DANCE DATE? IT WAS MORE LIKE A VAST FASHION PARADE

"THE March of the Mods" would have been an appropriate musical salute for the fashion conscious young people who went to the King's Hall, Stoke, on Saturday night.

At times, I think their outfits were a jolly sight more colourful than the music that was being played on stage.

They outdid any outfits I have seen at dance halls.

THE SCENE CER­TAINLY RESEMBLED A FASHION PARADE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

There were five inches above the knee dresses, the bell-bottom mod trousers, the vivid black and white affairs, and those eye-catching dresses, covered with geometrical squares.

I fully realise this column is normally about music, but I think these quite spectacular outfits deserve some mention.

One quite unusual factor here is that groups tend to set the fashion trend.

You never know!

A reasonably normal group who are not particularly outlandish in their dress and the dancers fall the same way.

But get a group like The Who, controversial mod and "with it." and watch the mods flock in.

Similarly, the reaction also changes. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of going to see one of my favourite groups, The Hollies. They are more conventional dressers, therefore the more conven­tional people attended which includes the hysterical screamers.

Now take The Who, more mod in their dress and approach on the musical scene. Although they achieve almost the same adoration from the fans as The Hollies — no screaming.

Although perhaps adults will never understand this, the audience on Saturday just clapped appreciatively.

This was quite amazing to me. It made such a change to hear the music completely without interfering noise.

Mind you, it was impossible to miss their music, especially when one saw just how much equipment they brought with them.

I think we should again see a very strong "mod" contin­ent at the King's Hall when Spencer Davis and his group appear there in a few weeks' time.

Stylish Stylos

It was quite a coincidence that Manchester group The Stylos should be on the bill with The Who, for they are great admirers of this group.

Don't get me wrong. The Stylos are not without talent themselves. In fact, some groups would not have attempted to play any num­bers when The Who were on the bill. But this did not deter The Stylos.

They went gaily ahead and did a very creditable perform­ance of "I Can't Explain" — the record which first put The Who on the map.

Another distinctive feature about our Manchester friends is their imaginative dress sense. You don't have to be a dedicated follower of fash­ion to wear what this group wears. Oh, no!

This week the lead singer was dressed like a curious superman. With draped material forming a very attractive cloak.

Other members of the group were also garbed in very decorative outfits.

She grabbed it

Now for The Who. I must say I was suitably impressed by their performance. Their records to date have been good but controversial, and living up to that tradition is the latest one, entitled "Sub­stitute."

Who fans may not agree with me, but I think this one is their best to date. I must say the line about being born with "a plastic spoon in my mouth" is a dig at society.

Roger Daltrey — after all the excitement has died down at the mention of his name — is an excellent vocalist. One rather enthusiastic young lady decided he could sing without his microphone and grabbed it from him.

Roger was not in the least bit worried by this and went on singing until he reached Keith Moon's mike and pro­ceeded to carry on with his number.

Apart from that incident, the whole of the entertaining act went without fuss. One different number they added to their repertoire was "Barbara Ann."

I would describe The Who's drummer as the one with the most energy. It was quite