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(Most probably)

9-28-68.

Roy Harper,The Action, The Move ? Clouds ?Pete Brown ?

This is the one that got away. From everyone......

We received several posts in 2006 from visitors to the site regarding a show that was not documented . The accounts were contradictory , as people had different recollections about who played and just where the events had taken place.

First of all Steve Norris wrote .

Hi,
I found your Hyde Park free gig info fascinating BUT I definitely attended a concert that featured The Move,Pete Brown's Battered Ornaments ( before Pete was arrested for alleged obscenities during Politician!!) and Clouds.

John Peel was in the (small) audience.He had a cold and borrowed tissues from a nearby girl, funny what you can remember from soooo long ago.


I can't accurately date it but it was definitely 1968 and I also recall going on the two previous Saturdays when nothing happened at all, word of mouth failure!!


I am also sure that this was the first concert in the park......

Ian Whiteman of Action © Mick West

Mox (flute ) and Alan bam King.

( thanks to Deepinder Cheema for indentification )

We thought that Steve was referring to the concert on 9-28-68 which featured The Move, Clouds, Strawbs and Roy Harper, but he replied ....

Having just read Chris Marshall's review of 28/09/68 I am even more sure that this is not the same gig I attended. The one I witnessed took place on a bandstand in the park.This is a mystery to me now because The Strawbs, The Action and Roy Harper were DEFINITELY not there on the day I remember.

Clouds opened, Pete Brown played until he was escorted from the stage by the police,(or the fuzz as I think we called them back then!) then , The Move.
Steve.

Left: The Action© Mick West

Roy Harper plays the Hyde Park bandstand sometime in 1968

© Mick West

The mystery deepened as Martin Shankleman sent us this missive:

I did go to the bandstand show as well, so I'm delighted you mentioned it.
The Floyd were there too, but didn't play.
How do I know ? because I and my friends met them mingling in the crowd. They explained that they were due to play, but the equiment hadn't turned up.

We got all 4 of them to sign copies of the Saucerful of Secrets LP...funny thing though it never occurred to me to get the autographs for myself. They signed them once for my friend Myles, a second time for a friend called David who couldn't make the gig.
Who else was on the bill?

The only act I remember were The Move , the 4 man version with Roy Wood and Carl Wayne.
I think the audience were a bit dubious about them , as they were seen as a pop band, and lacked "credibility".
My recollection was that the gig was in early September, after I'd gone back to school, and Blackberry Way may have been in the charts- they could have played it.
The bandstand was a poor venue, everyone was crowded into one segments of the circle. The bars of the stand acted as a barrier, and I don't think it was ever used again.

Best wishes
Martin

© Mick West

© Mick West

Then the esteemed Mick West ( who took his camera along and took some excellent pictures), sent us a number of photos he took at the gig . He could not really remember when it took place either or who played - and he had lost a few negatives as well. However, he said the weather was good, the crowd tiny and he thought that the show was held in May 1968 .

SO, we are left in the dark, we don't really know the complete lineup - although the flute player in photo one looks like a member of the Move, we have no photos of the Battered Ornaments ( one would really think that Mick would have remembered the polis hauling Pete off to the nick ) and the size of the crowd suggest a really early show.

Yet Martin has a clear recollection of the show being later on in the year .....

Is this the first Hyde park free concert , or is it later on in the year , but in that case, why did they choose the Bandstand ,when all other concerts had been held in larger venues ? . Its doesn't really stack up.

Can anyone help ?

As I recall the concert was originally to be held on the Saturday (I think in mid-September) but was postponed until the next day because of bad weather. It was a dull and damp day even then and the concert was held on the bandstand, presumably because it was drier underfoot. I know I went to One Stop Records off Oxford Street beforehand and bought the new Doors LP Waiting for the Sun. After 39 years I don't remember a lot about the actual music: I know that the Move didn't play any of their own stuff but covers of contemporary stuff (So You Want to be a Rock n Roll Star, Stephanie Knows Who). I vaguely recall an announcement that the Small Faces were billed to play but couldn't make it. I only saw two of the '68 free concerts (my first ever live music experience) but they were so much more relaxed and enjoyable than the '69 and '70 shows I went to.
Love and peace
Roger Jacobson


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Concert reviews and info -1974-76