European Tour 1977, Part Two: Glasgow & Stafford

April 30-May 1
Apollo Center, Glasgow, Scotland

A piper greets the Eagles upon their arrival at Prestwick Airport in Glasgow.

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The three artics* parked in the lane next to the Apollo Centre last weekend told Glasgow that the Eagles had landed

West Lothian (Scotland) Courier, May 6th, 1977
*artics = tractor trailers

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This was the second appearance by the group at The Apollo in Glasgow. Their first was in November 1973, opening for Neil Young. At that time, few in the audience had heard of the Eagles. By 1977, this was not the case.

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“Hello, Scotland, we’re the Eagles from Los Angeles.”
_{Glenn Frey at the Glasgow Apollo.
Aberdeen (Scotland) Evening Express, May 4th, 1977}

The band opened with a “note perfect version” of “Hotel California,” giving “tousle-haired guitar man Joe Walsh” a chance to shine early on. It’s no secret that Walsh, who had only been with the band a little over a year after replacing Bernie Leadon, was the main attraction.

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Meanwhile, Randy Meisner just grooved quietly stage left pumping out some nice fat bass phrases.

West Lothian (Scotland) Courier, May 6th, 1977

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Following “Lyin’ Eyes” in which Glenn Frey inserted “Glasgow” into one of the lyrics, was Randy’s showstopper, “Take It To The Limit”:

“The Eagles were in full flight by this stage and the capacity crowd were lapping up the Californian coolness on stage. A huge cheer went up when Frey sang “A Glasgow night. It’s going to be a long one” during “Lyin’ Eyes” but the highlight of this section was Randy Meisner’s “Take It To The Limit.” Throughout, Meisner played steady and effective, if not spectacular, bass, But his ovation was for absolutely perfect vocal work on the one song.”
_{Aberdeen Evening (Scotland) Express, May 4th, 1977}

But, one must give a hat-tip to Joe Walsh, who had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the beginning and, during the second encore, left them with a moment they won’t not soon forget:

“Then, surely never…yes, it was Joe Walsh in a kilt playing “Bonnie Galloway” on the bagpipes! ‘It took me two days to learn,’ he said.”
_{Aberdeen Evening Express, May 4th, 1977}

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The Eagles boarding their private plane in Scotland. Randy’s son, Dana, is in front of him (his arm is to Randy’s left). Don Henley is ahead of them on the stairs with his girlfriend, Georganne Lapierre, Cher’s sister. Photo by Jennifer Meisner.

Read the full-length reviews quoted in this section here:
Aberdeen Evening Express, May 4th, 1977
West Lothian Courier, May 6th, 1977

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May 3-4
Bingley Hall, Stafford, England

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“Bass guitarist Randy Meisner, together with his super voice on”Take It To The Limit,” provided the 12,000 plus crowd with the perfect foil for the rest of the band.”
_{Coleshill (England) Chronicle, May 13, 1977}

The Eagles ended the British leg of their tour with two sold-out shows at Bingley Hall in Stafford. One thing the band set out to prove was that they were no longer a laid-back, easy-going country-rock band:

“Any doubts about whether their sweet-sounding California dreaming songs might turn out to be monotonous and dirge-like when performed live were swiftly dispelled by their gig in Stafford. The difference between the country-rock outfit I saw…in 1973, and The Eagles as they are today, lies In their Extra Added Ingredients.

The blend has been enriched by the addition of guitarist Don Felder, a late arrival for the On The Border LP, who stamped his mark on One Of These Nights.

But it Is the newest member, Joe Walsh, who has really transformed the group into a world-beating act. His credentials are envious–a period with the James Gang followed by a series of solo albums–a man rated as one of the best guitarists in the world by Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend.”

North Wales Weekly News, May 12th, 1977

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The Stafford audience was treated to two-hours of “non-stop exhilaration”:

“There wasn’t a bad number in the whole set. No lull in the proceedings, Just a series of highlights…

The first was ‘Doolin-Dalton,’ the opening track from Desperado, which struck home early in the set. Then it was Walsh’s thumping rendition of ‘Turn To Stone,’ ending in a slide-guitar crescendo, all perfectly controlled.

Then it was Randy Meisner’s ‘Take It To The Limit’ from One Of These Nights, which showed off another of their assets, those harmonies, to the full. In whichever department you look, The Eagles are either competent, good or brilliant.”

North Wales Weekly News, May 12th, 1977

The Eagles will take a three-day break before they begin their week-long tour of Germany on May 7th. I will cover this leg of the tour in my next post.

Read the full-length reviews quoted in this section here:
North Wales Weekly News, May 12, 1977
Coleshill (England) Chronicle, May 13th, 1977

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Part Three: Germany

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