1972-December-12 Focus The Sky Will Fall Over London Tonight (PRRP027) BBC Studios London, England Disc 1 - 70.32 1 Bob Harris Introduction .37 2 Anonymous Two 21.42 3 Band Introductions 1.19 4 Focus 1 3.58 5 Focus 3 3.23 6 Answers? Questions!.. 12.09 7 Focus 2 4.46 8 Bob Harris Once More .18 9 Hocus Pocus 7.21 10 Time 6.06 PFloyd * 11 Breathe 3.24 " 12 Us And Them 5.26 " Jan Akkerman Guitar Thijs Van Leer Keyboards, Flute, Vocals Pierre Van Der Linden Drums Bret Ruiter Bass * Pink Floyd: 1972 Darkside outtakes Notes that came with this recording: http://prrp-music.com On to England... 1972 was a good year for the band Focus. The world was beginning to take notice of the 4 musicians from Holland, particularly those in the British music scene. The band was named the best new talent by the influential New Musical Express (NME) and ‘brightest hope’ by Melody Maker. With these endorsements, Focus began an initial summer tour of England. The trip would prove significant for the band and provided a great opportunity for them to expand their fan base. At the time, England was having a power crisis. Electricity was inconsistently provided to the people of the country and so most bands had a difficult time performing. The amount of power needed to put on a show was just not available. But Focus came to the island country with all the necessary equipment, including a generator. As Jan Akkerman recalls, "Nobody was able to play in London or England at all because of the power strike. We had a generator with us and played the universities that memorable week all round London. The gigs were packed probably because it was the only thing going on. We got a lot of airplay because the people must have phoned the BBC about us." And phoned they did. Over the next few months the popularity of the band gradually increased, as did the call for more performances. Focus returned to England to perform as the Melody Maker’s Poll winner at Oval Cricket Ground in London on September 30th. They then performed almost daily for over four weeks, starting in mid-October. With the British music scene turning its attention to the band, the BBC decided to invite Focus to return in December and appear on its influential television show, the Old Grey Whistle Test. At the time, many thought this was going to be just another performance for Focus, but in the opinion of the show’s host, Bob Harris, this was a major event for both Focus and the music program. The guys in Focus were jamming in a small BBC studio in the heart of Television Centre, rehearsing for their first appearance on the Old Grey Whistle Test. I was there, the new host of the program... rookie broadcaster and music fan, three months into the job, enjoying the camaraderie. It was 12th December 1972 and we were all about to make a big discovery. The atmosphere was great, very light-hearted and enjoyable as the band rehearsed its set. They decided to play ‘Sylvia',  ‘Anonymous II’ and ...er... 'Hocus Pocus', with a seasonal slant. Instead of following the usual pattern of the vocal breaks, Thijs launched into a mock-serious yodelling version of  'we wish you a merry Christmas...' building up to that top falsetto with a heart-rending 'and a happy new yeeeeeaaaaarrr...', tailing off into Jan’s million miles an hour guitar playing. The performance was an absolute sensation. People had never seen anything quite like them before. Whistle test had been on air for just over a year when, the bang first appeared. Although we knew that we had a loyal following, there were no recent viewing figures available and we were guessing that the audience for the show was probably fairly small. It was Focus who made us realize that we'd guessed wrong. Their performance generated incredible reaction and suddenly everything seemed to be happening very fast. We were inundated with calls, letters and enquiries about this amazing band. 'Hocus Pocus' broke into the U.K. singles chart, then 'Sylvia' the following week, climbing into the top 5. Moving Waves and Focus 3 stormed into the top 10 of the album chart. For a time, the demand for their recordings was so great that Polydor had to switch the resources of its entire pressing plant to the production of Focus vinyl. The UK press followed up with great support and soon they were winning reader polls, collectively and individually. As I write, almost thirty years have passed since Focus made that ground breaking Whistle Test appearance but I still look back on that moment with massive warmth and affection. It wasn't just because the band was so great to work with and the day so enjoy- able, it was special for more than that. On the 12th December 1972, we discovered something that was to change our lives. We discovered that we had an audience out there... and it numbered in millions."   Bob Harris, October 2002 Notes from the Re-Master: This soundboard recording comes to us as a second generation source. Still, the quality was outstanding. The main problem with the recording was the frequent clicks and pops heard throughout. These were eliminated using both automatic and manual techniques. The tonality also needed adjustment. The bass and sub-bass components were quite deficient and needed a boost. A small correction to the upper treble region was also made. Because this was an in-studio live recording from the soundboard, the sound lacked ambience. Some have described this type of sound as "dry". To make the recording sound a bit more "Live" a small amount of echo was added. This helps to give the auditory perception of a concert hall or theater. A few other small flaws such as track gaps and bumps were found and removed. Notes about Pink Floyd: Pink Floyd 1972: From The Other Side (Studio Outakes) Time: * No solo lead guitar after 'starting gun' * No Breathe Reprise Brain Damage: * No laughing on fade-up. * 'lunatic is in my head' fade-up is different from what precedes on record (which is chorus instead of instrumental section) * 'if cloud burst' has lead guitar not on record * No voice speech in next section, but lead guitar instead * Lead guitar on end after 'dark side of the moon' Us And Them: * Sax solo at the beginning has a different ending * No echo on voice * Sax continues under voice into second verse into 'forward he cries' and the next verse 'black and blue' (record starts at 'who's who' and goes to 'up and down') * Sax continues into 'up and down' verse and into 'haven't you heard' with no voice over (on the record, the sax is the same take but just mixed in and out)