Frederick (Freddy) Bannister was a major UK music
promoter during the 1960s and 1970s. He handled the European tours
of most of the big acts from America at the time, as well as organising
some of the biggest festivals - Bath, Lincoln, Knebworth - in the
UK.
He promoted the 1970s tours in the UK by Captain Beefheart
and the Magic Band. And he must be in all Beefheart fans' debt for
getting Don back performing by offering him a gig at the 1975 Knebworth
Festival.
This book of reminiscences of his career is a fascinating
read that includes a number of Beefheart stories.
The book illustrated is the much more affordable paperback
version that combines the text from the books included in the very
expensive collectors' item-laden commemorative Bath Festivals and
Knebworth Festivals box sets.
There are a number of different options when buying
the limited editions. One of which includes a free CD of Beefheart's
Knebworth 1975 appearance. However, don't get too excited expecting
a soundboard recording because this is actually just a copy of one
of the reasonable audience recordings that has been circulating
amongst collectors for several years.