The
OvalThe
OvalTony, Wayne, Pete, Derrick
We travelled to London in Tony's Black VW Beetle to stay overnight at his Gran's House in Fulham. After breakfast, we walked to the Oval, with hundreds of others
By Chris Charlesworth, [abridged version]
THE WHO, Surrey Cricket Club, the Faces, the Oval Cricket Ground, Buffalo Music and Bangla Desh may sound like an odd mixture to anyone who wasn't around Kennington on Saturday. But these six ingredients, coupled with the weather, combined to make Saturday a memorable day in the history of British rock.
It is doubtful whether any of the 31000 official guests (the figure was probably more like 35000) had cause to complain. The show, compared by Rikki "Isle Of Wight" Farr and a cricketing "Jeff Dexter", was superbly organised. The Oval itself proved an ideal natural venue for staging a rock concert of this magnitude. The unlikely partnership of the rock business and the establishment of the cricketing world paid off handsomely. At least £15000 will be given to the Bangla Desh victims as a result.
The choice of the Who and the Faces to finish off the night was a stroke of genius, not only because both rely on visual excitement to build up their act, but because there was undoubtedly a certain amount of rivalry between the two camps. The Who have long claimed the crown for the most exciting live act on the road - while the Faces have challenged them for the crown. Few, I feel, will disagree with me when I say that the Who retained their title. Not that the Faces played badly - they warmed up into one of their spontaneous chunks of excitement comfortably - but the Who played and sounded better. Comparisons with groups like the Who are unfair, but the sight of the audience cheering and waving their arms when the Who's gigantic arc lights were switched on is a sight I shall remember for many a year. While the Faces establish their friendly rapport with the audience, the Who are surrounded by a charisma which elevates them much higher than the 20 foot high stage. The violence and sheer guts of Pete Townshend's performance on Saturday made him the most commanding figure of the day.
The Who brought a new stage act to the Oval and a new sound system which was clearer than any other band on the bill. They played most of the numbers from their new album, so for most of the fans it was a first live hearing. They opened with "Summertime Blues". Entwistle's "My Wife" and "Love Ain't For Keeping" from "Who's Next" follow and then straight into a medley of "Can't Explain" and "Substitute". Three more new songs, including a lengthy "Won't Get Fooled Again" accompanied by taped organ, before the "Tommy" medley. First It's "Pinball"« then the lights darken for the opening chords of "See Me Feel Me". This song was the act's highlight. A single spot on Daltrey's head brought out the dramatic opening lines. Slowly the tempo built up with the lights simultaneously, until both group and audience were singing.
Seconds after the climax, the group went into "Generation", with Townshend leaping around the stage like a madman. He ran around in small circles whilst playing, smashed his head against his guitar and spun his arm in the propeller fashion he's made his trademark. Daltrey, with hair like some Grecian goddess, grabbed the mike stand for support while Moon attacked his drums with a ferocity no other drummer can. Sticks flew everywhere. And Entwistle, calm as ever, stood and watched. "Naked Eye", Townshend's anti-drug song which hasn't, as yet, been recorded followed, and they closed on "Magic Bus". Inevitably Townshend's guitar was sacrificed to the crowd. He hammered it to pieces with the mike stand and took a flying leap into his stack. The wreckage was thrown to the crowd as Moon stood up and literally walked through his drum kit.
Perhaps with a better start, the Faces would have matched the Who. Unfortunately, their sound balance during the opening numbers was shaky and Rod Stewart - in a leopard skin suit - could do little about it. It wasn't until "It's All Over Now" that things started moving. Ronnie Wood gave his usual superb display of slide guitar work during "Plynth", and "Maggie May" brought the crowd to their feet while Stewart camped around the stage swinging the mike stand like a drum-major. They finished with "Losing You", but came back for an encore (they were the only group to play an encore throughout the day) to play "Feel So Good". Once off the ground the Faces put every ounce of effort into their set.
With so much excitement in the closing hours of Saturday, other acts were probably quickly forgotten. Cochise opened the proceedings at 11a.m., followed by some chunky rock from the Grease Band. Lindisfarne - who received an outstanding ovation when they walked on stage - suffered from a faulty PA system. Quintessence chanted merrily for 3/4 of an hour. Mott The Hoople succeeded in waking people, their stomping attack on "Keep A Knocking" was the liveliest session of the afternoon. America, a three-piece acoustic group, took a long time tuning up and played a short set. Irishman Eugine Wallace took us on to Atomic Rooster, unfortunately, they were another band to suffer from poor sound balance.
So it was left to the Faces and the Who to bring the evening to a climax.
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