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Does anyone remember the open air concert held at Portland Park summer 1970?

willy j.

By willy j.
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willy j.

willy j.

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Anyone remember the open air concert held at Portland Park, Summer 1970. A fantastic day sponsored by the 'Cellar Club' on a sunny afternoon. (Sounds like the Kinks doesn't it)

 

How many groups and their names?

 

Were you there, what kind of day did you have?

 

willy j.

willy j.

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Here's a little taster, and some information of a musical North Eastern past.

 

The real name of the 'Cellar' was; 'The Lampglass Music Arts Club'.

 

Some of the groups who played that day; Raw Spirit, Gollum, Inertia, White Summer, Fridge, & more (anyone remember any?)

 

Compere was the DJ Big George.

willy j.

willy j.

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OOPs, forgot these one's; Amazing Bean Bag Band, Negel Denver, Garland, and Merlin. How the hell can you forget you're own group. Cant come to terms with getting old. And there were more but I can't remember them.

keith lockey

keith lockey

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Hi Willy, a few years ago I went into The Cellar...I'll amend that...Bubbles. (AAAAARGH) I was meeting a girl in Asherton and she said...'oh, come on, we'll go to Bubbles for a drink.' It was only as I was descending into the bowels of the earth that I realized which pub it was! But the point is...it had photographs of bands, on the walls, that had played there...you might want to pay it a visit...but don't ask me to go along with you. (LOL)  :thumbsup:

willy j.

willy j.

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I will do that Keith, thanks for that, but I doubt if they'll have any photo's going back as far as 1967 when I first played there.

 

The last time I was in there was with Foxy, we went to see Mick Abrahams playing with his band, 'Blodwyn Pig'. You might remember him as the original lead guitarist with Jethro Tull. He was a superb Guitarist, for me he was up there with Clapton, Page & Blackmore. It was a great night though, a really nice bloke who took us back a few decades.

willy j.

willy j.

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Sorry guys, the proper title of the 'Cellar Club' was  'The Lampglass Music Arts Cellar Club'. I had to go back and dig out the cutting from the 'Blyth News' from that week in 1970 to get that right.

 

I think that Marshall stack of mine has badly affected my brain.

keith lockey

keith lockey

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I will do that Keith, thanks for that, but I doubt if they'll have any photo's going back as far as 1967 when I first played there.

 

The last time I was in there was with Foxy, we went to see Mick Abrahams playing with his band, 'Blodwyn Pig'. You might remember him as the original lead guitarist with Jethro Tull. He was a superb Guitarist, for me he was up there with Clapton, Page & Blackmore. It was a great night though, a really nice bloke who took us back a few decades.

 

 

Isn't that strange...you've just mentioned three guitarists there but to me one of the greatest was Jeff Beck. Take a listen to WHAT GOD WANTS by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd - awesome. I think even Hendrix acknowledged Beck as one of the best.

mercuryg

mercuryg

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"....Fridge...."

 

I may be wrong, but I believe this was my uncle's band, any more info would be welcome!

willy j.

willy j.

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Keith you're spot on about Jeff Beck, my apologies for missing him out. Another legend, and he is still playing just as well, if not better today that he was in those days. I recorded a gig he did recently at 'Ronnie Scotts' on Sky Arts 1, he was superb, and so were his band. If I'm not mistaken his young daughter is on bass, and she was also superb. He had Joss Stone as one of his guest singers....................lucky git.

 

Will hunt down the Roger Waters 'What God Wants' piece. He can do no wrong for me.

 

Can't help you with the members of Fridge Mercuryg, It was a long time ago, but I will see what I can find out 

willy j.

willy j.

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Nice one Keith, thanks for that. I've Amazon-ed the CD, looking forward to putting it through the Bose surround kit.

 

If you've got Sky Arts you can get 2 excellent programs with Jeff Beck. From catch-up Search just type in his name, you will get 'Jeff Beck At Ronnie Scots' and 'Jeff Beck Talks Music'. Both great shows, and well worth a watch.

Symptoms

Symptoms

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Blimey Willy, there a name from the past ... Blodwyn Pig.

 

When I went to Uni in London in 69 the bands playing at our Freshers Ball were,  Blodwyn Pig, Timebox, and Free (in that order).  What a lineup!  I've posted here before about the remarkable college music scene in London in the late 60s and early 70s.

Edited by Symptoms
willy j.

willy j.

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Symptoms you are quite right about the uni circuit, it was very unique in it's day, not quite the same now though. The mere fact that you could have three bands of that quality (Pig, Free & Timebox) on the same bill would be impossible to equal nowadays.

 

We only ever did one tour of the uni circuit in 1970, but two of the gigs stand out in my memory because of the fantastic audiences. One was Dundee University, and the other Cambridge, which was held in Wisbech (hope I spelled that one right) the audience were terrific. Night's like that you never forget.

 

The uni students of that time were well into the Prog-Rock scene. Glad you were there.

HIGH PIT WILMA

HIGH PIT WILMA

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Hi Willyj.

A notice nea response from "sunny afternoon"!!heh heh!....lazy buggaa's.....

John White said/sang...."and I was too  young to know..."[musta been aan aal!...Graig was aroond in 1959...!]

HIGH PIT WILMA

HIGH PIT WILMA

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Willy j.,here's another blast from the past!..."Hall and Cardwell's" in Ashington..owa thi bridge....

Me Son and me fell in love wi an axe in the shop window,which was there, for ages,a dinna even think it sold,probably  went oot with the bailiffs or sumbody like that!...[this was in aroond 1978-ish,mebbe a bit earlier or later,but aboot that period of time..]

Me Son was aboot ten years aad,and had been playing drums for owa a year,was in the Middle school Orchestra at West Sleekburn,and later in the Wansbeck Youth Orchestra,as well as learning Jazz,and rock percussion.

Years later,as an assistant Engineer in Dave Stewart's [Eurythmics]  Church Studio,in London,[not far from where he now lives,in North Finchley..],he came across the first axe he had seen since the one in Cardwell's window hooked him.

....It was a "Shergold Masquerader",very rare,and a gorgeous axe,though not a lot of muso's seem to have rated them.[don't know why!!]

Nae accounting for taste,but maybe it was cos they have such a sweet sound,which was what Amp,and guitar maker's used to strive for in thi old days....distortion was the devil in an amplifier design!!!

Selmer Truvoice was so named cos that's what it gave! Linear sound with just the right Harmonics!

Anyway,he still has that axe,and it's on many a record that he's engineered,or produced,so it canna be that bad!

Noo,Willy j.,or anybody else...,can ye tell me wat the name of the record shop was,in Laburnum Terrace,where Al's video shop is noo?

The lad who worked in there was a blond haired lad who we nicknamed "Heinz",and he was a canny gud axe player,and he sold me my first Watkins Copicat,a bit tatty and half nackered,but it was one of the the very first ones ever made,the twin-lid beige model....worth a fortune noo!

Did anyone know his name?

HIGH PIT WILMA

HIGH PIT WILMA

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A can mind the name of Pig,but not their actual music.

A can mind when the Lampglass was first conceived and opened up,it was aimed at "educated students....",or people

with a leaning to the arty side of life,a revolution for Ashington,at the time,and a great asset to have in the town.

A bet there was a few sugar cubes went doon wi tha pints,in them days,ti "speed " up thi vibes....so ti speak!!!!!

Aa nivvor went doon,cos [A] Aa didn't drink,and wasn't "Arty"!...and A couldn't afford ti gaan doon if a wanted ti..!

Lastly,a was too smart,and very self-aware,ti even think aboot sugar,blotters,or cartoons!!

Plain aad-fashioned rock-n-roller,playing aal the charts of me time....in thi early 'sixties"...a great time ti be an

axe lead-player!

willy j.

willy j.

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HPW, Blodwyn Pig were a blues band (slightly on the heavy side), an excellent band born out of the foolish actions of the Jethro Tull management team. They sacked Mick Abrahams because he was taking the limelight away from Ian Anderson. In the days (60's) when good lead players were becoming icons to the prog-rock faithful, they dumped him because they wanted the band to be based around Anderson.

 

Mick then formed 'Blodwyn Pig', an excellent band who unfortunately didn't go on to achieve the fame that their talent deserved.

 

Their line up was: Mick Abrahams......Lead guitar & vocals

                             Andy Pyle...............Bass

                             Ron Berg................Drums

                             Jack Lancaster.......Flute, Violin, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Soprano Sax.

 

Their 1st Album was called 'Blodwyn Pig....Ahead Rings Out'.

 

The album cover had a pigs head on it with a cigarette hanging out of it's mouth, shades on with earphones.

 

This was a very talented band, just wish they had gone on longer.

mercuryg

mercuryg

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Keith, it was the law to fancy The Girl Who Works in the Record Shop

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