United Kingdom

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"Lord, have mercy on the people in England, for the terrible food these people must eat." - Opening lines of Strictly Genteel.


Frank Zappa: "I hate playing in England. I don't mind playing in Europe too much. The audiences on the Continent are pretty good. I can't stand this place though. It's the people. (...) Let's not call it the audiences, just the people. (...) Maybe it's the venues that we've been playing because the behaviour patterns seem to alter with different venues. I noticed that there was a difference between the type of audience that you get at Wembley Empire Pool and the audience you get at the Odeon Hammersmith. But the thing that's always depressed me about the English audience is that they're oriented towards dressing up and queuing up and anything in between that is irrelevant. It's very hard to get any kind of feedback from the audience in a place like the Odeon Hammersmith because the behaviour pattern is just so reserved. You definitely get the impression that you're there to perform. Maybe there's a different kind of response for other kinds of music here but there's two places in the world where I'd say we have the worst audiences – London and Los Angeles. They're very similar in how jaded they are. But the response in what we do just about everyplace else is completely different."

And yet they seem keen enough to come along. You sold out six shows last time around.

Frank Zappa: "God knows why. I mean, even when they're clapping it doesn't feel right to me. It's like they like you for the wrong reason. There's such a big difference between what happens when you go on stage in a theatre the same size in New York City or Atlanta, Georgia, versus what happens here. It's just a weird feeling ... even though they speak English." - Frank Zappa - I Hate Playing In England, Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 9 September 1978. [1]

Articles about Great Britain, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Albums and tracks

Concerts & other locations

Zappa associates from the United Kingdom

Classical composers, conductors and musicians

Jazz musicians

Folk musicians

Rock and pop artists

Actors, comedians, film directors, producers and documentary makers

Writers, journalists, critics, magazines

Visual artists

Film, radio and television

Interviews

Miscellaneous

Fansites

References

  1. ↑ https://www.afka.net/Articles/1978-09_Sounds.htm
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