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13 November 2014

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Pink Floyd

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Too loud for Ross

Back in 1967 Pink Floyd played the Top Spot Ballroom in Ross-on-Wye, but according to one person at the gig they were thrown off stage for being too loud!

In 1967 Pink Floyd turned up to play the Top Spot Ballroom in Ross-on-Wye - which had hosted other top 60s bands - but according to a fan who was at the gig, Herefordshire wasn't quite ready for the Pink Floyd sound.

Deryk Young was one of the fans who made the trip to Ross to see the Floyd, but ended up being disappointed:

Syd Barrett

Barrett became a recluse in the 1970s

"Having been to a concert in Gloucester to see the Faces and Paul Jones, we were looking forward to Pink Floyd, but when we got to the Top Spot the band had been thrown off stage, because they refused to reduce the volume on their equipment."

Joe Murphy was also at the Top Spot, hoping to see Pink Floyd:

"I was also there that night with friends from the Forest of Dean - Pink Floyd were taken off (or not allowed to come back on for the second set) because they were too psychodelic and ahead of their time - Ross just wasn't ready for them.

"The Top Spot was actually more a dancing venue than a listening venue. I also saw the Kinks there."

Dark Side Of The Moon, stadium rock and The Wall were all years away, and in those days the band was fronted by the eccentric genius Syd Barrett.

His prodigious intake of psychedelic drugs was taking its toll by the time the band turned up in Ross, on 31 March 1967.

Despite this handicap, the band were enjoying the peak of their brief period as a 'singles' band - Arnold Layne, complete with a very strange video, was released that month, and See Emily Play would chart at number six in July.

On stage the band were playing the material that would make up their acclaimed first album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, but, it seems, too loudly for Ross-on-Wye.

If you were also at that gig we'd love to hear from you - or if you saw any of the other bands that played at The Top Spot.

If you have a story about gigs you've seen in Herefordshire or Worcester, or about meeting a rock music legend, then we'd love to hear you story, and include it in our Music Map.

last updated: 20/04/2009 at 08:40
created: 04/11/2008

You are in: Hereford and Worcester > Entertainment > Friday Session > Music map > Too loud for Ross



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