Happening In Southport

taken from Escimo Chain

"I have two 'claims to fame'. The first is that in the early 70's I saw Tom Finney (ex-Preston North End, England - the greatest footballer who ever lived) in a pub, and plucked up sufficient (Dutch) courage to ask him for his autograph, which he freely gave. The second is that in late spring/early summer of 1967, I was somehow 'led' to make the 15 mile trek from Leyland to Southport to see an up and coming group, who had just had their first hit with a song about some deviant whose 'raison d'etre' was stealing clothes from washing lines.

I was aware from the press and TV that Pink Floyd were part of the so-called 'psychedelic scene' and I liked their single - 'Arnold Layne'. My own favourite artists at the time were the Beatles, who in February, had trailered the psychedelia of Sgt Pepper with the acid soaked Strawberry Fields. I also liked the Kinks and the Bee Gees, as well as Tamla/Soul acts such as The Four Tops and Otis Redding. I suppose at the time (aged 19) I was suffering from some kind of musical and sartorial schizophrenia; I couldn't decide if I wanted to be a mod or something else (the something else being whatever the Beatles were).

It has to be said that the passage of time has inevitably blurred the memory of that (Saturday ?) night in 1967. I can't remember where or how I heard about the concert, or even how I got there (or back !). I went with a group of some five friends and I have to confess that I have a clearer recollection of what happened outside the venue than the concert itself. As we walked along the wide pavement outside the Floral Hall 2 or 3 of our group became separated from us. We were approached by a gang of young Liverpudlians, one of whom asked (you'll have to imagine the accent) 'Can you lend us thrippence ? (3d equivalent to about 1p) for the bus ?' When this request was refused a knife was produced which had the desired effect of producing rather more than 'thrippence'. So much for the 'summer of love' !

The venue itself was (and still is as far as I know) a typical 50's/60's ballroom, which until the beat boom of the early 60's had hosted rather more sedate gatherings, with bands catering for ballroom dance devotees with an endless supply of quicksteps, fox-trots and waltzes. Pink Floyd seemed oddly out of place. The audience, which probably numbered about a couple of hundred, was largely composed of mods - short hair, sharp suits with ridiculously long vents and brogues, and the 'support' was a Tamla/soul disco. The sound quality was good by 60's standards. As for the Floyd I'm sorry to say that I can't actually 'remember' the line-up, or what make of instruments they played. I'm afraid 30 years of drinking Greenall's mild has taken its toll on my memory. In fact (and this is where I will begin to be accused of sacrilege) they already came over as fairly faceless characters. They appeared absorbed in their music and played with their heads down, failing to make any contact with the audience. A more likely possibility could have been that they wished they were somewhere else, and not playing their 'hit' in a provincial dance hall to a crowd of uninterested mods. The only time I remember anyone speaking was when (I assume) Syd Barrett mumbled, almost grudgingly, 'This one's called Arnold Layne'.

What really fascinated me was the strange back drop - oil on slides projected onto screens. Primitive indeed by 90's standards, but certainly innovative in 1967. The only other 'chart' groups I'd seen 'live' up until then were Manfred Mann (really live), The Troggs and Pinkerton's Assorted Colours (both miming their latest hits at the local Top Rank) and none of them had any backdrops as such.

As for what the group played I have to come clean and admit that I recognised only 'Arnold Layne'. Due to my short concentration span 'three minute classic pop singles' appealed to me - 'Arnold Layne' fell neatly into this category. The rest of the material played on the night did not, being largely meandering free-form instrumentals. These didn't endear the group to the audience, most of whom wanted their disco back. I seem to remember that they played two sets with the disco in between.

The final 'heresy' I have to admit is that Pink Floyd were actually subjected to muted, but none the less audible, slow-handclapping by the no-nonsense Lancastrian audience, or at least some of the audience. I didn't join in - I was still mesmerised by the slides. If I had so, then this might have given me my third claim to fame (sorry, 'infamy'). The man who slow handclapped The Floyd in 67... but I didn't."

Bill Beaver 1st July 1996. Thanks also to Steve Wilcock for transcription.

Pink Floyd played The Floral Hall, Southport 20/5/67.