UFO Club
Encyclopedia
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.
(usually known as "Hoppy") and Joe Boyd
in an Irish dancehall called the "Blarney Club" in the basement of 31 Tottenham Court Road
, under the Gala Berkeley Cinema. It opened on Dec. 23, 1966. Initially the club was advertised as "UFO Presents Night Tripper". This had been because Boyd and Hopkins could not decide on "UFO" or "Night Tripper" as a name for their club. Eventually they settled on "UFO".
Soft Machine
and Pink Floyd
were booked for the first two Fridays, and then re-engaged as the club carried on into 1967 after its initial success. Initial events combined live music with light shows, avant garde films and slide shows, and dance troupes.
Pink Floyd
's tenure at UFO was short run. As their fame grew they were able to play bigger venues for higher fees. Boyd protested that their increasing fame was largely due to the success of UFO, but the band's management wanted to move on and an agreement was made for just three more Floyd performances at UFO, at an increased fee.
Hopkins and Boyd had to cast around for a new "house band" for UFO. They settled on Soft Machine
but also started booking other acts who were attracted by the club's reputation. Amongst them were The Incredible String Band, Arthur Brown
, Tomorrow
, and Procol Harum
, who played there when "A Whiter Shade of Pale
" was No 1 in the charts.
An advertisement featuring the Flammarion engraving in the Feb 13–26 issue of The International Times
for "UfOria! Festival of Love 10.30 till dawn" [sic] announced "feb.10 — the bonzo dog doodah band
• flix–dali
–bunuel
• ginger johnson african drums" as well as "feb 17 — soft machine
• mark boyle
projections • movies • food • erogenius 3 + 4".
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat
, consisting of Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, designed psychedelic posters to advertise events. The food was macrobiotic and included brown rice rissoles, vegetarian stuffed vine leaves and felafel.
Jack Braceland's (Fiveacres Lights) created some of the light shows with equipment which ranged from 16mm projection of what we would now call 'art house' films (often projected sideways or projected into smoke) or 5Kw 'Pani's' (effects projectors) borrowed from Samuelsons at Pinewood or Elstree film studios (or Strand Electric at Vauxhall) to overhead projectors with transpaernt trays borrowed from refrigerators and filled with water/indian ink/beer/whatever. A favorite was to use 'Aldis' slide projectors with dual layer 2x2 glass specimen slides with basic designs created with wax crayons (drawn by Lou - the oft naked lady) and then varoius substenses introduced with syringes - indian inks, snot, semen - in fact anything of imiscible viscosities. Bubbles made by injecting air between the glass plates which were then squeezed (by a pair of long nose pliers-in time to the music) would send folks even further off their heads!
The UFO Club’s success was its downfall — being too small to accommodate the increasing number of visitors. If a big name such as Jeff Beck
was playing, UFO broke even, but the club usually lost money. In October 1967 the UFO Club at the Roundhouse folded.
UK underground
The Underground was a countercultural movement in the United Kingdom linked to the underground culture in the United States and associated with the hippie phenomenon. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London...
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...
during the 1960s, venue of performances by many of the top bands of the day.
History
The UFO Club was founded by John HopkinsJohn 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:...
(usually known as "Hoppy") and Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd is an American record producer and former owner of the Witchseason production company. Boyd was instrumental in launching the careers of Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and The Incredible String Band.-Career:...
in an Irish dancehall called the "Blarney Club" in the basement of 31 Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
, under the Gala Berkeley Cinema. It opened on Dec. 23, 1966. Initially the club was advertised as "UFO Presents Night Tripper". This had been because Boyd and Hopkins could not decide on "UFO" or "Night Tripper" as a name for their club. Eventually they settled on "UFO".
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...
and 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...
were booked for the first two Fridays, and then re-engaged as the club carried on into 1967 after its initial success. Initial events combined live music with light shows, avant garde films and slide shows, and dance troupes.
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...
's tenure at UFO was short run. As their fame grew they were able to play bigger venues for higher fees. Boyd protested that their increasing fame was largely due to the success of UFO, but the band's management wanted to move on and an agreement was made for just three more Floyd performances at UFO, at an increased fee.
Hopkins and Boyd had to cast around for a new "house band" for UFO. They settled on 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...
but also started booking other acts who were attracted by the club's reputation. Amongst them were The Incredible String Band, Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
, 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...
, and Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
, who played there when "A Whiter Shade of Pale
A Whiter Shade of Pale
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached #5 on the US charts, as well...
" was No 1 in the charts.
An advertisement featuring the Flammarion engraving in the Feb 13–26 issue of The International Times
International Times
International Times was an underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. Editors included Hoppy, David Mairowitz, Pete Stansill, Barry Miles, Jim Haynes and playwright Tom McGrath...
for "UfOria! Festival of Love 10.30 till dawn" [sic] announced "feb.10 — the bonzo dog doodah band
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...
• flix–dali
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
–bunuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
• ginger johnson african drums" as well as "feb 17 — 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...
• mark boyle
Mark Boyle
Mark Boyle was an artist born in Glasgow and known for his work in the cultural UK Underground of the 1950s around the Traverse Theatre, and exhibiting since 1985 with Joan Hills and their children Sebastian and Georgia as Boyle Family.The World Series pieces involve the meticulous re-creation of...
projections • movies • food • erogenius 3 + 4".
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat is the name of an influential British graphic design and avant-garde musical partnership between Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, producing psychedelic posters and two albums of underground music...
, consisting of Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, designed psychedelic posters to advertise events. The food was macrobiotic and included brown rice rissoles, vegetarian stuffed vine leaves and felafel.
Jack Braceland's (Fiveacres Lights) created some of the light shows with equipment which ranged from 16mm projection of what we would now call 'art house' films (often projected sideways or projected into smoke) or 5Kw 'Pani's' (effects projectors) borrowed from Samuelsons at Pinewood or Elstree film studios (or Strand Electric at Vauxhall) to overhead projectors with transpaernt trays borrowed from refrigerators and filled with water/indian ink/beer/whatever. A favorite was to use 'Aldis' slide projectors with dual layer 2x2 glass specimen slides with basic designs created with wax crayons (drawn by Lou - the oft naked lady) and then varoius substenses introduced with syringes - indian inks, snot, semen - in fact anything of imiscible viscosities. Bubbles made by injecting air between the glass plates which were then squeezed (by a pair of long nose pliers-in time to the music) would send folks even further off their heads!
The UFO Club’s success was its downfall — being too small to accommodate the increasing number of visitors. If a big name such as Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
was playing, UFO broke even, but the club usually lost money. In October 1967 the UFO Club at the Roundhouse folded.
UFO Club billings
- Dec 23/30: Night Tripper under Gala Berkeley Cinema; Warhol movies; Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
The Pink Floyd; Anger movies; Heating warm; IT god - Jan 13: Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
; Marilyn Monroe movie; The Sun Trolley; Technicolor strobe; Fiveacre slides; Karate - Jan 20: Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
; Anger movie - Jan 27: AMMAMM (group)AMM are an important British free improvisation group, founded in London, England in 1965.AMM have never been well known to the general public, but have been incredibly influential on the field of improvised music...
Music; Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
; Five Acre Light; Flight of the Aerogenius Chpt 1; International Times; IT Girl Beauty Contest - Feb 3: Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
; Brown's Poetry; Flight of the Aerogenius Chpt 2; Bruce Connor Movies - Feb 10: Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band; Ginger Johnson; Bank Dick WC Fields
- Feb 17: Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
; Indian Music; Disney Cartoons; Mark Boyle Feature Movie - Feb 24: Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
; Brothers Grimm - Mar 3: Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
- Mar 10: Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
- Mar 17: St Patrick's day off
- Mar 24: Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
- Mar 31: Crazy World of Arthur Brown; Pink Alberts; 'spot the fuzz contest'
- Apr 7: Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
- Apr 14: Arthur Brown; Social Deviants; Special: the fuzz
- Apr 21: Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
- Apr 28: Tomorrow; The Purple Gang
- (Apr 29/30: 14-Hour Technicolor Dream at the Alexandra Palace)
- May 5: Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
; Arthur Brown - May 12: Graham Bond Organisation; Procol Harum
- May 19: Tomorrow; Arthur Brown; The People Show
- May 26: The MoveThe MoveThe Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
- Jun 2: Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
- Jun 9: Procol HarumProcol HarumProcol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
; The Smoke - Jun 16: Crazy World of Arthur Brown; Soft Machine; The People Blues Band 4.30am
- Jun 23: Liverpool Love Festival; The Trip
- Jun 30: Tomorrow; The Knack; Dead Sea Fruit
- Jul 7: Denny Laine; Pretty Things
- Jul 14: Arthur Brown; Alexis Korner; Victor Brox
- Jul 21: Tomorrow; Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
- Jul 28: Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
; CIA v UFO; Fairport ConventionFairport ConventionFairport 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... - Aug 4: Eric Burdon; Family
- Aug 11: Tomorrow
- Aug 18: Arthur Brown; Incredible String BandIncredible String BandThe Incredible String Band were a psychedelic folk band formed in Scotland in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially within British counterculture, before splitting up in 1974...
- Sep 1/2: UFO Festival: Pink FloydPink FloydPink 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...
; Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
; The MoveThe MoveThe Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
; Arthur BrownArthur Brown-Association footballers:*Arthur Brown , English international football inside right who played for Aston Villa in the 1870s and 1880s....
; Tomorrow; Denny Laine - Sep 8: Eric Burdon & The New Animals; Aynsley Dunbar
- Sep 15: Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft 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...
; Family - Sep 22: Dantalian's ChariotDantalian's ChariotDantalian's Chariot were a British psychedelic rock band that formed in 1967. Led by keyboardist and bandleader Zoot Money, and also featuring Andy Summers , they are best remembered for their single "Madman Running Through the Fields", and for their live performances, which featured early...
w Zoot Money & His Light Show; The Social Deviants; The Exploding Galaxy - Sep 29: Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
; Ten Years AfterTen Years AfterTen Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
; Mark Boyle's New Sensual Laboratory; Contessa Veronica
External links
Further reading
- Hopkins, John, FROM THE HIP - Photographs by JOHN "HOPPY" HOPKINS in the 1960-66, DAMIANIDamianiDamiani is the surname of:*Damiano Damiani , Italian screenwriter and film director*Felice Damiani , Italian painter*Francesco Damiani , Italian former boxer, first World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion...
. 2008. ISBN 978-88-6208-018-7
- Boyd, Joe, White Bicycles - Making Music in the 1960s, Serpent's TailSerpent's TailSerpent's Tail is a British independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It is notable for its translated works, particularly European crime fiction, and is the British publisher of Elfriede Jelinek and Lionel Shriver...
. 2007. ISBN 978-1-85242-489-3
- Miles, Barry: In the Sixties. (London 2002)
- Green, Jonathon: Days in the Life: Voices from the English Underground, 1961-71 (London 1998)
- Saunders, William Jimi Hendrix London Roaring Forties Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9843165-1-9