Re: The Scene Club

["Stuart Pittman" <stoo@cae.ca>]

Bruce theorized:

>Exactly.  It amazes me that people can't figure out that this is a
>professional recording.  It sounds a whole lot better than any audience
>tape would have. You must remember the times, it's 1964 for crying out
>loud. A young unsigned band, with limited equipment, budget, and filmmaker
>managers more concerned with image are not going to make Live at Leeds.
>Besides the technology simply wasn't there. The sound is a balanced mono
>recording good enough for a film soundtrack.  As for the film itself you
>can see bits of it in TKAA and WBWB (Can't Explain).

    You are true Who Master, Bruce, but I think I can take your educated
guess a little further. *If* the live tracks were taken from the early
footage used in the "I Can't Explain" promo, then the venue was The Railway
Hotel in August '64 and not The Scene Club (nor The Marquee, as already
established). Here is why:

1) All footage of the band performing live was shot at The Railway. After
that, extra shots of kids dancing were taken at The Scene and the street
shots were around Soho. The close-up, lip-synched shots must have been
done in a London studio. In the '84 BBC special "Daltrey", Roger revisits
the Railway (at that time "The Sidings") and the similarity of the venue
with the old b/w footage is very apparent. All pictures of The Scene show
it as being very dark with a brick wall behind the band. In the footage,
there are curtains as a backdrop and has different lighting/ambience.

2) The live tracks are NOT a *soundtrack* recording. A 16mm silent camera
was used along with a simple mono tape recorder. In essence, it IS an
audience recording.

3) It wasn't until almost mid-August that Lambert and Stamp had control
of the band. The film was THE FIRST THING they wanted to do so, it could
have been anyone of the Railway dates on the 11th, 18th or 25th. The
Scene date of 2 Sept that you gave was the last of 4 shows that ran
throughout August, so...

4) As a matter of interest, both the "Daltrey" BBC special and the "South
Bank Show" feature about 25 secs of footages NOT used in the ICE promo.

    Hence, the live tracks on the boots "Dance To Keep From Crying", etc,
are most likely from late August at The Railway Hotel. I rest my case. :)

References:
"Before I Get Old" - Dave Marsh
"Maximum R&B" - Richard Barnes
"30 Years of Maximum R&B - video liner notes" - John Atkins
"The Who Concert File" Joe McMichael & "Irish" Jack Lyons
"Daltrey" - 1984 BBC special
"South Bank Show" on Pete Townshend 1985
"I Can't Explain" promo
"The Kids Are Alright" - Jeff Stein film

Anally yours,
Stoo