Bursting Out! How Jethro Tull Conquered The US

In 1969, Jethro Tull embarked on their first great American adventure. Within the space of a few short years, they would swap modest-sized stages for packed-out shows at Madison Square Garden and Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Ian Anderson and Martin Barre look back on Tull’s journey from mad-eyed bluesy Brits to the fully fledged stadium rock phenomenon that was second only to Led Zeppelin in the 70s.

Dave Everley

No one wants to be accidentally tear-gassed onstage, but there are definitely worse places for it to happen than Red Rocks Amphitheatre. It was June 10, 1971, and Jethro Tull were headlining this beautiful, 10,000-capacity open-air venue built into the natural sandstone formations south of Denver, Colorado. This was the band’s eighth US tour in the two-and-half-years since they’d first set foot in North America, a work rate they would sustain throughout the coming decade. Such was the scale of Tull’s US success that demand for tickets for the Red Rocks show outstripped supply. Dozens of ticketless fans gathered outside the venue’s gates, hoping to cajole, sweet-talk or simply force their way in. The local police department, there to keep some semblance of order, were having none of it. Simmering…

You're reading a preview of

Prog Italia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 149

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.