FLO AND EDDIE |
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TOUR DETAILS PROMOTER:
FLO & EDDIE
*NOTE: this lineup is believed to have backed Flo & Eddie on their first Australian tour in 1973. Pons and Preston were key members of Zappa's early '70s Mothers lineups and Preston had played with Zappa since 1967. The lineup for the '75 tour is not yet known. SUPPORT ACT: (1975 tour) Split Enz DATES / CITIES / VENUES:
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Flo & Eddie (aka The Florescent Leech & Eddie) were the stage names adopted in the 1970s by singer/songwriters Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The duo first came to prominence in the late 1960s as the founder members and co-lead singers of of one the greatest American pop bands, The Turtles. They scored major international hits with their radio-friendly Dylan covers and self-penned pop classics including Happy Together and Eleanor. The stage names 'Flo & Eddie' were actually forced on the pair after the split of the Turtles, because their former record label took out an injunction which prevented them from performing either as The Turtles or under their own names. After The Turtles split in 1970 Kaylan and Volman were recruited by Frank Zappa as co-lead singers for his new incarnation of The Mothers, and they featured of several of the greatest Zappa/Mothers albums of that period including Chunga's Revenge, 200 Motels, Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Fillmore East and Just Another Band From L.A. They left The Mothers in 1972 following the infamous incident in which Zappa was seriously injured when he was attacked and thrown from the stage by the irate boyfriend of a fan during a concert appearance in England. During 1972, presumably after leaving the Mothers, Kaylan and Volman spent some time working with Marc Bolan and producer Tony Visconti and they provided backing vocals for some of T-Rex's biggest hits including Metal Guru, Hot Love and Get It On. With Zappa unable to tour because of his injuries, Kaylan and Volman put together their own Flo & Eddie band with three other ex-Mothers: drummer Aynsley Dunbar, bassist Jim Pons and pianist Don Preston, who had been a core Mothers member since 1967. They toured with this band for several years and recorded three LPs between 1972 and 1975: The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie (1972), Flo & Eddie (1973) and Illegal, Immoral and Fattening (1975). We believe that Flo & Eddie first toured Australia in 1973, but we are yet to locate details of this visit. Their 1975 tour coincided closely with the second tour by Velvet Underground founder Lou Reed. In Sydney (and possibly in other cities?) the two acts were playing within a day or so of each other, and they reportedly made guest appearances at each other's concerts. Flo & Eddie guested at Lou Reed's Sydney concert, providing backing vocals for that night's performance of Walk On The Wild Side, and Reed did the same at Flo & Eddie's concert.
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"I definitely saw Flo and Eddie in Melbourne at some stage - I can't place
the year. It was at the Dallas Brooks Hall. I would assume Dallas Brooks has
archives somewhere. Memorable concert for their great soaring harmonies
on Turtles songs and also the musical humour and skill. I remember they had their
intermission break on stage drinking beer and answering audience questions. Their
logic was "You think we have an orgy backstage? We'll de-mystify it for you."
Maybe they didn't actually use the words de-mystify in them days. I cant remember
any support act at all -- but there may well have been one.
"I saw Flo and Eddie at the Canberra Theatre in the first half of the seventies.
They were very professional musically and were also funny, doing many of their
take-offs on Illegal, Immoral & Fattening. As mentioned in the other post,
they had a break in the middle of their set, the house lights were turned on, and
they just laid around on the stage cracking jokes. However in this instance, they
asked if someone had a joint, an audience member did, ran down and gave it to them,
and they smoked it. That's something you don't see everyday!"
"I saw Flo & Eddie at the Sydney Town Hall. The big surprise of the night was Lou Reed appearing on stage and performing Walk on The Wild Side. To this day my brother-in-law refuse to believe it was actually Lou Reed on stage with them. I am a big fan of Flo & Eddie and I will remember this concert for a long time to come as I am sure I will never see them perform again. I have all their vinyl albums in my collection as well as The Turtles. - Rom Costagliola Did you see Flo & Eddie in concert?
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Thanks to Tim O'Leary, Mike Backhouse and Rom Costagliola for their feedback. The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie
Ian McFarlane
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Please email MILESAGO
if you have any extra information to add to this page |
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