by this point the bonzos had turned semi-professional and were playing regular gigs at the deuragon arms in homerton, east london and at the tiger's head in catford, south london where their performances soon gathered an enthusiastic following. it was around this time that the band were approached by budding show business impresario reg tracey, who offered to manage them and introduce them to the dubious but lucrative delights of northern england's working men's club circuit. they proved popular on the club circuit and the lifestyle and steady income generated convinced the band members to turn fully professional. as a consequence they never stopped working and the clubs introduced them to all manner of 'unusual' characters who would later populate their song catalogue.