War Newcastle City Hall 14th June 1976
Support from Moon
I was aware of War through their association with the great Eric Burdon. They are an American funk rock band from California, known for their hit songs “Low Rider” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”. War’s music fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae. The band are also known for breaking down racial and cultural barriers with their multi-ethnic line-up. As their name suggests, there was a serious political and cultural context to the band concept and War’s lyrics were often socio-political in nature.
“The year was 1969, and these ‘kids’ had the nerve to carry the name WAR at a time when peace was the slogan in an anti-Vietnam America. “Our mission was to spread a message of brotherhood and harmony”.
“Our instruments and voices became our weapons of choice and the songs our ammunition. We spoke out against racism, hunger, gangs, crimes, and turf wars, as we embraced all people with hope and the spirit of brotherhood. It’s just as apropos today” “Eric was ready to throw in the towel on the music scene and return to Newcastle. He was tired of the ‘rock’ thing and desperate for a fresh authentic sound….Eric was so blown away by what he had heard that he jumped on stage to jam with them.” WAR from the beginning was a concept & musical laboratory.” (from the official War site).
The City Hall was far from full for this concert, which was a shame because it was a great performance from a band who are now legends. I don’t pretend to be a massive fan of jazz funk, but I really enjoyed the concert. I remember them playing ‘Lone Rider’, ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ and ‘Me And Baby Brother’, which was a single at the time.
The line up of War at the time was Howard E. Scott (guitar and vocals); Lee Oskar (harmonica and vocals); Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen (percussion and vocals; Charles Miller (saxophone and vocals); B.B. Dickerson (bass and vocals); Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan (keyboards, vocals); Harold Ray Brown (drums and vocals).
Lennie Jordan continues to front War and a few years ago he reunited with Eric Burdon for a concert at the Albert Hall.
Archive for the ‘War’ Category
8 Jan
Vintagerock's Weblog. 