What A Day (Beatclub 1970)

After Eric Clapton left BLIND FAITH in late 1969, Ginger Baker came up with the idea of forming a kind of big band that mixed African music with popular Western music. This innovative concept was ahead of it's time and would later be called "world music". He brought together an all-star ensemble (Steve Winwood, Ric Grech, Chris Wood, Graham Bond, Denny Lane, etc.) and played two concerts at the Royal Alber Hall in London and the Town Hall in Birmingham. Shortly after the concerts, the live double LP "Ginger Baker's Air Force" was released in Europe and America. It was a very idiosyncratic mix presented to fans accustomed to rock, but the critics praised this musical excursion and Ginger was surprised by the remarkable sales figures. He decided to continue the project, recruiting new young musicians for his AIR FORCE and entering the studio to record the follow-up album "Air Force 2". In October 1970, the band traveled to Germany with the current line-up to play some concerts and made a detour to the north to perform at the TV studio of Radio Bremen on the legendary music show Beat Club. AIR FORCE also drew on Cream classics such as "Sunshine Of Your Love", which was rearranged in an African big band sound and flowed seamlessly into "Toady". A 9-minute epic by the band with numerous solos and a Ginger Baker bursting with energy, drumming one of his best solos. Now this session is available on audio and video, on CD and DVD, with all the takes recorded that day, not just the ones that were finally broadcast at the Bremen Beat Club in Germany on Saturday afternoon, October 24, 1970.