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Gentle Giant
Tour History
***
Part One ***
***
The Early Days ***
(1970 -
1971)
new information will be in RED
* Prologue *
Gentle Giant was formed by the three
Shulman brothers (Phil, Derek and Ray), all of whom had earlier been in the
late '60's British pop/soul/rock and roll band known as Simon Dupree and the
Big Sound. This earlier group, formed in
1966, played all around England for about four years, enjoying the odd TV and
radio spot, as well. They managed one
album and one UK Top 5 single, but failed to make any lasting impression on
England's pop music scene. By the end of
1969, the Shulmans decided to disband Simon Dupree and set their eyes on the
growing market for a more creative, intelligent type of music that eventually
came to be called progressive rock.
Simon Dupree may have stayed together long enough to complete
contractual obligations into January 1970, as a number
of gigs are known to have been advertised, including an appearance in Bath on
Jan. 23. Some of these concerts may very
well have been canceled, but one published Simon Dupree source did mention Bath
as being that band’s final gig. Another
show in Derby was even announced for February 26, but it’s very unlikely that
particular show went ahead as planned.
Whatever the case, by February 1970, they
had formed their new group, retaining Martin Smith from his time at the tail
end of the previous group, and adding new members Kerry Minnear and Gary
Green. Derek and Kerry have both stated
that the group originally hoped to simply call themselves Giant, but an
alternate name was suggested by a booking agent named Colin Richardson who
worked at their management company, the Gerry Bron Agency. Richardson noticed the music they had begun
working on had both powerful and delicate qualities, so he proposed the longer
name Gentle Giant and the band agreed.
This new group strove for a sound that was adventurous, challenging and
distinctly its own. Right from the
start, their compositions seemed to be equal parts rock, jazz, classical,
avant-garde, blues, medieval, and whatever else they could mix into the musical
stew. They were ambitious, to say the
least, but with their vocal and multi-instrumental virtuosity, they were
confident that they could realize
their vision.
1970
Feb. ? Gentle
Giant was formed, classically-trained Kerry Minnear being recruited on
keyboards from a defunct band called Rust just returning from Europe. Formal rehearsals and songwriting sessions
began immediately in Portsmouth, England.
Kerry brought Rust’s guitarist, a gentleman named Eric Lindsey, into the
band with him so it could be said that Lindsey was Giant’s first official
guitar player. However, it was clear
from the start that he wasn’t really right for the job so his stay was
short. After a few weeks, he was let go
and the band immediately began looking for someone to permanently fill the
guitar spot.
Mar. ? During
March, Gary Green joined Gentle Giant.
Thirty to thirty-five guitarists vied for the spot, with the Shulman
brothers viewing Gary as clearly superior.
Gary has stated that, by the time of his arrival, the musical framework
for a number of songs had already been mapped out.
Apr. ? In
April, the brand-new band went into Philips Studios in London for their very
first recording session, the intention being to record an audition tape for the
progressive leaning Vertigo record label, Philips being Vertigo’s parent
organization. The liner notes included
with the 1997 UNDER CONSTRUCTION album state that this happened on Feb.
23, but that is clearly wrong, as Gary had not even joined the band by that
date. Kerry has confirmed April as the
correct month of this session. The songs
on the audition tape were Weekend Cowboy, Bringing Me Down and an
early version of Nothing at All.
Apparently, the band did sufficiently impress Vertigo, as the label did
end up signing them to their first record contract shortly after. There has been some indication that Weekend
Cowboy and Freedom's Child were at one point intended for release as
a single and, in fact, early advertisements did suggest a single was planned
for later in the year, but the truth of this has not yet been verified one way
or the other. Whatever the case, all
these songs remained unreleased until their inclusion on UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
For the
first few months of its existence, Giant was more or less a studio band. Instead of concentrating on live work, they
were content to spend their time shaping the musical direction of the band in
the rehearsal hall and recording studio.
They spent quite some time early on rehearsing in a cottage in
Ad for Gerry Bron Organization 1970
In concert, they mostly played the songs that would turn
up on their first album. They are known
to have played all seven of these songs live, plus a few others, though not all
at every concert, and the order was undoubtedly switched around from time to time. Choosing from these songs allowed them to
feature each of the players on a variety of instruments. Switching instruments back and forth became
one of their trademarks. The band
members became so comfortable with these songs that material from their first
album continued to make up the bulk of their setlists well into 1972.
TYPICAL SETLIST (Mid 1970 - Mid 1971)
Giant
Funny Ways - Kerry’s
vibraphone solo was much more subdued originally than the frantic renditions he
played on later tours.
Alucard
Isn't It Quiet and Cold?
Nothing at All - This song, in particular, showed off
the group's versatility as it included a percussion break that not only
featured Martin Smith but, according to Kerry, also saw he and Ray pounding on
the drums. It's been said that Derek
ended this break by beating a gong.
Eventually, in later years, this evolved into a full 5-man drum bash,
still including Derek's gong. This is
also the only live number on which Kerry ever played the bass guitar.
Why Not?
Plain Truth - This song eventually appeared on the
second album, ACQUIRING THE TASTE.
It served as a vehicle for Ray Shulman's violin solo, which became a
fixture on many future tours. Like
Kerry’s vibraphone solo described above, this solo was, at first, a bit more
reserved but, in later years, Ray extended it and added quadraphonic echo
effects, turning the song into quite a crowd pleaser.
Hometown Special - never included on any of their regular
albums, though it saw release many years later
City Hermit - also never included
on a regular GG album, but released many years later. On stage, the band originally referred to the
song by the name City Hermit, Me.
The Queen - generally used to end the main set,
giving the band members a chance to thank and say goodbye to the audience
Peel Off the Paint -
Often used as an encore, this song could be considered an early precursor to Peel
the Paint from the third album.
However, although the lyrics were very similar, the music was quite
different in nature. It included an
extended guitar solo.
Sadly,
very few live recordings from the early days of the band exist, so it is not
known whether any other material such as Weekend Cowboy, Bringing Me
Down or Freedom's Child may have been included in their stage shows
at that time. However, it is known that
a song called Evil Woman was played live in the early days, one which
May 9 Portsmouth, England Portsmouth Polytechnic - Union
House
Contemporary
write-ups in a Portsmouth newspaper verify this as being Gentle Giant's very
first gig, an event further corroborated by a recently discovered concert
poster. A 1973 issue of Melody Maker
also makes reference to the band’s first public performance as having been in
their hometown. Beginning in 1965, Union
House held the college’s Student Union facilities. The four story building contained not only
Union offices and meeting rooms, but also a couple bars, a lounge and even a
travel agency. It also contained a hall
used for concerts such as this one, the hall being simply called Union House
Hall. The Union’s Entertainment
Committee that would book these events would then use the name “Soc Scene” to
promote them. In 1991, Portsmouth
Polytechnic merged with Portsmouth Art School and the following year, the
college was renamed University of Portsmouth, as it is still known today. Gary Green has described this as a “tune-up
gig” and the band members were quite nervous. Giant was the headline act with
Fairfield Parlour serving as the opener.
This support band was managed by BBC deejay David Symonds and already
had its first single getting some radio airplay. This raises the question of why Giant, a band
with no gigs under its belt, was granted the headline position. It can only be assumed that, while Fairfield
Parlour was a London based group, Giant’s status as local Portsmouth residents
worked in their favor. Simon Dupree and
the Big Sound had been hometown heroes and it may be assumed that many in
Portsmouth would be interested in seeing what the Shulman brothers had come up
with next. In fact, the concert poster
even stated that the “exciting new sound” of Gentle Giant would feature “ace
singer Simon Dupree”. The band’s exact
setlist at this premier concert cannot be determined, except to say that they
definitely ended with The Queen, a tradition they continued for quite a
while afterwards. The hall had no seats,
requiring all in attendance to stand.
Perhaps 1,000 or a bit more could safely fit inside, although fire
regulations were known to be ignored from time to time. Unfortunately, although the Portsmouth
Evening News gave an encouraging review, the newspaper also described the
turnout for Giant as “disappointing”.
The Student Union moved out of Union House in 1983. The original building is now a gymnasium run
by the University.
Portsmouth Polytechnic - the band’s
very first gig May 9, 1970
June 6 Exeter, England Exeter University
CANCELED. GG was set
to open for Van Der Graaf Generator on this date. Gary recalls that members of the headlining
band arrived in town early and did some sunbathing. It was quite a hot day, however, and one of
them ended up with sunstroke, leading to the cancelation.
Exeter ad - canceled concert June 6, 1970
June 20 Hamburg, Germany Klein
Flottbek
Giant appeared on
the first day of the two day “Hamburg Open Air Pop Festival”, more commonly
known as the "Big Gig Festival”.
This was one of the few concerts GG played outside of
Hamburg - “Big Gig Festival” June 20, 1970
June 25 London, England Haverstock Hill Country Club
This was billed as
a special promotional appearance of some sort, with no other bands taking part.
London - Haverstock Hill ad June 25, 1970
June 29 There
was a rumor that the band recorded a studio session on this date for the BBC,
with the intention that it air on deejay Terry Wogan's afternoon radio
program. However, this is unlikely, as
there is no hard evidence of either a recording or a subsequent broadcast.
July 2 London,
England Speakeasy
July 4 Portsmouth,
England Greyhound Stadium
This
was an open-air festival billed as "Popday '70" and promoted as a
“progressive extravaganza”. Also on the bill
were ten other bands, including the Strawbs, the Keef Hartley Band, East of
Eden and Uriah Heep. The master of
ceremonies was Mike Raven, who introduced each band. Melody Maker subsequently reviewed the
event poorly, claiming it had “a turn-out of about 300 people in a stadium capable of
holding 10,000 and a house PA system that was unbelievably bad”. Greyhound Stadium was a dog-racing track.
Portsmouth
- “Popday 70 Festival” July 4, 1970
July 10 Birmingham,
England Mother's
GG
was the only live band performing on this date at this well-known Birmingham
club. However, in advertising for the
gig, they actually received second billing to BBC presenter Andy Ferris who was
providing deejay services.
Birmingham ad July 10, 1971
July 15 London,
England Marquee
Club
According
to records kept by the Marquee and published in the book London Live,
Giant was only ever booked to play three times at this famed London
nightclub. This was the first, the
others being on Sept. 14, 1970 and Nov. 24, 1971. Unlike many of their contemporaries in the
young progressive rock genre, Giant never secured a regular weekly residency at
the Marquee. They were never a
London-based band, preferring to use the Shulmans’ home town of Portsmouth as
their base of operations for most of the 1970’s. This may have been a contributing factor to
the difficult time they had later on gaining acceptance by English
audiences. On this night, they played in
support of Slade.
London
ad - first Marquee Club appearance
July 15, 1970
July 21 The
band recorded their first verified BBC studio session at the Playhouse Theatre
in London,
Aug. 17 The
BBC session from July 21 was broadcast on Sounds of the Seventies,
hosted by David Symonds. The other band
having studio sessions on the same broadcast was called Honeybus. Simon Dupree had had a number of BBC sessions
aired, but this was the first confirmed time Gentle Giant appeared on British
radio.
BBC Sounds of the Seventies -
very first radio appearance Aug. 17,
1970
Aug. ? Their
first full album, GENTLE GIANT, was recorded at Trident Studios in
Aug. 29 The
UNDER CONSTRUCTION liner notes state that on this date, at Trident
Studios, the band recorded Freedom's Child and Hometown Special. In that case, these two songs would certainly
have been recorded as part of the overall recording sessions for the first
album, although they did not see the light of day until their inclusion on UNDER
CONSTRUCTION.
Sep. 10 Eastleigh, England Concorde
Club
The Concorde Club is a still active music venue just north of
Southampton. GG
performed a number of times in the Southampton area during their early years,
the city being only about 20 miles from their home base of Portsmouth, and it’s reasonable to assume that not all of the gigs have
been uncovered yet. Records kept by the
club show that Simon Dupree and the Big Sound played there an amazing nineteen
times, although those same records only confirm one appearance by Gentle
Giant. Up until three weeks before this
gig, the Concorde Club was located inside the Bassett Hotel right in the city
of Southampton, but this Sep. 10 show was actually held at the newly opened
Eastleigh location. Gary believes the
band may have played more than once at the Concorde, including possible very
early dates at the Bassett Hotel itself.
An archivist at the club points out that if the band had any last-minute
bookings, they may not have appeared in advertised programs at the time.
Sep. 14 London,
England Marquee
Club
shared
the bill with Czar and another band named Jenks
London
ads - second Marquee Club appearance Sep. 14, 1970
Sep. 28 Ads
in New Musical Express and other UK publications confirm a BBC session
as being broadcast on this date on Sounds of the Seventies, hosted by
David Symonds, more than likely a rebroadcast of the earlier July 21
session. Also appearing with sessions on
this date’s program were Spencer Davis and Peter Jameson.
??? Southend-on-Sea,
England
UNCONFIRMED. Giant is
said to have played Southend-on-Sea a number of times in 1970 and early
1971. One is thought to have been
between September and December of 1970, possibly at the Kursaal Ballroom.
Oct. 8 Martin
Griffiths, the lead singer for the Scottish band Beggars Opera, recalls a
release party for that band’s first album held at Ronnie Scott’s club in London
on Oct. 8, 1970, Griffiths’ 21st birthday. He remembers his band playing with Gentle
Giant as part of the celebration, both bands being recently signed to Vertigo
Records. This may have been a private
party, but it is unclear.
Oct. 9 London,
England The Temple
a
triple bill with Tear Gas on first, a band called Kiss playing second, and
Giant taking the stage last. This is not
the same Kiss that captured the hearts of heavy metal fans later in the 1970's,
although Giant and that band did actually follow each other at an American
venue on August 23, 1975. The Temple was
similar in design to the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool and was located down a
steep set of stairs from Ronnie Scott’s, a well-known
London
- Temple ads - original and revised bill
Oct. 9, 1970
Oct. 10 Coventry,
England Lanchester
Polytechnic - Students’ Union
shared
a bill with Stone the Crows and Mead. In
the Coventry Evening Herald, Giant was advertised as “Simon Dupree’s New
Group”.
Coventry
ad Oct. 10, 1970
Nov. 13 Maidstone,
England Maidstone
Technical College
GG,
along with the band Ginhouse, both opened for Stray whose advertised lightshow,
according to an attendee, was quite impressive.
Sadly, Ray had his Hagstrom guitar stolen while
in Maidstone for this show.
Maidstone poster Nov. 13, 1970
Nov. 14 Exeter,
England Exeter
University
UNCONFIRMED. For quite some time,
it was assumed that Giant played this gig where they were was preceded by
Quatermass, both opening for Ginger Baker's Air Force. There is certainly evidence to support this
but one online source now claims that Baker was actually supported by Arthur
Brown’s new band Kingdom Come in the University’s Devonshire House. Confirmation on exactly what happened is
needed. Regardless of who opened the
show, Baker himself had a bad night, being accused of arriving late,
threatening people from the stage, getting into a physical altercation with a
doorman, and a couple instances of lewd behavior. As a result, the University withheld 100
pounds from his fee.
Nov. 26 Dundee,
Scotland Dundee
University
Nov. 27 On
this date, their first album, GENTLE GIANT, was apparently released by
Vertigo in England, followed by European releases over the next few
months. However, it was not originally
released in America. This UK release
date of Nov. 27 seems fairly definitive, but album release dates are often very
difficult to pin down exactly. Even when
a specific date was planned and advertised, it sometimes got moved back or
forward at the last minute. At times, it
may have been leaked prematurely in certain locales. For these reasons, all release dates in this
Tour History should cautiously be viewed merely as best evidence available so
far. Further information is always
welcome.
Ad for first album release Nov. 27, 1970
Nov. 27 Glasgow,
Scotland Morpheus
This
popular Glasgow night spot had previously been known as the Maryland Club.
Glasgow
press notice Nov. 27, 1970
Nov.
28 Kirklevington, England Country Club
Dec. 1 The
band recorded their second BBC studio session, this time at London's Maida Vale
Studio 5. The songs were Hometown
Special, Nothing at All and
Dec. 2 Harlow,
England Aquarius
Birdcage
shared
the bill with Gnidrolog. Stewart
Goldring of Gnidrolog remembers Gentle Giant as being "not so
gentle!"
Harlow ad Dec. 2, 1970
Dec. 5 London,
England Bumpers
The
band played this gig alone.
Bumpers was a brand new 600 seat club which was promoted in the press as
having a “progressive policy”.
Advertisements showed a closed, “invitation only” concert on Dec. 3,
with the Dec. 5 Giant show being only the second concert open to the public.
London
- Bumpers ad Dec. 5, 1970
Dec. 7 Bolton,
England Bolton
Casino
This
was the annual ball sponsored by the Bolton School of Art. It was held at a nearby venue which, although
named the Casino, was actually a dance hall and had nothing to do with
gambling. Opening the show was guitarist
Mike Harding who later went on to considerable fame as a comedian and BBC
presenter but who, at the time, was an unknown.
Second on the bill was a band called Embryo. A member of this band claims his group played
horribly, but were consoled afterwards by kind words from some of the members
of Giant. GG themselves closed the show
in the headlining slot. At one point
during Giant’s set, an employee of the venue came up on stage and asked the band
to turn the volume down because the "neighbors are complaining." The band laughed and carried on without
changing anything.
Dec. 8 The
second BBC session was broadcast on Sounds of the Seventies, hosted by
Mike Harding. Studio sessions by the
band Greatest Show on Earth were also featured on this program.
Dec. 10 London,
England Lyceum
opened
for Colosseum. Ian Carr's Nucleus also played
support on this bill. A Melody Maker
review called Giant’s music “twee” and criticized the band’s frequent switching
of instruments as being “pretentious for the sake of it”. In an odd twist, this last phrase became a wry
badge of honor for the band and even appeared as the title of their 1977
compilation album.
London
Lyceum - ad and infamous Melody Maker review Dec. 10, 1970
Dec. 12 London,
England Speakeasy
New
Musical Express notice for London
Speakeasy and Redcar gigs Dec. 1971
Dec. 18 Redcar,
England Redcar
Jazz Club - Coatham Hotel
Located
in the northeast of England, this was a very popular mecca for up-and-coming
rock bands in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Dec. 19 Durham,
England Durham
University
Dec. ? Over
the UK holiday period of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Dec. 24
through Dec. 26, BBC competitor Radio Luxembourg included in their evening
broadcasts what they described as “Christmas messages and record dedications”
by a number of musicians and celebrities.
Gentle Giant was among this list of UK musicians whose messages were
aired.
Dec. 30 London,
England Tooting
Castle
Czar
played support.
London - Tooting Castle ad Dec. 30, 1970
Long-time fans of the band
remember several other UK gigs from very early in the 1970's, but they are not
all confirmed and specific details do not exist. Even the exact year of the concerts is
unknown, except to say that 1970 or 1971 is likely for most of them. It is known that, early on, they shared a
bill on at least one occasion with a London band called Clear Blue Sky,
although no date, city or venue information is available. Additionally, there have long been rumors
that Giant shared early bills with the Italian band Premiata Forneria Marconi,
later known simply as PFM, but so far, no such dates have been found.
??? Brynmawr, Wales Semtex Club
A member of the audience became a
long-term fan of the band after seeing this show. An exact date is unknown but he remembers it
as being “just after they changed their name from Simon Dupree and the Big
Sound”, possibly placing it as a very early gig.
??? Eastleigh,
England Technical
College
UNCONFIRMED
??? Fareham,
England Fareham Youth
Centre
Although
not able to recall the exact date, other than being prior to December 1971, a
fan does specifically remember this early gig and recalls the band as being
eagerly anticipated by the youth of the area and very loud the night of the
show. At the time, Youth Centres and
Youth Clubs were common places for up and coming British bands to play on their
way up the ladder of success. This
particular centre hosted many rock concerts in the 1960’s and the early 1970’s. This was a separate gig from the Fareham
Technical College show of May 28, 1971 listed below.
??? Hertford,
England Balls Park
Teacher Training College
recalled
recently by a BBC presenter during an interview with Ray Shulman
??? Portsmouth,
England South Parade Pier
UNCONFIRMED. recalled
simply as being from the “early 1970’s”
??? Salisbury,
England Alex Rooms
Giant
definitely played a gig here early on, in either 1970 or 1971. Although the exact date is not known, it may
have been on a Saturday. On this day of
the week, the club regularly held an “Alex Disco” night featuring many up and
coming bands and big name acts.
??? York,
England Hypnotique
This
gig, taking place in 1970 or 1971, is remembered by a fan as getting only a
mediocre response from the crowd. The
Hypnotique was a small dance club with an official capacity of about 200,
although some times more were squeezed in.
This show probably took place on a Thursday, as that is the day the club
usually hosted live bands.
??? Coventry,
England Whitley Abbey
School
It’s
already known GG played here on Dec. 8, 1971, but a student at the time
remembers the band playing here twice in their early days. The unknown date was probably before the Dec.
8 show and has been described as a school dance. They were so well received on this first visit
to the school that they were specifically invited back for the second.
1971
During
the first few months of 1971, Gentle Giant still tended to spend a lot of time
on songwriting and recording, but they were also doing more and more live
work. They stuck with the same basic
setlist of their inventive originals but, unfortunately, they had some trouble
shaking the Simon Dupree tag with the English audiences. A press report at the time mentioned that
they planned to do a six-week US tour later in the year, possibly with a
big-name American band, but this never came to pass. The group didn’t make it
to
Jan. - Apr. Their second album, ACQUIRING THE TASTE,
was recorded at A.I.R. and Advision Studios in
Jan. 5 The
BBC Sounds of the Seventies program, hosted by Mike Harding, rebroadcast
Giant’s second studio session, recorded on Dec. 1, 1970. Other acts presenting live sessions on this
episode are unknown and, in fact, Giant’s may have been the only session
included.
??? Portsmouth,
England Tricorn Club
This
is a fascinating gig recalled by Pete Cross, the Tricorn’s deejay at the time,
and corroborated by Phil Shulman in a 2009 radio interview. Apparently, a ballad singer by the name of
Richard Barnes was booked to play this club but needed a backup band. Gerry Bron, who managed both Giant and
Barnes, asked Giant if they could help by backing Barnes at the gig. They agreed and after a very short time for
rehearsal, all six members of the band appeared at the show, setting up on
tiered levels behind the singer.
Interestingly, a string section was also employed to bolster the sound
and give it the right cabaret feel for Barnes’ ballads. The exact date of the show is unknown, except
that it occurred on a Saturday. Gary,
who also specifically recalls this unusual concert, believes it to have taken
place in early 1971.
??? Portsmouth,
England Tricorn Club
The
club’s deejay, Pete Cross, has also confirmed that the group played on a few
other early occasions at this Portsmouth night spot. It’s known at least one of these appearances
was on a Tuesday, as that was the day of the week the club set aside for
presenting the more “progressive” acts.
??? Southend-on-Sea,
England Kursaal Ballroom
another
of the band’s numerous gigs in Southend-on-Sea.
There are indications this one was probably in early 1971. Giant may have played alone or they may have
had a support act. There is another
report that the Welsh band Sassafras once opened for Giant at the Kursaal. It may or may not have been this gig. The Kursaal was notorious for poor acoustics.
??? Cardiff,
Wales Llandaff
Technical College
A
fan at the show seems to recall hearing the song Black Cat. This might have placed the show more
correctly in 1971 but, actually, band members have no memory of ever playing
this song on stage.
Jan. 16 London,
England Imperial
College
shared
the bill with Affinity, a member of Affinity confirming that Giant was the
headliner
London
- Imperial College ad Jan. 16, 1971
Jan. 22 London,
England Bedford
College
shared
the bill with Uriah Heep
London
- Bedford College ad Jan. 22, 1971
Jan. 29 Exeter,
England Exeter
University
scheduled
to open for the Faces, but the headliners did not show up. GG played an extended set alone. A decent crowd was in attendance and seemed
to enjoy the show. Phil was recently
asked about this gig and, although he has an excellent memory, he could not
recall this one.
Exeter
flyer Jan. 29, 1971
Jan. 31 Southend-on-Sea,
England Palace Theatre
another
gig in Southend-on-Sea. Here, Giant
played in support of Uriah Heep, the gig being promoted by a gentleman named
Jon Paul whose main occupation was as the owner of a local clothing outlet. The only substantive information about the
band’s set on this evening was that they did indeed open with Giant.
Feb. 2 London,
England Lyceum
This
was a lunchtime gig billed as a “lunchtime workshop”. The venue was open from noon until 3:00 P.M.
and deejay Andy Dunkley was also on hand for the event.
London - Lyceum ad Feb. 2, 1971
Feb. 7 North
Finchley, England Torrington
a
show they played alone
Press notices for North Finchley and
Winchester gigs Feb. 1971
Feb. 12 Winchester,
England King Alfred’s
College - John Stripe Theatre
This
gig was arranged by a boyhood friend of Ray Shulman’s named Rick Fudge who was
attending this teaching college at the time and who was thanked from the stage
during the band’s introduction. An
existing tape of the concert, recorded by a member of the road crew, is the
earliest known live Gentle Giant recording.
It includes the only known live recordings of Hometown Special, City
Hermit, Isn't It Quiet and Cold? and Peel Off the Paint, all
of which disappeared from their setlist shortly afterwards. The tape remained in the possession of a band
member and, for years, the possibility was floated that the band would someday
release it officially. In 2009, they
finally did under the simple title KING ALFRED’S COLLEGE. In 2019, it was remastered and again included
in the massive 30-CD boxset UNBURIED TREASURE, issued by Snapper
Music. Some band members had originally
remembered this to be from the band's fifth gig in 1970. However, they were incorrect. On the recording, Derek mentions that the
first album had been released "seven weeks ago" and they had just
been in the studio recording Plain Truth as their first recording for
their second album. This places the gig
in the first half of February 1971.
Final confirmation of the date can be found in the Feb. 6, 1971 issue of
New Musical Express which includes an announcement that Giant were
scheduled to play at “Winchester College Theatre (February 12)”. Curiously, Derek also mentions on the
recording that Plain Truth was to be included as a bonus track on an
upcoming U.S. release of their first album, an event that did not come to
pass. On this night, the band played to
a "packed house", as Derek described it, also claiming that to be
"unusual" for the band's college gigs at the time. John Stripe Theatre was a small to medium
sized facility with a few hundred tiered seats.
As it turns out, Rick Fudge arranged at least one return engagement to
this same college on March 4, 1973, shortly after Phil Shulman had left the
band.
Feb. 18 London,
England NEL Polytechnic
This
gig was part of an “Arts Festival” held at this college that ran for a number
of days, ending on Feb. 20. On this
particular date, only Giant and Colosseum played, with Giant opening.
London
- NEL Poytechnic “Arts Festival” ad
Feb. 18, 1971
Feb. 26 London,
England Horseshoe
Pub
another
lunchtime gig, this time billed as a “lunchtime live album”. The Horseshoe regularly held these events at
which bands were invited to perform live the music from their latest
album. There is an unsubstantiated
report that a recording of this performance may exist.
London - Horseshoe Pub ad Feb. 26, 1971
Feb. 27 Manchester,
England Manchester
University - Student Union
Giant
opened for Colosseum at this concert, as confirmed by newspaper listings and an
existing poster. The poster clearly
states that the headlining band “will be recording live tracks for their next
LP”. It’s long been known that Colosseum
did indeed record their show at Manchester University in the spring of 1971,
some of which was released on their LIVE album later in the year, but
it’s generally been assumed that this recorded gig was held on Mar. 18. However, new evidence has come to light
showing they recorded a total of five gigs as source material for their album,
including two trips to Manchester University, on both Feb. 27 and Mar. 18. They were so impressed with the venue’s
acoustics the first time around that they offered to return the second time for
free, to do further recording. Giant
appeared as openers on the Feb. 27 date and Paladin opened on Mar. 18. Nevertheless, some conflicting information
does exist. Multiple ads show that Sandy
Denny’s folk-rock group Fotheringay was at one point scheduled to play the
University’s Student Union on Feb. 27, but that group supposedly disbanded in
late 1970, so it can be assumed 1971 engagements were canceled. Another ad has Cat Stevens and Duster Bennet
sharing a bill at the University on the same date, but that was actually
scheduled at the Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, a part of the
greater University, which housed its own smaller concert hall.
Manchester
poster Feb. 27, 1971
Mar. 1 London,
England City of
London Polytech
Swegas
was the headliner with Giant, Formerly Fat Harry and a band called Gehenna
opening. This event was advertised as a
ragdance, basically a student charity dance.
London - Polytech ad Mar. 1, 1971
Mar. 5 Manchester,
England Didsbury College
of Education
another
show they played alone. Interestingly, they
had already played in Manchester on Feb. 27, as listed above.
Manchester
ad Mar. 5, 1971
Mar. 6 Liverpool,
England Cavern Club
Several
band members remember this early gig at this legendary club, most famous for
boosting the career of the Beatles.
However, the event was hardly a glamorous one. While the band was setting up, a live rat
joined them on stage, watching the proceedings.
When asked to describe the place, Kerry said “cramped”. As was the custom with all bands that played
at the Cavern, GG’s name was engraved into a brick on one of the building’s
walls. Opening for Giant was the band
Gass.
Liverpool
- Cavern Club Mar. 6, 1971
Mar. 13 Polesworth,
England Polesworth
Memorial Hall
yet
another solo gig. Entrance to this relatively
small hall was only 50p and patrons also got to enjoy the music provided by a
well-known deejay from nearby Birmingham.
To promote this show, local advertising played on the fact that Giant
had recently participated in the “Arts Festival” in London with Colosseum, of
course referring to their Feb. 18 appearance at NEL Poytechnic.
Polesworth ad Mar. 13, 1971
Mar. 18 Manchester,
England University of Manchester
- Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
UNCONFIRMED. It’s
certain that Colosseum played this University’s Student Union on March 18, with
Paladin in the support slot. However,
there is a totally unconfirmed report that Giant also played there on the same
night, supported by Supertramp. If this
gig did take place, it must have taken place in the University’s Institute of
Science and Technology, which housed its own smaller concert hall. Again, this GG show, which would have been
their third in the city of Manchester in three weeks, is totally
unsubstantiated.
Mar. 19 Blackpool,
England Empress
Ballroom - Winter Gardens
This
event was called the "Arts Ball 71".
At this show, Colosseum and Marmalade were both the featured bands while
GG and Mott the Hoople played support. A
portion of the proceeds of this concert were donated to charity. A rumor has surfaced that Giant and Mott the
Hoople may have also played together on a different occasion, with Giant in
support. However, no details at all are
known, including the year this allegedly took place.
Blackpool
ad - “Arts Ball 71” Mar. 19, 1971
Mar. 20 London,
England Thames
Polytechnic - Student Union
Here
they headlined with Maya and Third World War opening.
London
- Thames Polytechnic poster Mar. 20,
1971
Mar. 22 Bristol,
England The Old Granary
Opening
for Giant was a band called Bucephalus.
According to a published book about this well-known club, Giant received
30 pounds payment for the evening’s performance.
Bristol ad Mar. 22, 1971
Mar. 26 Southend-on-Sea,
England Kursaal Ballroom
yet
another Southend-on-Sea appearance, this time organized by Southend Technical
College. Giant apparently were booked
heavily on the English college circuit in early 1971. At this show, also advertised as a ragdance,
Gypsy, Egg and Giant all opened for Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express.
Southend-on-Sea ad Mar. 26, 1971
??? Southampton,
England Woolston Pub
Giant
played a gig in this small pub, but the exact date is not known, other than
that it was in the first half of 1971. A
couple of young schoolboys convinced pub employees to allow them entrance with
a camera, saying they needed to take photos for a school project. Some of these photos were indeed displayed
afterwards in the halls of their school.
It’s possible GG shared the bill with the newly formed Wild Turkey, led
by ex-Jethro Tull member Glenn Cornick.
That band formed in March so, if these two groups did play together, the
gig could not have been before that.
Southampton Early 1971
Starting
at the very end of March, Giant went on its first known organized tour of
Europe, opening for a series of several concerts in Germany for Colosseum. Colosseum was a band also managed at the time
by Gerry Bron and with which they had played a number of gigs in
Record
Mirror reported that Giant purchased a brand new Cleartone
P.A. system just in time for this tour.
Early ad for German tour
with Colosseum Mar. - Apr. 1971
Mar. 31 Oldenburg,
Germany Weser-Ems Halle
opened
for Colosseum. This is the correct date
for this gig, although a surviving ticket stub lists Wednesday, Mar. 31, 1970
as the date. The stub is clearly wrong,
as GG had not even begun gigging in March of 1970. Besides, March 31, 1970 was actually a
Tuesday, while the same date in 1971 was indeed a Wednesday.
Oldenburg
- ticket printed with wrong year Mar.
31, 1971
Apr. 1 Hamburg,
Germany Musikhalle
opened
for Colosseum at this sold-out concert.
Although Giant was mostly unknown beforehand, the Colosseum crowd was
very enthusiastic in their response to the openers and cheered for more. Colosseum granted them an extra twenty
minutes on stage, giving Giant an opening set of over an hour. The Hamburger Abendblatt stated in its
review that GG had actually stolen the show from the headliners.
Hamburg ad Apr. 1, 1971
Apr. 2 Hannover,
Germany Mulltonne
opened
for Colosseum. The venue for this date
has proven difficult to confirm. At this
point, it is most likely that the two bands appeared at this new club in
Hannover. Very compelling accounts from
two separate audience members exist. One
of these fans recalls it was a very cold night and remembers the club’s
distinctive wooden bar that extended across the front of the stage, presumably
to protect the performers from falling off, and he remembers Derek holding this
bar and lifting it up during the show.
He also took some photographs of the headliner, while a friend with him
actually recorded the show, although the whereabouts of that tape are now
unknown. The second account from
Multonne is from a fan who wrote a review of the show for a German underground music
magazine called Flash, in which he listed the exact date. The confusion over just what happened on Apr.
2 arose from some contrary evidence suggesting the two bands actually played in
Munster, as listed below.
Apr. ? Munster,
Germany Munsterlandhalle
UNCONFIRMED. An ad in
the German Sounds magazine claimed this gig was planned for
Munsterlandhalle on April 2, but the two bands probably played in Hannover
instead, as stated above. The Munster date
may have been canceled but the possibility that it was rescheduled for a
different night cannot be ruled out. The
city of Munster, in its official archives, supposedly possesses a poster of
this Munsterlandhalle gig, although it is oddly undated. If it was indeed rescheduled, there is no
information as to when that would have been.
Apr. 5 Munich,
Germany Circus Krone
Building
opened
for Colosseum. This building, circular
in shape like a circus tent, housed the famous European Krone Circus during the
winter months, but hosted other acts the rest of the year. The place was packed on this night with about
3,000 listeners and, although Giant were relatively unknown at the time, they
were warmly received. On the other hand,
one reviewer who witnessed this show was quite disparaging towards Giant,
calling them “loud, bad and not substantial”.
A tape of this show is rumored to have existed at one time, but is now
presumed lost.
Munich Apr. 5, 1971
Apr. 6 Nurnberg,
Germany Meistersingerhalle
opened
for Colosseum
Apr. 7 Dusseldorf,
Germany Philipshalle
opened
for Colosseum to a half full hall, or approximately 4,500 people. The Muzik
Express gave Giant a favorable review but said the audience seemed
indifferent to them, giving only tepid applause until the end. A tape of Giant’s set exists, the only known
recording to include the original Martin Smith drum solo during Nothing At
All. During The Queen, the
band plays a snippet of the West German National Anthem. This gimmick of giving a nod to whichever
European country they were in at the time by including a bit of the local
National Anthem, became a regular occurrence at Giant’s early shows.
Headline
from Dusseldorf Muzik Express review
Apr. 7, 1971
Apr. 8 Offenbach,
Germany Stadthalle
the
last confirmed date of the tour opening for Colosseum, although an additional
concert on Apr. 9, as noted in the above-mentioned issue of Billboard,
cannot be ruled out. The venue for this
gig may at one point have been intended to be Kongresshalle in nearby
Frankfurt, but it was changed. An
existing poster and a review in the June 1971 issue of the German Sounds
magazine both clearly identify it as Offenbach, which is just outside of
Frankfurt.
Offenbach poster Apr. 8, 1971
Apr. 16 West
Bromwich, England Adelphi
Ballroom
Giant
participated in a triple bill at this venue outside of Birmingham, sharing the
stage with Skin Alley and Stackridge. It
was advertised as an “All-Nighter” since the gig didn’t begin until 11:30 P.M.
and ran until dawn the next morning.
Additional entertainment was provided by a well-known area deejay named
Erskine.
West Bromwich ad Apr. 16, 1971
Apr. 17 Basingstoke,
England Haymarket Theatre
Renaissance
headlined, sharing the evening with Giant, Journey, Llyn Tawton and a dance
group known as the Sinners. The Journey
listed here was an obscure English act, not the well-known American rock band
of the same name who formed in 1973.
Basingstoke
ad Apr. 17, 1971
Apr. 18 Burslem, England George Hotel
Apr. 30 Paris,
France Faculté d'Assas
UNCONFIRMED. This date opening for Colosseum
was scheduled to be the band’s very first appearance in France and was
advertised in the April 1971 issue of Rock and Folk magazine. However, confirmation that it took place has
not yet been found.
May 7 Haverfordwest,
Wales Market Hall
UNCONFIRMED. GG supposedly shared the stage
with Gnidrolog
May 8 London,
England Twickenham
College - Student Union
At
this college show, they opened for Stone the Crows.
London
- Twickenham College ad May 8, 1971
May
14 Nottingham, England Trent Polytechnic - Student
Union
Nottingham ad May 14, 1971
May 21 Hull, England Brick House
This
small club had just opened a month earlier in an old church building. It did not last long and was closed by
Christmas.
Hull ad May 21, 1971
May 28 Fareham,
England Fareham
Technical College
Daddy
Longlegs, an American band living in Great Britain at the time, headlined this
gig with GG and Jigsaw in support.
Fareham
ticket May 28, 1971
May 30 Southend-on-Sea,
England Palace Theatre
This
was at least the fourth time Giant played Southend-on-Sea, this time opening
for Lindisfarne. One fan in attendance
remembers enjoying the show but recalls it as one of the loudest concerts he’d
ever been to, his ears ringing for several days afterwards. Although Melody Maker advertised this
date, the possibility had at one time been raised that the gig may have
actually been on May 29. It has since
been confirmed that the show did indeed take place on May 30, as advertised, as
this venue only held concerts on Sundays.
May 29, 1971 was a Saturday.
Southend-on-Sea ad May 30, 1971
During the month of June, Gentle Giant participated in
many, but not all, of the stops on the "Vertigo Showcase" tour. The label organized this tour of English
cities to promote some of the acts on its roster.
June 4 London,
England City
University
This
was a part of the "Vertigo Showcase" tour. Others on the bill this night were the Graham
Bond Magick, Warhorse, Catapilla and Jimmy Campbell. Giant's future drummer, John Weathers, was
playing with Graham Bond's Magick at this time and he reports that this is the
gig at which he first saw Giant perform.
Giant played a room upstairs while Graham Bond played downstairs. The members of Giant came downstairs at one
point and watched a bit of Bond’s set and, in turn, John went up to watch a bit
of theirs. The Shulman brothers actually
knew John from back in their Simon Dupree days.
At that time, Simon Dupree and one of John's earlier dance bands had
often shared a bill in Wales, plus Ray and John had again crossed paths later
on in Portsmouth while John was in the band Eyes Of Blue.
London City University “Vertigo
Showcase” gig June 4, 1971
A tour history in a published Groundhogs source has that band on
tour in the UK from June 5 through July 24, while stating that Gentle Giant
opened at most of the dates. However,
this cannot be totally accurate, as only two confirmed concerts involving both
bands have so far been identified in this time frame, the Southampton and
Plymouth shows shown below. There is
also quite a bit of conflicting information in other sources showing the two
bands in different cities on the same night, or advertising different bands
opening at some of the Groundhogs gigs.
Still, it is very reasonable to assume Giant did indeed provide support
for at least some of the remaining Groundhogs shows in June or July. More information is needed.
Ad for Southampton and
Plymouth gigs with the Groundhogs June
1971
June 17 Great
Yarmouth, England Tower Ballroom
another
"Vertigo Showcase" show.
Giant, the Graham Bond Magick and Jimmy Campbell again appeared. May Blitz was originally announced as an
additional act on the bill, but later ads listed the addition of Warhorse
instead.
Additional
“Vertigo Showcase” tour dates June
1971
June 18 Southampton,
England Guildhall
Another
"Vertigo Showcase" gig was scheduled for this evening at the Melody
Rooms in Norwich, England with Giant, the Graham Bond Magick, Jimmy Cambell and
May Blitz, but Giant backed out.
Instead, they played in
Southampton June 18, 1971
June 19 Plymouth,
England Guildhall
Again,
they opened for the Groundhogs. The
Guidhall was a majestic looking building with a high ceiling, wood paneling and
stained-glass windows along the sides.
Crimson curtains hung behind the stage.
At the start of the show, Derek commented on the imposing nature of the
hall and wondered aloud if the band could live up to their surroundings. They then launched into their opening tune,
believed to be Giant.
June 22 Oxford,
England Town Hall
Part
of the "Vertigo Showcase" tour, this night they shared the bill with
the Graham Bond Magick, Warhorse and Jimmy Campbell.
June 24 Cambridge,
England Dorothy Ballroom
Once
more, they shared the bill with the Graham Bond Magick, Warhorse and Jimmy
Campbell on this date of the "Vertigo Showcase" tour.
Cambridge ad June 24, 1971
June ? The
July 3, 1971 issue of Melody Maker printed an apology from the band
Black Widow for having recently missed three UK concert dates due to illness in
the band. They also thanked Gentle Giant
for taking their place at the three gigs.
At the time, both bands used Chrysalis Agency for concert booking. Although the three cities involved are known,
the venues are not. The exact dates are
not known, either, although the second half of June would be the obvious
timeframe. One unconfirmed rumor had
floated that Giant played somewhere in England on June 25, but that may or may
not be related.
Melody Maker notice - subbing for
Black Widow June 1971
June ? Southall,
England
This
was the first of the three gigs at which GG substituted for Black Widow, as
described above.
June ? St. Albans,
England
GG
substituted for Black Widow.
June ? Llanelli,
Wales
GG
substituted for Black Widow.
July 2 Eastbourn,
England Winter Gardens
The
only thing known about this show so far is that the lights were handled by an
outfit called Cerebrum Lights.
July 3 Widnes,
England Queen's
Hall
Widnes
is a small town in the north of
Widnes July 3, 1971
July 4 Fife,
Scotland Kinema
Ballroom
Playing
support was the Change, one of the venue’s resident bands of 1971. The local press mistakenly advertised the
band as “Gentle Gent”.
July 16 ACQUIRING
THE TASTE was released in
July 17 Boston,
England Gliderdrome
- Starlight Room
Here,
the band opened for Wild Turkey. In a
couple local newspaper ads, Giant again was described as “ex-Simon Dupree”,
long after such a description should have been necessary.
Boston, UK ad July 17, 1971
July 21 Bathampton,
England The Keel Club
This club staged rock concerts every Wednesday at the time and July
21 was Giant’s turn.
Starting
in late July, the band found themselves back in Europe doing concerts and
promotional appearances. The original
itinerary had them in Europe from July 26 through Aug. 2, but some evidence
indicates they may have ended up staying longer than just one week. There were also possible Scandinavian
promotional dates in August, but nothing is known about any of these. According to a notice in New Musical
Express, this visit was to include several radio and television appearances
in Belgium, France, Holland, Germany and Australia. The group definitely did not go to Australia
and that continent’s mention was most likely a typo, the ad probably meaning to
list Austria. Regardless, no further
information has yet been found about any of these alleged broadcasts, so they
must all be regarded as suspect.
A report
in New Musical Express stated that Giant was set to record incidental
music beginning in London in late July for a movie by Italian filmmaker Dario
Argento. The film may have been Four
Flies in Grey Velvet and recording is said to have begun on July 27. However, this conflicts with their scheduled
time in
New Musical Express notice about alleged
movie score July, 1971
??? Frankfurt,
Germany Zoom Club
Two
separate eyewitnesses clearly recall Giant playing the Zoom Club in either 1970
or 1971, while Martin Smith was on the drum stool, though 1970 is very
unlikely. It could have been in during
the band’s above mentioned time in Europe in summer 1971 but it could have been
from some other time.
July ? Novara, Italy
UNCONFIRMED. A
partial tape exists of a show purportedly held in Novara in July 1971. However, this tape may very well be
mislabeled. Most reports in the 1970’s Italian
music press refer to GG’s shows in February of 1972 as being their first
appearances in Italy. On the other hand,
an online biography of the Italian band Gli Alluminogeni states that they
opened for Giant on an Italian tour sometime in 1971. The use of the term “tour” might be a bit of
an exaggeration, but a few stray gigs here and there cannot be discounted. Unfortunately, no reliable evidence of any
such gigs has yet been found.
The July 24, 1971 issue of the American music trade magazine Billboard
carried a news item about an attempt by Chrysalis Agency, who were handling
booking for Giant at the time, to create a British equivalent of the college
coffeehouse circuit, then in vogue in America.
Chrysalis hoped to use this approach to give some of the newer bands
they represented better access to British universities. Included in their offerings was a package
deal that included Gentle Giant, Black Widow and Freedom, all for a negotiable
price of, when converted into American currency, between 420 and 600
dollars. However, no college
performances where these three bands shared the same bill are known to have
taken place. Additionally, Giant had
already enjoyed fairly good exposure on
July ? ACQUIRING
THE TASTE was the band’s first album released in America, probably in late
July. There has been great confusion
concerning this, with many believing this album did not see a US release until
at least 1972, if not later. However, it
was indeed released in the United States in 1971 by Mercury Records, an
American label who had distribution deals with Philips. The confusion probably stems from the fact
that the US release still had the famous English “Vertigo swirl” imprinted on
the record’s label. The exact date of US
release is still not known with absolute certainty, but it was first noted in
the July 10 issues of both Billboard and Cash Box as having a
planned release later that month. Sure
enough, by Billboard’s Aug. 7 issue, it was being described as a “new
release”. This was apparently a fairly
limited release with a more widespread US release not coming until probably
December of 1974.
Billboard article about the US
release of ACQUIRING THE TASTE
July 1971
Manager
Gerry Bron was not sold on the direction Giant took on their second album so,
somewhere around this time, he decided to part ways with the band. It was a friendly enough split and Bron
helped Giant sign with Worldwide Artistes Management in his place. WWA, whose biggest client was Black Sabbath,
was run by the father and son team of Patrick Meehan Sr. and Jr. For their recordings, however, the band
remained with Vertigo.
Giant
endured another big change at some point in the latter part of 1971. Drummer Martin Smith left, mainly due to
personal differences between him and Phil, but also because of musical
differences and because he was interested in pursuing a career as an antique
dealer. It’s also believed that after he
left, he continued playing in a Latin jazz combo for a while. He was replaced on the drum stool by
18-year-old Malcolm Mortimore, who went through a two-step audition
process. A fairly large number of candidates
were heard over two days in London, Malcolm being the final drummer to appear
on the second day. Next, he and just a
few others were called to Portsmouth for a lengthier second audition. Then, after being informed he had been
selected, he moved to Portsmouth and had about a week to learn the band's live
set before hitting the stage with them.
The date and location of Malcolm’s first gig with the group is not known
but, considering there seems to be a gap in known gigs between July and August,
that could very well be the correct timeframe.
However, there are indications it could have been as late as sometime in
September or even early October.
Whenever and wherever his first gig was, he recalls Phil complimenting
him on doing a nice job while bemoaning the fact that the rest of the guys had
an off night. Malcolm has also confirmed
that upon joining the band, he signed with WWA, confirming that it happened
after the departure of Gerry Bron.
In the
latter part of 1971, Giant continued to gig fairly steadily in the UK, mostly
at clubs and colleges. Malcolm
particularly remembers sharing early bills with Supertramp, Vinegar Joe and
Wild Turkey. The time when Malcolm joined
may also be the time when Isn't It Quiet and Cold? and all the non-album
songs disappeared from the set.
TYPICAL SETLIST (Late 1971)
Giant
Funny Ways
Alucard
Nothing at All - This song now
featured Malcolm’s drum solo, as it had previously included Martin’s. Kerry and Ray again joined in.
Plain Truth
The Queen
Why Not? - This number may have
become less frequent as time went on.
Even though the band now had two albums worth of material
to choose from, in a live setting they still concentrated mostly on songs from
their first album. It is unlikely any
other material from their second album, other than Plain Truth, ever
became a regular part of the group’s setlists at this time, although Pantagruel’s
Nativity was known to have been played perhaps a couple of times and at
least one other song, Wreck, was rehearsed but never performed. In fact, it seems that the other songs from ACQUIRING
THE TASTE remained unperformed for the remainder of the band's career.
??? Bournemouth,
England
A
spectator remembers a gig here sometime in 1971, but exactly when it took place
is unknown. Who would have been on drums
is also unknown.
Aug. 21 London,
England The Temple
second
on the bill, preceded by Flying Hatband and followed by Black Widow
London
- Temple ad Aug. 21, 1971
Aug. 22 Stoke-on-Trent,
England Trentham Gardens
The
band played in support of Marc Bolan’s T Rex who, at the time, were one of the
hottest properties in British music. As expected,
the crowd of 2,500 fans was extremely excited and enthusiastic about seeing
their glam rock heroes. Still, Phil has
remarked that he was impressed with how well behaved and accepting the mostly
young audience was while Giant was on stage.
Interestingly, about a year later, Derek referred back to this show in
an interview and claimed GG “went down a storm” while T Rex did not do as
well. A couple songs from T. Rex’s set
have been released on a live compilation album where they bear the date of Aug.
26. However, a review published in the
next day’s Evening Sentinel confirms the Aug. 22 date.
Stoke-on-Trent
ad and ticket - T. Rex gig Aug. 22,
1971
Aug. 27 Birmingham,
England Kinetic Circus
GG
opened for Black Widow.
Birmingham ad Aug. 27, 1971
Aug. 28 Clacton-on-Sea,
England
GIANT DID NOT PLAY. GG was
originally booked to appear at the "Weeley Festival" along with many
other groups and their name appeared in the festival’s early
advertisements. However, they canceled
for some reason and were removed from later ads. This major rock music festival was held on a
200 acre wooded site five miles from the sea.
Headlined by T Rex and the Faces, it ran from the evening of Aug. 27
through to Aug. 29, with Giant originally scheduled for Aug. 28.
Clacton-on-Sea - “Weeley Festival” -
original ad with GG and revised ad
Aug. 28, 1971
Although, as stated above,
most of Giant’s concerts were in England in 1971, the band took a short
European trip around this time. In the
press, the timeframe listed for this tour was late August through September 8. Included were the two festival dates listed
below, but what other countries may have been visited is not known. It’s still unclear if Malcolm was a member by
this time.
Sep. 4 Speyer,
Germany Rheinhalbinsel
The
band’s European gigs included this appearance at a two-day festival, appropriately
nicknamed the “2-Tage Festival” on Sept. 4 and 5. Interestingly, it appears that this event,
which showcased British bands for a European audience, ran in both
Speyer
“2-Tage Festival” - ticket with original city and ad with corrected city Sep. 4, 1971
Sep. 5 Vienna,
Austria Stadthalle
Here,
Giant played at the ”Sensational British Superstar Festival” which was the
second night of the “2-Tage Festival” described in the above listing. As on the previous night, Black Sabbath
headlined and a number of other British bands participated. A tape exists of GG’s performance here. Although not certain, it may very well be
Malcolm’s drumming heard on this tape.
One fan in attendance recalls Giant actually playing two separate sets
in Vienna on Sept.5, but this is not yet confirmed.
Vienna
- “2-Tage Festival” poster Sep. 5,
1971
Sep. 10 Buxton,
England Pavillion
Gardens
On
this particularly frigid night, the band was part of the "Sound 71 Blues
and Progressive Festival", an event described as an "All-Night Music
Festival". The headliners were the
Groundhogs and the Edgar Broughton Band, while the opening act was a blues-rock
group called Brewers Droop. Other bands
appearing included East of Eden, Paladin and Juicy Lucy. One eyewitness was particularly impressed
with the band’s Park amplifiers in distinctive green cabinets, which were
fairly new at the time. The festival was
scheduled to run from 8:30 P.M. until 7:00 A.M. the next day, with Giant
reportedly taking the stage at around 4:00 A.M.
The BBC’s Pete Drummond provided deejay services for the event. The festival took place in two separate halls
inside the Pavillion Gardens. A number
of attendees have commented on the excessively crowded conditions, to the point
of being dangerous. According to the Nottingham
Evening Post, about 5,000 fans were crammed in, at which time the doors
were closed, leaving a couple hundred still outside, including some ticket
holders. A number of Hells’ Angels
bikers then tried to break their way in, resulting in some violent skirmishing
with security personnel. Overall, there
were seven arrests. Even so, one area
policeman commented that there was surprisingly little trouble, considering the
size of the crowd.
Buxton
ad Sep. 10, 1971
Sep. 11 London,
England Queen
Elizabeth Hall
Here,
the group got to play a more prestigious venue.
They played two shows here on this day, opening for the Groundhogs.
London - Queen Elizabeth Hall ad Sep. 11, 1971
Sep. 12 Croydon,
England Fox at
Greyhound
Curved
Air was originally scheduled to play here, but they canceled. The Edgar Broughton Band, who arrived late,
was brought in as a replacement with GG as support.
Croydon flyer - with handwritten
corrections Sep. 12, 1971
Sep. 27 Chester,
England Quaintways
This
concert was part of a month-long event hosted at this venue. It was called the “September Wall City
Festival” and, on this particular night, Giant opened for the band If. Quantways was a small
club was located above a restaurant/delicatessen and attendance on this evening
has been estimated at between 100 and 150.
Chester
flyers - “September Wall City Festival”
Sep. 27, 1971
Oct. 8 Romford,
England Ablemarle
Club
They
possibly played without a support act.
Romford
ad Oct. 8, 1971
Oct. 9 Isleworth,
England Borough Road
College
Three
bands shared this bill. More than
likely, the order was Supertramp, Gentle Giant and headliners Black Widow. In August, New
Musical Express announced that GG was attempting to put together a series
of British college and university gigs for the months of October and
November. This Islewoth concert was one
of the earliest confirmed dates to come from that initiative. One person in the audience only remembers
that GG’s music was complex, there were many instrument changes, and it was
“very dark”.
Isleworth ad Oct. 9, 1971
Oct. 10 Gravesend,
England New Lord's Club
- Civic Centre
At
this show, they played in support of the Mick Abrahams Band. It should be noted that, although an exact
date for Malcolm’s first concert with Gentle Giant has still not been
determined, he does recall playing an early gig in Gravesend.
Gravesend ad Oct. 10, 1971
An August issue
of New Musical Express included an article about Giant planning to
appear on two 45-minute European television programs in October. In both shows, they were to co-star with the band
Freedom, with whom they shared management.
They were to fly to Amsterdam, Holland on October 14 to participate in
the first program, while the second was supposed to be a live broadcast in
Brussels, Belgium on October 16. The
article went on to state that their manager was in the process of negotiating
for a similar TV appearance in Sweden in mid-November. However, as was the case with the intended TV
appearances at the end of July, it seems very likely that none of these plans
came to fruition. The Brussels show, in
particular, can be definitely discounted since the band played in Southampton
on that night, as listed below. It’s
generally believed GG did not appear on television at all until 1972.
Oct. 15 Swansea,
Wales Laughor
Welfare Hall
UNCONFIRMED. Although this may not
be the gig in question, Malcolm remembers an early Welsh gig which the band
decided not to play after driving to the Hall.
He says the Shulmans decided it would be a “waste of time”, so they turned
around and went home. Wild Turkey may
have also been on the bill.
Oct. 16 Southampton,
England Southampton
University
Giant
shared the bill with Jude, Robin Trower’s post-Procol Harum band. There were indications that GG opened the
show, but an extant ticket stub proves they actually headlined. Jude was a short-lived outfit that Trower had
just put together with, among others, Clive Bunker, formerly of Jethro
Tull. In fact, at this gig, the lineup
had not even settled on a final name yet, the ticket simply referring to them
as the Trower/Bunker Band. Gary Green
remembers doing the rarely performed song Pantagruel's Nativity once
during a show in Southampton after the second album was released. It may have been this show, but it may have
been a different show in Southampton, a city where they played a number of
times in their early years.
Southampton ticket Oct. 16, 1971
Oct. 18 A
couple of rumors have swirled around the date of Oct. 18, but nothing very
credible There was some evidence that
the band played again at Southampton University but that seems extremely
unlikely since they had just played there two days earlier. It had even been suggested at one time that
they had been booked to play at the Southampton Guildhall in what would’ve
definitely been a prestige gig as opening act to the Who. This rumor originated when a ticket from the
gig surfaced which seemed to have the name Gentle Giant printed on it as
support and then crossed out, implying they canceled. The ticket is unfortunately difficult to read
and Gary has absolutely no memory of ever being on a bill with the Who. In the end, Quiver opened the Who concert
instead, while nothing is known about a Giant concert on Oct. 18.
Oct. 21 Chatham,
England Central Hall
shared
a bill with Chicken Shack. In the early 1970’s, a well-known concert promoter and deejay
in southeast England named Mick Clark, using the professional name of
Madhatter, would organize musical events in various venues around the
area. On these occasions, the venue
would use the name Madhatter Club.
Sometimes, he would provide the deejay services himself, and other
times, he would book live bands. This
gig in Central Hall was one of those events.
Chatham Oct. 21, 1971
Oct. 23 London,
England London
School of Economics
opened
for the Groundhogs with Australian band Hot Cottage also on the bill. This is the first date at which Malcolm’s presence
can be definitively confirmed. He
already knew his wife Lynn by that point and she was in the audience.
London
School of Economics ad and ticket Oct.
23, 1971
Oct. 30 Weston-super-Mare,
England Winter Gardens
opened
for Black Widow
Weston-super-Mare ad Oct. 30, 1971
Another trip onto the European continent was planned for
late October through mid-November, but it is unclear whether this tour ever
took place, as no hard evidence has been found.
The itinerary called for the band to be in
Nov, 5 London,
England Harrow
Technical College
shared
the bill with Callum Bryce
Nov. 6 Bromsgrove,
England Shenstone College
A
few months earlier, advertisements appeared showing GG planned to play at the
University of Birmingham on this date. However,
the ads soon disappeared and it turned out they played at Shenstone College
instead, where they played second on a bill after Roger Ruskin Spear and before
headliners Renaissance. As it happens,
this college was only ten miles away from the University of Birmingham.
Bromsgrove
- handwritten ticket Nov. 6, 1971
Nov. 7 Madrid,
Spain
UNCONFIRMED. This
concert, the only known GG concert ever planned for Spain, was scheduled at one
time, but it is unknown if it ever occurred.
Nov. 13 Warrington,
England Padgate College
Nov. 18 Southall,
England Underworld
a
show they played alone
Southall ad Nov. 18, 1971
Nov. ? An
article in Melody Maker indicated that Giant spent a few more days
performing somewhere in Germany sometime in late November, possibly beginning
on Nov. 20, but few details are known about these concerts. However, it is known that the band was
temporarily stranded in a snowstorm in Belgium on the way to Germany. After finally arriving in Germany, Malcolm
recalls playing one or two club dates, possibly including Berlin. The snowstorm also contributed to their being
late arriving back into England afterwards.
Nov. 24 London,
England Marquee
Club
CANCELED. This was the last time Giant was booked
to perform at the Marquee and would have been the only time with Malcolm. It was scheduled as one in a series of Wednesday
night free concerts held at the venue.
However, the show was canceled, due to the snowstorm that caused havoc
on their swing into Germany. They had
been scheduled to appear with the band Freedom.
Shortly afterward, the band took out an ad in Melody Maker to
apologize for their failure to appear.
London
- canceled Marquee Club show Nov. 24,
1971
Nov. 26 Liverpool,
England Highfield
Comprehensive School
The
band opened for Black Widow and was reportedly very well received. The place was packed, as this was the first
rock concert ever presented at this particular school. Of course, the fact that Black Widow was
known to often hold a mock sacrifice of a nude girl in their set could also
have contributed to the large number of hormonal youths in the audience. However, since it was mostly a student
population in the hall, that portion of the show was left out on this
evening. Both bands shared the same
management, so often played together, Giant always in the support slot. One member of Black Widow has stated that
Giant were “full of themselves” and put out by having to open for them. He claims they “did not speak to us and were
not at all friendly”.
Dec. 2 Leek,
England Samantha’s
Club
Leek ads Dec. 2, 1971
Dec. 3 Braintree,
England Two J's Club
This
club was located in the Horn Hotel. They
shared the bill with Copperfield. In
August and September, it had been advertised in the Netherlands that GG would
open for Black Sabbath at De Doelen in Rotterdam on this date. However, that did not happen. It’s believed a Dutch band called Earth and
Fire took over Sabbath’s support slot and GG played in Braintree.
Braintree
ad Dec. 3, 1971
Dec. 4 Amsterdam,
Netherlands Concertgebouw
GIANT DID NOT PLAY. As had
happened on the previous night, GG had originally been advertised as opening
for Black Sabbath at another Dutch gig.
They were replaced on Sabbath’s bill by Earth and Fire.
Notice for canceled Dutch gigs with
Black Sabbath Dec. 1971
Dec. 8 Coventry,
England Whitley Abbey
School
shared
the evening with a local up-and-coming band called Dando Shaft. Giant actually played this school twice in
their early days. The first was at a school dance where they were
well-received, and this resulted in the band being invited back for a second
appearance. Chances are this Dec. 8
gig, which was advertised in Melody Maker, was the second one. The date of the other gig is not known
and the exact timeline of Giant at Whitley Abbey School
is still a matter of some conjecture.
Dec. 12 They
recorded their third BBC studio session, the only one done with Malcolm, at
London's Transcription Service Studio T1.
They recorded Alucard, Plain Truth, Giant and Funny
Ways. The first three were broadcast
on Jan. 7, 1972, while Funny Ways was intended to be included in a
re-broadcast on Feb. 4, 1972. As it
turns out, it was not. This entire
session is missing.
Dec. 17 Dartford,
England Northwest
Kent College of Technology
This
was billed as a "Giant Christmas Party". They shared the stage with Roger Ruskin Spear
and his Giant Kinetic Wardrobe, an interestingly named act put together by the
ex-Bonzo Dog Band member. Interestingly,
a stripper was also on the bill.
Dartford ad Dec. 17, 1971
Dec. ? Narberth,
Wales Queen’s
Hall
UNCONFIRMED. A couple sources have pointed to a Giant gig
at this Narbeth venue, one placing it shortly before Christmas. One spectator at this show remembers Malcolm
definitely being on the drums, but he also remembers it as being in 1972. However, since Malcolm played very few gigs
in the UK in 1972, it was more likely late 1971. This spectator also remembers dancing on
stage during Ray's Plain Truth violin solo.
??? Sheffield,
England City Hall
UNCONFIRMED. All that’s known about this concert is that
it took place sometime in the “early 70’s” and that GG opened for
Supertramp. Supposedly, Supertramp were
quite poorly received.
Dec. ? Giant's third album, THREE FRIENDS,
was recorded in
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Giant Tour History