This month's "Boot of the Month" is Rory's performances at the 1st and 2nd British Rock Meetings. These outdoor concerts were the promotional brainchild of Marcel Avram and Marek Lieberberg, the founders of MAMA Concerts, and showcased for the european audience a large number of British rock bands including: Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac, Fairport Convention, Stone the Crowes, Rod Stewart, and a host of other notables. The first "Rock Meeting" took place on September 4th, 1971 in Speyer, Germany, and the second "Rock Meeting" took place in Germersheim, Germany on May 22, 1972. A 3rd "Rock Meeting" was planned for the following year in Ludwigshafen, Germany but was later cancelled.
Rory played on the final day of the festival and was one of only 2 bands to be broadcast over the radio, the other being Lindisfarne. Rory was also the only artist to give 3 encores.
Jesus Duarte Brightwood, OR  |  Posted at 7:52pm on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 |
| I was at the 2nd festival coming from Darmstadt, Cambrai-Fritsch Kaserne and in the 7th Evac Hospital. Went with two buddies of mine and had a blast. Loved Buddy Miles and Uriah Heep. |
| Molkie Bautista Almaden, CA | Posted at 9:38pm on Thursday, September 8th, 2011 |
| This concert by far was the best concert I've attended. My girlfriend, Judy, and I hitched a ride with a friend, Scotty, in his white VW bus lined with psychedelic posters of Jimi Hendrix from Ramstein AFB. The music was absolutely mind-blowing. It ... read more » |
| jim shannon shortsville n.y. | Posted at 7:12pm on Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 |
| I still tell peaple about this concert! I was in army then and we took the train from K-town. Rory,you left us too soon. |
| Irene (Charette) Gagne Cape Cod MASSACHUSETTS | Posted at 11:39am on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 |
| My GI husband, a friend named Jim Leonard and I attended this 4 day concert and it was one of the best, if not the best, ever attended. We arrived really early after thumbing rides from Kornwestheim barracks and had our packs with food and other item... read more » |
Frank Offenburg  | Posted at 8:32am on Monday, June 13th, 2011 |
Best festival and Pink Floyd was the best concert I have ever seen
(more thn 500 till now), it was like a german Woodstock |
| Shorty Dallas | Posted at 8:51am on Thursday, April 14th, 2011 |
| Best outdoor concert I ever attended. My dad was stationed in Bamberg at he time and I went there with a couple of buddies. I still have my ticket stub. |
| william shorty brown chicago il |  Posted at 11:51am on Monday, December 13th, 2010 |
| i was at the first rock meeting with friends from patch barracks. had a blast of a time. loved the music xpecialy pink floyd. the besttime of my life,really |
| kim ladd tempe az | Posted at 10:47am on Monday, December 6th, 2010 |
| I was going to high school in Wiesbaden at the time and somehow talked my folks into letting me go. Pink Floyd was awesome but my highlight was Wisbone Ash and they were not even on the bill. One of the best times of my life. |
| Andy Altlußheim | Posted at 3:28am on Monday, November 22nd, 2010 |
Ich war damal 15 und kein Geld
:-((( wir haben auf der anderen Seite vom Rhein gezeltet und drei Tage der Musig zugehöhrt :-))
Einfach spitzenklasse ! |
| Jeff Plesko Jonesboro, IL | Posted at 11:16pm on Saturday, October 9th, 2010 |
| I was at Speyer with a bunch of guys from 2nd Gen. Hosp. in Landsuthl. Got there in my '62 VW bus ($300), loaded up some coolers, smoke, enough munchies for about the first 3 hours. Remember nichts but lots of bodies and lines, not sure we could eve... read more » |
| Jerry Nelson Modesto, Ca. | Posted at 7:48pm on Friday, October 8th, 2010 |
| I too was at this concert 38 years ago, you forgot to name the headliner Pink Floyd & there awesome smoke & light show, tripped our balls off for three days & nights,wow I never seen so many GIs wasted in my life, what a killer memory, one of my fell... read more » |
| Marc Baranowski | Posted at 1:38pm on Thursday, September 9th, 2010 |
Terrific festival, better than any other I attended in Europe or the USA. Rory just smoked, as did Curved Air, Osibisa, Deep Purple, and Juicy Lucy (remember them?). I still have the footprints on my back from when I was stepped on while huddled in m... read more »
Administrator comment: Back in the 70's I knew a few people who tended to confuse Rory Gallagher with Roy Buchannan, both great guitarists, totally different stage presence. I'd love a look at the article you mention, if you ever scan it, can you send me a copy? Milo
(milo@shadowplays.com) |
| JR DC | Posted at 10:27am on Sunday, July 11th, 2010 |
| The best outdoor rock concert I ever attended. A German Woodstock. Lots of music, dope, & sex. Took hundreds of photos which are going in a upcoming photo book on rock 'n' roll. |
| Terri Fischer (Newman) USA | Posted at 4:30pm on Sunday, June 27th, 2010 |
| It was Great! Smoked lots oh hash...Pink Floyd was mind blowing with the great music(of course)and all of the pink parachutes that lit up the sky!!!!!!!! |
| Capt Fro Heidelberg | Posted at 8:16pm on Thursday, June 10th, 2010 |
| Was in high-school in Heidelberg...hitch hiked to the concert with a buddy and had a blast...tripping the whole time! Best ever outdooor concert of all time...of my time anyway...OMG! |
The first British Rock Meeting was originally planned for the Amphietheatre Thingstatte in Heidelberg, West Germany, and the early posters and tickets reflected this venue. However, the venue was changed to the new port in Speyer in anticipation of a crowd of over 25,000 people. The first British Rock Meeting was part of a 2-day, 2-city event, with half the bands playing in Speyer, Germany, and the other half playing in Vienna, Austria. The next day the bands would swap locations and play at the other venue. The Vienna portion of the event was officially called the "Sensational British Superstar Festival." 
The Second British Rock Meeting
After much searching, the concert promoters were finally able to relocate the festival to Insel Grün (Green Island) in Germersheim. Even then, it looked like the festival would not happen as Germersheim city officials began having second thoughts about allowing so a large festival to be held on Insel Grün and issued a police order against the festival the day prior to its start. City officials relented however after eleventh hour talks with the festival organizers, the mayor of Germersheim, and a top Rheinland Pfalz state official. Over 70,000 people attended this 4-day festival and 35 bands performed there, including Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep, Status Quo, Lindisfarne, and of course, Rory Gallagher. 
