Ike and Tina Turner - Coventry

 

Ike and Tina Turner - Coventry

by Pete Clemons

Toward the end of 1966 The Rolling Stones set out on a UK concert tour. The opening acts were The Yardbirds, Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers and, on their first British tour, the Ike and Tina Turner Revue complete with the Kings of Rhythm Orchestra and The Ike-ettes. They were described at the time as, one of the most exciting rock and roll shows ever to hit Britain.

It was The Rolling Stones themselves who had offered Ike and Tina Turner the chance to be one of their opening acts, having seen the Revue while touring in the States. It also gave the pair the opportunity to book additional concert appearances and tours all over the UK, Europe and Australia where they attracted large audiences.

To coincide with their British tour London records released the Phil Spector produced 'River Deep-Mountain High'. Recorded late 1965, and later released during mid 1966 in the UK, 'River Deep-Mountain High' failed to become a hit in the United States. However, in Europe it was a totally different story as it became a massive hit, reaching the top 3 in the UK.

It was quite a coup for The Rolling Stones as the arrival of Ike and Tina Turner made the front pages of the music magazines. Their agent, Tito Burns, confirmed the tour during July 1966. At that time the pair were riding high in the charts with their single 'River Deep-Mountain High'. He mentioned that, in addition to the concert tour, the Revue would also be completing several other personal and TV appearances while they were here.

And one of those additional concerts, scheduled during free time from The Rolling Stones tour was at the Locarno in Coventry. As far as I can determine the set list included 'River Deep-Mountain High', 'Shake', 'A Fool In Love', 'It's Gonna Work Out Fine', 'Please, Please, Please', 'Goodbye', 'So Long', 'Land of 1000 Dances', 'Tell the Truth', 'I Know (You Don't Want Me No More)', 'Something Got a Hold On Me', 'You Are My Sunshine'.

The fact is that despite their popularity in Europe Ike and Tina Turner had been making quality music for at least six years with no success back home. According to Ike Turner, they had been trying to get across to the UK for a couple of years but was not comfortable to until he was sure he could bring the whole Revue.

During an interview while in the UK Ike Turner mentioned: 'I wouldn't have come till I was sure that I could bring along all of the act. It would have been no good just Tina and me coming here. I didn't want to be a let-down act, I don't even know how we all managed to get here, but here we are'. Ike also confessed that the Revue did not rehearse very much. Yet, despite that, he mentioned that they still managed to sound close to the record while on stage.

The audiences appreciation of the bands sound stunned Ike and Tina Turner. And, following the visit, the band returned to the United States in high demand despite never having had a hit record there. Of course, that all changed, as the pair went on to win a Grammy Award as well as being inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame during 1991.