60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
4/13/65 – The Beatles are named Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards
They’re not at the ceremony, however …
Because they’re in Abbey Road Studios recording what will wind up being the title track to their next film … “Help!”
“The Girl From Ipanema” wins Record Of The Year and the album from whence it came, “Getz/Gilberto” is named Album Of The Year.
******
"There's something happening here,
But what it is ain't exactly clear ~~~"
As seen in Forgotten Hits!
>>> 4/11/65 - I can't even comprehend a concert like this!
How’d you like to have been at THIS show … (kk)
And you know what made my eyes blink dramatically with this?
The line that said, "AND MANY MORE!"
Wow. HOW many more?!
Backstage must have been chaos!
How were the groups on stage appearances determined?!
Who was on first?! ( Oh, wait ... They weren't there. )
"And Many More!" ( Well, maybe they were! )
How long was each group's set?!
How much time did it take to tear down and set up each group's stage equipment between acts?!
How long was the concert?!
Who was on last?! ( Wait. We still don't know if they were even there! )
The mind boggles!!
Hold on!! Or was that just a POSTER announcing multiple upcoming shows?
Buell!
You'll find the answers to ALL of your questions below ...
The
NME Awards show was an annual event in Great Britain. The New Musical
Express was THE music newspaper for kids growing up during this
incredibly exciting era ... and their readers' poll of favorites capped
off each year. They actually kicked this series off back in 1953! And,
as you can imagine, by the time what WE all called The British Invasion
hit, it was an absolute "Who's Who" list of talent up on that stage.
(NME had been honoring their own for over a decade ... The US just
hadn't caught up to this incredible talent pool yet!)
The 1965 awards show was previously available on DVD but is
apparently now out of print, as I couldn't find it on Amazon.
I
DID find a YouTube Clip, however, that captures the whole event! (To
answer your question regarding how many concerts this poster may be promoting, the answer is "Just one ... this lineup performed together for just ONE INCREDIBLE SHOW!" And it was all wrapped up in just under two hours.)
The
Moody Blues (with Denny Laine singing lead) kicked things off with a
couple of tunes, including their then current hit "Go Now." They're
followed by Freddie and the Dreamers (who perform two songs), Georgie Fame, The
Seekers (who also have a hit climbing this week's chart), two hits by Herman's Hermits ("Wonderful World" and "Mr.s Brown
You've Got A Lovely Daughter'), then a couple of acts from your "and
many more" category, The Ivy League (very popular in England, but never
hit makers here) and Sounds Incorporated (who toured The US with The
Beatles but also never had a hit here), followed by Wayne Fontana and the
Mindbenders (two songs, including their soon-to-be #1 Hit "Game Of Love"),
The Rolling Stones, who are afforded four songs, "The Last Time" being
the only "hit" in their set, Cilla Black, Donovan, who was just up and coming at
the time, Them (with Van Morrison on lead vocals), The Searchers, Dusty
Springfield, The Animals (three songs), The Beatles who, despite being the poll winners for Favorite Group, are NOT the
show closers, but get to perform FIVE songs: "I Feel Fine," "She's A Woman,"
"Baby's In Black," "Ticket To Ride" ... all recent or upcoming hits ...
and their standard show-closer at the time, "Long Tall Sally" and then, finally,
The Kinks, who wrap things up with "You Really Got Me" and "Tired Of
Waiting For You." Scroll back and take another look at this week's chart for this date to see just how current and contemporary this show really was. (And notice, too, that
the "and many more" classification had some pretty heavy hitters on its
list: Freddie and the Dreamers, The Seekers, Wayne Fontana and the
Mindbenders, The Searchers, Cilla Black, Donovan and Them ... that
line-up alone would make for quite and interesting and exciting
concert!)
As
to "how they did it," incredibly ALL of these acts shared the same
stage (you'd think they'd have multiple stages set up at an event like
this, but no ... this was a wham-bam, crank it out kind of show.) As
such, they shared some of the equipment in the way of amplifiers and
microphones, but each artist would come out with their own guitars and accessories. Multiple drum
kits were also set up where needed. (Let's face it ... Ringo wasn't going to play ANYBODY else's drums but his own ... and how could you do a show like this without the infamous Beatles logo on display?!?)
It
really was quite amazing ... and I can't even IMAGINE the thrill of
being there to see this whole thing unfold, live and in person!
But you can experience the next best thing by watching the entire event right here ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93HYF8uuT3s
It's
about a 90 minute clip, and well worth watching - it captures the feel of what this event
was like, how it was paced, who performed and in what order. Seriously, it's a
very worthwhile time investment ... and I promise that you will NOT be disappointed as you
see the Cream of the British Rock knock it out of the park in this one
incredible show. (And no, Cream wasn't there either ... they wouldn't form for another two years!) kk
Complete List of the NME 1965 Poll Award Winners:
World Male Singer: Elvis Presley*
World Musical Personality: Elvis Presley*
* - the only non-British act to win an award - incredibly, he never performed in Europe
British R&B Group: The Rolling Stones
World Female Singer: Dusty Springfield
World Vocal Group: The Beatles
British Vocal Group: The Beatles
British Male Singer: Cliff Richard
British Vocal Personality: John Lennon
British Female Singer: Dusty Springfield
New Disc or TV Singer: Donovan
British Instrumental Unit: The Shadows
Best New Group: The Seekers
Most Popular Disc Jockey: Jimmy Savile
Best TV or Radio Show: Top Of The Pops
Best New Disc of the Year: The Rolling Stones – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
