ON THIS DAY… 14 JAN 1966

‘WILL YOU FOLLOW ME’ / ‘HEAD DEATH’ WAS RELEASED BY PAUL

Today saw the 1966 release of the Dylan-esque ‘Will You Follow Me’, written and sung by Paul Bedford; a guitar-playing troubadour and street musician who was playing in London’s Soho.

It was produced in a vein of all that was apparently current at that time on the tightest of budgets, but he had a talent for writing narratives like ‘Head Death’. I lost touch with him when I joined The Yardbirds. His uncle, Brian Bedford, was in the Oscar-winning film Grand Prix.

AUDIO: Head Death (Paul)

ON THIS DAY… 14 JAN 1966

‘WILL YOU FOLLOW ME’ / ‘HEAD DEATH’ WAS RELEASED BY PAUL

Today saw the 1966 release of the Dylan-esque ‘Will You Follow Me’, written and sung by Paul Bedford; a guitar-playing troubadour and street musician who was playing in London’s Soho.

It was produced in a vein of all that was apparently current at that time on the tightest of budgets, but he had a talent for writing narratives like ‘Head Death’. I lost touch with him when I joined The Yardbirds. His uncle, Brian Bedford, was in the Oscar-winning film Grand Prix.

AUDIO: Head Death (Paul)

14 January 1966

24 DEC 1966

I travelled to New York for an American tour with The Yardbirds

Twas the night before Christmas in 1966 and I was to leave from England with The Yardbirds to New York to begin a short American and Canadian tour with Keith Relf, Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja on board.

24 December 1966

ON THIS DAY… 18 DEC 1966

BLOW UP PREMIERED IN NEW YORK

The award-winning Michaelangelo Antonioni film, Blow Up, was premiered on this day in 1966 in New York and went on general release. Although The Yardbirds were not invited to any of the premieres, some of us lined up with everybody else sometime after the event to see the film. Apart from the section we had recorded, we knew very little about the film. The production team seemed to know as little about the plot as we did: in fact, it was said that Mr Antonioni had been asked what was the ‘Blow Up’ during the shoot and he replied ‘This is the blow up’, referring to the guitar breaking scene. I remember a very tall, statuesque in the line waiting to see the film, it was in fact Veruschka, a famous model of the time who featured in the film.

For Blow Up, The Yardbirds recorded the track ‘Stroll On’ at IBC studios in London. It was the first time Jeff Beck and I got to record with the guitars.

18 December 1966

ON THIS DAY… 02 DEC 1966

ON THIS DAY… 02 DEC 1966

I PLAYED ON DONOVAN’S SUNSHINE SUPERMAN

In 1965, I was asked to be on a session at Kingsway Studios, Holborn, London. It was for Donovan. One of the songs recorded that afternoon was Sunshine Superman; it was a massive hit in the UK and the US. I got to work with Donovan as a hired hand on a number of tracks on Hurdy Gurdy Man.

In June 2011, I was asked to play Sunshine Superman with Donovan at the Royal Albert Hall. It was a concert of many textures and colours, a tapestry of delights as the Sunshine Troubador showcase his illustrious career.

AUDIO: Sunshine Superman (Donovan)

2 December 1966

ON THIS DAY… 18 NOV 1966

I PLAYED THE MICHIGAN STATE FAIR WITH THE YARDBIRDS

The Yardbirds played Michigan State Fair in Detroit, MI, where Dick Clark made an appearance to check in with his Caravan of Stars! This gave me an opportunity to meet Andy Warhol again, who had come to the fair to present the Velvet Underground.

VIDEO: Velvet Underground - I´m Waiting For The Man

18 November 1966

28 OCT 1966

THE DICK CLARK CARAVAN OF STARS TOUR BEGAN

I played at the Tri State fairground at Amarillo with the Yardbirds to begin the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour. At this point there were five Yardbirds, but during the course of this tour there were to be four. The stars’ caravan was actually an overcrowded ‘Greyhound’ bus.

28 October 1966