MALVERN'S glory days as host to some of the biggest names in music are included in a new book.

Concert promoter Freddie Bannister was the man behind the Big Beat Sessions at what was then the Winter Gardens, now the Malvern Theatres, in the 1960s.

"There Must Be A Better Way" is Mr Bannister's account of his years as a promoter in places like Malvern, Bath and Lincoln and for festivals like Knebworth. It includes a typical flyer from Malvern advertising gigs by Cream, Eric Burdon and the New Animals, The Creation and The Who.

Mr Bannister dubs Malvern as "the hippest club we every ran", although he confesses to misgivings at the start. In the event, the town was pulling people in from Birmingham, Cheltenham and Gloucester and ran for three years.

"As you would expect the Spencer Davis Group from Birmingham always pulled them in, as did The Who, Cream and Manfred Mann," he recalls. "However, it was the lesser known bands like Creation, Herbie Goins and the Night Timers and the Alan Bown Set, all of whom drew very respectable crowds, that I think really showed how aware were the kids in the area."

He remembers mentally preparing to sue Cream when they hadn't turned up half an hour after they were due on stage. When they did turn up, he was involved in a stand up row with Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker and told them he was giving the crowd their money back.

Baker promptly went on stage and told the crowd that the promoter would not let them play. Mr Bannister put it to an audience vote - Cream played and he avoided being lynched.

The Malvern section is sadly short, but the book is long on anecdotes from behind the scenes with everyone from the Rolling Stones to the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

It is £12.99 from selected bookshops or Bath Books on 01223 526073.