Many thanks go to Peter Lane for generously sending us the pictures
he took of the event, leading us to produce this page. Click on any of
the pictures to see a larger version.
Introduction
The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop Rock Garden Party took place on
Spring Bank Holiday in May 1978.
The stage was set up at Jubilee
Gardens in London, a site that is next door to County Hall (then the
home of the Greater London Council), and in the shadow today of the London Eye.
The idea was to offer a free concert to Swap Shop viewers featuring some of
the biggest names in pop of the time. Some five thousand Swappers turned up
to see the show on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year!
The line-up of performers defines very much the pop scene of the time. Darts,
Showaddywaddy, Patti Boulaye and The Goodies were all
flying high in the charts at the time, so it was they who took up the offer
to perform at the event hosted by, who else, Noel Edmonds.
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Host: Noel
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Happy Swapper!
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Arrangements
The choice of site led to some unusual
arrangement for the cast and crew. They all had to park at a local car
park and make their own way over to the site with all of their clothes
and equipment!
Dressing rooms came in the shape of three caravans parked on
the site, however with the soaring temperature they were not the
nicest of environment to be in. As for the toilet facilities...
A BBC Chef and assistants were on site to provide lunch. Steak
and chips were cooked and served from a removal van. |
The Performers
As we mentioned, the list of performers was varied!
Darts
Darts were formed in 1976 and performed as a 'doo-wop' group. Their
harmonies and performances both drew great admiration. The four vocalists
were Bob Fish, Den Hegarty, Rita Ray and Griff
Fender.
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Bob Fish
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Den Hegarty
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Griff Fender
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Showaddywaddy
Showaddywaddy were formed in 1973 and their style was 50's US
rock. Their first TV outing was on the show New Faces, and they were
runners-up in the All Winner Final! The face most associated with the
group is that of Dave Bartram, but on the day of the Garden Party he
appears to be absent with Al James taking over the lead vocals roll
(which he did on occasion anyway).
For the Garden Party they performed A Little Bit of Soap and Say Mama.
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Al James
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Trevor Oakes, Malcolm Allured, Rod Deas
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Rod & Al
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Patti Boulaye
Patti Boulaye came to the UK when she was in her mid teens. She has appeared
on stage in many musicals, acted in several films, performed in cabaret
around the world, and as a pop singer of course. She is also a talented
painter having exhibited for the first time in 1999.
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Patti Boulaye
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The Goodies
There's not a lot you can say about Graeme Garden, Tim
Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie that hasn't already been said! The
hugely popular trio had their 'The Goodies' TV series and a string of
Top 40 hits during the 1970s. They're still best know for Funky Gibbon,
one of the songs they performed at the Garden Party. The musical inspiration
for the trio came from Bill.
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Bill Oddie
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Tim Brooke-Taylor
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Graeme Garden
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From our Sound and Video Gallery
Here's the only video we have of the event, and very short it is too!
If you have any video footage of the Rock Garden Party you would be prepared
to share with the site, please contact the webmaster.
Incidentally, if you are near The National Museum of Photography, Film
& Television in Bradford, you can go along and view the entire
programme free of charge. See this
link for details...
All photographs on this page were taken by Peter Lane, and the
copyright remains with the photographer.
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