The Flutist of Blackpool: Jethro Tull

[luisam]

Not many rock bands have room for a flutist, but this one did. In fact, the lead singer for the group, "Jethro Tull"; Ian Anderson, not only playes flute, but also acoustic and bass guitars along with a variety of other instruments including the balalaika, saxophone, and harmonica.

 

The band was formed in Blackpool, England, by Ian Anderson in mid '60s with some lads from the local pub as a small blues band and started his long musical journey. The band went through enough bad band names to amaze even Creedence Clearwater Revival. The performances were so bad that no promoter would get it into his head to book the group a second time - so the band made a habit of thinking up a new name every week.
 

According to Ian Anderson the only way they could get re-booked into the clubs they played at was to pretend to be somebody different every week and often they didn't know who they were - the agent forgot to tell them - so on their way to the next gig they used to go over the list of bands that would be playing that night; the only band name that did not ring a bell usually was their group name for that evening.

 

After a few years of no success, dirty pubs, and over forty different name changes, the band was almost ready to quit music all together. Then "Jethtro Tull" was suggested by their agent as one of their weekly names for the band, they we said 'ok, we'll be Jethro Tull this week'. They didn't like particularly that name but that happened to be the band name during the week in which London's famous Marquee Club offered them the Thursday night residency. So it stuck and it was too late to change.

 

Jethro Tull was an actual person, an English agricultural pioneer who had been born in 1674. He had helped bring about the British Agricultural Revolution by perfecting a horse-drawn seed drill as well as a horse-drawn hoe. His new methods of planting were instrumental in forming what was to become modern agriculture.

 

 

 

[flash48]

Thanks, This brings back memories.  I saw Jethro Tull in concert once, either in the late 70's or early 80's.