Your new forum

My dear Beggar’s,

it makes me very happy that I can open here the brand-new and very useful forum.
I was and I am a big fan of your fresh music over all the decades. Particularly I remember the 1st British Rock Meeting in 1971-Sept. in Speyer, Germany with more than 30.000 international spectators and with all the great bands. After that unforgettable two days festival I think you became also very famous on the continent.

It is extraordinary that you've continued your music tradition until today.

Virginia and Ricky, my best wishes to you all.
Andreas (from Germany)

P.S.: … and beware of my English :-)))

Welcome Andreas :-) The

Welcome Andreas :-)
The Great British Rock Meeting at Speyer was memorable for us also.
It was early days for festivals and I for one had never experienced such a gathering.
What an amazing audience, great music and hot sun.
Cheers,
Virginia

By Virginia at Sat, 2007-10-20 08:17 | login or register to post comments

My first experience of

My first experience of Beggars Opera was in 1970 at the of age 15yrs,this was just after leaving school.
Having being exposed to the sound of (the Hammond Organ) Keith Emerson and The Nice by my older brother.The progam was The Best of Clour Me Pop.I loved bands covering other peoples music althoughly only if they put own slant on it. For example Fridged Pink House of the Rising Sun.Vannila Fudge,You keep me hanging on
Enter Beggars Opera and Act One at last I could listen to classical music with a rock bands stamping there mark on it.
This made sense to me I suppose it must have sounded rebellious to archtype classical muisc listener....I was sure this is what the music of the day needed....Even today nothing has surpassed it.Music has not gone forward well maybe apart from the the Jazz Fusion of the mid 70s.

There is no failure,there is only feed back.

By explorer at Mon, 2007-10-22 07:16 | login or register to post comments

The Nice .. I remember

The Nice .. I remember seeing them at Greens Playhouse, Glasgow way back in the very early 70's . Keith Emerson/ELP certainly new how to rock the classics. Listening to these albums now ..the energy is unbelievable !
Cheers

By Virginia at Mon, 2007-10-22 09:00 | login or register to post comments

With a lot of 70s bands

With a lot of 70s bands making a comeback over the years,this being mainly due to the advances in technology and the advent of the cd/dvds as well as the resurgence in this type of music ie Porg Rock etc etc...
Beggars Opera being at the forefront.
Has the members of Beggars Opera considered a return (the original band)?
Is there enough footage for a dvd?

Its a pity that they veered away from the style they had originated in the first three albums although Get Your Dog of Me has some excellent music as well.....

Doug

There is no failure for what you are experincing is feed back

By explorer at Mon, 2007-10-22 14:38 | login or register to post comments

I would not like to say with

I would not like to say with any certainty that Beggars Opera would ever reform and play live again.
Ricky Gardiner's Electro Sensitivity would make that a practical and logistical nightmare....an unechoeic chamber or faraday cage perhaps.... nice to muse on that image I think .
As for Live footage?
I think the Bremen Beat Club , Germany, 1971,version of Raymond's Road is the only one of note.
This is great.... I can remember this very well as we arrived for this recording early in the morning after taking the boat over from UK, a bit bedraggled.
We had not slept all night.
The director , or someone important, decided that we had to have a German beer and a schnapps to revive us from the journey. That, at 10 am, was interesting.
The programme was great as was the lighting.
Very psychedelic.
The Mark 2 mellotron: I thought the Beat Club was the only footage of this with Beggars Opera , but recently someone called to my attention the fact that PFM, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Italy's top Progressive Rock Band, with whom we had shared a residency in Italy and who bought the MK2 mellotron , did a programme for Italian TV not long after and featured said instrument and it's capabilities ( you tube)
There were TV shows for BBC Scotland and Grampian Television, which featured Beggars Opera, but they are not available as far as I know.
The first three albums were certainly serious Prog Rock.
Classical Gas, on Dog, is amazing though.
Alan Park's arrangement is truly superb.
Thereafter followed what we call our minimalist period ...lol
V

By Virginia at Tue, 2007-10-23 08:28 | login or register to post comments

Ah PFM excellent band and

Ah PFM excellent band and still going...I saw them in Lieth Citadel Theater,Edinburgh.This was the Chocolate Kings Tour 1976 they were supported my Back Door.I think all the Italian restaurants in Scotland were closed that day,as I am sure they were all at the concert. ;0)
To to be honest I have yet to see a better band live,the m before :0) Musicianship that night was first class...They released a dvd in 2002 live in Japan,See those original titles "Made in Japan" Have I heard that
I am thinking now of a concert in Grangemouths Sports Stadium back in 1972 if my memory serves me well it was called The Great Western Festival.I remeber there were lots of bands that day and am I correct in saying BO played on the bill?
Who did the original art work for the album Pathfinder?

Doug

There is no failure for what you are experincing is feed back

By explorer at Tue, 2007-10-23 13:34 | login or register to post comments

Also saw PFM: but earlier at

Also saw PFM: but earlier at the Lyceum in London in 1972.
Superb.

Peter Good fellow was the artist who originated the Pathfinder poster/cover. If you would like to see what he is doing now - Art from Scotland

Yes Beggars Opera did play at the Grangemouth Festival of 1972.
Go to Beggars Opera Cutting
to see what the Daily Express said at the time.

All the best in the west:-)
v

By Virginia at Wed, 2007-10-24 08:16 | login or register to post comments

I am doing my best here

I am doing my best here ;0)Comon people....

What ever happened to the members of Writing On The Wall? And why did they break-up?
They like B O were an excellent Scottish Band. I never seen them although I have the cd Power of The Picts.One off my brothers brought the album in to our parents house OH way back in 69/70.
I met one of the roadies for Writing On The all his name was Josh he used to come to Bo'ness.

Question..What happened after Get Your Dog off Me...Maybe a clue is in the material and album cover..In my opinion Linnie wasn't right for BO..The two tracks that I love are Classical Gas and Requium I am sure it was on that album. That track (REQUIUM)is beatiful,timeless...
What was going on at that time? Has I seem to remember they just dissapeared off the face of the planet.I mean punk hadn't apeared yet Prog/Classical Rock was still pretty big ie ELP,Genesis,Yes etc etc....I thought BO were as good and sometimes better than some off the bands that were making it...

Doug

There is no failure for what you are experincing is feed back

By explorer at Wed, 2007-10-24 11:54 | login or register to post comments

Writing on the wall were

Writing on the wall were legendary and Linnie Paterson was a very different singer to the ones Beggars Opera were used to in Martin Griffiths and Pete Scott.
See the History for a fuller account of how/why Linnie ,joined.
Get Your Dog Off Me was the 4th and last album in the Vertigo deal.
After that the band took time out, after four years of constant touring.
Punk was edging in though ... Beggars Opera's famous last gig was with the New York Dolls! New York Dolls and Beggars Opera at Biba's
Wonder who thought that one up!
Cheers

By Virginia at Thu, 2007-10-25 09:37 | login or register to post comments

Just heard Repertoire

Just heard Repertoire Records de are rereleasing the 2 German Jupiter albums onto cd?

pathfinder

All the best in the West

By pathfinder at Sun, 2007-11-04 11:09 | login or register to post comments

WEll my first actual

WEll my first actual encounter with Beggars Opera is falling in love with THIS SONG - 'Dancer in the Wind' from THIS ALBUM - ' Touching the Edge'. Wish more bands my age would have this kind of imagination instead we are swamped with rubbish sort of songs with perhaps a hook here and there ...no wonder the industry is on its knees.....

Keep Rocking Beggars

:)))

By Hysterical at Tue, 2007-11-06 21:45 | login or register to post comments

Merry Xmas and specially

Merry Xmas and specially Happy Hogmanny when it comes
All the best in the West
p
xx

By pathfinder at Wed, 2007-12-19 09:57 | login or register to post comments