..."I first saw him on a kids’ TV programme called Lift Off, presented by Ayshea Brough and featuring a live performance by David Bowie. June 15th 1972 I believe. I’ll never forget the moment my friendly little mate Dave left the screen and on came this… thing with his weird mates. I was absolutely gob-smacked. My gran was shouting insults at the TV (which she usually saved for Labour Party Political Broadcasts), and I just sat there agog. I was experiencing a life-changing moment. I know it sounds ridiculous - but it really did knock me for six. It was three weeks later when he popped up again on Top Of The Pops…and for the second time in my life I was transfixed by an owl puppet in a quilted jump-suit and red leather boxers boots! There’s no doubt that Ollie’s appearance on Top Of The Pops was a pivotal moment in British musical history. Like the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in ’76 - his performance lit the touchpaper for thousands of kids who up till then had struggled to find a catalyst for their lives."
"Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your beak..."
Ollie with Woody Woodmansey after that seminal "Lift Off" performance.
Love on y'all,
Bob
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