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| I know it's Chesterfield....couldn't find an Ipswich copy, but it must be generic |
I didn't exactly 'miss' Hendrix playing Ipswich on 1st April, 1967, because I can't remember when I moved to England and Ipswich, but I do think it was later in the year. I wouldn't have been able to go anyway, being too young at 13 - my parents wouldn't have allowed it. But what an incredibly eclectic, commercial line-up: imagine those there just to see Englebert. Hendrix did two numbers, Purple Haze and Wild Thing.
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But I can't work out how I missed going to see Led Zeppelin. I really don't recall them playing Ipswich, and I'm sure I would have known. It's an amazing oversight. I can only recall seeing three other acts at St Matthews Baths Hall: Sandy Denny, Tir Na Nog, and......Sweet!
There's a very good audio recording of Stairway To Heaven from this '71 gig here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1i-tBFxfC8
There must be a bootleg of the whole concert out there somewhere.
I did, however, see many great bands at Ipswich and Felixstowe in the early 70s. Really must make a list one day, before it all disappears from memory.
You must write that list and post on the blog-obviously I will be most jealous. Would be even more so if you had seen Led Zep-and for a quid. Wonder how much that would be in "today's" money?!
ReplyDeleteOh and Humperdinck and Hendrix on the same bill is priceless-would love to have heard their backstage banter...
Hi there....Led Zeppelin did indeed play in Ipswich at St Matthews Baths Hall in November 1971, I know cos I was there! And it was a quid! I was 15 and can't claim to remember a lot of it but I do remember the floor over the pool bouncing and having a few people a bit worried! I have the bootleg too...at one point Robert Plant talks about the band playing over the deep end! I too also saw some great bands at the Pier in Felixstowe in the early 70's! Please post your list and I'll see how many I can tick off! If you want a copy of the bootleg I'd be happy to oblige! cheers Sand
ReplyDeleteHow lucky, and amazing sandf. Thanks for stopping by. Now, as I said, it is so hard to remember [the rock'n'roll cliche does apply, but it's still pathetic!]. I definitely saw VDGG, Roy Wood and Osibisa. Then the mind/memory goes blank. I used to be very drunk, at least, but that's no excuse. I also saw a fair few at Ipswich Civic College when I was there, but if I was pushed I'd be struggling: but definitely saw Barclay James Harvest and Brian Auger, and then the mind goes blank again!! I'm going to do some research. Perhaps you can help jog the recall sandf! I'm OK for bootleg, but appreciate the kind offer.
DeleteHiya...yes I know what you mean by hard to remember and the rock and roll cliche! There are so many bands that I think I saw but that I can't be sure it's not wishful thinking! I do know for certain that I saw Genesis (with Peter Gabriel), Atomic Rooster, Fairport Convention, Arthur Brown and Slade at the Pier in Felixstowe in 1972. I wasn't going to go to the Slade gig because they were a chart band and I only listened to non chart prog (!) at the time but I did and I was glad cos it was a storming gig!! Vague memories are VDGG and Barclay James Harvest as you mention, Argent, Vinegar Joe, Curved Air, amongst quite a few others which come to me from time to time (but not now!) when my memory is jogged! I've been researching the Led Zep Ipswich gig a bit....apparently they were doing stadiums by then and had just come back from Japan so playing a small provincial hall was a bit odd but the promoters Ron and Nanda Lesley, were friendly with LZ management so it was arranged as a favour to them! How lucky were we?!! Here's a link to LZ forum with pics from the gig! http://forums.ledzeppelin.com/index.php?/topic/18654-ipswich-uk-st-matthews-baths-hall-november-16-1971/
ReplyDeleteFurther afield, I also saw Pink Floyd at Earls Court, Dark Side of the Moon tour in 1973, Captain Beefheart at Lady Mitchell Hall, Cambridge in 1974 and Grateful Dead at Alexandra Palace also 1974 all of which have been known to make some people green with envy when mentioned! :-) I still go to live music gigs and have found that a lot of the old bands are still playing! Recently (within a couple of years!) I've seen Hawkwind, Curved Air, Uriah Heep, Mick Taylor, Wishbone Ash, Focus, Edgar Broughton, Arthur Brown, Quintessence, Stray, Jefferson Starship, It's A Beautiful Day, Status Quo, Neil Young, Crosby & Nash...er loads really! I'll try and drag up more of the 70's Felixstowe/Ipswich gigs from the depths of my memory...I know there were more!!
What an interesting and detailed response, thanks. We clearly empathise regarding memory and so on! I don't know how I missed Genesis as well, but I did [my wife, then girlfriend, saw them], and your prompting makes me think I might have seen Atomic Rooster - but I can't be sure. As a young longhair, I too rejected Slade at the time - appearing as they did initially as bovver boys - but they really are one of the great rock bands, and wrote some class songs too. But have never seen them. Saw Arthur Brown at Reading Festival wearing two-part outfit: one side pin-stripped suit, the other ragged clothes [as I recall] which freaked me out because of the state I was in! All the tales we can tell and share. I think we were very lucky to have so many vibrant and original bands/artists performing and recording at the time, though I guess our generation is bound to say this. But Ipswich and Felixstowe weren't bad places to see these. Maybe it was Argent rather than AR I saw!! Sums it up really.
DeleteLike you too, I try and follow the 'resurgent' circus as I'll call it: bands of that era reforming and performing. There is a middle-aged, middle-income market out there to exploit! But so many can still play it like back in the day, so that's fine with me. My eldest daughter got to see Quintessence at Glastonbury a few years ago, and though I didn't I like the transference there. Thanks too for the links. And two heads better an' all, perhaps we'll continue to dust off memories and find those hidden gems we attended!
Saw Genesis Civic college
ReplyDeleteWas listening to early stuff only yesterday!
DeleteSadly missed Led Zep at the Baths but some of my mates went. On of them removed the poster from the wall outside, after the concert, and kept it in his loft for years. The very same poster on this website! The poster and his ticket were sold at a Sotherby's memorabilia auction for over £2,000 a few years back. I believe they were bought by The Hard Rock Cafe people and are on display in their Leicester Square Cafe. Now compiling a list of bands and dates of gigs I went to! three pages and still writing! Amazing memories!
ReplyDeleteThat's a result! Yes, I need to make a list too because the memory plays tricks... and the internet doesn't always have records of concerts played, especially for the 'smaller acts'. Thanks for stopping by. SA
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