NYC ‘76, an 88 minute Van Der Graaf Generator documentary by Jim Christopulos is release today, or at least let loose via YouTube today, here’s what Van Der Graaf leader Peter Hammill has to say on the matter; “When the footage of the Massey Hall [Toronto] concert showed up and Jim did such a good job of matching it up to existing audio, my mind turned back to a couple of reels of super 8 which I’d been given many, many years ago – of the NYC Beacon Theatre show. I’d never known quite what to do with it. If it was sent out into, say, the Web without sound it would be just some kind of a curio. Historical artefact as it clearly was, it also didn’t seem right to put it up for private collectors. In the end, I got it transferred digitally and sent the resultant footage off to Jim. He can tell the rest!” – Peter Hammill

We have kind of decided to step back from re-issues, box sets and the likes here at Organ, there’s been so much coming at us on an almost daily basis and we might love some of them, really it isn’t what Organ was and is about, this is something a little different though, this is something new…

“Earlier this year, I put together the Toronto ’76 film of Van der Graaf Generator performing at Massey Hall. That film was very popular with the band’s worldwide fanbase and was also the first live concert footage ever seen of Van der Graaf during the World Record era. I’d been in touch with Peter and the rest of the band throughout the making of that short video. Impressed, Peter gave me some silent footage of VdGG’s one and only U.S. concert of the 70’s – NYC’s Beacon Theater, October 18, 1976. This was given to him by an anonymous fan years ago (we still don’t know who it was) and comprised short clips of the group performing on stage, ranging from a few seconds to about 20 seconds per shot. In discussion with Phil Smart, my co-author of Van der Graaf Generator – The Book, we decided it would be nice for me to make a short film of those clips fleshed out with commentary from the band (which I had recordings of from my The Book sessions) – a sort of mini-documentary. I then saw a five-year-old comment posted on a YouTube clip by a fan named Bill Wilson who stated that he had silent footage of the ’76 Beacon Theater concert. I tracked Bill down and he graciously donated his footage of the gig, shot by his (at the time) 14-year-old self. He then told me that one of the friends he went with, John Adams, also shot footage. John also donated his digitized reels and I suddenly had three sources of film to synch up with audio. Now with a substantial amount of concert footage, the project became much bigger in scope. I decided to track down fans who were at the NYC ’76 show and ask them to record their recollections. The resulting film is a combination of extremely rare concert footage, concert audio from the Beacon Theater gig, rare still photography, commentary from fans (audio and written), commentary from VdGG crew members, and audio commentary from the band themselves. Finally, I should say that the Beacon Theater ’76 audio has been my absolute favourite VdGG concert recording for several decades, since I was a kid in high school. The band seemed crazed that night, teetering on the edge but never going over. The chaotic element almost veers into punk territory at times and is a joy to listen to. Now, it is an even greater joy to see it. I never thought I’d view footage from this concert, much less have the privilege of working on it. To say it’s been a wonderfully surreal experience is an understatement. Time machines don’t exist, but this is as close as one will come to experiencing “what it was like” on that October night back in 1976”. Jim Christopulos

“Jim Christopulos’ film is brilliantly researched and put together, with such great editing and production! There are wonderful images and some rare footage and surprisingly great sound throughout. It is a great balance of revealing contributions and secret revelations from everyone thrown together by this epic event in VdGG history: the record companies and management; the media and journalists; the devoted young fans and audience from far and wide; and, of course, thoughts from the band members themselves and their crew – and a lot from close to that time, never before reaching the light of day! There are so many elements I never expected to see or hear. And above all, there is a chance to experience the music expressed at that time and so beautifully illustrated – and to savour the astonishing performances by the band in a multi-sensory way. It is astonishing, moving, revealing and touching – and it delivers unimaginable insights into lost moments in the musical past of everyone involved”. – David Jackson

Previously

ORGAN THING: Some rare footage of a really on it Van der Graaf Generator performing live in Toronto in ’76 has emerged, “I’ve been secretly working on this one for a while…” said Jim today.