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FANTASTICAL ENTERTAINMENT
As aregular reader of Uncut, I’m caught between an addictive nostalgia for the past and aglowing optimism for the future of music. So, when I read about Elton’s recent bowing out to an adoring Glasto crowd, Iwas reminded of along-ago concert when he really tested the waters.
It was early summer in 1975. My mate and Ihad arrived in London from Melbourne after having dodged aone-way trip to Vietnam courtesy of the Oz government’s birthday/lotto conscription policy. Now we’d secured two tickets to Wembley Stadium to see the Midsummer Music Festival. A veritable curate’s egg of talent for three-and-a-half quid!
When we got there, the crowd was starting to build as we heard Stackridge completing their set on what sounded like 10-watt amps. Thank God for Rufus and Chaka Khan. Given that the crowd on the playing field was still sparse, audience response seemed merely polite. That all changed when they ramped up the volume for a riveting “Tell Me Something Good”. Soon, of course, Chaka would rise above her band.