The Move – Hastings Pier 24th August 1969

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 cutting supplied by Sarah Harvey and autographs supplied by Colin Bell.

Peter Gladwish… I was there!

Jenny Tyler… I saw The Move on the pier.

Joe Knight… BlackBerry way 1967 radio 1 opening song

Tony Davis… Was it? I always thought it was Flowers in the rain. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me

Alan Esdaile… Your right Tony, sorry Joe and before anyone says it, yes we know that Tony played his theme tune before this.

Joe Knight… the flower got me

Wanted – Hastings Pier 23rd August 1969

Martin Richter… the Move & kendo Nagasaki – woop woop!

Tony Ham… I met some of the wrestlers mentioned here a couple of weeks back.

Iain Cobby… I’m sure the Move gig is the one where they turned up late. My father was in the theater Bingo that night when the Move mistakenly thought that this was where they were playing. They quickly rushed up to my dad (95 next week) and profusely apologized saying the van had broken down   ( haven’t we all used that one?). I was  waiting in the ballroom for the kick off, and after the gig ( cadging a lift home) was told what happened. “Didn’t you get their autografts?” I said.  “Why?” he said. Doh.

Gerry Fortsch… The Move were great.

John Warner… Used to have weekly wrestling at the Strand Theatre club. Biggest laugh was Kendo Nagasaki who one week would be 5 foot ten and the next week 6 foot three.I think that there were about six of them.

Tony Ham… Peter Thornley is Kendo Nagasaki.

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Magnetic Waves Of Sound – The Best Of The Move 2CD/DVD set.

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MAGNETIC WAVES OF SOUND – THE BEST OF THE MOVE  The Move (2CD/DVD SET)
You may think right away do we need another Move best of compilation when there are many already. Answer, Yes! I have many Move recordings and they have been served badly over the years, poor sound quality, missing tracks, bad liner notes etc etc. Esoteric Records have addressed all the aforementioned and this new package is just excellent.
2 discs, the first being audio with 21 tracks in chronological order from debut Deram single ‘Night of Fear’ right thru to ‘Do Ya’ (with Jeff Lynne and later reworked for ELO). ‘I Can Hear the Grass Grow’ ‘Flowers in the Rain’ ‘Fire Brigade’ ‘ Blackberry Way’ (a No.1) the often overlooked ‘Wild Tiger Woman’, all classic pop/rock/psyche tracks. Moving on, no pun intended! to the heavier sounds of ‘Brontosaurus’ and ‘When Alice Comes Back To the Farm’ and wrapping up with lighter Wood whimsys ‘Tonight’ and Chinatown’. Roy Woods songwriting leaps out the speakers with new clarity. The remastering on ‘Here We Go Round the Lemon Tree’ and ‘Walk  Upon The Water’ revealing new subtle orchestration. A first class result all round. And then disc 2 is a REAL bonus. For the first time on DVD 21 tracks of the band performing, some live, some lip synched on TV. There’s great clips from ‘Colour Me Pop’ ‘Top of the Pops’ and the German equivalents of ‘Beat Club’ and ‘Beat Beat Beat’. Bless the Germans for preserving (in great quality for the time) early live performances of the ‘classic’ line up of Roy, Carl, Bev, Trevor and Ace. Its a great wallow in nostalgia for those of us of a certain age! and a testament to one of the best bands of the Sixties. The fold out digipack is beautifully presented with extensive liner notes and even a fold out mini poster. So there you have it, if you’re after a Move hits and more compilation, look no further this is definitive.

For more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk    Til next time, stay warm……  Colincolin-head-111x150-111x150

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell. Reviews The Move Something Else and Looking On CD’s

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SOMETHING ELSE (REMASTERED/EXPANDED) The Move
Having previously brought you the first two albums in this re-issue programme here is the third. Originally issued in 1968 as a 5 track E.P. (ive still got a copy!) this expanded edition adds another 12 tracks. The last release to feature the ‘classic’ line-up of Roy Wood, Carl Wayne, Bev Bevan, Trevor Burton and Ace Kefford, it captures perfectly the energy of the band live at the Marquee in Wardour Street. Taking on a diverse range of covers of contemporary acts ranging from The Byrds (So You Wanna Be A Rock and Roll Star) Spooky Tooth (Sunshine Help Me) and Somethin Else (Eddie Cochran) to name but three, the band rock the clearly happy audience and you can feel the atmosphere of the legendary venue.
After years of the original master tapes being lost we can now also enjoy all the additional numbers including spirited renditions of ‘Fire Brigade’ ‘Flowers In The Rain’ and ‘It’ll Be Me’ just three highlights. Its great to have a reminder of what a great and dynamic live band they were and to bring back so many fond memories of the Marquee and indeed our own beloved Hastings Pier where I first met and saw them back in 1967. Thoroughly recommended, an excellent package all round.

LOOKING ON (2CD REMASTERED/EXPANDED) The Move
And now for something er… Else…’Looking On’ was the third full album released in 1970. An album that divided opinion then (and now), Carl Wayne, Ace Kefford and Trevor Burton had all departed for various solo and largely unsuccessful careers. The Move was now a trio of Wood, Bevan and newly arrived Jeff Lynne. This of course was a pivitol moment in time, Roy had the ELO concept in his head (for three years) and Jeff Lynne of course was the catalyst to make it happen. Without writing a huge essay on the complicated Move/ELO/Wizzard story which im sure most readers will know lets stick with the album. Depending on your point of view its either a heavy prog rock experimental masterpiece or a unholy unmitigated disaster. Dumping the psyche-pop that had established them the band turned ‘heavy’..really heavy and produced 6 minute songs like the title track. It was a huge departure from what people had come to expect and not a successful one. Two singles lifted from the album did gain some success notably ‘Brontosaurus’ but overall the experimental tone of ‘Turkish Tram Conductor Blues’ ‘What’ etc in truth killed The Move for many fans. Listening to the album now my own feeling is I can see what they were trying to achieve, particularly given the period in which it was released and the desire to get away from a ‘pop singles band’ and gain rock credibility, but in truth it is a bit of a mess. However the bonus CD is really interesting containing previously unreleased BBC sessions and interviews with the incomparable Brian Matthew. There’s a wonderful take on The Beatles ‘She’s A Woman’ which is a delight for example. indeed the bonus disc which contains versions of the main album is for me far more enjoyable. I suppose personally the early classic Move was the Move I loved. ‘Looking On’ remains an important crossroads of a piece and will no doubt continue to cause debate as it did back in the day.

For more information go to http://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til Next Time…. colin-head-111x150-111x150

Colin

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell. Reviews The Move 3CD Remastered and Shazam CD.

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MOVE (3CD Remastered/Expanded Deluxe Digipack Edition. The Move  I was delighted to see this release. The Move were one of the first ‘name’ bands I worked with on Hastings Pier back in 1967, so a large dollop of nostalgia involved. This was the debut album released originally in April 1968. What a debut! Containing some of the best tracks, in my opinion, they ever released. ‘Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree’, ‘Walk Upon The Water’ ‘Cherry Blossom Clinic’ ‘Flowers in The Rain’ and the gorgeous ‘Mist On A Monday Morning’ to name but a few. Ive always put Roy Wood right up there with Lennon/McCartney and Ray Davies as one of the best songwriters we have ever produced. This is a lavish package, featuring the mono mix of the album plus 52 (yes you read that right!) 52 bonus tracks all beautifully remastered. Alternate takes, studio sessions, interviews its a huge affair. ‘Night of Fear’ and ‘I Can hear The Grass Grow’ have never sounded this good. There just isn’t enough space to list all the treasures here present. The Move always were and will always remain one of my favourite bands for their live performances, dynamic singles, and capturing an era in music when anything seemed possible and Britain was the centre of the musical world. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

SHAZAM (Remastered) The Move  Two years on in February 1970 and the band were starting to gain a ‘heavier’ sound which would lead to tracks like ‘Brontasaurus’. Shazam captures them at that turning point. ‘Hello Suzie’ is a good example of this heavier approach, even though of course Amen Corner had a hit with their cover ‘poppier’ version. ‘Beautiful Daughter’ and ‘Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited’ are pure joy. The bonus tracks include the international number one ‘Blackberry Way’ the witty ‘Omnibus’ the irrestible ‘Curly’ and a personal favourite in ‘Wild Tiger Woman’ which, to be honest was a flop as a single by their standards, something I never understood its as well written, commercial and catchy as say ‘Fire Brigade’ but somehow didn’t capture the publics attention. Again the 14 tracks including the bonus ones are beautifully remastered and render previous releases redundant. There will be more releases to come in this series and I eagerly look forward to receiving them!

For more information go to http://www.cherryred.co.uk

Til next time……….  colin-head-111x150-111x150

Colin

Hastings Pier 1968

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supplied by Andre Palfrey-martin collection

Jim Breeds….Goodness me! The Floyd *did* play the pier.

Pete Fairless….it was Pink Floyd, Syd’s last gig!

Mick O’Dowd….Ads like this make us remember why we were all sad at its demise. Such memories and such great diverse music too! Sadly a time passed that will not be seen again(well not for 50p a shot)!

Fortunes autographs from Colin Bell and pity he didn’t get Pink Floyds autographs but only Pete Drummond who presented it.

fortunes pete drummond

supplied by Colin Bell

Paul Kilford… love all the old flyers and stuff.