Perfect in Tears After Low Ticket Sales
 

[Has anyone read A Promoter's Tale? I wonder if it has more about Chris in it]

Journal Live (UK), 10-6-09

http://www.journallive.co.uk/culture...1634-24857873/

Man who brought class acts to region

THERE can’t be anyone in the North East who knows more about booking top rock bands than Geoff Docherty.

A veritable Who’s Who of great rock acts have been lured to the region by Geoff – The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Faces, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Mott the Hoople, to name but a few.

Geoff, who lives in Sunderland, documented many of his experiences in a book called A Promoter’s Tale which came out a few years ago.

There – if you can find a copy – you will find his memories of a landmark gig of April 1973.

Sunderland had just beaten Arsenal to earn themselves a place in the FA Cup Final (which, of course, they went on to win).

In the town’s Locarno Ballroom 3,000 people were in a joyous, celebratory mood – and then on to the stage bound The Faces, featuring Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood.

The late John Peel wrote the foreword to the book, stating: “Any band that could carry a tune and play roughly in time would have been guaranteed an hysterical response that night, but Geoff had booked The Faces.

“(They) were simply the perfect band in the perfect place at the perfect time. They came on an hour late but no one really cared.

“They kicked footballs into the audience. I helped them and was pleased to find I could get my footballs further into the crowd than anyone other than Rod.”

Geoff can tell you about many more triumphs, mostly born of persistence.

He got Led Zeppelin after some early setbacks, first at Newcastle Mayfair in 1971 and then twice more, and put Free on the way to fame and fortune, booking them for £35.

The secret of booking bands, he says, is patience – along with a dash of creativity.

Inevitably, there were disappointments. He was chuffed to book Christine Perfect, late of Chicken Shack (and better known now as Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac) for the Locarno but only a hundred or so tickets were sold and she was in tears.

Rock music can be a tough and unforgiving game, as you will find out if you go to hear Geoff speak tonight in the Mining Institute, which adjoins the Lit & Phil at 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle.

The lecture, which starts at 7pm, is called It’s Not All Rock and Roll and tickets are £2.

Wow, he comes from my home town.

I knew about that, but still how sad. I wonder why more tickets didn't sell, considering she was riding high on the hit single at the time. How fickle is the pop crowd.

Beethoven had the same trouble from time to time, even during his period of greatest popularity in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars (1811 to 1814).

Was he in tears?

Michele

Probably not, but, at least, he couldn't hear the bad news! :laugh:

You guys are gonna kill me with your meanness one day.

Beethoven was in tears! He was filled with such a sadness, and such a longing . . . . his heart was broken!

Yeah, this story always breaks my heart a bit. Christine's self confidence had to be so damn low when she joined Mac and then, to make a bad case worse, found some of the FM crowds resistant to her as well...at least in the beginning...

It's amazing that she made it through all of that and triumphed as she did.

And then in 1997 she said,"The Dance is all about Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham." No wonder she quit. Always the overlooked one, she was.

If she had given us more than three solo albums over forty years she might have had a bit more attention. :lol:

Didn't help Lindsey much...

Christine McVie is an acquired taste.

No amount of additional solo albums or concerts was going to make a megastar out of her.

She has boutique appeal. She has all those qualities that the masses don't understand & don't get excited about: She is understated in voice, in demeanor, & even in musicianship; she is wry; she is uninclined to gush or to overemphasize; & she is unwilling to "speak star." She is also unwilling to compromise her idea of musical quality -- unwilling to cater to fads or nagging self-consciousness.

She would never have been a bigger star than she actually was. Fleetwood Mac was the perfect environment for her.

Completely agree.

Christine is a musician first and foremost. Stevie is a rock star

Gail

Totally agree.. As much as I love Stevie, for being the big, glamorous rock star.. I also really respect Christine for being so down to earth and modest, when it would have been easy to get arrogant about herself. Christine deserves far more respect and recognition for her musicianship, she wrote some of FM's best songs IMO and it's a shame she doesn't get that, but I can imagine it doesn't really bother her! I hope not anyway :)

I think she gets at least some recognition for her songs. Among the 'casual' Mac fans I have known, they seem to love Christine the best. My husband says that anytime he thinks of Fleetwood Mac, he thinks of Chris first. I'm far more than a casual fan and I really miss Christine's contributions to FMac. I hope they never decide to replace her, because no one can!