Gentle Giant Tour History

 

*** Part Seven ***

*** A Change of Direction ***

 

(mid 1977 - 1979)

 

(new or modified information added since the last update is in red)

 

            The English music scene went through some radical changes in 1977, with the rise to prominence of punk rock.  Progressive acts were quickly falling out of favor and found themselves under extreme pressure to simplify their music.  Gentle Giant, either because of this pressure, or for reasons of their own, began their own simplification process that year, writing and recording somewhat simpler music.

 

 

May ?            Giant's ninth album, THE MISSING PIECE, was recorded at Relight Studios in Hilvarenbeek, Holland.  The dates of the recording sessions may have been May 6 -16, but this is not confirmed.  Gary does remember the group spending two weeks in Holland.  On the album were the four songs they had debuted live earlier in the year, though Winning had been rearranged considerably.  These were all in a fairly progressive style, but the album also contained a number of more mainstream rock songs which startlingly contrasted with their earlier material.

 

June 17          Koln, West Germany                     Mungersdorfer Stadio                 for unknown reasons, Giant cancelled out of this stadium date.  it was billed as an “Open Air Festival” and Genesis was scheduled to headline.  four bands were booked and advertised as playing at this event with the German band Lake opening, Giant probably slated second, Manfred Mann's Earthband third, and finally Genesis.  since Giant did not play, a couple of the other bands simply extended their sets

June 19          Offenbach, West Germany             Stadion am Bieberer Berg           sadly, Giant was again a no-show at this, another date of the West German "Open Air Festival".  the same four bands were booked as in Koln two nights earlier.  after Lake finished their set on this night, an announcer took the stage and informed the crowd that Giant would not be appearing.  no reason was given, but many in the crowd were disappointed.  John Miles ended up playing, as a substitute act.  as it turned out, it was a disappointing day for many, as it rained relentlessly.  one source seems to recall a GG show with this same lineup of bands taking place in Munster, West Germany, but Munster was not on Genesis' tour itinerary.  no evidence has surfaced that Genesis and Giant ever played together at any other time.  in fact, there are no indications of any other GG gigs at all in the summer of 1977

 

Aug. 22         Evidence has come to light that Giant recorded what seem to be new versions of Mountain Time and Who Do You Think You Are? on Aug. 22 for broadcast on the BBC radio program It’s DLT OK!.  This afternoon program was hosted by famed BBC announcer Dave Lee Travis, but when these sessions were broadcast, if at all, is unknown.  It also appears they still exist, as the BBC includes them in a catalog of audio materials available for licensing to international customers.

 

Aug. 26         Chrysalis Records had announced that this was the date they officially planned to release THE MISSING PIECE in England.  However, there are indications that it actually came out slightly earlier. 

 

???               At a BBC Studio in London, England, the group made a promotional film for the song I'm Turning Around, their single release from the new album.  The film was intended to be aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops TV program, but it is not known with certainty if the film was ever shown.  Interestingly, while filming, an interview with former British Prime Minister Edward Heath was being filmed in a studio across the hall.  This promo is probably the film that Derek alluded to in an interview he did in New York City with Trouser Press magazine around the time of the new album’s release.  He claimed the band was planning on recording backing tracks, then mime to them while he sang the vocal track live.  He also claimed that, as a joke, the band would pretend to play the wrong instruments.  Of course, in the same interview, he also stated that GG would appear on several daytime American TV talk shows and even planned on playing in Las Vegas.  None of these later claims was true, further solidifying Derek’s reputation as being sometimes difficult to believe in interviews.

 

 

The band once again took to the road in the fall for their MISSING PIECE tour.  First in Europe then followed by North America, they went out strictly as headliners.  At this time, they made room in their set for quite a few of the songs from their new album, perhaps in an extra effort to promote its more accessible music.  Their record label, for its part, also put somewhat more effort into promoting the album than it usually did.

 

TYPICAL SETLIST  (Fall 1977)

 

Intro/Two Weeks in Spain - the recording of the final movement of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #4 was again played before the show, this time leading into the intro tape used on the Fall 1975 tour.  this, in turn, led into a prerecorded Spanish-flavored instrumental which was used as the intro for the opening song

Free Hand

On Reflection

I'm Turning Around - Gary had designed some sort of slide presentation to go along with this number, but it proved too complex and did not come to fruition

Just the Same/Playing the Game

Memories of Old Days - the keyboard Giant intro was deleted

Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It

Funny Ways - John still got to do his comedic introduction

The Face - this was the new home for Ray's violin solo which, in turn, led directly into the 5-man drum bash

For Nobody

Excerpts from Octopus - still used as the encore. it was sometimes preceded by a short instrumental blues jam

Mountain Time - this was frequently used as a second encore

 

During performances on this tour, the band again utilized the neon "giant's head" that had been damaged once or twice during the early 1977 tour.  Evidently, repairs had again brought it back to workable condition.  Other new stage gimmicks were also put into play for this tour.  One of the band's roadies, possibly the keyboard roadie, would don a rubbery Gentle Giant mask and walk around on stage, carrying a liquor jug.  He supposedly also appeared behind John Weathers at one point, most likely and appropriately during the drum solo in The Face.  It's also known that a film that made use of the same type of mask was shown during concerts at some point.  In this film, made by a friend of Ray's, and now included as a bonus feature in the SCRAPING THE BARREL boxset, someone wearing the mask would appear to poke his head through a curtain and look down while pointing his finger.  This film was also projected directly behind John, so as to make it appear that the mythical Giant was watching the drummer.  The face would also turn and was timed so as to appear to stare at different band members at specific appropriate times.  It’s believed this gimmick was used during this tour, though some evidence indicates it was used in early 1977 and perhaps even earlier.  It’s been said that, on this tour, the screens would turn blue during On Reflection and lights would twinkle around these screens, as also happened during the drum bash.  According to one of the roadies at the time, the band’s projectionist left at some point during this tour, unfortunately bringing to an end their use of rear projection.

 

 

Sep. ?           Prior to the start of the European tour, the group practiced for a week or two on the top floor of an industrial building in Portsmouth.

 

Sep. 20         THE MISSING PIECE saw release in America.

 

Sep. 26          Cambrai, France                           Palais des Grottes - Jardin Public

Sep. 27          Brussels, Belgium                         Theatre 140

Sep. 28          Eindhoven, Holland                        Stadsschouwburg                      an eyewitness remembers that at the soundcheck for this show, the band played the Derek and the Dominoes song, Layla.  during the concert, GG played a tongue-in-cheek new song, consisting of nothing more than raucous noise.  John then announced, in derogatory terms, that it was their latest "punk hit", thereby making fun of the new style of rock in vogue at the time.  an existing ticket stub does indicate there was a support act but does not give the name

Sep. 29          Nijmegen, Holland                         De Vereenigung                         it's believed that Playing the Game was not performed on this night, for some reason

Oct. 1            Hannover, West Germany              NDR-Sendesaal                         all six of the scheduled October West German shows were advertised as including an unidentified opening act.  however, nothing is known about the opener at this particular show and details are sketchy for the others

Oct. 2            West Berlin, Germany                   Eissporthalle                             although a scheduled date, it's not confirmed that this show actually took place

Oct. 3            Offenbach, West Germany             Stadthalle                                  this show was marred, early on, by technical difficulties, with Derek’s microphone cutting in and out and Kerry’s keyboards emitting an annoying electronic squeal.  eventually, the band and roadies managed to fix things, but only after Derek had knocked over Ray’s violin.  for the remainder of the set, the acoustics were not ideal, but the fairly rowdy crowd seemed appreciative, nonetheless.  one attendee at this gig is not sure there was any opening act at all

Oct. 4            Munich, West Germany                 Circus Krone Building                 a capacity crowd of about 3000 listeners were in attendance.  a fan in the audience does remember a three man bluegrass band opening here

Oct. 5            Heidelberg, West Germany            Stadthalle                                  a tape exists of this concert.  a crowd of around 1500 was in attendance, making the show nearly sold out.  on this occasion, a fan remembers a lone singer/acoustic guitar player opening the show

Oct. 6            Koln, West Germany                     Sporthalle                                  here, an audience member recalls a two-man folk act by the name of Itchyfoot opening the show.  although accounts obviously vary as to the number of performers in the support act, it is possible Itchyfoot opened all of the West German shows

Oct. 7            Zurich, Switzerland                        Volkshaus

Oct. 8            Basel, Switzerland                        Mustermesse Reihenring            two separate tapes, made by different members of the audience, are known to exist.  during John's Funny Ways intro, he invites a fan named Freddy onstage with him and proceeds to comment on the fan's tee-shirt 

Oct. 9            Feldkirch, Austria                          Stadthalle

Oct. 10          Lugano, Switzerland                      Palazzetto dello Sport                posters from this show announced that there would be an opening act but did not specify who  

Oct. ?            Essen, West Germany                                                                  there was possibly a show in Essen during the first half of October, though it is not certain.  such a show was not on the originally advertised schedule

 

Oct. ?            On either Oct. 21 or Oct. 28, the group released its second compilation album, entitled PRETENTIOUS - FOR THE SAKE OF IT.  Oddly enough, it covered material from the band's first six studio albums, just like the 1975 GIANT STEPS album had.  In fact, some songs appeared on both albums.  Like that previous compilation album, this one was released in England and at least part of Europe, but not in America. 

 

 

For much of its late 1977 North American tour, Giant made the unusual move of choosing, as its support act, the U.K. punk/pub rock band Dr. Feelgood, a band which Derek claimed to admire.  Although gaining widespread popularity in England, punk rock was definitely not easily accepted by American fans of progressive rock in 1977.  Dr. Feelgood actually missed several scheduled dates at the beginning of this tour, but when they did appear, they found themselves the constant source of jeers and derision, sometimes being chased completely off the stage by an intolerant audience.

 

                    

???                Portland, Oregon                                                                           a show in Portland was supposedly cancelled due to poor ticket sales, but it is unconfirmed that there ever was a show scheduled there, since the known dates from this North American tour are all in the eastern and midwestern portions of the continent

Oct. ?            Center Valley, Pennsylvania           Allentown College                      this is an unconfirmed gig, though GG supposedly shared the bill with Robin Trower

Oct. 28          Blue Bell, Pennsylvania                 Montgomery County Community College  at this college just outside of Philadelphia, the band played before a very small crowd in a theater which doubles as a Science lecture hall.  400-500 had originally attended, but many of them left before the show even started, due to the fact that the band was several hours late.  the trucks with the band's equipment had accidentally gone to a town called Blue Balls in the Amish part of Pennsylvania.  after finally arriving in Blue Bell, the band rushed through a hasty soundcheck held behind closed doors while the remaining audience members listened in.  the show itself, originally scheduled to start at 8:00, finally got underway around midnight.  the band did not use its own lighting equipment, relying instead upon the theater's own minimal lighting and the normal fluorescent lights present in the lecture hall.  no spotlights were used.  according to one eyewitness, the group, playing on a very low stage close to the audience, had a bit of trouble getting themselves together at the beginning of the show, but had things running smoothly after a while.  Dr. Feelgood was supposed to play in support, but they did not, probably due to the lateness of the show

Oct. 29          Upper Darby, Pennsylvania            Tower Theater                            one earlier report had this as a poorly attended show, but mounting evidence does not bear this out.  for instance, it’s known that, at showtime, people were still outside the 4000 seat theater trying to purchase tickets.  Dr. Feelgood did open this show and a small number of their fans were seated up front and left before Giant took the stage.  other fans in attendance disagree on how well Dr. Feelgood was received, reports ranging from polite acceptance to downright intolerance.  during the GG set, John wore a Philadelphia Flyers hockey jersey which Derek mistakenly referred to as being from the Philadelphia Eagles, the local football team.  many audience members tried to correct him.  later, while up front for his comedy bit, John picked up on the mistake and corrected it himself in a fit of hysterics.  at this time, he also commented on the meager crowd by asking, “where is everybody, home watching Kojak or something?”, referring to a popular television show.  still, he managed to thank the crowd for what he claimed was one of the band’s best receptions in a while, especially after what he described as a cold reception on their West German dates earlier in the month.  during the violin solo, screaming again erupted from some in the audience.  Ray turned his back on them while playing, causing much applause from the rest of the crowd.  the band's soundman had several problems on this evening.  for one thing, the quadraphonic effects during Ray's solo were not functioning.  as another example, Kerry's microphone was not working during a recorder section.  a tape exists of this show, as does a small portion of silent 8mm film 

Oct 30           Guelph, Ontario                            University of Guelph - Athletic Building     Dr. Feelgood was scheduled to open this show, but the opener actually ended up being a band called Garfield.  it's been reported that about 1800 fans showed up in this 2200 seat venue.  the roadies for the band showed up to the University late, so they enlisted some fans who arrived early to help them set up.  in return, those fans were allowed to watch the soundcheck and were given front row seats to the show, which also started a bit late

Nov. 1            Montreal, Quebec                         Montreal Forum                         this time, rock legend John Mayall was the opening act.  on a tape that exists of this gig, Ray can be heard having equipment problems during his violin solo in The Face.  the Forum was set up in “Concert Bowl” formation, which meant only half the facility was in use, with a curtain drawn across the middle.  there were about 6,000 people in the crowd.  apparently, this gig was originally scheduled to take place on Oct. 31 with Dr. Feelgood again playing in support

Nov. 2            Waterloo, Ontario                          Waterloo University                    this scheduled show with Dr. Feelgood was cancelled, due to only 200 tickets being sold.  one student attending the University at the time suspects poor promotion played a hand in this but, whatever the case, it was an unusual occurrence for the band in Canada, where they were enormously popular.  however, a possible explanation could be the fact that Waterloo, where this Tuesday night concert was scheduled, is only about a half hour from Guelph, where the group performed on a weekend just two nights earlier.  Giant still apparently received a $3000 cancellation fee out of a $5000 plus percentage contract

Nov. 3            Albany, New York                         Palace Theater                          Dr. Feelgood did open this show, receiving their typical poor reception from the crowd

Nov. 4            Buffalo, New York                         New Century Theater                  Dr. Feelgood opened again

Nov. 5            New York, New York                     Palladium                                  the Palladium was the renamed Academy of Music.  after Dr. Feelgood opened and was booed off the stage, Giant started their set late, beginning with a slight glitch in their intro tape, causing the band to lurch in a couple beats early.  on an existing tape of this gig, Derek can be heard trying to defend the openers, joking onstage something to the effect of "back in England, we open for them”.  as it turned out, GG also had to endure more than the usual amount of rude behavior from the particularly noisy crowd.  for some reason, Ray's violin solo on this night was extremely slow and plodding, almost sounding like an attempt to purposely frustrate the audience.  one member of the crowd did apparently get frustrated, yelling out "you suck!"  Ray remembers this happening at this same venue on Jan. 18, 1975, but that is debatable.  John's spoken introduction to Funny Ways was quite long, and included a humorous story based on Preparation H, the hemorrhoid medicine John frequently joked about at this point in the show.  he also made his own commentary on how noisy the crowd was and their tendency to boo.  All this talk further frustrated some impatient members of the audience.  one person repeatedly interrupted by yelling out the song title.  finally, in exasperation, John yelled back, "up yours!"  however, all was soon forgiven as Kerry’s vibraphone solo during that number solo garnered some of the heaviest applause of the evening.  in fact, one fan recalls the crowd enthusiastically cheering the older numbers while giving only a lukewarm reception to the newer songs.  ever since the band’s early days, Derek was known for conducting the instrumental bits with his waving arms.  on this night, he is remembered for standing next to Kerry during his Just the Same solo and imitating his double keyboard playing.  then, while introducing the band members, Derek actually referred to himself as Simon Dupree.  a second audience recording, taped by someone else, has recently surfaced 

Nov. 6            New Paltz, New York                    New Paltz College - Elting Gym              Dr. Feelgood opened this general admission show and was greeted with more booing.  however, this same crowd was reportedly enraptured with Giant, responding with "ooh"s and "aah"s after many of the songs.  the sound quality at this show was supposedly excellent, no small feat considering it took place in a gymnasium.  John, during his intro to Funny Ways, joked about the town they were in, describing it as "New Paltz - 5000 bars and a Post Office!"  original notices in the press listed this venue as New York University in New York City

Nov. 8            New Haven, Connecticut                Yale University - Woolsey Hall                Dr. Feelgood opened this show, on a very rainy night.  a tape exists of this concert

Nov. 9            Ellicott City, Maryland                   Hollywood Palace                      this date has definitely caused its share of confusion.  originally, the band was scheduled to play in Washington D.C at Warner Theater on this night with Dr. Feelgood, but that was apparently cancelled.  it was believed to be rescheduled at the Hollywood Palace where a band called Source was to serve as the opening act.  unfortunately, one fan specifically recalls attending this show, while another swears it did not take place at all

Nov. 10          Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia          Louie's Rock City                       a pomp/prog band called Facedancer opened the sold out show, followed by Dr. Feelgood who had to endure yet more booing.  even when Giant took the stage, the crowd continued to be abit on the rowdy side.  it's been said that they pulled out the song In a Glass House for a surprise encore at the very end of the night, dedicating it to a friend in the crowd who had been clamoring for it.  this is questionable, however, as the band had not played that particular number in over three years

Nov. 11          Boston, Massachusetts                 Paradise Club                            this was a very small club near Boston University.  although originally scheduled to play in Boston only on Nov. 11, GG ended up playing three consecutive nights at this venue.  Dr. Feelgood opened on this first night and was again booed off the stage about twenty minutes into their set, after spitting on the front tables and being pelted with ice cubes from the audience.  in fact, the entire crowd was described as a bit "raucous", even during Giant's set.  at one of these three nights at the Paradise, Gary is known to have commented about the initials DVS that Derek had sewn into the white jumpsuit he wore on stage.  pronouncing it as “devious”, Gary joked that it showed Derek’s true nature

Nov. 12          Boston, Massachusetts                 Paradise Club                            a tape exists from this second of the three Boston performances.  at one point, Derek mistakenly referred to the venue as the Orpheum, though it was definitely the Paradise.  Derek also commented during this show that the band was playing without its usual stage setups, projection screens, etc.  more than likely, this was the case at all three of the Paradise shows.  it's unknown if the band downsized their stage show at other club dates in late 1977.  it's also unknown if Dr. Feelgood opened on this particular night

Nov. 13          Boston, Massachusetts                 Paradise Club                              a heckler in the crowd tried to give Derek a hard time at the beginning, but the band didn't seem to let it affect their performance.  a tape exists of this evening's performance, also.  like the previous night, it's unknown if Dr. Feelgood opened the show

Nov. 15          Cleveland, Ohio                             Agora Ballroom                          this gig was sponsored by Cleveland's WMMS Radio as part of their Night Out series and was recorded by the station.  it was broadcast in an edited form, probably a few days later, but exactly when is unknown.  during the second half of the concert, one overzealous fan repeatedly yelled out at the top of his lungs for the band to play Knots.  he finally got his wish by the first encore.  a tape of the complete performance, recorded by a fan in the audience, also exists, showing that John actually sang during the blues intro to Excerpts from Octopus, although this was not part of the radio broadcast.  Dr. Feelgood was scheduled to open but did not.  instead, a guitarist from Cincinnati named Sandy Nassan played in the support slot.  For Nobody from this radio broadcast appears as a bonus track on the 2005 MISSING PIECE 35th anniversary CD reissue

Nov. 16          Hempstead, New York                   Calderone Concert Hall               Dr. Feelgood was the opening act and was again not well received.  for that matter, during many of their songs, even Giant had to endure a lot of talking and shouting from the ill-mannered audience.  a fan at one of the band’s Hempstead shows recalls presenting John Weathers with a drawing of a couple of the band's album covers.  impressed, John read the attached note to the crowd, then placed the drawing on the front of his bass drum, where it stayed for the remainder of the show.  it may very well have been this show

Nov. 17          Asbury Park, New Jersey              Convention Centre - Paramount Theater   the Paramount was a grand movie theater from the 1920’s.  Dr. Feelgood may have been scheduled to open this gig, but a funk/rock band called the Law did instead.  two separate fans have recalled that the show was not well attended, possibly due to a bad rainstorm that took place on that day.  a fan at the show had some sort of big, home-made green flag, possibly with a MISSING PIECE design, and John ended up with this flag, waving it around the stage.  reportedly, much of this tourist town was shut down for the upcoming winter and even the roadies were forced to stay in a run-down hotel and had trouble finding a decent restaurant

Nov. 18          Chester, Pennsylvania                   Widener University                     a soundboard recording of this show is known to exist in Gary Green's possession.  Dr. Feelgood was scheduled to open the show, although a couple different fans in attendance have confirmed that the opener was actually a band called Baby Grand, which later evolved into the Hooters.  at this concert, all who brought canned goods with them to be donated to a local charity received a discount on the admission price.  during the acoustic guitar portion of Excerpts from Octopus, Gary played a small bit of Peel the Paint several times, while teasing the audience to guess its title.  during John’s vibraphone playing, one fan recalls him acting the wild man and repeatedly raving at the crowd.  there is no evidence that the audience was unreceptive, but they were quite polite, remaining seated the entire time.  this allowed this same fan to repeatedly run to the front, camera in hand, to take a series of close-up photos.  in several of them, it is revealed that Derek not only dressed in his legendary white jumpsuit, but he was also not above occasionally unbuttoning it down to his navel, making quite the fashion statement   

Nov. 20          Chicago, Illinois                            Uptown Theater                          Dr. Feelgood was supposed to open, but a funk band called the Law played instead.  in an interview before the show, Gary Green professed anger at the intolerance of the Giant fans towards Dr. Feelgood and other opening acts on many stops of this tour.  according to one eyewitness, the audience on this night was very well-dressed and well-behaved, more resembling a classical audience, at least during Giant's set.  reportedly, though, the crowd did boo a bit during Bethcha Thought We Couldn't Do It.  another uncomfortable moment came when, during a pause in the music, an unruly audience member loudly voiced his impatience at the delay, causing one member of the band to respond with a derogatory finger gesture.  Gary stopped playing and clapped for his bandmate, the audience following suit.  during his introduction to Funny Ways, John told Kerry, who wrote the song, that he didn't particularly enjoy playing it night after night.  although probably tongue-in-cheek, the band no doubt were tired of that particular song.  although not confirmed, an audience member remembers the group playing Who Do You Think You Are? and even seems to recall Derek acting out some of the lyrics while singing them.  this was Gary's birthday and he was presented with a birthday cake, supposedly during the show.  the theater was an old building which seated over 3000 and was Ray's favorite venue in Chicago 

Dec. 2            Stevens Point, Wisconsin              University of Wisconsin              originally scheduled for Nov. 21 with Dr. Feelgood, it was apparently changed to this date.  it's not known if Dr. Feelgood performed on this re-scheduled date

Dec. 3            Milwaukee, Wisconsin                   Oriental Theater                         this very interesting concert was originally scheduled for Nov. 22 with Dr. Feelgood, but it seems it was changed to this date.  since this was the final gig of the tour, the band handed out prizes to the roadies during the show, an event which Derek has since recalled with embarrassment.  also, John walked right into the audience handing out bottles of beer.  during the show, the band even performed a snippet of the Abba tune, Money, Money, Money between songs.  it’s been confirmed that the band did occasionally play Abba music during their soundchecks, Abba being a band at least a couple band members professed to admiring.  one person in the audience at this show managed to get Derek's attention by constantly yelling out for the band to play the Allman Brothers' Whipping Post, as well.  while singing I'm Turning Around, Derek had money pinned to his clothing.  when he reached the line, "where's the love that you once promised?", he tore off a bill and sang to it, eliciting a chuckle from the audience.  instead of Dr. Feelgood, the opening act ended up being the Law at this, the only Milwaukee show GG ever headlined

 

 

            1978

 

 

Jan. 5            The BBC filmed Giant at the Golders Green Hippodrome in Golders Green, England.  The concert, probably filmed in the afternoon, was intended for broadcast on the Sight and Sound TV program later in the year.  This was the first time the group had played in England since the spring of 1976 and it was also the last time they ever played there.

 

Jan. 21          The BBC Sight and Sound  TV program was first broadcast.  This was the only performance by Gentle Giant ever shown on British television.  It was also simulcast on British FM radio in quadraphonic.  Most of this broadcast appears on the 1994 IN CONCERT album, while all of it is included on OUT OF THE FIRE.  The entire performance also can be found in both audio and video format on the GG AT THE GG DVD.

 

Apr. - May     The band continued its musical redirection by recording its tenth album, GIANT FOR A DAY, mostly at Ramport Studios in Battersea, England, though parts were done at Maison Rouge Studio and Scorpio Sound.  The album featured more straight-ahead rock songs, and many today consider the album somewhat of a failure.

 

Aug. 19         The BBC Sight and Sound TV program, filmed in Golders Green on Jan 5, was rebroadcast in a slightly different edited form than was used for the original broadcast on Jan. 21.  Portions of this concert were also broadcast on England's BBC Rock Hour, hosted by Brian Matthew, at some point, but when is not known.  Portions also turned up on American FM radio at some unknown time.

 

Sep. 11         It's believed that this is the date that the GIANT FOR A DAY album was released in America.

 

Sep. 29         GIANT FOR A DAY was released in England.

 

???               The group made lip-synched promotional films at Capitol Studios in West Hollywood, California, for three of the songs on GIANT FOR A DAY.  These songs were Words From the Wise, Thank You and the title song, Giant For a Day.  The Words From the Wise film is included, as a video bonus track, on the 2005 GIANT FOR A DAY 35th anniversary CD reissue, while all three films are included on the GG AT THE GG DVD.

 

 

            For the first time, the band organized no tour in support of their current album. Instead, they decided to take a long overdue break from live appearances, not performing live at all for most of 1978, all of 1979, and the first few months of 1980.  Some promoters had made offers of tours, including one in Portugal, but the band declined.  Another interesting offer that came the band’s way at some point in their career was an invitation to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland.  That was also turned down, although it’s not known if that occurred during this particular time period.

             

 

            1979

 

 

Feb. 27          The lip-synched promotional films for the songs Words From the Wise and Giant For a Day were probably first broadcast on this date on the NBC TV program, Don Kirschner's Rock Concert, although it cannot yet be verified.  Other acts on the same broadcast included the Village People, Jan and Dean, Joan Armatrading and Leo Sayer  It is not clear if the film of Thank You was also shown.

 

???               A recent unconfirmed report has Giant For a Day and Words From the Wise even appearing on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand program in America in either 1978 or 1979.  This was a well-known Saturday morning dance program with definite pop leanings.  The most startling thing about this alleged appearance is that, although the video of Giant For a Day was shown, the video of Words From the Wise was not.  For that song, the band is said to have actually appeared live on the program miming to the studio recording.

 

???               The date is not known, but one or more of the band’s promotional films from the GIANT FOR A DAY album were shown on Osaka TV in Japan in either 1978 or 1979.

 

May 5            Don Kirschner's Rock Concert was definitely broadcast on this date, possibly as a second showing.  The same lineup was aired as in the above listing of Feb. 27.

 

Mid 1979       John wrote and recorded a demo of the song You Haven't a Chance for possible inclusion on the band's next album.  This did not come about, but the song finally appeared on the UNDER CONSTRUCTION album.

 

???               At some point in 1979, the band held some rehearsals in Atlanta, Georgia, at the home of radio consultant Lee Abrams who assisted on their next album.  At least one new untitled composition was recorded at these rehearsals and surfaced on the UNDER CONSTRUCTION album.

 

Aug. - Nov.    After as many as nine months of songwriting and rehearsal, the group's eleventh and final album, CIVILIAN, was recorded mostly at Sound City in Van Nuys, California, with some overdubs at Bijou Studio in West Hollywood, California and Wessex Studio in London, England.  By this time, their musical change of style was complete.  The songs they included on this album bore little resemblance to the progressive body of work they had produced earlier.  Although the recording of this album was spread out over a few months, the group's total amount of time in the studio was actually quite limited.  It is also known that the band spent about five months together living in Los Angeles in 1979, an experience not enjoyed by all members.

 

Go on to   Part Eight

 

Return to   Gentle Giant Tour History