Eyes Of Blond plus King Rod – Battle Memorial Hall 8th Jan 1971

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photo sourcehttp://www.eyesofblond.co.uk/index.html

Anyone remember or know anything about Eyes Of Blond?

Geoff Peckham… Yes, Eyes of Blond were an excellent band. I was at this gig with Laurie – I believe Tone and Andy too. They opened with the Byrds’ song, “Gunga Din”. I think we covered it for a while after that.

Nigel Ford… I was there too, not sure if this was their 1st appearance there or their second,the second time I was torn between giving a friend of a girl I fancied a lift back to Hollington, which I did (without reward,HUH!) only to return to find the band finishing up!! DOHHH!!! …and it was a cold, foggy night (on my GT200 Lambretta). I think it was the first time I’d seen a band with 2 base drums (well, when they first played there) when they first visited. Heavy Rock sound, from London I think. I was impressed , hence why I was annoyed at missing their second appearance!

Geoff Peckham… I saw them at the Cobweb around this time too. (Or was it a band called Blonde on Blonde?) Unfortunately their drummer collapsed mid-set and the gig was abandoned. They claimed it was because he was on strong antibiotics. Does anyone else remember this?

Alan Esdaile… Yes your right Geoff , they played Hastings, “Cobwebs”, St Leonards Monday, August 17, 1970, Hastings, Combe Haven Caravan Pk. Tuesday, August 18, 1970. I don’t know if Andre has any cuttings?

Phil Wade…  (guitarist and vocalist in photo above, right hand side) comments… The drummer with the two bass drums was Harry Rix (now deceased), but it was Paul (on the left in the photo) who played at The Cobweb in 1970. Neither drummer collapsed on stage Geoff  – perhaps it was Blonde on Blonde? I’ll dig out a photo of the group lineup that played at Battle.Incidentally, our lead guitarist Phil Dimitri now lives in Eastbourne.

Alan Esdaile… Geoff, definitely a band called Blonde On Blonde, I’m sure I have seen them on one of the cuttings but just found this on the web.. was a guitar-led psychedelic rock group from South Wales. The band was originally formed in Newport in 1967

Geoff Peckham… Sounds like them. I remember them being very loud and ‘dangerous’. Some time into the set I noticed the drummer shouting to the others and he was clearly in some discomfort. They didn’t notice until he keeled over backwards and it all came to a halt. Poor guy!

Phil Wade… We split up in March 1971, so you saw us close to the end. Have a look at the web site (www.eyesofblond.co.uk) to see where we came from and why we split. We’d heard of Blonde on Blonde of course (named after a Dylan album) – but our spelling is for males 🙂

Geoff Peckham… I checked it out when the website was posted earlier, Phil. Good stories. Yours is one of the few bands I remember well from that era. Very influential. Just loved “Gunga Din” and other stuff and the way you played them. My band at that time, Factory, probably learned a lot from you guys. We too have met up again recently and we were only talking about you the other day! Never thought I’d be talking to a member in the band shortly after!

 

 

2 thoughts on “Eyes Of Blond plus King Rod – Battle Memorial Hall 8th Jan 1971”

  1. I was there too, not sure if this was their 1st appearance there or their second,the second time I was torn between giving a friend of a girl I fancied a lift back to Hollington, which I did (without reward,HUH!) only to return to find the band finishingup!! DOHHH!!! …and it was a cold, foggy night (on my GT200 Lambretta).
    I think it was the first time I’d seen a band with 2 base drums (well, when they first played there) when they first visited. Heavy Rock sound, from London I think.

    Reply

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