1969: Woodstock

Regarding Woodstock...

Yes, Woodstock is here too! 1969.

For Blackhill, August of 1969 was certainly a month of defining events. From the tour including Pink Floyd Sound, Syd Barrett, and Tailboard, which carried to the eventual crisis in the company during the 70s, to the Woodstock and Isle of Wight Festivals for promoting the artists, certainly, August 1969 was the month that transformed the company into a gateway between the underground and the mainstream.

Right before the Pink Floyd Sound/Syd Barrett/Tailboard tour begun, Blackhill negotiated some of their artists to perform in the Woodstock Festival, as did with the Isle of Wight. "The negotiations with... the Foulk Brothers were far more organized than the Woodstock one. I really can barely say if there was any negotiation with the Woodstock organizers since everything seemed so improvised.", Keith Noble.

In the end, Soft Machine, Edgar Broughton Band, Tailboard, and initially, Syd Barrett agreed to perform (declining to perform one day before the concert). David Bowie declined the idea since he was working on his upcoming album as did Pink Floyd Sound (although both performed later on the Isle of Wight Festival).

"Well, I was up to perform in the Isle of Wight, and I was preparing myself for the tour with the Floyd, and then, two weeks before, Drew [Andrew King] asked if I was going to perform in the Woodstock Festival and I agreed with that. I was scheduled for Sunday, so I had a good ammount of time to think about that decision, even if I was in NY at the time *laughs*. And honestly, until today I feel pity for Kevin and Robert, they didn't like large audiences and had to deal with a shit-ton of people. Actually, they influenced me to decline to perform. Tailboard seemed chilled about that, though."

 -Syd Barrett, 1984

Robert Wyatt leaving the stage in Woodstock.

Soft Machine was billed for the Saturday, right after Santana. When the band first arrived on stage, it was noticed a massive amount of people cheering the newcomers, shocking Kevin Ayers. "So, I didn't know about the audience until we went to the festival... When we were backstage, Robert just said to me to not see the outside, otherwise, I was going to panic. He was quite right, I panicked. But Daevid [Allen] handled the entire thing, so I chilled out a little bit.", said Ayers.

The performance of Soft Machine ended up being shorter, rearranging the setlist right on stage. The band decided to focus on Daevid's songs and instrumentals, including songs that weren't released at the time, such as Esther's Nose Job and Lunatics Lament. After the performance, Soft Machine attended a meeting with Jimi Hendrix back in New York, and then returned to England.

Tailboard's Woodstock was... different. The group was recently formed, and Woodstock was their first relevant performance, although, the band was billed to perform right after Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The group performed their entire (then unreleased) album, plus A Summer Song. According to the frontman Keith Noble, the crowd was very receptive to the band, even though it was 5 a.m. when they arrived on stage. In backstage, the band talked with CSN&Y, and the jazz group, Blood, Sweat & Tears. Tailboard would return to England on Wednesday.

Joe Cocker playing his well-known "air guitar" on stage.

Greasy Asylum was billed as the first band to perform on the daytime Sunday, arriving on stage 2:00 p.m. and performing throughout one and a half hours a big set consisting of tracks from Look Inside the Greasy Asylum and Delta Lady, two medleys and cover renditions of Joe Cocker and Leon Russell. The performance of Greasy Asylum is considered by many as one of the highlights of the festival, along with Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and many others.

A few days ago, Delta Lady was released as the second Greasy Asylum's studio album by Shelter Records and distributed by Blue Thumb Records in the United States, as a way intended to promote the band with the Woodstock Festival. The strategy was effective since Delta Lady managed to be ranging between positions 43 and 45 for three months on Billboard. "It was Blue Thumb's idea, not ours. We've just agreed since we had a contract.", Leon Russell.

The Woodstock Festival served as a stair to bands such as the Greasy Asylum, becoming one of their most remarkable shows. Even though members expressed bitter feelings towards the audience, it was a consensus that the performance was pretty enjoyable to everyone, despite Cocker's reluctance to venture again after that year. "As I said, 1968 and '69 were pretty intense, but Woodstock was like an eclipse ... it was a very special day.", Joe Cocker.

Soft Machine, Live in Woodstock, August 15th, 1969

Setlist

1. "Memories" (Hugh Hopper)

2. "Hope for Happiness" (Kevin Ayers, Ratledge, Brian Hopper)

3. "You Don't Remember" (Daevid Allen, Robert Wyatt)

4. "I Should've Known" (Ayers, Ratledge, Wyatt, Allen, H. Hopper)

5. "5 and 20 Schoolgirls" (Allen)

6. "A Certain Kind" (H. Hopper) [sung by Daevid Allen]

7. "We Did It Again" (Ayers)

8. "Gong Song" (Allen)

9. "Esther's Nose Job" (Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper)

10. "Lunatics Lament" (Ayers, Allen)

11. "Rational Anthem" (Allen)

12. "Magick Brother" (Allen)

13. "Why Are We Sleeping/Once I Awakened" (Ayers) [sung by Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen]

14. "Singing a Song in the Morning" (Ayers)

Greasy Asylum, Live in Woodstock, August 17th, 1969

Setlist

1. "Dear Landlord" (Bob Dylan) [JC]

2. "Something's Coming On" (Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton) [JC]

3. "Delta Lady" (Leon Russell) [JC/LR]

4. "Feelin' Alright" (Dave Mason) [JC]

5. "Crystal Closet Queen" (Russell) [LR]

6. "Let's Go Get Stoned" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) [JC]

7. "Dixie Lullaby" (Russell, Stainton) [LR]

8. "Medley: Jumpin' Jack Flash/Young Blood" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Doc Pomus) [JC/LR]

9. "Hitchcock Railway" (Don Dunn, Tony McCashen) [JC]

10. "Something to Say" (Cocker, Peter Nichols) [JC]

11. "Medley: Of Thee I Sing/Yes I Am" (Don Preston, Russell) [LR]

12. "With a Little Help from My Friends" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) [JC]

[JC] = Joe Cocker

[LR] = Leon Russell 

Tailboard, Live in Woodstock, August 18th, 1969

Setlist

All tracks composed and performed by Keith Noble, except when noted.

1. "Mr. Compromise"

2. "Narcissus"

3. "Secretary Jane"

4. "Red-Current Tide"

5. "Up and Down Way (of It All)"

6. "Only When I Laugh"

7. "Dandelions Have Their Day"

8. "Weather"

9. "King of the Icemen"

10. "Ashes and Silver"

11. "A Summer Song" (Keith Noble, David Stuart)