A musician friend of mine posted this on FB yesterday. Great sound and camerwork. Worth a watch just for the shot of the Presenter dashing off stage before the Start Turn comes on. Chuck had been a big name for a good while by this stage so I suppose it’s no surprise that he makes good show. The band (Belgian jazzers I imagine) do a commendable job too
Chuck Berry on Belgian TV in 1965
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He’d been in prison for trafficking a 14 year old, 1 1/2 years not too long before this (his second spell, and not his last), and it was around this time that his erratic and unpleasant attitude towards backing bands really kicked in. The clip above is a favourite of mine as it’s a rare example of a band that can follow him properly and he does his thing as well as he ever did.
I have a really hard time with Chuck, for however entertaining he was, there was a recurring stream of nastiness around him. For example:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=akzvdiyCQ1EC&lpg=PA62&dq=Chuck%20Berry&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q&f=false
But yet, those brilliant records… it’s hard sometimes.
It’s very rare that I read a musician’s biography and finish it without concluding that the person is at best an extremely flawed individual. I can’t however unlike music that I like and carry on enjoying it.
I love Chuck. Last night I was playing Miles, the day before I had a John Martyn day and last week I went on a Lou Reed bender.