Now for no particular reason I played Woyaya by Osibisa.
The LP has sat on the shelf with a shed load of other vinyl which I treasure but seldom play.
And within the time it takes for the music to roll around the room I was back in the 1970s.
It was one of those records that we played late in the night, usually accompanied by the all pervading smell of joss sticks and was pretty much the sound track to a very happy time.
We knew we had grown up a bit, not because we were living in our first house but by the purchase of the sound system which of course following the times was a mix of different bits and pieces. The speakers were Wharfdales, the record deck was a Pioneer and the tuner was that odd shaped model from Sony with a large dial which took up all of the wooden cabinet.
I have often wondered what our neighbour made of us and the music, but she was always pleasant and made us mince pies at Christmas and so perhaps she too was a fan, despite the fact that she had been born 1900 and had never moved more than half a mile from Raynham Street off Whiteacre Road in Ashton.
And here is the thing, I am still trying to work out whether we heard Osibisa live. If we did it would have been in the old Till & Kennedy building which by then had become the student’s union of the Manchester Polytechnic.
But even by 1971/2 I think they were successful enough to have regarded a student’s union as small beer.
That said we all know the story of Paul and Linda McCartney with the rest of Wings turning up on a Saturday afternoon offering to play at a student’s bar.
And just a few years earlier the College of Commerce on Aytoun Street had hosted a impressive line up of musicians from Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, the Moody Blues and Barclay James harvest, along with Roy Harper, the Edgar Broughton Band and Canned Heat.
So you never know. It maybe I was right and if so I would love the memory confirmed.
Pictures; the Righton Building, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson
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| The venus for Osibisa? |
And within the time it takes for the music to roll around the room I was back in the 1970s.
It was one of those records that we played late in the night, usually accompanied by the all pervading smell of joss sticks and was pretty much the sound track to a very happy time.
We knew we had grown up a bit, not because we were living in our first house but by the purchase of the sound system which of course following the times was a mix of different bits and pieces. The speakers were Wharfdales, the record deck was a Pioneer and the tuner was that odd shaped model from Sony with a large dial which took up all of the wooden cabinet.
And here is the thing, I am still trying to work out whether we heard Osibisa live. If we did it would have been in the old Till & Kennedy building which by then had become the student’s union of the Manchester Polytechnic.
But even by 1971/2 I think they were successful enough to have regarded a student’s union as small beer.
That said we all know the story of Paul and Linda McCartney with the rest of Wings turning up on a Saturday afternoon offering to play at a student’s bar.
And just a few years earlier the College of Commerce on Aytoun Street had hosted a impressive line up of musicians from Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, the Moody Blues and Barclay James harvest, along with Roy Harper, the Edgar Broughton Band and Canned Heat.
So you never know. It maybe I was right and if so I would love the memory confirmed.
Pictures; the Righton Building, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson
I'm pretty sure I was at that same gig..
ReplyDeleteGosh my memory confirmed ..... almost
ReplyDeleteThey played the Free Trade Hall in early 1972... http://www.45worlds.com/live/artist/osibisa I saw Focus in that building, which we always called the College of Art Union. Also remember the Friday night discos they had. Universities had very good pulling power then, so no reason why ~Osibisa shouldn't have played there - I saw loads of big bands up the road at M/c Uni, including Deep Purple.
ReplyDeleteThey were the opening band for Ashton, Gardner and Dyke (Resurrection Shuffle)at the Free trade Hall concert
ReplyDeleteI still think it's hilarious that a students' union building is called the 'righton' building. Please note the very important point that the apostrophe is after the 'S' in students' union.
ReplyDelete