Fred and Red (and Others)

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Fred and Red (and Others)

Postby cart_machine » Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:22 pm

Here’s a column from the Province of April 3, 1969. A little radio news and mentions of some of those bands that graced the local scene 50 years ago. The Big Mother opened in November 1968 at 111 Dunsmuir across from where the bus depot was. (Phone 688-7638)

cArtie


POP SCENE
By JAY DURWOOD
Freelance broadcaster Fred Latremouille, who does a pop music show on CBC-AM radio, has reason to complain. People don't normally listen to CBC for pop music, and therefore he doesn't have many listeners.
But on Saturday, at 12:15 p.m., Fred's program includes a telephone interview with John Lennon from Amsterdam, where he spent seven days in bed, more or less uninterrupted, with his new bride Yoko Ono.
Which is not necessarily a reason to listen, except for the fact that the Lennon family (and not the sisters) might come to Vancouver within the month, because of the telephone interview.
Georgia Straight editor Dan McLeod was nearby when Latremouille made the phone call, and it was mentioned that the underground newspaper might need a benefit show for various legal battles.
In the taped interview, Lennon agreed. Which may result in a visit, and enough money for the Georgia Straight to carry its legal battles to the United Nations.
On the other hand, the promise by John Lennon could be a case of honeymoon euphoria, which combined with seven days and seven nights in bed with hardly anything to do, might have prompted a rash statement to Latremouille.
The Lennons staged their sleep-in in the Amsterdam Hilton as “a protest against violence everywhere.” At one point, the opening day of their honeymoon, Lennon held a hotel room news conference with 60 newsmen in attendance.
A show here, if indeed there will be one, would probably be with John and Yoko, perhaps something based on the recent LP cover featuring the couple upsetting the Establishment with their bare skins.
♦ ♦
More definite shows: Next Wednesday, a pop festival at the PNE Gardens Auditorium, 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., with an all-local lineup which should draw crowds. Mother Tucker's Yellow Duck, Tomorrow's Eyes, Black Snake Blues Band, Papa Bear's Medicine Show, Mock Duck, Seeds of Time and the Poppy Family will appear. More surprising show: Along with Spring at the Big Mother Saturday and Sunday, Mark Derrick is bringing in a group called “Troup” from Seattle. Mark describes it as a clean, funny striptease. The Big Mother's film room is also in operation, for those who want to miss the main show.
♦ ♦
Radio station CJOR, which went to a format called “up town country” about a month ago, seems almost ready to start competing with CJJC. With the exception of the daytime weekday hotline programs, more country and western sounds are finding their way to CJOR listeners. Station manager Red Robinson says that, with sophisticated country songs, his station tries to present intelligent, Canadian-accent disc jockeys. No Bible belt drawls. From the sound of several pleasant hours, he has succeeded.
Meanwhile, in New Westminster, the planned country and western CKNW-FM station is still planned, but delayed considerably because of the Vietnam war. The new equipment is not arriving on schedule, and NW expects to operate “in late summer.”
The present lack of competition can only help CJOR.
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