Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton at Blackbushe in 1978

I love the expression on Eric Clapton's face in this photo. He has joined Bob Dylan on stage for the encore finale at the famous concert at Blackbushe Aerodrome in July 1978. I imagine he's trying to follow the changes as Bob runs through Forever Young or whatever it was they were playing.

What a day this was. We'll forget about the fact that the transport system wasn't up to getting us back home that night and that we had to sleep rough in London. For all that, it was a glorious day with a real festival spirit and some truly fabulous music.

As well as Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, the bill included Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker and the Rumour and a couple of bands who I have no recollection of at all, Merger and Lake.

Both Parker and Armatrading had top notch bands at that time. Here's a sample of GP and The Rumour live in 1978, playing a track from the 'hit EP' referred to by Kid Jensen.

And I was a big fan of Joan Armatrading at this time, especially the album Joan Armatrading (which had Love and Affection on it) and the follow up Show Some Emotion. Here's a clip of her playing a track from the latter album.

Musically, the highlight of the Blackbushe concert was Eric Clapton's set. The band were really cooking and the music had just the right mix of blues and swing. There was some footage of it on YT when I first posted this, but it's now disappeared.

By the time Bob Dylan came on, our group was a little more laid back and we were sat round a campfire near the back of the crowd, singing along to all the classics and the new songs from Street legal. Here is a reasonable audio recording of Dylan's set.

There's a variety of other, mostly silent or poorly-recorded footage of the day on YT, which is probably only of interest to those who were there. Here is some amateur video of it and more here  

And here's a good interview Dylan did with Rolling Stone in late 1978.

David Bowie interview with the NME, 1974

This interview is featured in the anthology "Greatest Hits - The Best of the NME" published to hit the Christmas market in 1974. The book also features interviews with Mick Jagger, Slade, Ray Davies, Lou Reed, Sly Stone, Syd Barrett and the New York Dolls, among others. But since it is one year today since we lost David Bowie, I thought I would share the interview he did with Charles Shaar Murray. In it, Bowie reflects on his 'rock star experiment' with Ziggy and what drives him to keep the whole thing fresh and interesting.

Bowie was always open and honest with good interviewers and CSM gets him to open up on his feelings about stardom and success. He also reveals his feelings about certain bands and, in particular, remembers how The Who were not really Mods, in the sense that he was a Mod, right on top of the latest fashions, rather than five months behind like The Who.

So I hope you can read it. Click on each page to enlarge it. Enjoy. Love on ya!