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Patto at The Beeb |
bbc radio sessions |
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Australian tour poster "I went to see Joe Cocker on the opening night of his stint at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. The Hordern is a huge hall in the Royal Agricultural Showgrounds in Sydney. At that time it had been fitted with a flat seating arrangement and a raised stage to cater for touring rock bands like Cockers. I lived in a share house in Surry Hills which is across Moore Park from the Showgrounds and I saw a lot of shows at the Hordern. "Patto was the support for Cocker and his entourage. I knew little about them even though I was an avid reader of NME and other industry rags. I had read that Ollie Halsall was a hot guitarist but that was all I knew. I was, and still am, a huge Cocker fan so I was really looking forward to seeing him after following him from the intial hit of 'With a Little Help from My Friends' and on through the albums and the Woodstock and Mad Dog films. Patto were a revelation. A solid rocking act. The only song I really remember is "Singing the Blues on Reds" but I was amazed by Ollie Halsall's solos. "Tanyrate, Cocker and entourage come on stage and start up. Somewhere along the line they had lost Bobby Keys and Jim Price so they were short handed compared to the advertising but we didn't care. Cocker was in fine form, out of his head but so was most of the audience. Two or three songs into the set, Ollie wanders onstage looking a bit lost. I think there was an on stage announcement by Cocker as to the circumstances but it was forty years ago and the memory is hazy. What I do remember is Ollie and the other guitarist standing nose to nose with the guitarist yelling out the chords till Ollie got the tune. Ollie gained confidence as the show went on and started to unleash on a couple of the solos that just made time stand still. I'm no musician but I knew I was listening to some one really special. Then they started on "The Letter" and the band wound into this one with a big powerhouse sound. Cocker wailed, the chorus was a surge and Ollie played a solo. A solo that had the entire band agog trying to figure out where he was going and how he was going to resolve. The band was watching him intently, with the piano player hanging off his stool. As Ollie swept into the climax he turned his back and pulled out some piece of utter magic. The piano player nearly fell off his stool, the band roared on, Cocker laughed and launched into the wind up. "I've seen a lot of acts now but that night does stick in the memory." George Millwood 2012
Western Springs, New Zealand 1972
Western Springs, New Zealand 1972 Note: Although Ollie's 'Beatnik' beard dates this photo correctly, he has the same jacket he wore onstage with Boxer some 4 years later. Maybe he picked it up in there!
Rather disturbing photo of Joe Cocker under arrest in Melbourne during the tour. Thanks to Buda. [The picture that is, not the arrest!]
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'Top of The Pops' - Brian Matthew Not the TV show, unfortunately, but two tracks from a transcription disk of that title probably produced for distinution via the BBC World Service Sounds of the 70's - Mike Harding Sounds of the 70's - Bob Harris + Dave Brooks: Sax Sounds of the 70's - John Peel + Dave Brooks: Sax
Sounds of The 70's - Alan Black Sounds of The 70's - Mike Harding Sounds of The 70's - Bob Harris Clive Griffiths bass |
In Concert + Bernie Holland: Guitar Sounds of The 70's - Bob Harris PATTO AT THE BEEB The selections are of exceptional sound quality and represent the best live performances still in existence.
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Live in Munich Best recording from these unreleased European shows. Piper 2000, Viarreggio, Italy
Recording coutesy of Francesco Malfatti Stockholm
Thanks to Anders Ohman and Erik Amkoff for this remarkable recording from a tour supporting Ten Years After - Alvin Lee had the unenviable task of trying to follow this every night!. Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg
1971 Newly discovered version of a concert recording previously thought to been made in Italy, The overall sound on this one is still quite poor but Ollie's guitar is distinct and quite stunning in places. Many thanks to David Osbiston for supplying this vastly improved addition to the Archive, and to Marc Bouhier for identifying the venue [probably!]. The Wake Arms
San Antone Fair quality live recording - you can actually hear the bass! Rare outing for The Admiral's unique renderings of 50's 'doo wop' classics. Totally manic guitar on Hold Your Fire and an extraordinary, unidentified 25 minute [!] composition with Mike on piano. Recording not available for trade |
Can You Hear Me Johann? Entitled after Mike's impassioned cry to the roadie during the opening track. Dreadful sound quality. Virtually unlistenable. Halsey notably acknowledges the audience's 'appreciation' with the epilogue "Thank you and goodnight you miserable load of bastards, thank you! Live in Germany Dreadful sound quality. Virtually unlistenable
The Torrington Intro [Soley Soley] + Gary Windo [sax] Essential listening because it is one of only two remaining complete performances and includes much of the sheer lunacy that was Patto. Appalling quality recording via [John Halsey's] portable cassette recorder, but somehow it works. Don't You Rock Me! Loud Green Song To be fully evaluated Not at all bad for a portable cassette recording. Essential content includes a skiffle session with washboard solos from The Admiral. The Black Swan The Torrington
Hold Your Fire Essential listening because it is one of only two remaining complete performances and includes much of the sheer lunacy that was Patto. Appalling quality recording via Dictaphone, but somehow it works. |
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"Alvin Lee and Ten Years After did a tour of Scandinavia with us supporting. On the first night we played an absolute stormer and not one person applauded. Not one! Then Ten Years After came on, they hadn't played for six months. Ric the drummer was so rusty it was unbelievable. It was like Sweep playing the drums with Sooty on the Magic Organ! "And the audience went crazy. It made me wonder what it was all about.. certainly not about going on and playing well. Anyway, Alvin couldn't believe Ollie. He'd never heard him before, and he absolutely flipped. So he got a Revox and recorded every single Patto gig on the tour. Alvin even used to travel from gig to gig in our van., He just wanted to be with Ollie" - Drummer John Halsey . . more |
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The Archive holds the original recordings and is working towards an official reissue. In the meantime, please do not be tempted by the Flawed Gems 'label' bootleg of 
