Hey! I was born in Brooklyn. But I was living in Queens in the 60s. I was 14 at the time and listened to WMCA all the time. I knew about their NYC appearances, but I got stuck taking my kid sister to see A Hard Day's Night. Three times! I would have loved to see them live in those days. The Animals were my favorite British band at the time. It wasn't until Rubber Soul that I started taking The Beatles seriously.
What did they do on stage?
I remember the theater and stage being pitch black as the guitar intro and keyboard led into
House of the Rising Sun. Then spotlight on Eric, of course. All very dramatic. Did I mention that the stage was below the orchestra pit and actually rose to full height as the first notes played. A hydraulic stage! It was over the top. They wore shiny sharkskin and Eric looked almost demonic in his intensity with the lyrics.
I believe they played two or three songs at most. It was a package tour kind of show with about seven or eight acts and a movie. They did this several times a day for about a week or so. I think King Curtis led the house band. I seem to remember a guy named Ronnie Dove, and perhaps Jan and Dean were on the bill too. I could be confusing this with another Good Guys Paramount show with the Hullabaloos that I saw in the same era.
Some girls sitting next to me said they knew which hotel a few of the groups were staying at, so I tagged along with them afterward to the Warwick Hotel. We got to meet Jan Berry who came out of the hotel barefoot to chat and sign some autographs. He was a medical student at the time.
Were you a Fillmore East regular later on, by any chance?
