– Roy Wood’s Wizzo Band – Live on BBC Sight n’ Sound – Feb. 4, 1977 – BBC Radio 1 –
Anyone familiar with The Move or Roy Wood’s Wizzard will probably be familiar with this short-lived experiment from Mr. Wood in the late 1970s. The Wizzo Band was a slight departure from the hard-driven Rock n’ Roll as epitomized by Wood’s previous band, The Move. This was expanding into Big Band territory with a horn section, solos, and riffs. It still paid homage to some classic Move tracks (California Man).
But it seemed doomed from the start. Good concept though it might have been – a Big Band just wasn’t what audiences were drawn to in the late 1970s. Coupled with the dawn of Punk, it was hard to find an audience.
So, The Roy Wood Wizzo Band only lasted one series of appearances, of which this live concert, part of the BBC‘s Sight and Sound Series, was the only example of this venture into different territory. Had it been five years earlier or ten years later it might have been a big success. But audiences were changing and this brief example of what Roy Wood could do with a lot of musicians on stage would sadly be overlooked.
If you missed it the first time around, here is that rare one-off concert featuring the legendary Roy Wood and his Wizzo Band, recorded for BBC’s Sight and Sound Radio/TV series on February 4, 1977.
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