Not Cop But Pop, Slip Disc, & Taj Mahal | #224

+ Michael Jackson's Bombay concert >>>

Hey there

If you are one of the 1981231289 people who were stuck in a queue on bookmyshow to buy a ticket to watch a British Band perform in a cricket stadium in Mumbai, you might have wondered if you were in an Adventure of a Lifetime. In case you managed to procure a ticket, you might have felt like a Champion of the World and there might have been Christmas Lights on in your houses. The rest might have felt a little Yellow, and went to sleep with A head full of Dreams. *closes wikipedia for List of Coldplay songs*

Coldplay is definitely not the first band to have its moments in India and neither will it be the last. This got us thinking about interesting stories when international performers decide to tour India. This week’s newsletter features some that you may not have heard of.

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Things we learnt this week 🤓

• When was the Taj Mahal illuminated for the first time at night? The answer is for the concert by Yanni. Yiannis Chryssomallis aka Yanni, was the first Western artist permitted to perform at this iconic monument. Yanni and his team undertook the Herculean task of staging a sandbar in the middle of the Yamuna River, requiring the construction of an elaborate stage and seating for 7,200 attendees. The Indian Army played a crucial role, building two pontoon bridges in record time to facilitate access to the site. The logistical challenges were immense—130 tons of video and audio equipment were imported from the UK, and four towering structures, some reaching over 60 feet high, were erected to house the lighting equipment. Remarkably, no motorised vehicles were allowed within 500 metres of the monument to preserve its sanctity. Yanni also flew in the revolutionary V-DOSC sound system, which cancelled the sound reflecting from the rear of the speaker cabinets, ensuring that the sound reaching the Taj Mahal was as low as two people talking. For the first time in history, the Taj Mahal was artificially illuminated at night, creating a breathtaking backdrop as Yanni performed his compositions. Wah Taj indeed! 

Taj Mahal the real star of the concert 

• Led Zeppelin’s impromptu performance at Bombay’s Slip Disc in the early 1970s has since taken on the quality of an urban legend, a hazy memory shrouded in myth and nostalgia. The story goes that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, along with their manager Richard Cole, wandered over from their swanky base at the Taj Mahal hotel to the grungy discotheque one night, only to be initially turned away by security for their “hippie” appearance. It was the intervention of local music lover Yusuf Gandhi that granted them entry into the smoky, dimly lit club, where the air was thick with anticipation and other dubious substances. Plant would later describe the experience as “playing in an old dive for a bottle of scotch,” a fitting portrayal of the raw, unpolished nature of the night. The pair, unimpressed by the exclusive but lifeless atmosphere at the Taj’s own club, Blow Up, found solace in the chaotic energy of Slip Disc, the only club in Mumbai with a drum-kit at the time. As the night unfolded, they took to the stage with borrowed, subpar instruments and delivered an unplanned set that included a raucous rendition of “Whole Lotta Love” and an impromptu blues number. The urban legend is that the club Slip Disc shut down immediately after, as nothing could top the might of Led Zep. We concur with that sentiment atleast.

• In March 1980, Mumbai witnessed its first major intl rock concert as The Police took the stage at Rang Bhavan, a moment forever etched in the city’s musical lore. The event was orchestrated by the enterprising Parsi ladies of the Time and Talent Club, who, in their quest to raise funds for education, poverty relief, and medicine, managed to secure one of the hottest bands of the time. The news of Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland performing in India spread like wildfire, and tickets sold out almost instantly. On the day of the concert, fans scaled walls and packed into the venue, eager to catch a glimpse of the band behind hits like “Message in a Bottle” and “Walking on the Moon.” Those unable to get tickets improvised, sneaking in through the neighboring Elphinstone Technical School. As The Police played to a crowd that was both bewildered and ecstatic, they raised £5,000 for charity and left behind a legacy. It was a night when Mumbai, albeit briefly, found itself in sync with the global rock rhythm, even if just for a Synchronicity of its own.

The most iconic Tagline for The Police - Not Cop But Pop

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From IWTK, with love 💌

• Talking of Coldplay, did you know they were in India before and you could have heard them for FREE along with performances from Raghu Dixit and Vishal Dadlani? 

  iwtkquiz

  

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• Michael Jackson was also in India in 1996 for HIStory World tour. It was controversial. Read more about it in our edition #196.

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Only In India 🇮🇳

A skywalk takes 3 years to build, but nobody thought of building stairs to get on the skywalk! 

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<3 IWTK