Mystery photo

[drakula63]

Can anyone pinpoint exactly WHEN this photo was taken? And where?

I am guessing it was early 1975 as Hank appears to be using the 1971 white Strat BEFORE it was modified and repainted black. But what programme would they have been appearing on and what would they have been performing? All the Eurovision TV appearances I have seen (running up to the actual contest) have Hank using his sunburst Strat and Brian using his famous pink customised kit.

So, any thoughts...???

[neil2726]

Judging by their dress and lack of amps - leads etc, could it have been taken at a rehearsal for some TV show?

[drakula63]

I agree that it looks more like a rehearsal shot than one taken at an actual performance, as they look very casual even by 1975 standards! Still, the mystery prevails...

[JimN]

I don't think it's easy to date the photo precisely, at least, not from the equipment.

Hank's Strat was still finished in blonde in late 1974 (he was certainly using it on nightclub appearances as a duo with John Farrar), but it had been heavily-modified by the time of the Paris Olympia concert in early June 1975.

At a guess, Hank was using the sunburst "new" (bullet-truss-rod) Strat for the Lulu Show in February 1975 because the blonde model was then in the hands of Sam Li (in his Gerrard Street workshop), for the following modifications:

(a) respray body to black
(b) replace "Fender" branded tuners with better quality Schaller machines, gold-plated
(c) move Gibson humbucker to neck position (from bridge position)
(e) install Fender WRHB pickup in bridge position
(f) re-plate all original metal parts in gold
(g) install small switch to enable single-coil operation of Fender WRHB
(g) install small switch to allow all pickup combinations.#

That was how the guitar appeared at the Paris Olympia shows in the second week of June 1975.

[Didier]

One thing is sure : it's not at the Paris Olympia !

It's certainly for some TV show, as guitars are not plugged...

Didier

[Fenderman]

Is it perhaps The Cliff Richard show? Although i think that had finished by 1975 so could be wrong.
Could be the Cilla Black show they appeared on around that time.

[George Geddes]

Hank was using the white Strat on the first and third weeks of their appearances on the Lulu show; as Bruce is standing in the middle, I guess it's a rehearsal for the latter 'Don't throw it all away'.

George

[UlrichS]

The Shadows presented the six songs, which were chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest in the following shows:

1975-01-04 It’s Lulu (BBC 1) - No No Nina
1975-01-11 It’s Lulu (BBC 1) – This House Runs On Sunshine
1975-01-18 It’s Lulu (BBC 1) – Don’t Throw It All Away
1975-01-25 It’s Lulu (BBC 1) – Cool Clear Air
1975-02-01 It’s Lulu (BBC 1) – Stand Up Like A Man
1975-01-08 It’s Lulu (BBC 1) – Let Me Be The One
1975-02-15 It’s Lulu (BBC 1) - all six songs
1975-02-23 It’s Lulu (BBC 1) – Let Me Be The One

I don't know whether the studio decoration was the same for all It's Lulu shows, but here is a picture from the show on the 15. February, which shows the same decoration as the 'rehearsal' shot.

1975-02-15 It's Lulu (BBC1).jpg

Ulrich

[drakula63]

Thanks everyone!

I suspect that the answer IS indeed that the pic was taken during the first three weeks on the Lulu show. I have a copy of the show broadcast on 15 February, but none of the others. Yet!!! The studio set appears to be the same.

Mystery solved, I think...

[drakula63]

This is a great shot found on the getty images site. A shame about the watermark. No copyright infringment intended!!!