On 31st July 1977, I went to a gig at the Bristol Colston Hall. Top of the bill was the Dutch band Golden Earring who had just enjoyed their only major hit Radar Love. But I hadn’t gone to see them. I was there to see the support act, enjoying their first UK tour; a little known band from Jacksonville, Florida. They were called Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Even back then, I was a serious anorak. I bought every music magazine I could, I bought records whenever I had the money, I listen to BBC Radio One, I watched Top of the Pops and the Old Grey Whistle Test. In terms of my musical education, OGWT was my biggest influence.
OGWT provided me with the soundtrack to my life and it was there I discovered the type of music I still love today, which was mainly American rock in its various styles. OGWT showcased little known bands and one night I was blown away when this seven piece band with three guitar players performed in the studio playing a song called Freebird. I was blown away and immediately bought their album Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd. Then I bought their second album Second Helping. Then they toured the UK, supporting a Dutch band with one famous song.
When we arrived at the Colston Hall, I didn’t think much about the make-up of the audience. I assumed I was probably the only man there to see Skynyrd. As the nine song set went on, I found I was not alone. It felt like the vast majority in attendance were there to see Skynyrd. The set was absolutely blinding when they played a driving version of JJ Cale’s Call Me The Breeze and everyone was on their feet. The set ended with Sweet Home Alabama and Freebird. Everyone was going absolutely bonkers. It was incredible and I was so lucky to be there. No one on earth could possibly follow this. Golden Earring certainly couldn’t.
We were still in a kind of euphoric state when Golden Earring came on to patchy applause and countless cries of ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd’. They had been truly blown off stage by one of the great rock bands of all time. Eleven songs in and they finally played Radar Love, which to their credit was very good. Hundreds had already left the venue by then, the hall emptied dramatically when they finished their song. I doubt that they played the rest of the set to more than a few hundred people who maybe felt sorry for them. I say maybe because I was one of those who left.
Yesterday, I heard that Ed King had died. King was a co-writer of Sweet Home Alabama and Freebird and one of the three guitar players. Together, they made a sound quite unlike any other southern rock band, although King himself was the only non-southerner in the band. He left Skynyrd in the 1970s, rejoining briefly in the 1980s but leaving again due to poor health. Although his name was only known to Skynyrd fans, his legacy is known by far many more people.
King was a great player in a great band. I thank him for the music and send my condolences to his family and friends.
Setlist
Double Trouble
I Ain’t the One
Saturday Night Special
Gimme Back My Bullets
Cry for the Bad Man
Gimme Three Steps
Call Me the Breeze
Sweet Home Alabama
Free Bird
