Tracklisting information on this vintage Top Gear show comes courtesy of Peel Mailing List member Mick. Apart from one track, and the intro, no recording of this show has yet been unearthed, but if you come across any musty old tapes with it on, please contact the mailing list.
Mick (message of 6 Nov. 2009): I was just sorting out a few old items of junk in my archive, and I found a copy of the old psych fanzine "117" (issue #7). Inside there's an article by a chap named 'Vic Garibaldi' (!) titled "John Peel's Lowest Gear". Mr Garibaldi apparently commited playlists to his notebook, until the 10th Jan 1970 anyway. This was the last show he bothered with until the coming of The Ramones, because in his humble opinion Peel "Really pushed in all the stops for this one" (He gives 'one measly star' as his verdict). Anyway, Mr Garibaldi intimates that this was part of a series of programme listings, so does anyone here have more copies of "117"? It doesn't say if 'Vic' taped the show, but judging by his comments he would probably have wiped it anyway :-(
If you can add additional details on format (LP name, etc) and label information on non-session tracks, this would be much appreciated.
A clip of the very start of the show was included in the BBC Radio 2 documentary Ball Of Confusion: The Soundscape Of 1970, broadcast 2010-08-17, and a longer one in 21 Years Of Radio 1. Peel's links have been added to the tracklisting below.
The Delaney and Bonnie B-side "Groupie (Superstar)", credited to Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, became better known as a hit for the Carpenters. It was also covered by Sonic Youth in 1984.
The Delaney Bramlett solo single "Liverpool Lou" isn't a current release, but a 1965 pop production of a Dominic Behan song, which was a UK chart hit for the Scaffold in 1974. Other versions include one by Liverpool FC from 1977.
Sessions[]
Medicine Head #1 First broadcast. Recorded 1969-12-15. No known official release.
Savoy Brown #3 First broadcast. Recorded 1970-06-01. No known official release.
Renaissance #1 Repeat of only session. Recorded 1969-10-07. No known official release.
Tracklisting[]
(JP: Thank you. Start the theme music, lads. And on this week's Top Gear we have Savoy Brown, Medicine Head and Renaissance, basically, and that's about all. This is - and a lot of records of course besides, mustn't overlook them. This is from Canned Heat and they are shortly to be touring over here. And this is a new single from them - it's called Let's Work Together. What a sound notion. Sound notion, ha, ha, ha...)
Canned Heat: Let's Work Together (7") Liberty LBF 15302 #3
(JP: 'Canned Heat and Let's Work Together, which is incidentally also the title track of a new LP by Wilbert Harrison, who wrote it. And Wilbert Harrison, some of you may remember, did perhaps the best version of Kansas City, which was number 1 in America for a great long time in the old rock'n'roll era. I've got here in my hands a groovy Latin-American underground paper, actually from Argentina. What sort of things are they thinking about in Argentina, you might wonder? Well, it says here, "Aparacerá a la venta muy pronto el duo Tyrannosaurus Rex," something else, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Rolling Stones, Humble Pie and things. You see, this music does go a little further than Clapham. Anyway, now it's time for our disinterred thirty-three and a third. Boys, if you can.....')
(jingle plays)'
(JP: 'I think even the most jaded among you have got to admit that's pretty soul-stirring sort of stuff, isn't it? I mean, really, when it comes down to it.')