Paul McCartney attends a Scaffold concert

THANK U SCAFFOLD

If you’d gone along to London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday expecting a nice selection of jolly songs… sorry old thing, you were out of luck.

“An Evening With The Scaffold” was mainly an evening of the spoken word. (I’m not complaining; they were beautiful words, sad words, words of inspired idiocy and genius and belly-laughing fun) although we did have ex-Manfred Mike Vickers providing some musical backings and Dave Mason dancing his fingers expressively across the strings of his guitar.

“Thank U Very Much” was a marvellous record, but it isn’t all there is to Scaffold.

This brilliantly perceptive humour group still has to be fully appreciated by most members of the public — so much that even this full-length performance struck me as only the tip of the iceberg.

From New Musical Express, February 17, 1968

SCAFFOLD CONCERT

An HILARIOUSLY comedic and subtly intimate evening sparsed with a few soft-core implicatons was to be had at the Queen Elizabeth Hall during the appearance of The Scaffold. Directed musically by Mike Vickers, the trio were backed by piano, drums, and bass with ex-Traffic biggie Dave Mason, on acoustic guitar and sitar. The well-constructed performance consisted of a series of skits and musical lampoons plus some dynamically funny poetry recitations from the group’s major writing talent, Roger McGough. In fact, the poignancy of these one act wonders is perhaps not admirably demonstrated by the promptly ordered cancellation of two segments after Saturday’s show (including a fine religious send-up in which John Gorman delivers a preaching monologue dressed in clergyman’s attire), by some loveable unknown censors somewhere on the executive ladder.

Mike McGear told me that he was very pleased with the turnout for their first London concert and hoped it’s live recording would soon be released in the form of their first L.P. A followup to the already massive-selling single “Thank U Very Much” is in the making and should be different. “We don’t wish to adopt a firm image”, said Mike, “we’d rather change with each performance.” And judging from the amusing amount of variety presented, I should say they’re easily capable. Of particular note are the selections, “Summer With Monika”, “Virginity”, and the regrettably removed “Father John”. For an extremely entertaining evening, we thank THEM very much. LON GODDARD

From Record Mirror – February 17, 1968