MILESAGO - Performance - Tours by International Acts
CREEDENCE
CLEARWATER REVIVAL
Compiled by Alan Harvey
Tour Details
The poster for the concluding Japanese
leg of the 1972 Far East tour
(Image courtesy of Electric
Bayou)
Promoter:
unknown
Creedence Clearwater
Revival:
John Fogerty (guitar, vocals)
Stu Cook (bass)
Doug "Cosmo" Clifford (drums)
Support:
Sherbet
Country Radio
Dates, Cities,
Venues:
8 February 1972 - Auckland, New Zealand - Western Spring Stadium
11 February 1972 - Brisbane - Festival Hall
13 February 1972 - Sydney - Randwick Racecourse
15 February 1972 - Sydney - Randwick Racecourse
16 February 1972 - Melbourne - Festival Hall
17 February 1972 - Melbourne - Festival Hall
18 February 1972 - Adelaide - Apollo Stadium
21 February 1972 - Perth - Subiaco Oval
Notes
This was Creedence's last overseas tour, and it concluded with three dates in Japan at the end of February. It was one of only two international tours they made without rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, who had left the band the previous year. They toured Europe in September 1971 and these concerts were recorded and ended up as the rather poor "Live in Europe" album released in 1973. The three-piece Creedence made more short tour of the US in May that year before officially splitting in October.
Support band Sherbet had recently reorganised their lineup, adding bassist Tony Mitchell and keyboard player Garth Porter; the Creedence tour gained them valuable national exposure and was an important step forward in their career.
Western Spring
Stadium, Auckland - Concert Review:
"John Fogerty growled out the words with a magnificent, gritty
voice --- He played guitar with gusto, thrashing outchords or squeezing
single note runs from his fretboard. Creedence played well, but for some
reason that electric atmosphere which lifts a concert being an event to
remember just wasn't there."
(Mike Stock, The Auckland Star, 1972, quoted in Worldwide CCR
Fan Club Magazine #44)
Auckland Concert
February 1972 - Story by Rick Lewis
http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~petkasi/ccr-jcf/recall9.htm
TOUR NOTES FROM GO-SET
The Arrival
" Last Wednesday night at nine o'clock Creedence Clearwater Revival
arrived at Sydney international airport and the buildup was of true star-quality
proportion. Although the arrival time had been kept a secret there was
an impressive squad of fans waiting."
The Sydney Concert
"I'm a
firm believer in good old rock and roll," said Fogerty. "So
were the 18,000 fans at their Sydney concert. In a way it was a rougher
audience than you usually see at concerts - an ugly part of it was the
fact that drink cans were being tossed around with nasty intent. Drummer
Doug Clifford had to dodge an apple which came hurtling his way but he
kept on playing and smiling, not missing a beat. Stu Cook's bass sounded
as good as on the records and so did Fogerty's lead guitar and vocals.
The hits started to sound slightly "samey" after a while, but
when you're a firm believer, it doesn't really matter."
I was at this concert and funnily enough remember the apple being thrown (it wasn't me!). I agree the audience was restless but no rougher than any other I'd seen. It was a very hot day and it seemed to take a while for Creedence to turn up so I guess the crowd drank a bit more than usual and also started to entertain themselves. Creedence eventually turned up stylishly in limo's which used the racetrack! Creedence were loud and raw with a very full sound despite Tom Fogerty not being in the group. I agree with they sounded the same in each song, BUT it was powerful rock and roll; I was a teenager and loved it! They could have played for longer though. I remember Sherbet and Country Radio as support acts. Both were good with Country Radio particularly impressive. I got the feeling the audience felt Sherbet were a bit poppy for such a concert, but as they say below they did win the audience over. Their new "rocky" new song, "You're All Woman" (written by the late Ted Mulry) was a highlight, as was "Free the People".
- Alan Harvey
The Melbourne Concert
" CCR's
Melbourne concert was one of the best the group has ever played. With
seats pulled out of the middle section of Festival Hall, people could
dance and crowd close to the stage. CCR did a bracket of their old hits
and album numbers, and as they started the introduction to numbers, he
crowd applauded and tried to get closer to the group than before."
However Go-Set's record reviewer, Ed Nimmervoll wrote in his column, "I found myself leaving the CCR performance after a few songs. Not that it was bad. Their songs in that raw state, one after the other, were just a bit tedious and the band did the same thing for every number. I could have just as well had been at home flicking a cover back and forth pretending the figures moved. $4 for an hour's performance after a few songs by Sherbert seems a bit much for young people expected to pay. The front stage area had been cleared of seats so people could dance. Mostly they just stood and watched."
Sherbet's Recollections
(from Go-Set)
" It's
a much happier band now. One of the things that helped us was the Creedence
tour. A lot should come out of that tour for us. We had to work a bit
to win over the Sydney audience but we managed to do it."
References / Links
Electric Bayou:
Creedence Clearwater Revival / John Fogerty Site
http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~petkasi/ccr-jcf/index.htm
Auckland Concert February 1972 - Story by Rick Lewis
http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~petkasi/ccr-jcf/recall9.htm
Special thanks to Lars Bundesen of the Electric Bayou website.