Bill Haley Royal Command Performance

[kilbraur]

nise touch at the end to match his jacket with the queen's outfit

[UnofficialPixMan]

Nice one - I saw him at what I believe was his last ever UK performance at the Crawley Leisure Centre and have a few good photographs

[cavanfan]

Wow its amazing to think Rock around the clock was 25 years old and at the time that seemed a long time but its now 32 years since that clip!!!!

[The1701defiant]

his voice is pretty much the same as it was back in the fifties. wonderful!!

[gabe31g]

I'm surprised no one has thought about making a movie of his life

[ELVISCHEVY3]

to talk of rocknroll at all the name bill haley will always be there

[papa110v]

Bill Haley et ses Comets,formaient une équipe de grand talent...beau rock,musique agréable,pas agressive,mais très entrainante... Et puis pour ne rien gâcher,la belle humeur de Bill,toujours souriant...

[ReeseMac]

Carol Channing , Bill Haley , Yul Brynner and Boney M.....that was some show.

[richard42960]

Great!!! But it just don't look right without an upright bass.

[moreblack]

Still had the voice. Great job.

[BRUTUALTRUTH]

Thoroughly decent and remarkable man.None of the excess filth that most rock stars did.

[parisboogie]

THIS IS GREAT FOOTAGE,SHAME ABOUT THE LOOKS OF THE BACKING BAND..

[CadillacL]

oops Commets

[CadillacL]

How awesome to see footage of Billy Hailey & His Comments

[Zebonka]

0:35 "I've got a frightening thought - Rock around the Clock was released 25 years ago"

How do you think WE feel, cool 70's beardy guy?? Man time flies. Great music never dies!

[TheWhitehall]

Rock "N" Roll by Royal Appointment.

[rocknroll56able]

The KING !!

[alftupperstwin]

Bill Haley refused to play to segregated audieces (we are talking 50's States). Respect is due.

[Weidenberg]

@alftupperstwin

I completely agree.

[ELVISCHEVY3]

TO TALK OF ROCKNROLL AT ALL THE NAME BILL HALEY WILL ALWAYS BE AT THE TOP , I SEEN THIS AT 11 OLD SO EXCITED TO SEE THIS MY MUSIC HERO

[rocknroll56able]

Mr Bill Haley..the FIRST original KING of rock'n roll !!

[26highstreet]

Might as well have cut out the last 2mins 45 seconds, come to think of it, the forst 45 seconds as well.

Cant imagine anyone being even remotely interested in noel edmonds, except for some kind of novelty value..

interesting mention of brinsworth house, now the home of richard osullivan

[overnutts]

yes! yea ! fuck yea! love it all aaaaaaggggghhhhhh rock an roooolllllll right in front of the queen.....rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroo­oooooooooooccccccccckkkkkkkk aaaaaannnnncddd rrrrrrrooollllllllllll

[TheJUNGLESURFER]

bill is king

[FIREMARK1965]

A wonderful guy, rip Bill.

[saskabush2006]

This is the last known recording of Bill Haley performing Rock Around the Clock. His tour of Europe was at an end, and while he did go on to do a few shows in South Africa 6 months later no performances of Clock are known to have been recorded from those shows, so this truly was the end of a era.

[FlatfootJohnny]

It always makes me laugh at all the ridiculous arguments about who was first and who was better and who was original...who cares!? just enjoy the music and get dancing!

[Weidenberg]

Bill Haley gave kids a music that spoke their language. He never was the real king of Rock and Roll and he knew that. But he was the very first to become a Rock and Roll star. God bless him forever! Bill, we`ll always remember you!

[roadyrider]

Is that Yul Brenner??

[saskabush2006]

@roadyrider Yeah, this was an all-star benefit performance. Brynner was touring the UK in a production of The King and I at the time.

[inshreds66]

55 years ago now Noel.

[ookiecooky]

the real king of rock n roll not that hillbilly pretender ,who did not record one decent rock and roll disc.

[elvischevy]

well said bill haley was the best / when your dancing to the songs his songs had a magic beat

[TheWhitehall]

i, guess you are referring to Elvis...I just cannot agree with your comment. Have you heard the news there`s "Good Rockin` Tonite" Whether,you like it or not [and you`re not alone] Elvis` image and style is synominous with Rock "N" Roll and always shall be.

And he did record some super and memorable R "N" R.

[victorvictor14]

Great musician Bill Haley and a remarkable gentleman as well.

[pornguy2]

2009 and the Queen still rocks on.

Amazing to see her listen to Bill Haley.

I agree with all who say he was under appreciated and for a guy who started out

as a country swing man/band it is the

American success story to see where he

got.

BILL HALEY ROCKS

[HengistTheGreat]

He's certainly on good form here in this clip. Why Haley is slated so much in the press I can't say.

[Haleyzz]

Sadly all down to image..haley was a true pro and showman.i had the pleasure of seeing him many times in the 70's.he was just magic.

[BillyBogartShow]

Michael Jackson? Umm Bill Haley was to put it succinctly a "showman"! It's amazing how the world in general has forgotten this guy who translated r&b for the rest of us. There would be no Elvis without him. Why there might not have even been a Beatles if he didn't tour England long after Rock Around the Clock. Wow all I can say is wow, what a showman. He was professional to the very end. Long live his memory as the true king of R&R.

[OropherThranduil]

at first, this tune only became famous after it appeared in a movie on 55, at this time elvis had about 3 hits in the hot country song charts, second john lennon said that he noticed rock around the clock, but didn't get into rock'n'roll until he heard elvis heartbreak hotel, also all the beatles were great admirers of carl perkins, chuck berry, little richard and in the early phase lonnie donegan, but not great fans of bill, also elvis guitar player scotty moore is jimmy pages idol and so on.

[BillyBogartShow]

Rock Around the Clock turned so many people onto this new style of music.

maybe my admiration got ahead of me but those young kids in England went to see him play and got turned on. I never heard the Beatles say they hated him. Perhaps like a lot of English kids they wanted the black groups. In the end Elvis turned out to be a backstabber. I get the impression Bill was a little more genuine as a person. I also think Bill has been forgotten unfairly.

[saskabush2006]

OropherThrandull needs to do some research on rock and roll history. Lennon and McCartney have both gone on record as saying Bill Haley and Clock first got them interested in rock - not Elvis. And the record shows they formed the Quarrymen TWO WEEKS after attending Haley's Liverpool concert in 1957. Do the Math. And Haley had his first RnR hit in 1953, a year before Presley recorded his first single.

[OropherThranduil]

Paul McCartney recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" using Bill Black's bass at Abbey Road Studios. McCartney said: "It was Elvis who really got me hooked on beat music. When I heard 'Heartbreak Hotel' I thought, this is it... Musically it's perfect."

George Harrison of The Beatles remembered in an interview that "Heartbreak Hotel" was the first rock and roll record he ever heard

other stories like that are from: eg. keith richards and roger mcquinn, so do your fucking research and respect the KING!

[bigsby1]

Did he really need three guitarists (besides him) in the group?

[FabFM]

obviously it worked for him, and when the results are this great, who cares...

[cuttock]

Bill Haley ROCKS.

He rocked like the way it was meant to be.

Serious, cool, and true.

[DAVIDINTEL]

Great to see both Bill and Yul Brynner.

I remember going to see the King and I, he was awesome. Bill Haley, the first Rock and Roll Star!

[NeilThompson30]

Brilliant. I was in a band in the late 70s and we were doing our usual round of London pubs at the end of 1979. We handed our giglist to the 'Sounds' weekly music paper and when they printed it in the newspages - right above it was news of Bill Haley's Victoria Venue gigs! We cut the two articles out together - our claim to fame!

[loretta97]

rock n roll at its best no lip sync jst pure talent and a SINGING VOICE xx

[philh37]

Too bad the producer didn't put together a band with an upright bass and pedal steel guitar as per the original Comets. The production is a little too Vegas, Bill looks and sounds great though.

[wagcampos23]

otimo, otimo, muito bem.......!!!!!

[lollymayhannah]

i work with the guitarist on the left hehe

[dmljm]

Balls Balls cried the Queen,If i had them Id be King, Elvis is the King as we know but,, Bill Haley will always be the Father of Rock & Roll. Love yah Bill

[JosephNScott]

"Bill Haley will always be the Father of Rock & Roll." Bill's the father of rockabilly. The fathers of rock and roll are people like Jimmy Preston ("Rock The Joint"), Big Joe Turner ("Jumpin' At The Jubilee"), Roy Brown ("Boogie At Midnight"), and Little Jimmy ("Rock That Boogie"). Haley listened to that music and decided to mix it with "hillbilly."

[peterpetersbng]

top voice... Bill Haley

[pirocadura]

Muito bom...

[samventura]

The lead guitarist was a british guy. His name was Jerry Tilley.

[RedChuck38]

thanks alot

how did you get that information?

[RedChuck38]

maybe someone would be able to answer me: who was the lead guitar player on that performance?

[nomelodiigass]

aa mi papa le encanta bill haleyy

[sequeiraphillip]

I didn't know that this video was not the original Comets. No wonder the guitar was so different.

[Chimbo65]

@sequeiraphillip

None of the Comets here are original members.

They are all british musicians.

[roguejulie]

@Chimbo65 Actually, the bass player is American. His name is Chico Ryan. He played for the band ShaNaNa for many years until his death in 1998.

[Chimbo65]

@roguejulie

ok,thanks for the info.

I did`nt know

[rocknroll56able]

@Chimbo65 Is John Gordon.he was english.

[Chimbo65]

@rocknroll56able

Ok.

Thanks for the info

[rocknroll56able]

@roguejulie The bass player is John Gordon...chico is playing 2nd guitar.

[samventura]

I don't think that this version of the comets sound too bad. Dance steps are a little out out of place though. Bill had a lot of press coverage for this tour. I remember him being interviewed on Capitol radio. He sounded happy, and had lots of interesting things to say. He came across to me as a smart, courteous guy.

[samventura]

I Think that this was the last performance that Bill gave in the UK. I remember seeing him at the Venue Club in Victoria, London, on this trip. He dropped his famous Gibson Guitar one night, and damaged it!! He did a great show, and played a couple of songs that I never heard him do live before, 'Burn that candle', and 'Crazy man crazy'The downside to me was that he didn't look well at all.He passed a year or so later. Bill was a one off, many of us still miss him.

[Pickinbuddy]

You're right--he does NOT look well..he's completely detatched from the band and seems almost oblivious...

By the way, his guitar was not damaged--the end pin simply slipped out. When it 'went into the shop for repair' it was just to plug the old rear pin hole and install the more modern screw-in type which can't slip out. I know--I personally inspected the guitar when I visited his family a few years back. There were no cracks or anything that indicated structural repair.

I miss him too!

BT

[mallett4]

as and old rock n roll fan its just great to see Bill Haley on video I know ite a pity that its not the original Comets but what the heck just enjoy!!

[WICHOV4]

AWESOME,THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

[saxophoney]

Wow indeed. How proud he must have been.

[STU676]

wow

[Paul480]

Never tire of hearing this tune. Fab. Got it and a couple of other Haley records on 78s. Still play'em from time to time on my Dansette!

[Haleyzz]

Can you imagine it...Bill haley re-united with the original Comets....i really think they would have blown the audience away.

[samventura]

I bet if Bill had lived a little longer, he would have been reunited with the original Comets. Imagine seeing him with Franny, Joey D'Ambrosio, and all the other surviving Comets!! It would have put this shower of guys to shame.

[Pickinbuddy]

We TRIED to get Haley to reunite with the Original Comets in 1979...but Jimmy Myers wanted to be the "feature" name, plus his manager Patrick Malynn wasn't interested--now that he held TOTAL control over Haley and made the decision over which band members were to play on the group. I'm sure there would have been a major dispute over how the MONEY would have to be divided up with the original members. Patrick Malynn wrecked the band.

[saskabush2006]

Some additional notes: this was possibly the only time Haley sang a complete version of Clock with this version of the Comets (he normally cut one of the verses and the second instrumental break). Th guitar player with the beard was a member of Sha Na Na. The sax player went on to work with the likes Madonna. And unless some footage emerges from his 1980 tour of South Africa, this is the last known performance footage of Bill Haley.

[acejiver]

Bill would have been so proud of this especially as his mother was in fact English.

[Chimbo65]

@acejiver

Yes,she was from Ulverstone,Lancashire

[Ermengarde11]

Rocking Bill Haley! and Yul Brenner with what appears to be the cast of The King and I as well? That must have been an awesome night. God Save the Queen. I know she had fun. Was that Carole Channing too??!!

[Digirockben]

A great thanks to rik for the video,I think this is one of the great moment in Bills life and you can see he have a good time, singing his songs,so loooong live the king of Rock and roll,so let us see every clip with bill on you tube as elvischevy says,,,,,, MORE BILL ON YOU TUBE.

[Jerryberlin]

Good old Rock`n Roll!

Thanks Bill!

[samventura]

This was one of the very last things, if not the last, that Bill did in the UK. I saw him on this tour, and he did not look well.This was November of '79. He was in the UK in March '79 also, and looked much better.I think he may have been getting sick, as he passed away not too long after this. Nevertheless, Bill sounded the same. He was the greatest!!!

[elvischevy]

yes your right bill had loss a lot of weight from march of the same year , bill haleys music got everyone dancing ,atleast we have these to look back on /

[saskabush2006]

re:Bill's health. Although John Swenson's biography of Haley suggests his brain tumor was an issue during his fall 79 tour, my understanding is it never really manifested itself till 1980. Haley got dentures before his Spring 79 tour; that's a possible reason for his weight loss (people sometimes don't eat as much for awhile) as well as the fact he started lisping a bit.

[elvischevy]

yes i seen in oct 1980 i think it was the new of the world paper/ it said rock king haley very ill / i also seen a program 1979 bill haley singing hail hail rocknroll did not look well

[samventura]

I saw Bill pretty close up on that trip. It was at the Venue Victoria.I remember him looking drawn. Maybe the teeth issue was the reason? He sounded great, and seemed in good spirits. I was lucky to see him 4 nights running!

[elvischevy]

great to hear stories of bill haley shows, every clip of bill haley should be on your tube ,to keep bill haleys music alive

[albertparsley]

a magnificent performance, thanks for uploading it & you've done an excellent job of editing the clip it was great to see all the extra bits.

[saskabush2006]

For those interested, the line-up of the Comets at this time was: John Gordon (bass), Pete Thomas (sax), Jerry Tilley (lead guitar), Steve Murray (drums), Chico Ryan of Sha Na Na fame (rhythm guitar with beard), and Mal Gray (second rhythm guitar at far right). From what I understand, Ryan and Gordon traded off on bass during the 1979-80 tours.

[elvischevy]

is there any film of bill haley in south africa in 1980

[saskabush2006]

re: South Africa. Nothing has yet surfaced, however a radio station in Johannesburg broadcast one of his shows and a partial recording survives. (I've heard bits of it and Haley does a very good job. )

[elvischevy]

thanks , saskabush 2006 / long live rocknroll

[Haleyzz]

My apologies..yes your right he's from bony M .

[Haleyzz]

no it's not...his name is chico ryan...he was a comet on this tour....gotta say he looks out of place !!!

[elvischevy]

yes it is

[lolle18]

The black guy at the right at time-index 6:47 - is it the 'singer' of Boney M.?

[saskabush2006]

This is a terrific clip that shows, among other things, that Haley still had what it took. One of the Comets was actually a former member of Sha Na Na (one of the guitar players at right). The sax player went on to work with a number of performers like Madonna. Great clip, Rik!

[Haleyzz]

the only rock'n'roller to perform for the queen....as usual the king of r'n'roll brings the house down..thanks rik

[elvischevy]

the best ever , thanks rik , i have waited 28 years to see this again , i was 11 olds when i seen this , what joy it was to see bill haley on tv in 1979 and ever greater joy to see this all theses years later , well done rik