave the band because he didn't fit in
 
What Hibbert said in whatever documentary it was is a mixture of the two. He said he was asked to leave because the band was intending to target the gay market and he didn't fit.
 
"S&J told me to buy some bowling shirts, turn up at a house near Fridays nightclub to get my hair cut, and that there was a strong possibility the band would project a gay image, more pretty boy than activist AKA Tom Robinson.

[...]

Im not judging or commenting on Stephens sexuality, Johny obviously isn’t gay, and Mike wasn’t on the scene yet. This has to be viewed in the context of a new band formation, where all sorts of ideas are placed on the table. At that time, the first single was going to be “boy for birthday”, and the band was going to have a gay identity. Weeks later it was never mentioned again."

http://dalehibbert.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/addressing-balance-my-recollections-of_20.html



Dodged a bullet there.
 
http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/new-daily-grind-for-musician-1-6018247

A musician is full of beans for his new career after swapping the recording studio for a coffee bar.

Dale Hibbert’s daily routine used to involve giving Morrissey a lift to rehearsals on his bike in the early days of The Smiths, but he has now settled into a daily grind of coffee beans after opening Kava on Halifax Road, Todmorden.

Dale, who was the band’s original bass player, says he is much happier in this new chapter of his life.

“It’s going much better than expected,” Dale said.

“We have got lots of regulars now, people who come in four or five times a week.

“We seem to have been embraced by Todmorden and welcomed to their world.

After a successful spell in the music industry, which included becoming a partner at Spirit Studios, he had a change of direction and spent a decade as a horticulturalist.

But then he discovered a new passion - coffee.

After spending time living in Australia and Prague, he returned to the UK with the aim of setting up his own coffee bar.

On a visit to Todmorden, he found the ideal location and served his first latte at the premises last month.

While living in Prague he met his wife Sveta, and they run the business together.

Their time in Prague has influenced how they present drinks at Kava - the Czech word for coffee.

Each order is served with a glass of water to cleanse the palate between sips, as is the Czech custom.

Other worldwide customs are also incorporated, such as serving tea in a Japanese cast iron pot to keep it warmer for longer.

“A musician’s lifestyle didn’t suit me,” he said. “I’m much happier doing this.

“We hope to be here for quite a while.”

He reads like he's having a far more fulfilling life than 'superstar' Morrissey. Maybe Morrissey will 'do a Bowie' again (his whole schtick is Bowie-lite) and spend a decade becoming slightly interesting again. I'd suggest he re-trains and becomes a gourmet vegan chef, opening a string of restaurants world-wide. Starting with one in Lima, Peru.

regards.
 

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