Footage of Wembley Stadium’s 1st ever concert, “The London Rock and Roll Show” Featuring Chuck Berry From 1972 — Video

The London Rock and Roll Show was a concert held at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 5 August, 1972 and amazingly was the first ever concert held at the stadium.

From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, many rock and roll performers from the 1950s experienced major career revivals due to a temporary upswing of interest in their form of music. The Revival was marked by a series of major concerts in the United States, and also spread to Europe where events such as the Wembley concert attracted thousands of fans who came out to see the performers behind the music.

The concert included performances by major performers including Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Bill Haley and His Comets. The concert ended with an extended performance by Chuck Berry, who at the time was enjoying major chart success in Britain and the US with his “My Ding-a-Ling”.

Originally billed rock’n’roll era acts The Platters, The Drifters and The Coasters were unable to perform due to work permit issues. The show was opened instead with sets from British rock’n’rollers The Houseshakers, Joe Brown, Emile Ford & The Checkmates, Screaming Lord Sutch, Heinz ( with Wilko Johnson on guitar) and Billy Fury; as well as songs from Jerry Lee Lewis’s sister Linda Gail Lewis.

Roy Wood’s new band Wizzard, only formed a few weeks previously, also made their live debut at the show.

The concert was filmed and released in 1973 as The London Rock and Roll Show, directed by Peter Clifton. Which can be seen in full in the video clip below.