Full disclosure here, I contributed to this great doco with 2 pieces of archival material and saw the band in its prime in 1977 at the Oxford Funhouse and Paddington Town Hall. Like seeing The Beatles at The Cavern or The Ramones at CBGB's, these gigs have become legendary.
Out of a strange, dull period of music and with a mix of sub-cultures in a scene amidst drag queens,flamboyant gays,bikers, corrupt cops, punks and hippies in a dirty inner city rock'n'roll dive, Radio Birdman were life-changing for my 16 year old schoolboy self. This was something else. The jukebox in the Funhouse was a musical education in itself but seeing the band was mind-blowing for the energy and fun generated.
Like the small number of people who saw The Stooges or The Velvet Underground in their first incarnations and who realised over time the enduring influence of those bands, this film is a great reminder of that while the main players are still around to discuss it. Brilliant work despite a lack of archival footage but essential viewing for rock fans world-wide. In that small Oxford Funhouse back then, it sure felt like Radio Birdman against the world for but this film assures the legacy will live on.
Out of a strange, dull period of music and with a mix of sub-cultures in a scene amidst drag queens,flamboyant gays,bikers, corrupt cops, punks and hippies in a dirty inner city rock'n'roll dive, Radio Birdman were life-changing for my 16 year old schoolboy self. This was something else. The jukebox in the Funhouse was a musical education in itself but seeing the band was mind-blowing for the energy and fun generated.
Like the small number of people who saw The Stooges or The Velvet Underground in their first incarnations and who realised over time the enduring influence of those bands, this film is a great reminder of that while the main players are still around to discuss it. Brilliant work despite a lack of archival footage but essential viewing for rock fans world-wide. In that small Oxford Funhouse back then, it sure felt like Radio Birdman against the world for but this film assures the legacy will live on.
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