Last update Oct 2010

THE WHO SUMMER OF 74 Charlton Athletic FC 5-18-74. The Who, Humble Pie ,Lou Reed , Bad Company . Lindisfarne, Maggie Bell, Montrose .

Recollections and reports.

The highly salubrious and picturesque surrounds of the Charlton ground.... © Mark Pitfield.

Bad Company photo courtesy Repfoto© 1974.

You can view and buy many great photos of Bad Company at Charlton and other venues at Repfoto

    My day nearly came to an abrupt end as a beer bottle shattered on the back of my head. When I came too I made my way to the First Aid Tent. Scalp cuts always shed a lot of blood hence the effect of a wet red shirt and blood soaked jeans created quite a stir including a few screams (maybe mine!) on my way there. The St. John's Ambulance had their hands full with similar casualties. Speaking to one of the ladies binding my head, she told me that there was "Some lunatic out there wandering around with a foot-long spike, he's sticking it in peoples necks." ... They had already had a few victims to attend to already and the police were trying to track him down.
A trip to the local hospital in an ambulance with others. A stitched scalp "No need for an anesthetic, it'd make a bigger hole than you've got there lad!" I remember the thread pull on every one of those 5 stitches like it was yesterday. Though I think I was much more concerned that they had to shave off some of my beloved hair.

    Managed to persuade them to take me back in one of the returning ambulances and finally got a security guard to let me in. My belongings were still where I left them. I got back in time to see The Who performing Boris the Spider so all was not lost. Though I've still got a full head of hair, I occasionally get a gleeful comment regards the bald spot surrounding the scar on the back of my head -
"So you're going bald then!"
"Nah mate... beer bottle... Charlton Athletic '74." "You should have seen the other bloke."
    Brian Farnan

    I was given a free copy of Montrose’s album (which I still have) at the festival by someone, presumably someone from their record company, and, looking back, I’m amazed that it made it back home given the crowd.
 
    The Who were, despite Pete Townshend’s opinion, fantastic as far as I’m concerned. I too didn’t sense any violence in the air (other than the good natured, minor episodes of bottle throwing which occurred at just about every open air event in those days). Pete’s comment that we were the largest crowd The Who had played in front of since Woodstock was greeted with the loudest cheer of the day I think.
 

     S. Smith

I recall both the 74 and 76 gigs as I lived nearby at the time and attended both.  I was certain that Status Quo opened the first concert, I dunno why? I remember Nicky Horne from Capital Radio introducing the start of the concert on what was a fantastically hot day. I certainly remember Lou Reed with his bleached hair and Montrose whose set was superb and the effects from Sammy Hagar's Stratocaster were amazing. I consequently went out and bought their album Rock the Nation as a result.  I seem to recall reading Sammy had some kind of gadget fitted to the scratchplate which emitted varying frequencies depending how far away his hand was.    Humble Pie started their set with Thunderbox as they'd just brought out the album of the same name.  I always felt sorry for Maggie Bell as she went off after 20 minutes due to sound problems, by then the crowd wanted The Who on in any case. The stadium erupted when The Who came on stage a little late and were I think using a laser light show for the first time (unless that was '76?). All the bands were fantastic and apart from a bit of bottle throwing at the front, which was still going on about an hour after the gig finished, the atmosphere tempered with the weather made it a great day.      Keith Parker

    Wow ! 30 years ago? I too dont remember any violence and i dont remember the rain either. We got there just in time for Lindisfarne to start their set, we didnt know Montrose had played till we read the report in MM the next week. What stood out for me was Humble Pie, i thought they were absolutely brilliant that day with Stevie Marriot on the top of his form. During the Who's set somebody had the bright idea of turning the floodlights on ( i think it was when they were playing 'See Me, Feel me') to reveal the whole stadium swathed with the raised arms of the audience.
A wonderful day.
    M Barrie

hi     In regard to Pete Townsends comments about drunkeness at the festival. I remember not being allowed to take bottles and cans into the ground,it was either drink it or plastic containers so a lot of people were drinking bottles of wine in a few minutes to get in for a good place (i know my group did) which led to the inevitable hangovers a few hours later. I left after being disapointed with Lou Reed's set (seen him 2yrs before with the tots), Bad Company opened the day I think it was their 1st gig, Lindisfarne were good. Friends who stayed said The Who were great but they ended up sleeping in Hyde Park as they missed the last train. good site thanks       glyn

    Next Bad Company, by now the clouds had disappeared and it began to warm-up. I had been looking forward to Paul Rogers et al as Free are one of my favourite bands but I was a little bit disappointed as I think this was one of their first gigs.Rogers was all in white and Boz played well but Mick Ralphs was not Paul Kossof ,if you get my drift. I think they played "Little bit of love" last.

Now to someone very strange- Lou Reed was two years ahead of the pack at Charlton. Peroxide hair black leather jacket and drainpipe jeans when everyone (believe me ) was wearing flares.His first words were "Im fucking'' to which the bloke behind me added ''Yeah fuking ugly''.I've always remembered that .Anyway he had got rid of the Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner guitars and his band weren't up to much but he was so obviously a star.  By now I was dying of thirst and we set off to find fluids,we left our cosy little nook by the mixing tower and eventually found our way to the back of the stand where householders whose properties backed onto the ground were giving hundreds of people free water .I think there were very few outlets in the ground ,totally different to today.The people who lived around the ground were brilliant,bemused but brilliant. Anyway we then watched Humble pie from the vantage point of the huge terrace that existed at the old valley,I could be wrong but there must have been 25,000 people on that stand. The Pie were bleeding wonderful ,from that moment on I became a huge Marriot fan .They opened with whatcha gonna do about it and Marriot had 50,000 people eating out of his hand .That day they ran The Who close. Maggie Bell, I have to admit I used her set to get closer to the stage .From what I remember she was a very brave lady,a Who audience aren't the most patient of animals but she growled and snarled her way through her set like a Glaswegian Janis Joplin. I wonder what she's doing now ? I have no idea.

Right -The Who.It wasn't the best set I ever saw them do ,but, they played songs that I never saw them play again i.e. Tattoo and I'm a Boy ,they did a superlative version of Young Man ,parts of the Quadrophenia set were the best I ever saw them do it. Add to this that Moon was on top form as was Entwhistle and even a bad Who gig knocks 99 per cent of other bands. Townshend I think got in a strop early on ,cussing roadies and his sound and unusually for Pete he didn't really talk to the audience,The trouble with the Who was you never knew which one to watch as they were all capable of astounding things.      Paul Trew

Hi there,
    Firstly great site,Its in my favourites.
 
    I was 16 when I went with my best mate Wayne Bridle to Charlton.We went really for one band and that was Humble Pie.

   I can't remember the rain but do remember the sunshine.When it started we were about 20 meters from the stage on the left hand side.The atmosphere was fantastic where we were.

    Not really sure about who was first between Bad Company or Montrose,but boy Montrose were fantastic.I think that 49,999 of the 50,000 people thought that. Fantastic band, Bad scooter ride,Space station No 5 and the rest.
Bad Company were good -can't really remember much of their set but remember enjoying it.
Lou Reed I thought was crap - until I heard him live.

What really has stuck in my mind up to this day is that the bottle throwing began in the set from Lindisfarne,it started when in one of their numbers they called to the crowd to "Stand up and clap your hands".Really bad call.I remember behind us people were shouting  "sit the fuck down "and the replies from the people in front of us"Fuck you". Then the bottles started going back and forth, the guy in front of me got one on his head,bad cut but he was so pissed it didnt really matter and the blood dried up fast with the sunshine and even with all the blood around we didn't have to worry about Aids then. Still can't understand why they got Lindisfarne to play anyway.

Don"t know if its me but i was at both the who gigs at charlton and remember the first one as being on a piping hot day when street traders were ripping us off for overpriced drinks through the railings...the 2nd gig 2 yrs later was indeed wet as i recall sitting on the then steep teracing with friends under sheeting to keep dry and warm sunburn was the order of the day in 74....
               Philip Canty

Hi
 
My Experience
 
I was one of a crowd that attended The Charlton Rock Festival in 1974, I believe it was in the month of May.
 
Being a healthy rock fan of 19 I was into all the bands and musicians that appeared there.

Montrose opened as I remember, followed by Bad Company. Both gave estatic performances and Paul Rodgers was vocally talented as ever.   Despite it being a little wet, during the afternoon the temperature rose and it was quite warm. My friends and I sat on the stone steps that looked down across the fan filled, overgrown pitch to the stage.   Maggie Bell and Lou Reed both gave excellent perfomances, although very different in nature and style.   The crowd was well impressed with Humble Pie, A1 Performance and had the crowd in their hands as they went through their set.

The highlight of the day was of course The Who, by which time everyone was moving towards the stage and the heat was almost unbearable as bodies got closer and closer, a couple of people fainted and I felt close myself. The Who tore away for 2 hours, Pete Townshend jumping and doing his Windmill Guitar playing, excellent stuff, Roger Daltrey swinging his mic around in the air and catching it, really great showmanship.
What can I say, great rocking stuff!!!
 
When it was all over it took some time to actually get to the exit area as so many people there.
 
My only reservation was that the refreshment facilities could have been better. Taking 20 minites to reach the refreshment van only to be told no drink left, and this was at 4.00!! I could have waited for them to get stock but decided to get back to my pitch, thirsty.....
 
I did not myself witness and hostility and the journey back to Gravesend was quiet, as much as it could be!
 
All in all it was a great day and I am glad I was there to witness it.
 
          Leslie Mayers
         Gravesend
          Kent

In this stadium, in front of a giant stage covered with the complete Elton John and Deep Purple PA systems (a kind of an atomic bomb in sound power), in this stadium THEY are gathered in the thousands, ready to react, to tremble, to vibrate, to suffer during 12 hours of Rock, let’s properly say Hard Rock: the wearing down and bewildering rhythm of today’ Great Britain.

Bunches of little balloons are flying up to the light blue sky, the air is filled with ‘fish and chips’ smell, some terrific lagerlike loos were dug around the place: down there, on the right, someone’s doing a fast streaking. I can see girls who look like living fairytales, and one hundred bad gorillasready to make black and blue everyone who, like me, forgot to readily show his press pass.
All around the stadium there are horse mounted policemen with long menacing truncheons, and a very disciplined public who leaves mountains of bottles and cans out of the gates.

There are all the kinds of British flags, and Tottenham and Manchester scarves, all waving like banners from the Middle Ages.
Stretchers come and go, people are fainting, and fainting too often. An enormous, unknown crowd that makes you feel alone and scared, a terrible nazilike crowd, the Rock nazism for the price of a couple of pounds.

Lindisfarne are already on stage and playing, and I missed Montrose before them.Alan Hull & Co. have just changed their record company, from Charisma to WB, and they are the only band here who doesn’t play Rock: a kind of an oasis, but unusefully scheduled too early in the line-up. They play a kind of very communicative funky-folk, with mouth harp instead of pipes and violins, and danceable rhythms and singalongs. They joke, someone throws up, a policeman enters the stage in the middle of a song and the group covers him with beer all of this brings the new-Britain people in the crowd out of their minds. To the other side of the public, to the old-Britain ones, the gigs and ballads are dedicated. Lindisfarne: a pleasant oasis.

Bad Company have a formidable , portentous bass sound: Boz Burrel (of King Crimson fame) has reallygot very skilled in playing his bass. Boz is the focal point in the music of Bad Company, the new group of former ‘Free’ Paul Rodgers (voice) and Simon Kirke (drums), with Mick Ralphs from ‘Mott The Hoople’ on lead guitar. I could compare Bad Company to another “Island” group, the Sharks, but they’re less polished and heavier. The group is just in the beginning, but the nice guitar duels, an unique voice and Boz’ bass playing make me foresee a great future. Lou Reed arrives when Bad Co. are still playing, he appears from behind the stage and stands still for a moment, paralyzed by the sight of the enormous crowd. He’s small and slim as a skeleton, the opposite of his current ‘media’ image of an apelike Frankenstein monster. His face is small and triangular, on the thin and malignant lips smile has died forever; he’s got bleached blonde and very short hair and light blue glasses, he’s a tiger disguised as a cat.

He slides and creeps onstage while rock rhythm beats hard; everything in him, the mimicry, the voice, is symbolic, every word is accompanied by a gesture to evidence the ambiguity, to show the hidden meanings, to push out every syllable. The spring inside his music is loaded through the incisive notes of "Vicious", "Heroin", "Sweet Jane" and "Walk on the Wild Side": the latest is a little masterpiece, soaked with Lou’s typical timbre and painted by fugacious keyboards.

Then the spring is released. The band, lead by an admirable guitar player, leaps ahead with feline rage: the final piece, "Rock’n’Roll", is overwhelming. Lou leaves the stage, but the audience reaction is scanty, not too many cheers, to be true; maybe he doesn’t satisfy the punters’ taste, maybe a stadium isn’t the right place for his music. Lou Reed is probably still looking for his own, personal live dimension, for a way to propose in the most various places his music, with gestures and mimicry, inborn and evident provocations and self-indulgence: his Velvet Underground heritage.
His performance at the Festival has likely been a test.

Humble Pie I hate them, but a single can hardly win against 80000: 80000 x 2 it’s 160000 arms to the sky, 160000 hands clapping the beat. Hard Rock nazism’s got his moment, guitars burning like coarse words, deafening and heavy, tragically heavy. The crowd is delirious while Steve Marriot and Clem Clemson show everyone how easy is to become some kind of Slade. While all around me I can see Eno, the Faces and Dave Gilmour coming to enjoy the show,Maggie Bell steps on the stage. Her voice is fascinating and makes the listeners to fly. She somewhat follows Janis Joplin’ steps, but respecting her own personality and ambitions. She too sings some Slade-like stuff, but in a more human, gentle way, a warm Bluesy way which asks the public for an answer, and doesn’t force it. And she stands in the middle, her muscles hard and contracted, her voice a benediction. Silver floodlights keep the night away, ears are buzzing and TV cameras, broadcasting in real time, move through the stage curtains. How to become and stay immortal, this is what The Who are going to show us soon. Four men who can tame, even destroy the will of 80000 people. They spout out overbearance from every pore, they’re hard but melodically irreproachable,

they're monsters charged with thousands of watts: the Who open air live in front of an immense crowd are really frightening. Nevertheless the band isn’t in top form: the beginning is dazzling and busting, the following part is tired and rambling, with a series of mistakes, disappointing the players first. But anyway, looking at this Rock celebration, you understand how much the Who are myths, half-gods of this unrestrained sonic expression.

The violence thrown on instruments and amps now assaults the listeners and nails’em with screams, on the huge space of certains fugues of notes, on the dynamically held stage.

And the Who, with the same relish for playing of their debut times, accept anytime the challenge born with "My Generation", the charismatic power of summing up in themselves the entire meaning of a generation, its violent joys and fluctuating alienations.

Marizio

I'm an American who was there for the 1974 concert in Charlton and along with all the all the other commentators, I want to say the bands were tremendous. I especially loved Lou Reed and also The Who. Nearly as fantastic as the concert was the exit from the stadium where thousands of us came upon a long line of double decker busses and the bus drivers let us all ride for free, and we packed them way past capacity and the busses drove away in a caravan with many of the participants singing "Magic Bus". After a significant ride, I got off in downtown London and forgot where I was staying and ended up sleeping in some kind person's front yard near Piccadilly Square. When I woke the next morning I was transformed.
Thank you, London,
John Funk

Hi guys,
I was at Charlton in 74 as a 19 year old hippy. Near the front, the very front, so I have been scanning some of your photos. I'd like to pick up one tiny detail; my recollection is that Bad Company were below Lindisfarne on the bill but come showtime, BC couldn't be found so Lindisfarne went on early. And were brilliant, as were Humble Pie. When BC came on they were absolutely awesome but I suspect they were playing showbiz games. Came to know the repertoire later but was struck by the quality of the material on first hearing.

Maggie Bell had a lot of stuff thrown at her as she was on just before the Who and some folks were impatient. And she wasn't well known and didn't become well known (Taggart excepted!). The Who and the rest of the bill were mainly for boys, I think anyway so she never really stood a chance.

Montrose were an unknown quantity but impressed and were, of course, a geetar band and so on the right bill. I really enjoyed Stevie Marriott, particularly "I Don't Need No Doctor". Outstanding.

There was a bit of violence, some fighting and stuff but nothing dreadful, I do recall a guy with a lot of blood coming from his head but bottle or fight, I can't recall. I also remember Pete remarking that they were coming on at sunset, recalling another gig they did at sundown ie Woodstock. It was hot but overcast. I did see a BBC film of the show but the sound didn't do them justice, the lighting and the lighting effects were groundbreaking for their time but as a Floyd fan ( Rainbow benefit for Robert Wyatt and Knebworth 75) not a patch!!

For my money, the Who were in their pomp and this was as good a gig as I have seen, not the best ,but up there.
The food and drink situation wasn't great but there was plenty of other refreshments available and were freely shared!! Happy times.

Liam Logan

Hi!
I remember well the Who's classic Charlton gig in 1974 - my brother & I went to many such big one-dayers in London in the Seventies, including other fantastic Who gigs at the Oval & Wembley; it's now (gulp) 44 years since our first Who gig in Derby!

For some reason, we took a little cassette recorder with us to Charlton, and its batteries held out long enough to allow very crude audio memories to be captured - the tape is still intact,though unofficial DVD / CD versions are preferred.

It was a great day out, and I remember Humble Pie's brief but rockin' set and particularly Bad Company's first UK gig - Rodgers & co in superb form.
The Who were brilliant, too - not their best ever show, but the atmosphere was electric even at a fair distance from the stage up on the massive banked terrace.

Can't remember the rain, but if others say so I must have been just lost in the music - yes, as one other contributor said, the Who were/are indeed a transformative band - at their peak, the greatest rock band I've ever seen. Only Bruce comes close!

Love to Pete & Roger & the memories of Keith & John - and all true Who fans everywhere...Long Live Rock!!

Dave & Paul Mortimer, Birmingham.

Hello,
I have just come across your web site following a search for info on the above concert. I was lucky enough to have been there: wonderful weather and fabulous music.

Some information I can give you is that Humble Pie, in addition to the tracks you have listed, played "Thirty Days in The Hole". I definitely remember this quite clearly. I also think they played " Hallelujah I just love her so", but I am not as certain about this.

I also remember Lou Reed kicking a drink with full force, at a cameraman from point blank range. I don't know if the guy was hurt or not.

The transport getting to Charlton was pushed beyond the limits. I ended up missing Montrose and most of Lindisfarne due to delays on the tubes. Fortunately for me, Bad Company came on after Lindisfarne so I managed to see all of their set.

Many thanks,
David Booth

OK, you asked for it!!! Charlton 74!!! One of the few warm fests I attended in the 70's!!!
Top line up with The Who being one of my all time greats, have seen them so many times, this was one of the first and Wow!!! They blew my sox off!!! (and due to being out of it they don't even remember it I saw in and interview recently!) This day just worked from start to finish, the bands the weather and have to say the crowd. The band pics feature Bad Company (Paul Rogers supporting white hat), Humble Pie, following Lincoln it was sure good to see these guys again with some sun above them! Another fine set, and the other is a rather red/blond Mr Lou Reed....just a perfect day!
Again, hope you like.
Cheers
Chris

was in London visiting a friend when I heard about the show, so we decided to make the trek out from town. I don't really remember the violence, but that may be from the fog of intoxicants or age, or from the fact that we were towards the back on the lower part of the terraces. I do remember thaat Humble Pie and Lou Reed were especially good that day, and the Who, although good as usual, seemed out of sorts. I guess it wasn't ntil quite later when I read about the violence and hooliganism that it made sense. I still have my ticket from the show and am presently in negotiations to purchase a kiosk poster from the show. I still have pleasant memories of the event despite it being 36 years ago.

Steve Sokoloff, Missouri, USA

I arrived at the Charlton gig a tad late. I had missed Montrose and walked in just in time to hear Lindisfarne telling us all to ‘have a wet on the wall’. Great tune and I really enjoyed the folk harmonies and pure musicianship displayed. Very soon after that the stage was being rearranged for Bad Company. I took the opportunity to find a better spot and found myself about half way down the pitch near the mixing board. Not a bad spot to see this new band.

I knew of Free and knew Paul Rogers had a great voice. I was surprised by Mick Ralphs though. Really tasty licks and sound. Not what I was expecting from someone out of Ian Hunter’s band. Boz impressed me even more. I had never seen a musician play a fretless bass before. All in all, they laid down a great set and the crowd was appreciative considering most of the material was brand new! I hoped that Montrose was received the same way. I did ask someone what they thought of Montrose and the response was good. As for Bad Co., I made a point of buying the debut album and just about wore it out.

Next up was Lou Reed. To be honest, I have no idea what the other guy was talking about raving as he did about this odd creature. Yeah, dyed blonde hair but what everyone seems to have forgotten was the black iron cross on one side of his head. He raved about his majestic gestures and movements. What this was was turning sideways to the microphone and miming masturbating a three foot long cock. I am not a person who is easily offended but this guy managed it. He can’t sing and his stage act was lewd and pointless. The one song that people seemed to like was the overplayed Walk On The Wildside. The crowd didn’t like him, which was rather understandable. He was crap. There was a story that came out later that Reed didn’t want to go on and that he had to be threatened with bodily harm before he did. The rumour was that it was Pete Townsend doing the threatening. Sorry, Pete. You could have done us all a favour and let the wanker escape!

Next up was the lady that I came to see; Maggie Bell. Powerful voice soaked in whiskey and cigarettes. To be honest, I don’t know if she smokes or not, but that is the general effect. I am a huge Joplin fan and loved Stone The Crows. I was massively disappointed when she left the stage after only a few songs. The guitar player was having problems with his amp and it kept cutting out. No amount of kicking and punching the thing helped and she walked off in disgust. Too bad. What I had heard up to that point was great, crackling guitar notwithstanding.

Next up were Humble Pie. What a rockin’ band! The set rocked from one end to the other. It seemed very short but that may have just been relativity. I do remember Steve Marriot coming to the mic and showing us his bleeding fingers and saying that this blood was for us, or something to that effect. I would very much have liked to have seen this band on their own as a headliner, but that was not in the cards. Great show and I would have liked to have seen more. Just think, if Reed had run away, we could have had more Pie. Ya gotta love havin’ more Pie!

After what seemed an endless wait, The Who took the stage. And they didn’t just take... They stormed on! I will never forget this moment. Pete Townsend charged out, hit a chord, threw his leg over his mic stand and fell to the floor. What an entrance!!! To be honest, The Who were not the band I had come to see. That was Maggie. But The Who were a major bonus. And what a bonus!!!

I think I should point out that during Maggie’s short set I had moved much closer to the front and was one of those pelted with a variety of items. In the end, I was just a few layers back from the front just to the right of Pete Townsend. Roger Daltry was in great form as was the Ox, his fingers flying over the strings of his bass. Moonie was nothing short of amazing.

The Who were asked by the BBC to redo one of the songs. This is something that seems to have been forgotten. This may also be why the film looks a little dull in the beginning with Substitute i.e. not many antics by Pete and the missing tumble I mentioned. Mind you, I have never seen the video of this show and it would be a nice addition to my collection.
I remember Pete talking between songs about how the last time they had played at sunset was at Woodstock!

I remember buying a pint during the show and being ripped off by the vendor. It left me without enough money to get home! I therefore had to walk... From Charlton to Balham. A bit of a jaunt. I also remember being somewhat dehydrated. The expensive pint probably didn’t help that. I did however run into a mate of mine and we made the stroll together, he leaving me at Streatham.

One of the reasons I remember this particular festival better than the many I have been to was that just a few weeks after this great show, I immigrated to Canada. Fortunately I have returned to civilization after semi-retiring. The other truly memorable show I attended, just a few months earlier, was Wishbone Ash at the Ally Pally just before Christmas, but that is another story.
Cheers!
Steve

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