April 16, 2014

Is just that happening with girl and scissors in the past 1967...?


Available on the Net a TV special titled "What is an happening?" based on the legendary 14th Hour Technicolor Dream at London Alexandra Palace. The TV special was broadcasted by the BBC and aired on May 15th, 1967 for the programme "Man Alive".
Just at the end of the first part there's a short sequence with an happening where a girl has her dress cut with scissors by some guys. Is just that event remembered by Glen Sweeney that gained an ephemeral fame to the Hydrogen Jukebox?


As you probably recall, Sweeney told about it (interviewed in 1990 by Nigel Cross for "Unhinged"): "I have read on a guy called John Cage, and he was using kind of very strange happenings, so I came up with this idea of put in a contact mike on a big pair of scissors, when you make cut emotions you produced a kind of rhythmic sound, you see, I could then use that (this rhythm) for the group, because the group was playing a sort of free-jazz, and I wanted to make more visual. So I've got a girl and cut her closers off at the same time. This of course was received very well at UFO, and we had offers bookings all over the places, because of the publicity".

 

The event was confirmed by Steve Pank in 2004: "They gained notoriety at the event by accompanying a girl called Nita having a paper dress cut off her with scissors, this was reported with a photograph in the "News of the World"".

You can watch the TV special  here (part one),  here (part two) and here (part three) and tell what you think about it...

no©2014 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)