Competition headliner Arthur Brown performing reside in 1968; Picture: Ron Howard/Redferns
The eighth Nationwide Jazz, Pop, Ballads and Blues Competition was held on the second weekend of August 1968, and it’s one of many least remembered of all of the late Sixties out of doors occasions. But even a cursory rundown of the artists that carried out there reveals it’s one value wanting again upon.
The competition itself started because the Richmond Jazz Competition in 1960; morphed into the Jazz and Blues Competition in 1963; and had, in 1964, performed host to The Rolling Stones. In 1966, Cream performed their second ever gig on the new competition website in Windsor.
In 1968, the competition moved to Kempton Park, extra a house for horse racing than music followers. Because the competition’s new identify steered, the organizers tried to cowl nearly each musical base.
Friday
Friday was positively the “pop” evening with Herd, Peter Frampton’s band as headliners together with Marmalade, who had simply had their first hit with “Lovin’ Things.” “The Killer” himself, Jerry Lee Lewis, closed the present. Undoubtedly not pop was the Rory Gallagher-led blues band, Style, who had solely simply moved to England from Eire. They might change into ubiquitous on the circuit of golf equipment, universities, and festivals over the subsequent few years earlier than Rory broke up the band to go solo with a brand new trio.
Saturday Afternoon
Saturday afternoon was given over to jazz with Jon Hendricks topping the invoice together with Ronnie Scott’s Quintet. Opening the proceedings was the at all times creative Mike Westbrook Band.
Deep Purple have been one other daytime act on Saturday. They’d simply completed recording their debut album, Shades of Deep Purple, and their set was composed of these tracks, together with “Hush” and “Hey Joe.” Their line-up on the time was Rod Evans on vocals, Jon Lord on organ, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, Nicky Simper on bass, and Ian Paice on drums.
Joe Cocker was there with the Grease Band. He was a relative unknown on the time, having launched his first single, “Marjorine,” that Might. Nonetheless, inside a couple of months, everybody had heard of him when he topped the charts together with his cowl of Lennon & McCartney’s “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
Two different bands that fall into the long-forgotten class are the Nite Folks, a prog rock band from Bournemouth who by no means managed to get above assist band standing, and Clouds. Clouds launched their debut album Scrapbook in 1969 and have been additionally featured within the well-known Island sampler, You Can All Be a part of In that was launched in early 1969, that includes Free, Site visitors, Fairport Conference, Tramline and Jethro Tull – all artists that appeared at Kempton Park.
Earlier than the massive names on Saturday night, Tyrannosaurus Rex carried out. They have been nonetheless of their pre-electric folks days, with Marc and Steve Took sitting cross-legged on the stand, delicately doing “Deborah,” a track that had briefly flirted with the charts a few months earlier.
Saturday Night time
Ten Years After have been subsequent on stage. They’d launched their debut album of blues songs in October 1967. The Jeff Beck Group adopted, a band that featured Rod Stewart on vocals; Ronnie Wooden on bass; the late, lamented Nicky Hopkins on piano; and Micky Waller on drums. Their traditional album, Reality had simply been launched and the tracks from it, together with, “The Shape of Things,” “Beck’s Bolero,” “Morning Dew,” and “You Shook Me,” made up a lot of their set.
Additionally showing was the Good, whose superior rendition of “America” was on the UK charts. It was fairly a sight: Keith Emerson plunged knives between the keys of his Hammond B3 to maintain the notes whereas he rocked the hell out of Leonard Bernstein’s traditional from West Facet Story. Whereas it sounds thrilling on document, experiencing it being carried out reside was unimaginable. Topping the invoice on the eighth Nationwide Jazz, Pop, Ballads and Blues Competition? That was the Loopy World of Arthur Brown, whose single “Fire” had simply bought to No.1 on the UK charts.
Sunday Afternoon
Sunday opened with a singer referred to as Sonya, adopted by Al Stewart who had launched his debut, Bedsitter Pictures, the earlier 12 months. Folks rock band Eclection featured each Trevor Lucas and Gerry Conway, who would later kind Fotheringay. They have been glorious. They’ve lengthy been forgotten, however anybody who noticed them on the time or heard their first album remembers them fondly.
Eclection have been adopted by Fairport Conference, whose line-up on the time was arguably its finest, Sandy Denny and Ian Matthews on vocals, Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol on guitars, Ashley Hutchings on bass and Martin Lamble on drums. At that time, the band had simply began recording their second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, and far of their set was taken from this new materials. The final act within the afternoon session was The Unbelievable String Band.
Tramline opened the night session. Their cowl of Site visitors’s “Pearly Queen” was on the Island sampler on You Can All Be a part of In. Their major declare to fame is their guitarist: The wonderful Micky Moody. (He would later play with Whitesnake.) They have been adopted by Dynaflow Blues, who took their identify from an previous Johnny Shines track, however about whom we all know completely nothing.
Sunday Night time
The night progressed with Hen Shack, that includes the wonderful Stan Webb on guitar and Christine Good, who would later be a part of Fleetwood Mac and marry John Mcvie, on piano. Barely recognized on the time was the subsequent band to play, Jethro Tull, who have been in the midst of recording their debut album. Their set was made up of tunes from that document, together with the sensible “Song For Jeffrey.”
Spencer Davis Group, that includes Eddie Hardin and Pete York, adopted Tull. (A troublesome ask.) After which it was time for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. The band had extra incarnations than most every other within the historical past of the blues. Right now, nevertheless, it featured Colin Allen on drums, Steve Thompson on bass, and Mick Taylor on guitar. Eleven months later, Taylor made his debut at Hyde Park with the Rolling Stones. Two weeks after showing on the Kempton Competition, Mayall’s band went into the studio to document Blues from Laurel Canyon.
Site visitors closed the competition. By this level, Winwood, Capaldi, Mason, and Wooden had chalked up three high 10 singles within the UK and managed to tug off the close to sufficient unattainable feat of manufacturing extremely catchy singles that have been additionally cool. They’d already recorded their second album, which might ultimately come out in October 1968. Their set included “Pearly Queen,” “Feelin’ Alright,” and “40,000 Headmen” which all appeared on the LP; naturally, their set closed with “Dear Mr Fantasy” from their first album.
And there you will have it. The long-forgotten, eighth Nationwide Jazz, Pop, Ballads and Blues Competition at Kempton Park Racecourse; a veritable curate’s egg of a competition, however one that may have been a deal with to attend.
