Bobby Reed had one of the most natural voices for country music. He had a deep rooted love of the music and this was always evident in the emotion and respect given to every song he sung. It is said to understand country music you must live country music and that is certainly what Bobby did all his life and the passion heard in his voice was born from the struggle of his hard and very often unfair life not unlike many of the famous country singers.
After Jonny Button was sacked by Warren Reeves, he got back in contact with Dale and they revived their plans to form a band. They recruited a drummer, Ross McBride and a guitarist/pedal steel player. They secured a summer season booking at Pontins in Torbay and showcased at the Brean country festival in 1987. After this, bookings flooded in and they decided to go fully pro.
The guitarist/steelie used to be in a pro duo (Harmony & Slide?) and didn’t want to go back on the road so he left the band. The four of them continued using the name Hard Cash. Although formed at Jonny Button’s instigation, he didn’t last long in the band so they tried a few dep guitarists including Bob Dixon on pedal steel. Bob’s earlier musical career included playing steel for one of Ireland’s premier show bands lead by Roly Daniels, and when moving to Bristol he played for Shag Connors and the Carrot Crunchers! Bob introduced them to Duncan James who became the fourth member of the band. So Hard Cash was, at this time, Bobby Reed (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Duncan James (lead guitar), Dale James (bass) and Ross McBride (drums). Bob Dixon would join the band occasionally make them up to a 5-piece.
A couple of weeks after Hard Cash came off the road, Duncan James decided he was going to move to Atlanta and join a house band there. Bob Dixon phoned Bobby and Dale saying that a Bristol country singer, Pat Mallon, wanted to hire a band to back him on Kelvin Henderson’s circuit around Bristol. Bobby, Bob and Dale recruited a drummer, Jim Scott, and formed a new band to back Pat Mallon for a while. The band didn’t have a name at this time; they were just known as Pat Mallon’s backing band. Pat would sing a few songs then go to the bar leaving the band to carry on until Pat chose to rejoin them, the band always encouraged him to stay at the bar!
A country club near Bristol wanted to book the band but without Pat. They took the booking and when they turned up at the gig the compère asked them “what are you called?” They were standing at the bar at the time and looked round for inspiration and a name. The only thing they could think of was Kaliber (a non-alcoholic lager brewed by Guinness) so that was their temporary name for the evening. This should be considered as Kaliber’s first gig. The line up was Bobby Reed (lead vocal and rhythm guitar), Bob Dixon (pedal steel guitar and dobro), Dale James (bass, lead and harmony vocals) Jim Scott (drums). At this time Bob was already regarded as one of the finest steel players in Britain and was renowned for the feeling and emotion conveyed through his playing.
Having performed for the first time in their own right, a number of club organisers who were at the Bristol gig wanted to book Kaliber. Everyone seemed happy with the name and nobody wanted them to find a better one so they stuck with Kaliber. It wasn’t long however before they received a letter from Guinness who owned the Kaliber drink brand and they threatened to sue them. So they simply changed the spelling to Kalibre and that name stayed with them for 31 years. During his time with the band and prior to that with Hard Cash, Dale James who used to set up the PA for his father’s trad jazz band from the age of 9 onwards and is a qualified electrician and telecoms engineer looked after the sound at gigs.
Following a bad car accident, Jim Scott was forced to leave the band in 1990. A suitable replacement drummer couldn’t be found so the band took the decision to use a drum machine and Kalibre carried on as a trio although from time to time Sara Curran would join them on piano making the band up to a 4-piece.
Sara Curran first met Kalibre when they were playing at the Triple R CMC in Redhill. They got talking and Sara, explain that she played piano asked if she could sit in with them from time to time. This is exactly what she did for the rest of their career making the trio up to a 4-piece. After the last set at Redhill they asked her if she would play on their forthcoming first CD album.
Dale James left Kalibre in 1991 after getting married but returned 10 months later. In 1993 and again in 1994 Kalibre won the Southern Country (magazine) ‘Most Popular Band Of The Year’. This meant a lot to them because it was a readers frather than decided by a committee. Dale left Kalibre again in 1996 and was replaced by Shane O’Bourne on lead guitar. This would have left Kalibre without a bass player but Dale put his backing tracks with bass and drums on mini disk which allowed them to carry on. Shane stayed for a year before leaving to form the Corn Dogs with Cliff Weston and Kevin Blake. Mark Jacobs then joined the band to replace Shane.
Mark Jacobs’ love of Country music started at a young age. He learnt guitar at the age of 14 and he and his brother David formed Country Pride doing a few local gigs, some in care homes. When he was 16, he and David joined the Hank Dalton Band; Mark played guitar and David played pedal steel. Mark stayed with the band until Hank retired and that is when he first met Henry Smith when he joined the Dalton Boys in 1990 as lead singer. In 1995 the band was relaunched as Henry Smith and The Dalton Boys but Mark had left by that time and since then he has worked with many popular bands. He spent some time with Bournemouth 5-piece band Capricorn before joining the Rick McKay Band. The band was very busy including extensive touring in the north east but when they folded he joined Kalibre.
After a while Bobby Reed left the trio for personal reasons and Mark and Bob carried on as a duo. During this time they recorded two CD albums. This Time and Brand Spanking Old. Bobby Reed came back after 2½ – 3 years. Mark Jacobs was planning to leave to form his own band so Dale James returned to the fold in 2004, and once again Kalibre’s line up was Bobby Reed, Dale James and Bob Dixon. Having left the band in 1996, Dale worked as a sales manager for a sound systems company, a sound engineer at a music venue in Devon and also worked in a duo with his wife Jackie Stella working in holiday camps.
On at least two occasions, Kalibre expanded to an 8-piece band. In 2005 The Kalibre Big Band was formed to perform at a special event at Fry’s Club in Bristol, the concert was presented by Bryan Chalker who also sang with them. Bob Dixon produced the notes for the programme listing the performers and written in his unique wacky style.
The band featured …
Bobby Reed (lead vocal, acoustic guitar). Found wandering at an early age, Bobby has spent many years with hair, and many years without. This has had a profound effect on his singing, or so he tells us. He owns the finest toupe collection in Somerset and can be seen tonight wearing his latest Yul Brynner model.
Dale James (bass guitar harmony and lead vocals) As well as playing bass and singing harmony vocals, our man in leather also engineers our sound and programmes our drum module. Many folk think that his skills require intelligence, Mr James is proof that the opposite is true.
Bob Dixon (Steel Guitar and Dobro) A little ray of sunshine to brighten any stage. Bob Dixon has been cheering audiences up since 1973. Bob works outside of the band as an after dinner speaker, and also lectures on Public and Customer relations. He like nothing more than to spend his leisure time as “Uncle Bob” the childrens entertainer.
Duncan James (Lead Guitar, Lead Vocal, Acoustic Lead Guitar) The Rt. Hon. Duncan James (KFC and Bar) hails from Brighton (and we all know what goes on there), and will emphatically deny that he roller skates. A master of sartorial elegance, his lordship does at least play a mean lead guitar, although he is probably best known for his refusal to share his cornflakes.
Sara Curran (Piano, Keyboards, Mandolin, Guitar, Lead and Harmony Vocals) To the eagle eyed, Sara will appear to be female, which of course she is. She is no trouble and likes the little niceties of life like raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens etc. Sara’s influences are Winifred Atwell, Mrs. Mills and Les Dawson.
Dick Powell (Saxaphone, Percussion, Harmonica, Harmony Vocals) We found Dick, whimpering and alone at a musicians rescue centre where he had been abandoned by a cruel band. After much tender loving care and many visits to the music doctor, he is now in fine fettle and a credit to his new owners.
John Vickers (Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle) Whilst at the rescue centre, we found John in solitary confinement, and were told that he was quite unmanageable. We rose to the challenge, and with extensive therapy and regular obedience classes, we are happy to report that he is now slightly crazy.
Jon Keys (Drums, Vocals) Jon has recently returned from South Africa after making his fortune as a door to door suspension bridge salesman. He was taught to play drums while selling bridges to the Waredafukarewe tribe, who are renowned for constantly getting lost, He put his instruction to good use as you will here.
Seriously though, we enjoy working with these players, who, as well as being amongst the best at what they do, are also good friends of ours, and we are proud to be working again with them tonight.
You can see the entire 2 hour 47 minute Frys club show here.
Dale James left Kalibre for good in 2008. He still has many memories of his time with Kalibre. He told me of one occasion when were booked to play at Arsenal’s ground at Highbury as pre match entertainment. They were told to play in the concourse. When they saw it was a concrete cut out with no lighting and no escape if the fans decided to kick off they decided not to play and drove back to their digs at Braintree. 3 weeks later they got a cheque in the post for the gig!
Kalibre continued as a duo but remained as popular as ever winning the BCMA duo of the year award in 2011. Occasionally Kalibre would upgrade from a duo to a trio by bringing back Sara Curran on piano. Sara often played at theatre gigs including the Queens Theatre, Hornchurch (11.2.1996), and two at the Secombe Theatre, Sutton, Surrey (1999 and 2000). At least twice at Lakeside, Frimley, plus many CMCs when they wanted to expand to a four piece or later from a duo to a three piece. The addition of piano gave Kalibre a very different and unique sound.
Bob Dixon announced on 29 June 2020 that he has now retired from Kalibre he stated “With a certain regret, I have made the decision to retire from the country music circuit and as of today, Kalibre will no longer function as a duo as before. This is not something that comes easy for me, as Bob Reed and I have been musical partners since 1988, but the long journeys and late nights have taken their toll on my general health and I feel that now is the right time to call it a day. I have spoken at length with Bob and he understands my situation completely and I thank him for that. He intends to carry on as a solo artist and we have agreed that if the need arises, I will join him for certain gigs that we both have grown to love over the years.” Throughout his career Bob Dixon maintained his reputation for never smiling, especially on camera. Despite this he has always been at home in front of the camera having appeared in no less than 27 film and TV productions including Casualty, The Young Ones, Robin of Sherwood, Hannay, Maigaret, New World and The Great Diamond Robbery. He was often seen playing the part of an undertaker, policeman or villain.
Although suffering from cancer, Bobby Reed continued as a soloist after covid. I had the opportunity to have a long chat with Bobby at what must have been one of Kalibre’s last gigs at the Best Of British CMC at Larkfield, Kent on 14th March 2020.
Very sadly Bob Dixon passed away on 13 February 2023 and Bobby Reed passed away on 9 April 2024.
Kalibre have released a number of albums over the years. I can’t guarantee this list is complete or the order is correct. Dale James recorded and produced all the live albums
Anchor Sessions Live – Hard Cash cassette album. This was produced for the company who made Live at Rosie O’Grady’s TV show. Hard Cash appeared on two episodes.
New To You – Hard Cash cassette album. Their first album was for sale at a showcase at Pontins. The band got into trouble because the queue went all the way around the ballroom dance floor and held up the next act!
From Within – first cassette album: Live 1; Live 2; Live 3; More Than Live; Black Jack Blues (1993) – cassette album; Country Boys At Heart; Once Upon A Time In The West (1996) – 15 tracks – First CD album which includes Sara Curran (piano); All The Way With You (1997) – includes Shane O’Borne and Sara Curran (piano). The title track was written by Bobby Reed; No Frills (1999) – At this time Kalibre were Bobby Reed, Bob Dixon and Mark Jacobs. The title track was written by Bobby Reed; This Time – This is Kalibre Duo with Mark Jacobs and Bob Dixon; Brand Spanking Old – This is Kalibre Duo with Mark Jacobs and Bob Dixon; After All This Time (2005) includes John Permenter (fiddle) and Jon Keys (drums). Recorded in Sara Curran’s studio – 12 tracks. Too Long was co-written by Bobby Reed and Dale James; That’s The Way Love Goes – tribute to Merle Haggard (2006) – with Mark Jacobs; For The Love Of It (2007) recorded at Supersonix Studios (Tony Hobden) Includes Sara Curran (piano). Track 11, Right No I’m In Love written by Bobby Reed; More For The Love Of It – Recorded at Longview Studio, Stapleford Abbots – 12 tracks; and It’s About Time – 16 tracks.
In later years a number of live albums were recorded at their CMC shows. These were called Live 1, Live 2 etc.
Other CD albums are: Double Take (2002) – A pedal steel album featuring only Bob Dixon and Sara Curran and recorded in Sara Curran’s studio; and And Then There Was One (2023) a Bobby Reed solo album recorded in Devizes using backing tracks. Bobby knew he didn’t have long to live when he recorded this album. Despite being so unwell Bobby sung all the songs with feeling and his last CD acts as a good tribute to a consummate performer.
After leaving Kalibre in 2008, Dale James joined a Blues Brothers band and in 2012 he worked in Renegade duo with Mark Hills. The duo was short lived as although they sung modern country they weren’t prepared to sing nonstop line dance material which many clubs wanted by this time. After a short spell in a Devon based rock band he joined a 60s tribute band called Carnaby Street and stayed with them until covid put an end to live music. Dale moved to North Devon to be closer to his parents so left Carnaby Street.
In 2021 he co-formed a 1970s style punk band called The Clashnikovs and went on to produce two albums of original songs at his North Devon studio. After moving to South Wales he now works in a pop trio called the Dockneys and occasionally deps with Carnaby Street and also occasionally plays bass in Mark Hill’s ‘Nashville Sounds Experience’ theatre show.
Mark Jacobs now works mainly with his own 5-piece band Honky Tonk Strangers who played their first gig in April 2022. He is often accompanied to gigs by his 15 year old daughter Katy who is an excellent and enthusiastic singer. Mark also deps from time to time with Ridgeway Country.
Research by Nick Catford and Dale James.
Video of the Kalibre Band (by Carol Spires)
See below Kalibre with Sara Curran at the Queens Theatre, Hornchurh 11.2.1996.
See below Kalibre (trio) at The Covered Wagon CMC, Chigwell, Essex on 27.11.1992.