Friday 23rd October, 10pm on BBC4:
“Documentary exploring the rise and fall of the most visionary period in British music history. Five kaleidoscopic years between 1965 and 1970 when a handful of dreamers re-imagined pop music.
When a generation of British R&B bands discovered LSD, conventions were questioned. From out of the bohemian underground and into the pop mainstream, the psychedelic era produced some of the most ground-breaking music ever made, pioneered by young improvising bands like Soft Machine and Pink Floyd, then quickly taken to the charts by the likes of the Beatles, Procol Harum, the Small Faces and the Moody Blues even while being reimagined in the country by bucolic, folk-based artists like the Incredible String Band and Vashti Bunyan.
The film is narrated by Nigel Planer with contributions and freshly-shot performances from artists who lived and breathed the psych revolution – Paul McCartney, Ginger Baker, Robert Wyatt, Roy Wood, the Zombies, Mike Heron, Vashti Bunyan, Joe Boyd, Gary Brooker, Arthur Brown, Kenney Jones, Barry Miles, the Pretty Things and the Moody Blues.”
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Sounds great. Count me in.
gets in a poke of acid drops for the evening and gets the scatter cushions ready.
If you switch on the lava lamp now it should be just about ready in time.
Looks good – BBC4 Docs normally are.
But, can they do it proper justice in an hour?
The short time may lead to a “scrartching the surface” affair. Usually fine, but for a nerd I would hope for a three-parter (but then I say that about Heavy Metal Britannia, Prog Britannia, Punk Britannia (which I think was a three-parter actually), (insert a genre) Britannia).
Doubtless followed by Psych at the BBC – featuring well used clips from The Move, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix and Arthur Brown (what is the point of the BBC Archive if you can’t dredge/re-package it?)
Probably not, Ridge. A three-parter would be preferable.
Maybe by imbibing the right combination of herbs and botanicals I can make it feel like a threesome..er..three-parter.
I like that Neil is narrating.
Up for that.
With regards to the inevitabe over-shown clips programme afterwards (Jimi on Lulu’s show, ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’, ‘All You Need Is Love’ etc.) pop music was everywhere on TV in the 60s, yet I doubt we see even 5 per cent of it.
This would have ben so much better if it didn’t treat psych as something that happened between 1965-70. It’s fascinating how British music has maintained this strain, and I’d have loved to see some of the free-festival eccentrics of the 70s and 80s.
To maybe reinforce your point . . . in May 1994 Mojo magazine gave away a booklet called “Psychedelia: 100 Mind – Expanding Masterpieces”. (It was Mojo Music Guide No 1. No 2 was “100 Great Voices”; I don’t remember there being a No 3.)
It’s a selection of songs by Jon Savage who splits his choices into two lists, both arranged in chronological order from ’65 to ’69, with 50 UK tracks followed by 50 from the USA. Sorry for printing such a long list but I think it makes interesting reading to see what he considered psychedelic and what he excludes:
UK 50
1. Beatles: Tomorrow Never Knows (August 1966)
2. Rolling Stones: Paint It Black
3. Donovan: Season Of The Witch
4. Creation: Making Time
5. Yardbirds: Happenings 10 Years Time Ago
6. Cream: I Feel Free
7. Beatles: Strawberry Fields Forever
8. Pink Floyd: Interstellar Overdrive
9. The Smoke: My Friend Jack
10. Small Faces: Green Circles
11. David McWilliams: Days Of Pearly Spencer
12. Poets: In Your Tower
13. Move: I Can Hear The Grass Grow
14. Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced
15. Troggs: Night Of The Long Grass
16. Traffic: Paper Sun
17. John’s Children: Midsummer Night’s Scene
18. Attack: Colours Of My Mind
19. Beatles: It’s All Too Much
20. Small Faces: Itchycoo Park
21. Jimi Hendrix: The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice
22. Pink Floyd: Mathilda Mother
23. Rolling Stones: We Love You
24. Kaleidoscope: Flight From Ashiya
25. Pretty Things: Defecting Grey
26. The Who: Relax
27. The Herd: From The Underworld
28. Hollies: King Midas In Reverse
29. 23rd Turnoff: Michaelangelo:
30. Svensk: Dream Magazine
31. Idle Race: Imposters Of Life’s Magazine
32. Eric Burdon & The Animals: San Francisco Nights
33. Troggs: Love Is All Around
34. Tintern Abbey: Vacuum Cleaner
35. Dantalian’s Chariot: Listen To The Madman
36. Simon Dupree & The Big Sound: Kites
37. Beatles: I Am The Walrus
38. Tomorrow: Revolution
39. Fairport Convention: It’s Alright Ma, It’s Only Witchcraft
40. Status Quo: Pictures Of Matchstick Men
41. The Apple: The Otherside
42. The Mirror: Faster Than Light
43. Nirvana: Rainbow Chaser
44. Big Boy Pete: Cold Turkey
45. Family: Me My Friend
46. Crazy World Of Arthur Brown: Fire
47. The Nice: Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon
48. Pink Floyd: Jugband Blues
49. Jimi Hendrix Experience: 1983 (A Merman . . . )
50. Blind Faith: Can’t Find My Way Home (Sept 1969)
US 50
51. The Byrds: Eight Miles High (RCA first version – Dec 1965)
52. Bob Dylan: Visions Of Joanna
53. Country Joe & The Fish: Section 43
54. Jefferson Airplane: Blues From An Airplane
55. Great Society: Someone To Love
56. The Charlatans: Alabama Bound
57. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Electricity
58. Oxford Circle: Foolish Woman
59. 13th Floor Elevators: Roller Coaster
60. Vejtables: Feel The Music
61. The Count 5: Psychotic Reaction
62. Lowell George & The Factory: The Loved One
63. Sons Of Adam: Feathered Fish
64. Love: 7 & 7 Is
65. Beach Boys: Good Vibrations
66. Sopwith Camel: Frantic Desolation
67. Kadeidoscope: Keep Your Mind Open
68. The Seeds: Mr Farmer
69. Electric Prunes: Get Me To The World On Time
70. Mystery Trend: Johnny Was A Good Boy
71. Moby Grape: Omaha
72. Third Bardo: Five Years Ahead Of My Time
73. Jefferson Airplane: White rabbit
74. The Doors: Crystal Ship
75. Tim Buckley: Hallucinations
76. Chocolate Watch band: Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love In)
77. Big Brother & The Holding Company: Ball & Chain
78. Painted Faces: Anxious Color
79. Beau Brummels: Magic Hollow
80. Love: The Red Telephone
81. Strawberry Alarm Clock: Incense & Peppermints
82. Buffalo Springfield: Broken Arrow
83. Byrds: Change Is Now
84. Otis Redding: (Sitting On The) Dock Of The Bay
85. Balloon Farm: A Question Of Temperature
86. Sly & The Family Stone: Dance To The Music
87. Quicksilver Messanger Service: Pride Of Man
88. Grateful Dead: That’s It For The Other One
89. Iron Butterfly: In A Gadda Da Vida
90. Steppenwolf: Magic Carpet Ride
91. Steve Miller: Song For Our Ancestors
92. Tommy James & The Shondells: Crimson & Clover
93. Lothar & The Hand People: Machines
94. Spirit: A Dream Within A Dream
95. White Lightning: William
96. Youngbloods: Darkness Darkness
97. Kak: Electric Sailor
98. Grateful Dead: Mountains Of The Moon
99. Jimi Hendrix: Star Spangled Banner
100. Skip Spence: War In Peace (Sept 1969)
You can find most of the tracks on YouTube. Nice to see Jimi Hendrix is in both lists!
I must explore that list. I had these Mojo books back in the day but didn’t really explore them at the time. It’s much easier now!
I wonder if they’ll show that clip of Pink Floyd doing See Emily Play from TOTP which they thought was lost but turned up in some archive?
There was a brief article about it in record collector a few months back
Video already set for a week on Friday!!
Bump for this, cos it’s tonight.
Thanks, really looking forward to it.
Yep. Getting psyched up for it…