Finally, after 35 years, the 1967 “Cream at the
Saville Theatre” poster is now available in limited quantities.
Originally commissioned by Brian Epstein, the
Saville's owner and, famously, the Beatlers' manager, the poster features the
psychedelic portrait photograph of the band shot for the poster by Karl Ferris,
the Saville's “house photographer” at the time.
During the summer of 1967, the Saville Theatre was
THE place for live music in London. A
former opera theatre, its boxes were reserved for rock royalty – the Beatles,
the Rolling Stones, Donovan, Jimi Hendrix among them – who would show up to
watch other hot acts of the time.
Karl Ferris was there to record it all,
photographing many of the shows and stars, as well as shooting 6 record album
covers in that memorable 1967 summer alone, for Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, and the
Hollies.
But the July 2nd 1967 concert
commemorated in this poster was one of the most memorable of the Saville's
nights, as it was the Cream's first truly psychedelic performance. The band members were decked out in full psychedelic clothing
and Clapton played solos on a variety of guitars that were lowered from the
rafters, attempting to out-perform Jimi Hendrix who had played the Saville the
previous month.
The other performers on the bill that night made it a truly memorable guitar tour de force: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Jeff Beck Group, with Rod Stewart.