October 24-28, 1969
Actuel Festival
Mont de I'Enclus in Amougies, Belgium
Directed by Jerome Laperrousaz
From the book "Viva Zappa" by Dominique Chevalier: "1969. MUSIC POWER. A film by Jerome Laperrousaz, showing the festival at Amougies, October 1969. Zappa, the presenter, jams with Pink Floyd, Aynsley Dunbar and Archie Shepp".
Capt Beefheart was there. FZ introduces him to the crowd.
Some of this Beefheart footage is inlcuded as enhanced video on the new Beefheart box set Grow Fins, on Revenant Records.
FZ and PF jammed on Interstellar Overdrive on 10/25/69 at the Actuel Festival in Belgium. Last I heard a private collector had the film of it but wouldn't release it. I think the audio is out there...has anyone heard it?
There was no show on 11/17/69. 10/25/69 is the correct date. The Actuel Festival was held at Mont de I'Enclus in Amougies, Belgium. It was going to be the first ever rock festival in France, but the promoters couldn't get a licence, so they tried another place in France and then finally ended up in Belgium.
Um...yeah, there is a film. Two documentaries were made of the festival and one called Music Power featured Pink Floyd and it went on the French cinema circiut in June '70. It is highly probable that the jam was filmed as it was played in the middle of the set (as opposed to an encore or at a different time all together). Now, I haven't seen the film and the jam may not be in it. It could be on the editing room's floor. But I read somewhere else that a private collector had it.
This was found on a Gong website, and mentions that FZ hosted the festival. "Shortly after the album was recorded, Karakos set up the infamous Amougies Festival, originally scheduled for Paris but, after a court order, hastily reconvened just over the Belgian border. An amazing affair, the acts included Beefheart, The Soft Machine, Blossom Toes, Caravan etc. etc., the whole thing hosted by Frank Zappa."
I saw this movie in Montreal this past summer. There is some Pink Floyd footage, also FZ and some CB but no Intersteller Overdrive. Boy what a shitty movie, like woodstock on that brown acid! Zappa introduces the Captain, and plays a little guitar with an other band. PF plays a couple of songs, maybe Eugene and I forget the other one. I had read about the FZ/PF jam, and was dissapointed that it was not in the film. Boy what a horrible film!
There has been a photograph published in the 1970's, that was re-printed in one of the Society Pages (USA) fanzines that shows FZ on stage with Pink Floyd at Amougies. I believe Dominique Chevalier forwarded it on to Den & Rob to help clear up the matter, after FZ stated in one of his interviews with Society Pages that he didn't play with the Floyd. Sorry but I don't remember which edition of SP it was in.
In Society Pages USA #2, Zappa stated unequivocally that he did not play onstage with Pink Floyd. Then two issues later, they turned up a photo of the jam, showing FZ ca. 1969 onstage with a guy who is identifiably Nick Mason and another guy with a P-Bass whose face isn't visible but whose hunched posture is that of Roger Waters...
An interview with PF drummer Nick Mason mentions this Amougies jam with Zappa; I remember him saying something to the effect that "very few people have the right personality to play with us", but what Zappa did was "terribly right".
Question: But, nevertheless, you played with Frank Zappa in the Amougies festival.
Nick Mason: Frank Zappa is really one of those rare musicians that can play with us. The little he did in Amougies was terribly correct. But he's the exception. Our music and the way we behave on stage, makes it very hard to improvise with us.
He rushed off to the Festival D'amougies in Belgium and played there on stage with the Pink Floyd. And he brought Beefheart with him. The festival was filmed by one Jerome Laperrousaz, and the film was to be called Music Power. It never came out.
I have the picture that is mentioned in the article "Music Power". It's in the book "Frank Zappa et les Mothers of Invention" by Alain Dister, it's a French book.
I am a Pink Floyd collector and I have been desperately seeking the famous Amougies tape where Zappa and Floyd performed together. Does such a tape exist or am I just running in circles here?
Quite recently, such a tape has allegedly started to circulate a little in Floyd circles, as a "rare trade only".
(I heard about this in Japan; but I don't know if the tape itself is in Japan or where it is, or who has it exactly.)
apparently the recording in question is an audience recording; and there seem to be TWO... one recording by a zappa fan, and a complete floyd set taped by a floyd fan. pieces of the floyd's set are fairly common, but not the fz/pf jam on 'interstellar overdrive'.
ponder this neat little factoid: this was frank's first live performance after recording 'hot rats'...
There is a tape in circulation that is wrongly identified as being Pink Floyd with FZ at Amougies. This tape consists of Interstellar Overdrive, introduced as something they'd been playing since they were teenagers. But it doesn't feature FZ and it's not from Amougies. I believe it's actually from 5/1/70 Santa Monica. I don't know if the item Johan refers to above is legitimate, or if it's the same mislabeled tape resurfacing.
I'm not talking about an "Interstellar Overdrive" only tape, but a more complete set, alleged to have recently surfaced.
I was a teenager in 1968 and I remember that some parts of this festival were broadcasted "live" directly from site at the French radio broadcast "Europe 1" ( LW waves )
I was listening that at the time and I have recorded almost 1 hour about the festival especially a zappa-pinkfloyd jam session. I remember the studio "presenter" ( may be Pierre Lates ??) said "Oh! ça c'est zappa" ( "Oh! that it is zappa" ) at the beginning of a pink floyd piece.
Unfortunately I sold all my tapes ( + recorder ) 15 years ago and I lost all traces of that.. but I suppose there are archives somewhere on " Europe 1" radio ( Still alive !!!)
Alain
Looks like Zappa is in that picture twice, as a guitarist and drummer, had to search for Pink Floyd photo's to convince myself the drummer is Nick Mason. Btw Patrick the picture is on page 80 of the mentioned book and taken by Christian Rose. The text about that festival on p. 79:
Rendu a sa solitude, Zappa se consacre a quelques vieux projects, prepare ses films, travaille sa musique dans d'autres directions, fait du tourisme. On le voit au festival d'Amougies, en octobre 1969, ou il se rend a titre personnel, invite par Pieree Lattes. Il y fera le boef avec presque tous les groupes du programme, en particulier le Pink Floyd, le Blossom Toes, Archie Shepp et Aynsley Dunbar, en qui il decourvre un fabuleux batteur qu'il ne tardera pas a embaucher. Il presente son ami Captain Beefheart, et maintient tout au long de ces trois nuits, quel que soil le froid ou l'heure tardive, une presence qui est un stimulant puissant pour tous les musiciens presents.
sorry, my french is not that good, so I hope someone who knows to, translates this.
Ok, here we go:
From: Frank Zappa et les Mothers of Invention, by Alain Dister
Now on his own, Zappa takes time to work on some old projects and movies. Does a bit of tourism. He is invited by Pierre Lattès to the Amougies Festival. He plays with almost everybody, especially with Pink Floyd, Blossom Toes, Archie Shepp and Aynsley Dunbar, a fabulous drummer he will hire shortly thereafter. He introduces his friend Captain Beefheart, and he maintains during the three nights, regardless of the cold weather and late time, a presence that provides a powerful stimulant to all the other musicians.
In the same book on page 177:
Filmographie 1969:
Lors du festival d'Amougies, Jérôme Laperrousaz toune un film documentaire, Music Power, dans lequel on voit Zappa jouer avec Archie Shepp, Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd...malheureusement retenu par des raisons de droits
Filmography 1969:
During the Amougies festival, Jérôme Laperrousaz made a documentary movie, Music Power, in which Zappa can be seen playing with Archie Shepp, Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd...unfortunately never released because of copyrights.
From theoutercircle:
The Amougies picture comes from 'Livre Compact - Pink Floyd' by Jean Marie Leduc, published in 1987.
The photo is credited to Jacques Bisceglia from the Birmapress Agency.
I did a bit of research on the net about the Amougies Festival. I found bits and pieces of information that more or less resembles to what we already know. The only thing that contains new information is here: (once on the page just use the "find in page" function using the word Amougies)
http://www.musart.co.uk/watrat/wr92.htm
I will try to contact Martin Laplante and I will also try to talk to the people at the Cinemathèque. Hopefully they will tell me were the film came from and/or who is the owner. Looks like the screening took place at the Cinemathèque in Montréal on June 4, 1998 at 5pm. (where the f%#$ was I?)
Here is a nice picture of FZ & CB at the Amougies Festival. It's from the Alain Dister book.
Also an ad for the festival before it was moved to Belgium.
David Wills discovered another one, scaned and posted to organissim forums by Brandon Burke:
Another poster which appeared recently on eBay and United Mutations:
Frank Zappa
Amougies (Belgium), Actuel Festival
24 to 27 October 1969source: audience recording
This is an amazing find that I'm sure will delight fans of Frank Zappa and the bands concerned alike. A little background : the Actuel festival was organized by the publication of the same name (who, under different editorship, went on to become a prime mover of the French counterculture in the early to mid-70s) in collaboration with the fledgling BYG label. It was originally going to take place in or near Paris, but French authorities forbid it and the marquee was eventually set up a few miles outside the French border, on Belgian soil. It took place over 5 nights, entertaining an audience of 15-20,000 to a unique mixture of progressive pop, free jazz and contemporary music.
Frank Zappa was present at the festival (well, the first four days, it seems) in a twofold capacity. First, as Captain Beefheart's road manager; secondly, as M.C., assisting Pierre Lattes, a famous radio/TV presenter at the time (and the pop music editor for Actuel magazine). The latter task proved problematic given FZ's very limited mastery of French, the prevailing language among the audience, who themselves didn't seem to understand much English. Instead, FZ relinquished his M.C. job for one of occasional guest guitarist.
As far as I know, with the exception of FZ's performance with Captain Beefheart, this collects all of his jams with participating bands. A couple of films, directed by Jerome Laperrousaz and Jean-Noel Roy, came out in 1970 but were instantly banned because of objections from various bands (most notably Pink Floyd) whose permission hadn't been properly secured. Zappa's performance with Beefheart is included in one of them, and since the audio of the film (unlike the film itself) is in circulation, possibly in better sound than I could provide, I decided not to include it.
The whereabouts of the master tapes for the festival, if any exist, are unknown. What recordings are circulating are either the soundtrack of the film, or taken from radio broadcasts (on Luxemburg's RTL and Belgium's RTBF). The source used here is an audience recording made by a young French member of the audience using a now antiquated amateur tape recorder. The original tapes have been newly transferred, but even so, the sound quality is rather poor. Still, it seems to be the only source available at this time, so that will have to do for now.
Most legendary, of course, is Frank Zappa's jam with Pink Floyd on a very extended "Interstellar Overdrive". Apparently, despite the wealth of Pink Floyd bootlegs in circulation, no one seems to have their Amougies set, so this will probably delight a lot of people. Browsing various PF-related websites, there even seems to be a debate on whether the jam ever took place. Well, here is the final proof that it did.
Now, the tracklist:
1. Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation: Improvisation (7:08)
[October 24]
Victor Brox (vocals, harmonica); John Moorshead (guitar); Alex (Erroneous) Dmochowski (bass); Aynsley Dunbar (drums)2. Pink Floyd: Interstellar Overdrive (20:25)
[October 25]
David Gilmour (guitar); Richard Wright (organ); Roger Waters (bass); Nick Mason (drums)3. Caravan: If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You
(7:55)
[October 26]
Pye Hastings (guitar & vocals); David Sinclair (keyboards); Richard Sinclair (bass & vocals); Richard Coughlan (drums)4. Blossom Toes: Improvisation (26:10)
[October 26]
Brian Godding (guitar, vocals & keyboards); Jim Cregan (guitar & vocals); Brian Belshaw (bass & vocals); Kevin Westlake (drums)5. Sam Apple Pie: Moonlight Man (6:04)
[October 27]
Sam Sampson (vocals & harmonica); Danny Barnes (lead guitar); Andy Johnson (slide guitar); Bob Renny (bass & vocals); Lee Baxter Hayes Jr (drums)(Note: FZ also jammed with the Pretty Things, but the taper inadvertently erased the tape in question many years ago; he also participated in a jam with some of the free jazz players, led by Archie Shepp; sadly the taper was into rock, not jazz, and didn't bother recording any of the jazz acts.)
Society Pages issue no. 2
"They're doing the Interview of the Century"
December 22, 1989
FZ interview by Eric Buxton, Rob Samler, Den Simms.***
DS: Alright. Here's a controversy you can settle. There are many people who think that you performed, in 1969, at a festival in Belgium called 'Amougies'...
FZ: Yes
DS: ... performed onstage with Pink Floyd. True or false?
FZ: Not with Pink Floyd.
DS: That's what I thought. You introduced Beefheart to the audience...
FZ: Yes, and I introduced a lot of other acts, too. You see, that was a very weird thing. I was hired to be a master of ceremonies...
DS: Gotcha.
FZ: That was after the Mothers had broken up, and y'know, I had time on my hands. These people contacted me. They offered me ten thousand dollars to be an emcee at a festival, all expenses paid, and go over there, and, y'know, whatever I wanted to do, and I said, "Fine." So, I get there, and they neglected to tell me that nobody spoke English. (laughter) I mean, most of the people there spoke French, and all I could do was point and wave, (laughter) and furthermore, the festival was originally supposed to be in France. The French government stopped it, and so, at the last minute, it was moved across the border into Belgium, into the middle of a turnip patch, in the middle of nowhere, in a tent that was held up by steel girders. This tent held fifteen thousand people. Freezing cold, damp weather, constant log, the most MISERABLE (laughter) circumstances you could find yourself in, for three days, and it was a twenty-four-hour-a-day festival, and the kids would come there, and they had their sleeping bags, and they were sleeping through ... they were just in this tent FREEZING, laying on the ground, sleeping, while music went on around the clock with all these groups...
DS: How bizarre.
FZ: ... and they were filming it.
DS: A true war story.
RS: So, did you perform with anyone?
DS: Yeah. To nail that down once and for all, you did not perform with Pink Floyd, right?
FZ: No. I think I performed with Aynsley Dunbar, and then, there was a jam session that had Archie Shepp, Philly Joe Jones, and some other jazz guys that played.
DS: OK.
Two bootlegs have emerged of the Zappa involvement at Amougies: Inter-Zappa Overdrive and Pink Floyd Meets Frank Zappa.
FZ watches The Imposter Drumbo, while Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band plays "My Human Gets Me Blues." Amougies, October 25, 1969.
YouTube: Captain Beefheart -- Live In Belgium 1969 (05:30 min.)
Maintained by Román García Albertos