THE CLASS OF 79

The birth of Record Collector wasn’t the only notable music-related event of three decades ago. TERRY STAUNTON offers an A-to-Z of another 30 fitting reasons to declare That Was The Year That Was.

The Beatles

Beginning a 30th anniversary article with something that didn’t happen may seem odd, but that’s the alphabet for you. Press speculation about the possibility of a Beatles reunion had been a constant from the moment the ink had dried on the 1970 writ that dissolved the band, and never more so than on 29 December in the last year of the decade. Paul McCartney was headlining the last of four all-star benefit shows under the banner Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea, and the buzz from New York was that John Lennon was planning to come out of retirement after four years as a househusband (he would record Double Fantasy the following summer). The rumour mill put two and two together and came up with Fab Four, but it was not to be, although MC for the evening, Billy Connolly, playfully acknowledged the whispers by announcing that he’d “just seen three of The Applejacks backstage”. Macca duly appeared as billed, both with Wings and a superstar line-up ‘Rockestra’, teasing the audience with a couple of his old band’s tunes, Got To Get You Into My Life and Let It Be.

by TERRY STAUNTON
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