35 years ago today Pink Floyd and Soft Machine at the Roundhouse
October 15th, 2001 by admin
35 years ago today, on the 15th of October 1966, Pink Floyd and Soft machine appeared at London’s Roundhouse for the launch party of IT (International Times) newspaper. IT, published by Jim Haynes, John Hopkins (Hoppy), Barry Miles and Jack Moore, and edited by Tim McGrath, was the 1st underground newspaper in the UK and became the most important publication of the psychedelic scene in the 60’s. The Roundhouse was one of the most significant venues in the London scene in the 60’s and 70’s and played a very important roll especially during the psychedelic scene.
The party included a 6-hour film programme featuring Balch, Dwoskin, and Latham. Legend has it that L.S.D. coated sugarcubes were given away as prizes.
Daevid Allen from Soft Machine recalls: “That was our first gig as a quartet. Yoko Ono came onstage and created a giant happening by getting everybody to touch each other in the dark, right in the middle of the set. We also had a motorcycle brought onto the stage and would put a microphone against the cylinder for a good noise.”