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MUSIC & VIDEO WEEK APRIL 11, 1981 Edited by American DAVID DALTON Commentary Case against Goody wilts ... BBC to boost Euro links ROCKPALAST, the recent live those countries not understanding "It was a big improvement on the broadcast concert from Germany German. Bangs has lived in Police concert, with simultaneous Record sales down . .. Jem featuring The Who and The Germany for seven years, working stereo on radio." Grateful Dead, has been judged an for the British Forces Broadcasting Although it is only in its earliest all round success. The question now- Service and other radio in Germany stages of discussion, Appleton has hesitates on t + 1 being asked is why the BBC can't set and writing for a German pop mooted the idea of the BBC NEW YORK: Both sides in the Sam Goody tape counterfeiting trial up a similar venture, using its paper. providing complementary concert have rested their cases, with defence lawyers confident enough in the technical expertise and experience to Bangs also proves useful for coverage for future Rockpalast weaknesses of the prosecution's case that they saw no need to call any feed the Eurovision network with interviews with the artists and the programmes. witnesses of their own. rock music. break between The Who and The "I have talked to Peter Ruechel Indeed, prior to summations. Judge Thomas Platt dismissed all The answer is that a networked Grateful Dead in the last programme about the idea of alternating groups charges against Goody president George Levy, and threw out several music show from the UK is a distinct featured an interesting interview so that we could fill in the gaps they of the 16 counts in the original indictment, including racketeering possibility, with the likelihood of with Pete Townshcnd not shown by have while changing over bands." charges against the company. some form of co-operation between the BBC. Other intermission The two plus two idea would also The Government's case has been steadily whittled down to the point the BBC and Rockpalast programme material not shown by the BBC was probably involve Radio One and where Judge Platt has hinted he might dismiss the entire proceedings makers West-Deutsche Rundfunk. past concert footage including Dr producer Jeff Griffin, who was before the jury enters deliberations. Critical to the potential collapse Such a programme would not set a Feelgood and ZZ Top. Previous supervising the BBC coverage in of the case was a covert tape made for the FBI by an admitted precedent, for a couple of years ago shows have tended to have more Essen, says "Rockpalast has a good transporter of counterfeit tapes, Murray Kaplan. On the tape, played the BBC set up a satellite link to a than two bands on the bill, leaving format and I hope we cover the next at the request of the defence during cross-examination of an FBI number of countries for its ♦ more break lime to fill, and it is one, but that will depend on the line- special agent, Goody VP Sam Stolon denied taking kickbacks from broadcast of a Jethro Tull concert partly the untidiness of the live up. The Who were very good but I convicted counterfeiter Norton Verner. from New York's Madison Square broadcast that has prompted BBC think listeners' patience was tested Also damaging to the government case in the four-week trial was an Garden, Television to select its coverage. by the Grateful Dead. FBI agent's discarding of notes, repeated success by defence attorneys It does seem incongruous, though, "The biggest irony was that we in discrediting government allegations (as in the matter of free tapes TV institution for BBC 2 to broadcast took more of the concert even than Goody would have received from PolyGram and inaccurate charts international badminton and a German radio." drawn up by another FBI agent), and the prosecutor's allegation that Rockpalast has become something Bartok concert between their two The promotional benefits of such American Can and Pickwick personnel were deliberately forgetting of an institution with TV rock fans Rockpalast transmissions. Radio a widely-viewed screening can be germane facts. in Europe. WDR have been making One, on the pther hand, began enormous and arc readily Daily observers of the court-room drama are doubtful that any two programmes a year, one in transmission of the concert at acknowledged by Arthur Sherrif, convictions would be forthcoming, should (he case actually go to the spring and one in autumn, for 9.30pm, with Tommy Vance acting head of promotion at Polydor who jury. The "beyond a shadow of a doubt" mandate for conviction several years, though last October's as link man in London, and stayed was in Essen with The Who. would be a difficult decision even for the most cynical of these Police concert was the first taken by with it right through until the not-so- "As big as The Who are, with a obseners. BBC Television and this latest carly hours of Sunday morning. simultaneous international album offering was the first to be release date, it's a terrific boost to be AS ANTICIPATED, year-end shipping figures as compiled by the simultaneously broadcast in stereo able to do such a telecast," he says. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) were down five by Radio One. Live transmission "In the middle of a marketing per cent from 1979 to a total of 649 million units. The men responsible for campaign it is the best way to expose The decrease, however, was offset by rises in list prices, and a shift Rockpalast are the highly respected About a dozen countries in a band to the greatest number of in ratio between albums and singles brought the dollar amount of duo of producer Peter Ruechel and Europe, from Sweden to people in the easiest way possible. It recordings sold (including LPs, singles and various tape formats) to director Christian Wagner, a team Yugoslavia, took the show though was especially important in the case S3.68 billion, a slight increase over the previous year. similar to the BBC pairing of Mike not all of them look it live. A few of The Who because they had just Album shipments rose by almost 20 million units to 308 million, Appleton and Tom Corcoran. countries not wishing to take the cancelled their European lour while singles dropped 26 per cent to a total of 157 million pieces. The Who/Grateful Dead show- chance of a live transmission took dates." Other factors affecting the tallies, according to the RIAA, were was staged at Essen's Grugahalle, a the show on a deferred transmission decreases in record club, special product, 12-inch single, and premium large venue something like Wembley- basis, agreeing to screen it within areas. Imports are not computed into the report. Arena but more modern and with two weeks so that it remains current. much of the audience standing. The Mike Appleton, Old Grey Whistle hall was full of paying customers, Test producer who was also By IRA MAYER something which would breach the responsible for the London end of AIRC gets BBC's charter if it were to stage the BBC television coverage, regards SPOT-CHECKING on the video disc front: A laser player is buried, same thing here. this latest Rockpalast as "very inoperative, in a corner of Macy's flagship store. "It hasn't worked The German version of the successful" and adds: "I hope we to grips with since we got it, and no one's bothered to send it back," said the sales programme is longer than was seen will gel involved in the next one in clerk. An RCA machine is playing intermittently. in the UK, and was presented jointly October. Whistle Test won't be advertising Asked how many of the RCA units he had sold, a Sam Goody in German and English. The English going out on Saturdays for the next salesman replied: "Oh, quite a few". Store allotment: two, one of presenter, Alan Bangs, provided scries but 1 hope we can slot it into, INDEPENDENT local Radio is which is for display. commentary and introduction for the schedule. aiming to give itself a Few sales persons actually know how to operate either machine, let promotional boost at a time alone how to answer questions. One man 1 know started playing with when advertising revenue the freeze frame button on a Philips unit, and two salesmen came over maintains its slow growth. to ask him to show them how to do it. 'Networked music'call The Association of One begins to wonder whether the people looking at the machines MERC IA SOUND managing programmes of a high order and Independent Radio Contractors arc all reporters writing about each other. director John Bradford called for would help to enhance our is launching the presentation on reputation with specific groups of radio advertising, first seen at (he MARTY SCOTT of Jem says no final decision has been made by his greater cooperation among 1LR Monte Carlo TV and Radio company as to whether or not it will import Island's One-Plus-One stations in the production of listeners who are interested in these Conference in February, at format. "They would probably like us to do it, but there arc a lot of specialist music programmes in the different specialist areas. Capital's Duke Of York's things to consider." first of this year's IBA lectures "The alternative of developing 50 Theatre in London on April 13. He adds that with the import market soft Jem has been delivered at the authority's London or 60 so-called experts in folk or Mel Smith, of the Not The concentrating on domestic manufacturing and its own labels.

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