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MELODY MAKER
22 April 1972
ROCK FIGHTS REPRESSION!
Rock fans in London — snubbed by the Royal Albert Hall, which has banned pop for allegedly attracting troublemakers — were this week given a welcome by another venue.
After months without a concert home following the death of the Rainbow Theatre, the Albert Hall ban angered musicians and audiences.
But this week the Strand Lyceum made a bid for the title of London's 'rock home'.
The Lyceum kicks off a Sunday programme of shows throughout June, July and August.
And, from four successive days from May 23, the Lyceum will present the Grateful Dead for the first time at the venue. Box-office for the Dead shows opens at the Lyceum on May 1.
Lyceum manager Mike Ludbrook told the MM: "With the closure of the Rainbow, we were cooling it a bit on pop. But now we are reviving the Lyceum pop scene. There will be shows every Sunday throughout June, July and August."
Already in line to appear at these Sunday At The Lyceum dates are Curved Air, Fleetwood Mac, Uriah Heep and Osibisa. A string of other star names is now being negotiated by various promoters.
Commenting on the Royal Albert Hall ban on pop, Ludbrook said: "In four years of presenting pop at the Lyceum we have had very little trouble. If a group screws us up, we won't put them on again. But, unlike the Albert Hall, the kids can get up and dance at the Lyceum. They get a chance to do their thing."
Capacity of the Lyceum is 2,100. The Albert Hall seats 6,500.
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[front page photo caption]
The sort of music London's Royal Albert Hall has banned: Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson and Martin Barre on stage last month.
Jethro Tull packed the hall on two successive nights, with audiences totalling 13,000.
Doug D'Arcy, director of Tull's management company, declared:
"By emphasising the question of damage to the hall, the Albert Hall management are trying to paint a picture of rock fans as savages ... it's another example of establishment intolerance towards a generation they do not understand."