Geordie Shore.

The address of the band’s accommodation in February 1969 from Ian’s notebook. 

47 Lawe Road was a guest house in South Shields, a coastal town that sits at the mouth of the River Tyne, twelve and a half miles, roughly a half hour’s drive, from the city centre of Newcastle where the band had been booked to play a week of gigs. They arrived as Giles, Giles & Fripp and left as King Crimson. 

The week away no doubt came as a very welcome break from London where the musicians had spent 18 months struggling to make an impression with little in the way of success. On the night of their arrival Robert recorded in his diary:  “What nice digs, We fall in love with South Shields”. Even so, it was February and there would have been a cold wind off the North Sea hitting this part of the Geordie shore.

47 Lawe Road, South Shields (on the right).

But things were hotting up for the band. They had a new name, a rehearsal room and new management. The change had begun in November when Robert Fripp and Michael Giles had stayed up all night discussing ideas for an alternative musical direction after an abortive Giles, Giles & Fripp recording session at Decca Studios on November 14, 1968. On the 16th they went to the BBC to film for the Colour Me Pop TV show, an opportunity that Peter Giles had hustled through various contacts. Immediately after this though, he left to be replaced by Greg Lake.

The TV programme was a part of the necessary process to get to where they were going, begun with the arrival of Ian McDonald after he and Judy Dyble had placed a ‘musicians wanted’ ad in Melody Maker in June, to which Peter Giles had responded, and in September the securing of an agreement with Ian’s rich Uncle Angus (industrialist Angus Hunking who had married Phyllis McDonald) who saw potential in his nephew’s group and decided he would invest in the band by providing a loan to buy equipment and pay their wages.

Episode 21 of Colour Me Pop was broadcast on November 30, 1968. For a band that had essentially failed, this was a pivotal moment. In those days to be on the television was a big thing. The half hour of Giles, Giles & Fripp with McDonald, miming to their pre-recorded tracks recorded in their home studio at Brondesbury Road, brought the band to the attention of the two managers David Enthoven & John Gaydon, then working at publisher Noel Gay, who saw in them an opportunity to strike out on their own, and it even prompted Arthur Fripp to write a letter to his son expressing his pride at seeing him playing guitar on the BBC.

It would also be seen by Garry Markham the son of a nightclub owner in Newcastle who had been given the job of booking up-and-coming acts for his father Ron's club which was soon to be opening on Bath Lane. 

The entrance to Change Is.

And so it was that the band that never played a gig were booked for a week-long residency at the Change Is. Robert had informed his bandmate on January 9, Ian reporting in his diary: “Bob phoned, got week long gig in Newcastle end of February”. Days later on the 13th, on what is now recognised to be the birthday of King Crimson, they began rehearsals in the basement of the Fulham Palace Cafe, and just over a week after that on January 22, after throwing around duds such as Spontaneous Combustion, Ian records: “Looks as if we are called ‘King Crimson’”.

Ian McDonald at the B&B in South Shields, February 1969.

The only known photograph from King Crimson’s time in Newcastle is this one of Ian tidying up the coffee cups at the bed and breakfast at 47 Lawe Road.

In the late 60s Newcastle was considered to have some of the best showbiz entertainment outside of London, with around a dozen night clubs drawing top acts, a fact that had drawn interest from some of the shadier characters from down south looking to get in on the action. One of the main players on the scene was Mike Jeffery, manager of the Animals who had overseen their rise to prominence and had gone on to manage Jimi Hendrix. Ron Markham, who also performed as a stage hypnotist under the name of Romark, set out to deliver something different to the existing clubs with a theme planned for each week, offering “The Greatest Show In The North-East”, with psychedelic light shows projected onto the curved walls of the venue arranged over three floors, with a reception, disco and a cabaret room. Popular comedian Bob Monkhouse was Ron’s financial backer who sank a lot of money into the venture, all of which he would lose when financial mismanagement by the Markhams resulted in the closure of the club a year after opening.

Change Is had opened on February 9th, 1969, and King Crimson played the third week of themed entertainments, appearing alongside popular cabaret act Dukes and Lee from Yorkshire; Newcastle band the Sect, a staple on the North-East circuit supporting many of the big name acts and who had done a session at Abbey Road with Tim Rice; as well as a comedy turn by Bob Monkhouse, who at that time was hosting The Golden Shot gameshow on ITV.

Robert, Ian, Mike and Greg had travelled to Newcastle by train, leaving London’s Kings Cross station on Saturday February 22 at 2pm. They arrived at the Bed and Breakfast at 7.00, then went to Change Is to check the place out and, more importantly, meet some of the local girls. The following day, roadies Pete Sinfield and Dik Fraser arrived in the van loaded with equipment, and the team immediately went to the club where they would begin their residency. There were a number of glitches, the Mellotron failed to work on the first night and had to be substituted with a Hammond organ. The next day an electrician had to be called in to fix it. There were obviously some discussions with the venue regarding setup and volume, prompting Robert to later write: “Feb 23.  We’d rather use our own pa and the instruments sound better with their own amplifiers. We’d rather the Sect didn't put their guitars through our pa. Who needs a Mellotron anyway? Roadies learn to do without sleep. I don’t think it’s too loud”.

On the second night Ron Markham, who personally introduced all of the acts, announced: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Giles, Giles and Fripp, who for reasons best known to themselves have changed their name to King Crimson will have a freakout without the aid of pot, LSD or any other drugs”.

On Wednesday 26th David Enthoven arrived and next day brought a TV producer to see them play, a set that Ian described as “not too good”. At the final gig on March 1, one girl fainted during their set. 

The dancefloor at Change Is.

Despite the mishaps the week was a success, with Robert summing up in his diary: March 1  “Conclusions of the week: Return booking, Newcastle University bagged, Tyne Tees T.V. Net profit £4/11/41/2d. One girl ran from the club, Mrs Ron cried, and young blonde fainted. What a pity to go home. Nice girls in Newcastle. au revoir. We’ll be back”.

Newcastle is our very own Sid Smith’s home turf, so for more on this story, and the full 50 year history of King Crimson, be sure to check out his biography of the band  In The Court Of King Crimson an Observation over Fifty Years

And for anyone interested in listening to some of the music from Giles, Giles and Fripp as heard on the Colour Me Pop show, DGM is preparing officially remastered editions of both of their albums to be issued soon on CD and 200 gram vinyl.