MILESAGO - Tours By Overseas Artists
PINK FLOYD |
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1971 Australian Tour |
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PROMOTER: unknown PINK FLOYD
Support act: Pirana, Lindsay Bourke (Sydney) DATES / CITIES / VENUES:
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1972 Australian Tour |
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PROMOTER: unknown PINK FLOYD
Support act: (unknown) DATES / CITIES / VENUES:
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In Australia audiences have become resigned to the fact that in some cases (e.g. Jimi Hendrix) major rock acts have never toured here, and we have had to wait years, even decades, to see many other favourite acts live. Yes made their acclaimed first tour here in 1973 but did not return for thirty years. Genesis did not tour here until 1986, almost twenty years after they formed. So it's remarkable that Pink Floyd's first two visits to Australia were within twelve months of each other -- although it would be another sixteen years before they returned on their third tour. 1971 TourPink Floyd's first visit to Australia, in August 1971, came towards the end of their year-long "Atom Heart Mother" World Tour. This had begun in September 1970, taking in their fourth tour of the USA, a string of European and UK dates and three shows in Japan just prior to their arrival in Australia. Most of the material played came from their two previous LPs, Atom Heart Mother and Saucerful Of Secrets although they also included a couple of new numbers from their forthcoming album Meddle, including Echoes, the extended track that took up the entire second side of the LP. At this stage Floyd were still only know to the 'cognoscenti' in Australia and they played only two shows in here, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne. Howwever the band were already gaining a solid local following, particularly among surfers. In 1973 filmmaker David Elfick used Echoes on the soundtrack of his famous surfing film Crystal Voyager to accompany the unforgettable "in the tube" footage shot by George Greenough. Pink Floyd were apparently delighted with the result and were reputedly happy to trade the music rights in exchange for a print of the film. Floyd used slide and movie projections extensively in their lightshow and Greenough's footage was seen at many a Floyd concert over the next few years. The ABC also filmed some of the Randwick Racecourse concert for its pop show GTK and the group were also interviewed. [Read a transcription of the Pink Floyd 1971 GTK interview]. Footage of the group performing Careful With That Axe Eugene (dubbed with the studio track from Ummagumma) can sometimes be seen on the ABC's late night video show Rage. The footage (presumably taped from Rage) circulates widely among Floyd collectors. An incomplete bootleg recording (94 minutes) of the Melbourne concert exists. The songs recorded were: Atom Heart Mother
Among the numerous bootlegs from this period, the best is probably the superb full-length BBC stereo recording of the Paris Theatre, London concert, taped on 30 September 1971. A few weeks after their Australian visit, from 4-7 October, the group was filmed and recorded in performance at the spectacular Roman amphitheatre in Pompeii for their Live In Pompeii concert movie. 1972 Tour Floyd's second visit, in March 1972, followed the same pattern as the first -- one show at Melbourne Festival Hall and a second outdoor show in Sydney at Randwick Racecourse. On January 20 at The Dome in Brighton the group had given the first performance of an ambitious new forty-minute concept piece called "Eclipse", which they offically premiered over four now-legendary shows at London's Rainbow Theatre from February 17-20. Some of the segments from the piece were played during the subsequent world tour, including (presumably) Australia. "Eclipse" was of course the working title for what was became their most successful album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, which went on to become the longest-charting record in history, spending a total of fourteen years in the Billboard Top 100. To date we have been unable to locate any other information about this tour and no bootleg recordings are so far known to exist. |
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The following text is a great first-hand account of the Melbourne Festival Hall concert by Col Turner, who had already seen the group once in London, just before he emigrated to Australia. Col says only about 500 people attended the Melbourne show and, incredibly, he and his girlfriend bought tickets at the door -- and got 7th row centre seats! Col Turner: "Floyd played at Festival Hall, Melbourne on 13 August 1971. They were booked to play one gig.
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| FEEDBACK | |
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Corrections? More information? Did you see this tour?
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| REFERENCES / LINKS | |
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Col Turner Pink Floyd: A Fleeting Glimpse http://www.pinkfloyds.com/PF_5.htm Eric Ogle's Pink Floyd
Bootleg Page
C.G. Whitman's CD And
Tape Trading Page
The Pink Floyd Archives
Pink Floyd - Story Of
The Band
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