Edgar Broughton Band in concert 1971 – 2005
Out Demons Out!!!! Rebel rock at its best.
Edgar Broughton is one of my all time heroes. He is the man; period. During the early 70s he was uncomprising, fearless, and a composer and singer of some great rock music. My early memories of Edgar were gigs at Sunderland Locarno and at festivals such as Reading’72 and Buxton’72. Edgar was usually sporting a snazzy karate suit, and singing tracks from the early EBB lps such as Freedom, Evil, American Soldier, Apache Drop Out and, of course, Out Demons Out. Edgar always had a lot to say and wasn’t frightened of speaking out against the police, the government and anything he didn’t feel was right. He was (and still is) a big man with a deep booming voice, often compared to Beefheart. But there was much more to Edgar. His guitar work was pretty tasty and his songs crossed genres, and defied categorisation.
Onstage I felt as if he was speaking directly to me, and he had quite a powerful, almost frightening personality. I saw him in The Locarno a few days before the (in)famous Redcar gig (which I regret not attending) where Edgar and the band turned up and played from the back of a lorry after being banned from playing on the seafront. He encouraged us all to come along to Redcar, to bring our friends and our cars and to screw up the town and the local police force. Edgar ended up spending the night in Redcar jail, and wrote the song “(Judge) called me a liar” about the experience. One night I recall him telling us not to buy the Out Demons Out single, as that would only give money to the record company. Instead he encouraged us to buy a spray can and spray “Out Demons Out” on walls around the time. As we moved into the mid 70s Edgar and the guys had graduated to playing the City Hall circuit. Although the music was still strong, I felt they lost some of the immediacy and passion that I had experienced in a club and festival setting.
The EBB had some great songs. Favourites of mine were The Poppy, Green Lights, Hotel Room and Evening over the rooftops. Listen to their albums if you get a chance. They are much under-rated. As we came to the end of the 70s, The EBB had all but disappeared from the scene. The last time I saw them they were called The Broughtons, and were supporting (Ian) Gillan at the City Hall around 1979. This was at the time of the Parlez Vous English? lp, which is one of the few Broughton albums which I don’t have in my collection. However, this week I’ve just bought a copy on ebay for 99p; I’m looking forward to playing it after all this time!
The band seemed to disappear from view in the 90s. I missed one show locally in the late 80s or early 90s which was while I was on holiday, and still regret it. However in 2006 they were back, and Will and I caught their gig at Sheffield Boardwalk. I went backstage before the band came on stage, said hello to Edgar (Rob) and the guys and got them to sign my gig flyer. The set that night included all of the well know tracks, starting with Evening Over Rooftops and continuing with Speak Down The Wires; the strange story of The Moth; Why Can’t Somebody Love Me; the great boogie of Momma’s Reward; American Boy Soldier with lyrics updated to comment upon modern war; the proto punk metal of Love In The Rain; Hotel Room; and Out Demons Out as an encore. In introducing the latter song Edgar told the crowd that the demons are still out there and explained that we needed to chant; just as we did in the old day! The EBB has sadly split since, but Edgar plays on, as passionate as ever. I saw him last year in York (see my post from August 2011).
7 Feb
The Edgar Broughton Band in concert 1971 – 2005
Posted February 7, 2012 by vintagerock in Edgar Broughton. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, folk, gig, gigs, heavy metal, music, pop, prog rock, psych, rock, rock n roll. 3 Comments
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Posted by Computer Therapeutics on January 2, 2017 at 12:39 pm
My band Woodfog supported Edgar Broughton and The Pretty Things at Leicester University in either 1971 or 72.
Posted by Nite Owl on March 22, 2023 at 3:53 pm
Rob (Edgar) has been a great support to me during a long period of bullying while I worked for the NHS. We have been on marches together and I even bought a guitar from him. He is the real deal and I have so much respect for him.
Long may he continue to inform and entertain.
Posted by vintagerock on March 22, 2023 at 4:31 pm
I too have the greatest respect for Edgar Broughton. The man has no fear, and is a legend. I met him once backstage and he was the perfect gentleman. A great guy. Respect! Peter