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johnfowles · 06-07-2004, 11:13 AM

quote:Originally posted by stationmaster:
Great stories folks! Lets see more...
"Lets see more..."
So at the risk of boring those who have read my story before In particular in a similar topic:-
"When/Where did you first see Gordon Lightfoot? " at:- http://www.corfid.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001419.html
But I can add few thoughts and a pair of pics now. So here goes:-
I spent 1964 to 1969 in Montreal, before returning to the UK
Although when I first arived it was fun to constantly hear The Beatles on the top 40 radio stations I soon tired of that and graduated to the FM service of CJAD-800 known then as CJFM but now I believe Mix96. They featured what would now be termed Adult Contemporary music, and in 1966 I was much struck by a hit single caled "Spin Spin" by some Lightfoot bloke
I found the Toronto CHUM radio station charts listing of Gord's singles at:- http://www.1050chum.com/Charts/1050C...&ArtistID=8344
showing "Spin Spin" at number 6 in October 1966
as confirmed at:- http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/Charts/1966/Ch196610.html
I think that sometime after that I heard Gord's beautiful version of Ewen McCall's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". for many years when I heard something new like this I would buy the relevant album on spec to find out more. Usually the rest of such albums were stinkers but having before the end of 1966 bought the first United Artists (Mono) album "Lightfoot" (yes in those days the record companies decided they could charge more for a stereo version-can you believe that!!!) I was delighted to find that I loved the entire album. so began a collecting mania.As I previously reported through a friend I'd made playing badminton Dave Moxey who had started a folk-song group

From the left Dave Moxey partly hidden, Rae, Dave Taggart, Peter Wright
It was Pete Wright (newly arrived from Toronto where he had seen Gord at the Riverboat) who got us to see Gord on Sunday May 21st 1967 at The New Penelope Coffee House In Montreal

Whilst googling for the New Penelope I came acros this site http://www.doncullen.com/bohemianEmbassy.html
which mentions Joni Mitchell the Two Tones Barry Harvey and Gord's illness.
Anyway I was most fortunate to catch Gord three more times in 1968 and 69 before returning home in late 1969
But once back in England nobody knew Gord so I began educating my friends there.
At the time my favo(u)rite Disk Jockey was BBC Radio One's Noel Edmunds
In 1971 Noel began playing IYCRMM every day on his program(me)
and I believe was therefore responsible for making it a hit in the UK
In those primitive days news of concerts and new releases was hard to come by but I managed to get each new album up till "Waiting For You" and by scanning the Royal Albert Hall London adverts assiduously caught Gord's June 1972 and May 1981 RAH concerts only finding out recently that I missed another two in 1973 and and 1974.
I managed to convert a few friends into Lightheads.
Eventually in 1997 I got connected to the Internet only to discover as have so many fans here that I was strangely not the only Lightfoot fan on the planet. I made contact with Wayne Francis and successfully traded with him for some eagerly sought video tapes (after finding that it was unlikely that Gord would do a UK tour for some time I recall telling Wayne that I would probably have to make the pilgrimage to Canada "before Gord and I got too old". In those days UK internet access required expensive telephone calls. But after my mother died in 1999 I had money to spare and I began frequenting Rik Steven's original chat room, where I met Jenney then organising the highly successful November 1999 Massey Hall Convention and also a chatty Gordfan called Susan who having met in Toronto literally saved my life in that chat room after I had a stroke in January 2000. Hence I am now with her in New Jersey and my continuing efforts to keep the chat room going

------------------
My Gordon Lightfoot webring
starts at
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot

Edited to link to smaller group picture

[This message has been edited by johnfowles (edited June 08, 2004).]

06-07-2004, 11:13 AM	#14
johnfowles Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: New Jersey U.S.A. ex UK and Canada Posts: 4,846	quote:Originally posted by stationmaster: Great stories folks! Lets see more... "Lets see more..." So at the risk of boring those who have read my story before In particular in a similar topic:- "When/Where did you first see Gordon Lightfoot? " at:- http://www.corfid.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001419.html But I can add few thoughts and a pair of pics now. So here goes:- I spent 1964 to 1969 in Montreal, before returning to the UK Although when I first arived it was fun to constantly hear The Beatles on the top 40 radio stations I soon tired of that and graduated to the FM service of CJAD-800 known then as CJFM but now I believe Mix96. They featured what would now be termed Adult Contemporary music, and in 1966 I was much struck by a hit single caled "Spin Spin" by some Lightfoot bloke I found the Toronto CHUM radio station charts listing of Gord's singles at:- http://www.1050chum.com/Charts/1050C...&ArtistID=8344 showing "Spin Spin" at number 6 in October 1966 as confirmed at:- http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/Charts/1966/Ch196610.html I think that sometime after that I heard Gord's beautiful version of Ewen McCall's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". for many years when I heard something new like this I would buy the relevant album on spec to find out more. Usually the rest of such albums were stinkers but having before the end of 1966 bought the first United Artists (Mono) album "Lightfoot" (yes in those days the record companies decided they could charge more for a stereo version-can you believe that!!!) I was delighted to find that I loved the entire album. so began a collecting mania.As I previously reported through a friend I'd made playing badminton Dave Moxey who had started a folk-song group From the left Dave Moxey partly hidden, Rae, Dave Taggart, Peter Wright It was Pete Wright (newly arrived from Toronto where he had seen Gord at the Riverboat) who got us to see Gord on Sunday May 21st 1967 at The New Penelope Coffee House In Montreal Whilst googling for the New Penelope I came acros this site http://www.doncullen.com/bohemianEmbassy.html which mentions Joni Mitchell the Two Tones Barry Harvey and Gord's illness. Anyway I was most fortunate to catch Gord three more times in 1968 and 69 before returning home in late 1969 But once back in England nobody knew Gord so I began educating my friends there. At the time my favo(u)rite Disk Jockey was BBC Radio One's Noel Edmunds In 1971 Noel began playing IYCRMM every day on his program(me) and I believe was therefore responsible for making it a hit in the UK In those primitive days news of concerts and new releases was hard to come by but I managed to get each new album up till "Waiting For You" and by scanning the Royal Albert Hall London adverts assiduously caught Gord's June 1972 and May 1981 RAH concerts only finding out recently that I missed another two in 1973 and and 1974. I managed to convert a few friends into Lightheads. Eventually in 1997 I got connected to the Internet only to discover as have so many fans here that I was strangely not the only Lightfoot fan on the planet. I made contact with Wayne Francis and successfully traded with him for some eagerly sought video tapes (after finding that it was unlikely that Gord would do a UK tour for some time I recall telling Wayne that I would probably have to make the pilgrimage to Canada "before Gord and I got too old". In those days UK internet access required expensive telephone calls. But after my mother died in 1999 I had money to spare and I began frequenting Rik Steven's original chat room, where I met Jenney then organising the highly successful November 1999 Massey Hall Convention and also a chatty Gordfan called Susan who having met in Toronto literally saved my life in that chat room after I had a stroke in January 2000. Hence I am now with her in New Jersey and my continuing efforts to keep the chat room going ------------------ My Gordon Lightfoot webring starts at http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot Edited to link to smaller group picture [This message has been edited by johnfowles (edited June 08, 2004).]