Fact #76552
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Short story:
Christmas On Earth, Continued - a major psychedelic happening featuring Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, Traffic (replacing The Who) and Soft Machine, is held at Olympia in London, UK. The show marks the last time Dave Mason will play with Traffic before quitting the band. Floyd's Syd Barrett is so wasted by hallucinogenics that he merely stands on stage and gazes at the crowd.Full article:
If ever any freak-out looked set to eclipse the legendary 14 Hour Technicolour Dream, it was Christmas On Earth, Continued.
A horde of paisley popsters would unbind their minds in Kensington Olympia to the sounds of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who,Pink Floyd, The Move, Eric Burdon and The Animals, Soft Machine and others. Running through the night on 22 December until 6.00am, additional enticements in Olympia's three cavernous halls included a 96 projector light show, a miniature fun fair, paddling pool, a cinema showing vintage movies and a bazaar with over a hundred stalls.
Underground film-make David Larcher was a partner in Image Inc, the combine of, er, hippy entrepreneurs, who dreamed it all up. "We lost a ton of money on a show we'd done in Paris, and we got back to London stony broke," he remembers. "So we came up with this idea to recoup our losses. I went along to Olympia in my best suit and talked them into letting us have the three halls for £6,500."
With Hendrix asking £1000, Pink Floyd £400, Soft Machine £300 and so on, the financially embarrassed Image Inc had some nifty footwork to do to make it happen. "We started off using advance ticket sales to pay the artists, but that didn't cover the other expenses, so I found a wealthy aristocrat who gave us £2,000 for the film rights." As the day approached, however, the management at Kensington Olympia realised that Image Inc wasn't going to make ends meet. "So they took over the running of it and slapped us with bills for electricians, caterers and everything else."
Then, two days before The Doors opened, Pete Townshend broke a finger in the Isle Of Man, obliging The Who to pull out. All was not lost though, because the other acts were sure to put on a great show, weren't they?
On the day, spirits were buoyant, at least until the shop steward yelled "Everybody out," during rehearsal. Hendrix was playing so loud that the electricians were ready to walk out. Jim Marshall, who was supplying the event's PA system, tried to reason with Hendrix. "I said to Jimi, 'You gotta stop,' and then he turned it up again. In the end the shop steward said 'Everybody is out, there will be no show tonight!' And I said to Jimi 'I think this chap is really serious, there's not going to be a show.' But Jimi thought it was very funny … it did quieten down a bit though."
Later that afternoon, Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell clambered atop a huge inflatable as it was being blown up, only to crash eight feet to the ground, smacking his head on the concrete floor. "I was definitely concussed. I didn't mention it to anybody, and played the gig," he recalls, "but it was one of the few times I really felt uncomfortable playing."
Come the 8pm start, a mere 900 faithful had braved the winter chill, paid their £1.00 entrance fee and drifted into the cavernous Grand Hall. "There so few people that everybody had to keep their coats on just to stay warm," says underground deejay Geoff Dexter. "There were two stages, one at each end of the hall, which was so vast, you felt a bit lost in it, and even though the core of the London underground had showed up, there was no community vibe about it."
Things were no better on stage, as organist Pete Sears of Sam Gopal Dream recalls, "Monitors were non-existent in those days, and all you could hear was yourself. We all had to watch Sam's hands to try and see if we were playing in time with his tablas or not."
Eventually, Pink Floyd took the stage. A pharmaceutically numbed Syd Barrett stood gazing into space, his arms hanging limp in front of his Telecaster, while the rest of the band noodled on like troopers, hoping the audience was too stoned to notice. "Things were terrible on stage," admits their manager Andrew King. "No-one really played anything except Roger Waters who kept playing the same bass pattern over and over while everyone else just stood there, not knowing what to do." It was Barrett's last major gig with Pink Floyd.
According to June Child, who worked for Andrew King, "We found Syd in the dressing room and he was so... gone. Roger Waters and I got him to his feet and onto the stage. He had a white Stratocaster and we put it around his neck and he walked onstage. The band started to play and Syd just stood there. He had his guitar around his neck and his arms just hanging down and I was in the wings wondering what to do. Suddenly he put his hands on the guitar and we thought, 'Great, he's actually going to do it!' But he just stood there, he just stood there tripping out of his mind."
Only Hendrix could save the night. Taking the stage alongside his concussed drummer, elegantly wasted bassist Noel Redding encountered strobe lights for the first time and found they had the effect of making him feel he was detatched in "a slow-motion, black and white time warp. All I could see were old-time movie flickers of Jimi laughing at me as I tried to keep in touch with the tempo." After which it was downhill all the way 'til sunrise.
"It ended very quietly about 6.00 am," remembers David Larcher, "with the remaining hippies wandering over to the sandwich stand on the bridge outside and drinking steaming mugs of tea to warm them up before heading home."
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MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS ON EARTH REVISITED.
Brain May (guitarist) : My band at that time was bottom of the bill at Christmas On Earth. I'll never forget that I plugged into exactly the same stack that Hendrix used later the same night, and I struggled with it. It sounded like a snail doing its knitting but, five hours later, when Jimi plugged in, the same stack, I swear to God, it sounded like the earth was breaking open.
Noel Redding (bassist, JHE) ) : I've got my diary here, let's see. Went to Olympia in the daytime, no-one there. Went to a pub with Mitch and Phil Robertson, our driver. Did rehearsals, did photos for the Daily Sketch. Went to Chas Chandler's at nine o'clock. Had a smoke and a drink. Met Eric Burdon.
We didn't like individual dressing rooms, so The Move, us lot and Eric and the New Animals were hanging out in the same room.
Jim Marshall (Marshall amplification) : In the afternoon, they were doing rehearsals and Mitch couldn't quite get something right. So Jimi said 'Would you sit in and show how to …' So I did. And all of a sudden, this character came up on the stage and complained about the volume. I said to Jimi 'You gotta stop' so Jimi went over and turned it up a bit more. This chap came back, all red faced, and it turned out to be the shop steward of the electricians doing the lighting. In the end, the shop steward said 'Everybody is out. There will be no show tonight!' And I said to Jimi, 'I think this chap is really serious, there's not gonna be a show.' But Jimi thought it was very funny. It did quieten down a bit, though."
Noel Redding : We went on at two o'clock, went down a bomb.
I remember jumping on stage and it was the first time I'd ever been exposed to strobes. These things started going, and it was insane. Hendrix loved them, he'd just go mad, but I could not handle strobe lights in those days.
Miki Slingsby (photographer) : I wasn't taking pictures that night, so I was able to concentrate on the music. At times they would have two bands playing simultaneously, but the place wasn't too crowded so you could wander between the stages and get close to the bands. The whole place was awash with colour and paisley shirts. The Experience set was amazing, with Jimi playing quite beautifully. I was totally captivated.
Noel Redding : We did a good show, as far as I can recollect. I played guitar on two numbers, probably Red House and something else. Syd Barrett was going silly by that point. Came home with Trevor Burton from The Move, went to bed at nine o'clock.
Chas Chandler (manager, JHE) : I saw the first cut of the film, but it was lousy. The cameras were jumping around as if the crew was on acid.
Jim Capaldi (Traffic) : It's a funny feeling onstage with Dave (guitarist Dave Mason) knowing that by Christmas he'll be gone. It gives you a feeling of Auld Lang Syne. We're like old comrades and it's a bit of a sad thing, but it's making everybody play like crazy, and the dates we've been doing lately have been the best yet because of it.
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A horde of paisley popsters would unbind their minds in Kensington Olympia to the sounds of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who,Pink Floyd, The Move, Eric Burdon and The Animals, Soft Machine and others. Running through the night on 22 December until 6.00am, additional enticements in Olympia's three cavernous halls included a 96 projector light show, a miniature fun fair, paddling pool, a cinema showing vintage movies and a bazaar with over a hundred stalls.
Underground film-make David Larcher was a partner in Image Inc, the combine of, er, hippy entrepreneurs, who dreamed it all up. "We lost a ton of money on a show we'd done in Paris, and we got back to London stony broke," he remembers. "So we came up with this idea to recoup our losses. I went along to Olympia in my best suit and talked them into letting us have the three halls for £6,500."
With Hendrix asking £1000, Pink Floyd £400, Soft Machine £300 and so on, the financially embarrassed Image Inc had some nifty footwork to do to make it happen. "We started off using advance ticket sales to pay the artists, but that didn't cover the other expenses, so I found a wealthy aristocrat who gave us £2,000 for the film rights." As the day approached, however, the management at Kensington Olympia realised that Image Inc wasn't going to make ends meet. "So they took over the running of it and slapped us with bills for electricians, caterers and everything else."
Then, two days before The Doors opened, Pete Townshend broke a finger in the Isle Of Man, obliging The Who to pull out. All was not lost though, because the other acts were sure to put on a great show, weren't they?
On the day, spirits were buoyant, at least until the shop steward yelled "Everybody out," during rehearsal. Hendrix was playing so loud that the electricians were ready to walk out. Jim Marshall, who was supplying the event's PA system, tried to reason with Hendrix. "I said to Jimi, 'You gotta stop,' and then he turned it up again. In the end the shop steward said 'Everybody is out, there will be no show tonight!' And I said to Jimi 'I think this chap is really serious, there's not going to be a show.' But Jimi thought it was very funny … it did quieten down a bit though."
Later that afternoon, Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell clambered atop a huge inflatable as it was being blown up, only to crash eight feet to the ground, smacking his head on the concrete floor. "I was definitely concussed. I didn't mention it to anybody, and played the gig," he recalls, "but it was one of the few times I really felt uncomfortable playing."
Come the 8pm start, a mere 900 faithful had braved the winter chill, paid their £1.00 entrance fee and drifted into the cavernous Grand Hall. "There so few people that everybody had to keep their coats on just to stay warm," says underground deejay Geoff Dexter. "There were two stages, one at each end of the hall, which was so vast, you felt a bit lost in it, and even though the core of the London underground had showed up, there was no community vibe about it."
Things were no better on stage, as organist Pete Sears of Sam Gopal Dream recalls, "Monitors were non-existent in those days, and all you could hear was yourself. We all had to watch Sam's hands to try and see if we were playing in time with his tablas or not."
Eventually, Pink Floyd took the stage. A pharmaceutically numbed Syd Barrett stood gazing into space, his arms hanging limp in front of his Telecaster, while the rest of the band noodled on like troopers, hoping the audience was too stoned to notice. "Things were terrible on stage," admits their manager Andrew King. "No-one really played anything except Roger Waters who kept playing the same bass pattern over and over while everyone else just stood there, not knowing what to do." It was Barrett's last major gig with Pink Floyd.
According to June Child, who worked for Andrew King, "We found Syd in the dressing room and he was so... gone. Roger Waters and I got him to his feet and onto the stage. He had a white Stratocaster and we put it around his neck and he walked onstage. The band started to play and Syd just stood there. He had his guitar around his neck and his arms just hanging down and I was in the wings wondering what to do. Suddenly he put his hands on the guitar and we thought, 'Great, he's actually going to do it!' But he just stood there, he just stood there tripping out of his mind."
Only Hendrix could save the night. Taking the stage alongside his concussed drummer, elegantly wasted bassist Noel Redding encountered strobe lights for the first time and found they had the effect of making him feel he was detatched in "a slow-motion, black and white time warp. All I could see were old-time movie flickers of Jimi laughing at me as I tried to keep in touch with the tempo." After which it was downhill all the way 'til sunrise.
"It ended very quietly about 6.00 am," remembers David Larcher, "with the remaining hippies wandering over to the sandwich stand on the bridge outside and drinking steaming mugs of tea to warm them up before heading home."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS ON EARTH REVISITED.
Brain May (guitarist) : My band at that time was bottom of the bill at Christmas On Earth. I'll never forget that I plugged into exactly the same stack that Hendrix used later the same night, and I struggled with it. It sounded like a snail doing its knitting but, five hours later, when Jimi plugged in, the same stack, I swear to God, it sounded like the earth was breaking open.
Noel Redding (bassist, JHE) ) : I've got my diary here, let's see. Went to Olympia in the daytime, no-one there. Went to a pub with Mitch and Phil Robertson, our driver. Did rehearsals, did photos for the Daily Sketch. Went to Chas Chandler's at nine o'clock. Had a smoke and a drink. Met Eric Burdon.
We didn't like individual dressing rooms, so The Move, us lot and Eric and the New Animals were hanging out in the same room.
Jim Marshall (Marshall amplification) : In the afternoon, they were doing rehearsals and Mitch couldn't quite get something right. So Jimi said 'Would you sit in and show how to …' So I did. And all of a sudden, this character came up on the stage and complained about the volume. I said to Jimi 'You gotta stop' so Jimi went over and turned it up a bit more. This chap came back, all red faced, and it turned out to be the shop steward of the electricians doing the lighting. In the end, the shop steward said 'Everybody is out. There will be no show tonight!' And I said to Jimi, 'I think this chap is really serious, there's not gonna be a show.' But Jimi thought it was very funny. It did quieten down a bit, though."
Noel Redding : We went on at two o'clock, went down a bomb.
I remember jumping on stage and it was the first time I'd ever been exposed to strobes. These things started going, and it was insane. Hendrix loved them, he'd just go mad, but I could not handle strobe lights in those days.
Miki Slingsby (photographer) : I wasn't taking pictures that night, so I was able to concentrate on the music. At times they would have two bands playing simultaneously, but the place wasn't too crowded so you could wander between the stages and get close to the bands. The whole place was awash with colour and paisley shirts. The Experience set was amazing, with Jimi playing quite beautifully. I was totally captivated.
Noel Redding : We did a good show, as far as I can recollect. I played guitar on two numbers, probably Red House and something else. Syd Barrett was going silly by that point. Came home with Trevor Burton from The Move, went to bed at nine o'clock.
Chas Chandler (manager, JHE) : I saw the first cut of the film, but it was lousy. The cameras were jumping around as if the crew was on acid.
Jim Capaldi (Traffic) : It's a funny feeling onstage with Dave (guitarist Dave Mason) knowing that by Christmas he'll be gone. It gives you a feeling of Auld Lang Syne. We're like old comrades and it's a bit of a sad thing, but it's making everybody play like crazy, and the dates we've been doing lately have been the best yet because of it.