Blossom Toes c 1968 courtesy
of Brian Godding
Whoops.....wrong date!
Brian
Godding: I
tend to remember Friars for what it was in the grand scheme of
things rather than specific performances. It was,without
doubt, the most revered and sort after venue/ gig to do for bands of our
ilk back then. If you like, a safe haven, most
UK venues (out of town) were always a lottery and could be quite dangerous
to work in ( for instance working men's clubs up north !) I think
it's fair to say Friars was the Mecca of the
musical movement of the period and bands felt safe in the knowledge that
they were among 'like minded people'. So it was
a place you could go and try out all your new weird and wonderful Ideas
without getting thumped or threatened ! I do
remember, for instance, it was at one of our Friars gigs I first saw
Genesis and was totally blown away by them and
Peter Gabriel
it
was a little like a 'club' that both bands and audiences all belonged to! |