Middle Earth Club
Encyclopedia
Middle Earth was an influential hippie
club in London
, UK
in the mid to late 1960s, following on from the UFO Club
after it was closed down due to police pressure and the imprisonment of its founder John 'Hoppy' Hopkins
.
Middle Earth started in a large cellar at 43 King Street, in Covent Garden, London. It was a competitor to the Roundhouse at Chalk Farm.
Nights at Middle Earth were normally hosted and arranged by the DJ Jeff Dexter. Groups that played there included Pink Floyd
, The Who
, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Fairport Convention
and Jefferson Airplane
, Eric Burdon
and Captain Beefheart
. The Byrds
also played here twice with Gram Parsons
. The main groups playing on a regular basis were Soft Machine
, Tomorrow
, Sam Gopal's Dream
, Tyrannosaurus Rex
with Marc Bolan
and Steve Peregrin Took
, Social Deviants, and the Graham Bond Organization
who was a constant visitor/performer. Others included The Exploding Galaxy dance group, and The Tribe of the Sacred Mushroom headed by Lin Darnton had performed a play based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
The club was notable for several drug raids by the police during which underage revellers were arrested. Where in fact on the occasion of the 2 raids on Covent Garden, one of which occurred while Lin Darnton's play based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead was being performed, only 2 girls were arrested for being underage. The other arrest was of a member of The Graham Bond Organization for Possession. Sam Gopal's Dream
was also due to perform that night, and were hanging out in the dressing room with Graham Bond when the Police raided the club. Also a machine called the 'Trip Machine' was dismantled and taken away by the Police.
Mick Hutchinson and Pete Sears
of Sam Gopal's Dream
often spent the night in the club with Graham Bond
after management had pad-locked the outside gates after closing. Sam Gopal's Dream
was an instrumental trio that played many shows at both the Electric Garden Club and, later, at Middle Earth.
Colin Jury was one of the lighting crew at Middle Earth through 1967-68. (www.newmediart.com.br) He has these memories of some shows...So Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band come out wearing Spy vs Spy outfits, each a different color - but perfect! Hats Capes, Suits, Boots, Guitars, all one solid color. Bright Red, Blue, Green and Yellow with Beefheart in Black wearing his Bowler! "He finished with a 25 minute encore of "Mirror Man" Screaming! It was a mind-bender of a lightshow of classic proportions along with their music. After they finished and left the stage, we killed all stage lights and brought up full house lights. The Captain Beefheart walks out to the front of the stage and taps a mike until it became live. All the people were still trying to deal with the reality of houselights...he said in his raspy booming voice - but loud "That was the best light-show I had anywhere, better than San Francisco ~ ANYWHERE! And walked back off the stage!
The Byrds in the middle of their show, after an amazing half-set with Easy Chair and Eight Miles High etc., stopped and asked us to kill the lights and bring up the Houselights. We did this and they said "This is our last gig as the Byrds, we are now going to play Bluegrass." You should have seen the looks on the faces of these British Hippies - spongling on Sandoz - like WTF! It came off as just weird...
Nick Butt was the clubs electrician. He recalls that on the afternoon / evening that the Tribe of the sacred mushroom put on their play, after the police left following the raid, a rumour (untrue) went round the Covent garden market porters that a child was being burnt at the stake in the club. They stormed in with axes and box hooks and stayed about half an hour destroying almost everything in the club. Before leaving they smashed an axe through the office door where staff including Jeff Dexter were taking refuge.
John Peel was also a disc jockey at the Club on Saturday Nights until Mid 1968. The Club was closed down in mid 1968 and after holding events at a few venues settled at the Roundhouse where it put on the Doors and Jefferson Airplane for 4 performances over two nights in September 1968. Led Zeppelin played their first public performance there on Saturday 9th November 1968.
Paul Waldman was the club's owner, David Howson was the manager. They formed a record label called Middle Earth Records in 1969 in association with Chess Records
. The label released only about 4 album titles before it was closed in 1970. David Howson went on to become a Publicity Manager for Phonogram and Later EMI records.
Marie Brown and Jenny Fabian worked in the ticket office. Whilst working at Middle Earth, Jenny Fabian co wrote "Groupie" an Iconic book about the life and times of a Groupie. (Plus Pat - second name of this lady unknown - she did artwork for posters and many other tasks. She said 'whatever happened to Hobbit' - Pat and Hobbit where left off of this list so Hobbit says 'whatever happened to Pat').
Door Men included: Alan Reid, Scotch Billie, Norman Pilkington (AKA Jordan). Paul Martyn-Smith (AKA Hobbit) now known for his published work on Book of Changes - The Sum of Things.
Restaurant Staff included: Mimi & Mouse who formed a band called "Shiva's children" with Alan Reid. Scotch Billie also ran restaurant with the help of John, plus his French Riot Baton, which he used to threaten an Inspector from Bow Street on the Middle Earth's first police raid - the only policeman to get through the door as it was shut by Hobbit until warrant was served - this gave many minutes warning to either get rid of or hide many substances collected by staff afterwards as the club was then closed to public for the night). (Account given on both raids above by Hobbit).
Cleaners/odd jobs: John the Bog. Hobbit.
Link to Obituary (David Howson).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1974741.ece
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
club in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the mid to late 1960s, following on from the UFO Club
UFO Club
The UFO Club was a famous but shortlived UK underground club in London during the 1960s, venue of performances by many of the top bands of the day.-History:...
after it was closed down due to police pressure and the imprisonment of its founder John 'Hoppy' Hopkins
John Hopkins (political activist)
John "Hoppy" Hopkins is a British photographer, journalist, researcher and political activist, and "one of the best-known underground figures of Swinging London" in the late 1960s.-Life:...
.
Middle Earth started in a large cellar at 43 King Street, in Covent Garden, London. It was a competitor to the Roundhouse at Chalk Farm.
Nights at Middle Earth were normally hosted and arranged by the DJ Jeff Dexter. Groups that played there included Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is a psychedelic rock album by Arthur Brown and his band The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, released in 1968. Considered a classic of the late-1960s psychedelic scene and a significant influence on progressive rock, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown includes covers of...
, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
and Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
and Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
. The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
also played here twice with Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
. The main groups playing on a regular basis were Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, Tomorrow
Tomorrow (band)
Tomorrow were a 1960s psychedelic rock band. Despite critical acclaim and support from DJ John Peel who featured them on his "Perfumed Garden" radio show, the band was not a great success in commercial terms. They were among the first psychedelic bands in England along with Pink Floyd and Soft...
, Sam Gopal's Dream
Sam Gopal
Sam Gopal is an underground British Psychedelic rock band.The band is named after its founder, Sam Gopal, born in Malaysia...
, Tyrannosaurus Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
with Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
and Steve Peregrin Took
Steve Peregrin Took
Steve Peregrin Took was an English musician. He is best known for his membership of the duo Tyrannosaurus Rex with Marc Bolan...
, Social Deviants, and the Graham Bond Organization
Graham Bond
Graham John Clifton Bond was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s....
who was a constant visitor/performer. Others included The Exploding Galaxy dance group, and The Tribe of the Sacred Mushroom headed by Lin Darnton had performed a play based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
The club was notable for several drug raids by the police during which underage revellers were arrested. Where in fact on the occasion of the 2 raids on Covent Garden, one of which occurred while Lin Darnton's play based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead was being performed, only 2 girls were arrested for being underage. The other arrest was of a member of The Graham Bond Organization for Possession. Sam Gopal's Dream
Sam Gopal
Sam Gopal is an underground British Psychedelic rock band.The band is named after its founder, Sam Gopal, born in Malaysia...
was also due to perform that night, and were hanging out in the dressing room with Graham Bond when the Police raided the club. Also a machine called the 'Trip Machine' was dismantled and taken away by the Police.
Mick Hutchinson and Pete Sears
Pete Sears
Peter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
of Sam Gopal's Dream
Sam Gopal
Sam Gopal is an underground British Psychedelic rock band.The band is named after its founder, Sam Gopal, born in Malaysia...
often spent the night in the club with Graham Bond
Graham Bond
Graham John Clifton Bond was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s....
after management had pad-locked the outside gates after closing. Sam Gopal's Dream
Sam Gopal
Sam Gopal is an underground British Psychedelic rock band.The band is named after its founder, Sam Gopal, born in Malaysia...
was an instrumental trio that played many shows at both the Electric Garden Club and, later, at Middle Earth.
Colin Jury was one of the lighting crew at Middle Earth through 1967-68. (www.newmediart.com.br) He has these memories of some shows...So Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band come out wearing Spy vs Spy outfits, each a different color - but perfect! Hats Capes, Suits, Boots, Guitars, all one solid color. Bright Red, Blue, Green and Yellow with Beefheart in Black wearing his Bowler! "He finished with a 25 minute encore of "Mirror Man" Screaming! It was a mind-bender of a lightshow of classic proportions along with their music. After they finished and left the stage, we killed all stage lights and brought up full house lights. The Captain Beefheart walks out to the front of the stage and taps a mike until it became live. All the people were still trying to deal with the reality of houselights...he said in his raspy booming voice - but loud "That was the best light-show I had anywhere, better than San Francisco ~ ANYWHERE! And walked back off the stage!
The Byrds in the middle of their show, after an amazing half-set with Easy Chair and Eight Miles High etc., stopped and asked us to kill the lights and bring up the Houselights. We did this and they said "This is our last gig as the Byrds, we are now going to play Bluegrass." You should have seen the looks on the faces of these British Hippies - spongling on Sandoz - like WTF! It came off as just weird...
Nick Butt was the clubs electrician. He recalls that on the afternoon / evening that the Tribe of the sacred mushroom put on their play, after the police left following the raid, a rumour (untrue) went round the Covent garden market porters that a child was being burnt at the stake in the club. They stormed in with axes and box hooks and stayed about half an hour destroying almost everything in the club. Before leaving they smashed an axe through the office door where staff including Jeff Dexter were taking refuge.
John Peel was also a disc jockey at the Club on Saturday Nights until Mid 1968. The Club was closed down in mid 1968 and after holding events at a few venues settled at the Roundhouse where it put on the Doors and Jefferson Airplane for 4 performances over two nights in September 1968. Led Zeppelin played their first public performance there on Saturday 9th November 1968.
Paul Waldman was the club's owner, David Howson was the manager. They formed a record label called Middle Earth Records in 1969 in association with Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
. The label released only about 4 album titles before it was closed in 1970. David Howson went on to become a Publicity Manager for Phonogram and Later EMI records.
Marie Brown and Jenny Fabian worked in the ticket office. Whilst working at Middle Earth, Jenny Fabian co wrote "Groupie" an Iconic book about the life and times of a Groupie. (Plus Pat - second name of this lady unknown - she did artwork for posters and many other tasks. She said 'whatever happened to Hobbit' - Pat and Hobbit where left off of this list so Hobbit says 'whatever happened to Pat').
Door Men included: Alan Reid, Scotch Billie, Norman Pilkington (AKA Jordan). Paul Martyn-Smith (AKA Hobbit) now known for his published work on Book of Changes - The Sum of Things.
Restaurant Staff included: Mimi & Mouse who formed a band called "Shiva's children" with Alan Reid. Scotch Billie also ran restaurant with the help of John, plus his French Riot Baton, which he used to threaten an Inspector from Bow Street on the Middle Earth's first police raid - the only policeman to get through the door as it was shut by Hobbit until warrant was served - this gave many minutes warning to either get rid of or hide many substances collected by staff afterwards as the club was then closed to public for the night). (Account given on both raids above by Hobbit).
Cleaners/odd jobs: John the Bog. Hobbit.
Link to Obituary (David Howson).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1974741.ece