AUTUMN 73 TOUR AND THE RELEASE OF STRANDED
On September 1st, 1973, the NME carried details of the planned Autumn tour to coincide with the release of the band's third album. The support act would be Leo Sayer. After the UK they would tour Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland and France. This was, as usual, front page news, and featured a shot from the same photo shoot as the July Melody Maker front cover only with the band (almost) in reverse order. The Thompson feet were, therefore, again concealed but this time by one Phil Manzanera who was wearing a shiny stripped jacket with lapels so wide a moderate breeze would have borne him into the skies on the resulting uplift. He also sported a large and indeterminate floral button hole. Sharp! But between then and now a few other matters had to be resolved. Bryan's first album was due for release and so assorted hacks and hangers on were recruited and ordered to devote reams of newsprint to previews, reviews, interviews and any other view you can think of to this splendid piece of vinyl. First up was the exalted figure of Ian MacDonald from the NME. He did not fail. Some weeks later, Phil featured in a little thing in Disc called 'Personality Top Ten' in which more or less well known musicians listed their ten current favourite tracks. Manzanera was diplomatic, catholic and ridiculous in almost equal measure: A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall, Bryan Ferry (Ed. sycophant) Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan (Ed. Well, OK) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John (Ed. whaaat!) If you want me to stay, Sly and the Family Stone (Ed. very sound) Angie, Rolling Stones (Ed. yuck) All the way to Mephis, Mott the Hoople (Ed. now if you'd said 'All the Young Dudes'...) Monster Mash, Bobby Pickett and Crypt Kickers (Ed. You what?) Smarty Pants, First Choice (Ed. That's more like it) Giddy-up-a-ding-ding, Alex Harvey Band (Ed. ?????????) Future Days, Can (Ed. Now don't start getting serious on us) On the same day (October 6th) and in the same edition of Disc it was announced that Andy Mackay was flying to Munich to perform Jon Lord's 'Gemini Suite' with Deep Purple and the Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra (Ed. well that's it, we're out of here). Bloody hell. A week later it was Phil's turn to keep the promotional pot boiling with a little retrospective + peak into the future with Martin Hayman of Sounds. The tour, with new boy bass player Sal Maida, started in Leeds on October 19th and reviews were initially patchy. Steve Lake of the Melody Maker liked the set but thought the sound was distinctly iffy. Bob Edmands at the NME was less charitable with such adjectives as 'colourless', 'uniform' and 'insubtantial' greeting the new line-up's first ever appearance at the Queen's Hall, Leeds. The following week the revisionist tendency took over at the NME with Tony Tyler giving the boys (but not their sound mixing) the veritable thumbs up for their Manchester Free Trade Hall appearance. The following week, the reviews of Stranded started to hit the streets. Ian MacDonald called it 'The Record of the Year'. The rest reviewed in similar vein - Sounds first followed by Melody Maker then Record Mirror and Disc. The excellent reviews were swiftly followed by a brisk sprint up the charts with Stranded reaching No. 1 in the album charts in Record Mirror, Disc and the Melody Maker. Chart Positions   Record Mirror Disc Sounds Melody Maker 8th Dec Stranded Street Life 1 11 3 14 2 16 3 14 15th Dec Stranded Street Life 2 9 1 9 3 11 1 9 22nd Dec Stranded Street Life ? ? 1 9 3 9 1 9 29th Dec Stranded Street Life ? ? ? ? 4 10 ? ? Bryan celebrated their success with typical style. Under the headline 'Ferry Merry Christmas' - and sporting a very fetching matching Danimac and Daquiri - he was to be found snuggling up to some Bunnies of the Hefner variety. Hard work has its rewards. Despite its many ups and downs, 1973 had proved another major leap forward for the band. The USA still presented a challenge, but their pre-eminent position in the UK and Europe was firmly established. The arrivistes had most certainly arrived and, to celebrate, the good Dr Simon Puxley got closely (very closely) aquainted with the undeniable charms of the Stranded cover girl, Marilyn Cole. Some PR men get all the luck!	The tour's dates were: Oct 19th - Leeds Queen's Hall Oct 21st - Birmingham Town Hall Oct 22nd - Sheffield City Hall Oct 23rd - St George's Hall, Bradford Oct 27th - Liverpool Empire Oct 28th - Manchester Free Trade Hall Oct 29th - Leicester De Montfort Hall Nov 2nd - Glasgow Apollo Nov 3rd - Edinburgh Empire Nov 4th - Newcastle City Hall Nov 5th - Bristol Top Rank (cancelled) Nov 6th - Bournemouth Winter Gardens Nov 8th - Swansea, Brangwyn Hall Nov 10th - London Rainbow Theatre Nov 11th - London Rainbow Theatre Nov 14th - Lund Olympen Nov 15th - Copenhagen Tivoli Concert Hall Nov 16th - Gothenburg Concerthaus Nov 19th - Bremen Musiclaaden Nov 20th - Hamburg Audi Max Nov 21st - Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle Nov 22nd - Dusseldorf Rheinhalle Nov 23rd - Berlin Nov 24th - Munich Circus Kroner Nov 26th - Genoa Nov 29th - Rome Teatro Brancaccio Dec 1st - Vienna Concerthaus Dec 4th - Nancy pars des Expositions Dec 6th - Brussels Cinema Marni Dec 7th - Rotterdam Doelen Dec 8th - Amsterdam Concertgebouw Dec 10th - Paris Palais des Sports Dec 11th - Lyons Palais d'Hiver Dec 12th - Poitiers Dec 16th - Bath Theatre Royal Dec 18th - Bristol Colston Hall Salvatore Maida Born: 29th July 1948 Height: 6' 4" Education: Fordham University, NYC Influences: Paul McCartney, Chris Squire, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Ken Forssi (OK, you lot out there, who's he? BTW, we know) Favourite single: Apples and Oranges (Pink Floyd) Most Influential album: St Pepper Favourite songwriters: Lennon & McCartney, George Harrison,Ray Davies, Pete Townsend, Todd Rundgren, Jagger & Richards, Roy Wood, Syd Barrett, Bryan Ferry, Brooker & Reid, Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood, Arthur Lee, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Chapman & Whitney, Argent & White, Jeff Lynne. Favourite Singers: Paul Rodgers, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney Favourite Musicians: Pete Townsend, Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder, Jack Bruce, Rod Argent, Roy Wood, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, George Harrison.