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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2015 20:46:21 GMT -5
Another interesting tidbit on Knebworth...
1976-Knebworth Catwalk for Stones Only
Remembering Lynyrd Skynyrd
Saturday marks 30 years since plane crash ...
By RICK de YAMPERT
Entertainment Writer
When Lynyrd Skynyrd performed at the Knebworth Festival in England in August 1976, the catwalk part of the stage was sacred ground. That was the altar where the tens of thousands of rock fans gathered in the English countryside would worship the headliners, the Rolling Stones.
"It was forbidden to be used by anyone but the Stones," says Sharon Lawrence, who was working as a management and marketing consultant for such major record labels as MCA, Columbia and Apple.
But, says Lawrence, who was a friend and confidante of the Jacksonville-spawned Skynyrd, singer Ronnie Van Zant had other ideas.
"Ronnie really ran things on stage, to say the least," Lawrence says by phone from her Los Angeles home. "He said to (Skynyrd guitarist) Allen (Collins), 'Get down on that catwalk!' He didn't have to push twice."
Collins was joined by Van Zant and the band's two other guitarists, Steve Gaines and Gary Rossington, for a blistering version of "Free Bird." (The concert is captured on the DVD "Lynyrd Skynyrd: Free Bird -- the Movie," and various Knebworth moments are available on YouTube.)
"The crowd just went nuts," Lawrence says. "After Skynyrd were off, the first people in their dressing room were Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Jack Nicholson, just worshipping at their feet."
Fourteen months later -- 30 years ago this Saturday -- Skynyrd's glory came to a tragic halt. A chartered plane carrying the band ran out of fuel and crashed in Mississippi, killing Van Zant, Gaines and his sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines.
Many fans and critics felt the same as Joe Nick Patoski wrote in "The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll": The tragedy "marked the virtual end of Southern rock as a vital source of new music, even though many of its early exponents continued performing."
"Street Survivors," Skynyrd's sixth album, had been released just three days before the Oct. 20, 1977, crash. By chilling coincidence, the cover depicted the band surrounded by flames, striking fans as eerie and ghoulish. The band's label, MCA, withdrew the album and issued one featuring the same band photo without the flames (although the original cover now appears on Amazon.com).
Jim DeVito, a musician and music producer from St. Augustine, "kind of grew up" with the Skynyrd guys in the late 1960s. DeVito was, he says, "one of the few people who actually lived at 'Hell House,' " a cabin outside of Jacksonville that the band used as a rehearsal space and clubhouse -- given that, by 1970, all the members had dropped out of Robert E. Lee High School.
"The Skynyrd guys were full of spit and vinegar," DeVito says by phone from his St. Augustine home. "Ronnie was a tough little booger. I remember we were in the band house and someone was threatening to quit because they were pissed off about something. He stood in the doorway, the sun behind him, and he goes, 'Look you guys, anybody can quit this band if they want to -- they just got to go through this door.' No one would do that."
The band had played under such names as My Backyard, Sons of Satan and the One Percent, until Van Zant introduced the group at one gig as "Leonard Skinner" -- a goofy homage to the high school gym teacher who tormented them for their long hair. The name stuck but the spelling was altered to Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Reuben "Lounge Lizard" Morgan, a musician and former Daytona Beach resident now living in Stuart, was there the very night the lads from Jacksonville took a giant step toward rock immortality.
Morgan was a 17-year-old running the stage lights at the Bistro, an Atlanta club, when Al Kooper came there to perform. Kooper also was scouting talent to sign to the MCA label.
"He said, 'I want to go over and hear Lynyrd Skynyrd,' " Morgan recalls. "They were playing at Finnochio's House of Rock on Peachtree Street. This was the second time I had seen them. They were very powerful with three guitars. And Ronnie Van Zant was right with the crowd. Kooper signed them."
DeVito was on the road with a rock band in the Midwest when he heard "Sweet Home Alabama" on the radio. "We were like, 'Damn it them (expletive)!' " DeVito says. "A few weeks later, we were playing a bar called the Slipped Disc in St. Augustine, and Allen (Collins) comes in the front door of the club, with his arms outstretched and his exuberant usual way, going 'We did it! I'm a rock star!' Everybody in the club was thinking he was freakin' nuts."
Both DeVito and Lawrence, author of the book "Jimi Hendrix: The Man, the Magic, the Truth," note that the lads who became the kings of Southern rock had found their inspiration across the ocean.
"Their biggest heroes were a band called Free," DeVito says. "Not Southern artists."
"Their idols were all the English greats," says Lawrence, who introduced them to John Lennon, Eric Clapton and others. "They were proud and humbled to be playing on the same bill with the Stones."
Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 with Ronnie's brother, Johnny Van Zant, on lead vocals. Collins died in 1990, four years after being paralyzed in a car crash. The band continues to tour and currently features two original members: guitarist Rossington and keyboardist Billy Powell.
In 2006, Lynyrd Skynyrd joined the Stones, Clapton, Lennon and other artists they admired by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
rick.deyampert@news-jrnl.com
shidoobeewithstonesdoug.yuku.com/topic/630/1976Knebworth-catwalk-for-Stones-only#.VT2S3YKp7A
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2015 19:57:12 GMT -5
 The Rolling Stones performing at the Knebworth festival, August 1976 (l-r): Billy Preston, Ron Wood, Ollie Brown, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Photograph: Steve Wood/Getty Images The night I saw the Rolling Stones Jam Until 7 a.m.
John Hind recalls the evening in 1976 when he watched a frosty Mick and Keith prepare for Knebworth into the wee small hours... "I've never heard of the Rolling Stones – I'm 62," insisted the guard on the front gate of Shepperton Studios. This was a dead giveaway, as, having heard a rumour they were rehearsing there, I'd asked if he knew when "the Stones" might arrive, not Rolling Stones. Having spent the day inside the complex, two friends and I, 15 years old, were now determined not to leave and to track down the band I've since considered the world's greatest (real) boyband. It was August 1976 and the Stones were preparing for Knebworth festival, their largest audience – 200,000 – to date (and their first festival since the tragic Altamont). The summer had been a strenuous one for them. A jealous boyfriend had run at Mick Jagger with a gun in Paris; the Baader-Meinhof group had threatened to blow up the Olympiahalle as the Stones played in Munich; and the Queen's sister had been snapped backstage in London (thus inspiring the punk movement). Keith Richards's baby son, Tara, had died suddenly and he was on bail for drug possession after crashing on the M1 at 100mph. Music gossips were predicting Knebworth would be Richards's last show. Yet by the end of the night I can remember thinking they'd be around for decades to come. My friends and I had spent the hot summer's day on the set of Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky and – in the canteen – the actor Harry H Corbett had told us that, at 6am that morning, there'd been an outrageous shouting and swearing match outside the front gate, when Richards had turned up for a night's rehearsal precisely as his fellow band members were leaving. Because film unions demanded a day's extra pay for any overtime, much of the Shepperton complex – except the bar – emptied at teatime, allowing us to explore backlots and film sets, which became increasingly dream-like as dusk approached. Eventually, in the building known as Stage A, we discovered a mocked-up stage and mixing desk, and an engineer (likely Keith Harwood, who would die months later) beckoned us in to see the Stones' dozens of neatly displayed instruments. The surprisingly tiny Bill Wyman arrived around 9pm, and his subsequent two-hour wait for his band-mates was excruciating to watch. The whole night, in retrospect, had flavours of a music therapy session for the autistic. When Jagger arrived driving a Mercedes with Charlie Watts as his passenger, Wyman suggested visiting the bar with Watts, but it was minutes from closing time and they were barred, sparking another epic swearing match. Back at Stage A, where the giant hangar doors were opened to accommodate the balmy night, Ian Stewart, now present, was running the show – instructing, cajoling and teasing the technicians and musicians to work. Co-founder of the Stones, Stewart had been elbowed from the limelight, 14 years earlier, because of his large chin. "My shower of shit," he called them. The band tuned-up to their fortune-turning Hand of Fate and their death-defying Dead Flowers, Jagger stressing "I won't forget to put roses on your grave". Richards, having surprisingly arrived before midnight, stood rooted to the same spot, swaying slightly, for the rest of the night. Gaunt and pasty and sporting a scarf three times his own length, he struck out rhythm chords that consistently sounded a split-second too late, yet all the better for it, especially when prefigured by the endlessly accommodating Wyman. Ronnie Wood (already that year named the official fifth Stone, despite still working for the band on a salary) exchanged banter with technicians, but the only musicians who seemed pally were Jagger and pianist Billy Preston, who spent cosy hours pressed together at the ivories. I subsequently discovered that Richards and Preston had recently had a fist-fight. Indeed, Richards glanced over at Jagger and Preston not once for the next six hours. In fact, he looked at no one. 10cc were also to be on the bill at Knebworth and when two of them turned up to cheerily say hello they were ignored by everyone. Despite old flared jeans and no makeup, the Stones seemed very camp, hairy, comical, special and determinedly professional, despite the shambolic veneer, and the music they shared as the night progressed felt extraordinary. A highlight was a 50-minute version of Under My Thumb that shifted between rock, pop, jazz and assorted other experimentations before finally settling on a remorseless deep reggae groove with dubby effects and congas. Jagger had mainly rested his voice until this point and had performed only one aerial splits (before returning to the piano almost apologetically), but for Under My Thumb he went full-tilt. It was all "Lil' siiiiister" and "Ooo, ssssssshuggg-ah". Over the subsequent decades, I've been a bona fide Stones geek, collecting hundreds of bootlegs and out-takes, and once turning down £1,000 for my £10 ticket outside a secret gig. Almost every tune the Stones have recorded seems to me to be an exploration of the synaptic thread between activity and inactivity (or doom and dance), but I much appreciate having had the concept blasted into my ear until 7 am on that relentless night 36 years ago. www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/25/rolling-stones-rehearsal-1976-knebworth |
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2015 20:49:19 GMT -5
 Rolling Stones at the Fair: Nuffin' from Nuffin'BY MICK BROWN October 7, 1976 LONDON — Mick Jagger called for closed-circuit color TV, and closed-circuit color TV is what he got: two enormous Eidaphor tower screens on opposite sides of the arena a quarter of a mile from the stage and seven cameras balanced on the PA gantries. Michael Lindsay-Hogg, director of the Beatles' Let It Be and organizer of the Knebworth Fair video setup, leans on a barrier and looks out past the towers at the turreted 16th-century manor house at the far end of the park. "Mick really wants to use this as an experiment in communication; not just putting the show on the screen, but using the system to interrelate performer, audience – the whole event." Lindsay-Hogg has got the whole site wired for vision, ready to cut from Jack Flash jumping, to expressions of rapt ecstasy in the crowd or whatever is happening in any corner of the grounds. There were even plans to mount a camera in a helicopter which would skim over the crowd, but radio-communication problems proved insurmountable. So now a police helicopter flutters over the site, past the house and the fun fair and over the stage. The stage was as outrageous and unreal as the event itself: shrouded by a huge orange parabolic canopy, a 400-foot catwalk extended outward on both sides and an enormous "sticky tongue" ramp curved out from its center. Knebworth Fair: tumblers and clowns, medieval jousting, aerobatics and sky diving, 200,000 people and, ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones . . . ALL'S FAIRPlans for the Stones to appear at Knebworth – an annual fair held at the ancestral seat of the Lytton-Cobbold family – have been in the air for the last two years. Promoter Fred Bannister, who staged the first Knebworth concert with the Allman Brothers Band in 1974, approached the Stones at last year's bash but an American tour made that an impossibility; Pink Floyd headlined the event instead. Early this year, Bannister approached the Stones about an August 21st Knebworth appearance. Engrossed in planning a European tour – their first in three years – the Stones toyed with the idea until June, finally agreeing at a post-gig conference in a Munich hotel room, in light of the one million-plus ticket applications for the English leg of the tour. From the outset the Stones' involvement in the planning was total, with manager Peter Rudge advising Bannister on the selection of support acts – the Don Harrison Band, Hot Tuna, Todd Rundgren, Lynyrd Skynyrd and 10cc – and taking an active role in choosing the non-musical attractions. Rudge insisted, however, that the band was not co-promoting the event as such, but working on a straight flat fee and percentage of the net. The Stones themselves paid fastidious attention to the event's preparation, with Jagger and Charlie Watts frequently visiting the site to check staging and sound arrangements. "They've been checking me every step of the way on everything down to audience catering arrangements," said Bannister, "making sure I'm doing what I've said I'll do." Rudge took pride in even the most intimate of details. "You know," he enthused, "we've got the highest number of portable latrines ever brought together on an open-air site in Britain . . . ." ONE FOR THE KIDS
They were certainly needed. By two in the afternoon, some five hours before the Stones were due onstage, police estimated the crowd at around 150,000 – 50,000 more than the site had been licensed to hold. By 11:30 that evening, when the Stones finally appeared, the crowd had swollen to an estimated 200,000, the largest crowd the Stones have played to since Hyde Park. The first music of the day hardly matched the occasion. The Don Harrison Band was competent but dull, and Hot Tuna was every bit as monomelodic and lethargic as their recent albums. It was left to Todd Rundgren to instill a sense of drama into the proceedings, appearing chic couture in a white pleated suit to baptize the gathering as a true "New Age" event. Lynyrd Skynyrd was next, swaggering but unimaginative. Their refried boogie versions of songs like "Call Me the Breeze" and "T for Texas" sounded stilted and formularized, but the crowd seemed game and even the most pedestrian boogie was enough to stir them. Jack Nicholson thinks Skynyrd was swell. Along with John Phillips, Jack somehow contrived to arrive with a full police escort. He spent the latter part of the afternoon promenading around the backstage area, occasionally disappearing behind the high chicken-wire-and-corrugated-iron fences and the phalanx of security guards. While Jack slumped in an ornately carved armchair in the baronial hallway of Knebworth House, Fred Bannister and Stones aides bustled through the lobby discussing travel arrangements for the quarter-mile journey to the stage. Billy Preston arrived, sans Afro, in a fawn businessman's three-piece, saying the only way anybody's going to get him through the crowd was in a helicopter. Nobody seemed to notice as Mick Jagger languorously descended the stairs. Mick, wearing a candy-striped jump suit, shades and an expression of sublime indifference, ignored the gathering but, spying Billy Preston, asked, "What key's 'Nuffin' from Nuffin' in?" He made the question sound like a sniff. Preston said "C." Jagger nodded his head slightly and moved quickly out the door and into a waiting car. A security heavy thrust a scrap of paper through the window. "One for the kids, Mick?" Jagger signed and was gone. ONLY A TINSEL CROWN
While 10cc progressed through a set as stylish and exacting as ever, the Stones threw a champagne party in the stars' inner sanctuary. Paul and Linda McCartney showed up and Van Morrison, Jim Capaldi, a smattering of the English aristocracy and a financier or two. Jack Nicholson reclined on a shooting stick; Woodie chatted with former Face Ian McLagan, while Jagger and Ronnie Van Zant tussled playfully with each other for the benefit of photographers. It was more than 15 hours since the first paying customers arrived; ten since the Don Harrison Band took the stage and three since the Stones were scheduled to appear. With singularly English aplomb, the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd sat through delay after delay – all attributed to technical hitches – without so much as a murmur. This may have been the most passive rock crowd in history. Sometime after 11, however, the atmosphere changed dramatically, as the top and bottom of the stage were inflated to resemble a huge pair of lips and the stage lights were turned down to blood red. "Atom Heart Mother" was pumped over the sound system and the air became charged with an eerie and unsettling sense of doom. But it was 30 more minutes before the "Dam Busters Theme" boomed over the PA, the stage turned black and the Stones emerged from the wings. As the lights went up, Jagger stepped forward, "Thanks for waiting . . . " and suddenly they were into "Satisfaction" – the anthem of mid-Sixties disaffection and anger. Jagger set off on a martial strut down the curving tongue, left arm outstretched, body bending and twisting from the waist, lights playing on a blue leather jacket, green pants and flashing off his rhinestone-studded vest and diamanté armlets; a long multicolored silken scarf around his neck, and on his head a silver tinsel contraption – a mockery of a crown – which he dispatched to the side of the stage almost immediately. Behind him, Charlie Watts and Ollie Brown on an elevated platform; to their right, Preston and Wood; to their left Keith Richards, bending slightly over his guitar, his face totally impassive, and Bill Wyman, immobile and unsmiling. "'Ello, Knebworth!" Jagger shouted from the mike stand at center stage, then going into "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," momentarily cradling the mike in both hands, like a flower, before setting off again down the tongue to wave an admonishing finger at the audience, wiggle his butt with provocative deliberation and twist and turn back up the tongue and around Richard and Wyman, like a petulant child out to play – the complete repertoire of mannerisms. "If You Can't Rock Me" segued into "Get Off of My Cloud," then "Hand of Fate," and for the first time the rest of the band came alive. Richard, who had been hugging close to the amps – at one point leaving the stage altogether – stepped forward, apparently defying gravity by staying on his feet, for some cutting guitar flourishes, exchanging choppy, precise rhythm chords with Wood or letting his guitar sing out on lead breaks. For "Hey Negrita" Jagger thrust his mike into the top of his pants and massaged it with a wicked leer on his face, then turned to snatch a cigarette from Wood's lips and drape himself over the guitarist as if spent from sexual exertion. Up until now the sound had been impeccable, but "Hot Stuff" was marred by a series of piercing electronic squeals, and at the end of the song an angry Jagger shouted at the sound engineer, "You'd better get those bleepin' monitors going." The squealing continued only sporadically then, with Jagger wincing in accompaniment. The set progressed with the Stones charting a course through their 13-year history: "Fool to Cry," "Wild Horses," "Brown Sugar," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Dead Flowers" and "Route 66." During "Let's Spend the Night Together" Jagger, Wood and Richard clustered around a mike for the chorus, and for a fleeting moment, their faces deathly white in the hard glare of the lights, they resembled ghosts. In that moment the idea flashed that what one was seeing was just the shadow of a legend. Then Jagger was gone, darting down the tongue once more to tease and tempt the crowd with "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and the specter was gone. For "Midnight Rambler," Jagger shed his jacket and then his pants, revealing blue and red rhinestone studded tights, and suddenly he became a diabolical Nijinsky, pirouetting onstage, a study in balance. On the downbeat, he brought a silver belt which he held above his head crashing down on the stage. An uptempo version of "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" followed, with Jagger rolling around the stage, then scampering to the front of the tongue to pout and pose. Then "Street Fighting Man," Jagger bare chested, and after two and a half hours the Stones were gone. Jagger remained onstage, bowing to all three sides, hands together in a gesture of supplication. A final kiss to the crowd, then he too was gone. After it was all over, Jagger denied the rumor Newsweek had printed that this was the Stones' farewell concert. "It's not the last concert," he said, "nor is it the last concert in Britain." According to SIR, the Stones' management in New York, there are plans for more British concerts within the year. As far as comments by the British press after the show that Jagger " . . . resembled not so much the Rock Nureyev as a fag queen on his way to 42nd Street," and that "it was a shambling parody of a performance," Bill Wyman brushed aside the criticism, saying: "The English press always slated us . . . They've been doing it for the last 13 years and they'll be doing it for the next 13, too – if we last that long." This story is from the October 7th, 1976 issue of Rolling Stone. Read more: www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rolling-stones-at-the-fair-nuffin-from-nuffin-19761007#ixzz3adgUGU00 |
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2015 12:05:26 GMT -5
This article is an overview of the Knebworth Concert, August 21, 1976. It includes brief concert reviews of all artists on the bill as well as some background on each one. Also, some crazy antics by the Stones to promote the concert and how the show eventually got off the ground. From aerial displays right down to the number of loos this article tells all. Not sure when it was published because it includes (for some reason) a review of Freebird...The Movie. A good read for everyone.
KNEBWORTH 3 1976
Knebworth 3 : Saturday August 21 1976
Knebworth Fair
Promoted by Frederick Bannister in association with Five-One Productions
On the bill in alphabetical order:
DON HARRISON BAND
HOT TUNA
LYNYRD SKYNYRD
THE ROLLING STONES
10CC
TODD RUNDGREN'S UTOPIA
"The first most people heard of the Rolling Stones coming to Knebworth this summer was when the Stones arranged for two people dressed as Harlequins to run onto the Centre Court at Wimbledon, between sets on the final day, with a long banner saying 'Stones At Knebworth'. Unfortunately, David's father Lord Cobbold, who was Lord Chamberlain to the Queen at the time, was in the Royal Box. He got some very frosty looks. He arrived back at Knebworth in a high state of fury and we had trouble persuading him and others that we had nothing to do with it at all!
We discovered later that other gimmicks had taken place on the same day. A cricket match in Sussex which was televised live was interrupted by two topless girls also carrying a banner saying 'Stones At Knebworth'. A similar banner was draped over the big arched gates at Hyde Park Corner, but this was swiftly removed. There was an old banger race televised from up north and the driver who was expected to win had 'Stones At Knebworth' stickers all over his car.
We had great problems setting a date for the concert. The dates Freddie Bannister wanted clashed either with a major event we already had planned in the park or the Stevenage Carnival on June 26. Finally it was fixed for August 21. The licence was for 100,000 people, but there were fears more would turn up. The last time the Stones played an open air show in Britain was in London's Hyde Park in 1969, when more than 250,000 were reputed to have turned up. One can limit the amount of tickets sold, but from past experience we knew many fans would turn up on the day without tickets, and we would have to let them into the park. They couldn't be sent away into Stevenage or the surrounding villages where they might cause trouble.
The lineup was the Rolling Stones, 10cc, Hot Tuna, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, and the Don Harrison Band. Tickets were 4.25 in advance and 4.50 on the day. The programme had crept up to six bands again and although it was scheduled to start at 11 a.m. we were worried it would run over.
The Stones came down to Knebworth a few times during the build up period to get the feel of the place. No band had done this before and it was the first time we had actuially met any musicians ... it caused quite a stir in the house. They held a sound check on the Thursday night before the concert, a hot summer evening. No one knew about the sound check, so there was just the band on the vast stage with a dozen or so people sitting on the grass in the evening sunshine. It was magic. Not so, unfortunately, for the battleship-built Girl Guide commandant who was in charge of about 50 Guides camping at the other end of the park.
She stormed up to the house, burst in on a meeting that David was having with the promoter and police and demanded retribution. "We booked the park until the end of the week," she shrieked. "How can we hold our camp sing-song tonight with this dreadful racket going on!" David pointed out that it was the Rolling Stones and that perhaps the girls might prefer to listen. "Nonsense, I want it stopped," she stormed. When David said she would have to speak to Mick Jagger, she marched down to the stage, elbowed her way past all the security guards and grabbed Jagger by the arm. "Young man," she shouted, "this noise must stop. My girls can't hear themselves sing." Mick's reply was "F... off lady," but he stopped - much to our disappointment and, I am sure, that of the Guides too.
Later that evening, they came up to the House. Keith Richard had cut his finger and was understandably in a panic. He sat on the kitchen table while I found a plaster. We all sat around talking and drinking and listening to their music until about 3 a.m. when Mick asked if there was any possibility of some food. He was worried that the cook might have gone to bed and couldn't believe we didn'e have one. So we all made fried eggs and bacon in the kitchen and they eventually left at 7.30 a.m. to go to a recording studio.
Friday night was a write-off as far as sleep was concerned. The crowds were bigger than we had ever had and the campsite soon filled up. We had to approach a farmer in the middle of the night to rent extra fields from him for camping - an expensive business. There was no way everyone was going to fit into the campsite and the fans soon overflowed into Stevenage.
At 3 a.m. David and I thought we would try to grab half an hour's sleep. No sooner had we got into bed and turned out the light than our peace was shattered by ear splitting rock music. Someone was playing a record on the concert stage in the park at full volume. The telephone by our bed rang instantly. First it was a neighbour from a mile away in a very irate state, then the police. David leapt out of bed, jumped into the car and dashed to the stage. There he found the Rolling Stones' manager in a raging temper, complaining that nothing was ready and he could not find the promoter, Freddie Bannister, anywhere. The music would continue until Freddie Bannister was found. David managed to persuade him that he knew where Freddie was and would fetch him if he stopped the music - so the people of North Hertfordshire were permitted to go back to sleep and Freddie was extracted from a quick nap in the back of his car.
At the last minute, The Stones decided they wanted all the trees in the park floodlit, an almost impossible task in the middle of the night. There had been a heatwave and drought all summer, and the Fire Brigade warned us we couldn't rely on them for help. So we stored 16,000 gallons of water in lorries, just in case there was an emergency. We put up a sign saying 'No Camp Fires' and provided a few large organised fires instead. We were terrified of the woods catching fire but the campers were surprisingly good and obeyed the signs.
Freddie had turnstiles put in at the entrance of the arena this year. Ticket control was always difficult because gatemen are not always trustworthy. He thought he would be able to check the numbers against the tickets taken. At the last moment he suddenly realised that everyone else would be able to check exactly how many had gone through as well. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all ... in any event they were all out of action on the day.
By morning a contraflow system was in use on the motorway to prevent a recurrence of last year's jams. The anticipated atmosphere was somehow smothered by the volume of people coming into the arena, a vast denim pilgrimage. Hoopla stalls, coconut shies and side shows were largely ignored. The gaily dressed clowns were slightly more successful as they could wander through the crowds playing the fool. Even special events such as high dive into a small pool, an escapologist and an Irishman named Michael Blondini who insisted on blowing himself up in a coffin packed with twenty five sticks of dynamite, attracted only a sprinkling of spectators. The 'Gully Cleanser' was returning to the park empty to suck out another load of effluent from the loos when it was noticed by one of the organisers who was looking for something with which to fill the high diver's pool. "Any suggestions?" he asked the driver. Water was in short supply so they went to the nearby lake and the 'Gully Cleanser' sucked up and deposited enough water into the diver's pool. Not very hygienic, but he didn't seem to notice.
The same 'Gully Cleanser' man asked one of the organisers who Mick Jagger was. "You know Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones," he replied. "I wouldn't walk across the street to piss on him if he was on fire," came back the retort!"
from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold.
"Promoters Message: Hi. This year, as I hope you can see by looking around the arena, we have all worked really hard to provide a concert that is really different.. We do hope you enjoy your day at Knebworth, and enter into the spirit of our Knebworth Fair."
from the Official Programme.
On the bill in order of appearance:
Don Harrison band
"The American Don Harrison began the concert. It was his debut in Britain. He tried hard but couldn't capture the attention of the punters. His band is average USA hard rock grist and was understated and unmemorable."
from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold.
"The four members of the group - Don Harrison, Doug 'Cosmo' Clifford, Stu Cook, Russell DaShiell - all admit to a certain irony when Don describes the band's debut single release of Sixteen Tons as "my Suzie Q." Irony, in that when Suzie Q was released as a single in 1968, introducing the world to Creedence Clearwater Revival, the record scotched the plans of a young Louisville-bred singer, who'd intended for his version of the 10-year-old Dale Hawkins country-pop confection to catapult him to fame and fortune.
Instead, CCR was launched on a career that would continue on for some four more years and 40 million-plus records. And the singer - Don Harrison was his name - would have to wait eight years for his turn.
Not an ounce of fire was lost in the waiting, though, as Don Harrison's voice and songwriting ring with the fierce chops of someone who has waited long enough for his shot. Sixteen Tons is clearly not recommended for stereophonic play in rooms with loose or falling plaster.
And for the ear that insists it is making contact with some rumbling, thundering rhythm bearing unmistakable roots in Creedence, rest assured that Cosmo the drummer and bassist Stu Cook are pumping away here with the same crunch that pushed every single track of Creedence's into that timeless ethic of rock 'n roll, described by Greil Marcus recently as "no excuses given, no questions asked." Russell DeShiell, the unsung Los Angeles guitar hero who as toured and recorded with his own Crowfoot, Norman Greenbaum, John Bebastian, and Tom Fogerty (among many others), gives the Don Harrison band its effective layers of guitars.
There was an all-black a-cappella group in the neighbourhood called the Avocadoes, in which Don sang lead. When some of the group went looking for a hit record in New Orleans, around 1962, Don struck out for Los Angeles. There, he would spend the next decade-plus, singing in group after group, at more local bars and saloons than anyone should have to sing at in a lifetime.
The work was strictly the toughest, as Don scuffled to support his family and maintain their house in the Bell Gardens section of LA.
The roots of the Don Harrison Band stretch back to the first meeting between Don and Russell DeShiell, something like this: Don was playing in a club duo with a guitarist who, in turn, was an old Wisconsin friend of Russell's from the Crowfoot days. Through the guitarist, Don and Russell met, and a camaraderie developed between the two that eventually led to some demo recordings at Russell's home 8 track studio. For about a year, through 1971-72, Russell cut tracks on himself and Don Harrison. Don's tracks, consisting of songs written mostly by Russell, turned into a demo LP which went undiscovered by any record company. On and off, through 1974, the recording continued, as did Russell's outside session work, and Don's seemingly never-ending stints around LA from band to band. During this period, Russell had taken an engineering job at Dubbington Downs Studio on Melrose Avenue, where he worked for nine months on a freelance basis (and using the studio facility on the side to record more material with Don). When the studio's owner asked Russell one day if he knew anyone who might want a pert-time job cleaning up the studio before and after sessions, and maintaining the equipment, Russell suggested Don.
In Living Another Day Don tells the story better than anybody, from that point onward:
"I ran into an old friend I knew when things were looking bad,
He asked me what my intentions were - said I was looking to drive a cab,
But the hands of fate turn quickly, and when he said 'I got the job for you,
It doesn't pay much money friend, but it's better than having the blues'
I started the very next morning, been whistling me a happy tune,
It seems a melody I heard before was coming from another room
I heard some rockers 'n rollers 'n Jesus freaks, all trying to be number one,
And everybody thought he had it made, as he grabbed his tapes and run
Whoa, I began sweeping up after the stars, listening to the songs they sing,
And picking up empty beer cans and dusting off the tape machine
Maybe in a day or so I can walk away, but until then I'm a happy man, just living another day ...
Got me a call from San Francisco just the other day,
From a number one hot bayou band, they said 'We like the songs you sing'
So they sent me my ticket, flight 505, I must admit it was a crazy scene,
Just like the story of an overnight success in Teen Screen magazine
I got to sing my songs and play guitar, Oh I was in a dream,
But like a Cinderella on a weekend pass, I had to get back and clean ..."
The "number one hot bayou band" consisted of Doug 'Cosmo' Clifford and Stu Cook, the potent rhythm section of Creedence. They had already formed Factory Productions, a mobile home recording studio. The Factory was used to record Doug Sahm's Groover's Paradise album, as well as ex-Creedence Tom Fogert's fourth solo album, that featured Cosmo, Stu, and Russell DaShiell on lead guitar. With Don's connection, the foursome became a group.
On March 22, 1976, Atlantic Records Chairman Ahmet Ertegun and President Jerry Greenberg announced the signing of the Don Harrison Band to a long-term exclusive worldwide recording contract on Atlantic Records. A week later, the group's debut single, Sixteen Tons b/w Who I Really Am, was released, followed within two weeks by the album, The Don Harrison Band.
And it looks as though Don Harrison's Cinderella weekend pass is about to be extended indefinitely."
from the Official Programme.
Hot Tuna
"Teething problems caused a two-hour delay before the Hot Tuna trio from San Francisco, but they did a fine warming up act and some thought they provided the best music of the day. Their music was a trifle old fashioned and a bit tedious as the set progressed."
from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold.
"Hot Tuna was spawned during a time when Jefferson Airplane was inactive and Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady began getting together to play music that they couldn't play in the Airplane. It was late 1969, and Hot Tuna was an outlet for their different musical tastes, which were only partially fulfilled in Jefferson Airplane.
Since then, through changing personnel and musical styles, Hot Tuna has evolved around Jorma's guitar and Jack's bass. For the first few years, Jack and Jorma continued to work simultaneously with Hot Tuna and the Airplane, sometimes even on the same bill. In recent years, Hot Tuna has become the dominant interest for both of them.
Hot Tuna actually had its routes years before the Airplane band was formed. Both Jack and Jorma were friends while growing up in Washington D.C. Jorma, of Finnish and Russian parents, is the son of a diplomat. Jack's father was a dentist. The two began playing together in neighbourhood clubs while still in high school. Their paths separated when Jorma and his family moved to the Philippines.
By the early sixties, Jorma was going to school in California and playing folk guitar with other striving musicians, including Janis Joplin. Through his friend Paul Kantner, Jorma was asked to play guitar with a new type of band being started in San Francisco - Jefferson Airplane. When the band lost their first bass player, Jorma suggested the band fly Jack Casady out from Washington D.C. Jack passed his audition with the Airplane, and he and Jorma have not stopped playing together since.
At the time when Hot Tuna was just forming, it was a quintet, with Jack, Jorma, Marty Balin and Joey Covington from the Airplane plus guitarist Peter Kaukonen. By the time Hot Tuna recorded their first album in 1970, they were an acoustic trio, with Will Scarlett on harmonica. That first album, called Hot Tuna, was recorded live at the New Orleans House, the site of many of their early performances. Shortly after the release of the first album, Hot Tuna became electric again, adding Sammy Piazza on drums and Papa John Creach, the violinist from Jefferson Airplane. Their next album, First Pull Up, Then Pull Down, was released in 1971. It was recorded live at the Chateau Liberte, a favourite beerjoint in the Santa Cruz mountains. Will Scarlett dropped out of Hot Tuna before work started on their third album. Burgers, released in 1972, was Hot Tuna's first studio album. In mid 1973, Papa John Creach left Tuna to concentrate on his solo career, and is now also playing with Jefferson Starship.
Following the release of Phosphorescent Rat in 1974, drummer Sammy Piazza left to work with another local band, Stoneground. Jack and Jorma toured briefly as acoustic Hot Tuna after Sammy's departure. During this period last year, Jorma began work on his solo acoustic album, Quah, recorded with Tom Hobson and produced by Jack Casady.
Hot Tuna released their fifth album, America's Choice, in spring 1975 with the addition of Bob Steeler on drums who joined Tuna with ample credentials. Originally from New York, he has drummed with Sam Andrews, Kathi McDonald, Merl Saunders and Doug Kershaw to name but a few.
America's Choice became a best-selling chart album on both sides of the Atlantic and was followed in the autumn of 1975 by their sixth album, Yellow Fever, on which the regular trio was augmented by John Sherman on guitar.
Hot Tuna rarely appear outside the United States and their European dates in the summer of '76 (including Britain's Knebworth Festival) has caused great excitement and interest among rock fans."
from the Official Programme.
Refer to:
All Music Guide profile
Scheduled Aerial Display: Red Arrows
Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren's Utopia
"At 3.15 p.m. one of America's great pop eccentrics, Todd Rundgren and his band Utopia, came on stage. He broke a string in the middle of a song, and, still singing, deftly switched guitars to finish the song. Rundgren won the audience over with his melodic brand of hard rock. They closed and encored with The Move's venerable 'Do Ya'."
from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold.
"At one point in time last year I remember chiding Todd Rundgren, telling him that if his accomplishments continued at such a rapid rate, his bio could be bound in volumes and sold door to door like the World Book and such. I recall that he seemed to cringe, as if I had noticed that he was going too fast; perhaps his frantic pace warranted a rest. After all, one can never spend enough time pursuing future goals searching for knowledge and a proper balance to live within.
Todd had spent months on tour with Utopia, months producing four albums for various artists (himself included), doing television performances, overseas interviews, giving in to the intrigue of video presentation and the thirst for interesting literature. With virtually little to no end in sight, Todd readied Initiation. A record record! Sixty-eight minutes plus of some of the most intense music to be transferred onto vinyl. Cover art by Todd Rundgren, production, voices, lots of guitars, keyboards, synthesizers and a dash of whatever else also supplied by the wizard. So, despite the hurried pace which we describe Todd as being mired in, it seems as if perhaps he has found an altogether new direction. Now, I would doubt that would surprise any of his followers. It seems Our Hero has changed direction with each new record and has always kept the public guessing.
What's next from Todd Rundgren? Perhaps there really is something new floating around up his sleeve. While he prepared us for his latest platter, he also found some new peace; a new home, a house up in Utopia, N.Y., just a short hop away from the Bearsville General Store, as well as the Bearsville Sound Studios.
Farming has replaced trashing and overalls and a pitchfork seems more relevant than a gold lame suit and a bottle of Dom Perignon.
The world of video has also been opened to Todd and he is looking to get involved in some production this year. With the equipment he has purchased to be set up in his new home in studio form, I am sure that we can expect something special from Mr. Creative Audio.
So, as Todd ploughs during the day and checks out his latest piece of colour synthesizer equipment at night, we are left to wonder when, where and/or if Utopia is expected to surface in the future. The answer is an emphatic yes! Utopia is still very much intact and with new drummer John Wilcox replacing Kevin Ellman in the line-up, Todd will lead his team on to the field for some summer "outdoorsy" dates throughout the U.S. as well as a short Canadian tour that will hopefully spawn the next Utopia album. It should keep him busy, to say the least. In fact, I doubt Todd Rundgren will ever have a problem keeping busy."
from the Official Programme.
Refer to:
All Music Guide profile
See also: Knebworth 6 & 7 1979 Top of Page
Scheduled Aerial Display: Tiger Moth Dog Fight
Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Lynyrd Skynyrd, also from the USA, got the best reception apart from the Stones. They played numbers like J.J.Cale's 'Call Me The Breeze', 'T For Texas', 'Sweet Home Alabama' and the soaring 'Freebird' which won them a standing ovation. They declined to do an encore."
from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold.
"Lynyrd Skynyrd are the sound of the south. While the creativity of the Allman Brothers sadly dried up, Lynyrd Skynyrd exploded into the seventies with a stubborn determination to succeed. Driven by the powerful foundation of three lead guitars, the band quickly dethroned the fading Brothers and became the pride of Dixie.
As Southern American boogie bands grew in epidemic proportions, Lynyrd Skynyrd stuck out of this less sophisticated muck with classy distinction and their own specialised brand of rock 'n roll. They even looked different. Ronnie Van Zant posed as the meanest, toughest kid in the neighbourhood in his black t-shirt and sinister cowboy hat. Bassist Leon Wilkenson grinned slyly while the guitar assault made Status Quo seem impotent.
Their appearance at Knebworth is their second visit to Britain this year. In February they undertook a short but highly successful tour to coincide with the release of their last album, Gimme Back My Bullets. Back in February the six-man band was supplemented by the welcome addition of three female back-up singers, which added much variety to their infectious raunch.
Knebworth will mark the British debut of new guitarist Steve Gaines, who forms a dynamic trio with partners Gary Rossington and Allen Collins. With the addition of Gaines, Lynyrd Skynyrd return to their three guitar trademark which broke tradition when founding member Ed King quit last year after constant touring.
The band's rise to the top has not always been a smooth ride sometimes marred by certain southern indulgences in gentlemanly pastimes like drinkin' 'n fightin'. Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, the band acquired their unique name from a high school football coach who did not approve of their long hair and rebellious ways.
Before recording their debut album, Skynyrd paid strenuous dues in countless redneck bars. In addition to vocalist Van Zant, guitarists Rossington, Collins King and Wilkeson, the original line-up included keyboard player Billy Powell (still with the band) and drummer Bobby Burns.
By the winter of 1972 their word of mouth fame had spread to Atlanta, where producer Al Kooper rescued them from the throes of obscurity. Kooper had just formed his Sounds of the South label for MCA Records and Lynyrd Skynyrd eagerly signed on the dotted line.
That first album included the stage classic Freebird, which made nonchalant listeners sit up and take notice when the band opened for the Who during a 1973 autumn American tour. It was then that Van Zant learned the true meaning of fright. And it was then that Lynyrd Skynyrd began to adapt to the bigtime, gradually making the transition from redneck bars to major auditoriums.
The deciding point in their career came the following year in two all important moves. First they scored an American top ten hit with Sweet Home Alabama off their second album Second Helping. With their musical side fully developed, the band took care of business. They bought out their first manager, Alan Walden, connected with the Capricorn label, and signed on with Stones manager Pete Rudge,
Al Kooper began to grow away from the band's musical preferences and their third album, Nothin' Fancy, was the last he produced. It also marked the debut of drummer Artimus Pyle, who instantly lended (sic) a funkier feel to the music.
Strenuous touring throughout 1975 increased the band's rising popularity at the expense of King, who disliked the hectic pace and quit. Undaunted, the band acquired the production skills of Tom Dowd, who previously worked with the Allman Brothers and Eric Clapton. Ronnie Van Zant makes no secret of his enthusiastic admiration for Duane Allman, especially when under the influence of several strong ones.
Gimme Back My Bullets did just that. Lynyrd Skynyrd fought their way up American and British album charts. Unleashing their matured sounds to hungry audiences, the band recently recorded a live album back in Atlanta, Georgia, which is due for release later this year.
The $10,000 WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE posters distributed for promotion fit their hardened image like tight jeans. Normally colourful southern temperaments were agitated by drinking which often led to much-publicised punch-ups. It was not totally out of character for a piece of room furniture to accidentally be flung out of a hotel window.
Yet success has increased their musical appetite while diminishing their thirst for alcoholic brawls. When Lynyrd Skynyrd last played this country, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant painted a self-portrait which contrasted sharply with previous rowdy adventures.
As a special birthday present, Van Zant took his truck driver father along for the ride. The elder Van Zant travelled the country on the group coach, celebrating his birthday with a Glasgow party he will undoubtedly never forget.
Van Zant will seriously tell you that the days of heavy drinking and fighting are over. One listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd on stage circa August 1976 speaks well for his words. Drummer Artimus Pyle is partially credited with this new image being an exercise enthusiast.
Lynyrd Skynyrd grew up the hard way supporting groups like the Rolling Stones and the Who, turning alien audiences into their own. Outdoors, Lynyrd Skynyrd are in their natural environment. Summer appearances across the States have primed them for Knebworth.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - the best thing to come out of the south since Jack Daniels."
Barbara Charone
from the Official Programme.
Set List:
1. Workin' for MCA
2. I ain't the one
3. Saturday night special
4. Whiskey rock a roller
5. Travellin' man
6. Searching
7. What's your name
8. That smell
9. Gimme three steps
10. Call me the breeze
11. T for Texas
12. Sweet home Alabama
13. Free bird
14. Dixie
From the liners of the Soundtrack for Freebird... The Movie...
By Ron O'Brien "The rumor was that the Knebworth Fair was to be the last Rolling Stones concert ever. At that time, Jagger, Richards and company were going through a stagnant period, caught up in the excesses of the '70s. Speculation in the British press ran rampant that this concert to thank the British fans for their past support would indeed be the grand finale to the illustrious career of "The World's Greatest Rock 'N Roll Band". However, according to the Stones' management, their appearance would simply be the last time the band would play... at Knebworth.
It was August 21, 1976, and England was in the grip of one of the worst droughts in recent memory. The third annual Knebworth Fair was to be a massive all-day rock festival on the sprawling grounds of the Knebworth house country estate in Hertfordshire, England. In keeping with the scope of the concert's vast setting, 50,000 pounds had been spent to build a mammoth stage, modeled on the Stones' logo, which was canopied by a giant pair of inflatable red plastic lips, with two long runway catwalks that stuck out into the crowd like the logo's protuding tongue.
By the early morning hours of that blistering summer Saturday, nearly a quarter of a million rock-hungry fans had converged on Knebworth Park, filled with happy expectation, with many already sporting 'Stoned At Knebworth' t-shirts. People were literally hanging from the stately English oaks that dotted the estate, eagerly awaiting the 11:00 am start of the day long program of rock 'n' roll, which promised appearances by the Stones, 10cc, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Hot Tuna, the Don Harrison Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Knebworth would be Skynyrd's most important British gig ever...
CONTINUED AT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE!!!"
Reviews of Freebird... The Movie... from Amazon:
Reviewer: Barefoot
The music is fantastic but the post-production and fake audience sound completely ruined it for me. It's unbelievable! They used some sort of audience loop and you get to hear the same shouts after every song plus fake audience over the music!!! Compare the version of Whiskey Rock and Roller on the Lynyrd Skynyrd box set that was taken from the same concert to see what I'm talking about. A horrendous job.
Reviewer: Dave Kelley from Woodbury, MN
First of all let me start out by saying that I have not been the same person since I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1976, and bought One More From the Road several days after that concert. One More From the Road is one of my favorite cds and the new collectors edition is excellent, because the song sequence is the same as the original concerts at the Fox Theatre. The Freebird sound track is a better live recording due to Steve Gaines familiarity with Skynyrd material. On One More From the Road, Gaines had only been with the band a short time and it is rumored that his guitar was turned off on songs he had not fully practiced on. On the "Freebird the Movie" soundtrack, the guitar threesome is in full force and Steve Gaines playing blends beautifully with Gary Rossington and Allen Collins lead riffs. The sound quality on some of the songs on this disc is weak, but the singing and playing over come the poor sound quality. There were a few songs from the movie which did not make the disc, which too bad. Rent or buy the movie because it is awesome. Another reason I like this disc over "One More" is that it includes live versions of "Whats Your Name" and "That Smell" which are not on previous live recordings. This disc is a must for all "die hard" Skynyrd fans. Owning the movie is also a must. The music and the concert footage bring back sweet memories of the best American rock and roll band.
Reviewer: Shannon L Robbins from Kankakee, IL
Lynyrd Skynyrd is the all time best Southern Rock band, this album is one of their best, all the best loved songs done live, I may wear this cd out I play it so much. This was not my first Skynyrd Cd and it won't be my last,it does however bring you back to the bands glory days, this is a great movie too, I wish they would release it again. 5 stars is not enough for this CD, if you like Skynyrd this is an Essential CD for your collection.
Reviewer: Jason Kowalski from Rochester, NY
This group is ultimately the best southern rock band out there. If you like ZZ Top, or Allman Brothers, this is the CD to get. With such hits as Working for MCA, Saturday Night Special, and the more memorable ones such as Gimme Three Steps, T for Texas, Sweet Home Alabama, and Free Bird. Freebird is the longest song about 10 minutes. Everybody's jamming. It's awesome. I've had this CD for almost 5 years and it's still kicking alive in my CD player. This is a must! I was lucky to see lynyrd skynyrd do Freebird at a concert in the front row. The only difference though was that it was with Jeff Van Zant. Without the originals it's not the same.
Reviewer: John Doe from Knebworth
Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant and Leon Wilkenson. Seven of rock's legends took the stage in Hertfordshire, England during the summer of 1976 for one unforgettable concert. They presented hits such as Workin For MCA, Saturday Night Special, and Sweet Home Alabama. A little under a year later, Skynyrd performed in Oakland, California and gave probably the best performance of "Freebird" I have ever heard. This version surpasses the one that Ronnie and friends did Live At The Fox. Finally, ten days later the band put on another tremendous performance in Asbury Park, New Jersey, which included the first live performances of What's Your Name? and That Smell.
Finally, twenty years after the plane crash that took the life of Steve Gaines, Ronnie Van Zant, back up singer Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick, Cabin Fever Entertainment has compiled some of Skynyrd's finest live performances and put together...Freebird: The Movie. While the movie may be out of print, the soundtrack is alive and well.
I've heard parts of One More From The Road and I have the DVD of Lyve, but the intensity from lynyrd Skynyrd on this album is unbeatable. From the opening Hello How are you? to the final strum of a guitar, Lynyrd Skynyrd gives a great performance. Johnny, Billy, Leon, Ricky, Hughie, Gary, and whoever is on drums these days are wonderful, but without Ronnie, Steve, Artimus, and Allen "...things just couldn't be the same."
Reviewer: A music fan from Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
Lynyrd Skynyrd overcame a world of troubles just to get into the music business. They deserve every bit of recogntion and success that they have received,and even more.They are the BEST band that has ever or will ever be around.To the band, keep on making the great music you always have.
Reviewer: A music fan from Kentucky, USA
This is an incredible collection of classic live Skynyrd performances. This shows you why Skynyrd with their 3 axe attack blew the Stones offstage.
Reviewer: A music fan from Sonoma, CA
Though alot of the songs are the same as the classic first live Skynyrd album, this album is amazing. The energy is incredible, though this version of Freebird isn't quite as good as the One More version it is damn close. I think T for Texas here kicks. Live versions of That Smell and What's your name are excellent. I listen to this and then the Lyve from Steeltown album and there is no comparison, the new version is a fine band but the intensity is not there. Ronnie Van Zant approached life as a fight for his life and that energy and spuk shows in this album. Fly on Ronnie!
Refer to:
Freebird Foundation
Freebird - The Movie
All Music Guide profile
Scheduled Aerial Display: Pitts Specials
10cc
"There was an extremely exasperating two hour delay while 10cc sorted out their technical problems. Fans lobbed empty beer cans and wine bottles at the stage and it was quite scary sitting in the crowd expecting to be hit on the head by a bottle any moment. I chose this moment to try and get out to the loo. It took a whole hour to climb over the tightly packed bodies sitting on the grass. It was impossible not to stand on some. Luckily no one seemed to mind too much.
By the time I got back 10cc had started with 'Un Nuit A Paris' but because of continuing problems it sounded like Concorde going overhead. But their show got better and one of the highlights of the day was 'I'm Not In Love'. Because the show was getting so behind schedule, the organizers were planning to pull out the plug on 10cc. David Campbell was sent to do the job. Extremely nervous about his assignment, he took his time getting back stage and by luck, or perhaps good judgement, they finished the set just as he got there!"
from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold.
"10 c.c.'s music has been described by various music critics as witty, hilarious, professional, satirical, intelligent and completely mad. On one point, however, they are all agreed and that is that they have brought a breath of fresh air to the international music scene. One U.S. critic wrote: "A Rock 'n Roll experience like you've never had before."
10 c.c. first came to the attention of the British public in September 1972 when their first single Donna entered the charts, but their history however goes back a lot further. Individually, the group are: Lol Creme, Kevin Godley, Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart. Eric Stewart was already well known as a member of the Mindbenders (with and without Wayne Fontana) and is best remembered as the lead singer on their huge hit Groovy Kind Of Love. The Mindbenders split up in 1968, but not before Graham Gouldman had joined their ranks, thereby establishing a contact with Eric. Previously Graham had been solely occupied as a songwriter with a string of superb hits to his credit including For Your Love and Heart Full Of Soul for the Yardbirds, Bus Stop and Look Through Any Window for the Hollies, No Milk Today for Herman's Hermits and Jeff Beck's first single, Tallyman, to name but a few. He also recorded a solo album in the late sixties titled The Graham Gouldman Thing and after leaving the Mindbenders joined Kasenatz-Katz in the States as a songwriter. Lol Creme and Keving Godley had been mates for many years and played in numerous groups and on sessions together as well as studying at Art School at the same time, and were well known as accomplished musicians by the time they met up with Eric. They both developed a considerable interest in the art of cartoon drawing while they were at art school and subsequent comparisons between 10 c.c.'s lyrics and cartoon imagery are no mere coincidence. In fact, one of the best examples of their artistic talent is their very striking cover design for their first album 10 c.c..
On leaving the Mindbenders, Eric was instrumental in setting up Strawberry Studios in Stockport and later invited Lol and Kevin to work with him there. The result of this association - and much experimenting in the studio - was their massive No. 1 hit Neanderthal Man under the name of Hotlegs. A nationwide tour with the Moody Blues followed, during which they were joined by Graham, but after that the four retreated once more to Strawberry where they concentrated on writing and producing and doing session work. Inevitably they came up with an idea for a single. While messing around with a song that Kevin and Lol had written, they achieved a sound that was a direct send-up of the hits of the late fifties. They decided to record it and approcahed Jonathan King about releasing it on his newly formed UK label. A change of name followed and within weeks 10 c.c.'s Donna was in the charts.
In July 1973 the band went to the top of the charts with their third single Rubber Bullets, for which they received an Ivor Novello award for the "best beat song of '73". Shortly afetr came their debut album 10 c.c. which brought them considerable acclaim in this country and the U.S.A., where Cash Box magazine named them "Best New Group of 1973".
10 c.c. were not content it seems with writing, recording, engineering, producing and even designing their records and sleeves - towards the end of last year they became involved in the invention of a new instrument. Working with a faculty group from Manchester University they developed the Gismo, which is an extension to the guitar which produces a very rich orchestral sound.
In August of '73 the group emerged from Strawberry Studios to tour Britain. They decided that an extra drummer was required in order to give Kevin more freedom to sing. So 24-year-old Paul Burgess joined the band for live performances. Paul, who comes from Stockport, had worked with several small groups in the Manchester area. Back in '72 he had been doing session work at Strawberry Studios and had met Eric and Graham. Paul was an obvious choice as a "fifth member", so was asked to come on tour. On their forthcoming tour Paul will also be playing piano.
In February '74 they embarked on their first tour of the States, where they appeared in 107 cities on U'S TV in The Don Kirshner Show. Hailed as the hottest band in town, they received a fantastic welcome from both audiences and critics alike. The tour was such an outstanding success that they were immediately booked to return for a major concert tour the following summer.
In May last year, 10 c.c. released their second L.P. - Sheet Music. The album received incredible reviews and went straight into the album charts, where it remained for several months."
from the Official Programme.
Refer to:
10cc Matters
All Music Guide profile
Scheduled Aerial Display: Hot Air Balloons
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
"There was another lengthy wait for the Stones to come on. The multi-coloured corrugated fencing had by now been taken down and fans were able to wander in without paying. In order to divert the crowd's attention from bottle throwing for a while, a naked man came on stage and did a dance. He eventually fell off the stage and broke both his ankles. The slow handclaps, whistles and catcalls continued. It was 11.30 p.m., thirty minutes after the concert was due to finish, when the Stones came on stage. The audience was tired after the long boring wait and lesser mortals would have flinched at the prospect of facing the mob. But not the Stones. A massive rubber upper lip had inflated above the band, turning the orange stage into a cavernous mouth with the huge catwalk as an extended tongue. They started with 'Satisfaction' and followed with all their classic numbers.
Keith Richards was prodded along and encouraged by Mick Jagger, who pouted and pranced, tearing along the catwalk and charging down the giant tongue, writhing and wriggling. He borrowed my bike but didn't use it in the end. There were constant problems with delayed echo, feedback and faulty mixing, but by the end Jagger won the day and the crowd was ecstatic. They played everyone's favourites, 'Honky Tonk Woman', 'Jumping Jack Flash', 'Fool To Cry' and more. There were banners and flags waving, camp fires burning all over the arena and people singing.
The problem of enabling 100,000 plus people to see the stage was solved by having two screens at the back of the arena projecting the acts after dark. It made a tremendous difference to everyone. Those in front didn't get completely squashed by everyone pushing forward to get near the stage, and the people behind had a great view of the stage from all angles with close-ups of the individual musicians.
After the concert, The Rolling Stones came back to the House again with friends for a party. This time I was expecting them and drinks and food were laid out and there were people to help. Jack Nicholson was among them and I enjoyed hearing a friend of mine asking him what he did for a living. A huge grin spread all over his face when he said he was in the entertainment business. Germaine Greer wandered around announcing she "wanted a man". I offered David and she said stuffily she didn't want someone else's cast off! She didn't care much for the pictures on the walls either as there were none painted by women. Keith Richards's small son fell in love with our baby rabbits and he threw a tantrum when he was told he couldn't keep them. Mick gently explained they wouldn't be happy living in hotel bedrooms. The party finished about 7 a.m. and there were a few remnants, including one rather ill looking girl who said Keith Richards brought her to Knebworth and then left without her. She had no shoes, and no money, so I gave her some shoes, took her to the station, bought her a ticket and put her on the train to London."
from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold.
"Only one week after the Rolling Stones finished their recent British tour, it all felt like a wonderful dream that never really existed. That dreaded monotony of daily routine returned to haunt theatre managers, promoters and record company executives who had been previously plagued by an endless series of requests for Rolling Stones tickets. The suddenly everything went quiet.
Reminders of their first British tour for almost three years lingered behind and helped ease the pain. While the Stones entourage swung through the European leg of the tour, Black And Blue held steady in the album charts. To gently remind us of what just was, Top Of The Pops ran a film clip of Fool To Cry.
Within three whirlwind weeks, the Rolling Stones had impressively created more excitement and caused more commotion than any other single event that had preceded them. They were royally embraced by the national media and instantly given more coverage than the political escapades of the new Prime Minister.
As the pound sank lower and lower on the exchange market, the value of the Rolling Stones increased rapidly. Tour t-shirts boldly stuck out of ordinary concert crowds. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards badges became necessary decoration for the well-dressed fan.
Yet the biggest revelation was these 1976 audiences, no longer exclusively comprised of overgrown adolescents high on a nostalgic good time. The Rolling Stones really were a new band. And there were legions of pubescent fans willing to testify undying loyalty. To them Satisfaction never existed. To them the Rolling Stones were It's Only Rock 'n Roll, Angie or Hot Stuff.
Young boys eagerly flocked to the Mary Quant make-up department in Harrod's trendy Way-In shop on Saturday afternoons. The disco pumped out Hey Negrita as the boys applied eye liner, mascara and lipstick to gaunt, virginal faces. Proudly they admired themselves in the mirror, smiling at their made-up reflection. The backs of their denim jackets were decorated with silver studs which plainly spelled out Midnight Rambler.
Spoiled by the well paced, perfectly executed professionalism of the Stones' live performances, other bands seemed less potent in their wake. Many contented fans stopped going to concerts altogether, preferring to keep the magic intact. Restless for that Rolling Stones high, record players spun worn-out copies of Exile On Main Street and almost worn-out copies of Black And Blue.
Already the summer promised to be very long and very hot. Even annual events like Crystal Palace Garden Parties and the Reading Festival failed to ignite any special fire. Another long stretch of time inevitably lay before the Stones returned to these shores. So we waited. Sometimes seeking temporary salvation on the dingy pub circuit where fresh-faced, energetic bands emulated the Stones.
Everything changed that last Saturday in June. Young boys still flocked to the Mary Quant make-up counter, while Stones t-shirts made a big splash at Brighton beaches. But unseasonably warm summer humidity had forced most people inside..
Just one spin of Get Yer Ya Yas Out could reduce the listener to a damp, sweat-stained condition. Television seemed a lightweight alternative and the annual Wimbledon tennis Tournament provided good Saturday afternoon entertainment.
The temperatures were even hotter on the centre court, where Jimmy Connors and Stan Smith battled through the quarter-finals as the thermometer reached 105 degrees. Referees were allowed to remove their jackets. Just as Jimmy Connors was about to deliver another big serve, several people dressed like clowns emerged onto the courts, catching the normally staid BBC announcer by surprise.
Despite the sweltering heat, these were authentic clowns complete with white faces. They looked terrific on colour TV as the presented each of the players with a rose. They also had several cardboard signs that plainly read for all the nation to see: STONES FOR KNEBWORTH. Seconds later the clowns were ushered off the court by attentive policemen, and the match was resumed.
"Knebworth?" the confused BBC announcer kept repeating. "They don't mean the Rolling Stones do they?" But the first outrageous clue had just received nation-wide exposure right there on the centre court. By Sunday suspicions were further aroused when a similar incident stopped play during a televised cricket match at Lord's. The message was the same: STONES FOR KNEBWORTH.
By Monday morning, simple white posters with fancy black longhand decorated vacant shop windows and display areas all over London's West End, proclaiming the event official and triggering off a bout of electricity. For the first time since anyone could remember when, the Rolling Stones were playing Britain twice in one year. Thank God for small favours.
Reminiscent of previous escapades when aerosol graffiti sprayed It's Only Rock 'n Roll over undergrounds and council flats everywhere, the Rolling Stones were back with a prankish vengeance. The giant wheels behind the intricate Stones machinery began to move once more, planning for Knebworth with all the strategy and artillery normally associated with a full-scale touring attack.
From the start, Knebworth was destined for glory. This was no ordinary event. With a six-night London stand at Earl's Court that drew severe criticism over the sound system, the Rolling Stones were determined to be clearly audible at Knebworth. There was even talk of incorporating large doses of Chuck Berry into the set. Rock 'n roll was clearly the order of the day.
Knebworth welcomes the Rolling Stones edition Mach III (sic), stripped of previous brass decoration, roaring like a well-oiled engine. The Rolling Stones survive because they easily adapt to changing times. Personnel changes allow them to rock with the times and roll with the flow, always maintaining enough of their initial roots and original image so we don't forget what once was.
Billy Preston supplies much more than excellent keyboard support. Vocally he provides the perfect high harmony foil for Jagger to bounce off on songs like Fool To Cry and It's Only Rock 'n Roll. Visually, Preston is the perfect dancing partner for Jagger to further entice the audience before the grand climax.
But the biggest change behind this edition of the Rolling Stones is their new guitarist, Ron Wood. The man Eric Clapton likes to introduce as "a Bay City Roller". Wood has helped steer the Stones towards a never-ending future. More rhythmic a player than Mick Taylor, Wood fits smoothly into Keith Richards' immaculate sense of swing. Together they have given the Stones their best versions of If You Can't Rock Me, .It's Only Rock 'n Roll and Brown Sugar,k to name but three.
Trained well by the good time camaraderie of the Faces, Ron Wood has brought the audience closer to the band, breaking down the gap between untouchable and human. He has become Jagger's comic foil onstage, which encourages the crowds to further enjoy themselves.
Mick Jagger is not just the pretty face with bisexual appeal. More than just a lead singer or even songwriter, Jagger sees every album through to completion - and that includes pressing and printing. He is much more a musician than the public imagine.
Keith Richards defies Darwinian concepts of survival. That wasted elegance that makes good copy is merely one side of his personality. He is addicted to rock 'n roll and thrives on live performances. On the road he is happiest, oscillating between expected decadence and fatherly concern for his children.
Bill Wyman does not like small stages. "They cramp my style," he says drily. Although Bill does not move much onstage, he insists that he sweats more than the others. The first Stone to release a solo album, Wyman is just as adept at table tennis as he is at bass playing.
With the release of Black And Blue and the subsequent tour which followed, it became clear that Charlie Watts had subtly changed from very good to great. Aside from this obvious percussive improvement, Watts takes Stones dedication seriously. With Jagger he was responsible for the planning and design of the infamous petal-shaped stage.
Ron Wood has given the Rolling Stones another shot at longevity. When the auditions were over he was clearly the man for the job. A natural Stone, Wood is the perfect player and personality. Besides, he's British.
Tonight is the last time the Rolling Stones will play in Britain. This year. From the minute they walk onstage the electricity will be contagious. Keith Richards will undoubtedly sing the first verse of Happy off mike. The last five songs will once again be fired like a lethal piece of artillery, each more dangerous than the next (sic). Inevitably, the entire crowd will jump up and down screaming "YEAH YEAH YEAH WHOO" on the Brown Sugar finale. That's rock 'n roll.
"Playing is still a turn-on," Keith Richards said urgently. "All the hassles are still not enough when weighed against the turn-on to call it quits. And there's not that many things that are still a reliable turn-on. Even dope can get boring."
from the Official Programme.
Recordings:
CD: Hot August Night - The Rolling Stones Live at Knebworth Open Air Festival, UK, August 21, 1976
VGP-146 ("unofficial")
Disc 1:
01. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
02. Ain't Too Proud To Beg
03. If You Can't Rock Me/Get Off Of My Cloud
04. Hand Of Fate
05. Around And Around
06. Little Red Rooster
07. Stray Cat Blues
08. Hey Negrita
09. Hot Stuff
10. Fool To Cry
11. Star Star
12. Let's Spend The Night Together
13. You Gotta Move
14. You Can't Always Get What You Want
Disc 2:
01. Dead Flowers
02. Route 66
03. Wild Horses
04. Honky Tonk Women
05. Country Honk
06. Tumbling Dice
07. Happy
08. Nothing From Nothing
09. Outta Space
10. Midnight Rambler
11. It's Only Rock 'n Roll
12. Brown Sugar
13. Rip This Joint
14. Jumping Jack Flash
15. Street Fighting Man
Refer to:
The Rolling Stones Exhibition
Hot August Night - Unofficial CD
All Music Guide profile
Scheduled Special Events:
Lindbergh High Fire Dive
Blondini's Dynamite Coffin
Jansen Escapologist
Battle of the Dinosaurs
"We knew there were going to be problems. The Council decided that the concert had run too late and been too large. They were not happy because the terms of the agreement had been broken. There might be difficulty obtaining another licence next year.
One paper called us The Glyndebourne of Rock, which we liked, and which seemed appropriate."
from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold.
"Some Notes For Your Convenience:
Drinking Water. There are 36 taps strategically sited in the arena for your use.
Loos. There are a large number of toilets distributed around the perimeter of the arena. If you should find those toilets near the stage occupied, please use the ones at the back of the arena.
Food Prices. Listed below are the prices of food available in the arena. Please do not pay more. If you have any complaints, please report them to the organisers deskin the Information Tent. Examples: Candy Floss 10p; Toffee Apples 12p; Fish and Chips, Chicken Curry or Pie with Boiled Potatoes and Peas (per portion) 55p; Donner Kebab 60p; Tea and Coffee 12p
Public Telephones. We apologise for the limited number of public telephones (3 on Lime Avenue just outside the arena). We find it very difficult to convince the G.P.O. that this service is necessary.
Train Service. The Special Day Return fare (between King's Cross and Stevenage) is £1.50. Day return tickets issued after 00.01 Saturday 21 August will be available for return from Stevenage up to 11.29 on Sunday morning after which these tickets will no longer be valid. Anyone returning from Stevenage will then have to book an ordinary single-fare £1.25, and no refunds on the Special Day Return Ticket will be paid."
extracts from the Official Programme - Price 40p
Posters - direct from Knebworth House
Posters - from Freddie Bannister
myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rtesimpson/Knebworth76.html
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It's worth checking out. 
It's worth checking out. 
