Almost a full house at Gary's last night - only CK and DMW missing from the regulars. Good to see the return of founder member, Malcolm and both Jeb and Ian McR made the effort to get to Finzean after, respectively, golf and work - the latter after some geographical difficulty, mixing up Potarch and Finzean!
We were also able to celebrate Andy's birthday with drams from a bottle he'd brought along. Here's the team toasting him:
Most of us had gathered in the Douglas Arms for some pre-Headbang refreshments. Steve and Malcolm picked up the curries I had ordered and Stan, Stan, the taxi man, took us all up to Finzean.
Gary had laid out a full table in his conservatory and so, for the first time, we sat down at a table and ate our meal before the business of the evening commenced. It meant a slightly later musical start than planned, but it was a very civilised way to eat.
The Obituary list was long, but the music was curtailed to a tribute to 3 of the main men who had departed since the last Headbang - Alvin Lee, Richie Havens & Ray Manzarek - with the rest getting just a passing mention in an on-screen list, with the background of Harry J's The Liquidator playing.
For the record, here's the full list:
| Artiste(s) | How? | Age |
| Damon Harris (Temptations) | 63 | |
| Cleotha Staples | 79 | |
| Bobby Rogers (Miracles) | Complications from diabetes | 73 |
| Alvin Lee (Ten Years After) | 68 | |
| Kenny Ball | 83 | |
| Peter Banks (Yes/Flash) | 66 | |
| Clive Burr (Iron Maiden) | MS | 56 |
| Terry Lightfoot | Prostate Cancer | 78 |
| Bobbie Smith (Spinners) | Complications from pneumonia | 77 |
| Derek Watkins (Sessioneer) | 68 | |
| Gordon Stoker (Jordanaires) | 89 | |
| Hugh McCracken (Sessioneer) | 71 | |
| Harry J (ohnson) | Diabetes | 68 |
| Andy Johns (Producer) | Complications from stomach ulcer | 63 |
| Annette Funicello | 70 | |
| Chi Cheng (Deftones) | Car accident/coma | 43 |
| Bob Brozman (Sessioneer) | 59 | |
| Richie Havens | Heart attack | 72 |
| Cordell Mosson (Parliament-Funkadelic) | 61 | |
| George Jones | 82 | |
| Jeff Hanneman (Slayer) | Necrotising Fasciitis | 49 |
| Ray Manzarek (Doors) | Cancer | 74 |
| Trevor Bolder (Spiders from Mars/Uriah Heep) | Cancer | 63 |
| Marvin Junior (Dells) | 77 | |
| Graham Walker (Grumbleweeds) | Cancer | 68 |
| Joey Covington (Jefferson Airplane) | Car crash | 68 |
Time now to move on to the Qualifying Round, 1st leg of Andy's suggestion of Rock Champions League Knock-Out. The draw had been made prior to the previous Headbang at Jeb's, and, although there had had to be a few alterations to the line-up for logistical reasons, most of the main acts remained.
Led Zeppelin, at home to David Bowie, ran up a virtually unassailable 7-0 lead, and the Small Faces also routed Cream 6-1. Neil Young turned in an identical score against The Who, and Dr. Feelgood trounced Radiohead 7-0, so the home teams were clear favourites to go through - although there could still be some rolls of the dice producing unfavourable track selections, which could turn things around for the second legs.
Before that, the usual Septuagenarians feature was played. As with the Obituaries, the musical content was restricted to just 4 of the 9 who had turned 70 since the last Headbang - Mick Abrahams, Paul Samwell-Smith, Jack Bruce & Gary Brooker. The rest of the roll-call was put on screen to the background of Zappa's Willie the Pimp (vocals Don van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart), but here's the full list and the tracks played anyway:
| Mick Abrahams (Jethro Tull/Blodwyn Pig) | Same old story |
| Roy Estrada (Mothers of Invention/Little Feat) | Willie the Pimp |
| Tony Christie | |
| Bobby Vee | |
| Paul Samwell-Smith (Yardbirds) | Shapes of things |
| Jack Bruce | Sunshine of your love |
| John Dalton (Kinks) | |
| Gary Brooker (Procul Harum) | Homburg |
| Barry Manilow |
- Led Zeppelin
- Cream
- Neil Young
- Dr. Feelgood
More exciting news of the rest of the Headbang to follow.
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