The Yardbirds
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The Yardbirds: The Yardbirds Featuring Eric Clapton, The Yardbirds Featuring Jeff Beck
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 27 March 1976
STRANGELY ENOUGH, the thing that hits you first about these albums is not so much the excellence of the two gentlemen named in the titles ...
Audio interviews
The Yardbirds' Jim McCarty (2010)
Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 3 November 2010
Yardbird Jim looks back at the halcyon days of 'Shape of Things' – the songwriting, the guitarists Clapton, Beck and Page and much more.
File format: mp3; file size: 12mb, total interview length: 26' 15" sound quality: * (phoner)
List of articles in the library
The Yardbirds: Well, they've got a bearded Russian manager!
Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 23 May 1964
THERE ARE five Yardbirds and they have two interesting properties. The first is a Russian manager with a beard, dark glasses and a Lancia in ...
The Yardbirds: The Blueswailers With The Mod Appeal
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 30 May 1964
ALTHOUGH THE Sunday Telegraph insisted that the Yardbirds were called the Yardsticks, and also claimed they were public school boys it doesn't seem to have ...
Yardbirds: We Get Ourselves Into A Trance
Report and Interview by uncredited writer, Rave, August 1964
AT THE Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, Surrey — rhythm 'n' blues on a summer's eve. Setting the stage for it: Yardbirds and helpers. ...
'We Nearly Packed It In' said The Yardbirds to Peter Jones
Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 28 November 1964
"WE WERE as low as we could be. Our lead singer was desperately, dangerously, ill — in fact, he nearly died. When we heard he ...
The Yardbirds: The Deep Deep Pain of Success
Interview by uncredited writer, Rave, February 1965
HIS HEART beat like a drum and his whole body ached. From the sweat on his face you could hardly tell whether he was crying ...
Report by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 6 March 1965
ERIC CLAPTON played his last date as lead guitarist with the Yardbirds last night. After a gig at Bristol Corn Exchange, he left the group. ...
The Yardbirds: 'We'll Play More Pop'
Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 20 March 1965
"RHYTHM AND blues is becoming what trad became and we are going to change some of our numbers." ...
The Yardbirds: How to be an overnight success... in three years
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 27 March 1965
SINCE THEY started at Richmond's Crawdaddy Club three years ago, THE YARDBIRDS have had more than their share of bad luck. ...
The Yardbirds: Now They're Ready For Your Love
Interview by Dawn James, Rave, May 1965
"SOMETIMES WE'D play and it'd be beautiful, and I'd look at the audience and think, 'Re-act, warmth come, love come. Show us we're doing the ...
Eric Clapton: The Yardbird Who Got Left Behind
Interview by Dawn James, Rave, June 1965
His name is Eric Clapton. His nickname in the Yardbirds was "Slow-Hand" because he clapped his hands. He played on the Yardbirds' No. 1 hit ...
The Yardbirds: Yardbirds Don't Like Own Hits
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 4 June 1965
IN THE middle of a field in Windsor sat Yardbirds' vocalist Keith Relf dressed as an Elizabethan page with plumed hat and a huge silk ...
The Truth About the Pop Idles...
Report by Dawn James, Rave, July 1965
What is the truth about our stars of pop? How hard do they really work for the fabulous rewards that pop success brings? Are they ...
Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 9 July 1965
THE YARDBIRDS were in no mood for pulling punches when I called on them in their dressing room at the Ready, Steady, Go studios in ...
After two hit records... Yardbirds — Why We Went "Commercial"
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 17 July 1965
PAUL SAMWELL-SMITH, bass with the Yardbirds, explains why they decided on a change of group policy ...
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 30 July 1965
THE YARDBIRDS are bristling with hurt anger this week — at Thank Your Lucky Stars Summer Spin; at their manager, and at a pop promoter who ...
Live Review by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 14 August 1965
RICHMOND RAVE-UP! ...
Yardbirds 'Phone from a Raving Party
Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 18 September 1965
THE YARDBIRDS call Richard Green from the States ...
Report and Interview by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 9 October 1965
Britishers Play For BEAT At A Party ...
Our Emotional Experiences in Sound! — by the Yardbirds
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 22 October 1965
IT COULD be the flop of the year — or it could be the biggest thing in package shows since the invention of the electric ...
Interview by Dawn James, Rave, December 1965
As with every record, every group has its 'A' and 'B' side. The 'A' side is their 'image' side, the one you always see and ...
The Yardbirds: Havin' A Wild Rave-Up
Report by Eden, KRLA Beat, 29 January 1966
The term is "Rave-up" — the sound is great — the group is THE YARDBIRDS!! ...
On Records: The Folk-Rock Rage
Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 30 January 1966
FOLK-ROCK, which mixes the simplicity of folk music with the frenetic rhythmic heat of the electrically amplified sound of rock 'n' roll, caused one of ...
Folk Fan Sam hopes to Convert other Yardbirds!
Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 26 February 1966
ALMOST EXACTLY a year ago, Keith Relf told me that the Yardbirds would play more pop music and less of the r-and-b that had made ...
Report and Interview by uncredited writer, Rave, March 1966
Drugs are always in the news. And always in the news with them, are pop stars. This month four famous stars give their views on ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 11 March 1966
THE YARDBIRDS ARE to split – but only on disc! In the group's dressing room at Ready, Steady Go last Friday I spoke with manager ...
The Yardbirds: Birds' Brain — the man they call Sam
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966
"YOU'RE LOOKING for Paul Samwell-Smith? He's the shy chap with the Yardbirds isn't he?" Thus aptly described was the bass-playing brain behind the Yardbirds, by ...
Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 2 April 1966
SOME CALL it "pop art," some call it "English R 'n' B," some call it pop music gone electronic. At The BEAT — we just ...
With Who And 'Birds At Paris Allez-Oop!
Report by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 8 April 1966
READY, Steady, Allez-oops, from the Locomotive in Paris last Friday, was largely held together by the efforts of the Who and the Yardbirds, who were ...
The Yardbirds: Shapes of Things to Come
Profile and Interview by Mike Grant, Rave, May 1966
Rave's Mike Grant meets up with the Yardbirds to find out what's happening for Yardbird people in the next few months ...
All About The World's Greatest Pop Show: 1966 NME Concert Mightiest Ever!
Live Review by Keith Altham, Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 6 May 1966
THOUSANDS upon thousands of fans converging on the massive Wembley Empire Pool for the biggest pop show in the world on Sunday... the staggering, the ...
Simon Napier-Bell always tells the truth... especially about Simon Napier-Bell
Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 13 May 1966
MAUREEN CLEAVE'S FRIDAY INTERVIEW ...
The Rolling Stones, Percy Sledge et al: The Week's New Singles
Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 14 May 1966
Plenty of tips, including a new Stones. Many follow-ups which aren't marvellous, and some outsiders, including Percy Sledge and Jimmy James and the Vagabonds ...
How Far Out Can The Poppers Go?
Report by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 28 May 1966
NOW YOU'RE NEVER ALONE — WITH A SITAR ...
Singles by Ike & Tina Turner, the Animals, the Yardbirds et al
Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 28 May 1966
Subdued Animals — smash hit! ...
Guess What! "I Can't Play a Sitar Properly" says Jeff Beck
Report and Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 11 June 1966
NOW THAT Mr. Ravi Shankar is actually in the country, all those funny little Indian shops that flog sitars are in for a good time. ...
The Yardbirds: Why I Left and Why I Joined
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 8 July 1966
"I'M A BIT TOO old at twenty-three for all those screaming kids leaping about. I don't really think I'll be missed in the group – ...
The Yardbirds: The Yardbirds (Columbia)
Review by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 23 July 1966
THE YARDBIRDS wrote all the numbers themselves, so they've got the right kind of material here. All the tracks have been produced well and there's ...
Yardbirds Are Alive; They Click; They Have Fun
Profile and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 22 August 1966
MENTION THE Yardbirds to a musician and he'll give them mountains of praise. Listen to a Yardbirds' album like the current one Over, Under, Sideways, ...
Jimmy Will Change Yardbirds Sound!
Interview by Kevin Swift, Beat Instrumental, September 1966
JIMMY PAGE, one of our top guitarists, turned his back on the session scene, took up bass for the first time in his life and ...
The Stones Roll Out Again — And It's The Wildest Tour Ever To Hit Britain
Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966
MM MAN-ON-TOUR with the Rolling Stones and Ike and Tina Turner, ALAN WALSH ...
Sam, Yardbirds, Cousins — Great Mixture
Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 25 November 1966
WHERE COULD you see more long hair, pant suits, miniskirts, and Beatle caps per square foot than any place else in Detroit last weekend? Where ...
Jeff Beck: Alone In The Yardbirds
Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 17 December 1966
A YOUNG man named Jeff Beck — a very important and integral part of a group called The Yardbirds — nearly always stands alone. ...
BEAT EXCLUSIVE: Beck Exits 'Birds
Report and Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 14 January 1967
ACCORDING TO a reliable source closely connected with the Yardbirds, The BEAT has learned in an exclusive interview that Jeff Beck is no longer a ...
Yardbird Jimmy Page says, 'Open Your Mind'
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, March 1967
In the December issue of H.P., you read a little background on Jimmy Page, who is the new Yardbird. He started off on bass to ...
Loraine Alterman On Records: England's Exciting New Flavor: Fresh Cream
Review by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 23 April 1967
TO REACH Mecca in pop music means finding your own sound. Very few make it. Most groups fall down somewhere along the way. ...
Bill Harry's Pop Talk: The Yardbirds
Interview by Bill Harry, Record Mirror, 20 May 1967
KEITH RELF, Chris Dreja and Jimmy Page are quite angry about the continuous, almost hysterical attacks the pop world has been receiving from all directions ...
The Yardbirds, Cecil Taylor, It's a Beautiful Day: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco CA
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 24 May 1968
A Wide Range of New Sounds at the Fillmore ...
The Yardbirds: Only Jimmy Left To Form The New Yardbirds
Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 October 1968
WHATEVER HAPPENED to the Yardbirds? One of the great mysteries of our time, ranking with the Devil's footprints, the Marie Celeste and the Five Penny ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1968
JIMMY PAGE, the last member to join the Yardbirds, is now the group leader and at this writing was auditioning two new musicians. The old ...
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Sounds, 1 May 1971
IT'S BEEN a long wait but you've got a new group now. How long has it been together? ...
The Yardbirds: Live Yardbirds Featuring Jimmy Page
Review by John Morthland, Phonograph Record, November 1971
THE YARDBIRDS must be one of the most oft-recorded live groups. There's the 1963 set at the Marquee available on a British import (parts are ...
Call Mickie Most 'The Hitmaker'
Interview by Harold Bronson, Rolling Stone, 21 December 1972
Mickey Mouse? What can I say about him? When making an album with the band laying down a track in the studio, Mickey is always ...
Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 1 September 1973
JIMMY PAGE is as wary of discussing his formidable past as he is talking to the press in the first place. ...
Giorgio Gomelsky: The Man Who Sold The World
Interview by Max Jones, Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973
Giorgio Gomelsky was a pioneer of British rock in the sixties. In the second part of an interview with MM he talks about managing Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll and his ...
Retrospective and Interview by Steven Rosen, Los Angeles Free Press, December 1973
JEFF BECK IS one of those characters who is so brilliantly erratic that he is constantly set-ting the music (and journalistic) world on its ear. ...
Jimmy Page: After All, It's Just a Piece of Wood With Strings...
Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 12 October 1974
JIMMY PAGE talks about guitars he has owned, the development of his style and reminisces on those early Yardbird and Led Zep days ...
Everything you never wanted to know about Led Zeppelin ...and had no intention of asking...
Special Feature by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 17 May 1975
Hey, punk! — Didja know that... ...
Zeus Of Zeppelin: An Interview with Jimmy Page
Interview by Mick Houghton, Circus, 12 October 1976
You're your own record company bosses now with Swan Song, which is a far cry from the days when you were doing sessions for Decca ...
Jimmy Page: Paging the Yardbirds
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977
JIMMY PAGE gives his version Part 2 of a three-part interview by Dave Schulps ...
Having a Rave-Up With The Yardbirds
Retrospective by Lenny Kaye, Guitar World, September 1981
CLAPTON, BECK and Page: a holy trinity whose rippling lead lines and powerful slashing chords have provided a world on instruction for countless aspiring players. ...
The Music Game as Played by Simon Napier-Bell — Label Owner, Songwriter, Producer, Manager
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1981
"THE OTHER day I was discussing doing a new kind of record deal for the States. The record companies are going to hate it, but ...
Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 7 January 1984
Before I Get Old: The Story Of The Who by Dave Marsh Yardbirds by John Platt, Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty ...
Interview by Steven Rosen, Guitar World, July 1986
The following excerpts are from a book I wrote in 1978 titled The Beck Book, a documentary detailing the life and music of guitarist Jeff ...
Jimmy Page: Of Yardbirds And The Shapes of Things to Come
Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar World, July 1986
For a short time in the late sixties, Page and Beck were in one of the most happening bands to ever come out of England. Some say ...
Happenings 20 Years Time Ago: The Night The Yardbirds Played My High School Prom
Memoir by Tim VonderBrink, One Shot, Winter 1987
IT WAS PROM NIGHT, 1968. Boutonnieres, corsages, tuxedos, the works. Guys shaving their peach-fuzzed faces, adjusting their cummerbunds and climbing into their dads’ cars to ...
Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, June 1998
THE ROCK'N'ROLL documentary is in fine shape in the Nineties, thanks mainly to the BBC. Second series of both Rock Family Trees and Classic Albums ...
Retrospective by Kieron Tyler, MOJO, May 2001
Before Jimmy Page became a rock god, he was a sonic apprentice par excellence. ...
Retrospective by Alan Clayson, unpublished, 2004
"The only gift I had as a producer was finding the right song. I felt I knew how it should be done and, after that, ...
Retrospective by Dave Thompson, Goldmine, July 2007
THE YARDBIRDS were no more. After five years, four guitarists, and more legends than you could stuff inside a shoe shop, the band had finally ...
The Yardbirds and the Cereal Killer
Memoir by Keith Altham, unpublished, Summer 2009
THE YARDBIRDS were a '60s band that never quite found a fit and kept losing their shape as dissatisfied members came and went and the ...
Giorgio Gomelsky: An Interview
Retrospective and Interview by Archie Patterson, Eurock, Spring 2011
IF THERE EVER was a man who lived and breathed music it's the international vagabond Giorgio Gomelsky. Born in the former Soviet-Georgia, his parents fled ...
Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, The Times, 3 September 2012
RIPLEY... EPSOM... WALLINGTON. The names hardly resonate in the way that Clarksdale or Greenville or Natchez do. Yet in their way these Surrey towns are ...
see also Jeff Beck
see also Box of Frogs
see also Eric Clapton
see also Jimmy Page
see also Renaissance
see also Keith Relf
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