Audio Of Wiped Performance By Kincade On Lift Off With Ayshea Recovered

Kincade: L-R Nigel Griggs, Paul Griggs, Rick Williams

AN AUDIO recording of a lost live performance by 70s’ group Kincade on Lift Off With Ayshea has been found in the possession of one of the band’s members.

The recording of single “Dreams are Ten a Penny”, including an introduction by host Ayshea Brough, was made by singer and guitarist Paul Griggs.

The veteran musician, who went on to join vocal group Guys n’ Dolls, taped the performance off the TV at time of broadcast using a reel-to-reel recorder.

Griggs recently rediscovered the tape and has now posted the clip on YouTube.

Speaking to Wiped News, he says Kincade’s appearance on Lift Off With Ayshea, aired on ITV, is notable for being the only time the line-up of Griggs, brother Nigel, Rick Williams and drummer Alan Eden played live.

He said: “Lift Off was the only time this line up of the group performed live, as the records were made by a guy called John Carter, and most of the time we went round miming to session musicians.

“I don’t have any great memories of the show but it was produced by Muriel Young, who was a very nice person. Vanity Fare were also on.”

Grigg was invited to form Kincade in December 1972 after receiving a call from Larry Page at Penny Farthing Records, the label that his former band Octopus had recorded for.

The label had just had a hit record in Europe with “Dreams are Ten a Penny”, purportedly by an act called ‘Kincade’ which, in reality, didn’t exist.

The song had actually been made by John Carter, a former member of The Ivy League, who did not  want to go out as performing artist and so a front group, which Griggs recruited, were hastily put together.

Kincade appeared on Dutch and Spanish TV miming to Dreams are Ten a Penny but in May ’73, faced with a forthcoming live performance on LOWA, recruited drummer Eden and headed to the studio to record a backing track.

They filmed at Granada Studios in Manchester and the show was broadcast on June 1, 1973. The group, back down to Paul, Nigel and Rick, disbanded in December that year.

“I think I did quite a reasonable impersonation of John Carter,” said Griggs, who in 2008 published Diary of a Musician, a book about his career (including his time with Kincade) based on diaries he’d kept from 1960.

Ayshea Brough - host of children's pop show Lift Off With Ayshea

Lift Off With Ayshea ran from 1972 to 1974. It was hosted by former model, singer and actress Ayesha Brough, remembered today for appearing as Lt Johnson in the 1970 Gerry Anderson science fiction TV drama UFO.

Broadcast between 12/4/72 and 17/12/74, LOWA was notable for the first TV performance of “Starman” by David Bowie in 1972.

In total, 73 episodes were made but according to Lost Shows.com only two, 15/10/74 and the finale, are still held in the Granada archives.

READ ON: You can find out more about the story of Kincade, as recounted by band member Paul Griggs, at www.paulgriggs.com.

Advertisement

Guys And Dolls Clip Discovery

A MISSING performance from Top Of The Pops has been returned to the BBC after being spotted on the internet.

Guys n’ Dolls performance of ‘If Only For The Good Times’ hails from a wiped 1976 edition of the BBC chart show.

Guys n' Dolls

The three-minute clip, from the 12.08.76 edition, came to light after being posted on video sharing site YouTube by band member Paul Griggs.

Missing episodes enthusiast Ray Langstone contacted Griggs after seeing the video, uploaded from a domestic recording made at the time.

Ray said: “I saw the clip on YouTube, and realized it was from a wiped episode, and after a lot of research, managed to find the Poster’s email address.

“We regularly exchanged emails, and he sent me a copy. It had been taped onto a VHS, and just contains the three or so minutes of the performance you see on YouTube.”

Artist	Track
THE EQUALS	Funky Like A Train
DOCTOR HOOK	A Little Bit More (promo)
STARLAND VOCAL BAND	Afternoon Delight (Ruby Flipper)
STATUS QUO	Mystery Song (promo)
GUYS ‘N’ DOLLS	If Only For The Good Times
THE CHI-LITES	You Don’t Have To Go (promo)
JIMMY JAMES & THE VAGABONDS	Now Is The Time
TAVARES	Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel (promo)
THE BEE GEES	You Should Be Dancing (Ruby Flipper)
JAMES & BOBBY PURIFY	Morning Glory (promo)
CLIFF RICHARD	I Can’t Ask For Anything More Than You
ELTON JOHN & KIKI DEE	Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (promo)

Guys ‘n Dolls formed in 1974. The pop group  went straight in at number two in the UK charts with first single ‘There’s A Whole Lot Of Loving’ and followed with a string of other hits in the UK and Netherlands. The group disbanded in 1985.

‘If Only For The Good Times’ is unusual for a Top Of The Pops performance in that it didn’t chart in the Top 40. The recovered clip (viewable below) includes a brief introduction by that week’s host Tony Blackburn and the whole of the song.

The performance features David Van Day and Thereza Bazar, who left Guys n’ Dolls in 1977  and went on to form Dollar.

Ray received a DVD copy of the VHS clip in mid April. He has now returned the orphaned clip to BBC Archive’s Andrew Martin, in Brentford.

Ray said: “I spend several hours a week looking for missing episodes, although my methods are that of an enthusiastic amateur. Hopefully my contacts and skills will improve as time goes on.

“I mainly look for missing rock and pop TV, but anything I can find that’s been wiped or is missing is excellent.”

Singer Paul Griggs has recently released a book looking back at his days in the music industry, entitled Diary of a Musician.