MUSICAL LOCATION STOP-OVERS' - 2016
As part of my 'Musical Mystery Tour' radio shows, I often 'park up' and have a brief 'Musical Location Stop-Over', focusing upon some musical relationship to a particular place or location. This has included:
'THE REGAL BALLROOM', RIPLEY - Cliff Richard:
The town 'Ripley', midway between Derby and Mansfield, where on 3rd May 1958 - having been persuaded to change his real name of Harry Webb to something a little more “rock and roll” - the newly-named “Cliff Richard” performed for the first time under his new name. Billed as 'Cliff Richard & The Drifters', they had their first appearance outside of London at 'The Regal Ballroom' in Ripley, where a plaque was unveiled in 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of the gig.
Cliff Richard was once quoted as saying: “I was so unused to the name that when I was introduced, I was waiting for someone else to walk out on to the stage”. A band member later said: ”The place was absolutely jam-packed and the response was fantastic”.
'THE SALFORD LADS CLUB', SALFORD – The Smiths:
Roughly a mile west of Manchester City Centre, 'The Salford Lads Club' was established in 1903 as a Boys Club, and opened in 1904 by Robert Baden-Powell (who started the Scout movement), but today the club welcomes both Boys & Girls.
In 1986, the building was thrown into the spotlight when it was featured with the band 'The Smiths' standing outside it for the sleeve of their, 'The Queen Is Dead', and also some shots of the club in a couple of their music videos. But at the time, the Club's committee were supposedly not very happy about it, but they did soon embrace the legacy and eventually welcomed fans, and since 2004 there's actually been a dedicated 'Smiths' room at the club, that attracts many fans from all over.
The building itself was granted listed status in 2003, with Morrissey of 'The Smiths' having donated money towards restoration; and also the photographer who took the iconic picture in 1985 (which is now in the 'National Portrait Gallery) has recently allowed it to be reproduced on a special 'Lads Club' t-shirt to help raise funds for the club.
There's also been a number of well-known former members of the 'Salford Lads Club', including actor Albert Finney; Alan Clarke (lead singer with the 60s group 'The Hollies'); and Graham Nash (of 'The Hollies' and 'Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young'), with 'The Hollies' having used the club for rehearsals in their early days. More information about the club at: www.salfordladsclub.org.uk
'SHIPTON-ON-CHERWELL', OXFORDSHIRE:
What has the village of 'Shipton-On-Cherwell', near Woodstock in Oxfordshire, got to do with the supernatural horror film, 'The Exorcist'?
In 1971, a 21 year old entrepreneur in the mail-order record business (Richard Branson) opened a London record shop called 'Virgin', and in the same year he bought a 16th Century Grade Two listed stately home at 'Shipton-On-Cherwell', and set up the UK's first residential recording studio there (known as 'The Manor'), where artists could record and stay in the same place.
The first band to use the new studios was Vivian Stanshall's group 'The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band', and the following year he contributed to the first album on Richard Branson's new Virgin record label - a one-man instrumental by an unknown 19-year-old who would play all the instruments himself. This would become the ground-breaking 'Tubular Bells' by Mike Oldfield, which went on to have it's opening sequence used to chilling effect in the supernatural horror film, 'The Exorcist'.
The studios closed in 1995, after 'Virgin' was taken over by EMI, and the recording studio building was converted into a games room. In 2010, the Manor went up for sale for nearly £6million.
'WOKING', SURREY:
The town of 'Woking', Surrey, about 23 miles from central London, is the birthplace of Paul Weller and the band 'The Jam', with Paul Weller having grown-up up in Stanley Road, Woking,; and the band playing some of their first gigs in the local Working Mens' Club.
Status Quo's Rick Parfitt was also born there in 1948; and it was unfortunately also the focal point in the tragic story of the band 'Badfinger'. Although having originally written the song 'Without You' (which Harry Nillson added a lavish string arrangement to and then topped the charts with in 1972; with Mariah Carey doing the same two decades later), in 1975, 'Badfinger' were broke, with their manager allegedly implicated.
According to reports, racked with personal & money problems, and just a month before the birth of his first child, 'Badfinger's' guitarist and songwriter Pete Ham sadly hanged himself in his Woking garage, aged just 27; with Badfinger band member, Tom Evans, also sadly taking his own life by hanging at the end of 1983, supposedly also having money and depression problems, particularly over Ham's death.
On a lighter note though, the 'Spice Girls' kicked off their careers at a Knaphill-based studio in 1994, after being picked from hundreds of hopeful competitors in an audition.
'BLACKSMITH'S ARMS', ST ALBANS, HERTFORDSHIRE – The Zombies:
The city of 'Saint Albans', Hertfordshire, about 20 miles north of London, was the birthplace for probably their most famous musical sons – the band 'The Zombies'. They formed in 1961 while still at school, with all five original members – including Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone – meeting for the first time outside the 'Blacksmiths Arms' in St Albans back in 1961.
Since 2012, there's been a plaque on the wall there to mark that event, funded by a pub company after a local group campaigned to get it erected - 51 years after those five local schoolboys became 'The Zombies'. In 1964, they recorded their first hit, 'She's Not There', which got to No.2 in the USA, where they toured and played to some fairly large venues, having great success as a band, and then individually, particularly Rod Argent & Colin Blunstone. After 50 years, the band is still going strong, having released new album in 2015, called “Still Got That Hunger”.
'HONG KONG GARDEN' CHINESE RESTAURANT, BROMLEY, LONDON:
The 'Hong Kong Garden' Chinese restaurant, in Chislehurst High Street, in the London Borough of Bromley, about 12 miles from the centre of London, was the inspiration for the 'Siouxsie and the Banshees' song, 'Hong Kong Garden'.
It followed her and her friends (who lived in Chislehurst) being really upset at seeing some thugs regularly turning up at the 'Hong Kong Garden' Chinese take-away, and terrorising & being racist to the Chinese people who worked there. She said: “We told them to leave them alone”; adding that she wrote the song as a “Kind of a Tribute”, putting her anger and frustration into the words. “I remember wishing that I could be like Emma Peel from 'The Avengers'”, she said, “because they used to...torment these people for being foreigners. It made me feel so helpless, hopeless and ill”. Although it's not now called the 'Hong Kong Garden', it is still a Chinese take-away.
'THE TROUBADOUR' COFFEE HOUSE, LONDON:
'The Troubadour' coffee house in Old Brompton Road, Earl's Court, London, was established in 1954, and is one of the last remaining coffee houses of its era in London, with a club room in the cellar famous as one of the main venues of the British folk scene in the late 1950s and 1960s.
It’s also where the satirical magazine 'Private Eye' was first produced and distributed; where the early 'Ban the Bomb' meetings were held (before the creation of 'CND'); where the 'Black Panthers' met when they left Paris after the 1968 riots there; and also where 'Led Zeppelin' used to go and jam after Earl's Court gigs. The club was also one of several London coffee house venues where notable musicians played, including Paul Simon; Martin Carthy; Charlie Watts; Sammy Davis Junior; Jimi Hendrix; Tom Robinson; Elvis Costello; and Adele.
Between December 1962 & January 1963, a 21 year old Bob Dylan made his first visit to the UK, particularly having been invited by TV director Philip Saville to appear in a BBC TV drama called 'Madhouse on Castle Street', where he also performed 'Blowing In The Wind'. 'The Troubadour' was one of the first places where Bob Dylan played in London, performing under the name 'Blind Boy Grunt', in an unventilated cellar on a freezing December evening (where snow started on Boxing Day in 1962 and the big freeze lasted until March the following year).
Supposedly, when Dylan arrived unannounced, the organiser recognised him and said he could have his entrance fee back if he performed. But as she once recalled: “Dylan didn't seem as interested in performing as he was in listening. I felt quite like a native in the presence of an anthropologist”, she said.
Whilst in London, the developing Dylan immersed himself in the London folk scene, making contact with clubs and folk-singers; with Dylan recalling in 1984, that he "ran into some people in England who really knew those traditional English songs….Martin Carthy, and another guy named Bob Davenport”. ”Martin Carthy's incredible”, said Dylan, ”I learned a lot of stuff from Martin”.
Still an intimate venue of just 120 seats, with a café upstairs, 'The Troubadour' continues to thrive. Find out more at their website: www.troubadourlondon.com
'SOHO SQUARE', LONDON – Kirsty MacColl:
Soho Square, central London, with a park and garden area at its centre, was built in the late 1670s, and at the time was one of the most fashionable places to live in London. But it also has a special link with Kirsty Maccoll, the daughter of folk singer, Ewan MacColl and dancer, Jean Newlove.
She grew up with her mother in Croydon, becoming an English singer-songwriter who wrote and recorded several pop hits during the 1980s and 90s; influenced a number of other artists; and her collaboration with 'The Pogues' on 'Fairytale of New York' continues to be a huge Christmas favourite.
But then, sadly, on 18th December 2000, she and her sons went diving in a designated diving area on holiday in Mexico when a powerboat at high-speed entered the restricted area. Although one of her sons was not in its way, whilst pushing her other son out of its path, she was struck by the boat and tragically died, at the age of just 41. A controversial court case followed the incident, and a 'Justice for Kirsty' campaign was set up.
Following her death, with the support and blessing of her family & management, a proposal was put to the local Council to place a Bench in 'Soho Square' in her memory. This was influenced by a lyric from one of her most poignant songs, called 'Soho Square': "One day I'll be waiting there / No empty bench in Soho Square", she sang. These words were also reproduced on a plaque attached to the bench, which was unveiled in 2001. Every year on the Sunday nearest to her birthday, the 10th of October, fans tend to gather there to pay tribute to her.
'AN OLD CHURCH HALL, MANCHESTER':
An old Church Hall in Manchester on 1st January 1964 was where the first edition of the BBC TV show 'Top Of The Pops' was transmitted from. The acts miming to their latest releases included: The Rolling Stones, ('I Wanna Be Your Man'); The Dave Clark Five ('Glad All Over'); The Hollies ('Stay'); The Swinging Blue Jeans ('Hippy Hippy Shake'); Dusty Springfield ('I Only Want To Be With You'); together with others featured on disc and film, including: The Beatles ('I Want to Hold Your Hand'); Freddie & the Dreamers; Cliff Richard and the Shadows; and Gene Pitney.
'SPRINGFIELD GENERAL HOSPITAL', 'Springfield', USA ('The Simpsons'):
'Springfield General Hospital' (also known as 'Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital') in the fictional town of 'Springfield', somewhere in the USA (the home of the animated TV series, 'The Simpsons'), where jazz musician 'Bleeding Gums Murphy' makes his final appearance in the "Round Springfield" episode from 1995. Whilst in the hospital visiting her brother (Bart), Lisa Simpson discovers her jazz mentor and role-model, 'Bleeding Gums Murphy', in a nearby ward. During the episode, they both perform the song 'Jazzman', with the music having been composed by Carole King, and the lyrics by David Palmer (formerly of the band, 'Steely Dan').
'THE TOBY JUG', Tolworth, Surrey:
The 'Toby Jug' pub, 1Hook Rise South, in Tolworth, a suburban area of south-west London in the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, about 11 miles from central London. For many years, it was a venue for up-and-coming bands, including Traffic, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Status Quo, Fleetwood Mac, and Led Zeppelin...and, supposedly, John Lennon's dad once worked behind the bar!
But 10th February 1972 was the night of the first official date (although they did do a warm-up show 13 days earlier in Aylesbury) of the 'Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' UK concert tour, with David Bowie. Reported by someone who was at that small pub, that about 60 people were crammed into the function room that night, mostly between 17 & 25, who were enthusiastic and responded with rapturous applause, whistles and cheers; and Bowie appeared to enjoy the 2-hour show as well. Later in the tour, they played 'Leicester Polytechnic' on 10th June 1972; and returned to Leicester's 'De Montfort Hall' on 11th June 1973.
The 'Toby Jug' was demolished quite a few years ago, with a major supermarket buying the site with initial plans for a supermarket & housing development. But after more than a decade of a long-running planning battle, it was announced they selling the site. So what will emerge where the 'Toby Jug' once stood?
Stephen King, who went on to work as a sound engineer, remembered the event, saying: “I can still remember feeling the sheer power of the opening chords of Ziggy Stardust”.
'LITTLE GREEN STREET', off Highgate Road, Kentish Town, London:
'Little Green Street', is a small 18th century street, located off Highgate Road, Kentish Town, London, with only eight houses on one side and two on the other that were built in the 1780s, being Grade II listed, and remaining one of the few intact Georgian streets in London.
But it was back in 1966, when 'Little Green Street' became the location for the film to promote the song 'Dead End Street' by 'The Kinks'. Filmed in black and white, and featuring each member of the band dressed as undertakers carrying a coffin into one of the houses, as well as playing various other characters, with the film often being described as one of the first true 'music videos', although the BBC supposedly didn't like it at the time, claiming it was in 'bad taste'.
The song itself, has been covered by a number of other groups, especially 'The Jam'; and the song and its music video also influenced the 2005 'Oasis' hit, "The Importance of Being Idle".
In 2009, actor Tom Conti headed up a local protest against a nearby proposed development of flats and underground car park, which every day would have brought countless trucks and equipment down the tiny cobbled street, barely 12 feet wide, as well as some demolition of the ancient street itself, which also gained support from Dave Davies from 'The Kinks'.
But after many years of campaigning and planning arguments, new developers took over the site in 2014, with a commitment to be more sensitive to this historic street and local area throughout their development of the nearby site.
'FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS', Germany:
The 'Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits' in Germany, and particularly the German electrical engineer & mathematician, Karlheinz Brandenburg, were key contributors to the development of MP3, the digital music compression that we're so used to now on our little music machines, smartphones, etc.
In his work to create & develop MP3, Brandenburg had to appreciate how the human ear perceives sound, particularly to fine-tune his compression algorithm to avoid significant loss of the full sound. It was during this time, that he heard Suzanne Vega's acapella song, "Tom's Diner", playing on the radio, saying he found it electrifying and adopted the song for testing purposes, as Vega’s voice was the perfect template to test the purity of the audio compression he was working to perfect.
He went on to listen to the song again and again - probably thousands of times - each time refining his work, making sure it didn't adversely affect the subtlety of Vega's voice. So, when an MP3 player compresses music by anyone from 'The Killers' to 'John Denver', it's replicating the way that Brandenburg heard Suzanne Vega and the work he did from her song - which is why she's often been given the nickname as the 'Mother of the MP3'.
The scientist did eventually meet Vega years later, and even heard her perform 'Tom’s Diner' in person, with him claiming he still enjoyed the song, despite having heard it more times than perhaps anyone else on the planet!
'RAILWAY HOTEL', Harrow & Wealdstone, London:
Once a three storey brick building by the train station, the 'Railway Hotel' was used as a jazz club in the 1950s, and then during the early to mid 1960s it became the venue for a Rhythm & Blues club; as well as becoming a regular venue for the band that would eventually become the incredibly successful 'The Who', forming in 1964 with the line-up of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon.
Originally, called “The Detours”, they changed their name to 'The Who' in February 1964. But then a new manager changed it to 'The High Numbers' with them particularly going 'mod'. But later in that same year, the band reverted to calling themselves 'The Who', the name they've had for over 50 years.
It was at the 'Railway Hotel' in September 1964, under the name of 'The High Numbers', that Pete Townsend of the soon-to-be renamed band, 'The Who', accidentally broke the head of his guitar on the very low ceiling of the stage. In his frustration, he deliberately reduced it to splinters, starting a tradition that would continue to feature in their stage act.
In an interview, Pete Townsend commented about that first guitar incident by saying: “I banged it on the ceiling...and the neck broke off….and everybody started to laugh and they went, 'Hah, that'll teach you to be flash.' So I thought., I had no other recourse but to make it look like I meant to do it”, said Townsend. ”So I smashed this guitar, and jumped all over the bits, and then picked up the 12-string and carried on as though nothing had happened."
After 'The Railway Hotel' closed, the building became derelict, damaged by fire, and then demolished with the site being redeveloped as a block of flats that were named 'Daltrey House' and 'Moon House'. In 2009, a plaque was unveiled there to mark the site where 'The Who' guitarist, Pete Townshend, smashed his first guitar.
'THE OASIS CLUB', 45/47 Lloyd Street, off Albert Square, Manchester:
The 'Oasis Club' was the place for all the best groups in the North-West, attracting both the up-and-coming local bands, and also musicians from wider afield, including 'The Beatles'; 'Gene Vincent'; 'The Rolling Stones'; 'The Who'; and 'Bill Haley', to name only a few. But, sadly, 'The Oasis Club' is now long-gone, and where it used to be is now the 'Manchester Registration Service'.
At 'The Oasis Club' on the evening of 5th December 1962, the newly-named band, 'The Hollies', made their major headlining début. Blackpool-born Graham Nash was raised in Salford, Greater Manchester…with him first meeting Allan Clarke as 5 year olds...when Allan Clark sat next to him on his first day at Primary School.
They soon became good friends...both having a shared interest in music...with both of them becoming members of the now legendary 'Salford Lads Club' where their bands would also later rehearse….both of them being part of the groups 'The Two Teens', 'The Fourtones', 'The Deltas', and then changing their name to 'The Hollies', supposedly in admiration of Buddy Holly…...with their first major appearance on the 5th December 1962 being at the 'Oasis Club' in Manchester….with them later going on to take over 'The Beatles' regular spot at Liverpool's 'The Cavern Club'.
'The Hollies' went on to become one of the leading British groups of the 1960s, and are also one of the few British groups of the early 60s that have never broken up, and still continue to record & perform, and in 2010 were inducted into the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame'.
'THE GLOBE THEATRE', Stockton-On-Tees:
'The Globe Theatre', Stockton-On-Tees, was originally built in 1913 and was Teeside's first purpose-build cinema. It was demolished in 1925, and then re-built in 1926, and again in 1935 as a leading variety theatre & cinema, with seating for over 2,000 people, regularly hosting stage shows, national companies, and various live performances.
During the 1950s and 1970s, the 'Globe' was a major venue for many famous acts, such as Buddy Holly, the Platters, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry. 'The Beatles' twice played at the Globe, the first time being on Friday 22nd November 1963, the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
But long before 'The Beatles' caused mass-hysteria, a young man from Bermondsey in London, called Tommy Hicks (better known as 'Tommy Steele'), created similar scenes in the 1950s, and he also appeared at 'The Globe'; as did Joe Brown, who recorded a live album there in 1963; with 'Status Quo' being the last band to play there, before it closed in 1997.
But in 2013, with support from the 'Heritage Lottery Fund', a £4million restoration was started to bring the historic Grade 2 listed Art-Deco Globe back to its 1930's splendour, for use again as a major live entertainment venue for music, comedy & other events. Although there's been some set-backs along the way, restoration continues, and it's hoped to be opened again in the near future.
'THE CLISSOLD ARMS', 105 Fortis Green, Muswell Hill, London:
'The Clissold Arms' became the home of English band, 'The Kinks', where both Dave Davies and his brother Ray lived close to the pub, and were regulars there after playing their first gig in a back-room in the early 1960s.
Ray Davies once said that while much of their early music symbolised the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s, they always referenced their local community in albums, such as 'Muswell Hillbillies' and 'The Village Green Preservation Society'….with many of their songs drawn from characters they observed in the area. Their song, 'Fortis Green', has the lyrics: 'Mum would shout and scream when dad would come home drunk, When she'd ask him where he'd been, he said 'Up The Clissold Arms'...“
It was also in 1964, at 'The Clissold Arms' where Ray & his brother Dave supposedly worked out the chords for 'You Really Got Me', the song that first put them at the top of the charts. To this day, they have kept their connections in Fortis Green, East Finchley, Muswell Hill and Highgate, and Dave Davies’s 50th birthday party was held in “The Clissold Arms” in Muswell Hill.
When the old 'Clissold Arms' went up for sale and renovation, there was widespread concern that 'The Kinks' memorabilia corner would be removed. But after an active campaign, including with the involvement of Ray & Dave Davies, the new owners kept the link with the Kinks history, and now the new 'Clissold Arms' has a whole room – 'The Kinks Room' – dedicated to the history of the band….with the new 'Kinks Room' being opened in 2010 by Ray Davies himself and the original Kinks drummer, Mick Avory, and they often have 'Kinks' nights held there, with Kinks fans from all over the world often visiting, and people can also hire the room for their own private functions.
'NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, Newport, Rhode Island, USA (1965):
The 'Newport Folk Festival' was founded in 1959 to feature folk, blues, country, bluegrass & folk-rock musicians, having included Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf. Since the 1990s, it has also featured performers from alternative-country, indie-folk and folk-punk.
But it was at the 'Newport Folk Festival' on the 25th July 1965, when the headline act, folk musician Bob Dylan, hit the headlines after supposedly being booed by some festival goers, when he played with members from an electric blues/rock band, performing an electric version of 'Maggie's Farm' and two other numbers.
This controversy has often be put down to Bob Dylan going 'electric', upsetting folk-purists; or possibly the poor sound quality, but one of the musicians that played with Dylan in a hastily put-together band for that festival, claims that any discontent or booing was more to do with Dylan's short three-song, fifteen-minute set...saying that: “If you travelled from god knows where and paid god knows what to see Bob Dylan, and sat through music you didn’t relate to for three days, and then he came out and only played for 15 minutes, what would you have done?”
But whatever happened back in 1965, that first live 'electrified' performance by Bob Dylan, tended to mark his artistic shift from mainly acoustic-folk to being more electric and rock-orientated, which started five days earlier, with the release of 'Like A Rolling Stone'.
In the late 1960s, the 'Newport Folk Festival' fell on some hard times, and closed for a number of years from 1971, until being revived in 1985, with it running without interruption since, and in 2015, 50 years after Bob Dylan "went electric", the actual 1964 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster electric guitar he used, made an unexpected visit at the 2015 festival, after an American Football Club owner who bought the guitar in 2013 for $965,000, lent it to them.
'READY, STEADY, GO!' - 23rd December 1966:
The night of 23rd December 1966, was the final episode of the three-year run of 'Ready Steady Go', a British music television programme on commercial television every Friday evening from 9th August 1963 until 23rd December 1966, with the strap-line "The Weekend starts here!". It was generally more youth-orientated and informal than its BBC rival, 'Top of the Pops', that started in 1964. The best known presenters were Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan, though early shows were also introduced by Dusty Springfield.
During 1966, several of the shows were hosted by 'special guest presenters', who would both perform and introduce other acts. These 'specials' included 'The Troggs', 'The Who', 'Otis Redding', 'The Walker Brothers' and 'Ike & Tina Turner'...and during its run, they also had the first televised UK appearance by 'Jimi Hendrix', who performed ‘Hey Joe’ solo. The show gained its highest ratings during March 1964 when it featured 'The Beatles' being interviewed and performing. But unfortunately, most of the shows were wiped, because tape was so expensive back then, so stuff like the 'James Brown' special and 'The Who' special are now gone forever.
The show continued throughout 1966, but despite its prime-time placement, with production costs continuing to rise and competition from the BBC's 'Top of the Pops' causing the viewing numbers to fall, it was re-scheduled before finally ending on 23rd December 1966, with the last show being titled 'Ready Steady Goes!', which included Mick Jagger; Chris Farlowe; The Who; Lulu; Donovan; The Small Faces; and 'Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich'.
As a finale, singer and entertainer Kenny Lynch, led Cathy McGowan and the various acts in a grand sing-along version of 'White Christmas', as the curtain came down for the last time on a programme that was an integral part of the lives of many young people from 1963 to 1966.
'EUROVISION SONG CONTEST', 8th April 1967, in Vienna, Austria:
The 1967 'Eurovision Song Contest', 8th April 1967, in Vienna, Austria, was the night that 1960s singer, Sandie Shaw, won the contest for the UK with one of the widest margins of victory ever witnessed in the competition, with the song "Puppet on a String", that became her 13th UK single release, remaining at No.1 for 3 weeks, and she also went on to record the song is French, Italian, Spanish, and German.
But, of the five songs Sandie Shaw performed on the original selection show, "Puppet on a String" was her least favourite. She supposedly said that she “hated it from the very first 'oompah' to the final bang on the big bass drum”….”I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune”, she was reported as saying, although her attitude towards the song did seem to mellow in later years, even releasing a new version of it in 2007, that she worked on with musician friend, Howard Jones.
But her 'Eurovision' success almost didn't happen, as supposedly the BBC wanted to drop her because she had been named as the "other woman" in a controversial, and quite public, divorce scandal at the time, just before the contest was due to happen. But, see wasn't dropped, and went on to win.
'FOLSOM STATE PRISON'', CALIFORNIA, USA, 13th January 1968:
'Folsom State Prison' in California, USA, on 13th January 1968, where country star Johnny Cash performed, and later released the live album, 'At Folsom Prison'. He first took an interest in 'Folsom State Prison' while serving in the United States Air Force Security Service. In 1953, his unit watched Crane Wilbur's film 'Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison' with the film inspiring Cash to write a song that reflected his perception of prison life, called "Folsom Prison Blues". After its release, the song actually became popular among prison inmates, who would sometimes write to Cash, asking him to perform at their prisons.
On 13th January 1968, Johnny Cash performed two shows at the 'Folsom State Prison' in California, with Carl Perkins taking to the stage with "Blue Suede Shoes", then 'The Statler Brothers', and then Johnny Cash opened both shows with a rendition of his 1955 song, "Folsom Prison Blues", including other songs about prison life, and some novelty ones too, with the live album, 'At Folsom Prison', being released a few months later.
In 1969, Johnny Cash returned to the prison scene when he recorded 'At San Quentin' at 'The San Quentin State Prison'….which became his first album to hit No.1 on the Pop chart...and featured the No.2 hit "A Boy Named Sue".
Although he did have a bit of an outlaw image, Johnny Cash, it seems, never served a prison sentence, although he was picked up a few times by the police and landed in jail for misdemeanours, each stay lasting supposedly only a single night; and he once received a suspended sentence for having quite a few prescription drugs, which he had a dependence on and received help for.
The 'Apple Corporation' headquarters building, 3 Saville Row, London - 30th January 1969.
On 30th January 1969, 'The Beatles' (together with guest keyboardist, Billy Preston) performed in public for the last time, on the roof of the 'Apple Records' headquarters, on what was a rather cold day, with a bitter wind blowing on the rooftop by midday. To cope with the weather, John Lennon borrowed Yoko Ono's fur coat, and Ringo Starr wore his wife's red mac.
It's a bit uncertain who had the idea for a rooftop concert, but the suggestion was made just days before, with Ringo Starr saying: "There was a plan to play live somewhere. We were wondering where we could go - 'Oh, the Palladium or the Sahara'….But we would have had to take all the stuff, so we decided, 'Let's get up on the roof'".
When 'The Beatles' first started playing around midday, there was some confusion from spectators watching five stories below, many of whom were on their lunch break. As the news of the event spread, crowds of onlookers began to congregate in the streets and on the roofs of local buildings. While most responded positively to the concert, the 'Metropolitan Police' eventually grew concerned, particularly about noise and traffic congestion issues, and gave a warning to reduce the volume and that the event should stop.
After a 42-minute set...with 'The Beatles' having played nine takes of five songs, the concert did come to an end, with the song "Get Back", with John Lennon saying, "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we've passed the audition", and the whole event was filmed for their 'Let it Be' movie.
TRURO, CORNWALL ('Queen'):
As well as the drummer of 'Queen', Roger Taylor, having lived and went to school in Truro, Cornwall, it also played an important part in the early history of 'Queen' - not only because they played their first ever concert in Truro, but it was also where Roger Taylor's first semi-professional band, 'The Reaction', played several hundred gigs in Cornwall & Devon between 1965 & 1968, when he was still at school, until the band split up when Roger went to live in London later in 1968 with a friend from Truro School.
But very soon after arriving in London, a friend saw a "drummer-wanted" notice left by astrophysicist Brian May in the Student Union of Imperial College, and Roger's next band, 'Smile', a London-based Blues-Rock band, formed as a result, composed of guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and Tim Staffell on bass and vocals. In 1970, Staffell left 'Smile' to join another band, and 'Smile' fan, Farrokh “Freddie” Bulsara, convinced Brian May and Roger Taylor to carry on, with 'Smile' performing in Cornwall regularly, particularly at a club in Truro, called 'PJs', owned and run by a local musician.
It was around the summer of 1970, when 'Smile' changed their name to 'Queen', and 'Freddie Bulsara' became the legendary 'Freddie Mercury'...becoming the new band's flamboyant front-man, singer, and significant writer.
Their first gig with Freddie singing was at 'Truro City Hall' on Saturday 27th June 1970 - a booking arranged by Roger Taylor's mother in which they were actually billed as 'Smile', even though they'd already decided on the name 'Queen', and supposedly announced themselves as such. The line-up that night was 'Freddie Mercury', 'Brian May', 'Roger Taylor', and 'Mike Grose' from St Austell on bass guitar (who was with them for around 3 shows, when he was replaced by Barry Mitchell, who played the next 11 shows), and then 'John Deacon' finally joined the band as bassist, completing the classic 'Queen' line-up.
'MONTREUX CASINO', Lake Geneva, Switzerland (4th December 1971)
On 4th December 1971, at the 'Montreux Casino', on the shores of Lake Geneva, in Switzerland, was the day a devastating fire broke out during a concert by 'Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention', which went on to inspire the writing of one of 'Deep Purple's' biggest songs.
The 'Montreux Casino' opened in November 1881 to provide entertainment for visitors to the Swiss resort, developing a reputation as a music venue, attracting classical orchestras & composers, Stravinsky & Ravel, and then in the 1960s, hosting concerts by jazz, blues & rock artists, becoming the venue for the 'Montreux Jazz Festival' in 1967.
On the day of the fire, there was probably around 3000 people packed into a room where 'Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention' were performing. Around 80 minutes into the show, a fire started (thought to have been by a flare being let off or by matches), which then quickly spread.
Fortunately, nobody was killed, and there were only a few minor injuries, but the entire building was burned to the ground, including the band's equipment, forcing them to use rented gear for their next concert in London six days later, but that concert also ended disastrously when, during the encore, Frank Zappa was pushed off-stage by a fan into the concrete orchestra pit, causing him to be in a wheelchair for nearly a year, and In an odd coincidence, Frank Zappa died on 4th December 1993, the 22nd anniversary of that fire. Eventually though, the building was re-built, and re-opened in 1975.
But that fire became the inspiration for the classic 'Deep Purple' song, 'Smoke On The Water', recorded in 1971, and first released on their 1972 album, 'Machine Head', telling the story of the fire, with the "smoke on the water" referring to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of 'Deep Purple' watched the fire from their hotel. The song has also been honoured in Montreux by a sculpture along the lake shore, with the band's name, the song title, and the riff in musical notes….and the new casino displays notes from the riff as decoration in a hall.
'GREYHOUND PUB', Croydon, Surrey (Sunday 16th April 1972):
Once a very popular music venue, the 'Greyhound' Pub, Park Lane, Croydon, Surrey (later to become a significant punk rock & new wave venue) was just a stones throw from another well-known Croydon musical venue, 'The Fairfield Halls. It was at the 'Greyhound' on Sunday 16th April 1972, that the 'Electric Light Orchestra' made their live début, with a line-up of Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Bill Hunt, Andy Craig, Mike Edwards, Wilfred Gibson, Hugh McDowell, and Richard Tandy.
By some accounts of that first live concert, they weren't liked by all, and were viewed as a bit of a novelty, and a surprise to some of the audience, as many people had never seen a rock band that included cellos, violins and a French horn.
But shortly after that début live concert, in June 1972, their Founding Member, Roy Wood, left the 'ELO' line-up and formed 'Wizzard', just as 'ELO' scored its first hit single. Despite predictions that the band would fold without Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne stepped up to lead the band, with the new line-up later performing at the 1972 Reading Festival, and going on to have twenty Top 20 songs on the UK Singles Chart, and fifteen Top 20 songs on the American chart from 1972 to 1986.
'LEICESTER POLYTECHNIC' - 13th October 1973:'
Leicester Polytechnic' (now 'De Montfort University') on the 13th October 1973 was where the band, 'Family', played their last concert at 'Leicester Polytechnic', before splitting up for good, and having a farewell party at a local Leicester 'Holiday Inn' hotel after the show ended.
'Family' were an English rock band, who formed in late 1966 in Leicester, particularly active from late 1966 to October 1973, and then again from 2013, particularly initially for a series of live shows. Their style was often characterised as progressive rock, but also exploring other genres and styles, incorporating elements of folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz-fusion and rock-and-roll. The band was also cited as being an influence for other bands, such as 'Jethro Tull', and were particularly known for their live performances, with one reviewer supposedly describing the band as "one of the wildest, most innovative groups of the underground rock scene".
Since playing their last concert in 1973, many of the band went on to different musical projects: Roger Chapman and John "Charlie" Whitney formed the band 'Streetwalkers'; John Wetton played with 'King Crimson' and eventually became the lead singer of the band 'Asia'; Rob Townsend was a member of 'Medicine Head', then 'The Blues Band' and then 'The Manfreds'; Ric Grech, sadly died of kidney and liver failure in 1990 at the age of 43; Tony Ashton, also sadly died in 2001 at the age of 55, due to cancer; and also, Jim King, who died in 2012.
'The Bottom Line Club', New York City (12th February 1974):
'The Bottom Line Club', in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York City, opened on 12th February 1974, taking over the space that had previously been a jazz club called 'The Red Garter'. On that opening night, the first headlining act was 'Dr. John', together with Stevie Wonder & Johnny Winter who jammed on stage to a packed house, as Mick Jagger and Carly Simon looked on.
The club was owned by Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky, and seated around 400 people, and also had a 'no smoking' policy long before that restriction became a New York City law. It went on to enjoy a successful 30 year run, presenting major musical acts & introducing many new artists, and it also hosted an extremely wide variety of music & musicians, particularly during the 1970s & 1980s, becoming a major space for small-scale popular music performances, ncluding artists, such as Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, The Ramones, Dizzy Gillespie, Prince, The Police, Suzanne Vega, and thousands of other musicians and comedians. Bruce Springsteen went on to play 10 shows there, over five nights in August 1975, and Lou Reed recorded one of his live albums there in 1978 (“Live: Take No Prisoners”), and Harry Chapin held his 2000th concert at the 'Bottom Line' in 1981.
But sadly, 'The Bottom Line's' popularity faded with time, and by 2003 the club was deeply in debt and no longer bringing in large crowds, with its landlord, the 'New York University', increasing the rent to market level, which was far beyond the club's ability to pay and eviction was threatened, Although a fundraising & support campaign took place, the owners decided to close the club before they could be kicked out, with the last 'Bottom Line' show happening on 22nd January 2004, just short of the club’s 30th anniversary.
'SEX PISTOLS' - 1st Live Gig (Thursday 6th November 1975):
'The Sex Pistols' very first gig at the then 'St Martins College of Art' on the Charing Cross Road in London took place on Thursday 6th November 1975. It all happened partly because of the band's pre-Sid Vicious bass player, Glen Matlock, who was studying there at the time, who managed to get a support slot for the band below the head-lining pub-rock group, 'Bazooka Joe'.
The gig that night, to an audience of about 20 students, saw the 'Sex Pistols' of 'Johnny Rotten', 'Steve Jones', 'Glen Matlock' & 'Paul Cook', playing cover versions that were generally greeted with silence by the students there, before the plug was pulled after only about 20 minutes, with a big scrap happening.
Playing bass in 'Bazooka Joe' was Stuart Goddard, a student at 'Hornsey College of Art', who also designed the advertising poster for the gig, with the poster billing the 'Sex Pistols' as simply “Support Band”, with an admission price of 50p. After seeing the 'Sex Pistols' that night, he was so impressed by their rawness & energy, making his band's performance look hopelessly out-of-date, that he decided to leave 'Bazooka Joe' to be “something different and be someone else”, he said, eventually changing his name from 'Stuart Goddard' to 'Adam Ant', and forming the band, 'Adam & The Ants'.
Speaking about the end of that first gig, John Lydon ('Johnny Rotton' of 'The Sex Pistols') said: “I just had to go home, there was nothing to do. We had no money, there was no great drinking celebration, no 'yee-haw, us together' about it all….I might have had some friends round,” he added, “but the thing is I was inside my own head. There were friends with me, but I wasn't connecting to them. I was really worried about all the things that weren't right”.
After that initial gig, the band spent the next few months playing every College and University they could, in and around London, basically just doing it to earn enough cash, said John Lydon, to be able to “buy something that would improve what we were doing”.
'Bazooka Joe' may have failed to find commercial success afterwards, but the 'Sex Pistols' eventually went on to become one of the most influential bands in punk & rock music, and 'Adam & The Ants' didn't do too badly either.
To mark the 30th anniversary in 2005 of that very first gig, the college organised an evening featuring films, DJs, and performances from present-day groups, with Glen Matlock ('The Sex Pistols' original bass player) unveiling a blue plaque, which, appropriately enough, was in no way authorised by 'English Heritage'! There was also a special event organised to mark the 40th anniversary in 2015.
'SMILE JAMAICA' CONCERT – Sunday 5th December 1976:
"Smile Jamaica" was a free concert held on Sunday 5th December 1976, in Kingston, Jamaica, organised by the Jamaican Prime Minister, Michael Manley, in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, with the headline act being 'Bob Marley & The Wailers'. But, just 2 days before, Bob Marley was almost killed, when Marley, his wife Rita, and manager Don Taylor, were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen at their house, thought to have been politically motivated, as many felt the concert was really a support rally for the Prime minister, with a bullet grazing Bob’s chest and going through his arm, with the group’s manager, Don Taylor, being worst hit, taking four bullets in his thighs and being placed on the critical list, and Bob's wife, Rita, being struck in the head with a bullet.
The news of the shooting shocked the island, with initial reports declaring that Marley had been shot and killed…but Bob and Rita were released from the hospital the next morning. Despite the shooting, 'Bob Marley & The Wailers' performed two days later, as scheduled...to the 80,000 people at the "Smile Jamaica" concert...with a whole 90-minute performance. When asked why he performed, Marley said: "The people who are trying to make this world worse aren't taking a day off. How can I?"
After that concert in 1976, Bob Marley left Jamaica for Nassau and later London, where he stayed for 16 months until he returned to Jamaica in 1978 for the 'One Love' Peace Concert.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, USA - 16th August 1977 (Elvis Presley):
Memphis, Tennessee, USA, at 'Graceland' - the former grand home of Elvis Presley - where on the 16th August 1977, the 'King of Rock N Roll' was sadly found unresponsive on his bathroom floor. After attempts to revive him failed, his death, at the age of 42, was officially announced at 3.30pm, to a shocked nation & world.A funeral service was held at 'Graceland' on Thursday 18th August 1977, followed by a burial at 'Forest Hill Cemetery', with a huge motorcade, and an estimated 80,000 people lining the route. But due to an attempt to steal the singer's body, the remains of both Presley and his mother were later re-buried in 'Graceland's Meditation Garden' on the 2nd October 1977. Musically, within a few days, his last song, "Way Down", topped the US & UK music charts.
BARNES COMMON, SOUTH-WEST LONDON - 16th September 1977 (Marc Bolan):
'Barnes Common', on 'Queens Rise', near 'Gipsy Lane', in South-West London, in the early hours of 16th September 1977, glam-rock pioneer 'T Rex' front-man, Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld), sadly died in a car accident less than a mile from his home, at the age of 29, a fortnight before his 30th birthday. He was a passenger in a car driven by singer & girlfriend, Gloria Jones, as they headed home, when the car lost control, struck a fence post, and came to rest against a sycamore tree, with Bolan being tragically killed, while Jones suffered a broken arm & jaw, spending time in hospital.
Since then, the crash site has become a shrine to his memory, with fans travelling from all over the world to leave tributes beside the tree. At Bolan's funeral, attended by David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Tony Visconti, and Steve Harley (to name only a few), a swan-shaped floral tribute was displayed outside the service in recognition of his breakthrough hit single "Ride a White Swan".
'GREASE' – Film Première, 1978:
The 1978 American musical film, 'Grease' had it's 'Hollywood' première on 1st June 1978 - two weeks (and one day) before its national release. Then, 3 days before the national release, there was another première, this time in 'New York City', at 'Studio 54', with the film opening in American Cinemas on 16th June 1978, and in the UK on 14th September of that year.
Based on a 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school, the film stared a fairly youthful looking 23 year-old John Travolta (as Danny), a 29 year-old Olivia Newton-John (as Sandy), as well as Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway, with it becoming hugely successful, both critically and at the box office, and with the film soundtrack album ending 1978 as the second-best selling album of the year in the USA, exceeded only by another soundtrack album, from the film 'Saturday Night Fever', which also starred Travolta.
A sequel, 'Grease 2', was released in 1982, starring Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer, with only a few of the original cast members reprising their roles…..and was in no way as successful as the original.
'Grease' was voted the best musical ever on Channel 4's '100 Greatest Musicals'...and in 2008, the film was selected by 'Empire' magazine as one of 'The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time'.
'CLEVELAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL', San Diego, USA (29th January 1979):
A tragic event took place in San Diego, USA, on 29th January 1979, when 16 year old 'Brenda Ann Spencer' started shooting from her house across the street from the 'Cleveland Elementary School' killing 2 school staff (the Principal and a Custodian) and wounding 8 students and a police officer.
Being tried as an adult, she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and was given an indefinite sentence. When asked by a reporter why she did it, she said: "I Don't Like Mondays".
Bob Geldof, the lead singer of the 'Boomtown Rats' and in San Diago at the time, heard about the incident, and was supposedly struck by Spencer's justification as not liking Mondays, later writing the song, “I Don't Like Mondays” that became a 'Boomtown Rats' No.1 hit in the UK for 4 weeks, and the 6th biggest British song in 1979. Although it didn't make the Top 40 in the USA, it received extensive radio airplay (outside of the San Diego area), despite the Spencer family trying to prevent it.
Sadly, almost exactly 10 years after the event at 'Cleveland Elementary' in San Diego, there was another shooting at another school named 'Cleveland Elementary', this time in Stockton, California, where 5 students were killed and 32 were injured before the shooter killed himself, being a grim reminder to survivors of the 1979 shooting.
DEATH OF JOHN LENNON - 8th December 1980, New York City, USA:
A tragic event took place on the 8th December 1980, in New York City, USA. The death of British singer-songwriter & former 'Beatle', John Lennon.
In August 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began recording the 'Double Fantasy' album. But then on 8th December 1980, at around 10:50pm (American Eastern Standard Time), as John Lennon and Yoko Ono returned to their New York apartment, Mark David Chapman (who earlier that evening, Lennon had signed a copy of 'Double Fantasy' for) shot Lennon in the back four times in the archway of their apartment building.
John Lennon was taken to the emergency room of the nearby 'Roosevelt Hospital', but was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:00pm. After being told of his death, Yoko Ono asked the hospital not to report it to the media until she had informed their five-year-old son, Sean, who was at home, and probably watching television and she didn't want him to learn of his father's death from a TV announcement. The next day, Yoko Ono issued a statement, saying "There is no funeral for John", ending it with the words, "John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him"
John Lennon's body was cremated at 'Ferncliff Cemetery' in Hartsdale, New York….with Yoko Ono scattering his ashes in New York's Central Park, where the 'Strawberry Fields' memorial was later created. Lennon's murder triggered an outpouring of grief around the world. On 14 December 1980, millions of people around the world responded to Yoko Ono's request to pause for ten minutes of silence to remember, with thirty thousand gathering in Liverpool, and the largest group - over 225,000 people - converging on New York's Central Park, with every radio station in New York City going off air for those 10 minutes.
Mark Chapman, a 25-year-old security guard from Honolulu, Hawaii, who had previously travelled to New York in October to murder Lennon (before the release of 'Double Fantasy') but had changed his mind and returned home, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20-years-to-life. In 2016, he was denied parole for a ninth time.
Following John Lennon's death, his single, "(Just Like) Starting Over", went on to become a No.1 hit in many countries, including the USA, the UK, and Australia.
LAUNCH OF 'MTV' - 1st August 1981:
The American cable & satellite television channel “MTV” (originally the initials of “Music TeleVision”) launched on Saturday 1st August 1981, with the purpose to be "music television", playing music videos 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, presented by “VJs” (or 'Video Jockeys'), with its slogan being: "You'll never look at music the same way again".
It originally aimed itself towards young adults, but has now become more geared towards teenagers, high school & college students, and instead of music videos, has a number of different channels focusing on different genres, and also particularly features a stream of different 'reality' shows, especially about the lives of the 'rich' & 'famous' or 'so-called- celebrities', and more 'ordinary people', particularly being young & pregnant, and also getting drunk it seems, occasionally interspersed with some more socially-aware programming.
The channel's "I want my MTV!" advertising campaign was launched in 1982, with its slogan making an appearance as a lyric sung by 'Sting' on the 'Dire Straits' song "Money for Nothing", and the first music video that was shown on MTV was 'The Buggles' with "Video Killed the Radio Star".
As part of my 'Musical Mystery Tour' radio shows, I often 'park up' and have a brief 'Musical Location Stop-Over', focusing upon some musical relationship to a particular place or location. This has included:
'THE REGAL BALLROOM', RIPLEY - Cliff Richard:
The town 'Ripley', midway between Derby and Mansfield, where on 3rd May 1958 - having been persuaded to change his real name of Harry Webb to something a little more “rock and roll” - the newly-named “Cliff Richard” performed for the first time under his new name. Billed as 'Cliff Richard & The Drifters', they had their first appearance outside of London at 'The Regal Ballroom' in Ripley, where a plaque was unveiled in 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of the gig.
Cliff Richard was once quoted as saying: “I was so unused to the name that when I was introduced, I was waiting for someone else to walk out on to the stage”. A band member later said: ”The place was absolutely jam-packed and the response was fantastic”.
'THE SALFORD LADS CLUB', SALFORD – The Smiths:
Roughly a mile west of Manchester City Centre, 'The Salford Lads Club' was established in 1903 as a Boys Club, and opened in 1904 by Robert Baden-Powell (who started the Scout movement), but today the club welcomes both Boys & Girls.
In 1986, the building was thrown into the spotlight when it was featured with the band 'The Smiths' standing outside it for the sleeve of their, 'The Queen Is Dead', and also some shots of the club in a couple of their music videos. But at the time, the Club's committee were supposedly not very happy about it, but they did soon embrace the legacy and eventually welcomed fans, and since 2004 there's actually been a dedicated 'Smiths' room at the club, that attracts many fans from all over.
The building itself was granted listed status in 2003, with Morrissey of 'The Smiths' having donated money towards restoration; and also the photographer who took the iconic picture in 1985 (which is now in the 'National Portrait Gallery) has recently allowed it to be reproduced on a special 'Lads Club' t-shirt to help raise funds for the club.
There's also been a number of well-known former members of the 'Salford Lads Club', including actor Albert Finney; Alan Clarke (lead singer with the 60s group 'The Hollies'); and Graham Nash (of 'The Hollies' and 'Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young'), with 'The Hollies' having used the club for rehearsals in their early days. More information about the club at: www.salfordladsclub.org.uk
'SHIPTON-ON-CHERWELL', OXFORDSHIRE:
What has the village of 'Shipton-On-Cherwell', near Woodstock in Oxfordshire, got to do with the supernatural horror film, 'The Exorcist'?
In 1971, a 21 year old entrepreneur in the mail-order record business (Richard Branson) opened a London record shop called 'Virgin', and in the same year he bought a 16th Century Grade Two listed stately home at 'Shipton-On-Cherwell', and set up the UK's first residential recording studio there (known as 'The Manor'), where artists could record and stay in the same place.
The first band to use the new studios was Vivian Stanshall's group 'The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band', and the following year he contributed to the first album on Richard Branson's new Virgin record label - a one-man instrumental by an unknown 19-year-old who would play all the instruments himself. This would become the ground-breaking 'Tubular Bells' by Mike Oldfield, which went on to have it's opening sequence used to chilling effect in the supernatural horror film, 'The Exorcist'.
The studios closed in 1995, after 'Virgin' was taken over by EMI, and the recording studio building was converted into a games room. In 2010, the Manor went up for sale for nearly £6million.
'WOKING', SURREY:
The town of 'Woking', Surrey, about 23 miles from central London, is the birthplace of Paul Weller and the band 'The Jam', with Paul Weller having grown-up up in Stanley Road, Woking,; and the band playing some of their first gigs in the local Working Mens' Club.
Status Quo's Rick Parfitt was also born there in 1948; and it was unfortunately also the focal point in the tragic story of the band 'Badfinger'. Although having originally written the song 'Without You' (which Harry Nillson added a lavish string arrangement to and then topped the charts with in 1972; with Mariah Carey doing the same two decades later), in 1975, 'Badfinger' were broke, with their manager allegedly implicated.
According to reports, racked with personal & money problems, and just a month before the birth of his first child, 'Badfinger's' guitarist and songwriter Pete Ham sadly hanged himself in his Woking garage, aged just 27; with Badfinger band member, Tom Evans, also sadly taking his own life by hanging at the end of 1983, supposedly also having money and depression problems, particularly over Ham's death.
On a lighter note though, the 'Spice Girls' kicked off their careers at a Knaphill-based studio in 1994, after being picked from hundreds of hopeful competitors in an audition.
'BLACKSMITH'S ARMS', ST ALBANS, HERTFORDSHIRE – The Zombies:
The city of 'Saint Albans', Hertfordshire, about 20 miles north of London, was the birthplace for probably their most famous musical sons – the band 'The Zombies'. They formed in 1961 while still at school, with all five original members – including Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone – meeting for the first time outside the 'Blacksmiths Arms' in St Albans back in 1961.
Since 2012, there's been a plaque on the wall there to mark that event, funded by a pub company after a local group campaigned to get it erected - 51 years after those five local schoolboys became 'The Zombies'. In 1964, they recorded their first hit, 'She's Not There', which got to No.2 in the USA, where they toured and played to some fairly large venues, having great success as a band, and then individually, particularly Rod Argent & Colin Blunstone. After 50 years, the band is still going strong, having released new album in 2015, called “Still Got That Hunger”.
'HONG KONG GARDEN' CHINESE RESTAURANT, BROMLEY, LONDON:
The 'Hong Kong Garden' Chinese restaurant, in Chislehurst High Street, in the London Borough of Bromley, about 12 miles from the centre of London, was the inspiration for the 'Siouxsie and the Banshees' song, 'Hong Kong Garden'.
It followed her and her friends (who lived in Chislehurst) being really upset at seeing some thugs regularly turning up at the 'Hong Kong Garden' Chinese take-away, and terrorising & being racist to the Chinese people who worked there. She said: “We told them to leave them alone”; adding that she wrote the song as a “Kind of a Tribute”, putting her anger and frustration into the words. “I remember wishing that I could be like Emma Peel from 'The Avengers'”, she said, “because they used to...torment these people for being foreigners. It made me feel so helpless, hopeless and ill”. Although it's not now called the 'Hong Kong Garden', it is still a Chinese take-away.
'THE TROUBADOUR' COFFEE HOUSE, LONDON:
'The Troubadour' coffee house in Old Brompton Road, Earl's Court, London, was established in 1954, and is one of the last remaining coffee houses of its era in London, with a club room in the cellar famous as one of the main venues of the British folk scene in the late 1950s and 1960s.
It’s also where the satirical magazine 'Private Eye' was first produced and distributed; where the early 'Ban the Bomb' meetings were held (before the creation of 'CND'); where the 'Black Panthers' met when they left Paris after the 1968 riots there; and also where 'Led Zeppelin' used to go and jam after Earl's Court gigs. The club was also one of several London coffee house venues where notable musicians played, including Paul Simon; Martin Carthy; Charlie Watts; Sammy Davis Junior; Jimi Hendrix; Tom Robinson; Elvis Costello; and Adele.
Between December 1962 & January 1963, a 21 year old Bob Dylan made his first visit to the UK, particularly having been invited by TV director Philip Saville to appear in a BBC TV drama called 'Madhouse on Castle Street', where he also performed 'Blowing In The Wind'. 'The Troubadour' was one of the first places where Bob Dylan played in London, performing under the name 'Blind Boy Grunt', in an unventilated cellar on a freezing December evening (where snow started on Boxing Day in 1962 and the big freeze lasted until March the following year).
Supposedly, when Dylan arrived unannounced, the organiser recognised him and said he could have his entrance fee back if he performed. But as she once recalled: “Dylan didn't seem as interested in performing as he was in listening. I felt quite like a native in the presence of an anthropologist”, she said.
Whilst in London, the developing Dylan immersed himself in the London folk scene, making contact with clubs and folk-singers; with Dylan recalling in 1984, that he "ran into some people in England who really knew those traditional English songs….Martin Carthy, and another guy named Bob Davenport”. ”Martin Carthy's incredible”, said Dylan, ”I learned a lot of stuff from Martin”.
Still an intimate venue of just 120 seats, with a café upstairs, 'The Troubadour' continues to thrive. Find out more at their website: www.troubadourlondon.com
'SOHO SQUARE', LONDON – Kirsty MacColl:
Soho Square, central London, with a park and garden area at its centre, was built in the late 1670s, and at the time was one of the most fashionable places to live in London. But it also has a special link with Kirsty Maccoll, the daughter of folk singer, Ewan MacColl and dancer, Jean Newlove.
She grew up with her mother in Croydon, becoming an English singer-songwriter who wrote and recorded several pop hits during the 1980s and 90s; influenced a number of other artists; and her collaboration with 'The Pogues' on 'Fairytale of New York' continues to be a huge Christmas favourite.
But then, sadly, on 18th December 2000, she and her sons went diving in a designated diving area on holiday in Mexico when a powerboat at high-speed entered the restricted area. Although one of her sons was not in its way, whilst pushing her other son out of its path, she was struck by the boat and tragically died, at the age of just 41. A controversial court case followed the incident, and a 'Justice for Kirsty' campaign was set up.
Following her death, with the support and blessing of her family & management, a proposal was put to the local Council to place a Bench in 'Soho Square' in her memory. This was influenced by a lyric from one of her most poignant songs, called 'Soho Square': "One day I'll be waiting there / No empty bench in Soho Square", she sang. These words were also reproduced on a plaque attached to the bench, which was unveiled in 2001. Every year on the Sunday nearest to her birthday, the 10th of October, fans tend to gather there to pay tribute to her.
'AN OLD CHURCH HALL, MANCHESTER':
An old Church Hall in Manchester on 1st January 1964 was where the first edition of the BBC TV show 'Top Of The Pops' was transmitted from. The acts miming to their latest releases included: The Rolling Stones, ('I Wanna Be Your Man'); The Dave Clark Five ('Glad All Over'); The Hollies ('Stay'); The Swinging Blue Jeans ('Hippy Hippy Shake'); Dusty Springfield ('I Only Want To Be With You'); together with others featured on disc and film, including: The Beatles ('I Want to Hold Your Hand'); Freddie & the Dreamers; Cliff Richard and the Shadows; and Gene Pitney.
'SPRINGFIELD GENERAL HOSPITAL', 'Springfield', USA ('The Simpsons'):
'Springfield General Hospital' (also known as 'Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital') in the fictional town of 'Springfield', somewhere in the USA (the home of the animated TV series, 'The Simpsons'), where jazz musician 'Bleeding Gums Murphy' makes his final appearance in the "Round Springfield" episode from 1995. Whilst in the hospital visiting her brother (Bart), Lisa Simpson discovers her jazz mentor and role-model, 'Bleeding Gums Murphy', in a nearby ward. During the episode, they both perform the song 'Jazzman', with the music having been composed by Carole King, and the lyrics by David Palmer (formerly of the band, 'Steely Dan').
'THE TOBY JUG', Tolworth, Surrey:
The 'Toby Jug' pub, 1Hook Rise South, in Tolworth, a suburban area of south-west London in the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, about 11 miles from central London. For many years, it was a venue for up-and-coming bands, including Traffic, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Status Quo, Fleetwood Mac, and Led Zeppelin...and, supposedly, John Lennon's dad once worked behind the bar!
But 10th February 1972 was the night of the first official date (although they did do a warm-up show 13 days earlier in Aylesbury) of the 'Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' UK concert tour, with David Bowie. Reported by someone who was at that small pub, that about 60 people were crammed into the function room that night, mostly between 17 & 25, who were enthusiastic and responded with rapturous applause, whistles and cheers; and Bowie appeared to enjoy the 2-hour show as well. Later in the tour, they played 'Leicester Polytechnic' on 10th June 1972; and returned to Leicester's 'De Montfort Hall' on 11th June 1973.
The 'Toby Jug' was demolished quite a few years ago, with a major supermarket buying the site with initial plans for a supermarket & housing development. But after more than a decade of a long-running planning battle, it was announced they selling the site. So what will emerge where the 'Toby Jug' once stood?
Stephen King, who went on to work as a sound engineer, remembered the event, saying: “I can still remember feeling the sheer power of the opening chords of Ziggy Stardust”.
'LITTLE GREEN STREET', off Highgate Road, Kentish Town, London:
'Little Green Street', is a small 18th century street, located off Highgate Road, Kentish Town, London, with only eight houses on one side and two on the other that were built in the 1780s, being Grade II listed, and remaining one of the few intact Georgian streets in London.
But it was back in 1966, when 'Little Green Street' became the location for the film to promote the song 'Dead End Street' by 'The Kinks'. Filmed in black and white, and featuring each member of the band dressed as undertakers carrying a coffin into one of the houses, as well as playing various other characters, with the film often being described as one of the first true 'music videos', although the BBC supposedly didn't like it at the time, claiming it was in 'bad taste'.
The song itself, has been covered by a number of other groups, especially 'The Jam'; and the song and its music video also influenced the 2005 'Oasis' hit, "The Importance of Being Idle".
In 2009, actor Tom Conti headed up a local protest against a nearby proposed development of flats and underground car park, which every day would have brought countless trucks and equipment down the tiny cobbled street, barely 12 feet wide, as well as some demolition of the ancient street itself, which also gained support from Dave Davies from 'The Kinks'.
But after many years of campaigning and planning arguments, new developers took over the site in 2014, with a commitment to be more sensitive to this historic street and local area throughout their development of the nearby site.
'FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS', Germany:
The 'Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits' in Germany, and particularly the German electrical engineer & mathematician, Karlheinz Brandenburg, were key contributors to the development of MP3, the digital music compression that we're so used to now on our little music machines, smartphones, etc.
In his work to create & develop MP3, Brandenburg had to appreciate how the human ear perceives sound, particularly to fine-tune his compression algorithm to avoid significant loss of the full sound. It was during this time, that he heard Suzanne Vega's acapella song, "Tom's Diner", playing on the radio, saying he found it electrifying and adopted the song for testing purposes, as Vega’s voice was the perfect template to test the purity of the audio compression he was working to perfect.
He went on to listen to the song again and again - probably thousands of times - each time refining his work, making sure it didn't adversely affect the subtlety of Vega's voice. So, when an MP3 player compresses music by anyone from 'The Killers' to 'John Denver', it's replicating the way that Brandenburg heard Suzanne Vega and the work he did from her song - which is why she's often been given the nickname as the 'Mother of the MP3'.
The scientist did eventually meet Vega years later, and even heard her perform 'Tom’s Diner' in person, with him claiming he still enjoyed the song, despite having heard it more times than perhaps anyone else on the planet!
'RAILWAY HOTEL', Harrow & Wealdstone, London:
Once a three storey brick building by the train station, the 'Railway Hotel' was used as a jazz club in the 1950s, and then during the early to mid 1960s it became the venue for a Rhythm & Blues club; as well as becoming a regular venue for the band that would eventually become the incredibly successful 'The Who', forming in 1964 with the line-up of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon.
Originally, called “The Detours”, they changed their name to 'The Who' in February 1964. But then a new manager changed it to 'The High Numbers' with them particularly going 'mod'. But later in that same year, the band reverted to calling themselves 'The Who', the name they've had for over 50 years.
It was at the 'Railway Hotel' in September 1964, under the name of 'The High Numbers', that Pete Townsend of the soon-to-be renamed band, 'The Who', accidentally broke the head of his guitar on the very low ceiling of the stage. In his frustration, he deliberately reduced it to splinters, starting a tradition that would continue to feature in their stage act.
In an interview, Pete Townsend commented about that first guitar incident by saying: “I banged it on the ceiling...and the neck broke off….and everybody started to laugh and they went, 'Hah, that'll teach you to be flash.' So I thought., I had no other recourse but to make it look like I meant to do it”, said Townsend. ”So I smashed this guitar, and jumped all over the bits, and then picked up the 12-string and carried on as though nothing had happened."
After 'The Railway Hotel' closed, the building became derelict, damaged by fire, and then demolished with the site being redeveloped as a block of flats that were named 'Daltrey House' and 'Moon House'. In 2009, a plaque was unveiled there to mark the site where 'The Who' guitarist, Pete Townshend, smashed his first guitar.
'THE OASIS CLUB', 45/47 Lloyd Street, off Albert Square, Manchester:
The 'Oasis Club' was the place for all the best groups in the North-West, attracting both the up-and-coming local bands, and also musicians from wider afield, including 'The Beatles'; 'Gene Vincent'; 'The Rolling Stones'; 'The Who'; and 'Bill Haley', to name only a few. But, sadly, 'The Oasis Club' is now long-gone, and where it used to be is now the 'Manchester Registration Service'.
At 'The Oasis Club' on the evening of 5th December 1962, the newly-named band, 'The Hollies', made their major headlining début. Blackpool-born Graham Nash was raised in Salford, Greater Manchester…with him first meeting Allan Clarke as 5 year olds...when Allan Clark sat next to him on his first day at Primary School.
They soon became good friends...both having a shared interest in music...with both of them becoming members of the now legendary 'Salford Lads Club' where their bands would also later rehearse….both of them being part of the groups 'The Two Teens', 'The Fourtones', 'The Deltas', and then changing their name to 'The Hollies', supposedly in admiration of Buddy Holly…...with their first major appearance on the 5th December 1962 being at the 'Oasis Club' in Manchester….with them later going on to take over 'The Beatles' regular spot at Liverpool's 'The Cavern Club'.
'The Hollies' went on to become one of the leading British groups of the 1960s, and are also one of the few British groups of the early 60s that have never broken up, and still continue to record & perform, and in 2010 were inducted into the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame'.
'THE GLOBE THEATRE', Stockton-On-Tees:
'The Globe Theatre', Stockton-On-Tees, was originally built in 1913 and was Teeside's first purpose-build cinema. It was demolished in 1925, and then re-built in 1926, and again in 1935 as a leading variety theatre & cinema, with seating for over 2,000 people, regularly hosting stage shows, national companies, and various live performances.
During the 1950s and 1970s, the 'Globe' was a major venue for many famous acts, such as Buddy Holly, the Platters, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry. 'The Beatles' twice played at the Globe, the first time being on Friday 22nd November 1963, the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
But long before 'The Beatles' caused mass-hysteria, a young man from Bermondsey in London, called Tommy Hicks (better known as 'Tommy Steele'), created similar scenes in the 1950s, and he also appeared at 'The Globe'; as did Joe Brown, who recorded a live album there in 1963; with 'Status Quo' being the last band to play there, before it closed in 1997.
But in 2013, with support from the 'Heritage Lottery Fund', a £4million restoration was started to bring the historic Grade 2 listed Art-Deco Globe back to its 1930's splendour, for use again as a major live entertainment venue for music, comedy & other events. Although there's been some set-backs along the way, restoration continues, and it's hoped to be opened again in the near future.
'THE CLISSOLD ARMS', 105 Fortis Green, Muswell Hill, London:
'The Clissold Arms' became the home of English band, 'The Kinks', where both Dave Davies and his brother Ray lived close to the pub, and were regulars there after playing their first gig in a back-room in the early 1960s.
Ray Davies once said that while much of their early music symbolised the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s, they always referenced their local community in albums, such as 'Muswell Hillbillies' and 'The Village Green Preservation Society'….with many of their songs drawn from characters they observed in the area. Their song, 'Fortis Green', has the lyrics: 'Mum would shout and scream when dad would come home drunk, When she'd ask him where he'd been, he said 'Up The Clissold Arms'...“
It was also in 1964, at 'The Clissold Arms' where Ray & his brother Dave supposedly worked out the chords for 'You Really Got Me', the song that first put them at the top of the charts. To this day, they have kept their connections in Fortis Green, East Finchley, Muswell Hill and Highgate, and Dave Davies’s 50th birthday party was held in “The Clissold Arms” in Muswell Hill.
When the old 'Clissold Arms' went up for sale and renovation, there was widespread concern that 'The Kinks' memorabilia corner would be removed. But after an active campaign, including with the involvement of Ray & Dave Davies, the new owners kept the link with the Kinks history, and now the new 'Clissold Arms' has a whole room – 'The Kinks Room' – dedicated to the history of the band….with the new 'Kinks Room' being opened in 2010 by Ray Davies himself and the original Kinks drummer, Mick Avory, and they often have 'Kinks' nights held there, with Kinks fans from all over the world often visiting, and people can also hire the room for their own private functions.
'NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, Newport, Rhode Island, USA (1965):
The 'Newport Folk Festival' was founded in 1959 to feature folk, blues, country, bluegrass & folk-rock musicians, having included Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf. Since the 1990s, it has also featured performers from alternative-country, indie-folk and folk-punk.
But it was at the 'Newport Folk Festival' on the 25th July 1965, when the headline act, folk musician Bob Dylan, hit the headlines after supposedly being booed by some festival goers, when he played with members from an electric blues/rock band, performing an electric version of 'Maggie's Farm' and two other numbers.
This controversy has often be put down to Bob Dylan going 'electric', upsetting folk-purists; or possibly the poor sound quality, but one of the musicians that played with Dylan in a hastily put-together band for that festival, claims that any discontent or booing was more to do with Dylan's short three-song, fifteen-minute set...saying that: “If you travelled from god knows where and paid god knows what to see Bob Dylan, and sat through music you didn’t relate to for three days, and then he came out and only played for 15 minutes, what would you have done?”
But whatever happened back in 1965, that first live 'electrified' performance by Bob Dylan, tended to mark his artistic shift from mainly acoustic-folk to being more electric and rock-orientated, which started five days earlier, with the release of 'Like A Rolling Stone'.
In the late 1960s, the 'Newport Folk Festival' fell on some hard times, and closed for a number of years from 1971, until being revived in 1985, with it running without interruption since, and in 2015, 50 years after Bob Dylan "went electric", the actual 1964 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster electric guitar he used, made an unexpected visit at the 2015 festival, after an American Football Club owner who bought the guitar in 2013 for $965,000, lent it to them.
'READY, STEADY, GO!' - 23rd December 1966:
The night of 23rd December 1966, was the final episode of the three-year run of 'Ready Steady Go', a British music television programme on commercial television every Friday evening from 9th August 1963 until 23rd December 1966, with the strap-line "The Weekend starts here!". It was generally more youth-orientated and informal than its BBC rival, 'Top of the Pops', that started in 1964. The best known presenters were Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan, though early shows were also introduced by Dusty Springfield.
During 1966, several of the shows were hosted by 'special guest presenters', who would both perform and introduce other acts. These 'specials' included 'The Troggs', 'The Who', 'Otis Redding', 'The Walker Brothers' and 'Ike & Tina Turner'...and during its run, they also had the first televised UK appearance by 'Jimi Hendrix', who performed ‘Hey Joe’ solo. The show gained its highest ratings during March 1964 when it featured 'The Beatles' being interviewed and performing. But unfortunately, most of the shows were wiped, because tape was so expensive back then, so stuff like the 'James Brown' special and 'The Who' special are now gone forever.
The show continued throughout 1966, but despite its prime-time placement, with production costs continuing to rise and competition from the BBC's 'Top of the Pops' causing the viewing numbers to fall, it was re-scheduled before finally ending on 23rd December 1966, with the last show being titled 'Ready Steady Goes!', which included Mick Jagger; Chris Farlowe; The Who; Lulu; Donovan; The Small Faces; and 'Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich'.
As a finale, singer and entertainer Kenny Lynch, led Cathy McGowan and the various acts in a grand sing-along version of 'White Christmas', as the curtain came down for the last time on a programme that was an integral part of the lives of many young people from 1963 to 1966.
'EUROVISION SONG CONTEST', 8th April 1967, in Vienna, Austria:
The 1967 'Eurovision Song Contest', 8th April 1967, in Vienna, Austria, was the night that 1960s singer, Sandie Shaw, won the contest for the UK with one of the widest margins of victory ever witnessed in the competition, with the song "Puppet on a String", that became her 13th UK single release, remaining at No.1 for 3 weeks, and she also went on to record the song is French, Italian, Spanish, and German.
But, of the five songs Sandie Shaw performed on the original selection show, "Puppet on a String" was her least favourite. She supposedly said that she “hated it from the very first 'oompah' to the final bang on the big bass drum”….”I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune”, she was reported as saying, although her attitude towards the song did seem to mellow in later years, even releasing a new version of it in 2007, that she worked on with musician friend, Howard Jones.
But her 'Eurovision' success almost didn't happen, as supposedly the BBC wanted to drop her because she had been named as the "other woman" in a controversial, and quite public, divorce scandal at the time, just before the contest was due to happen. But, see wasn't dropped, and went on to win.
'FOLSOM STATE PRISON'', CALIFORNIA, USA, 13th January 1968:
'Folsom State Prison' in California, USA, on 13th January 1968, where country star Johnny Cash performed, and later released the live album, 'At Folsom Prison'. He first took an interest in 'Folsom State Prison' while serving in the United States Air Force Security Service. In 1953, his unit watched Crane Wilbur's film 'Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison' with the film inspiring Cash to write a song that reflected his perception of prison life, called "Folsom Prison Blues". After its release, the song actually became popular among prison inmates, who would sometimes write to Cash, asking him to perform at their prisons.
On 13th January 1968, Johnny Cash performed two shows at the 'Folsom State Prison' in California, with Carl Perkins taking to the stage with "Blue Suede Shoes", then 'The Statler Brothers', and then Johnny Cash opened both shows with a rendition of his 1955 song, "Folsom Prison Blues", including other songs about prison life, and some novelty ones too, with the live album, 'At Folsom Prison', being released a few months later.
In 1969, Johnny Cash returned to the prison scene when he recorded 'At San Quentin' at 'The San Quentin State Prison'….which became his first album to hit No.1 on the Pop chart...and featured the No.2 hit "A Boy Named Sue".
Although he did have a bit of an outlaw image, Johnny Cash, it seems, never served a prison sentence, although he was picked up a few times by the police and landed in jail for misdemeanours, each stay lasting supposedly only a single night; and he once received a suspended sentence for having quite a few prescription drugs, which he had a dependence on and received help for.
The 'Apple Corporation' headquarters building, 3 Saville Row, London - 30th January 1969.
On 30th January 1969, 'The Beatles' (together with guest keyboardist, Billy Preston) performed in public for the last time, on the roof of the 'Apple Records' headquarters, on what was a rather cold day, with a bitter wind blowing on the rooftop by midday. To cope with the weather, John Lennon borrowed Yoko Ono's fur coat, and Ringo Starr wore his wife's red mac.
It's a bit uncertain who had the idea for a rooftop concert, but the suggestion was made just days before, with Ringo Starr saying: "There was a plan to play live somewhere. We were wondering where we could go - 'Oh, the Palladium or the Sahara'….But we would have had to take all the stuff, so we decided, 'Let's get up on the roof'".
When 'The Beatles' first started playing around midday, there was some confusion from spectators watching five stories below, many of whom were on their lunch break. As the news of the event spread, crowds of onlookers began to congregate in the streets and on the roofs of local buildings. While most responded positively to the concert, the 'Metropolitan Police' eventually grew concerned, particularly about noise and traffic congestion issues, and gave a warning to reduce the volume and that the event should stop.
After a 42-minute set...with 'The Beatles' having played nine takes of five songs, the concert did come to an end, with the song "Get Back", with John Lennon saying, "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we've passed the audition", and the whole event was filmed for their 'Let it Be' movie.
TRURO, CORNWALL ('Queen'):
As well as the drummer of 'Queen', Roger Taylor, having lived and went to school in Truro, Cornwall, it also played an important part in the early history of 'Queen' - not only because they played their first ever concert in Truro, but it was also where Roger Taylor's first semi-professional band, 'The Reaction', played several hundred gigs in Cornwall & Devon between 1965 & 1968, when he was still at school, until the band split up when Roger went to live in London later in 1968 with a friend from Truro School.
But very soon after arriving in London, a friend saw a "drummer-wanted" notice left by astrophysicist Brian May in the Student Union of Imperial College, and Roger's next band, 'Smile', a London-based Blues-Rock band, formed as a result, composed of guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and Tim Staffell on bass and vocals. In 1970, Staffell left 'Smile' to join another band, and 'Smile' fan, Farrokh “Freddie” Bulsara, convinced Brian May and Roger Taylor to carry on, with 'Smile' performing in Cornwall regularly, particularly at a club in Truro, called 'PJs', owned and run by a local musician.
It was around the summer of 1970, when 'Smile' changed their name to 'Queen', and 'Freddie Bulsara' became the legendary 'Freddie Mercury'...becoming the new band's flamboyant front-man, singer, and significant writer.
Their first gig with Freddie singing was at 'Truro City Hall' on Saturday 27th June 1970 - a booking arranged by Roger Taylor's mother in which they were actually billed as 'Smile', even though they'd already decided on the name 'Queen', and supposedly announced themselves as such. The line-up that night was 'Freddie Mercury', 'Brian May', 'Roger Taylor', and 'Mike Grose' from St Austell on bass guitar (who was with them for around 3 shows, when he was replaced by Barry Mitchell, who played the next 11 shows), and then 'John Deacon' finally joined the band as bassist, completing the classic 'Queen' line-up.
'MONTREUX CASINO', Lake Geneva, Switzerland (4th December 1971)
On 4th December 1971, at the 'Montreux Casino', on the shores of Lake Geneva, in Switzerland, was the day a devastating fire broke out during a concert by 'Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention', which went on to inspire the writing of one of 'Deep Purple's' biggest songs.
The 'Montreux Casino' opened in November 1881 to provide entertainment for visitors to the Swiss resort, developing a reputation as a music venue, attracting classical orchestras & composers, Stravinsky & Ravel, and then in the 1960s, hosting concerts by jazz, blues & rock artists, becoming the venue for the 'Montreux Jazz Festival' in 1967.
On the day of the fire, there was probably around 3000 people packed into a room where 'Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention' were performing. Around 80 minutes into the show, a fire started (thought to have been by a flare being let off or by matches), which then quickly spread.
Fortunately, nobody was killed, and there were only a few minor injuries, but the entire building was burned to the ground, including the band's equipment, forcing them to use rented gear for their next concert in London six days later, but that concert also ended disastrously when, during the encore, Frank Zappa was pushed off-stage by a fan into the concrete orchestra pit, causing him to be in a wheelchair for nearly a year, and In an odd coincidence, Frank Zappa died on 4th December 1993, the 22nd anniversary of that fire. Eventually though, the building was re-built, and re-opened in 1975.
But that fire became the inspiration for the classic 'Deep Purple' song, 'Smoke On The Water', recorded in 1971, and first released on their 1972 album, 'Machine Head', telling the story of the fire, with the "smoke on the water" referring to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of 'Deep Purple' watched the fire from their hotel. The song has also been honoured in Montreux by a sculpture along the lake shore, with the band's name, the song title, and the riff in musical notes….and the new casino displays notes from the riff as decoration in a hall.
'GREYHOUND PUB', Croydon, Surrey (Sunday 16th April 1972):
Once a very popular music venue, the 'Greyhound' Pub, Park Lane, Croydon, Surrey (later to become a significant punk rock & new wave venue) was just a stones throw from another well-known Croydon musical venue, 'The Fairfield Halls. It was at the 'Greyhound' on Sunday 16th April 1972, that the 'Electric Light Orchestra' made their live début, with a line-up of Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Bill Hunt, Andy Craig, Mike Edwards, Wilfred Gibson, Hugh McDowell, and Richard Tandy.
By some accounts of that first live concert, they weren't liked by all, and were viewed as a bit of a novelty, and a surprise to some of the audience, as many people had never seen a rock band that included cellos, violins and a French horn.
But shortly after that début live concert, in June 1972, their Founding Member, Roy Wood, left the 'ELO' line-up and formed 'Wizzard', just as 'ELO' scored its first hit single. Despite predictions that the band would fold without Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne stepped up to lead the band, with the new line-up later performing at the 1972 Reading Festival, and going on to have twenty Top 20 songs on the UK Singles Chart, and fifteen Top 20 songs on the American chart from 1972 to 1986.
'LEICESTER POLYTECHNIC' - 13th October 1973:'
Leicester Polytechnic' (now 'De Montfort University') on the 13th October 1973 was where the band, 'Family', played their last concert at 'Leicester Polytechnic', before splitting up for good, and having a farewell party at a local Leicester 'Holiday Inn' hotel after the show ended.
'Family' were an English rock band, who formed in late 1966 in Leicester, particularly active from late 1966 to October 1973, and then again from 2013, particularly initially for a series of live shows. Their style was often characterised as progressive rock, but also exploring other genres and styles, incorporating elements of folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz-fusion and rock-and-roll. The band was also cited as being an influence for other bands, such as 'Jethro Tull', and were particularly known for their live performances, with one reviewer supposedly describing the band as "one of the wildest, most innovative groups of the underground rock scene".
Since playing their last concert in 1973, many of the band went on to different musical projects: Roger Chapman and John "Charlie" Whitney formed the band 'Streetwalkers'; John Wetton played with 'King Crimson' and eventually became the lead singer of the band 'Asia'; Rob Townsend was a member of 'Medicine Head', then 'The Blues Band' and then 'The Manfreds'; Ric Grech, sadly died of kidney and liver failure in 1990 at the age of 43; Tony Ashton, also sadly died in 2001 at the age of 55, due to cancer; and also, Jim King, who died in 2012.
'The Bottom Line Club', New York City (12th February 1974):
'The Bottom Line Club', in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York City, opened on 12th February 1974, taking over the space that had previously been a jazz club called 'The Red Garter'. On that opening night, the first headlining act was 'Dr. John', together with Stevie Wonder & Johnny Winter who jammed on stage to a packed house, as Mick Jagger and Carly Simon looked on.
The club was owned by Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky, and seated around 400 people, and also had a 'no smoking' policy long before that restriction became a New York City law. It went on to enjoy a successful 30 year run, presenting major musical acts & introducing many new artists, and it also hosted an extremely wide variety of music & musicians, particularly during the 1970s & 1980s, becoming a major space for small-scale popular music performances, ncluding artists, such as Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, The Ramones, Dizzy Gillespie, Prince, The Police, Suzanne Vega, and thousands of other musicians and comedians. Bruce Springsteen went on to play 10 shows there, over five nights in August 1975, and Lou Reed recorded one of his live albums there in 1978 (“Live: Take No Prisoners”), and Harry Chapin held his 2000th concert at the 'Bottom Line' in 1981.
But sadly, 'The Bottom Line's' popularity faded with time, and by 2003 the club was deeply in debt and no longer bringing in large crowds, with its landlord, the 'New York University', increasing the rent to market level, which was far beyond the club's ability to pay and eviction was threatened, Although a fundraising & support campaign took place, the owners decided to close the club before they could be kicked out, with the last 'Bottom Line' show happening on 22nd January 2004, just short of the club’s 30th anniversary.
'SEX PISTOLS' - 1st Live Gig (Thursday 6th November 1975):
'The Sex Pistols' very first gig at the then 'St Martins College of Art' on the Charing Cross Road in London took place on Thursday 6th November 1975. It all happened partly because of the band's pre-Sid Vicious bass player, Glen Matlock, who was studying there at the time, who managed to get a support slot for the band below the head-lining pub-rock group, 'Bazooka Joe'.
The gig that night, to an audience of about 20 students, saw the 'Sex Pistols' of 'Johnny Rotten', 'Steve Jones', 'Glen Matlock' & 'Paul Cook', playing cover versions that were generally greeted with silence by the students there, before the plug was pulled after only about 20 minutes, with a big scrap happening.
Playing bass in 'Bazooka Joe' was Stuart Goddard, a student at 'Hornsey College of Art', who also designed the advertising poster for the gig, with the poster billing the 'Sex Pistols' as simply “Support Band”, with an admission price of 50p. After seeing the 'Sex Pistols' that night, he was so impressed by their rawness & energy, making his band's performance look hopelessly out-of-date, that he decided to leave 'Bazooka Joe' to be “something different and be someone else”, he said, eventually changing his name from 'Stuart Goddard' to 'Adam Ant', and forming the band, 'Adam & The Ants'.
Speaking about the end of that first gig, John Lydon ('Johnny Rotton' of 'The Sex Pistols') said: “I just had to go home, there was nothing to do. We had no money, there was no great drinking celebration, no 'yee-haw, us together' about it all….I might have had some friends round,” he added, “but the thing is I was inside my own head. There were friends with me, but I wasn't connecting to them. I was really worried about all the things that weren't right”.
After that initial gig, the band spent the next few months playing every College and University they could, in and around London, basically just doing it to earn enough cash, said John Lydon, to be able to “buy something that would improve what we were doing”.
'Bazooka Joe' may have failed to find commercial success afterwards, but the 'Sex Pistols' eventually went on to become one of the most influential bands in punk & rock music, and 'Adam & The Ants' didn't do too badly either.
To mark the 30th anniversary in 2005 of that very first gig, the college organised an evening featuring films, DJs, and performances from present-day groups, with Glen Matlock ('The Sex Pistols' original bass player) unveiling a blue plaque, which, appropriately enough, was in no way authorised by 'English Heritage'! There was also a special event organised to mark the 40th anniversary in 2015.
'SMILE JAMAICA' CONCERT – Sunday 5th December 1976:
"Smile Jamaica" was a free concert held on Sunday 5th December 1976, in Kingston, Jamaica, organised by the Jamaican Prime Minister, Michael Manley, in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, with the headline act being 'Bob Marley & The Wailers'. But, just 2 days before, Bob Marley was almost killed, when Marley, his wife Rita, and manager Don Taylor, were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen at their house, thought to have been politically motivated, as many felt the concert was really a support rally for the Prime minister, with a bullet grazing Bob’s chest and going through his arm, with the group’s manager, Don Taylor, being worst hit, taking four bullets in his thighs and being placed on the critical list, and Bob's wife, Rita, being struck in the head with a bullet.
The news of the shooting shocked the island, with initial reports declaring that Marley had been shot and killed…but Bob and Rita were released from the hospital the next morning. Despite the shooting, 'Bob Marley & The Wailers' performed two days later, as scheduled...to the 80,000 people at the "Smile Jamaica" concert...with a whole 90-minute performance. When asked why he performed, Marley said: "The people who are trying to make this world worse aren't taking a day off. How can I?"
After that concert in 1976, Bob Marley left Jamaica for Nassau and later London, where he stayed for 16 months until he returned to Jamaica in 1978 for the 'One Love' Peace Concert.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, USA - 16th August 1977 (Elvis Presley):
Memphis, Tennessee, USA, at 'Graceland' - the former grand home of Elvis Presley - where on the 16th August 1977, the 'King of Rock N Roll' was sadly found unresponsive on his bathroom floor. After attempts to revive him failed, his death, at the age of 42, was officially announced at 3.30pm, to a shocked nation & world.A funeral service was held at 'Graceland' on Thursday 18th August 1977, followed by a burial at 'Forest Hill Cemetery', with a huge motorcade, and an estimated 80,000 people lining the route. But due to an attempt to steal the singer's body, the remains of both Presley and his mother were later re-buried in 'Graceland's Meditation Garden' on the 2nd October 1977. Musically, within a few days, his last song, "Way Down", topped the US & UK music charts.
BARNES COMMON, SOUTH-WEST LONDON - 16th September 1977 (Marc Bolan):
'Barnes Common', on 'Queens Rise', near 'Gipsy Lane', in South-West London, in the early hours of 16th September 1977, glam-rock pioneer 'T Rex' front-man, Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld), sadly died in a car accident less than a mile from his home, at the age of 29, a fortnight before his 30th birthday. He was a passenger in a car driven by singer & girlfriend, Gloria Jones, as they headed home, when the car lost control, struck a fence post, and came to rest against a sycamore tree, with Bolan being tragically killed, while Jones suffered a broken arm & jaw, spending time in hospital.
Since then, the crash site has become a shrine to his memory, with fans travelling from all over the world to leave tributes beside the tree. At Bolan's funeral, attended by David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Tony Visconti, and Steve Harley (to name only a few), a swan-shaped floral tribute was displayed outside the service in recognition of his breakthrough hit single "Ride a White Swan".
'GREASE' – Film Première, 1978:
The 1978 American musical film, 'Grease' had it's 'Hollywood' première on 1st June 1978 - two weeks (and one day) before its national release. Then, 3 days before the national release, there was another première, this time in 'New York City', at 'Studio 54', with the film opening in American Cinemas on 16th June 1978, and in the UK on 14th September of that year.
Based on a 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school, the film stared a fairly youthful looking 23 year-old John Travolta (as Danny), a 29 year-old Olivia Newton-John (as Sandy), as well as Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway, with it becoming hugely successful, both critically and at the box office, and with the film soundtrack album ending 1978 as the second-best selling album of the year in the USA, exceeded only by another soundtrack album, from the film 'Saturday Night Fever', which also starred Travolta.
A sequel, 'Grease 2', was released in 1982, starring Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer, with only a few of the original cast members reprising their roles…..and was in no way as successful as the original.
'Grease' was voted the best musical ever on Channel 4's '100 Greatest Musicals'...and in 2008, the film was selected by 'Empire' magazine as one of 'The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time'.
'CLEVELAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL', San Diego, USA (29th January 1979):
A tragic event took place in San Diego, USA, on 29th January 1979, when 16 year old 'Brenda Ann Spencer' started shooting from her house across the street from the 'Cleveland Elementary School' killing 2 school staff (the Principal and a Custodian) and wounding 8 students and a police officer.
Being tried as an adult, she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and was given an indefinite sentence. When asked by a reporter why she did it, she said: "I Don't Like Mondays".
Bob Geldof, the lead singer of the 'Boomtown Rats' and in San Diago at the time, heard about the incident, and was supposedly struck by Spencer's justification as not liking Mondays, later writing the song, “I Don't Like Mondays” that became a 'Boomtown Rats' No.1 hit in the UK for 4 weeks, and the 6th biggest British song in 1979. Although it didn't make the Top 40 in the USA, it received extensive radio airplay (outside of the San Diego area), despite the Spencer family trying to prevent it.
Sadly, almost exactly 10 years after the event at 'Cleveland Elementary' in San Diego, there was another shooting at another school named 'Cleveland Elementary', this time in Stockton, California, where 5 students were killed and 32 were injured before the shooter killed himself, being a grim reminder to survivors of the 1979 shooting.
DEATH OF JOHN LENNON - 8th December 1980, New York City, USA:
A tragic event took place on the 8th December 1980, in New York City, USA. The death of British singer-songwriter & former 'Beatle', John Lennon.
In August 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began recording the 'Double Fantasy' album. But then on 8th December 1980, at around 10:50pm (American Eastern Standard Time), as John Lennon and Yoko Ono returned to their New York apartment, Mark David Chapman (who earlier that evening, Lennon had signed a copy of 'Double Fantasy' for) shot Lennon in the back four times in the archway of their apartment building.
John Lennon was taken to the emergency room of the nearby 'Roosevelt Hospital', but was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:00pm. After being told of his death, Yoko Ono asked the hospital not to report it to the media until she had informed their five-year-old son, Sean, who was at home, and probably watching television and she didn't want him to learn of his father's death from a TV announcement. The next day, Yoko Ono issued a statement, saying "There is no funeral for John", ending it with the words, "John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him"
John Lennon's body was cremated at 'Ferncliff Cemetery' in Hartsdale, New York….with Yoko Ono scattering his ashes in New York's Central Park, where the 'Strawberry Fields' memorial was later created. Lennon's murder triggered an outpouring of grief around the world. On 14 December 1980, millions of people around the world responded to Yoko Ono's request to pause for ten minutes of silence to remember, with thirty thousand gathering in Liverpool, and the largest group - over 225,000 people - converging on New York's Central Park, with every radio station in New York City going off air for those 10 minutes.
Mark Chapman, a 25-year-old security guard from Honolulu, Hawaii, who had previously travelled to New York in October to murder Lennon (before the release of 'Double Fantasy') but had changed his mind and returned home, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20-years-to-life. In 2016, he was denied parole for a ninth time.
Following John Lennon's death, his single, "(Just Like) Starting Over", went on to become a No.1 hit in many countries, including the USA, the UK, and Australia.
LAUNCH OF 'MTV' - 1st August 1981:
The American cable & satellite television channel “MTV” (originally the initials of “Music TeleVision”) launched on Saturday 1st August 1981, with the purpose to be "music television", playing music videos 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, presented by “VJs” (or 'Video Jockeys'), with its slogan being: "You'll never look at music the same way again".
It originally aimed itself towards young adults, but has now become more geared towards teenagers, high school & college students, and instead of music videos, has a number of different channels focusing on different genres, and also particularly features a stream of different 'reality' shows, especially about the lives of the 'rich' & 'famous' or 'so-called- celebrities', and more 'ordinary people', particularly being young & pregnant, and also getting drunk it seems, occasionally interspersed with some more socially-aware programming.
The channel's "I want my MTV!" advertising campaign was launched in 1982, with its slogan making an appearance as a lyric sung by 'Sting' on the 'Dire Straits' song "Money for Nothing", and the first music video that was shown on MTV was 'The Buggles' with "Video Killed the Radio Star".