Fifty years ago, the hip youth of the UK got a treat when a fresh young band named The Who made its first television appearance on Ready Steady Go. Marking the occasion, check out the first television appearances of some of the UK's other big acts from the '60s, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
The Beatles (1962)
One benefit of modern technology is that almost everything, especially in a live music setting, is caught on camera and saved for posterity (of course, that also takes a lot of the mystery and joy of attending a live performance out of the equation). Hence it's tough to find video of The Beatles first televised performance, which took place on October 17 via the Manchester program People and Places. No one doubts that the first song played was the single "Love Me Do" but different Beatles' fan sites cite separate songs to follow it up: Some claim the Little Richard cover "Ooh! My Soul" while others claim Richie Barrett's "Some Other Guy." The Beatles had certainly been known to play both. Either way, if one was used the first time, the band may have played the other when it appeared on the show again just 12 days later.
The Rolling Stones (1963)
The Rolling Stones took a bit less time than The Beatles to take off, at least when it came to television in the UK. Less than a month after releasing its first single as a band, "Come On," the group had already appeared (playing the song) on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Unfortunately finding existing copies of that clip is also a tad problematic but we can make an educated guess that it didn't sway too far from the live recording done for the BBC shortly after. It reveals the band in its earliest and and pure bluesiest state, employing a heavier guitar bridge and harmonica throughout this Chuck Berry cover.
The Animals (1963)
Ready Steady Go! was perhaps the most popular of the UK performance shows and it showcased three of the British Invasion's biggest stars over the next few entries. The Animals were set up for failure when it debuted during 1963, having to follow up The Beatles, who had just performed "Twist and Shout." That said, The Animals held its ground with "Baby Let Me Take You Home." Two things to notice from this performance: It's painfully obvious that the song is being synced by the band as vocalist Eric Burdon wobbles back and forth and even turns away from the mic and the sound never changes (almost every TV performance was mimed in that era). Also notice how awful the studio audience was at dancing. A third interesting point: Check out later star Dusty Springfield interviewing The Beatles during the early portion of this clip (fast forward to 3:30 to see The Animals).
The Kinks (1964)
The Kinks have become known for influencing the idea of the rock 'n' roll wild man persona, thanks to fights onstage—both staged and otherwise—and general onstage madness (leading to touring bans in the United States). Although no instruments or fists were thrown when the band played "You Really Got Me" on Ready Steady, you would think a bomb had gone off based on the screams of the ladies in the audience. Guitarist Dave Davies steps away from his mic and switches feet awkwardly in an act that would qualify as "lame" in today's market was pure madness to viewers of 1964. Interestingly, the show immediately transitions to a ribbon twirling exhibition. The crowd seems almost as interested.
The Who (1965)
As mentioned before, The Who got its televised start on Ready Steady Go! as well. There wouldn't be any guitar smashing or other trademark Who moments throughout the short performance of the band's "I Can't Explain" but still the song comes across as far more intense than anything else we've seen (or heard) thus far. Either due to the effects of time or because of the cameraman's indecision on how to best record the frantic band, the camera wobbles almost constantly, but especially when it tries to focus on drummer Keith Moon, who goes as hard as anyone familiar with the legend would expect him to.
Led Zeppelin (1969)
Led Zeppelin was a band that didn't stick to the UK to have its first televised performance, nor was it limited to just one or two songs as the previously mentioned bands had to endure. Zeppelin was somewhat an already established name, thanks to Jimmy Page's successes with The Yardbirds, so his company got to perform half of its debut album on TV Byen in Denmark—playing a set including "Communication Breakdown," "Dazed and Confused," "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" and finally the full of "How Many More Times." This is by far the most entertaining to watch as Zeppelin is obviously not syncing and also doesn't feel pressured to stick to the songs as they appear on the album. Page's guitar interpretations are the stuff archivists dream of, and include an appearance from the famous violin bow during "Dazed and Confused." Robert Plant includes the original lyric "will your tongue wag so much when I send you to hell?," making this live version so much more dangerous.
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