ASGARD - were a Coventry band in the style of Pink Floyd / Nice operating around 1969 - 71 period who were promoted by John Peel and played a number of prestigious gigs - eg Mothers in Birmingham after Pink Floyd and with Peel and Hyde Park etc. Following a recent post on Asgard with some of their music, bassist Richard Kilbride has sent these archive photos of the band and cuttings.
First a cutting from Disc - Asgard are mentioned in John Peel's column - some of them, including their manager Paul Padum stayed at Peel Acres.
Asgard played in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral in 1969 as part of the West Indian concert calld Jerico -
Asgard bassist proposed free open air concerts in Coventry in 1969 in which people could even bring along poems to read (great initiative Richard) according to this Coventry Evening Telegraph article -
The council response is interesting!!
"NO LONG-HAIRED BEATNKS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO ELEMENT" - "THE SALVATION ARMY BAND..ARE A RAVE!!!"
"Councillor Arthur Taylor, Chairman of the Recreation Committee said he would be glad to make the park available to respectable pop groups but we do not want long-haired beatniks in the San Franscisco element playing in our parks! We have the Salvation Army band playing in our parks and it's a rave! But whether pop music is eeryone's choice, I don't know." Well -
I must admit - I've never heard the Salvation Army band described as a 'Rave' before!!!!
Asgard were invited to Alexis Korner's fiftieth birthday party!!
The following are photos of the young Asgard at play with guitars and dumpeer trucks in the 60's and photos from gigs and rehearsals etc.
Along with these photos was one of another band from the 1970c period - no idea who they are or if it's a Cov band or one Asgard played on tour with - if any or Richard can throw light on this photo - let me know.
Yes the shame was that the call for bands playing in th epark put the kibosh on the unofficial concerts we were having in spencer park and on hearsall common.
Posted by: BroadgateGnome | 04/14/2009 at 10:32 PM