History
/ The 1960’s
Sydney Stanley Kitchen was born to working class parents in Durban South
Africa on the 14th February 1951. His father, Stanley William Kitchen,
was a Tally Clerk/Checker with the SA Railways, while his mother Dorothy
Kitchen (nee Foley) was a Housekeeper at a beachfront hotel. The family
had very little and lived in a one-roomed apartment at Hilton Mansions
in central West Street. Syd’s brother, Peter William Kitchen completed
the family with his arrival on the 19th August 1952. Neither parent was
musical.
Syd’s interest in music initially started with the radio; the only form of music-making the family could afford. He would listen to the (mainly American and European) songs, learn their words and sing along, always imagining himself to be up there on the stage.
Besides the radio, his other source of musical stimulation as a child growing up came through his joining the choir of the local Anglican Church that he attended every Sunday with his brother Pete. The combined effect of this two-pronged musical assault was that Syd Kitchen was ready and able (albeit in his own mind) to take the big step and sing in front of an audience other than the Church. This he did. He was 13 years old.
In 1964, Syd’s parents ran a weekly Saturday night “session”
in the hall of the Stella Football Club in Glenwood Durban. “Sessions”
were very popular in SA in the 60’s, and Syd’s father, a keen
football fan, held these weekly events to raise funds for the club. Basically,
a “session” consisted of a live band, a community hall, and
scores of kids dancing towards the inevitable breakout of a fight. The
Stella “sessions” were no exception and featured the talents
of a band from Malvern called THE KITTENS. They were loud and played all
the current hits. Syd Kitchen was their greatest fan.
At one particular Saturday “session” friends convinced Syd to ask the band members if he could sing, which he did and to which they agreed. With the crowd gathered around in anticipation he got up on stage with THE KITTENS and sang two songs; “Little Red Riding Hood” by Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs and “Pied Piper” by Crispen St. Peters. The crowd so enjoyed it, that the band “featured” the young 13-year-old Syd at some point in the evening every Saturday after that. Voila! Syd Kitchen’s musical career had begun. Nothing stopped him now. From that moment onward and over the next few years he asked groups at every single “session” that he and his buddies went to if he could sing.
By 1966 this activity led to the formation of PARKINSON’S LORE; a group of five young 15-year-olds with Syd Kitchen on vocals. Armed with a repertoire of material by The Stones, The Kinks, The Animals, and The Beatles amongst others, the group spent the next two years playing (very loudly indeed) in and around Durban at venues like The Arena Club, Scene ’70, Journey’s End, The Tiles, St Cyprians, and Norwegian Hall to name a few. After PARKINSON’S LORE placed second in the 1967 Durban Battle of theBands held in the prestigious City Hall, the group imagined they’d “arrived”, resulting in a breakout of egomania amongst all that hastened its eventual demise.
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Sydney Stanley Kitchen was born to working class parents in Durban South
Africa on the 14th February 1951. His father, Stanley William Kitchen,
was a Tally Clerk/Checker with the SA Railways, while his mother Dorothy
Kitchen (nee Foley) was a Housekeeper at a beachfront hotel. The family
had very little and lived in a one-roomed apartment at Hilton Mansions
in central West Street. Syd’s brother, Peter William Kitchen completed
the family with his arrival on the 19th August 1952. Neither parent was
musical.Syd’s interest in music initially started with the radio; the only form of music-making the family could afford. He would listen to the (mainly American and European) songs, learn their words and sing along, always imagining himself to be up there on the stage.
Besides the radio, his other source of musical stimulation as a child growing up came through his joining the choir of the local Anglican Church that he attended every Sunday with his brother Pete. The combined effect of this two-pronged musical assault was that Syd Kitchen was ready and able (albeit in his own mind) to take the big step and sing in front of an audience other than the Church. This he did. He was 13 years old.
In 1964, Syd’s parents ran a weekly Saturday night “session”
in the hall of the Stella Football Club in Glenwood Durban. “Sessions”
were very popular in SA in the 60’s, and Syd’s father, a keen
football fan, held these weekly events to raise funds for the club. Basically,
a “session” consisted of a live band, a community hall, and
scores of kids dancing towards the inevitable breakout of a fight. The
Stella “sessions” were no exception and featured the talents
of a band from Malvern called THE KITTENS. They were loud and played all
the current hits. Syd Kitchen was their greatest fan.At one particular Saturday “session” friends convinced Syd to ask the band members if he could sing, which he did and to which they agreed. With the crowd gathered around in anticipation he got up on stage with THE KITTENS and sang two songs; “Little Red Riding Hood” by Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs and “Pied Piper” by Crispen St. Peters. The crowd so enjoyed it, that the band “featured” the young 13-year-old Syd at some point in the evening every Saturday after that. Voila! Syd Kitchen’s musical career had begun. Nothing stopped him now. From that moment onward and over the next few years he asked groups at every single “session” that he and his buddies went to if he could sing.
By 1966 this activity led to the formation of PARKINSON’S LORE; a group of five young 15-year-olds with Syd Kitchen on vocals. Armed with a repertoire of material by The Stones, The Kinks, The Animals, and The Beatles amongst others, the group spent the next two years playing (very loudly indeed) in and around Durban at venues like The Arena Club, Scene ’70, Journey’s End, The Tiles, St Cyprians, and Norwegian Hall to name a few. After PARKINSON’S LORE placed second in the 1967 Durban Battle of theBands held in the prestigious City Hall, the group imagined they’d “arrived”, resulting in a breakout of egomania amongst all that hastened its eventual demise.
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