Roy Harper: “Suddenly I’m president of The North-East Lancashire Sheep Shaggers Association”

Hats Off To Harper: Roy Harper & BP Fallon & Dave Cochran, Knebworth Festival England 1975. Memphis-born Dave – who once saw Elvis in a diner – played bass in Roy’s band Trigger with Chris Spedding (guitar) and Bill Bruford (drums). At the festival, Roy also sang ‘Have A Cigar’ with Pink Floyd. Polaroid photographer unknown.

Roy Harper talking to editor Allan Jones in ‘Editor’s Letters’ in the current Uncut magazine:

“At the time, BP Fallon was doing my PR. He knew there hadn’t been a diagnosis, but he’d been with me when the doctors asked what I’d recently been up to that might have made me ill, and I told them I’d tried to bring a still-born lamb back to life by cupping my hands around its mouth and blowing into them. I actually never touched the lamb at all, but in Fallon’s version of events I’d ended up in hospital after giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a sheep.

“This was the story that went out to a ludicrous number of newspapers. Suddenly I’m president of The North-East Lancashire Sheep Shaggers Association. For years, it was the only thing people wanted to talk about, how I nearly died after kissing a sheep. I spent years trying to explain what had happened and in the end just gave up and went along with it. I mean, why not?”

Double Trouble: BP Fallon & Roy Harper in Ålesund, Norway 1975. BP’s snakeskin jacket a present from Steve Marriott, bless him. Photography by Steinar Remme.

Double Bubble: Roy Harper not with a sheep, Continental Hyatt House West Hollywood June 1973 during a Led Zeppelin tour. Photography by
BP Fallon who took some of the shots below – as did Roy Harper:

Led Zeppelin ‘Physical Graffiti’ inner sleeve (1975). Jimmy Page with bandaged left hand and champagne glass in the right and John Bonham and Robert Plant ascloseasthis in a limo, photography by BP Fallon.

🙂

Read the complete Allan Jones’ ‘Editor’s Letters’ plus ‘Roy Harper: a candid interview with the mercurial singer, who’s 70 this month’ in Uncut.

The End?

Melody Maker July 12 1975. 12p weekly 60c in USA.

SEE! More fun & frolics! BP Fallon and Sable Starr swap clothes LA 1973, photography by Roy Harper x