In the late seventies, I went to plenty of gigs in the North West where someone would randomly shout out “Albatross”. Was this noted all over the UK or was it a Manchester or Lancashire thing to call out the name of Peter Green’s ‘Pious Bird Of Good Omen’. Were there other such pre gig “heckles”?
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One slightly drunken evening, there were about 6 of us wandering along Bournemouth Sea Front shouting “Albatross!” not in reference the ver Mac, but inspired by Monty Python.
(whatever the source, there were some confused faces around)
Don’t remember ‘Albatross’ but ‘Wally’ certainly was a constant in Liverpool in the mid 70s. We knew how to make our own entertainment in those days…
The shout was usually heard in that lull between the support act and the main artist. Now you mention it I do recall the Monty Python sketch at the cinema.
Definitely from Monty Python:
I remember hearing “Wally” at my first Springsteen show in 81. Where did it come from?
It supposedly originated late 60s early 70s at a festival (different ones are mentioned) supposedly a chap called Wally got lost his friend shouted for him and others took up the call.
Of course pre this a Wally was an idiot also the name for a pickled gherkin
Friend? Dog?
Oh how these legends modify over time
I suppose it depends on which version dog/friend Reading/ IOW you heard first, yours will always be the correct one.
Reading through some other accounts it was a drug dealer friend who got lost after a bad trip/too much dope.
I think we’ll never know.
All more believable than one etymological reasoning that it was invented by John Sullivan and first uttered by Delboy in Fools and Horses
I don’t think that’s right. In my mid-70s school playground, I was called a Wally lots of times.
Me not believing the Delboy reference either – I was called a wally several times before 1982 …
As Wally has been in use since the 1500s, admittedly not then as an idiot, decidedly wrong.
It’s a pickled gherkin that you get in a chip shop. Named after Sir Walter Raleigh who came up with the idea.
Also see the Earl of Sandwich and Baron Deep-Fried Mars Bar.
The shout of “Wally!” has been attributed to Reading Rock Festival sometime in the 70s.
Story goes someone lost their dog and was shouting for it, and the rest of the crowd joined in.
Martin Handford must have been there. His first Where’s Wally? book was published in 1987.
I camped in the Reading festival backstage compound (just a bit of mud with slightly shorter queues at the Portaloos) in 1993 and “Wally!” went on well after 1am.
“Albatross” is a follow-on from the ritual “Monty Python” sketch playground recitations of my early adolescence. It used to impress girls, we thought. “Wally” was heard at festivals.
The one I liked was “John Peel’s a c**t”, which was bellowed with a lot of jocularity and probably heard across Reading in 1977. Helped us to forget the rain and mud.
I recall “smash your instruments up” was around then, as was, if there was a power outage, “anyone got a sixpence?”.
I periodically call for ‘Freebird’ at gigs – usually at troubadour shows when there’s a pregnant pause for tuning up or the like. Usually gets a laugh. 🙂
Wally was already quite a thing at Reading 1975, my only visit to the 6th forms favourite festival.
Yes. Time for that one to be aired.
More sad than amusing were 70’s roadies’ inarticulate attempts to explain what they hoped to accomplish in life to uncaring gig goers.
“Want to…want to…” they would shout
You sure the weren’t shouting “Wal-ee, Wal-ee”
Film didn’t come out until 2008 so seems unlikely
Don’t remember albatross but wally was a staple in 70s London. I seem to recall it was often aimed at any balding but long haired bloke in a trench coat.
Stephen!!!
Just coming!
Whole Lotta Rosie was requested at a Nick Cave concert.
Doesn’t Ryan Adams get calls to play “Summer of ’69”?
He certainly used to in the days he could still draw a crowd. On one occasion, I believe he gave the requester his money back and apparently had him thrown out and
And he has played it
Good on him for seeing the funny side.
I recall Stephen Fry talking about being famous and meeting the public while out and about “off duty”. He said that if you play a character with a catchphrase or famous line, *every single day* somebody will say that line to you, and he was sure that they always, always think that they are the first one to ever say it to the celeb in question. I expect the same must be true for people who shout “funny” things at concerts.
I imagine that for a performer it must get a bit wearying after a while.
The was a funny scene about that in the Father Ted ep in which Richard (TV’s Victor Meldrew!) Wilson appeared
When Richard Wilson was on Shooting Stars, Bob Mortimer kept saying “I don’t believe you!” to him, which still makes me laugh. Getting things slightly wrong is a rich seam of comedy.
Wally was a regular cry at Manchester gigs in the late 70s.
Definitely shouted at Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow concert at the Apollo circa 1976, and many others I no longer can recall Im sure.
Rory Gallagher of Lynyrd Skynyrd at the FTH come to mine.
Happily the Partridge inspired cries of ‘Alan’ also seemed to have run their course
When I was at the Hendrix IOW festival, 1970, it seems to me like the “Wally!” shouting thing was then coming to it’s end. A bit passé.
But perhaps I’m wrong. Sands of time etc. ..
Still big at Reading, 5 years later.
Not forgetting the band called Wally who started in the early seventies.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_(band)
It’s always interesting to see what these slightly remembered bands got up to after they split up.