In April 1974, Captain Beefheart launched his 8th studio album, Unconditionally Assured. It used to be no longer a contented time, and he would later describe the document – and its follow-up, Bluejeans & Moonbeams – as “terrible and vulgar”, urging lovers to go back them to the purpose of acquire for a reimbursement.
Extra importantly, within the instant wake of the album’s liberate, the Captain used to be fired by way of his long-term backing musicians, The Magic Band. However promotional chores nonetheless needed to be attended to, so Beefheart prompt on excursion with a number of studio musicians whose unfamiliarity with the complexities of his paintings resulted in performances that had been as streamlined as they had been perfunctory. The so-called Tragic Band used to be born.
After a run of US dates, the musicians headed to Europe for a excursion marked by way of postponements and cancellations. Leapfrogging the continent with crazed abandon, they performed the long-running Pinkpop competition within the Netherlands in early June along Standing Quo, Steeleye Span, Rory Gallagher, Fungus and Steve Harley & Cockney Insurrection, then returned 3 weeks later to look at the TV display Van Oekel’s Discohoek.
“It used to be an excessively abnormal program, which used to be to start with vilified by way of the document corporations, as a result of artists had been insulted regularly,” display director Ellen Jens remembered in 2010. “Typically, they talked all through the tune. This system became out to be extraordinarily well liked by younger other folks, in order that they modified their music. Beefheart idea it used to be a pleasing experiment and determined to lip-sync exaggeratedly badly.”
Pictures of the published seems to turn the person born Dion Van Vliet (presented as “Captain Beefsteak”) having a beautiful time certainly, stumbling onstage to break some other singer within the corporate of display host Sjef van Oekel and his assistant, Evert van der Pik, earlier than “acting” his personal Upon The My-Oh-My (from Unconditionally Assured). Up to now, so bizarre, and it will get more bizarre.
“We additionally awarded him a silver trophy,” remembered Jens. “I had purchased a large number of them at a store at the Singel [a canal in Amsterdam]. Captain Beefheart used to be extraordinarily proud of it.”
The great Captain does certainly seem satisfied together with his trophy, which, he is advised, is a praise for his “revolutionary luck.” He bites it, then thrusts it triumphantly within the course of the digicam, earlier than turning to the display’s organist and soliciting for the Beatles’ vintage The previous day, which he whistles at the side of, a lot to the plain bemusement of the singer whose efficiency he interrupted previous.
After two extra presentations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the remainder of the excursion used to be cancelled. Captain Beefheart would not carry out once more till November.
