Taking the Biscuit

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Lynyrd Skynyrd were performing in the UK in late 1975, on a tour promoting their third studio record, Nuthin' Fancy. The band were coming off two hugely successful albums, their debut, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd and 1974's Second Helping, and they had recently changed their drummer (from Bob Burns to Artimus Pyle) as well as their original guitarist, Ed King. The changes appeared to revitalize the band though, which, although down to six pieces, played with more energy and passion than had previously been witnessed. This show features Lynyrd Skynyrd in an environment where they felt comfortable and were at the top of their game. With the exception of the Allman Brothers, most southern rock bands had stayed away from the UK during this period because the country's music scene was so wrapped up in glam, pub-rock and the emerging punk scene. But that didn't e Skynyrd, who confidently played their brand of riff-driving southern fried rock boogie to near capacity crowds around the British Isles. Kicking off with the raucous Double Trouble, they quickly move into I Ain't the One, from their debut album. Poignant songs like Needle and Spoon are balanced against established Skynyrd rockers such as, Saturday Night Special and Gimme Three Steps. Songs like Whiskey Rock a Roller, JJ Cales' majestic Call Me the Breeze, and the ultimate boogie, Sweet Home Alabama are played here in their original form, and it is somehow strangely ironic that many of these classics would re-emerge as part of the must-do repertoire of so many country artists. The band ends the show with a predictable, but crowd-pleasing version of their radio hit, Free Bird, which clocks in at 12:20. Sadly, the group were destined for tragedy, when 3 of their members, including lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, died in a plane c less than two years after this show was broadcast across the USA on the King Biscuit Flower Hour.