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I was there too, with Jim Ward ( Bill’s brother) and got in free !! The sound in the Winter Gardens was awful, it was a huge echo chamber,but the band were awesome, Randy was incredible. Have still got the ticket, great memory. Saw so many great bands at The Winter Gardens, never any trouble !!
Support band Cold River Lady were a Herefordshire band discovered by Pete Brown, acclaimed poet, musician and lyricist for The Cream and Jack Bruce. They toured the UK extensively, and performed in Germany and Holland. The line-up for this gig included Helen Hardy (vocals), Paul Cheshire (lead guitar, electric piano and vocals), Phil Weaver (guitar and vocals), Will Wright (organ, piano and recorders), Pete Farndon (bass), Tic Taylor and Pedro Brown (on drums).
Cold River Lady released one album on Angel Air entitled “Better Late Than Never “.
The concert at Malvern Winter Gardens was enthusiastically received with a great atmosphere and both bands going down well with the audience.
I was the DJ on the night as well as one of the promoters. It would mean a lot to be tagged as being on the bill. Unfortunately, I am also responsible for the spelling errors on the tickets!
Thanks Tony Gibbon
I went to this gig with my friend, Martin Lee. We stood at the front of the stage and Stan Webb leaned out and some of his sweat dropped on us. We vowed to not wash for a week!!
That was the set list I took from the monitor, I was one of the local roadies. Back of a packet of Piccadilly’s, I kept it for years and made a pretty penny on eBay in 2014
Not mentioned – Ralph Hales in Malvern Link, next to the Co-op (now a vets). I bought all my singles and LPs on release from there in the 1970s. Later used Counterpoint in Great Malvern.
This was my first concert. It was great, happy memories. Thanks for keeping the record of great times. – Katie Badger
Hi, not sure if 78 is correct. Holly & the Italians didn’t start gigging until late 78 and didn’t move to London until early 79
https://punkmusiccatalogue.wordpress.com/holly-the-italians/
I remember this gig very well because at the time the Kursaals were being touted as the new big thing. If you watch the Rick Wakeman-narrated BBC4 documentary about life on the road in the 60s and 70s for British bands, they have a lot of footage of the Kursaals on this tour, even though they don’t bother interviewing Paul Shuttleworth. It was a miserable January night and not many people came. You could tell that because we arrived late and the space between the sound desk and the stage wasn’t filled up. The NME reported on the gig and said it didn’t have much of an impact, “but at least the locals got up and danced”. That was basically me and my friend Brian More – because there was so much space.
From Frank Hopkinson
Motorhead arrived late because they had been recording for TOTP, then had taken a private plane to Staverton Glos, and a car to Malvern – when they arrived, they walked straight in through the hall to the stage. The loudest band I’ve ever heard… I remember being half-way back from the stage and looking down – my trousers legs were flapping from the sound waves. Deaf for 3 days – fabulous !
As a member of the original Falcons (formed in 1958) we played the Malvern Winter Gardens a number of times at the famous Saturday Night Dances, alongside the Eric Benson Dance Band and the Dennis Wheeler band. Packed audiences in the ballroom, loads of people in the Pump Room and last but not least queues for drinks in the bar. The Winter Gardens in Malvern was a unique venue for top artists but also for local talent. The organisation always supported this and the dancegoers, the fans & the followers never let us down. The attendances were invarioubly as high as for the professionals. Saw many top artists (hundreds) during this great and unforgettable period. The memories will never be erased …….. Dave Edwards
I was there as well. Adam Faith was at the top of the hit parade in December, 1961. I spent 3 months helping out at the Winter Gardens before joining the RAF in Jan 1962. As it was a sit-down concert we set out 100s of chairs in the ballroom. Every place was taken and it was a great performance. Dave Edwards
At this T-Rex show my now husband of 48 years was bass player in the support band Rebellion. The line up consisted of Stewart Halion (bass), Rob Mason (drums), Phil Goddard (guitar) and John ‘Spike’ Nolan (vocals).
Oh my God I was there! And yes Mike Fleetwood did indeed announce the cancellation. I was 15 at the time and remember being sooo disappointed!! MWG was one of my favourite haunts and this archive has evoked soo many great memories with fab artists. Those were the days!
I remember everyone singing along to Fog on the Tyne – especially when they got to the lines “ we can swing together, we can have a wee wee, we can have a wet on the wall”
Pink Floyd did not play. The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation played instead.
A friend and I met Zoot Money and Andy Somers. In 1967 a friend and I worked at a school near the Winter Gardens. Zoot Money and Andy Somers came back to the school kitchen with us, where we attempted to make them a cup of tea in the urn! I have their autographs, and the autographs of other groups such as Manfred Mann, the Spencer Davis group and Nick Mason from Pink Floyd.
My very first ever gig! Magical.
In photo 4 of 4, the big guy lying down at the front is Phil Smith, and from Phil’s haircut and the clothes I would say it was probably 1978 or possibly 1979. Tony H
As I remember, Deep Purple split their set into two parts. After their first set, Taste played a full set, then Deep Purple returned.
Deep Purple were as loud as I have ever heard a band. They also had a strobe light show, so the house lights were dimmed to allow this. That was rare at that time.
This was my first gig at MWG, and to the best of my memory I can confirm this was a full house, but Fleetwood Mac did not turn up. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie went on stage to say that the others were delayed or missing, so all went home with no show. This was not unheard of at that time. I hope somebody else can confirm this.
I am the ‘Charlie’ mentioned in Phil’s diary entry, I am glad he wrote this down as I have little recollection (apart from hitting the kerb on the way home!)
Good luck with your efforts on this. No personal memorabilia to contribute myself, but was a big regular supporter of the Winter Gardens gigs in the earlier years.
