The Who 1966 Tour Poster

by Theresa Campbell

Title

The Who 1966 Tour Poster

Artist

Theresa Campbell

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

It's all there on the poster: The Who, Bridlington Spa, promoter: John C. Shearme, admission price, 7/6d and the main support act: The Mandrakes, legendary Scarborough band whose famous singer, Allen Palmer became better known to the world as superstar Robert Palmer.

What's missing is the year - 1966.

44 years on, the 20ins by 30ins poster went under the hammer international auction house Christie's, in London.

It was expected to fetch around 1,500, the price of this modest piece of artwork reflecting the towering importance to music of not just Pete Townshend's rock monster but also the man with the incredible voice, originally from Batley but whose home, since he was a young boy, was Scarborough.

Anne Palmer speaks fondly of her prodigiously talented late son. "I wasn't at the gig, I didn't go in those days, only later. Robert was only 17 and he rarely talked about his gigs. Playing with big artists was just something they did. The Who, Jimi Hendrix ... you can't imagine that these days, can you? "

As Allen Palmer, he was a lithographer with the Scarborough Evening News, producing advertisements and drawing a few for clients like the now-defunct Candlelight club, in Huntriss Row. His intricate artwork showed a precision in his line drawing and later as a painter in oils and acrylics.

Rich "Redeye" Hodgson only joined The Mandrakes in 1967 but he saw the band play with The Who at Bridlington. "It was a fantastic gig, packed out. Keith Moon (The Who's legendary drummer) drove off in his huge car afterwards, shouting at the crowd outside Brid Spa. He had a speaker somewhere in the car, with a small amplifier -things like 'See you again, Bridlington' and some unprintable things, too. You wouldn't get a local band getting the chance to support someone like The Who these days."

Uploaded

February 28th, 2016

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