In the lawsuit that Howard’s mother Lillian Conder brought against the Barron Knights which became known as Condor Vs Barron Knights.

Please note that courts misspelt both Howard’s surname and the Barron Knights): Condor v Baron Knights [1966] 1 WLR 87

Howard’s recollections are as follows:

There were two main aspects to this case, one being for wrongful dismal and the other for not returning Howard’s Drum kit which was very distinctive as his nickname Howie was all over the bass drum.

Howard on his drum kit

Howard recalls that the Barrister representing the Conders was told off by the Judge more than once during the trial for not handling or presenting the case to the court in the correct manner. It would seem the Conder’s Barrister was a novice. This did little to inspire confidence in the Conders legal team.
This was the very first court experience for both Howard and his mother and Howard could see things were not going well so he tried to make some comments to the Judge himself especially when it came to asking why his missing drum kit was not being mentioned.

“Surely said Howard; they, the Barron Knights stole or kept my drum kit and I want it back,” The Judge said The Barron Knights had paid into court the price for my drum kit only days before it came to court even though this was some three years after the Barron Knights had it.

And because the Barron Knights paid the money for the drum Kit into court meant that it cannot be even mentioned or disputed by the Conders at this time of the court case.
As this only came to light nearly three years, Howard thought how can that be justice when the time Howard needed the money for his drum kit was three years ago as the drums were the tools of his trade? Howard’s appeal to the Judge fell on deaf ears.

Howard then tried to reason with the court that as a 16-year-old, especially after falling sick because of working seven days a week, can be dismissed when he became ill because of working seven days a week?
Rather reminds one of the days that Charles Dickens wrote about and in the 20th century surely this employment contract that the Barron Knights had Howard sign amounted at the very least to child slavery. How come Howard lost his job when he genuinely became ill surely, he should not have lost his job because of that and says surely this wouldn’t stand up in a court of law today.

Especially when considering what the manager said to Howard which he also brought up in the court, “what about the fact that the Barron Knights manager Tony Avern said to Howard in the Hospital “Don’t worry about your job, it’s Ok, get well first”, and especially as Howard offered to get out of the hospital right there and then and return to work immediately.

Again, all this fell on deaf ears. By the way, neither Howard nor his mother received the monies paid into court for Howard’s drum kit. Why? Because the money paid into the court by the Barron Knights was kept by the court to pay towards the Conder’s legal fees.

What justice was that? Howard’s mum had to buy another drum kit so he could continue with his career. Thanks to his mum, she sold her house in Darlington to do this. (Howard’s cousin Maxi mentions this fact on video which was known to the family. 

The only people in the court that were sympathetic with the Conder’s plight were the Press where one of the reporters turned to Howard and said “You know what they say about the law son? It’s an Ass”.

The collapse of a 10 pound a week pop idol

Howard’s mum had to sell her home and the way in which Howard saw just how a Court of Law operated, made him think that there was no such thing as getting Justice in the English Court system.
However, he made sure that if there were to be a next time Howard would make sure he didn’t go for Legal Aid where the Barristers are wet around their ears but rather hire a seasoned Barrister who was more experienced.
Howard used this bad experience to his advantage when he won a case against a very large insurance company and the case was heard at the High Courts in London in the late 70s. He wasn’t going to let a miscarriage of justice like he experienced happen to him again.  Please note that courts misspelt both Howard’s surname:

Foe more information visit: https://blackwhitemusic.com

Condor v Baron Knights [1966] 1 WLR 87

A 16-year-old agreed by contract to play the drums for the defendant’s band for 7 nights per week for 5 years. The claimant suffered a mental breakdown and was told by his doctor that he should not perform more than 4 nights per week. The band dismissed him. He brought a claim for wrongful dismissal.

Held:
The claimant’s action was unsuccessful as his medical condition made it impossible for him to perform his contractual obligations and the contract was thus frustrated.

This case set a president for far too many years. 

What this did to Howard was make him more determined to work seven days a week mainly for psychological reasons as Howard was trying to prove to himself that he was fit and strong enough in body soul and spirit to work seven days a week just as the Judge ruled and upheld that he should have done for the Barron Knights.
Howard is still working seven days a week and for more than ten hours a day.

After this court case, Howard remained in the Music industry, still playing the drums for various artists such as Unit 4+2 who became famous with the No 1 song ‘Concrete and Clay’. Howard also did short tours with Peter and Gordon, Billy Fury and the odd `recording session.

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