Bruce Springsteen Hammersmith Odeon London 24th November 1975
I’d read the famous report which famously claimed, “I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen,” and was originally written by Landau’s in a 1974 edition of the USA magazine “The Real Paper”, and I’d also heard the single “Born to Run” booming out of my radio. I read that Springsteen was finally coming to the UK, and was playing a show in London at Hammersmith Odeon on Tuesday 18th November 1975. Should I go? I wouldn’t usually travel to London to see a guy whose songs I didn’t know. But there seemed to be something special about this guy. The reports I’d read suggested that he was the “new Dylan” with shades of Elvis thrown in for good measure. I talked to my mates. No-one really knew who Springsteen was or fancied going to see him. By then the concert was sold out anyway, but a second concert had been added on the following Monday 24th November 1975. I passed on the first gig, but still kept the idea of going to see him at the second concert alive in my mind. I think I may have read a review of the first show, which was ok. I can’t be sure. Anyway something convinced me that I had to see this guy. That is was going to be something special. So on the Monday morning I decided I would make the 500+ mile round trip to London to try and get into the concert. I didn’t have a ticket, and I knew demand would be high, but hey it wouldn’t do any harm to try. I go the bus to town, bought a day return to London, caught a train to Newcastle, and got on the next train to London. 
As I walked along the street from the tube I could see Hammersmith Odeon. Above the doors the sign proclaimed: “Finally London is ready for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band”. The first thing I noticed was that the posters said that the show didn’t start until 9pm. The time was around 6pm. I’d expected the concert to start at 7.30pm and the late start time worried me. If I did get in, would I make the last train home (which was shortly after midnight). Anyway, I put such concerts to the back of my mind and set about the task of scoring a ticket. I started to talk to the touts outside the venue. “Oh going to be tricky. Yeh, I can get you a ticket but it’ll cost you.” was the answer I got. As the time passed and it got closer to the doors opening around 8pm, I was offered a few tickets. The prices ranged from £20 upwards for a seat, which was a hell of a lot of money at the time, and more that I had with me. Finally one of the tours came up to me. “Are you still looking for a ticket? I have a cheap one here. Its a £1 standing ticket, and you can have it for £10.” That was almost all the money I had, and would leave me just enough for my tube fare back to Kings Cross. So I bought it and entered the venue. There was an air of anticipation in the air. Simon Frith called it “an odd buzz because everyone was expecting something but no one knew what” in Creem (“Casing The Promised Land: Bruce Springsteen at Hammersmith Odeon, Frith, 1975). 
Springsteen and the E Street Band came on stage at 9pm. My ticket allowed me to stand at the back of the stalls, the view wasn’t too bad actually. They started with “Thunder Road”. Bruce had a wooly hat on his head, a casual shirt and a pair of jeans. The first thing that struck me was how tight the band was. The sax player, Clarence Clemons came to the front a lot, recreating the image from the front cover of “Born to Run”. I didn’t know any of the songs, other than “Born to Run” which came quite early in the set, but I’d read enough reviews to recognise some of them, simply by their title. He played some classic covers, including Manfred Mann’s “Pretty Flamingo”. The main set was quite long, fast paced, and very intense throughout. It’s generally recognised that this night was a much better (and longer) performance than the first concert in London the week before, which got quite mixed reviews from the press. Bruce and the band returned for several encores, which just seemed to go and on for ever. During the encores Springsteen took us through his influences, playing classic rock’n’roll by Elvis and Chuck Berry, and the woderful Jackie De Shannon song “When You Walk in the Room”. Bruce and the band were really into the groove by now, and it was hot, tight, stunning. I started to worry about missing the train home. I left at 11.30pm, just as he was finishing. I ran down the road to the tube, jumped on one. I made my train just in time, and it got me back home around 8am, tired, worn out, but with a feeling that I had witnessed something pretty special.
As soon as I had a little money again, I went out and bought “Born to Run” and played it again and again. I was a convert.
Setlist: Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Spirit in the Night, Lost in the Flood, She’s the One, Born to Run; Growin’ Up; It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City; Pretty Flamingo (Manfred Mann cover); Backstreets; Sha La La; Jungleland; Rosalita.
Encore: 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy); Wear My Ring Around Your Neck; For You; When You Walk in the Room; Quarter to Three; Twist and Shout; Carol; Little Queenie
Posts Tagged ‘R&B’
23 Jul
Bruce Springsteen Hammersmith Odeon London 24th November 1975
21 Jul
Stretch Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt December 1975
Stretch Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt December 1975
The story of Stretch is strange and fascinating. Stretch were fronted by vocalist Elmer Gantry, from Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, who recorded the excellent late ’60s single “Flames”. I first heard “Flames” on the 1968 CBS lp Rock Machine Turns You On, which was the first UK bargain priced sampler album, selling at 14/11 (£0.75), less than half the price of a normal full price lp at the time. “The Rock Machine…it’s the happening sounds of today….”. The album had some great tracks by Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Moby Grape, Spirit, Taj Mahal, Blood, Sweat and Tears and others. I played it again and again; “Flames” was one of the best tracks on the album, along with Moby Grape’s “Can’t Be So Bad”, and the Zombies “Time of the Season”. Great stuff.
Roll forward six years to 1974 and Elmer Gantry was part of a crazy plan to put together a bogus version of Fleetwood Mac, with the help of Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis and (supposedly) drummer Mick Fleetwood. The plan was for the band, with Mick Fleetwood on drums but no other Mac members, to perform as Fleetwood Mac on a US tour to fulfil an outstanding contract, which the original band were unable to do because several members had left. However, something went wrong and Fleetwood didn’t join the band, denying any knowledge of the plan. The tour went ahead anyway but it was obvious to audiences that this was not the real Fleetwood Mac, and the turnfell apart with later dates cancelled amid threats of legal action. Bass player Paul Martinez is quoted as saying: “Mick Fleetwood pulled out at the last minute claiming not to know who we were!” The band quickly changed into Stretch and guitarist Kirby wrote a song, “Why Did You Do It?”, about the debacle, accusingly pointing a finger at (presumably) Mick Fleetwood: “I’ve been thinking ’bout what you have done to me, The damage is much deeper than you’ll ever see, Hit me like a hammer to my head, I wonder were you pushed or were you led?”
“Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?, Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?, The only one who knows the truth, Man it’s him me and you.”
(Why Did You Do It?, 1975)
“Why Did You Do It” gave Stretch a No. 16 UK hit single in November 1975. I saw the band a month later at this concert at Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt. The place was packed, and there were a pretty hot rock band. Stretch had just released their first album “Elastique” and the set will have included tracks from that. I also have a vague memory that they may have played “Flames”, but that could well be my memory playing tricks, and wishful thinking. The line-up of Stretch changes quite a bit over the next few years. At the time of this gig it was probably Elmer Gantry (vocals), Kirby (guitar), Roshi (guitar), Paul Martinez (bass; he would go on to play with Robert Plant) and Jim Russell (drums). I also saw Stretch the following year at Newcastle City Hall when they supported Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow on their 1976 Rainbow Rising tour. I recall that they received a great reception that night. Stretch split in 1979. In 2007 Elmer Gantry and Kirby reformed the band.
18 Jul
Johnny Winter New Victoria Theatre London 26th October 1974
Johnny Winter New Victoria Theatre London 26th October 1974
I was very sad to hear of the passing yesterday of the great Johnny Winter.
Johnny Winter was an incredible blues guitarist, an amazing performer, and a spectacular rock’n’roll star. He looked great, played and sang impeccable electric blues, and his performance was like being caught in a whirlwind.
The first time I saw Johnny Winter live was at a concert at the New Victoria Theatre, London in 1974. I went with my friend John, and it seemed quite an adventure travelling all the way to London for a concert. I’d been to a few festivals and one day events, but I think this was the first time I had travelled to the capital for a single artist concert in a theatre. Support came from Elf, who were fronted by Ronnie James Dio, but it was Winter we had gone to see. The concert was sold out and we had seats up in the circle, looking down on the stage. I recall that Johnny Winter was late coming on stage, but boy was he worth waiting for. This was Johnny the young rock’n’roll bundle of energy and fire (he will have been 30 at the time, but he still looked young and sharp to us). He wore a flash cowboy shirt shirt with long tassels flowing from the arms, and he twisted, twirled and ran around the stage, his incredibly long white hair swirling around him under his cowboy hat, while he shot fire-fast riffs from his trademark Gibson Firebird. 
Winter was every inch pure rock’n’roll energy; the renegade electric cowboy, playing dark and fast music from the delta. Flanked by fellow ace guitarist Floyd Radford, Johnny Winter and his band rocked through a set of blues, his own tracks including the ace “Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo” (written by Derringer), great covers of the Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Honky Tonk Women”, Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven, and Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”. He was simply stunning and we were blown away.
Philip Norman wrote in The Times of the concert at the time: “Johnny Winter has long white hair and sleeves with red streamers like abandoned conjuring-tricks; his legs are as slim as the caddis-fly’s and, like that nervous insect, he lives in electric storms…effect is not calculated by mere voltage; there was something breathtaking …in this unrepentant chaos”
John’s memories of the concert: “I first got into Johnny Winter after listening to one of the many great lives albums from the early 70’s Johnny Winter and Live. As I recall he did not tour the UK much and certainly not out in the provinces, so when we saw the date in London, we decided to go. The tour was to promote the recently released Still Alive and Well which was recorded after one of his many periods of ill health. The setlist included the title track and I think “Silver Train” (the B side from “Angie”? by the Stones). He did a lot of covers and seemed to especially like the Stones. But the stand out track was his own blues tour de force “Mean Town Blues”, which remains one of my favorite live cuts from that period to this day.”
Thanks to John for his image of the album of the time and for the photo of his poster which he bought at the concert that night in 1974.
RIP Johnny Winter.
14 Jul
Rod Stewart St James Park Newcastle 25th June 2007
Rod Stewart St James Park Newcastle 25th June 2007
Rod was back in Newcastle in 2007 to play a massive open air show at St James Park in June 2007. I turned up on the night and bought a ticket for half price outside the stadium (result, as tickets for Rod Stewart concerts were getting more and more expensive 🙂 ), the show was far from sold out. It was a dreary, cold night with spells of rain, which didn’t help the atmosphere inside the stadium. The stage was placed in the middle of the stadium, which created quite strangely angled views, from whichever position you took in the vast area. Support came from the excellent Pretenders, with Chrissie Hynde chatting with the crowd and playing their hits from the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Brass In Pocket and Talk Of The Town. 
Rod’s performance included an acoustic set in the middle of the show. Not the best time I’ve seen Rod, but still an enjoyable evening, with the highlight for me being the chance to see the Pretenders again.
The setlist was something like: You Wear It Well; Some Guys Have All the Luck; Sweet Little Rock & Roller; It’s a Heartache; Rhythm of My Heart; Reason to Believe; Missing You; Father and Son; Every Beat of My Heart; Having a Party; Stay With Me; The Tracks of My Tears; Hot Legs; I Don’t Want to Talk About It; Dirty Old Town; Every Picture Tells a Story; The First Cut Is the Deepest; Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright); This Old Heart of Mine; Young Turks; Sailing; Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?; You’re in My Heart; Baby Jane; Maggie May. Encore: Twistin’ the Night Away; I Was Only Joking
10 Jul
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 7th Dec 2005 The Great American Songbook tour
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 7th Dec 2005 The Great American Songbook tour
By 2000 Rod Stewart was a massive world wide star, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. In 2002 his career took a change in direction as he began to record 1930s and 1940s pop standards from the “Great American Songbook”, written by songwriters such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George and Ira Gershwin. Although this met with great popular success, giving Rod the same level of album sales as he enjoyed during the 1970s, it was also met with disappointment and dismay by those of us who still held memories of Rod the Mod and Rod the Rocker, and of those great Faces concerts. So when I decided to go along to see Rod perform some of these classics in 2005, I feared the worst. The first half of the concert was a standard Rod set (good 🙂 ), with the Great American Songbook” reserved for the latter part of the evening. So in the first part of the show we got Rod, complete with his band, playing his normal sort of stuff. There was then an interval and for the second part of the show Rod donned his tux and was accompanied by a “Palm Court” type orchestra. The show was slick, and yes I had to admit that the songs are classics and that Rod delivered them well, but it still didn’t feel right. 
However the “Songbook” part of the show was, in the event, only five or so songs, and it was then back to more traditional Rod (relief), some (I think) with the orchestra, and the later songs (Maggie May, Baby Jane) with the band. I spent the second part of the evening wandering around the rear of the arena, viewing the show from different vantage points. For me this was a strange event, which I still have mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed it in parts, but there were other times during the night where it just didn’t feel right.
The setlist will have been something like this (Rod varied the set from night to night)
First set: You Wear It Well; This Old Heart of Mine; Young Turks; Sweet Little Rock & Roller; Every Beat of My Heart; Tonight I’m Yours; Downtown Train; The First Cut Is the Deepest; Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright); Reason to Believe; Hot Legs; What Am I Gonna Do (I’m So in Love With You); I’m So Excited; Have I Told You Lately; You’re in My Heart.
Second set: I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Irving Berlin); They Can’t Take That Away From Me (Gershwin); Blue Moon (Rodgers & Hart); As Time Goes By (Herman Hupfeld); A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Maschwitz & Sherwin); Pennies From Heaven (Johnson & Burke); I Don’t Want to Talk About It; It Takes Two; Twistin’ the Night Away; Having a Party; Rhythm of My Heart; Sailing; Maggie May / Gasoline Alley; Baby Jane
6 Jul
Rod Stewart, Status Quo & Joe Cocker Gateshead Stadium 2nd June 1991
Rod Stewart, Status Quo & Joe Cocker Gateshead Stadium 2nd June 1991
This was an excellent line-up with three class acts, and played for two nights at Gateshead Stadium in 1991. How could I not go to this one, Rod, The Quo and Joe Cocker. I have always been a big fan of Joe Cocker, and was very much looking forward to the opportunity of seeing him in concert again. It had been almost 20 years since I had last seen him perform, on a cold windy night in a field somewhere near Lincoln. 
If my memory is correct this was also a wet day, but all three acts played great sets to a packed crowd. I took Ashleigh along to this concert, and although she wasn’t a fan of any of the acts and a teenager at the time and into punk and heavy metal, she also enjoyed it. Rod Stewart setlist: Tonight I’m Yours; Sweet Little Rock’n’Roller; This Old Heart Of Mine; The First Cut Is The Deepest; Downtown Train; Hot Legs; Tonight’s The Night; Passion; Go Out Dancing; Every Beat Of My Heart; Sweet Soul Music; Rhythm Of My Heart; Da’Ya’ Think I’m Sexy?; Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay; Time Is Tight (band only);Every Picture Tells A Story; Mandolin Wind; You’re In My Heart; Muddy Waters Blues; Baby Jane; Some Guys Have All The Luck; Reason To Believe; Maggie May; You Wear It Well; I Don’t Want To Talk About It; Sailing; Twistin’ The Night Away; It Takes Two; Stay With Me
4 Jul
Rod Stewart Newcastle City Hall 14th December 1976
Rod Stewart Newcastle City Hall 14th December 1976
This was Rod’s first major solo outing, and it was billed as “The Concert” (I remember thinking that this was quite pretentious at the time, and to add to the pretentiousness; the tickets were printed gold!). I went with Marie to queue for tickets on the day they went on sale. Rod was playing four nights at the City Hall, and I figured that it wouldn’t be too difficult to get tickets with so many concerts. How wrong I was! When we arrived at the City Hall the queue was already right down the road. We joined the queue and stood for a few hours, only to be told that all the tickets had been sold. Gutted! However all was not lost. By chance I was going to the City Hall that night with a mate, to see David Essex, as I recall, and we asked at the box office if they had any tickets left for Rod. “You are in luck” said the lady. “We found two tickets after we closed up. They are single seats for different nights. Do you want them?” We snapped them up, I took one for the first night, and my mate took the other. I had to explain to Marie how I was now going to see Rod on my own….but she was ok with that.
The show was great. This was Rod at his best, and the crowd was massively up for it. His band was tight and hot, and he was Rod the Mod, great rasping vocals, massive ego and stage presence, lots of singalong, and loads of footballs kicked into the crowd at the end. I have never been a fan of “Sailing” but the rest of the set made up for it, in spades.
Support came from Liverpool Express.
Rod’s Band: Carmine Appice (drums), Phil Chen (bass), Jim Cregan (guitar), Billy Peek (guitar), Gary Grainger (guitar), John Jarvis (keyboards).
“The tour got off to a terrible start. The band and I were only just getting to know each other and I thought, ‘I’ll show you who can drink’. For about three weeks I was staying out all night and I wasn’t eating. It didn’t help. Then I got sick. Well, I was existing on port and brandy afternoon tea and toast. When we opened at Olympia I felt so bad it was almost like somebody telling me I shouldn’t be there.” (Rod to the Daily Mirror at the time)
Setlist: Three Time Loser; You Wear It Well; Big Bayou, Tonight’s The Night; Wild Side Of Life; This Old Heart Of Mine; Sweet Little Rock’n Roller; The Killing Of Georgie; I Don’t Want To Talk About It; Maggie May; Angel; True Blue; You Keep Me Hangin’ On; Get Back; (I Know) I’m Losing You; Sailing; Stay With Me; Twistin’ The Night Away
17 Jun
The Stiff Tour 1977 Middlesbrough Town Hall
The Stiff Tour 1977 Middlesbrough Town Hall and Newcastle Poly
The Stiff tours were a highlight of the late 70s rock calendar. These amazing events featured a selection of artists from Stiff records, travelling up and down the UK dropping into concert halls, university student unions and your local theatre. The first tour was known as the Live Stiffs Tour or 5 Live Stiffs, and took place in late 1977. My ticket stub from the gig at Middlesbrough Town Hall is here on the right, I’ve been trying to work out what the title for that concert was! Perhaps it was “The First Stiffs’ Tour” ?? Who knows 🙂 This first extravaganza boasted a stellar line-up of the new wave aristocracy with a young Elvis Costello with his fine Attractions, Ian Dury and the magnificent Blockheads, the crazy, wild and 100% authentic Wreckless Eric, The Jesus of Cool Nick Lowe (featuring rocker supremo Dave Edmunds) and ex Pink Fairies, Motorhead (and great Lewis leather jacket) Larry Wallis. A bunch of mates and I caught the tour at this Middlesbrough Town Hall gig. At the time punk was really taking off around the UK, and the old town hall was packed. I remember seeing Elvis Costello outside talking to a group of kids; my mate Norm recalls him giving them a penny for the guy. We witnessed some great music with wonderful performances from Elvis and Ian Dury that night. Ian stole the show; he was at his height at the time, performing material from New Boots and Panties!!: “Sweet Gene Vincent”, “Billericay Dickie”, and “Clever Trevor”. The gig ended with everyone on stage performing Dury’s “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”. Amazing!!
The tour called at Newcastle Polytechnic a couple of weeks later. I enjoyed the show so much, I went along again, this time with Marie. Marie has a better memory than me on this gig, and can recall us chatting to Elvis Costello in the union bar. She swears that Captain Sensible was with him, holding court to a few of us, in a typical mad mood, and show off that he is, he ate an entire packet of crisps, including the bag, all in one go in front of us. I do have a vague memory of meeting the Captain, but couldn’t be certain that it was the same night as the Stiffs tour. I wish I had kept a diary…
A bargain at £1.50
2 Jun
Graham Parker and the Rumour Newcastle Academy 1st June 2014
Graham Parker and the Rumour Newcastle Academy 1st June 2014
A few weeks ago I was writing about my memories of seeing Graham Parker in the 70s. At the time I wrote” “there was no better band than Graham Parker and the Rumour in the late 70s. They exploded out of pub rock and were part of the scene, and sound, which influenced punk and new wave. Graham Parker was the coolest guy on the planet and rocked and sang white soul and R&B like no-one else (OK maybe that’s a little unfair on Van Morrisson who was clearly a strong influence on Graham). The Rumour came with all the right pub-rock credentials featuring the legnedary Brinsley Schwarz (lead guitar) and Bob Andrews (keyboards) (both ex Brinsley Schwarz), Martin Belmont (rhythm guitar, ex Ducks Deluxe) and Andrew Bodnar (bass) and Steve Goulding (drums).”
At the time I didn’t know that I would be seeing them again, for the first time in 30-odd years. In 2011, Parker called up his old Rumour band mates and asked them to work with him again; they produced a new album that was their first together in over 30 years, and went out to play some shows. Last night they made their way back to Newcastle. Graham Parker explained how, outside the venue, a guy caught him and showed him a ticket for their concert at the City Hall in 1979, which he had signed at the time. He asked Graham to sign it again; which he duly did. He recalled those nights at the City Hall and other venues (the Poly as I recall) to cheers from the crowd, most of whom were surely at those gigs themselves. 
Of the reunion Parker says: “This has not been about touring for touring’s sake, or about making money….but we felt we had to get out there for a short while at least and be a part of the “This Is 40″ entourage….and bash some instruments around for the heck of it.” The tour has been having rave reviews; for example: “There was no need for any concerns over the 35-year gap. GP and the Rumour resolutely remain one of rock’s great live acts and the intervening years have done nothing to diminish their enduring powers. ” (the Birmingham Mail)
Well he didn’t let us down. Parker is still the same cool, cocky, energetic guy that he always was. From the moment they opened with Fool’s Gold, you just knew it was going to be good. The Rumour are still the tightest, hottest, rock, soul and reggae band on the planet (skanky beats, as Parker called them) and Parker is as animated and soulful as ever. Great stuff.
The setlist was something like this; I may have missed some: Fool’s Gold; Hotel Chambermaid; Snake Oil Capital of the World; Coathangers; No Holding Back; Howlin’ Wind; New Song; Live in Shadows; Lady Doctor; Love Gets You Twisted; Stick to Me; Watch the Moon Come Down; Get Started, Start a Fire; Discovering Japan; Nobody Hurts You; Pourin” it all out; Local Girls. Encore: You Can’t Be Too Strong; Don’t Ask Me Questions. Encore 2: Soul Shoes
26 Apr
Spirit Reading Festival August 1978 and Newcastle Mayfair 31st July 1981
Spirit Reading Festival August 1978 and Newcastle Mayfair 31st July 1981
My first memories of Spirit are of hearing the track “Fresh Garbage” on the excellent 1968 CBS sample lp “The Rock Machine Turns You On”. The song is quite strange with a psychedelic feel to inn, and some disconcerting changes of tempo. The next time I ran into the band was when I saw them live at Reading Festival in 1978. By this time Spirit were a three-piece featuring front man Randy California on (amazing) guitar, vocals and Moog, Ed Cassidy on drums and Larry “Fuzzy” Knight on bass. California was an awesome guitarist and a big Hendrix fan, and the set comprised a few Hendrix covers (“Hey Joe”, “All Along the Watchtower” and “Wild Thing”) along with some Spirit classics (“Mr Skin”, “Nature’s Way”). Ed Cassidy was a power house drummer, and was also Randy’s step-father. He was much older than the other two guys, and will have been 55 at the time of the Reading gig. Spirit played between Lindisfarne and The Motors, on the early Saturday evening. Status Quo headlined the Saturday night, playing after The Motors. Spirit played a storming set, and got a good reaction from the crowd.
Setlist from Reading: Hey Joe; Looking Down; Animal Zoo; Mr Skin; All Along The Watchtower; Wild Thing; Nature’s Way; Like A Rolling Stone; My imagination.
I saw Spirit once more, at a gig at Newcastle Mayfair in 1981. I think I also saw Randy California supporting Ian Gillan at the Mayfair in 1979. The 1981 tour was to promote the Potato Land album. The album, whose full title is “The Adventures of Kaptain Kopter & Commander Cassidy in Potato Land” (I assume Randy California ia Kaptain Kopter), was originally recorded by Randy California and Ed Cassidy during 1973/74. A concept album, interspersed with dialogue, it was not released until 1981 through Line Records. The line-up of the band at the Mayfair was California, Cassidy, Liberty on bass and George Valuck on keyboards. 
The ballroom was half-full, and the set was similar to the Reading set, mixing Hendrix material, with old Spirit songs, and a few from the Potato land story. The programme contains a comic featuring the Adventures of Kaptain Kopter and Commander Cassidy in Potato Land complete with great graphics and a blank page on which you were invited to “Draw your own Potato Man”. I also seem to remember buying a badge which had a picture of a potato man on it, but I’m not sure what happened to it.
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