29 July 1971 Wild Turkey
DATE: Thursday, 29th, July, 1971
LOCATION: 90 Wardour Street
MAIN ACT: Wild Turkey
BAND MEMBERS: Gary Pickford-Hopkins (vocals), Glenn Cornick (bass), Alan Tweke Lewis (guitar), John Blackmore (guitar, vocals), Jeff Jones (drums)
SUPPORTING ACT: Cigarrette Burning Boots
Memories on this night
"My buddy Wolfgang did not know who Wild Turkey/Glenn Cornick was. Of course he said a quick "Let's go" when I told him Glenn Cornick was the bassplayer in Jethro Tull. We expected a solid rock show. But something very frightening happened first: The band took the stage and was about to begin. Before the first chords guitarist Jon Blackmore (if I remember correctly) touched the microphone and got an electric shock. His body was thrown backwards heavily and he crashed down to the back of the stagebesides the drumkit. It looks that he was unconcious, nobody knew how he was, bandmembers and roadies ran to him. They carried him backstage hoping that he was still alive. The audience was stunned and hardly anybody talked. We were left uninformed about the health of Jon for at least half an hour. But than the complete band took the stage to perform. We cheered and were glad that nothing really severe had happened to the poor musician. The band played a great set. I personally think that this band was underrated at the times. They produced some good albums but live they were very exciting live. You should check their livealbums, some of them still available at the shops. Although they are from a much later period. The accident stuck to my memory for now 35 years. There is still a little film of it in my brain. Maybe Glenn can reveal some blank moments in my memories in the forthcoming biography on Wild Turkey on these very pages. Les Harvey (Stone The Crows) was not so lucky some months later."
Wilfred Lilie, Lohheide, Germany, June 2006.
"Hi Wilfred, interesting that you were at the Marquee Club on the night that Jon got electrocuted! All is correct except one small detail. We had already started the set when the accident happened. Fortunately Jon only touched the microphone with his lips. If he had grabbed it with his hand, he would have probably died! Jon was very badly shaken up so we took him to the dressing room and gave him a VERY large brandy and that brought him around. After that incident, we were much more careful about checking the safety of P.A. systems!"
Glenn Cornick, San Pedro, California, USA, July 2006.
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