05 December 1970

Show[]

Name

Top Gear

Station

BBC Radio One

YYYY-MM-DD

1970-12-05

Comments

File 1 contains the first hour of a Saturday afternoon Top Gear
Peel says that "On Monday and Tuesday I had to sit down and listen to 72 LPs - it was gruesome...". He expresses his scepticism regarding what had become known as "progressive rock", saying that successful "progressive" bands "don't progress at all" and follow a simple formula.
His remarks reflect a general mood at the end of the 1960s, when musicians and listeners weary of "heavy" rock began to look to earlier, simpler forms of music for inspiration - 1950s rock'n'roll, blues, country, folk. All of these genres would be featured in Peel's shows in the first half of the 1970s.
An early-70s reaction against the dominance of "progressive" rock is evident here in the easy-going, US-inspired country-rock of Cochise and session guests Brinsley Schwarz. The show ends with a track from Elton John's album Tumbleweed Connection, also a part of this trend as it was heavily influenced by EJ's then favourites, the Band.
Many thanks to Ken Garner for additional tracklisting information.

Sessions[]

Brinsley Schwarz #1 First broadcast. Recorded 1970-11-16.
Mr Fox: #1 First broadcast. Recorded 1970-11-24.
- ’Mr Fox’ not played until repeat on 27 February 1971.
Family: #7 Repeat. First broadcast 05 September 1970. Recorded 1970-11-24.
- 'Holding The Compass' and Lives And Ladies' available on BBC Radio Volume 3 1970 (HUX 107)
- Full session re-released in December 2018 on "Family At The BBC" and in 2023 on "Anyway (2 CD edition)"

(Please add details of any commercial release of these sessions)

Tracklisting[]

File 7 begins with last track from Folk On One
File 1 begins with handover from Folk On One and File 3 begins shortly after.
Cochise: Love's Made A Fool Of You (single) Liberty LBF 15425 (JP; "I think Buddy (Holly) would've been quite proud of that")
Carol Grimes & Delivery: We Were Satisfied (LP: Fool's Meeting) Charisma CAS 1023 (B&C?) (*JP: "I wonder what's happening up at Anfield?...") [*Liverpool 0-0 Leeds Utd. FL Div. 1. Final Score: 1-1. Paul Madeley scored first for Leeds and John Toshack equalised for Liverpool after 52 minutes. Att. 51,357!]
Brinsley Schwarz: Seymour I Love You/Funk Angel (session)
Keef Hartley Band: Roundabout (Part 1) (single) Deram DM 316
Family: Holding the Compass (session) 4
Frank Zappa: Transylvanian Boogie (LP: Chunga's Revenge) Bizarre/Reprise RSLP 2030
3.30 News (main story; unions strike against the Industrial Relations Act)
Van Morrison: Domino (single) Warner Bros. WB 7034
Mr. Fox: Mr. Trill's Song (session)
The Rev. Ether, The Kingdom Power & The Glory : 1862 B.P. (7") Et Cet'er-A 45-201 (US release) (Obscure import which, Peel tells us, he hunted down after it was "reviewed ecstatically in Rolling Stone")
Family: Good News - Bad News (session) 5
Bridget St. John: If You've Got Money (single) Warner Bros WB 8019
Mr. Fox: The Gay Goshawk (session)
File 1 ends during above track
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: Japan Is A Dishpan (LP – Lick My Decals Off, Baby) Straight/Reprise 1063
File 3 ends during above track
Brinsley Schwarz: The Slow One (session) @
Badfinger: Blodwyn (LP - No Dice) Apple SAPCOR 16
Mr Fox: Susan’s Song (session)
Robert Johnson: Love In Vain (LP - The King Of The Delta Blues Singers Vol.2) CBS 64102
Ron Geesin & Roger Waters: The Womb Bit / Embryo Thought / March Past Of The Embryos / More Than Seven Dwarfs In Penis-Land / Dance Of The Red Corpuscles (album - Music Form The Body) Harvest SHSP 4008
4.30 news
Wizz Jones: Slow Down To My Speed (LP - Legendary Me) Village Thing VTS 4
Brinsley Schwarz: Rock And Roll Station (session)
Edgar Broughton Band: Apache Drop Out (Apache Intro. Drop Out Boogie) (single) Harvest HAR 5032
Mr Fox: Ballad Of Noddy Nick (session)
Family: Lives And Ladies (session) (JP: "Oh, that's superb, really is... great stuff!") 6
Elton John: Burn Down The Mission (LP - Tumbleweed Connection) DJM DJLPS 410
File 7 ends
Track marked @ available on File 2
Track marked 4 available on "Family At The BBC"

File[]

Name

1) 1970-12-05 Sat - BBC R1 (247m) - John Peel - Top Gear (60 mins).mp3
2) Brinsley Schwarz - Peel sessions - Top Gear 5/12/70 & 11/4/71
3) BBC-R1-19701206-0300-0400-JohnPeel-TopGear.mp3
4) Holding The Compass (Live, BBC Radio One Top Gear Session, 5th September 1970)
5) Good News, Bad News (Live, BBC Radio One Top Gear Session, 5th September 1970)
6) Lives and Ladies (Live, BBC Radio One Top Gear Session, 5th September 1970)
7) John Peel's Top Gear 5.12.70

Length

1) 59.06
2) 9:46 (to 5:45)
3) 1:01:24
4) 3:24
5) 8:17
6) 7:16
7) 1:59:47

Other

2) Many thanks to Colin Harper
3) Many thanks to Vincent
7) Many thanks to Rob Chapman

Available