Nash & Young

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 14th August):

Birth

1941. David Crosby born David Van Cortland in Los Angeles.

On Tour

1965. Composer Leonard Bernstein takes his two children to see The Beatles rehearse for tonight’s “Ed Sullivan Show”. The moment the group walked onstage the fans erupted and it was impossible to hear any of the songs. Bernstein later told reporters, “I think it’s shocking because they’re so good and I didn’t have a chance to hear them”.

In Custody

1970. Stephen Stills is arrested after being found crawling through a San Diego motel in an incoherent state. He is later released on $ 2,500 bail.

In Hospital

1983. Joey Ramone requires emergency brain surgery after being viciously kicked in a New York street fight by Seth Micklaw, member of punk band Sub Zero Construction. The fight, outside Johnny’s house, was over his girlfriend Cynthia “Roxy” Whitney. Arriving back at his house in a limo, Ramone saw his girlfriend and confronted them both. A brief fist fight followed before Micklaw got Ramone on the ground and started kicking him with his steel toe-capped boots. Police attending the scene tell Johnny to seek urgent medical help but he refuses. He collapses soon after and is rushed to St. Vincent’s Hospital where he undergoes four hours of surgery to remove blood clots from the brain.

On Television

1971. Disco (ZDF, West Germany) 6. Midlle Of The Road; Susan Shirley; Mungo Jerry; Frumpy; J. Bastos; Status Quo; Ireen Sheer; McGuiness Flint; The Who; Drafi Deutscher. I decided to go for two clips today. The first is Status Quo’s, “Tune To The Music” in which Francis Rossi makes absolutely no attempt to get near the mic when miming. The other is Frumpy with “Life Without Pain”.

Death

1988. Robert Calvert (Hawkwind) dies of a heart attack at his home in Margate.

Babble

It’s an early start today. Well, the blog’s not usually up this early. I’m heading north again to Nairn. Having found the solicitor that handles the shop across from the Ballerina Ballroom Cinema Of Dreams Festival, I did expect to hear from him yesterday. As I didn’t, I think the best thing is to go see the man in person.

If I can get something sorted, I’ll have to go into hyperdrive to get back up and hung for tomorrow but I’ll just have to see what happens. I think if I could get open for Saturday that would be fine as it’s the Highland Games in Nairn and the town should be mobbed. Whether any of those attending are even interested in rock memorabilia is another matter. As usual, I’ll keep you posted.

Go to Rockmine’s main site here.

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday 5th August):

Birth

1959. Pete Burns (Dead Or Alive) born Pete Jozeppi in Port Sunlight, Merseyside.

On Tour

1980. David Bowie starts a three week run as “The Elephant Man” at Chicago’s Blackstone Theater.

In Rubble

1973. The Rolling Stones‘ producer, Jimmy Miller suffers the loss of at least £ 75,000 of studio gear when the Mercer Arts Center in New York (which houses Jimmy Miller Productions) collapses into a pile of rubble. The hotel next door collapses at the same time and although two people are killed, recent Rolling Stones Records signing, Kracker, who are staying there, escape unhurt.

In Court

1983. David Crosby is sentenced to five years in jail by Judge Pat McDowell in Dallas, Texas after being found guilty of possessing cocaine and carrying a gun into a bar. His lawyers lodge an instant appeal and he is released on bail.

On Television

1965. Where The Action Is (U.S.A.) The Byrds; Jewel Akens; Linda Scott; Steve Alaimo. Here are The Byrds with “All I Really Want To Do”. 2m 02s. The quality of this clip is probably the poorest I’ve ever included but its a real rarity.
Death

1978. Pete Meadon, The Who‘s first manager and writer of “Zoot Suit” dies of barbiturate poisoning at his parents’ home in London.

Babble

Regular readers will know I’ve been struggling since April to stage a rock and pop memorabilia exhibition at the Red Shoes Theatre in Elgin. In the 1960s it was one of Scotland’s busiest and best known venues for the hundreds of bands who constantly toured the U.K. The Beatles, The Who and Pink Floyd were among the star names that played there. I was in Elgin yesterday, fully intending to have one last go at rescuing the exhibition but ended up driving another half hour west to Nairn.

Nairn was home to another venue run by Albert Bonici, the Elgin promoter who’d put The Fabs and all the others on. The Ballerina Ballroom (as it was then called), which played host to The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd et al., has lain empty for years until recently when Nairn based Hollywood actress, Tilda Swinton decided to re-open the venue and stage a film festival there. The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema Of Dreams festival lasts 8 1/2 days, starting August 15th.

It was easy to find, driving off the main road to Edinburgh, turning left for the town centre and straight into the High Street. A few hundred yards later, I passed it. I found a parking space and walked back. The doors weren’t locked, so I just walked in. There I found Tilda’s husband, the artist and playwright, John Byrne. I explained my troubles with the Ballerina’s sister venue and he instantly showed me a huge ante-room off the main ballroom with large unobstructed walls and agreed it was a great idea and a perfect adjunct to the film festival.

So, now I’ve got 10 days to promote and create the exhibition. I’m heading back to the ballroom this morning with some of the pieces I’m planning to hang and get some images for tomorrow’s blog. My plan is to replicate the real exhibition with a virtual version online. Sadly, I’d spent a lot of time researching the bands who played the Two Red Shoes and now I’m going to have to redo that for the Ballerina. I loved the idea of boards with gig adverts, reviews and listings to spark the memories of those who’d attended them.

Anyway, enough of what’s to be done. I love ferreting through old newspapers, so I can’t complain. Click on the film festival link above for full details. For some background to the festival, there’s a really great article from The Independent dated July 23rd here.

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