The London Rock and Roll Show (film)
Encyclopedia
The London Rock and Roll Show was a 1973 British
-produced concert film
directed by Peter Clifton
chronicling a Rock and Roll Revival concert
held at Wembley Stadium in London, England in August 1972.
From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, many rock and roll performers from the 1950s experienced major career revivals due to a temporary upswing of interest in their form of music. The Revival was marked by a series of major concerts in the United States
, and also spread to Europe
where events such as the Wembley concert attracted thousands of fans who came out to see the performers behind the music.
London Rock and Roll Show begins with excerpts from numerous "warm-up" performers shown singing either covers of 1950s hits, or original tunes, including a performance by Screaming Lord Sutch
that threatens to end the concert prematurely when he brings a stripper
on stage.
The main concert segment begins with Bo Diddley
and continues with a string of other major performers including Jerry Lee Lewis
, Little Richard
, and Bill Haley and His Comets. The concert ends with an extended performance by Chuck Berry
, who at the time was enjoying major chart success in Britain and the US with his "My Ding-a-Ling" (although he does not perform that song in this film). Mick Jagger
also appears in several non-musical interludes in which he is interviewed about the performers.
Although no soundtrack release occurred at the time the film was made, one was finally issued in the early 2000s, followed by several different DVD releases with different combinations of performances.
Heinz
Screaming Lord Sutch
and the Savages
Bo Diddley
A recording of "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly was played.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Bill Haley & His Comets
Some DVD releases omit "Shake, Rattle and Roll".
Little Richard
Chuck Berry
Several different DVD releases exist of this film, not all of which include the complete songlist, above. Additional performances were also recorded, but not included in the film.
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...
-produced concert film
Concert film
A concert movie, or concert film, is a type of documentary film, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by a musician ....
directed by Peter Clifton
Peter Clifton
Peter Clifton is an Australian film director and producer, perhaps best known for directing the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same ....
chronicling a Rock and Roll Revival concert
The London Rock and Roll Show
The London Rock and Roll Show was a concert held at Wembley Stadium in London, England on August 5, 1972. It was the first ever concert held at the stadium....
held at Wembley Stadium in London, England in August 1972.
From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, many rock and roll performers from the 1950s experienced major career revivals due to a temporary upswing of interest in their form of music. The Revival was marked by a series of major concerts in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and also spread to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
where events such as the Wembley concert attracted thousands of fans who came out to see the performers behind the music.
London Rock and Roll Show begins with excerpts from numerous "warm-up" performers shown singing either covers of 1950s hits, or original tunes, including a performance by Screaming Lord Sutch
Screaming Lord Sutch
David Edward Sutch , also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Screaming Lord Sutch", was a musician from the United Kingdom...
that threatens to end the concert prematurely when he brings a stripper
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
on stage.
The main concert segment begins with Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
and continues with a string of other major performers including Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, and Bill Haley and His Comets. The concert ends with an extended performance by Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, who at the time was enjoying major chart success in Britain and the US with his "My Ding-a-Ling" (although he does not perform that song in this film). Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
also appears in several non-musical interludes in which he is interviewed about the performers.
Although no soundtrack release occurred at the time the film was made, one was finally issued in the early 2000s, followed by several different DVD releases with different combinations of performances.
Songs performed
The House of Shakers- "Be Bop A Lula"
Heinz
Heinz (singer)
Heinz was a bassist and singer.-Life:Heinz was born in Detmold, but from the age of seven was brought up in Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, where a road is named after him. His biggest solo hit was "Just Like Eddie", a tribute to Eddie Cochran...
- "C'mon EverybodyC'mon Everybody"C'mon Everybody" is a 1958 song by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart, originally released as a B-side. In 1959 it peaked in the UK at No. 6 in the singles chart, and, thirty years later, in 1988, the track was re-issued there and became a No. 14 hit. In the United States the song got to No. 35 on...
"
Screaming Lord Sutch
Screaming Lord Sutch
David Edward Sutch , also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Screaming Lord Sutch", was a musician from the United Kingdom...
and the Savages
- "Great Big Coffin"
- "Looking for Mary"
Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
- "Road RunnerRoad Runner (Bo Diddley song)"Road Runner" is a song written and performed by American rock and roll performer Bo Diddley, originally released as a single by Checker Records in January 1960, and later released on the LP record Bo Diddley in the Spotlight. The song reached #20 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart, and...
" - "Bring It To Jerome"
- "Mona"
A recording of "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly was played.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
- "High School ConfidentialHigh School Confidential (Jerry Lee Lewis song)"High School Confidential" is a song written by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ron Hargrave and released in 1958. The song was the title song of the movie of the same name starring Russ Tamblyn, Mamie Van Doren, and Jerry Lee Lewis...
" - "You Can Have Her"
- "Chantilly LaceChantilly Lace (song)"Chantilly Lace" is the name of a rock and roll song, written and originally performed by The Big Bopper in 1958. The Co-writers of the song were Jerry Foster and Bill Rice...
" - "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"
- "Medley: Hound DogHound Dog (song)"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best-known...
/ Good Golly Miss Molly / Blue Suede ShoesBlue Suede Shoes"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955 and is considered one of the first rockabilly records and incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music of the time...
/ Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" - "Sweet Little SixteenSweet Little Sixteen"Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and originally performed by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. It reached number two on the American charts, Berry's highest position ever on the charts, with the exception of the suggestive number one hit "My...
"
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
- "Shake, Rattle and RollShake, Rattle and Roll"Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a prototypical twelve bar blues-form rock and roll song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone under his assumed songwriting name Charles E. Calhoun. It was originally recorded by Big Joe Turner, and most successfully by Bill Haley & His Comets...
" - "See You Later AlligatorSee You Later Alligator"See You Later, Alligator" is the title of an iconic rock and roll song of the 1950s.Originally entitled "Later Alligator", the song, based on a 12-bar blues chord structure , was written by Louisiana songwriter Robert Charles Guidry and first recorded by him under his professional name "Bobby...
" - "Rock Around The ClockRock Around the Clock"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954...
" (plus encore)
Some DVD releases omit "Shake, Rattle and Roll".
Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
- "Lucille"
- "Rip It Up"
- "Good Golly Miss Molly"
- "Tutti Frutti"
- "Jenny, Jenny"
Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
- "School Days"
- "Memphis TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee (song)"Memphis, Tennessee" is a song by rock & roll singer-songwriter Chuck Berry. It is sometimes shortened to "Memphis". In the UK, the song charted at #6 in 1963, at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers, who came from Sheffield, Yorkshire...
" - "Sweet Little SixteenSweet Little Sixteen"Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and originally performed by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. It reached number two on the American charts, Berry's highest position ever on the charts, with the exception of the suggestive number one hit "My...
" - "Let It Rock"
- "Mean Ole Frisco'"
- "Wee Wee HoursWee Wee Hours"Wee Wee Hours" is a song composed and recorded by Chuck Berry in 1955. Originally released as the B-side of Berry's first single "Maybellene", it went on to become a hit, reaching #10 in the Billboard R&B chart....
" - "Medley: Oh Carol!/ Little Queenie"
- "Reelin' And Rockin'"
Several different DVD releases exist of this film, not all of which include the complete songlist, above. Additional performances were also recorded, but not included in the film.
See also
- The London Rock and Roll ShowThe London Rock and Roll ShowThe London Rock and Roll Show was a concert held at Wembley Stadium in London, England on August 5, 1972. It was the first ever concert held at the stadium....
- Let the Good Times RollLet the Good Times Roll (film)Let the Good Times Roll is a 1973 rockumentary / concert film directed by Robert Abel and Sidney Levin. It features numerous stars from the American pop and rock music scene of the 1950s.-Summary:...
, a similar American film released in 1973 and featuring many of the same artists but this time filmed in concert in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. - Sweet TorontoSweet TorontoSweet Toronto is a documentary by D.A. Pennebaker of the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, a one day festival held September 13, 1969 at Varsity Stadium on the campus of the University of Toronto and attended by some 20,000 persons. The event was produced by John Brower and Ken Walker...
, a 1970 concert movieConcert filmA concert movie, or concert film, is a type of documentary film, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by a musician ....
filmed in 1969 featuring performances by Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and the Plastic Ono Band.
External links
- An online version of the movie on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/1640442