June 30th: Simon Birdsall's house
Compton Terrace Islington
Line up: Mike Barson [piano] Chris Foreman [guitar] Lee Thompson [saxophone] John Hasler [drums] Carl Smyth [bass] Dikron [vocals]

The ramshackle band play at a party in the garden of Si Birdsall's house. They still don't have a name and Mike has suggested the Pirates as for some reason there is a paper pirate style party hat hanging off the back of the trusty ex-GPO Morris 1000 van that they use for transport. On the way to Simon's house he says to Chris "if that's still there when we get there we'll be called the Pirates". Chris points out that there is already a band of the same name as the original Johnny Kidd’s Pirates have recently reformed and are playing gigs. But this small detail doesn't really seem to matter at this point. Simon Birdsall is a school friend of Mike's and hangs round with Mike, Chris and Lee in Highgate road in a youth club called the Aldenham Boy's club. The band were supposed to play in Simon's house but when Chris rang him he heard grunting in the background and asked what it was to which Simon replied "that it was the piano being moved into the garden" which was a bit annoying. Chas was living at the Birdsall residence at the time and was enlisted in the piano moving. The band played most of their small repertoire of songs as instrumentals such as "Just my Imagination" and Carol King's "It's too Late". The vocals were supplied by Dikron who is an aspiring actor and friend of the band. He sings/reads the lyrics to Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse rock" from a book of his greatest hits. Not many people came outside and see them play but Graham McPherson AKA Suggs who was a friend of John Hasler's was one of the few who witnessed the shambles and seemed quite interested. He would later come to a rehearsal with his school friend Andrew "Chalky" Chalk [who later with another accomplice Ian "Toks" Tokins would become Madness's roadies and sung See You Later Alligator. The band now had a vocalist.

Hampstead Trade Hall, Hampstead High Street
Line up: Mike Barson [piano] Chris Foreman [guitar] Lee Thompson [saxophone] John Hasler [drums] Gavin Rodgers [bass] Suggs [vocals]
Songs: See you later Alligator/Feeling so Fine/Swan Lake

After a late night rehearsal session at Mike's house the group decided that they needed a name. After many suggestions Mike suggested the Invaders which everyone agreed on. Mike knew a girl called Evelyn from Hampstead school who was having a birthday party and wanted a band to play. This gig was Sugg's debut as a vocalist which started off really well as "See you Later Alligator" goes down a storm with the Hampstead teddy boy contingent who are in the audience. However by the time the more reggae influenced numbers are aired it causes a hail of abuse and a [thankfully-but unsurprisingly empty] party 7 beercan hits the noble Hasler in the head but he plays valiantly on with a small drop of blood trickling slowly down his face. Gavin Rogers [who is Mike's girlfriend Kersten's brother] has now joined on bass.