This has to be one of the most bizarre promotional videos made by a rock band, that it was made by Rory Gallagher's blues rock trio 'Taste' is even more unlikely.
Here's the background. The self titled debut album in 1969 had first brought this new super guitar talent of Rory Gallagher to the attention throughout Europe and America. The group, Rory Gallagher, 'Charlie' McCracken (bass) and John Wilson (drums) had toured extensively across the continents. The bands label, Polydor Records, were rubbing their hands together for the second and highly anticipated release in 1970 and 'On The Boards' duly delivered a further set of Gallagher originals and a blues classic in the same way as had the first.
Although the exact release date of 'On The Boards' isn't published it's possibly April / May time with the following touring wheels in motion for the UK and Europe culminating in the appearance in late August 1970 at the Isle Of Wight Festival.
Obviously it was during the European stage of the 'On The Boards' tour Taste filmed a one off promo for German television. Their were only two singles taken off the album one of which was a Spanish only release "If I Don't Sing I'll Cry" backed with "I'll Remember" but it's assumed German and not Spanish television had chosen the B side "I'll Remember" to feature this promo of the band.
Made on quality film stock it has some rare professional footage of the band playing live at looks like a festival, intercut with a story line that pits an old generation at war against the young generation. There's nothing particularly unusual about that given the 60's had a lot of similar imagery but what makes this so crazy is the depiction of this Colonel Blimp like character and his shear vengeful hatred against this perceived anti-establishment young people, namely the band.
It seems in Germany the 'humour/satire' was a little more on the nose than in the UK where this type of imagery was pretty old by now, but how the humour extends to scenes where the story includes passers by being shot is veering towards the sadistic.
The closing scene of a group of children singing some sort of weird 'order' song,
Half ones live according to the order wolln(?)
We strive for the order wolln(?)
We strive order are the half live
OK, that may be a poor translation but it's damn weird. Anyway at the completion of this little rhyme the Colonel Blimp character salutes and then unbelievably the band make an appearance other than on stage performing.. yes they actually play act the very last part of this fiasco. And yes it really is Rory Gallagher at the end with Charlie McCracken just behind him.
The soundtrack, oh yes they even meddled with that, adds a further unwanted dimension with the added sound effects only compounding the mess.
Given the type of character Rory Gallagher always seems in interviews or stories about him, how he ever let this go out is equally as mystifying. This from a man who stubbornly refused to release singles throughout his solo career.
Yes there was the success of the Isle Of Wight Festival that followed, but that was it for Taste it was the usual musical differences press release and they never performed together again. Rory probably never got over this promo.
Just think what an archive treasure they would have left us if the film makers had just recorded the group on stage as you'll see in the shots here. To this day live film of Taste to this quality is extremely rare.
One other final denouncement of the whole sorry affair, the uploader has decided to plaster his name "Durchalten" over the bottom of the video. But we probably ought to thank him for even having a copy in such good condition regardless of the ridiculous concept.
Prepare yourself. How to ruin one of Taste's great tracks.
