Chapter 23: Bangla Desh (August 1 & 2, 1971)

August 1, 1971 - Madison Square Garden, 2:30 PM

George Harrison and Ravi Shankar at a press conference prior to the Concert for Bangladesh, 1971.

There was quiet chatter among the audience of twenty thousand as they waited patiently for the first of two shows to begin. As George Harrison walked up onto the stage to the microphone, they began to clap and cheer in his presence. In later years, he admitted to feeling nervous about turning up on stage on thought he would throw up.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said as the crowd continued cheering. "I'd just like to say before we start off with the concert, that, uh, to thank you all for coming here, and, uh, as you all know, it's a special benefit concert. We've got a good show lined up. I hope so, anyway. First part of the concert is gonna be an Indian music section. You're gonna hear a sitar and sarood duet. And, uh, as you realize, Hindi music's a little bit more serious than our music, and I'd appreciate it if you could, uh, try and settle down and get into the Hindi music section. So let me introduce, on sitar, Ravi Shankar." The crowd cheered again as they heard the famous sitarist's name. Harrison paused before continuing.

"And the master of sarood, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Sarood. I'm sure you all know Ravi's tabla player, Allah Rakha. And this evening, the drone instrument, the tamboora, is being played by Kamala." Each time, he paused to yet the audience clap and cheer for their names. "So I hope you enjoy the concert, thank you."[1] Harrison left the stage to more clapping and cheering as Ravi Shankar entered the stage to address the audience. He requested for the audience to be patient whilst listening to his, Khan's, Rakha's and Kamala's part of the show, acknowledging that they were anxious to listen to their favorite stars.

Ravi Shankar and friends performing "Bangla Dhun", August 1, 1971.

"We are trying to set the music to this special event, this historical program," he explained, "which is just not a program as usual but which has a message. And this is to just make you aware of a very serious situation that is happening. We are not trying to make any politic. We are artists, but through our music, we would like you to feel the agony and also the pain and lot of sad happenings in Bangladesh, and also the refugees who have come to India." After describing what they would be playing, Shankar asked the audience not to smoke during the performance.

The audience clapped in respect as Shankar and his fellow Hindi musicians performed a traditional dhun titled "Bangla Dhun". According to Harrison, Shankar's segment lasted about forty-five minutes, but only seventeen minutes of the performance appeared on the live album.[1]

3:30 PM
Following a brief intermission in which a Dutch TV film was put on display showing footage of the atrocities and natural tragedies taking place in East Pakistan, the first rock group of the setlist performing before the crowd was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

"Hello, New York," Neil Young said into the microphone. "We're going to be your first Western music group for the day." This statement was met with more applause before Young continued.

"Now our first number for our setlist was written after the atrocities of Kent State," he explained. "Four students were killed and another nine were injured. And with what's been happening in East Pakistan, it only seems fitting that we give you 'Ohio'."

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young performing at the Concert for Bangladesh.

The audience cheered as the folk supergroup began to play their first song of the setlist. Following that was Stephen Stills' "Love the One You're With" from their recent album Remember Our Names.

"Our next number was written when Robert Kennedy was assassinated," said David Crosby. "It was featured on our debut album before Neil joined us. I believed in Bobby as he wanted to make some positive changes in America. I dedicate this next number not just to him, but also to those suffering in East Pakistan."

The band then played "Long Time Gone", shortly followed up by Neil Young's solo song, "Cowgirl in the Sand". The penultimate song for their setlist was a song written by Graham Nash but had not made Remember Our Names; "Chicago" referred to anti-Vietnam War protests that had taken place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the trial of the Chicago Eight that followed afterwards in which the protest leaders were charged with conspiracy to start a riot. Just before playing it, Nash had sarcastically dedicated it to the then-mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, who was notoriously antagonistic against anti-war protesters. The setlist concluded with "Find the Cost of Freedom".[2]

When asked why they didn't play any of their most beloved songs such as "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" or "Marrakesh Express", Stephen Stills explained that they wanted to focus on the more politically themed numbers in their catalog. "This was at a time when Vietnam was a huge deal," he recounted in a 2005 interview. "Not only that, but people were dying in Bangladesh, and it gave our music a different meaning when playing it live. You have to get a message across or people won't notice."

3:55 PM

Badfinger, 1971.

The next band to perform was Badfinger. They only performed two songs from their most recent release No Dice - "Better Days" and "We're for the Dark". Despite being known for their power pop sound, the short performance proved that they could rock out just as well as their Apple stablemates.[3]

4:05 PM

Eric Clapton performing "Bottle of Red Wine" with Cream.

Shortly after Badfinger's setlist was finished, Cream was next to enter the stage. Their setlist also lasted two songs, "Bottle of Red Wine" from Let It Rain and "Presence of the Lord" from Layla.[4] Multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell played with Cream during their short setlist, and then the band served as backing musicians for him and Don Preston (not to be confused for the keyboardist for Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention) for their cover medley of the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and the Coasters' "Young Blood".[1]

4:30 PM

James Taylor performing "Carolina in My Mind".

Whilst Badfinger and Cream focused on the deeper cuts of their respective catalogs, James Taylor focused on three of his most popular songs; "Fire and Rain", "Carolina in My Mind", and "Sweet Baby James".[5] Taylor's setlist is often cited as being one of the best of the entire concert as it focused solely on the musician and his acoustic guitar.

4:45 PM
For Elton John's setlist, both tracks were from his 1970 self-titled release; "Take Me to the Pilot" and his first major hit, "Your Song".[6] When the single first came out, John Lennon had described "Your Song" as being McCartney-esque, which later became a term used to describe a song that sounds like something Paul McCartney would record. McCartney had become annoyed by the comparison, another bullet point, albeit a very minor one, to why he would end up being ditched by the others.

David Bowie, 1971.

After Elton had finished up "Your Song", he introduced David Bowie to the audience, who then performed "Space Oddity" and a cover of the Velvet Underground's "Waiting for the Man".[7] The remaining Rolling Stones were not available at the time due to being tax exiles, although Mick Jagger would later regret the decision of declining the invitation.

5:10 PM
But there was now the big question on everyone's mind as the minute drew nearer; would Bob Dylan actually be willing to perform on stage? On the handwritten setlist, a question mark was written next to Dylan's name. George Harrison remembered Dylan looking nervous with his guitar and shades. "It was only at that moment that I knew for sure he was going to it," George recalled (1974). He returned on stage to introduce Bob Dylan and the audience went wild he appeared on stage.

George Harrison and Bob Dylan performing at the Concert for Bangladesh.

Accompanied by Harrison on guitar and Russell on bass, Bob Dylan played five of his most well-regarded songs from the 1960s; "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry", "Blowin' in the Wind", "Mr. Tambourine Man", and "Just Like a Woman".[1] Nearly fifty years since it was first performed, Bob Dylan's setlist has been regarded by many as the crowning glory of the Concert for Bangladesh.

But now would be time for the main event of the show; the Ladders.

5:35 PM
George Harrison was the first to enter the stage, followed by Ringo Starr on the drum kit, and then Billy Preston on keyboards and Klaus Voormann on bass. When John Lennon entered the stage, the crowd cheered wildly, and even more so when they performed the first song of their set, the Beatles classic "Come Together".[8] Their next song was Harrison's "My Sweet Lord", the Ladders' most recent single.[1] Lennon admitted in later years to have been feeling dodgy about performing a religious song live, and would have preferred to playing "Wah-Wah" instead.

Billy Preston performing "That's the Way God Planned It" with the Ladders.

Following this was Billy Preston's vocal spot on "That's the Way God Planned It".[1] Although he was a sideman to the Ladders, as well as having his own solo releases on Apple, John, George and Ringo still treated him like he was an equal and even allowed him to play alongside them for their setlist. Klaus Voormann was also seen as a member by the group, despite not contributing anything to the lyrics or vocals; he was just happy to be there.

Next was Ringo's vocal spot on "It Don't Come Easy", marking the first time that the public had heard the song.[1] Starr's performance was a bit sloppy, having forgotten some of the lyrics, but it was still regarded as a classic Ringo Starr moment. A cover of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" and the first ever live performance of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" followed, with Eric Clapton having a guest spot on the latter.[8][1]

"How's everyone enjoying the show so far?" Lennon asked the crowd. The response overall was extremely positive. "Alright, er, this song is another song from that album we made since, er, we left the Rolling Stones." There was some laughter in the audience at Lennon's deliberate mistake within the applause. "And a lot of people thought that it was just about my parents, but it's about 99% of the parents, alive or half-dead."

After counting off, the band delved into "Mother", dedicated not just to Lennon's parents Julia and Alfred, but also to the parents of the younger refugees who had died trying to support their families.[8] In a sense, especially after the death of his mother Louise the year before, the song had also resonated with George Harrison as well.

Pete Ham and George Harrison performing "Here Comes the Sun".

As a counter to the darkly depressing "Mother", Harrison next played "Here Comes the Sun", accompanied by Pete Ham on acoustic guitars.[1] The performance was lauded greatly by the audience, as where the next two songs, "Instant Karma!" and "Something".[8][1] Pattie Boyd was a part of the audience when the Ladders performed "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something", calling her then-husband's performance as magnificent.

6:20 PM
The Ladders then took a five-minute break before John Lennon returned to the stage for the encore.

John Lennon performing "Imagine" with the Ladders.

"This song is more about why we're here," he told the audience, "apart from rocking and that." He then began to play the opening notes to "Imagine" and began to sing the lyrics to it: "Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try..."[8] For the twenty thousand people in the audience, this was the first time they'd ever heard "Imagine", and it was a memory that would resonate with them for the rest of their lives. When John finished the song, there was a rapturous applause. Their admiration for John Winston Ono Lennon had reached a new peak.

Joining the Ladders for the final song of the show were David Crosby, Graham Nash, Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Leon Russell, David Bowie and Elton John. George Harrison led the whole ensemble to a rendition of "Bangla Desh" to close out the show, exactly four hours since it first started.[1]

The second of the shows began at 10:00 PM and ended at 2:00 AM on August 2.[9] Despite staying up for very late, the artists involved were feeling more energetic and some even changed up their setlists slightly. For the album release, the best performances from both shows were chosen. Reception for both concerts were very positive, with many concertgoers being indecisive as to who was the best performer of the day and night.

Around half a million dollars in American money were raised as a result of both shows and were donated to UNICEF to administer.[10] The live album - a quadruple - was intended for release by the end of August, but the release was blocked by Columbia Records (Bob Dylan's label), resulting in a dispute between that and Capitol over who would a rightful claim to distribute the album; Capitol claimed that the majority of its artists were under the Apple label, so they claimed they should have the right to distribute the album.

Whilst the dispute was taking place, Harrison and head of Apple Films Michael Lindsay-Hogg went over the footage filmed during both shows to showcase the highlights from each artist. Around eight hours' worth of footage had been filmed for both shows but it had to be trimmed down to two and a half hours for a theatrical release, giving moviegoers the chance to see what they couldn't on August 1. Both album and documentary were expected to generate $15 million.

The cover for The Concert for Bangladesh live album, released December 1971.

The Concert for Bangladesh quadruple live album was finally released on December 17, with funds going to UNICEF. Despite the hefty price tag, it reached #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The Ladders' double A-side single, "Bangla Desh"/"Imagine", also hit #1 on both sides. The documentary based around the concert was released November 19, having reduced the best of both four hour shows down to about two and a half hours' worth of screentime. By the end of 1971, the Ladders had achieved huge success with the biggest-selling single of the year in the United Kingdom (beating out the Beatles' very own "She Loves You"), their next album Imagine, the benefit concert, and a movie.

To many, the only downside to this success was that Paul McCartney wasn't with them.

Footnotes

1. The introduction, "Bangla Dhun", "Jumpin' Jack Flash/Youngblood", the Bob Dylan setlist, and the songs by George Harrison, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr during the Ladders' setlist are all sourced from The Concert for Bangladesh.
2. All tracks in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's setlist are sourced from 4 Way Street.
3. "Better Days" and "We're for the Dark" are both sourced from Badfinger's BBC in Concert 1972-1973.
4. "Bottle of Red Wine" and "Presence of the Lord" are both sourced from Derek and the Dominos' Live at the Fillmore. Alternatively, they're also available on In Concert.
5. All of James Taylor's songs in his setlist are sourced from Amchitka with Joni Mitchell and Phil Ochs.
6. "Take Me to the Pilot" and "Your Song" are both sourced from Elton John's 17-11-70.
7. "Space Oddity" and "Waiting for the Man" are both sourced from David Bowie's Live Santa Monica '72.
8. All songs by John Lennon during the Ladders' setlist are sourced from Live in New York City.
9. The second show in OTL began at 8:00 PM. With a bigger setlist than in OTL, the second show would likely have been held back.
10. In OTL, the Concert for Bangladesh raised close to $250,000.

Author's Comments

Well, here it is; the first major concert of the series being covered in full. Choosing images to represent this alternate Concert for Bangladesh was not an easy feat, especially when it came to finding images of the artists included performing live from 1970-1972 (the general period I chose to go for with live performances). But you know, sometimes you just got to make do with what you can find. With a lot more artists represented, is it better than the concert from OTL? You decide!

Chapter 21: Bell Bottom Blues (September 1970 - March 1971)

September 12, 1970

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young performing at Woodstock, 1969.

By this point, the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had already become big hit makers at Apple Records. Following the success of their self-titled debut album Crosby, Stills & Nash, as well as the singles "Marrakesh Express" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", Neil Young had joined the group for a tour beginning at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, but their real baptism by fire was performing at the Woodstock Festival.

During this tour, ending with three European concerts in January, the supergroup recorded the bulk of what became Déjà Vu, their second album released March 11, 1970, topping the charts in the United States and generating three hit singles - a cover of Joni Mithcell's "Woodstock", as well as "Teach Your Children" and "Our House".

A fourth single released during this period, "Ohio", was written and recorded as a response to the Kent State shootings on May 4, and it marked CSNY's first #1 single in the United States. "Ohio" had been recorded between the first (Denver) and second (Boston) shows during the the group's second tour in the United States, and even made its live debut during the shows. The best performances would later become immortalized as part of the live album 4 Way Street. (Bob Dylan had attended the show at the Fillmore East in Manhattan, and even met with the group backstage, saying that he liked the performance.)

The question now was, where could these four brilliant men go next?

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young rehearsing at Los Angeles, 1970.

STEPHEN STILLS: "We'd written and recorded so much material from late 1969 up to the summer of 1970 that we didn't know what to do with it. Half the time, we collaborated on songs. The other half, we were solo. We met up after the last show at Bloomington to discuss future projects." (1994)

NEIL YOUNG: "Clearly we were at a crossroad. Stephen and I each had enough material for our own albums and David and Graham were just getting started on their own projects. We had the choice to put out either a double studio album, possibly even a triple album, or put out solo albums instead. And let's not forget; the 70s were pretty much a decade of excess." (1999)

Neil Young was the first to finish up his own album, tentatively titled After the Gold Rush. Recorded mostly solo, save for vocals provided by Stephen Stills, Young had intended for the album to be released under Apple Records on September 19, but the week before the album was due for release, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were suddenly called into a meeting by Lord Beeching.

GRAHAM NASH: "Beeching had somehow heard about our intention to put out solo albums during the period and he did not agree to the idea at all. He even pointed out that we had such great potential as a group and even suggested that putting out material where at least half of us were on the same song all in one place would be a better marketing decision. 'You four as a group is far greater than the sum of you four as solo artists,' he said. We didn't agree at the time, but in retrospect, Lord Beeching did have a point. I mean, this was a guy who overhauled British Railways." (2010)

DAVID CROSBY: "As part of a compromise, any songs that were solo efforts would be put in storage for the time being, but may eventually be put out for side projects." (1988)

Neil Young, 1970.

After the Gold Rush was soon pulled from Apple's release schedule, and so the group members looked over all the material they had recorded thus far to determine what they would put out on the second (third overall) Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album.

NEIL YOUNG: "We decided it would be very democratic among us; it would be a twelve track album with four performers, each with three vocal spots. For Graham, that was no problem, and as for David and Stephen, both were quite reluctant to drop a song or two since they had five and four songs respectively. I must've had it even worse since I had a lot of songs where Stephen sang backup." (1974)

DAVID CROSBY: "After we picked out the best three of Neil's songs, that left just me and Stephen to decide what songs to drop. He eventually chose to drop 'Go Back Home' from the tracklisting whilst I ended up sacrificing 'Laughing' and 'What Are Their Names'. Fortunately, they ended up as B-sides so it wasn't a complete loss. It was another half year before something Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-related finally came out." (2004)

March 26, 1971

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Remember Our Names

Released: March 26, 1971

Recorded: 1969-1971

Producer: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Track listing[1]

Side A

Music Is Love
Love the One You're With
Better Days
Tell Me Why
Tamalpais High
I Used to Be a King

Side B
Sit Yourself Down
Traction in the Rain
Don't Let It Bring You Down
Man in the Mirror
When You Dance I Can Really Love
We Are Not Helpless

A little over a year after it was released, the followup to Déjà Vu, titled Remember Our Names, was released to positive reception. However, critics and fans were not quite as enthusiastic towards the album as they had been towards Déjà Vu, especially given that not all four of the members were in the same room together. But despite that, Remember Our Names still reached #3 in the United States and #7 in the United Kingdom. The album's singles, "Love the One You're With" (backed with "What Are Their Names"), "Tell Me Why" (backed with "Laughing"), and "Music Is Love" (backed with "Go Back Home"), were all Top 30 hits.

Although Neil Young would disparage Remember Our Names as a cynical produce in later years - though he still admitted to liking "Love the One You're With" as a personal favorite - Stephen Stills called it "good fun" (1972), and David Crosby and Graham Nash tend to speak favorably about it.

12 February 1971

Cream - Layla

Released: 12 February 1971

Recorded: 26 August - 2 October 1970

Producer: Eric Clapton and Bobby Whitlock

Track listing[2]

Side A

I Looked Away
Bell Bottom Blues
Keep on Growing
I Am Yours
Anyday

Side B
Tell the Truth
Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?
Snake Lake Blues
Layla
Thorn Tree in the Garden

While it looked as though Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were destined to continue for years to come, the same could not be said for Cream. Shortly after the release of Let It Rain, Jack Bruce had left following a dispute with Eric Clapton, leaving Cream without a bassist, once again leaving its future uncertain.

ERIC CLAPTON: "Delaney [Bramlett] had introduced me to Carl Radle whilst Cream was touring with Delaney & Bonnie, and after Jack left Cream, I called up Carl asking if he could play bass for me, Bobby [Whitlock] and Jim [Gordon], and the first thing he asked me was, 'When shall we meet up?' I took it as a yes." (2010)

The revamped lineup for Cream (with Clapton being the only remaining founding member left) was in the studio by the end of August, working on new material co-written by Clapton and Bobby Whitlock. It was musically inspired from The Band's album Music from Big Pink, which, as Clapton stated, was more concerned about songs and singing.

Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton, 1970.

PATTIE BOYD: "We [Eric and herself] met secretly at a flat in South Kensington. Eric had asked me to come because he wanted me to listen to a new number he had written. He switched on the tape machine, turned up the volume and played me the most powerful, moving song I had ever heard. It was 'Layla'." (2007)

"Layla", soon to be the title track for Cream's sixth album, was inspired by The Story of Layla and Majnun, written by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, as well as meeting with the spouse of his close friend George Harrison, Pattie Boyd. In fact, most of the material Clapton had written for Layla was love songs dedicated to Pattie.

GEORGE HARRISON: "I was at Robert Stigwood's house asking where Pattie was, but he didn't know where she was. I was about to depart when I spotted her in the garden with Eric. I demanded to know what was going on, and the first thing Eric told me was, 'I have to tell you man, that I'm in love with your wife.' Pattie looked frightened, especially when I asked her who she was going to go home with. She went home with me, and our rocky marriage continued for another six years." (1995)

JOHN LENNON: "Ringo and I were over at George's place after filming for Willy Wonka when Old Clapper turned up drunk and challenged Georgie to a duel. Much like a gentleman of the 18th century handing a sword to his rival, he handed Eric a guitar and an amp, and the duel had begun." (1989)[3]

RINGO STARR: "George and Eric shredded the hell out of their guitars for two hours straight, showing no sign of stopping. John and I didn't do anything either; he could've dueled along with them whilst I had a drum kit to play on if the battle got intense, but we never did. I consider that a lost opportunity. If we were in George's recording studio, we could've made some damn fine music. Still, it was clear that Eric would win the duel despite being drunk. Pattie told us that his guitar-playing was just unbeatable." (2013)

The lineup for Cream, 1970.

Love rivalries and drunken antics aside, Layla was originally planned to be released in November of 1970, but it was pushed back to avoid competing with Badfinger's No Dice. Still, "Bell Bottom Blues" had been released as a single with an edited version of "Tell the Truth" as its B-side. The title track was made a single two months after that, also edited down to three minutes.

Layla reached #2 in the United States, being kept off of the top spot by the Ladders' Shine On, and topped out at #7 in the United Kingdom. The title track reached #6 and #11 on both sides, respectively. Despite the commercial success, critics dismissed the album, with some regarding the love songs as little more than fluff and even criticizing the lengthy songs as boring. There were some critics, however, like Robert Christgau of The Village Voice singing praises for Layla.

As years went by, Layla has been acclaimed by fans and critics alike as Cream's greatest overall album, and when it came to choosing favorite songs by the band, the title track would usually come out on top, though some tracks like "Badge" and "Let It Rain" do come close to matching it. Some even compared the album to the Beach Boys' Smile as being great pieces of music being made under the most stressful circumstances.

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name, Stephen Stills' 1970 self-titled album, Graham Nash's Songs for Beginners, and Neil Young's After the Gold Rush. Between the members, Crosby and Young each appear in seven songs, Stills appears in six songs and Nash appears in nine songs.
2. All tracks are sourced from OTL's Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, excluding "Snake Lake Blues", released on the Eric Clapton compilation Crossroads.
3. John and Ringo were never at Friar Park when George and Eric had their famous guitar duel.

Author's Comments

So here we go; the first chapter (and 21st overall) of Strawberry Peppers: Phase Two! Remember Our Names was one of the first albums made for the series, being thought of back in May 2018, and that was eight months before I'd even begun this blog!

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are perhaps one of the greatest supergroups of all time. Well, they are when they work together; for fifty years, they've constantly been at each others' throats, and all of their best material was either left unreleased or put out on obscure solo albums. And that's not even mentioning the fact that they went a similar direction their contemporaries did in the 1980s (we'll get to that in Phase Four, which may be a long, long way away).

My objective with CSNY is to give them a more prolific 1970s between Déjà Vu from 1970 and CSN from 1977. Overall, I have created six - yes, six - brand new CSNY albums from the period of 1971-1976 that they might have released, relying mostly on their solo/duet material from the period. I focus a lot on the material that featured at least two members on the same song; that, to me, is how you make a 1970s album. It also helps that some of the solo material has been performed live by them as a group such as Stephen Stills' "Love the One You're With" featuring David Crosby and Graham Nash on backing vocals. That's a potential CSNY single right there!

And as for Cream? Well, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that they will break up, but it'll be at the end of 1971. Their Apple-era discography is very interesting in that they're practically the Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos albums, plus Eric Clapton's self-titled solo debut, albeit under the Cream banner. Granted, the music may not have sounded like any of these albums had Cream continued, but who knows if "Layla" had been a Cream song instead?

So far, Phase Two is off to a flying start, but what are the Beatles - or rather, the Ladders and Paul McCartney - up to? Pretty unrelated, but I'd love to see somebody make a TV Tropes page of the Strawberry Peppers story.

Chapter 17: That's the Way God Planned It (March - September 1970)

30 March 1970

The cover for Ginger Baker's Air Force self-titled album, released March 1970.

It's always the small things that kept a band from staying together. By the end of Cream's latest tour for Blind Faith, Ginger Baker had stepped down as drummer and brought Steve Winwood with him to form Ginger Baker's Air Force, a jazz-rock fusion supergroup that included members such as Denny Laine, Alan White, Ric Grech, and Harold McNair. Their first album was released at the end of March in 1970, a recording of their live performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 15 January. It was a moderate success, reaching the Top 40 in both America and Great Britain, but its sole single, "Man of Constant Sorrow", only hit #86 in the latter country.

GINGER BAKER: "I was feeling a bit fed up by the end of the 60s. Despite that Steve Winwood gave Cream a more fresh sound when we did Blind Faith, I wanted out. I wanted to expand my horizons and felt that being with Eric and Jack was holding me back. Understandably, they were disappointed with my decision, but they supported me and we still kept in touch." (2009)

With only Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce left in Cream, it would've been the end of the supergroup for real, except that once again, they still had help from friends in high places.

Delaney & Bonnie with Eric Clapton and George Harrison, 1970.

One of Cream's opening acts was Delaney & Bonnie, a rock/soul musical duo formed by the Bramletts and one of George Harrison's signings onto Apple Records. Clapton was particularly chummy with the married couple as he was a fan of their soulful, folksy-sounding blues roots and even spent time with them off-stage and even sat in on their opening sets. It even got to the point he wanted them to be the tour's headliners.

DELANEY BRAMLETT: "After Ginger left Cream, Eric called me up and asked if Delaney & Bonnie would be willing to play with them for their next album. I was willing to play with them, as well as help to produce the album. Heck, Jim Gordon offered to be their new drummer despite being committed to D&B, and Bobby [Whitlock] and Leon [Russell] also volunteered to play. Even Stephen Stills played on a few songs whilst he, [David] Crosby and [Graham] Nash recorded with Neil Young. *chuckles* Small world." (1995)

ERIC CLAPTON: "The recording for Let It Rain began back in November of 1969, and lasted four months. Jack was feeling pretty overwhelmed by the amount of company we had. He was even a bit cross that I got more vocal spots than he did, even though I thought we contributed just as much as the other." (2005)

15 May 1970

Cream - Let It Rain

Released: 15 May 1970

Recorded: November 1969 - March 1970

Producer: Delaney Bramlett

Track listing[1]

Side A

Slunky
Bad Boy
Tickets to Water Falls
Easy Now
To Isengard

Side B
Bottle of Red Wine
The Ministry of Bag
He the Richmond
Don't Know Why
Let It Rain

Cream's fifth album was preceded by the non-album single, a cover of J. J. Cale's "After Midnight" with Bruce's original "Rope Ladder to the Moon" as the B-side. The single topped at #18 in the United States but did not chart in the United Kingdom. Cream's rendition was faster-paced compared to Cale's slower tempo version. Cale was surprised to hear Cream's version become a big radio hit, believing he had fallen into obscurity by this point; he would later admit years later that his music was more famous than he himself.

Let It Rain was released to generally positive reception. Although it paled in comparison to last year's Blind Faith, not helped by the absence of founding member Ginger Baker, it was still a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and even got praise for the mixture of variety in the music, showcasing some of Clapton's musical personality. Although ten tracks were chosen for the final album, there were a lot more tracks featuring Clapton's voice that would end up being released as bonus tracks for future releases, including the "After Midnight" single.

June 19, 1970

The Monkees - Changes

Released: June 19, 1970

Recorded: October 28, 1966 - November 11, 1969, February 5 - April 2, 1970

Producer: The Monkees, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Bill Chadwick, Jeff Barry

Track listing[2]

Side A

Oh My My
Propinquity (I've Just Begun to Care)
You're So Good to Me
It's Got to Be Love
How Insensitive
Acapulco Sun
Time and Time Again

Side B
Angel Band
Tell Me Love
Do You Feel It Too?
Some of Shelly's Blues
All Alone in the Dark
I Never Thought it Peculiar
Little Red Rider

The Monkees' eighth album, Changes, was their last with Michael Nesmith for seventeen years. The reason for his departure from the group was because he wanted to continue recording with his own country-rock group, Michael Nesmith & The First National Band. The band's first album, Magnetic South, was due out in June, the same month that the Monkees' Changes would be released; it even included new versions of four songs Nesmith and written and sung for the Monkees. The album charted at #143 on Billboard's Top 200, though the "Joanne"/"One Rose" single reached #21.

MICKY DOLENZ: "It was just sad, looking back. Mike was no longer interested in being a Monkee, Pete was essentially AWOL, and Davy and I were just tired. Monkeemania had long since worn off. Changes and Mike's solo album Magnetic South proved to be the death knell for the Monkees." (2006)

Changes peaked at #152, the Monkees lowest chart position for any of their albums, and critical reception was of indifference at best. But despite that, the Monkees still had to put out one more album in order to fulfill their contract, and so Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones went through the archives to compile an album with previously unreleased recordings ranging from their self-titled album in 1966 all the way up to unused recordings from Changes. The only new songs recorded for it were "Do It in the Name of Love" and "Lady Jane", recorded only by Dolenz and Jones that September.

The resulting album, Instant Replay, served as a showcase as to how far the Monkees' music had gone in a short period, and it was also a gentle goodbye to their fans. When it finally came out in April 1971, the Monkees were no more.

September 4, 1970

Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love

Released: September 4, 1970

Recorded: March 1968 - August 1970

Producer: Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Kramer

Track listing[3]

Side A

Dolly Dagger
Night Bird Flying
Room Full of Mirrors
Drifter's Escape
Belly Button Window
Freedom

Side B
Earth Blues
Ezy Ryder
Astro Man
Straight Ahead
In From the Storm

Ever since his last release, Electric Ladyland, Jimi Hendrix had been working on and off again on his fourth album, a comeback he had planned to call First Rays of the New Rising Sun.[4] The initial sessions for the album had stretched as far back as March 1968, during the sessions for Electric Ladyland, all the way up to August 1970 with newer songs such as "Dolly Dagger", "Freedom", "Ezy Ryder", and "Night Bird Flying". Hendrix had initially planned for the album to be a double, but producer Eddie Kramer suggested that it would be better to release a single album instead, and work on some of the cut tracks for a later release. Surprisingly, Hendrix heeded the producer's advice.

The Cry of Love was released September 4, 1970, almost two years after Hendrix's last album. It reached #3 in the United States but was kept out of the #1 spot in the United Kingdom by the Beatles' Everest. Critics and fans saw this release as a return to form for Hendrix following what was perceived at the time as a two-year hibernation. How the album managed to reach these heights despite the artist being absent on the music scene for a long time was not without a frightening experience...

18 September 1970

Jimi Hendrix, the day before his near-death experience, 17 September 1970.

JIMI HENDRIX: "I was in London with Monkia [Dannemann], and I'll admit the details of what we did around London were a bit of a blur. Lots drinking and talking to friends, and all that. But when she and I got home very early in the morning, I took on some sleeping pills and was soon asleep in bed. Next thing I knew, it was a few hours later, Monika had left to buy cigarettes, and I found myself vomiting onto the floor. That was when Monika realized something was wrong with me and quickly called the hospital. Doctors said that I had almost choked on my own vomit, and that if I hadn't woken up, I'd have choked to death." (2005)

Hendrix was soon discharged from St. Mary Abotts hospital a few days after his near-death. September 18, 1970 would be remembered as a day of "what could've been", and the 22nd would be remembered as a day of relief when Hendrix re-emerged from hospital and returned to the United States, with girlfriend Monkia Dannemann around his arm.

Following this scare, Hendrix would get back into the music scene for his next project, Black Gold, which was released at the end of 1971, being hailed as his greatest work. He would soon marry his girlfriend Monkia in mid-1972, and together they had three children before breaking up in 1996. Hendrix would continue releasing new music during the 1970s and 1980s, and every once in a while, he would turn up at a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame or Grammy ceremony. He eventually retired from the music scene at the end of the 2000s, and died from lung cancer on July 20, 2011. Jimi Hendrix was aged 68.

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from Eric Clapton's 1970 self-titled album and Jack Bruce's Songs for a Tailor.
2. Micky and Davy's tracks are sourced from the 1994 reissue of Changes, and Michael's tracks are sourced from Missing Links Vol. 3 excluding "Some of Shelly's Blues", sourced from Vol. 2.
3. Tracks are sourced from Rainbow Bridge and The Cry of Love, excluding "Drifter's Escape" from South Saturn Delta, "Earth Blues" from disc four of The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set, and "In From the Storm" from West Coast Seattle Boy.
4. This was indeed the title Jimi Hendrix had planned for his follow-up to Electric Ladyland.

Author's Comments

This chapter's a bit shorter than some of the previous ones, but I don't think that's really a bad thing now, is it? The Monkees have split up much like OTL, except Michael stayed a bit longer; things will carry on much as they did, though we will come across one of the Monkees at some point again in the future.

But perhaps one of the biggest deviations from this timeline is the survival of Jimi Hendrix. Admittedly, there wasn't really a lot for me to work with as I'm not 100% sure what he would have done had he survived, but I did write up a brief summary as to what he did following his near death, including the release of Black Gold. I like how his story turned out, but I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of it. What would y'all do differently? I'd like to hear suggestions!

Speaking of which, what are the surviving Beach Boys up to? Next chapter will reveal all!

Chapter 13: Wooden Ships (February - October 1969)

20 February - 28 June 1969

The cover for Cream's Wheels of Fire album, released August 1968.

The supergroup Cream's third album, Wheels of Fire, was the first album released on the Apple Records label on 9 August 1968. It topped the charts in America despite being a double album; one record of live performances, and the other studio tracks. That October, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker had recorded new material for a fourth album, most notably "Badge", a collaboration between Clapton and George Harrison (credited as "L'Angelo Misterioso").

JACK BRUCE: "At that point, we were kind of getting fed up with one another, what with the ego and all. My hearing was going bad, Ginger and I were at each others' throats, Eric was more interested in playing with Bob Dylan's backing group. But then there was this sort of battle of the bands going on with the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Monkees, and despite the frustration, we kind of wanted in. That was where Steve Winwood came in." (2007)

Steve Winwood was a keyboardist known for being a member of the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. Clapton and Bruce had known him back in 1966 when they were part of a group called the Powerhouse, but only recorded three songs together, and Clapton and Bruce later formed Cream with Baker. Winwood agreed to provide the keyboards for Cream's next album, and by the end of February, they were back in the studio with producer Jimmy Miller to record the next Cream album.

28 July 1969

Cream - Blind Faith

Released: 28 July 1969

Recorded: October 1968 ("Badge"), 20 February - 28 June 1969

Producer: Felix Pappalardi ("Badge"), Jimmy Miller

Track listing[1]

Side A

Had to Cry Today
Theme for an Imaginary Western
Can't Find My Way Home
Weird of Hermiston
Presence of the Lord

Side B

Never Tell Your Mother She's Out of Tune
Badge
The Clearout
Do What You Like

"Badge" was released as a single four months ahead of Blind Faith, backed with a cover of Buddy Holly's "Well... All Right" as the B-side, becoming a Top 20 hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It was the only track from the October 1968 sessions that the group deemed salvageable, and overdubs were added to fit amongst the February to June 1969 recordings.

When Blind Faith was released, there was controversy surrounding the cover depicting a topless pubescent girl, created by Bob Seidemann, a photographer and personal friend of Clapton known for his photos of Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. An alternative cover in the United States depicted the band on the front.

Controversy aside, the album was still a commercial success, being Cream's first album to reach #1 in the United Kingdom, as well as their second to top the charts in America, the first being Wheels of Fire. Blind Faith, named for a comment made by Eric Clapton about describing everyone's self-belief that Cream would still be around, no matter the circumstances, is often said to have included some of the best music Cream have ever put out, being ranked by Rolling Stone as the 140th greatest album of all time.

It seemed as if for now, Cream was stable once again.

12 - 31 March 1969

The wedding of Paul and Linda McCartney, 12 March 1969.

Just a fortnight after the filming on Apple Films' take on Alice in Wonderland had wrapped up, Paul McCartney had married his new girlfriend Linda Eastman. Although the event had initially been planned to be a secret, much like John Lennon's first marriage to Cynthia Powell in 1962, onlookers and reporters soon caught wind of the newly-wed couple. Many girls cried because Paul had been the last bachelor Beatle. None of his bandmates attended the ceremony, but Mal Evans, Peter Brown and McCartney's brother Michael acted as witnesses. Four days after the wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Paul McCartney went off on their honeymoon to New York to spend time with Linda's family.

At the same time, John and Yoko had flown to Paris, France. Their initial wedding date was to be 14 March on a cross-channel ferry in Southampton, but due to Ono not being of English ancestry, that was not possible. The couple wanted to try again in Paris, but Peter Brown instead advised for them to marry in Gibraltar, at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. "We chose Gibraltar because it is quiet, British and friendly," John would later recall. "We tried everywhere else first."

John and Yoko's bed-in for peace in Amsterdam, 25-31 March 1969.

John and Yoko's marriage received a lot of press coverage, and so they decided to use this publicity to promote world peace. They stayed at room 902 at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam in the Netherlands for a week in bed. The press were invited into the room for twelve hours a day between nine in the morning and nine in the evening; rather than seeing them making love in public following a public image of Lennon and Ono naked, they simply sat in their bed talking about peace. For all the publicity it got, much of it hostile, their message was distributed across the world.

But what about George and Ringo? Whilst the latter was preparing for his role in The Magic Christian, the former along with wife Pattie had been busted on Paul's wedding day by Sgt. Norman Pilcher of the Drugs Squad. Pilcher had infamously arrested Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Keith Richards, as well as Scottish singer/songwriter/guitarist Donovan, John Lennon himself, and nearly managed to capture Eric Clapton.

GEORGE HARRISON: "They chose Paul's wedding day to come and do a raid on me, and to this day, I'm still having difficulty with my visa to America because of this fella [Norman Pilcher]." (Anthology, 1995)

George and Pattie Harrison being brought into Esher and Walton Magistrates' Court following their drug bust, 18 March 1969.

The Harrisons appeared at Esher and Walton Magistrates' Court on the 18th on the charge of cannabis possession. The trial took place on the 31st when they pleased guilty to the charge, but it was likely to have been planted in the house by Pilcher and his squad. They were fined £250 plus 10 guineas each and put on probation for a year.

14 - 25 April 1969
The Beatles were now back in the studio. Well, John and Paul were, at least. George was looking for a new house to live in, and Ringo was on set for The Magic Christian. Inspired by the events of his wedding and honeymoon, Lennon wanted to get a song he dubbed "The Ballad of John and Yoko" on record as quickly as possible. "It'll be an instant single," he explained to Paul at the latter's home. "Write something up for breakfast, record it for lunch, and then release it to the public for dinner."

"Erm, well, it's a nice idea and all that," Paul admitted, "but shouldn't we plan it out first?"

"To hell with that," argued John. "Too much planning would ruin it."

"But George and Ringo aren't there," Paul pointed out.

"Well, you can do the drums just as well as Ringo can," John countered. "C'mon, this'll be great, Macca."

The cover for the Beatles' April 1969 single, "The Ballad of John and Yoko".

Eventually, Paul agreed to it, despite his concerns about the references to Jesus Christ and his crucifixion in the lyrics. With Geoff Emerick as their engineer, "The Ballad of John and Yoko" was recorded and mixed within seven hours.

JOHN LENNON: "Just as we'd finished up 'Ballad', Paul offered up the B-side, 'Two of Us', about his own relationship with Linda. I didn't have anything else on hand, so re quickly recorded and mixed it as well." (1981)

PAUL McCARTNEY: "I've a soft spot for both 'Ballad' and 'Two of Us'. It was almost like the peak of mine and John's friendship. As much as it was a love song for Linda, it was also a song of friendship for John. He shared his personal experiences with Yoko, and I shared my own with both him and Linda." (2000)

Eleven days after they were recorded "The Ballad of John and Yoko" and "Two of Us" were released as a single, being one of the fastest-released songs in rock music history. It marked their 22nd #1 single when it reached the top in the United Kingdom, but it only reached #8 in the United States, possibly due to the religious references. American radios preferred the B-side instead.

When asked for their opinions about being left off the single, Ringo admitted to feeling "slightly hurt about not being asked to play drums" (1982), George was indifferent. "It was none of my business," he said. "If they had been 'The Ballad of John, George and Yoko' and 'Three of Us', then I would have been on both sides." (1979)

For the next two months, the Beatles were either spending time with their families or helping to expand Apple Corporation alongside Brian Epstein, Derek Taylor, Neil Aspinall and Peter Brown. Their next release would come as a complete shock to many...

7 July 1969

The Beatles - Back in Your Safely Beds

Released: 7 July 1969

Recorded: 30 May - 21 June, 14 August - 16 September, 1 and 4 November 1968, 3, 24, and 26 January, 1 June 1969

Producer: George Martin, Chris Thomas, The Beatles, Yoko Ono

Track listing[2]

Side A

Give Peace a Chance
Los Paranoias
Wild Honey Pie
What's the New Mary Jane?
Suicide

Side B

Wonderwall
Song for John [w/ Yoko Ono]
Hot as Sun
Revolution 9
Taking a Trip to Carolina

The sessions that ultimately compiled Back in Your Safely Beds ranged all the way from the initial sessions of Beatles '68 and Alice in Wonderland all the way to John and Yoko's performance of "Give Peace a Chance" at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada on 1 June - an entire year. The album's most noteworthy track, outside of "Give Peace a Chance", was "Revolution 9", which began as an acoustic rendition of the Beatles '68 track "Revolution" before the coda delved into numerous overdubbed vocals, speech, sound effects and short tape loops. According to Lennon, the goal of "Revolution 9" was to paint a picture of a revolution using sound.

As for the remaining tracks, "Los Paranoias", "Wild Honey Pie", and "What's the New Mary Jane?" were outtakes from the sessions for both Beatles '68 and Alice in Wonderland; "Song for John" (featuring Yoko on vocals) and Harrison's "Wonderwall" were both recorded in early November; "Suicide" and "Hot as Sun" were jams both written by Paul McCartney back in the late 1950s, and "Taking a Trip to Carolina" was a short snippet written by Ringo, all three being recorded in January.

The Beatles, 1969.

Back in Your Safely Beds came off as a shock to both critics and fans alike. It was the first Beatles album to not reach #1 on either side of the Atlantic, stalling at #2 in the United Kingdom and topping out at #14 in the United States.[3] Reception towards the album ranged from mixed to negative, with the first lines of the Rolling Stone review being, "What is this shit?"[4] The motives behind Back in Your Safely Beds have been subject to wild speculation since its release, with some claiming that John Lennon wanted to kill the Beatles' almost-spotless legacy, so he relied on older, more experimental recordings to compile an album that made no sense whatsoever. Some defenders, however, believed there was indeed a concept to Back in Your Safely Beds that had some legs to stand on.

RINGO STARR: "When Brian [Epstein] first heard Back in Your Safely Beds, he called us into a meeting. He was absolutely furious, especially with John." (1992)

JOHN LENNON: "Eppy didn't really like the sound I cobbled together for Safely Beds, and he even chastised me for almost causing permanent damage to the Beatles' good name with what he called 'an antithesis to what the Beatles were made of' - his word, not mine. Feeling as if I was driving the band off the deep end, he put Paul in charge of the band, and said that we had to put out an album to bring back goodwill with the public... or else." (1976 Rolling Stone interview)

In the past, Epstein was lenient when any of the boys screwed up, but this time, he wasn't letting any of them off easy. He had booked studio time starting on 21 July and ending on 10 August, and the last thing he said to the Beatles at the meeting was, "Don't let that avant-garde bollocks be the last thing people will remember you for!"

October 3, 1969

The Monkees - Listen to the Band

Released: October 3, 1969

Recorded: May 10, 1968 - August 14, 1969

Producer: The Monkees, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Bill Chadwick

Track listing[5]

Side A

Little Girl
Good Clean Fun
If I Knew
St. Matthew
Smile
Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye
Hollywood

Side B

Look Down
Listen to the Band
French Song
The Crippled Lion
Pillow Time
Oklahoma Backroom Dancer
The Good Earth

The Monkees' Listen to the Band was the group's seventh album overall, as well as their first album recorded following the departure of Peter Tork. The album contained leftover tracks from The Monkees Present sessions, and the contributions were roughly split amongst the trio; three songs from Micky, five from Davy, and six from Michael. Listen to the Band was the final album by the group to reach Billboard's Top 100, barely managing to reach the bottom spot. Despite the tour with the backing of Sam and the Good-Timers with many performances lasting longer than two hours, it was still not enough to make the Monkees a commercial force once again, especially with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Yardbirds and Cream overshadowing the group's best efforts.

MICKY DOLENZ: "It seemed strange at the time; I mean, the Zombies had a bit of a resurgence in popularity, but why not the Monkees? The tour seemed like a waste of time in retrospect; it was as if we were kicking a dead horse... or a dead monkey, I suppose. It looked as though the phenomenon had peaked." (1994)

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced either from Jack Bruce's Songs for a Tailor or Blind Faith's sole self-titled album. "Badge" is sourced from Cream's Goodbye.
2. "Give Peace a Chance" is taken from John Lennon's Power to the People: The Hits. "Los Paranoias" and "Wild Honey Pie" are both from the 2018 remaster of The White Album, the former being the four minute version as opposed to being part of a medley with "Step Inside Love". "What's the New Mary Jane" is from Anthology 3 with the closing dialogue removed and the Spanish guitar intro from "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" included. "Suicide" and "Hot as Sun" are both taken from Paul McCartney's McCartney, the latter fading out before the "Glasses" portion comes in. "Wonderwall" is "Dream Scene" re-titled from George Harrison's Wonderwall Music. "Song for John" is from Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions. "Revolution 9" is from soniclovenoize's A Doll's House reconstruction that he made as an April Fool's joke. "Taking a Trip to Carolina" is from disc six of The Lost Album bootleg.
3. In OTL, "Give Peace a Chance" had the exact same chart positions when it came out.
4. These were the same words that opened Greil Marcus' review of Bob Dylan's Self Portrait.
5. Tracks are sourced from the 1994 reissue of The Monkees Present and the 2011 reissue of Instant Replay.

Author's Comments

First off, apologies to those who were offended by the cover for Blind Faith; I don't mean to cause any offense to anyone who may be reading this. Controversies in the world of rock music are inevitable, whether we like it or not.

Second, I feel like the Monkees' part of this chapter felt like an afterthought. Though then again, a double album version of The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees wouldn't have had much effect on their declining popularity either way. They would inevitably fall apart by the start of the 1970s, as they will in this story, though they last a tad longer than OTL.

And lastly, I've changed the tags so each will direct you to a specific story arc. Strawberry Peppers refers to the alternate universe as a whole, but for each of the smaller stories, they're as follows:

• The March of the Queen Beatle: This is the main story of the timeline. The bands being focused on are the Beatles and Queen; the latter will come in when we get to the 1970s.
• Jumpin' Jack's Knife: The Rolling Stones' portion of the story, featuring a certain Major Tom we'll meet up with in the next chapter.
• Villains and Heroes: Featuring The Beach Boys as the main players. Admittedly, their story is very short, and it serves as a sort of subplot to The March of the Queen Beatle.
• Interstellar Overdrive: Pink Floyd's story in this universe. Their story branches off from The March of the Queen Beatle.
• Happy Jacks: The Who's story which branches off from Jumpin' Jack's Knife.
• Through the Looking Glass: The Monkees' piece in the universe, though it does draw rough parallels to what happened to them in OTL, Tork's departure and all.
• Dazed with Confusion: The Yardbirds' story which draws parallels to Led Zeppelin's story in OTL.
• Seasoned for the Time: The Zombies' story in which they continue into the 1970s, taking the place of the band Argent and Colin Blunstone's initial solo career.
• Apple Badge: The newest collection that features Eric Clapton and his time with Cream, continuing beyond 1968, as we've recently just seen.

So far, that's nine stories taking place at the same time during Phase One. There is a tenth story being planned at the moment, but I'll reveal who it is in due time.