Howard Conder’s life has been a testament to the miraculous workings of divine intervention, spanning from the tumultuous era of Nicolae Ceausescu’s regime in Romania to present-day revelations. Despite grappling with dyslexia, Conder fervently shares his remarkable journey, intending to bring hope and inspiration to those who hear his story.
Join Howard Conder as he leads Tim Vince and Gordon Pettie through a discussion of the 21 years of its history, and considers what the years ahead might hold for the Christian television station.
The timing of the release of this song could not be at a more fitting time as our World Leaders are realising at last that TIME IS RUNNING OUT for our planet and unless we “change our ways” as the lyrics state, we will suffer calamity.
Howard relates some quite miraculous accounts of God’s guidance in starting Revelation TV
1962
Semi-Pro Band Darlington
1962
1960
It was at one of these gigs that Howard was playing the drums as the supporting group for the main attraction, the Barron Knights who asked Howard if he would consider joining them full time as their current drummer David Morrow was soon to leave the band.
At that time Howard was sixteen years old and it would mean he would have to leave home and go and live in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire.
Not daunted by this challenge Howard bravely travelled South complete with his drum kit, dragging it on and off several train journeys until he finally arrived in Leighton Buzzard.
He stayed for a few weeks with the parents of Tony Osmond who was the leader of the Barron Knights until his mother bought him a cheap caravan and placed it in the backyard of the Lamb pub which was also where the Barron Knights practised in the outhouses at the rear of the pub.
Peanuts looks into Howard’s Caravan at the backyard of the Lamb pub
Howard struggled during this time with the Barron Knights as they were not a very friendly set of people … in fact, he recalls very clearly the words of the Barron Knight’s manager Tony Avern saying to Howard the moment that he arrived in Leighton Buzzard “we keep ourselves to ourselves” which was the total opposite Howard was used to having been accustomed to the very friendly folk in the North of England who were often referred to as ‘Northerner’s’, but now having been told categorically ‘keep yourself to yourself was just so alien to Howard which meant he was so lonely whereas the other members of the band had their families and friends to socialise with.
The Barron Knights were becoming so popular over the months Howard was with them and we’re playing sometimes every day of the week. After about nine months of full-on work and travelling all around the country, Howard became very run down and depressed … he was homesick and missed his Mum and friends back home in Darlington County Durham.
Howard and Peanuts in front of BK’s tour bus
It was one day when the Barron Knights were playing a local gig at the California Ballroom in Dunstable that Howard collapsed with exhaustion and was taken to hospital.
Howard playing drums with the Barron Knights
Howard signs his autograph for the fans at Darlington
The next day, Tony Avern the manager of the band came to visit Howard in hospital and said, “don’t worry about your job and you must stay in hospital until you are well”.
Howard had already said to Tony that he wanted to get out of hospital as we had gigs booked and Howard didn’t want to let them down, but Tony’s reassurance that his job was secure and not to worry and stay in hospital and get well put Howard’s mind at rest and to stay in hospital.
The doctors had observed that Howard was not only physically exhausted but also very depressed. The mental state of Howard was not good, and he was mainly being treated for that aspect as an outpatient.
Immediately following being discharged from Hospital, Howard is told by Tony Avern that he was being replaced by another drummer and had lost his job with the Barron Knights.
This was another blow to his already vulnerable state of mind and again being isolated, and separated from his family and friends up North, he became even more suicidal. He so wanted his father to talk to, but sadly his father died a couple of years earlier. Fortunately, his dear mother came down from Darlington to be with Howard and took him to London where there were new opportunities for him to continue his career as a professional drummer.
They lived in a rented apartment in Ridge Road in Hornsey North London. During this time Howard was trying to get his drum kit back from the Barron Knights who had it in their possession ever since Howard had been taken by ambulance to the hospital where he collapsed at the California Ballroom.
It soon became clear that the drum kit was never coming back to Howard as the Barron Knights were being unhelpful and as Howard was being offered work with some local bands in North London and as a session drummer for Joe Meek, who was one of the best recording engineers and producers of that era, therefore Howard needed somehow to get another set of drums.
Not long after being based in London Howard happened to be in a music shop in the West end of London and as he walked into the music shop looking to buy another set of drums, and to his amazement, he saw his very own drumkit he used whilst playing for the Barron Knights with his name Howie written on the front of his bass drum as seen in the photo below.
Howard on the drums with the Barron Knights at the California Ballroom
When the manager of the Music store saw Howie (Howard) he immediately looked very disturbed, and Howard went looking for a policeman but by the time Howard and a policeman got back to the music store the drum kit was gone and the manager of the shop denied that the drum kit was ever in his shop. You just couldn’t make this up.
Howard’s mother bought Howard another drum kit and at the time Howard was unaware that his mother was not in a good financial position to be doing such a purchase as she was already having to pay for the rental of the apartment and the everyday needs for herself and her son. Unbeknown to sixteen-year-old Howard, money was really tight.
The photo was taken from a Milk advertisement that Howard featured in with his new Ludwig drum kit. Howard was putting himself about trying to find work where he could in those early days in London.
Around this time his mother had already begun legal proceedings against the Barron Knights for unlawful dismissal and for not returning Howard’s drum kit. Howard was a minor at the time, therefore his mother had to instigate the court process.
This case took almost three years to eventually be heard at Bedford County Court.
Howard’s mother Lillian was a widow and on a low income and could not afford the fees of an experienced Barrister however she qualified for Legal Aid.
Not being able to afford independent legal representation of a higher calibre, was to prove a big mistake as you will read as the story unfolds which you can read in the article headed
Howard Conder’s life has been a testament to the miraculous workings of divine intervention, spanning from the tumultuous era of Nicolae Ceausescu’s regime in Romania to present-day revelations. Despite grappling with dyslexia, Conder fervently shares his remarkable journey, intending to bring hope and inspiration to those who hear his story.
Join Howard Conder as he leads Tim Vince and Gordon Pettie through a discussion of the 21 years of its history, and considers what the years ahead might hold for the Christian television station.
Howard Conder and his film crew interviewed several people for this documentary, sincerely looking for the truth on this all important topic. Although this was filmed in 1999 it is even more relevant today especially since October 7th 2023.
