Musings on the byways of popular culture
…Dave McLarnon’s Shock Treatment, featuring a penetrating interview (by Coughing Colin H) with Dave McLarnon on the sofa plus Bazza McIlheney interviewed in the recording studio, with footage of the Treatment making their sensational comeback album ‘Exclusive Photos’. In the comments…
This is fascinating – a 20-minute BBC Schools documentary shot in 1973 about a jobbing semi-professional rock band called Renia, some with day jobs, some washing dishes, all subsidising the dream of turning professional (nothing changes…).
They released one album (on Transatlantic Records, home of 60s folk legends like Bert Jansch and Pentangle but by the 70s, home of third-division rockers like Stray, Skin Alley, Marsupilami…) and appeared in session once on Radio 1’s ‘Sounds of the 70s’.
Transatlantic label boss the legendary Nat Joseph is one of the interviewees here – displaying his charming but ruthless approach to business. It’s the only period film I’ve seen of Nat.
Also interviewed are Whispering Bob Harris and his producer Jeff Griffin, who (albeit very pleasantly) damn Renia with faint praise…
Renia are seen here in the studio and in concert in Liverpool – earning £30 and making a loss of £5 on the trip. Seemingly, the band knocked it on the head in the same month that the TV doc was broadcast (March 1974).
It’s a charming glimpse of a lost (but tough) world.
On 15 July, Bert Jansch recorded a BBC radio session for Bob Harris’ ‘Sounds of the 70s’. It has long been the holy grail of Bert’s BBC career – songs almost all from the ‘Rosemary Lane’ LP that in several cases he would never perform again. Six songs were recorded, split over two broadcasts: Twa Corbies, Nobody’s Bar and Bird Song plus some chat with Bert on 2 August 1971; and Omie Wise, Tell Me What is True Love and A Dream, A Dream, A Dream (plus a repeat of Bird Song) on 23 August 1971.
Christopher Gardiner, who made the priceless recording of Bert’s concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 30 June 1971 (previously shared on YouTube), taped all the songs from both of these broadcasts. Unfortunately, Twa Corbies is lost but everything else was on his reel in remarkable fidelity (albeit the 23/8/71 tracks being in mono and needing more restoration work). Cormac O’Kane has digitised, restored and mastered the recording – which, of course, came to light only a few months too late for Earth’s ‘Bert Jansch at the BBC’ 8CD set.
Enjoy!
Songs & date of broadcast: 1. Nobody’s Bar (2/8/71) 2. Bird Song » Continue Reading.
