Fact #105632
When:
Short story:
The Kinks record their first live session for BBC Radio at The Playhouse Theatre, London, UK. On the same evening, they play at Neeld Hall, Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK, provoking a riot in which local girls rush the stage and pursue the band out of the venue and down the street.Full article:
The Wiltshire Echo featured an account of this gig in their 10th September 1964 edition entitled 'Chippenham teenagers chase group', as follows:
"Think twice before you hum You Really Got Me in Chippenham. It could get you in a whole lot of trouble. Ask The Kinks. If they had not been so fleet of foot, the hit-parade group would have have come to a sticky end on Thursday.
Nearly 1,000 teenagers swooped on the Neeld Hall to hear the long-haired quartet hammer their way through a string of hit numbers.
Before the group appeared the young folk were jostling for a stage-side position, to get within grabbing distance of their new idols. And even before the curtains had parted, the hall trembled with the piercing screams of ecstasy, the thought of a Kink wrung from the teenettes.
The excitement temperature shot sky-high when the chart-topping group actually appeared. Eager young hands straining for a fingertip touch of a Kinky boot.
As the pressure from behind increased, those in the forefront of the crush eased themselves up onto the edge of the stage. Others followed and soon a human bank all but hid the musicians.
A feverish version of Smokestack Lightning brought things to boiling point. And then the opening chords of You Really Got Me rang out.
The crowd tottered for a moment. Then as if at a signal, whooping boys and yelling girls swarmed up on to the stage.
Faced by this mighty wave of howling humanity, The Kinks gave in. Dropping their instruments they fled across the stage, leaping through the tiny door at the back only seconds ahead of their pursuers.
And that was the end of the performance. As the quieter sections of the audience made its way out, stewards were still popping marauding misses out from behind the curtains into the hall.
Tweet this Fact
"Think twice before you hum You Really Got Me in Chippenham. It could get you in a whole lot of trouble. Ask The Kinks. If they had not been so fleet of foot, the hit-parade group would have have come to a sticky end on Thursday.
Nearly 1,000 teenagers swooped on the Neeld Hall to hear the long-haired quartet hammer their way through a string of hit numbers.
Before the group appeared the young folk were jostling for a stage-side position, to get within grabbing distance of their new idols. And even before the curtains had parted, the hall trembled with the piercing screams of ecstasy, the thought of a Kink wrung from the teenettes.
The excitement temperature shot sky-high when the chart-topping group actually appeared. Eager young hands straining for a fingertip touch of a Kinky boot.
As the pressure from behind increased, those in the forefront of the crush eased themselves up onto the edge of the stage. Others followed and soon a human bank all but hid the musicians.
A feverish version of Smokestack Lightning brought things to boiling point. And then the opening chords of You Really Got Me rang out.
The crowd tottered for a moment. Then as if at a signal, whooping boys and yelling girls swarmed up on to the stage.
Faced by this mighty wave of howling humanity, The Kinks gave in. Dropping their instruments they fled across the stage, leaping through the tiny door at the back only seconds ahead of their pursuers.
And that was the end of the performance. As the quieter sections of the audience made its way out, stewards were still popping marauding misses out from behind the curtains into the hall.