There’s a lot that could be talked about
in the world of 1972. Nixon made his
eight-day trip to China to meet with
Chairman Mao, the first for a western
leader. Five men were apprehended
attempting to ‘bug’ Democratic National
Committee headquarters in
Washington, D.C., in what would be the
prelude to the Watergate Scandal and
the ignominious end to the Nixon
presidency. Governor George Wallace
of Alabama was shot in Maryland,
leaving him paralyzed until his death in
1998. Briton took over direct rule of
Northern Ireland which began a series
of bloody Sundays as many Protestants
and Catholics were killed in numerous
protests over the year. Violence
reached the world of sport with the
massacre of nine Israeli athletes by
Arab gunmen at the Munich Olympics.
The first tenants of the newly-built World
Trade Centre in New York City begin to
occupy their offices. And who in
Canada could forget the memorable
1972 Canadian-Soviet Summit series?
Even those who knew little about the
game of hockey had their eyes glued to
their television sets during that final and
deciding game on September 28th.
All these things were great events in the
world of 1972. But what is probably
most important to what you are reading
now are the events that happened to
the Brass Union band during the early
part of 1972. Ever since the band’s
inception in 1966, the band had
mirrored (in their own way) the events
that happened in the music world. And
ironically, in a year that had a song
about “The Day the Music Died” sitting
atop the Billboard Music Chart, this year
would be no exception.
"Here's another shot. Right in front. They Score!!
Henderson has scored for Canada!"
The Brass Union did indeed work hard
on the Fairytale during 1971. By the
late summer of that year, they had the
production completed enough to do a
'trial performance' in front of an
audience. So they headed to Camp
Wanakita, a YMCA summer camp in
south-central Ontario and performed
their show for the camp kids.
Everything went very well and the kids
loved it. Later in the fall, the band did
the show at the Four Winds Lounge in
Sault Ste. Marie for one night while
they were performing a week-long
club date, again to a good response.
Both these shows were on make-shift
stages: one at the kid's camp and the
second on the club stage.
The third performance of the Fairytale was a benefit show for
children just after Christmas in 1971 at the beautiful Palace
Theatre in Hamilton. Whereas the two previous shows had
been on smaller, rather inadequate stages to do a proper
performance, the Palace Theatre stage was set up for this type
of show and they had a full stage with all the facilities to
perform with full effect. Again, the show was a big success.
The newspaper clipping to the right was printed in the Hamilton
Spectator a few days after the show and the article below is
from RPM magazine early in January of 1972, a week or so
after the show.
By the time January 1972 rolled around, there was a great deal
of hope in band. They had released their single a few years
back (with moderate success), played just about everywhere
locally that could be played and they had become 'regulars' in a
number of excellent clubs, playing to packed houses every
night of the week. And now. they had a full hour-long original
production ready to go. The next thing to do was to approach
the 'record execs' to see what could be done with their
Fairytale. They linked up with Jack Thompson in Toronto who
was trying to get a major record company involved. "He set up
a showcase at a soundstage in Toronto called Lakeshore
Studios (no longer there) in the spring of 1972", recalls Cliff
Hunt. "He managed to get the interest of Polygram Records in
NY and a couple of key execs flew in to see us perform the
show."
The boys continued to practice and play one-nighters and club
dates throughout the spring of 1972 while they waited to hear
word back from Jack. But playing bars wasn't what the band
wanted to do. They wanted to sign the Fairytale to a
recording deal.
Word came back a little while later, and the consensus from the record
execs was that: "It was a brilliant concept and performance, but that
they did not believe there were any 'hits' or 'rock anthems' like in The
Who's, Tommy, or Jesus Christ Superstar, and that without radio hits,
it would be very difficult to market." This was a big blow to the band,
but throughout the spring of 1972, as they tried to market The Fairytale
using their own 'contacts', the band continued playing bars which they
were getting sick of playing. They continued to practice, work on their
show, and keep the Fairytale ‘tight’ for possible recording -- playing a
few local shows, one-nighters, and did another couple of road trips --
but as the year dragged on into the spring, it was becoming clear that
the desired record deal was not going to happen. The boys had nearly
been at each other’s throats by the time they finished the grueling
practice schedule of the year before and the disappointment that was
setting in during the late spring of 1972 was becoming very difficult to
manage. They didn’t want to be just another bar band and by
April/May, that is what they had become. So finally, after months of
essentially sitting still waiting for something that didn’t look like it was
going to happen, the band decided to end it. Darrell Nameth, the
band’s leader at the time, recalled recently: “I was standing out front
of one of our shows in March or April of 1972, talking with the guys and
we looked at each other and said: ‘You know what? That’s enough.”
Nobody questioned it. Nobody tried to keep the band going. Because
by that time, everyone agreed. The band decided to play one last gig
back where it had all began, at Burlington Central High School.” They
announced that it would be their last gig and to a great deal of sadness
both from the audience and on stage, played a completely sold out
show. And that was it. The band folded. Some of the guys got
together a year later and played a show under the name “Rockets”, but
only about half the original band was there.
Researching this story and reconnecting with the band members has
yielded a great deal of 'feeling' about the band and it's eventual demise.
Most of the guys feel quite bad that the band ended as it did, right at the
time when they were the best that they'd ever been -- and I'll admit, I feel
somewhat the same myself. But I think that rather than dwelling on the fact
that the band ended, I'd rather remember that the band ever existed in the
first place. The Brass Union had an incredible six-year run that yielded
experiences and adventures that have lasted a lifetime.
So really ... it's alright.
This song wasn't part of the Brass Union songlist,
but it seemed appropriate to put it here.
From the 1972 songlist