Back In The Day, Pt. 2 - James Brown, Live In London!

On The Good Foot....The Super-King Of Funk At The Royal Albert Hall

In the ongoing celebration of my 60th anniversary as a soul music scribe, I’m following up my “Back In The Day, Pt. 1” from May 3rd with the review of the live performance by Sly & Family Stone, here’s “Back In The Day, Pt. 2” focusing on the legendary James Brown.

As I re-read the review of his show at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall that I wrote for “Blues & Soul” magazine, I cast my mind back to when I first became aware of Mr. Brown’s music.

It would have been sometime in 1965 through working on Saturday mornings to earn pocket money at Musicland, the record shop located on Willesden Lane around the corner from where my family lived above Crusoe’s, the fish-and-chip shop my father managed.

Musicland was started by Lee Gopthal, a Jamaican entrepreneur of Indian origin, who became instrumental on the burgeoning reggae scene with the formation of Trojan Records in 1968.

On Saturday mornings in particular, the tiny shop would be a hub for young Caribbean immigrants, many of whom had arrived in Britain in the ‘50s and early ‘60s seeking a ‘connection’ with home through buying the latest ska and bluebeat 45s that Lee smartly had imported from Jamaica on a regular basis.

US artists such as Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and (not exactly R&B but…) Jim Reeves were also popular with Musicland’s customers and with the LP , “The James Brown Show: Live At The Apollo” issued in the UK in 1964 (a year after its US release), Mr, Brown became a firm favourite at Musicland.

The future-classic “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” became James Brown’s first UK chart hit in 1965 and the following year, he was the focal point of an entire episode of “Ready Steady Go,” a Friday night ‘must watch’ for Brit teens like myself.

That’s when I saw what the ‘fuss’ was all about! James Brown was a dynamic, energetic showman and even through the lens of television, his non-stop peformance was exciting and unlike anything I’d seen before!

Fast forward to 1970 when I began working at Contempo, the company that published “Blues & Soul,” expanded to include a record shop and mail order service in the office. Contempo founder and editor of B&S, John Abbey wisely had regular shipments of imports of the latest LPs and 45s from America.

As I recall, not a week went by without a new release by James Brown (on Polydor) or the coterie of talented artists he produced for his People Records’ label including Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, The JBs, Maceo & The Macks! A solid group of UK customers from Nigeria in particular would come in every Saturday and buy ‘the latest’ James Brown or JB-related imports!

My opportunity to see James and co. live (along with many of our regular Contempo customers) came in March 1971 when I joined quite a few thousand audience members to witness the furiously funky Mr, Brown in action for the first time…

The James Brown Revue, The Royal Albert Hall, London - March 10, 1971

If Aretha is the Queen of Soul and Otis was the King of Soul, James Brown must qualify as the Super-King of Funk! On the evidence of his capacity, standing-room-only concert at the Albert Hall on March 10 – his first London appearance since 1966, no one comes near to capturing the title from him for quite some time!

In terms of audience reaction, Mr Brown came across with flying colours and although I've been fortunate enough to see most of the soul shows during the last two years, no other attraction (including Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin or Ike & Tina Turner) had had quite the same devastating effect. Close on 7000 people stood on their seats, shouting, screaming, clapping and thoroughly enjoying themselves! There is no doubt that the whole event was very successful.

Fears Dispelled…

The show's importance had been built up to such a pitch that I approached it all with strong reservations, but my fears were dispelled when it all began with James Brown's band, The J.B.s. Frequently, the backing band's spot on a show can be boring and uninteresting; however, the J.B.s. proved that they are the backbone of the whole revue. They began with a long, psychedelic-based piece, setting a perfect mood for the rest on the show. They went into 'Come Together' which established that some of the musicians are amongst the finest to be found.

Then on came the Man himself for what can best be described as a warm up! Clad in emerald green, he exploded into 'Brother Rapp' with some nifty choreography to match. 'Ain't It Funky' was just that and once again Mr. Brown proved his skill as an innovator of new dances! He then proceeded to illustrate his talent as a vocalist. His version of 'Georgia On My Mind' complete with string section was very good – surprisingly good in fact. James concluded his first brief spot with an up-tempoed version of 'Sunny' and introduced his Number Two, Bobby Byrd.

Unfortunately, Bobby chose to open with a very muffled and pretty poor version of 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' – in all honesty, it was very difficult to decipher what he was singing! His second and final solo number was his latest Mojo release, 'I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone)'. Once again, there were occasions when the tune seemed to get lost and Bobby closed in the somewhat-traditional soul manner by asking everyone to join in and clap. A suitable conclusion to Bobby's rather undistinguished set.

Mr Byrd then introduced the distaff member of the revue, Vicki Anderson (alias Myra Barnes). Vicki doesn't have a very strong voice and it didn't carry all that well in the vastness of the Albert Hall. She opened with Aretha's 'Don't Play That Song' – hardly comparable to Lady Soul's – and closed with 'Yesterday' – it all seemed to be over in ten minutes! She might have won greater audience response if she had performed her British single, 'Super Good', but as it was, she failed to gain much reaction.

Star Time…

After the intermission, it was "star time". "The man who gave you...'Mother Popcorn', 'Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn', 'It's A New Day', 'Brother Rapp', 'Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine', 'Call Me Super Bad', 'Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved', and 'Soul Power' – Mister James Brown!" And there he was – now in a grey and black catsuit – socking it to everyone with something that sounded like a cross between 'Mother Popcorn' and 'Let A Man Come In' – it was anyone's guess what the actual song was, since although this was the first tune in his spot, everyone was already up on their seats cheering him on! Obviously pleased with the reaction, he went into a new song – probably 'I Need You' – a ballad, again with string accompaniment and some brilliant guitar work.

Keeping it all as cool as possible, James did one of his older numbers, 'Try Me' which had all the female members (and some of the male members!) of the audience screaming! To shouts of "right on, right on" it was 'Sex Machine' time ("...did you bring your sex machine with you tonight?" James asked) with Bobby Byrd helping out. By now the atmosphere had reached saturation point and he could have ended the show right there, because he had accomplished all that he had set out to do!

UK Hits…

'Sex Machine' went on for about fifteen minutes and was followed by James' only other British chart item, 'It's A Man's Man's Man's World', again to delirious cheers. The finale came in the form of a medley of sorts which included 'Super Bad', 'Get Up, Get Into It' and 'Soul Power' – at least they were the only three discernible tunes – he could have included others but I would challenge anyone to tell me what they were! Throughout the entire show, The J.B.s. lent very solid support by providing the funk that was needed.

Prior to the show, my main criticism of James Brown was the constant repetition in his music and I never rated him as a particularly good vocalist – more of a shouter than a singer. However he proved his capabilities on 'Georgia On My Mind' and 'I Need You' and although he does rely on the J.B.s. to provide the right riffs, he remains Soul Brother No. 1.

Yes, a good but very sweaty evening, and he left a lot of happy soul brothers and sisters!

© 2025, David Nathan/Blue Butterfly Entertainment Ltd. (UK), All Rights Reserved