The Reading Festival 1972
I first went to the Reading Festival in 1972 (is it really over 41 years ago 🙂 ?), and continued to go every year until 1980. I missed 1981 as it clashed with a local “Rock on the Tyne” Festival, and have never returned, although I did think of doing so on several occasions. I’m aiming to reflect on one year each week for the next few weeks, starting today with my first Reading experience.
I’d already been to the Lincoln Festival in May 1972 so I felt, as a 15 year old, I was already a hardened festival goer. I didn’t know anyone who wanted to go to Reading, so decided to go along myself. My parents weren’t keen on my idea of hitching so I agreed to go by train. The festival took place over the weekend of August 11th to 13th, 1972 starting on Friday afternoon. For some reason I decided to get the train down to London early on the Thursday night, arriving around midnight. Having nowhere to spend the night I took a tube to Piccadilly Circus and found an all-night cinema. It was showing Elvis films all night; I paid my money and sat close to the front. The cinema was quite empty, the audience was a few couples, some Elvis fans and several people alone like me, and just looking for somewhere to spend the night. I don’t recall which films were shown, I think there were six, and I’m pretty sure one was “Kid Galahad” (which, by the way, is a good movie), and I think another may have been “Fun in Acapulco” and “Girls, Girls, Girls” (not so good). I emerged, very tired, from the cinema in the early hours of the morning, and went across London to get the train to Reading. I didn’t have a ticket for the festival, so when I arrived I joined the queue and bought a weekend ticket. In those days it was all about seeing the bands, so I stayed in the queue to get a good spot in front of the stage. All I had taken was a sleeping bag; no tent; no change of clothes (I told you that I thought myself a hardened festival goer).
The Friday line-up was: Good Habit, Nazareth, Cottonwood, Steamhammer, Jackson Heights, Genesis, Mungo Jerry, Curved Air. The music started at 4pm and there were two stages set alongside each other to make for quick changeovers. I positioned myself close to the front somewhere between the two stages so I had a good view of both. There was a press enclosure right down front, and an area where the Hells Angels would encamp, so you couldn’t get that close to the stage. I got talking to a guy next to me; he was also alone, still at school and a similar age. We stuck together throughout the weekend, keeping each others place in the crowd, and sleeping there on a night in our sleeping bags. This seems crazy now, but hey I was young and just so excited about seeing the bands. You could sleep in the main enclosure in those days; you had to leave in the early morning so that they could clear up and get ready for the next day. Some clearing happened during the night; this didn’t make for a good night sleep as there was a danger that someone stood on you (this happened to me several times). The organisers stopped letting people sleep in the main enclosure a few years later; a punter was run over by a vehicle that was driving around collecting litter….The bands I recall on Friday were: Good Habit (saw them a few times, they used to were monks habits on stage), Nazareth (this was before “Broken Down Angel”; they played a great version of “Morning Dew”); Genesis (Simply amazing. I was a big fan at the time and have written separately about their set which included The Knife, Twilight Alehouse, Watcher Of The Skies, The Musical box, and The Return Of The Giant Hogweed. Classic); Mungo Jerry (got the crowd rocking), and Curved Air (also amazing; It happened today, Backstreet Luv, Sonja Kristina).
The Saturday line-up was: Jonathan Kelly, Solid Gold Cadillac, Man, Linda Lewis, Focus, Edgar Broughton, Jericho, If, Johnny Otis Show, Electric Light Orchestra, The Faces. I watched all of the bands, and also took some time to have a look around the stalls in the arena. I didn’t see any need to venture into town (that would come in later years) and spent the entire weekend within the confines of the festival. The weather was quite warm, sunny with a little drizzle now and then but nothing major, and certainly nothing compared to the rain I experienced at the Lincoln festival earlier in the year. Highlights I can dimly recall now are: Jonathan Kelly (Ballad of Cursed Anna simply wonderful), Solid Gold Cadillac (very jazzy), Man (very long guitar solos; Spunk Rock; great!), Linda Lewis (she looked so tiny on that stage and admitted to being scared), Focus (went down well with the crowd and were one of the successes of the weekend), Edgar Broughton (amazing, I was already a fan. Edgar very unspoken as always. Out Demons Out!!), If (jazzy, great guitarist), Johnny Otis Show (just blogged on them), Electric Light Orchestra (this was a very early performance and one of their first since Roy Wood’s departure. Wasn’t sure what to expect; they were good), The Faces (Rod and the guys on great form, lots of footballs kicked into the crowd, Twisting the Night Away and I’m Losing You were big live favourites of mine at the time).
The Sunday line-up was: Sutherland Brothers, Gillian McPherson, String Driven Thing, Matching Mole, Stackridge, Vinegar Joe, Status Quo, Stray, Roy Wood’s Wizzard, Mahatma Kane Jeeves, Ten Years After, Quintessence. John Peel and Jerry Floyd were comperes for the weekend. Jerry was the regular DJ at the Marquee Club, who organised the festival at the time. I spend much of the weekend chatting about music to the guy that I met on the first day and we struck up quite a friendship. I made a few friend at festivals in those days and would see some people every year but I never ran into this guy again. Wonder where he is now. Highlights of the day were: Matching Mole (featuring Robert Wyatt), Stackridge (“Slark” was a favourite of mine at the time), Vinegar Joe (Elkie just stunning), Status Quo (this was one of the shows that helped them break back. Peel was a big champion of theirs at the time; I think he introduced them as the “Finest rock’n’roll band in the world”, or something like that. They were playing amazing boogie at the time, with Francis giving it some cheeky banter. Someones Learning was a favourite), Stray (excellent, Del in mirror suit), Roy Wood’s Wizzard (pretty good, very retro rock’n’roll. Ballpark Incident had just been released), and Ten Years After (Alvin’s guitar playing was stunning, I’d just seen “Woodstock” and was a big fan). I left as Quintessence’s took to the stage as did many others (TYA were official headliners) to catch the last train to London. The tubes had stopped so I walked across London. I’d missed the midnight train so I spent the night in Kings Cross station.
Monday morning: I was stiff, tired, and scruffy. I got the first train home and went straight to bed 🙂
Wow! that took longer than I thought it would! The scans come from the newspaper style programme which was produced by the Reading Evening Post. The poster (it looks like a cartoon of Leo Lyons from TYA to me?) is from the middle of the programme. Oh and I forgot to mention the “Wally!” chants, which seemed to go on all night.
Posts Tagged ‘rock’
12 Jan
The Reading Festival 11th – 13th August 1972
11 Jan
The Johnny Otis Show featuring Shuggie Otis @ Reading Festival 12th August 1972
The Johnny Otis Show featuring The Three Tons of Joy and Shuggie Otis, Reading 12th August 1972
One of my most enduring memories of the 1972 Reading Festival is seeing the Johnny Otis show. The late Johnny Otis (1921 – 2012) was one of the originators of rock’n’roll, and is often referred to as the “Godfather of Rhythm and Blues”. Otis was a band leader, musician, singer, composer, radio and TV host, author and artist; he was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1994. He started forming bands after World War II, blending swing with the blues. Otis opened the first nightclub in the world devoted solely to rhythm and blues, discovered many artists including Etta James, and Jackie Wilson, wrote and recorded “Willie and the Hand Jive,” and played drums on Big Mama Thornton’s original recording of “Hound Dog”. Brian Wilson, Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan are all on record as saying that they were influenced by Otis. In the UK he hit the UK charts with “Ma He’s Making Eyes At Me” featuring singer Marie Adams and The Three Tons of Joy, which reached number 2 in 1957.
Johnny Otis is also the father of child prodigy guitarist Shuggie Otis, who joined the Otis Show at a young age. Shuggie was heavily influenced by blues-rock, funk and the music of Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and Love. In 1969, at the age of 15 he featured on Al Kooper’s Super Sessions; he then released his first solo album “Here Comes Shuggie Otis”and played bass on “Peaches en Regalia” on Zappa’s Hot Rats. In 1971 he wrote “Strawberry Letter 23” which was later covered by the Brothers Johnson.
So these guys brought some pedigree to the Reading festival stage in 1972. They appeared on the early Saturday evening coming before ELO and The Faces. The Reading festival originates from the National Jazz Festival and in the early ’70s jazz artists still featured as part of the line-up. For example I remember seeing Chris Barber and George Melly play there in 1973. So Johnny Otis fitted well into that context.
To me, a young kid at the time, The Johnny Otis Show live seemed to come from another age and another world. This was the full US show, featuring Johnny on piano, a big band, Shuggie, and the return of Marie Adams and The Three Tons of Joy. There must have been 20 people on stage at one point. The show took the form of a R&B revue with guest performances by Shuggie, who played a lengthy and amazing guitar solo on “Shuggie’s Boogie”, and Marie Adams and The Three Tons of Joy who sang “Ma He’s Making Eyes At Me” and were simply sensational; the crowd just loved them. They also played “Willie and the Hand Jive”. It was a hot sunny day and The Johnny Otis show matched the mood of the day, and fitted in well with the rest of the heavy and prog-rock line-up, which featured Ten Years After, Curved Air, Status Quo, Genesis, Stray and Edgar Broughton. Johnny Otis must have been in his early 50s at the time, which seemed like he was an “old” guy; its interesting how my concept of “old” has changed as I have become “old” myself 🙂 . Shuggie was of course a young guy; around 18 years old at the time. Shuggie continues to play to this day, and retains a cult following; he returned to the UK a year or so ago and played at Manchester’s Band on the Wall, and the Jazz Cafe in London. His influence is felt through the music of Prince and Lenny Kravitz. These guys are legends, and the Johnny Otis show stays in my mind as something pretty special, the like of which I’ll probably never see again.
PS. I added some photos of a page from the 1972 Reading programme showing Johnny Otis and the Three Tons of Joy.
10 Jan
Sinead O’Connor The Sage Gateshead 22nd July 2008
Sinead O’Connor The Sage Gateshead 22nd July 2008
Dressed simply in jeans and a shirt, Sinead O’Connor walked on to the stage of the Sage Gateshead to deliver an acoustic performance. She was joined on stage by guitarist Steve Cooney, who played on, and co-produced, the Dublin Sessions of her two disc ‘Theology’ album; and multi-instrumentalist Kieran Kiely from her touring band on keyboards, accordion, and whistles. “Theology”, which was Sinead’s 8th album, was released one year earlier. As the name suggests, Siobhan was heavily into religion at the time and the songs on the album reflect this. The concert drew heavily from “Theology” and a selection of older numbers, including of course “Nothing Compares 2 U”, which sounded good in this stripped-down form. The acoustic setting demonstrated the incredible range of Sinead’s voice; she sang with great passion and intensity. The concert was part of the 2007 SummerTyne festival. At the time the Sage had a practice of offering discounted £7 seats for certain performances. The seats were in the upper level, above the stage, almost looking down on the top of the performers heads. This gave the opportunity to catch performances by world class acts at a bargain price; I was seated in one of these seats for Sinead’s concert.
Sinead is a difficult artist to categorise, and often gains headlines for the more controversial aspects of her life rather than for her music. This concert at the Sage showed just how powerful her voice and her performance can be, and how talented Sinead is. I can’t pretend to be a big fan, and I’m not familiar with much of her music, but I really admire her voice, passion, attitude and the authentic and honest manner in which she seems to approach life and her art.
Setlist (something like this; based on setlists of the time): Something Beautiful; If You Had a Vineyard; Whomsoever Dwells; Watcher of Men; Dark I Am Yet Lovely; The Healing Room; All Babies; Black Boys on Mopeds; Big Bunch of Junkie Lies; Never Get Old; Nothing Compares 2 U; I Am Stretched on Your Grave; The Last Day of Our Acquaintance; Thank You for Hearing Me; 33; Rivers of Babylon
9 Jan
Osibisa: criss-cross rhythms live in the early to mid 1970s
Osibisa: criss-cross rhythms live in the early to mid 1970s
Osibisa is Ghanian for…’criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness’. Good choice of name. Osibisa were ahead of their time. Formed in 1971 their unique fusion of African, Caribbean, Rock, Jazz, Latin and R‘n’B paved the way for world music, disco, reggae and Bob Marley and the emergence of African music in the 80s. A night in the company of Osibisa was guaranteed to be good fun, high energy, and very different from the progressive rock I was going to see at the time, and the punk music that lay just around the corner for me. David Hughes wrote (Disc and Music Echo, 1971): “….criss-cross rhythms are exploding with happiness right across the country, and if ever you want to get high – but naturally – all you have to do is see them play, hear their music or simply be in their presence!” Osibisa are one of those bands that I saw several times, but can’t recall exactly where or when. It was in the early to mid 70s, and probably at Sunderland Locarno or Newcastle Mayfair. I definitely remember seeing them at Newcastle Poly Students Union one night. Marie and I were in the habit of going along to the Poly dances on Friday nights in the mid 70s. Most of the time we didn’t know who was performing until we arrived, which had to be before 10.30pm (no entry after that point, to dissuade the locals turning up when the pubs closed). Once or twice we got there to find Osibisa playing, which was a great surprise. In his memoirs “Broken Music” Sting refers to his band Last Exit supporting Osibisa at a Poly gig in the mid 70s. Well; I don’t recall seeing Last Exit that night (they had probably finished their set by the time we arrived) but I do recall Osibisa going down a storm. Crazy beats, happy vibes, wonderful Roger Dean graphics on their album covers and the late great founder member Sparticus R (actually he left in the early days of the band). They would explode into the hall; pounding congas, driving bass, chants; the crowd were up and with them from the start, dancing along with the African highlife rhythms. “Sunshine Day” was out at the time; which must place it around 1975. Think I also saw them at Bede College Durham (or that could have been Assagai who were another African rock band of the time) and at Reading festival when they were a special guest band, closing the 1976 festival. Osibisa are still playing today. Robin Denselow reviewed a 2010 gig at the Festival Hall London: “Osibisa have played a unique role in the history of African music. No other band achieved such extraordinary success, in terms of hit singles and albums in the UK and US, and yet no other band fell so dramatically from fashion…….But Osibisa kept going and, 40 years on, they were back in London to show that they have refused to change their approach, and are still populist mavericks” (the Guardian, 3rd March 2010). Time for me to see them again methinks.
Sting (2005), Broken Music: A Memoir, Dial Press.
Osibisa website: http://www.osibisa.co.uk/
8 Jan
Mike Oldfield Newcastle City Hall 22nd May 1980 and 11th September 1982
Mike Oldfield Newcastle City Hall 22nd May 1980 and 11th September 1982
“Tubular Bells” was a massively popular album in the mid 70s, and a big favourite of mine. It is an important and groundbreaking album which broke new ground for progressive/classical rock music, helped to establish Virgins records, and received further recognition when the opening was used in the 1973 film The Exorcist (I still have the nightmares about Regan :)), introducing the work to a broader audience. The nearest I got to seeing a live performance of Oldfield’s magnum opus was a concert at Newcastle City Hall which featured a film of Mike and friends performing “Tubular Bells”, accompanied by live performances by Gong and Hatfield and the North; a concert which I have already blogged on. Mike Oldfield was quite reclusive at the time and didn’t tour until the late 70s. 
By 1980, when his “In Concert” tour called at Newcastle City, Mike was moving to a more pop-oriented style and was including covers and songs on his albums. He had also hit the singles chart with “Portsmouth”. The tour was in promotion of the “Platinum” album, which is the fifth album by Oldfield, and was released in 1979 on Virgin Records. His earlier albums were, of course, “Tubular Bells” (1973), “Hergest Ridge” (1974), “Ommadawn” (1975) and “Incantations” (1978). The tour featured the whole of the “Platinum” album and selections from his previous releases, including “Tubular Bells”, which is what we all wanted to hear.
Setlist: Platinum Parts 1 to 4; I Got Rhythm; Punkadiddle; Incantations Parts 1 to 4; Tubular Bells Parts 1 and 2; Guilty; Ommadawn Part 1; Blue Peter; Portsmouth; Polka; Radetzky Marsch; Blaydon Races.
Musicians: Mike Oldfield (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Peter Naphtali Lemer (synths and keyboards), Mike Frye (percussion), Tim Cross (keyboards), Pete “Bimbo” Acock (saxes), Nico Ramsden (guitar), Hansford Rowe (bass), Benoit Moerleb (vibrophone), Wendy Robert (vocals), Pierre Moerlen (drums and percussion).
A couple of years later Mike was back on tour again, this time to promote the “Five Miles Out” album (1982). In the interim he had also released “QE2” (1981).
Setlist: Tubular Bells Part 1; In High Places; Etude/Recuerdos De La Alhambra; Platinum Parts 1 and 2; Conflict; Ommadawn Part 1; Incantations Part 4; Hergest Ridge Part 2; Taurus II; Five Miles Out; Mount Teidi; Orabidoo.
Mike’s band was more compact this time: Mike Oldfield (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Tim Cross (keyboards), Tim Renwick (guitars and bass), Pierre Moerlen (drums and percussion), Maggie Reilly (vocals), Devra Robitaille (keyboards, guitar and vocals).
This was before the release of the great “Moonlight Shadow” which is a classic track. Both concerts were excellent, featuring perfect renditions of Oldfield’s intricate music, much credit for which must go to his backing musicians.
7 Jan
Orange Juice The Soul Kitchen The Bier Kellar Newcastle 22nd Feb 1982
Orange Juice The Soul Kitchen The Bier Kellar Newcastle 22nd Feb 1982
The Soul Kitchen promoted many gigs in the early 80s featuring, among others, Scottish bands from the Postcard label, and upcoming local ats such as Prefab Sprout and Hurrah! Soul Kitchen was a moving night club, with took up residence at various venues around Newcastle. It also spawned Kitchenware records which currently has Editors, Prefab Sprout and others on its rosta. This gig was by Orange Juice, and was held at the Bier Keller, which was, as the name suggests, a German style beer house in the 70s (and the scene of lots of drunken nights). It later became Dingwalls and then Rockshots. Orange Juice came from the Postcard stable, and were on the brink of chart success at the time of this gig. This gig was before they released their second album “Rip It Up”, and the single of the same name, which was a hit in the following year. I’m sure I remember also seeing them at the time of “Rip It Up”; I think I went to see them again in the same venue the following year, by which time the Bier Keller was Dingwalls. What I do recall is a great jangly pop band who moved closer to disco/funk and added deeper bass and synth; particularly on “Rip It Up”. Line-up: Edwyn Collins – guitar, vocals; Malcolm Ross – guitar; keyboards; David McClymont – bass guitar; Zeke Manyika – drums.
6 Jan
The night we danced with Yoko : Yoko Ono, The Bluecoat, Liverpool, 4th April 2008
The night we danced with Yoko
Yoko Ono, The Bluecoat, Liverpool, 4th April 2008
I next saw Yoko Ono with Marie at a performance at the Bluecoat Arts Centre in Liverpool. Yoko Ono gave her first paid performance at the Bluecoat in 1967, around the time that she met John Lennon. When the Bluecoat was refurbished in 2008, Yoko returned to the new performance space to celebrate the reopening of the venue. Tickets for the one hour live event sold out in minutes and Yoko agreed to a live feed going into the Bluecoat hub and a big screen in the city centre.
Marie and I arrived in plenty of time for the event, and joined the queue to enter the performance space, which has a capacity of 116. It was clear from discussions in the queue that Yoko fans had travelled from all over the world for the chance to attend. We were each handed an “Imagine Peace” badge and a small Onochord torch as we entered. The white torch was marked “Onochord Liverpool y.o. 2008”. Marie and I sat in the front row and waited for Yoko to arrive. Soon she entered the room, and stood in front of a large screen showing footage of her 1967 Bluecoat performance where she requested the audience wrap her from head to foot in bandages. “I’m 75 and I’m alive and very thankful to be here every day, and to still be in love with life, and with you” she told us. Yoko then left the room for a short period and returned wrapped in bandages, picking up from where she left off in 1967. She sat in a chair and invited us to unwrap the bandages. A few of us did so; I still have the bandages that Marie and I removed from her legs 🙂
At one point during the performance she sat at the chair and silently crocheted.
Footage of John and Yoko from the “bed-in” days followed; she later danced and rolled on the floor wailing to the video for her song Walking on Thin Ice, and showed a short documentary on her 2004 work Onochord. At that point we got to use the small torches, that we had been given when we came in. We were instructed to flash the torch towards Yoko three times to signify the three words “I LOVE YOU”. To close the performance she put on a top hat and asked us all to come down to the front and dance with her to a remix of Give Peace a Chance.” At one point Marie was holding hands with Yoko, dancing and twirling round.
Yoko had one of her famous white chess sets beside her throughout the performance. This anti-war statement features white chess pieces on a totally white board; it was originally made for Ono’s exhibition at Indica Gallery, London, in 1966. “Yoko Ono’s White Chess Set, in which the opponents’ pieces, all white, sit on each side of an all-white board, [make] the warring factions indistinguishable from one another” (Wikipedia). At one point in the performance she threw the board to the ground, scattering the pieces all over the floor. When we started to dance with her, she said we could take the pieces and gave Marie the board. We also managed to pick up a few of the pieces. It makes a great reminder of the event, along with the bandages.
On our way out, we were handed a booklet entitled “13 days do-it-yourself dance festival” which is a series of instructions and pictures as to how we might perform our own personal dance in our “mind” and that “each member of the dance, thus, will communicate with the other members by mental telepathy”. An incredible, amazing performance, which we will remember for ever.
Yoko Ono at the Bluecoat: http://www.a-i-u.net/bluecoat.html
The Bluecoat: http://www.thebluecoat.org.uk
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5 Jan
Yoko Ono ‘In the time of shaking’ The Irish Museum of Modern Art 7th May 2004
Yoko Ono ‘In the time of shaking’ The Irish Museum of Modern Art 7th May 2004
I’ve been a fan of Yoko Ono for some time. I think her influence on the music of John Lennon and the Beatles, and music in general, is often underplayed and, at worst, completely overlooked. I saw that Yoko had been invited by Amnesty, along with The Edge from U2, to open the exhibition ‘In the time of shaking’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Yoko is a long time Amnesty supporter and in 2002 she gave them the rights to use John Lennon’s song “Imagine” in a campaign for human rights. At the time I was visiting Dublin once a month through work, so I fixed my next visit to coincide with the event. There was one remaining problem; the event was a private view with entry by invitation only. I emailed the Museum, asking for an invitation, and to my delight, a couple of days later I got a reply, inviting me to the event 🙂 .
The press release: “Yoko Ono will attend the Irish Museum of Modern Art and officially open one of the most exciting exhibitions of contemporary new Irish art to go on show in recent years. ‘In the time of shaking’ is a sale, exhibition and book involving over 100 of Ireland’s leading artists in support of human rights and the work of Amnesty International.. has been conceived and selected by Professor Ciarán Benson of University College Dublin, and members of the ‘Artists for Amnesty International 2004’ Committee… Ciarán Benson explains the title to the show as follows: “I take the show’s title – In the time of shaking – from a phrase I remembered and liked in an old translation of Psalm 27. ‘Shaking’ is a metaphor for ‘trouble’. http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=10215#.UshJ9ssgGSM
I know Dublin quite well, but this was the first time I had been to the Museum of Modern Art. I took a bus and soon found the venue, which is set in beautiful gardens. People were already arriving; the opening of the exhibition was attended by 1,000 people. I had a couple of drinks and a few nibbles and wandered around the gardens and the exhibition, taking in some of the work, which was very impressive. Soon Bill Shipsey, chairman of Art for Amnesty, introduced The Edge. U2 have supported Amnesty for more than 20 years, and the Edge recalled attending the opening of the first Amnesty Irish offices in Dublin in 1984. ‘I’m proud of the way Ireland and Irish people have supported Amnesty ever since then.’ he said, ‘I’m also particularly pleased that this Irish initiative is spear-heading what will hopefully become a series of similar art exhibitions around the world that will raise money for Amnesty.’ Edge then gave a synopsis of Yoko Ono’s life, closing with “Yoko comes to Dublin. Yoko likes Dublin and Dublin likes Yoko”. He then asked Yoko Ono to officially open the exhibition. Wearing a black trouser suit, she emerged smiling (Irish Times, 2004).
Yoko said “I am proud, pleased and happy to be here in Dublin today to open this wonderful exhibition which not only helps generate the support Amnesty needs but is providing a fund-raising model which we can use around the world. ‘John was very conscious of his Irish background. He was extremely proud of being Liverpool Irish, which gave him a sense of rebellion and inspired his poetry. I really think that his poetry definitely came from his Liverpool Irish heritage – tradition, beauty, sense of humour and word play all being strong Irish qualities.’ http://www.u2.com/news/article/405
The crowd was a mix of those from the Irish art community, journalists and a sprinkling of fans of Yoko. One guy was right at the front of the crowd with his copy of “Grapefruit”, no doubt hoping for a signature. But there was no opportunity for autographs; as soon as Yoko had finished speaking she was ushered away, apparently to take a tour of U2’s studio.
It was great to see Yoko, albeit fleetingly. She spoke well, looked great, and came over as a charming lady. I even managed to take a few (not very good) photos, a couple of which I’ve included here , along with an image of the “In the time of shaking” book. I was so impressed that I wished I could see her in a performance setting, something which Marie and I did a couple of years later at the Bluecoat Gallery in Liverpool, and which I’ll blog on tomorrow.
Yoko Ono Imagine Peace site: http://imaginepeace.com/
Amnesty: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/
Irish Museum of Modern Art: http://www.imma.ie/en/index.htm
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4 Jan
John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett in concert in the late ’70s and early ’80s
John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett in concert in the late ’70s and early ’80s
One of the many good things about the emergence of punk and new wave in the late 70s was that it allowed a series of fresh and, in some cases maverick, artists to break through and kick start their career. Many of the bands and singers who were bracketed in with the scene were not truly punk, but they shared a sense of enthusiasm, passion, energy and craziness with the movement. John Otway, accompanied by his partner in madness, Wild Willy Barrett, was one such act. Otway is one of the most authentic performers I have ever seen. He can’t sing well in any traditional sense of the word, and his stage act was at times, bizarre to say the least. But there was always an honesty about his performance; with Otway what you saw was what you got, and he would always put 110% into a gig. It was a manic performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 which propelled John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett to success. 
The single “Really Free” was popular at the time, and I saw him on several occasions including a gig at Maxwells club in Tynemouth (15th March 1978), Reading Festival (August 1978), The Cooperage Newcastle (16th July 1980) and Sunderland Poly Wearmouth Hall (17th January 1981). I think I may also have seen them asa support act at the City Hall (perhaps for Madness in late 1980?), but can’t be sure. The gig that sticks in my mind most of all is the performance at Maxwells (note miss-spelling of “Barrett” on the ticket). Maxwells was (it doesn’t exist anymore) a club along the coast in Tynemouth and hosted a few gigs at the time, the most notable being this one, and an appearance by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Otway was on top form that night; simply buzzing, manic and crazy. The place was packed; punk was really starting to take off in the North East, and there was lots of beer being thrown about, and some spitting at the stage. John took it all in his stride; winding us all up between songs and at one point he ran around the venue, chasing a guy who had been spitting at him. 
My favourite songs at the time were “Really Free” (of course) and his truly unique and amazing version of Bob Lind’s “Cheryl’s Coming Home”. I must also mention John’s companion, Willy Barrett. He would stand quietly alongside Otway, playing a beat up guitar that looked home-made, a silent foil to John’s madness. The other gig that I’ll mention is the Cooperage concert, which I remember for another reason. By 1980 Otway was looking for another hit record, and devised a cunning plan. At the time only certain selected shops counted towards the charts and although their identity was meant to be kept secret, the record companies worked out where the shops were. Otway decided to do a tour of towns where the shops were, and announced that you were only allowed to come and see the gig (for free) if you bought a copy of the single. It certainly worked; I remember loads of us queuing outside the Cooperage, each of us holding our copy of “DK 50/80”; I still have mine somewhere. 
From the programme: “You may have asked yourself on the way to the gig, if you are in your right mind traipsing down the road clutching a single. That I cannot answer, but what you are doing is taking part in something that is unique and will probably be part of rock history.” Indeed; and well said Otters. Also from the programme: “To cut the costs of touring the Otway/Barrett party will be staying in tents on local camp sits, hiring biy scouts for road crew etc.”
The record managed to reach the lower region of the single charts.
John Otway continues to perform up and down the country and retains a sizable cult following. He has tried a series of stunts over the years; which has seen him hit the charts again with “Bunsen Burner” (he wanted a new hit for his 50th birthday in 2002), play and fill the Albert Hall, and most recently premier “Otway the Movie” at a full red carpet event at the Odeon Leicester Square. The guy’s ingenuity knows no end.
2 Jan
The Only Ones Redcar Coatham Bowl 15th October 1978
The Only Ones Redcar Coatham Bowl 15th October 1978
I’ve just played “Another Girl, Another Planet” to remind myself how great The Only Ones were. The Only Ones were led by singer and guitarist Peter Perrett along with guitarist John Perry, drummer Mike Kellie (ex-Spooky Tooth) and bassist Alan Mair. I saw the band twice, at this great gig at Redcar Coatham Bowl and at Newcastle City Hall, as support for Television. The Only Ones were a strange and unique mix of punk and psych, with Perrett looking (a little) and sounding (a lot) like Syd Barrett. Their best known song “Another Girl, Another Planet” even has the line “I look ill, but I don’t care about it” which just about summed it up. Peter Perrett went on to develop a well-publicised drug habit, and disappeared from the public eye for many years. In recent years The Only Ones have reformed, and have been playing concerts again.
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