Morning exam; evening gig – Kursaal Flyers & Eddie and the Hot Rods for 85p!

50 Years Ago: my LSE Diary for 13th. January 1976

I was shocked and disappointed! On the bus from Clapton and into the refectory at King’s College for lunch, which set me back 40p, then into an exam for which I had not been prepared; none of the subjects on the exam paper had been covered in lectures. However, I managed to write three short essays that seemed okay to me – let’s hope for the best.

After curry for dinner I was off on the bus to see the Kursaal Flyers at the Marquee – 85p to get in but spent £1.18 on beers. The venue was packed and cameras were there to record the gig for BBC2. The concert itself was good entertainment with a variety of musical styles and some good laughs.

The image above shows an extract of the January 1976 Marquee gig list with the Kursaal Flyers gig highlighted. I was a regular at the club in Soho and often picked up these monthly handbills. This is one of few from the 1970’s that I still have today.

Looking back…

The Kursaal’s were not, in all honesty, my cup of tea but, as my diary shows, they put on a good show. I liked Dr.Feelgood and the Kursaal’s had previously played in support at some of their London gigs and consequently became known as a ‘pub rock’ band – which appealed to me. However, it was not long before they morphed into a straight pop band.

I was always a fan of Eddie and the Hot Rods, very much more to my taste.

The Kursaal’s had only one Top 40 single – Little Does She Know – which peaked at No.14 in the charts in 1976.