Focus - The Sky Will Fall Over London Tonight - BBC Studios, London - December 12th 1972 (PRRP 027) (SBD)

Artist: Focus
Title: The Sky Will Fall Over London Tonight
Date: December 12th 1972
Venue: BBC Studios, London

Tracklisting
01. Bob Harris Introduction 00:41
02. Anonymous Two 21:42
03. Band Introductions 01:19
04. Focus 1 03:58
05. Focus 3 03:23
06. Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers! 12:09
07. Focus 2 04:46
08. Bob Harris Once More 00:18
09. Hocus Pocus 07:22

Personnel
Pierre Van Der Linden: Drums
Thijs Van Leer: Keyboards, Flute & Vocals
Jan Akkerman: Guitar
Bert Ruiter: Bass Guitar

Liner Notes: On to England……
1972 was a good year for the band Focus. The world was beginning to take notice of the 4 musicians from Holland, particularly those in the British music scene. The band was named the best new talent by the influential New Musical Express (NME) and 'brightest hope' by Melody Maker. With these endorsements, Focus began an initial summer tour of England. The trip would prove significant for the band and provided a great opportunity for them to expand their fan base. At the time, England was having a power crisis. Electricity was inconsistently provided to the people of the country and so most bands had a difficult time performing. The amount of power needed to put on a show was just not available. But Focus came to the island country with all the necessary equipment, including a generator. As Jan Akkerman recalls, “Nobody was able to play in London or England at all because of the power strike. We had a generator with us and played the universities that memorable week all round London. The gigs were packed probably because it was the only thing going on. We got a lot of airplay because the people must have phoned the BBC about us.”

And phoned they did. Over the next few months the popularity of the band gradually increased, as did the call for more performances. Focus returned to England to perform as the Melody Maker's Poll winner at Oval Cricket Ground in London on September 30th. They then performed almost daily for over four weeks, starting in mid-October. With the British music scene turning its attention to the band, the BBC decided to invite Focus to return in December and appear on its influential television show, the Old Grey Whistle Test. At the time, many thought this was going to be just another performance for Focus, but in the opinion of the show's host, Bob Harris, this was a major event for both Focus and the music program.

“The guys in Focus were jamming in a small BBC studio in the heart of Television Centre, rehearsing for their first appearance on the Old Grey Whistle Test. I was there, the new host of the program… rookie broadcaster and music fan, three months into the job, enjoying the camaraderie. It was 12th December 1972 and we were all about to make a big discovery. The atmosphere was great, very light-hearted and enjoyable as the band rehearsed its set. They decided to play 'Sylvia', 'Anonymous II' and …er… 'Hocus Pocus', with a seasonal slant. Instead of following the usual pattern of the vocal breaks, Thijs launched into a mock-serious yodelling version of 'we wish you a merry Christmas…' building up to that top falsetto with a heart-rending 'and a happy new yeeeeeaaaaarrr…', tailing off into Jan's million miles an hour guitar playing. The performance was an absolute sensation. People had never seen anything quite like them before.

Whistle test had been on air for just over a year when, the bang first appeared. Although we knew that we had a loyal following, there were no recent viewing figures available and we were guessing that the audience for the show was probably fairly small. It was Focus who made us realize that we'd guessed wrong.

Their performance generated incredible reaction and suddenly everything seemed to be happening very fast. We were inundated with calls, letters and enquiries about this amazing band. 'Hocus Pocus' broke into the U.K. singles chart, then 'Sylvia' the following week, climbing into the top 5. Moving Waves and Focus 3 stormed into the top 10 of the album chart. For a time, the demand for their recordings was so great that Polydor had to switch the resources of its entire pressing plant to the production of Focus vinyl. The UK press followed up with great support and soon they were winning reader polls, collectively and individually.

As I write, almost thirty years have passed since Focus made that ground breaking Whistle Test appearance but I still look back on that moment with massive warmth and affection. It wasn't just because the band was so great to work with and the day so enjoyable, it was special for more than that. On the 12th December 1972, we discovered something that was to change our lives. We discovered that we had an audience out there… and it numbered in millions.” Bob Harris, October 2002

The show presented on this CD is thought to have occurred about one month later, in January 1973 as part of a 'In Concert' radio broadcast. Sadly, the exact date is unknown.

Notes from the Re-Master
The exact date of this performance is unclear. Initially, it was thought to be December 12, 1972 but subsequent investigation has placed this in question. To our knowledge, the only known written record of the Focus tour schedule available to the public is found in Jan Akkerman's book The Music of Jan Akkerman and Focus. This was our source for the Bob Harris quote found in the liner notes of the artwork. Sadly, that source does not list the December 12 BBC performance or any other BBC performance during 1972 or 1973.

PRRP is very fortunate to have active participants within our Yahoo group. After release of this remastered show, we were contracted by one of our members and presented information suggesting that the December 12, 1972 date was incorrect. The person who sent us the show, and provided the Bob Harris quote, also started to doubt the date. Below, we reproduce some of the email correspondence that led to our decisions regarding this show:

My understanding was that Focus really took off after the OGWT (Old Grey Whistle Test) appearance before Christmas (December 12) 1972. Album sales rose quite sharply, and caught the record company asleep.

The Netherlands is a short ferry or plane journey (no Tunnel in those days) from the south-east of England and London, and Focus' early success was very much in the UK. It would not have been inconceivable for them to make regular visits over to the UK. I sensed that the OGWT appearance was their UK breakthrough, so I would suggest the PRRP027 recording is afterwards, as the BBC were quite selective giving one-hour concert slots on the radio.

Bob Harris presented the OGWT TV show, his own late night radio show, and shared presentation of the Saturday evening 'In Concert' radio programme with John Peel and other BBC Radio 1 DJs. He championed Focus after the OGWT appearance.

I have the OGWT DVD with Focus doing 'Hocus Pocus'. OGWT was presented in a TV studio, with no audience, a studio session format. The 'christmas-y' 'Hocus Pocus' is well known, and the PRRP027 version has no festive overtones. The PRRP027 recording is just under one-hour, which fits the 'In Concert' timings, the auditorium acoustics sound very similar to other BBC Paris Theatre or BBC Golders Green Hippodrome recordings of the time, and crucially there is an audience, something never seen at the OGWT in those days.

I'll add that the longest OGWT single in-studio performance I know of is Chick Corea's Return To Forever, logging in at 45 minutes. All other OGWT specials were outside broadcast videos.

In summary, if the OGWT appearance is 12-12-1972, and this is widely considered to be their breakthrough, then I would assert that the PRRP027 recording happened afterwards, and not before.

Another Yahoo member runs a Focus appreciation group called Eruptions. When asked about the issue, this is what he had to say…..

…from what I can gather and from what it says in the Jan Akkerman book it's very likely that the Paris Theatre (PRRP027 is thought to have occurred at the Paris Theater in London) gig took place in November 1972. There are several group members (The Focus Yahoo group) that seem to conclude the same thing so that's what I would go with. I am always looking for that info and if I come across it I will surely let you know.

Prior to that, there was this correspondence:

…The only thing I can think of in regards to the 12/12/72 date is that the band did the OGWT performance and the Paris Theatre gig on the same day. To add to the confusion there is another cd which is the same show but a different mix. This one has been circulating as 17/1/73 and 30/1/73. There is vague information in Jan's book that suggests it may have actually happened in 7/11.

The January 17, 1973 would not be correct according to the Jan Akkerman book as it lists a performance at St. Mathews in Ipswich on that date. There is no listing in his book for January 30. Based on all this information, we have decided that the show probably did occur in January 1973. In particular, during the introduction of the show heard on this CD, Bob Harris says, "welcome to another concert program" not something like, "this is the OGWT and we have another good show for you…." and he said, “it is the time of the season to say about various bands that this is going to be their year". Clearly something commonly said in the month of January, not December (or November). From this information we would tend to agree with the January 1973 date but the exact date is still unknown. We will certainly make corrections in the future if we come across new information that resolves the ambiguities, but for now, this is as accurate as we can be.

This soundboard recording comes to us as a second generation source. Still, the quality was outstanding. The main problem with the recording was the frequent clicks and pops heard throughout. These were eliminated using both automatic and manual techniques. The tonality also needed adjustment. The bass and sub-bass components were quite deficient and needed a boost. A small correction to the upper treble region was also made. Because this was an in-studio live recording from the soundboard, the sound lacked ambience. Some have described this type of sound as “dry”. To make the recording sound a bit more “Live” a small amount of echo was added. This helps to give the auditory perception of a concert hall or theater. A few other small flaws such as track gaps and bumps were found and removed.

PRRP Staff