Page 31 - Classic Rock (February 2020)

“Come on, baby, light my
fire…” The Doors and an
impromptu fifth member.

to go – on condition that he return for the start of his obscenity trial, now set of your old pal Jim Morrison. Enjoy the show.’ He felt this would be a good-
for April 27, 1970. natured and harmless way to upstage Jagger and company.”
Although advised by his lawyer, Max Fink, to keep a low profile, two days The following morning, Max Fink flew into town, where he arranged with
later Morrison was in trouble with the law again, during a Continental Airlines Bill Siddons, also in town for the Stones show, for Morrison and Baker to be
flight from LA to Phoenix to see the Rolling Stones in concert. His crime this bailed on $5,000, with an arraignment set for November 24. Driving back to
time: getting drunk and out of control and harassing airline staff and other the airport with Fink and Siddons, Morrison was told that if convicted, the
passengers. Both Morrison and his charges held a $10,000 fine and
travel companion, Tom Baker, were a possible 10-year jail sentence.
arrested by US Marshalls as soon as “[Morrison Hotel] was a concentrated The next day, Morrison was back in
they stepped off the plane at Sky the studio recording material for the
Harbour International Airport, and effort to get away from The Soft next Doors album.
charged with the federal offences of
‘assault, intimidation, threatening Parade and back to the root.” he big idea was the same as
a flight attendant, interfering with the Engineer Bruce Botnick everyone else’s in late 1969:
flight of an intercontinental aircraft Tto get The Doors ‘back to the
and public drunkenness’. When a knife was then found on Baker, the pair were garden’. That is, far away from the manicured musical cathedral of The Soft
taken straight to city jail where, they spent the night. Parade, and back to their earthy blues roots.
According to Baker, speaking years later, “Jim handed me a bottle of whisky
Two months earlier, the second album from The Band – the roots-rock
HENRY DILTZ/GETTY and waved a fistful of choice front-row tickets around. He planned to stand revivalists who had earned their spurs backing Bob Dylan through his last
significant tours in 1966 – had been released and now sat at No.2 in the US
outside the auditorium [where the Stones were playing] and randomly hand
them out to young fans who couldn’t afford a ticket, saying: ‘This is courtesy
chart. The most frequently played ‘rock’ record on the radio was their single

The Beatles”). “I think fallout from his acid trip MAY 8 tombstone, a sad and tatty end to
it was the press at their local commune “They THE BEATLES ALBUM LET IT BE a musical fusion which wiped clean
who misunderstood,” effectively ends his time IS RELEASED and drew again the face of pop”.
McCartney reflected in the band he started captured Peter The uneven product of ill-tempered
in Anthology . (although he plays on completely sessions, The Beatles’ swansong release JUNE 3
until May in order to avoid tops the UK chart, but press response is THE KINKS’ RAY DAVIES LEAVES
APRIL 11 breach of contract). “We called them the and pulled brutal. Leading the catcalls, NME’s Alan HIS CARBON FOOTPRINT
PETER GREEN GOES OFF THE RAILS German jet set,” recalled Mac drummer him away. He Smith hisses that “if Hearing a tip-off that British
Having told NME in February that he Mick Fleetwood. “They captured Peter was already the new Beatles radio stations intend to ban
PETER GREEN: GETTY Fleetwood Mac’s troubled leader is easy was already set to leave, pretty much. set to leave.” their last then it will single Lola due to the
soundtrack is to be
the Kinks’ make-or-break
plans to give away all his earnings,
completely and pulled him away. He
But my god, this was like the final nail in
stand as a cheapskate
mention of ‘Coca-Cola’
prey for a Munich hippie cult when the
(the BBC on the grounds
the coffin.”
band are playing in Germany, and the
epitaph, a cardboard
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