George M. Graham Jr. - Bow Street Runners

As Told by George M. Graham, Jr. - Co-founder and drummer of BSR:

Four of the original members of the Bow Street Runners circa: mid-1960's. Michael Dees, George M. Graham Jr., Bill Joyner, and Steve Darling.

Back in the 1960s, my love for music grew exponentially when the “British Invasion” took place in the United States. The Beatles were to make a lasting impact for many, me included. Although I must say, even though I was fascinated with the Beatles, I loved much of the music that followed from Great Britain – The Rolling Stones, The Animals, the Spencer Davis Group, and later Cream and Led Zeppelin, to name a few. Although I had taken piano lessons for about a year when I was younger, the "British Invasion” and music developing in the United States inspired me to want to play the drums.

The Bow Street Runners playing at the Fort Bragg Teen Center in 1970.

An article from the local newspaper (Fayetteville) in the late 1960's. Notice the misspelling of "Beau" for "Bow". The band played for a lot of functions like this when they were still in high school.

Because my parents had bought a piano when I showed interest in learning and gave it up later, they were hesitant to spend money on a set of drums. My father made a deal with me that if I worked to make money to pay for half of the expense of a set of drums, he would be willing to pay the other half. I began to mow grass in our neighborhood and babysit to make money. Due to impatience and wanting to play as soon as possible, I started buying one drum at a time until I had a complete set. Buying one drum at a time allowed me to learn how to play and begin meeting other musicians who were learning to play their respective instruments.

Circa: late 1960's - early 1970's. From the left to right - Steve Struthers (guitar), George Graham (drums), Frank Hardwick (bass), Michael Dees (vocals and percussion) and Steve Darling (guitar).

Steve Darling, George Graham, Steve Struthers and Frank Hardwick circa: 1970.

The two photos above are the Struthers brothers when they were young.

During this time, I met Michael Dees (singer) and Steve Darling (guitar) through school and from jamming with other musicians. We formed the nucleus of the original Bow Street Runners. We met and played with many others but ended up with Charlie Harshberger (lead guitar), Tommy McLaughlin (bass), and Bill Joyner (keyboards) as the members of the original band. People often ask how we came up with the name of Bow Street Runners for the band. Either through a movie or book, I heard about the reference of the Bow Street Runners as the first police force that patrolled the streets of London.

Ironically, at that time, we had a police station located on Bow Street in our hometown of Fayetteville, NC. It seemed to resonate with us, so we used that as our name. We learned cover versions of songs during this time and played for pool parties, birthday parties, and teen dances. By the time we were in high school, Charlie and Tommy were no longer with the band. We struggled for a while until we met a newcomer to our school, Frank Hardwick.

He was a bass player and fit right in with our personalities and love for playing music. As we developed our repertoire and experience, we played at Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base clubs, our local military bases, and local bars and nightclubs. By 1969, it was time for us all to graduate from high school, except Bill, who was a year behind us in school. We all went our separate ways. Steve and I went to the same college. Michael went to a different college. Frank got married and went to Woodstock for his honeymoon. Bill went on the play with another band at school until he graduated. The following summer, Steve, Michael, and I returned home from college.

These photos were taken when George first started out in Special Education in the mid-1970's on a field trip to the air base at Fort Bragg, NC. This was when he worked at five different elementary schools in Cumberland County (Fayetteville, NC). The last photo (colored) was taken back in 1972, while George and his dad while sailed at Wrightsville Beach, NC.

Frank had met Steve Struthers (lead guitar). The five of us got together and started playing music. Frank had written many songs and was able to get us into a local studio to record some of his material. The songs were a collaborative effort, with everyone providing input. We were fortunate to have Bob La Roy, who had a hit record in 1965, “Liar, Liar” to record and produce our album. His creative genius helped add another level to the uniqueness of the album’s sound.

This is a picture of a band George played with when he attended East Carolina University in the early 1970's. They were called Gingerleaf.

Photo of George M. Graham Jr. by Cindy Burnham circa: 1974.

The Bow Street Runners reunited. This photo was taken sometime around the year 2000. Picture (L. to R.)David Guy, George M. Graham Jr. (standing), Frank Hardwick (sitting), and Steve Darling.

Dakota Brown