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UFO Club

January 01, 1970

The UFO Club (/juːfoʊ/ YEW-foh) was a short-lived British counter-culture nightclub in London in the 1960s. The club was established by Joe Boyd and John "Hoppy" Hopkins. It featured light shows, poetry readings, well-known rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix, avant-garde art by Yoko Ono, as well as local house bands, such as Pink Floyd and Soft Machine.[1] The club operated for the nine months from December 1966 to August 1967, and an additional seven months at 31 Tottenham Court Road in Fitzrovia, followed by a further two months at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm.

UFOria

History edit

The UFO Club was founded by John Hopkins known as "Hoppy" and Joe Boyd in the Blarney Club, an Irish dancehall in the basement of 31 Tottenham Court Road, under the Gala Berkeley Cinema which was opened on Friday 23 December 1966. Initially the club was advertised as "UFO Presents Nite Tripper", because Boyd and Hopkins could not decide on "UFO" or "Nite Tripper" as a name.[2] Eventually they settled on "UFO".

Soft Machine and Pink Floyd performed on the opening night and the next Friday, and were re-engaged as the club continued into 1967, after initial success. The first events combined live music with light shows, avant-garde films and slide shows, and dance troupes.

Pink Floyd's tenure at UFO was short, because as their fame grew, they were able to play bigger venues for higher fees. Boyd protested that their increasing fame was largely due to the success of UFO, but the band's management wanted to move on and an agreement was made for just three more Floyd performances at UFO, at an increased fee.[citation needed]

Hopkins and Boyd had to cast around for a new "house band" for UFO. They settled on Soft Machine but also started booking other acts who were attracted by the club's reputation. Amongst them were The Incredible String Band, Arthur Brown, Tomorrow, and Procol Harum, the latter of which played there when "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was No 1 in the charts.[citation needed]

 
Were All Doomed!!!

An advertisement featuring the Flammarion engraving in the Feb 13–26 issue of The International Times for "UfOria! Festival of Love 10.30 till dawn" [sic] announced "feb.10 – the bonzo dog doodah band • flix–dali–bunuel • ginger johnson african drums" as well as "feb 17 – Soft Machine • mark boyle projections • movies • food • erogenius 3 + 4".

Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, consisting of Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, designed psychedelic posters to advertise events. Waymouth said, "We were trying to give a visual concept of what we were experiencing, which was like hallucinations."[1] The food was macrobiotic and included brown rice rissoles, vegetarian stuffed vine leaves and felafel, supplied by Craig Sams, who went on to co-found Whole Earth Foods and Green & Black's.[citation needed]

Jack Bracelin's (Fiveacres Lights) created some of the light shows with equipment that ranged from 16mm projection of early "art house" films (often projected sideways or projected into smoke) or 5 kW 'Panis' (effects projectors) borrowed from Samuelsons at Pinewood or Elstree film studios (or Strand Electric at Vauxhall) to overhead projectors with transparent trays borrowed from refrigerators and filled with Indian water, ink, beer etc.[citation needed] A favourite was to use 'Aldis' slide projectors with dual layer 2×2 glass specimen slides with basic designs created with wax crayons (drawn by Lou – the oft naked lady) and then various substances introduced with syringes – Indian inks, snot, semen – in fact anything of immiscible viscosities. Bubbles made by injecting air between the glass plates which were then squeezed (by a pair of long nose pliers – in time to the music) would send folks even further off their heads! [citation needed]

After a sordid article published in the News of the World on 30 July, the landlord told Joe Boyd the UFO could not continue at the Blarney. Brian Epstein offered the Champagne Lounge at his Saville Theatre but Boyd decided on the larger Roundhouse venue.[3] In October 1967 the UFO Club at the Roundhouse folded.[citation needed]

The UFO Club's success was its downfall – being too small to accommodate the increasing number of visitors. If a big name such as Jeff Beck was playing, UFO broke even, but the club usually lost money.

Billings edit

Blarney Club edit

 
Poster for Pink Floyd at the UFO club, 28 July 1967, by Hapshash and the Coloured Coat

Roundhouse edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Rockin' in Time, p. 166.
  2. ^ Boyd, Joe, White Bicycles – Making Music in the 1960s, Serpent's Tail, 2006. ISBN 1-85242-910-0
  3. ^ Povey, Glenn (2007). Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd. Mind Head Publishing. ISBN 9780955462405. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Jones, Malcolm (2003). The Making of The Madcap Laughs (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. p. 27.
  5. ^ a b IT08 – 13 February 1967
  6. ^ a b Jones, Malcolm (2003). The Making of The Madcap Laughs (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. p. 28.
  7. ^ a b c Jones, Malcolm (2003). The Making of The Madcap Laughs (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. p. 29.
  8. ^ Jones, Malcolm (2003). The Making of The Madcap Laughs (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. p. 30.

Further reading edit

  • Hopkins, John, FROM THE HIP – Photographs by JOHN "HOPPY" HOPKINS in the 1960–66, DAMIANI. 2008. ISBN 978-88-6208-018-7
  • Boyd, Joe, White Bicycles – Making Music in the 1960s, Serpent's Tail. 2007. ISBN 978-1-85242-489-3
  • Miles, Barry: In the Sixties. (London 2002)
  • Green, Jonathon: Days in the Life: Voices from the English Underground, 1961–73 (London 1998)
  • Saunders, William Jimi Hendrix London Roaring Forties Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9843165-1-9
  • Joe Beard's biography of The Purple Gang – Taking the Purple – contains many references to UFO. Available in print ISBN 978-0-9928671-0-2 or online in Kindle format ISBN 978-0-9928671-1-9

External links edit

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to UFO Club.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to UFO Club.

    51°31′06″N 0°07′55″W / 51.518354°N 0.132073°W / 51.518354; -0.132073

    January 01, 1970
    club, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, tone, style, reflect, encyclopedic, tone, used, wikipedia, wikipedia, guide, writing, better, artic. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions June 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources UFO Club news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message The UFO Club j uː f oʊ YEW foh was a short lived British counter culture nightclub in London in the 1960s The club was established by Joe Boyd and John Hoppy Hopkins It featured light shows poetry readings well known rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix avant garde art by Yoko Ono as well as local house bands such as Pink Floyd and Soft Machine 1 The club operated for the nine months from December 1966 to August 1967 and an additional seven months at 31 Tottenham Court Road in Fitzrovia followed by a further two months at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm UFOria Contents 1 History 2 Billings 2 1 Blarney Club 2 2 Roundhouse 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksHistory editThe UFO Club was founded by John Hopkins known as Hoppy and Joe Boyd in the Blarney Club an Irish dancehall in the basement of 31 Tottenham Court Road under the Gala Berkeley Cinema which was opened on Friday 23 December 1966 Initially the club was advertised as UFO Presents Nite Tripper because Boyd and Hopkins could not decide on UFO or Nite Tripper as a name 2 Eventually they settled on UFO Soft Machine and Pink Floyd performed on the opening night and the next Friday and were re engaged as the club continued into 1967 after initial success The first events combined live music with light shows avant garde films and slide shows and dance troupes Pink Floyd s tenure at UFO was short because as their fame grew they were able to play bigger venues for higher fees Boyd protested that their increasing fame was largely due to the success of UFO but the band s management wanted to move on and an agreement was made for just three more Floyd performances at UFO at an increased fee citation needed Hopkins and Boyd had to cast around for a new house band for UFO They settled on Soft Machine but also started booking other acts who were attracted by the club s reputation Amongst them were The Incredible String Band Arthur Brown Tomorrow and Procol Harum the latter of which played there when A Whiter Shade of Pale was No 1 in the charts citation needed nbsp Were All Doomed An advertisement featuring the Flammarion engraving in the Feb 13 26 issue of The International Times for UfOria Festival of Love 10 30 till dawn sic announced feb 10 the bonzo dog doodah band flix dali bunuel ginger johnson african drums as well as feb 17 Soft Machine mark boyle projections movies food erogenius 3 4 Hapshash and the Coloured Coat consisting of Michael English and Nigel Waymouth designed psychedelic posters to advertise events Waymouth said We were trying to give a visual concept of what we were experiencing which was like hallucinations 1 The food was macrobiotic and included brown rice rissoles vegetarian stuffed vine leaves and felafel supplied by Craig Sams who went on to co found Whole Earth Foods and Green amp Black s citation needed Jack Bracelin s Fiveacres Lights created some of the light shows with equipment that ranged from 16mm projection of early art house films often projected sideways or projected into smoke or 5 kW Panis effects projectors borrowed from Samuelsons at Pinewood or Elstree film studios or Strand Electric at Vauxhall to overhead projectors with transparent trays borrowed from refrigerators and filled with Indian water ink beer etc citation needed A favourite was to use Aldis slide projectors with dual layer 2 2 glass specimen slides with basic designs created with wax crayons drawn by Lou the oft naked lady and then various substances introduced with syringes Indian inks snot semen in fact anything of immiscible viscosities Bubbles made by injecting air between the glass plates which were then squeezed by a pair of long nose pliers in time to the music would send folks even further off their heads citation needed After a sordid article published in the News of the World on 30 July the landlord told Joe Boyd the UFO could not continue at the Blarney Brian Epstein offered the Champagne Lounge at his Saville Theatre but Boyd decided on the larger Roundhouse venue 3 In October 1967 the UFO Club at the Roundhouse folded citation needed The UFO Club s success was its downfall being too small to accommodate the increasing number of visitors If a big name such as Jeff Beck was playing UFO broke even but the club usually lost money Billings editBlarney Club edit nbsp Poster for Pink Floyd at the UFO club 28 July 1967 by Hapshash and the Coloured Coat 23 30 Dec Nite Tripper under Gala Berkeley Cinema Warhol movies Soft Machine Pink Floyd 4 Anger movies Heating warm IT god clarification needed 13 Jan Pink Floyd 4 Marilyn Monroe movie The Sun Trolley Technicolor strobe Fiveacre slides Karate 20 Jan Pink Floyd 4 Anger movie 27 Jan AMM Music Pink Floyd 4 Five Acre Light Flight of the Aerogenius Chpt 1 International Times IT Girl Beauty Contest 3 Feb Soft Machine Brown s Poetry Flight of the Aerogenius Chpt 2 Bruce Connor Movies 10 Feb Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band Ginger Johnson African Drums flix Dali Bunuel WC Fields 5 17 Feb Soft Machine Indian Music Disney Cartoons Mark Boyle Projections Feature Movie erogenius 3 4 5 24 Feb Pink Floyd Brothers Grimm 3 Mar Soft Machine Pink Floyd 6 10 Mar Pink Floyd 6 17 Mar St Patrick s day off 24 Mar Soft Machine 31 Mar Crazy World of Arthur Brown Pink Alberts spot the fuzz contest 7 Apr Soft Machine 14 Apr Arthur Brown Social Deviants Special the fuzz 21 Apr Pink Floyd 7 28 Apr Tomorrow The Purple Gang 29 30 Apr The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream at the Alexandra Palace 5 May Soft Machine Arthur Brown 12 May The Graham Bond Organisation Procol Harum 19 May Tomorrow Arthur Brown The People Show 26 May The Move The Knack 2 Jun Pink Floyd 7 Soft Machine The Tales of Ollin dance group Hydrogen Jukebox 9 Jun Procol Harum The Smoke 10 Jun Pink Floyd 7 16 Jun Crazy World of Arthur Brown Soft Machine The People Blues Band 4 30am 23 Jun Liverpool Love Festival The Trip 30 Jun Tomorrow The Knack Dead Sea Fruit 7 Jul Denny Laine The Pretty Things 14 Jul Arthur Brown Alexis Korner Victor Brox 21 Jul Tomorrow Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band 28 Jul Pink Floyd CIA v UFO Fairport Convention Shiva s Children Roundhouse edit 4 Aug Eric Burdon amp The New Animals Family The Hydrogen Juke Box 11 Aug Tomorrow 18 Aug Arthur Brown The Incredible String Band 1 2 Sep UFO Festival Pink Floyd 8 Soft Machine The Move Arthur Brown Tomorrow Denny Laine 8 Sep Eric Burdon amp The New Animals Aynsley Dunbar 15 Sep Soft Machine Family 22 Sep Dantalian s Chariot w Zoot Money amp His Light Show The Social Deviants The Exploding Galaxy 29 Sep Jeff Beck Ten Years After Mark Boyle s New Sensual Laboratory Contessa VeronicaReferences edit a b Rockin in Time p 166 Boyd Joe White Bicycles Making Music in the 1960s Serpent s Tail 2006 ISBN 1 85242 910 0 Povey Glenn 2007 Echoes The Complete History of Pink Floyd Mind Head Publishing ISBN 9780955462405 Retrieved 5 January 2017 a b c d Jones Malcolm 2003 The Making of The Madcap Laughs 21st Anniversary ed Brain Damage p 27 a b IT08 13 February 1967 a b Jones Malcolm 2003 The Making of The Madcap Laughs 21st Anniversary ed Brain Damage p 28 a b c Jones Malcolm 2003 The Making of The Madcap Laughs 21st Anniversary ed Brain Damage p 29 Jones Malcolm 2003 The Making of The Madcap Laughs 21st Anniversary ed Brain Damage p 30 Further reading editHopkins John FROM THE HIP Photographs by JOHN HOPPY HOPKINS in the 1960 66 DAMIANI 2008 ISBN 978 88 6208 018 7 Boyd Joe White Bicycles Making Music in the 1960s Serpent s Tail 2007 ISBN 978 1 85242 489 3 Miles Barry In the Sixties London 2002 Green Jonathon Days in the Life Voices from the English Underground 1961 73 London 1998 Saunders William Jimi Hendrix London Roaring Forties Press 2010 ISBN 978 0 9843165 1 9 Joe Beard s biography of The Purple Gang Taking the Purple contains many references to UFO Available in print ISBN 978 0 9928671 0 2 or online in Kindle format ISBN 978 0 9928671 1 9External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to UFO Club nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to UFO Club Original Fan Club 51 31 06 N 0 07 55 W 51 518354 N 0 132073 W 51 518354 0 132073 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title UFO Club amp oldid 1207002137, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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