Love Is All That I Ever Needed. Chapter 17. The European Tour 1973
In September 1972, during the break in his very busy concert schedule, David came to Europe
again to promote The Partridge Family show and its music, his solo work, and to discuss and
prepare the European Tour he was to play in 1973.
The first stop was Holland. David had a lot of fans there too. Because he had no time to travel
to TV studios, the crew of the popular music program came to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
They recorded two videos with David just in front of the Aviodrome Museum which was located
there at the time.
David pretended to sing two of his hits, ‘How Can I Be Sure’ and ‘Rock Me
Baby’, wearing an amazing pink outfit with very tight pants, looking like an epitome of a rock
star and sex symbol. He was working the camera - very sure of himself and every move he
made..
Next, he flew to London for a TV appearance, radio and press interviews and also to determine
the tour’s details. No hotel wanted him, so a 120 foot luxury yacht, ‘Ocean Sabre’ was
chartered, and she was moored in the Thames off Tower Pier. It was also a great publicity
move, because everybody wrote about it.
Fans gathered on the docks. They were singing and
screaming, and some threw themselves into the cold and dirty river trying to get to David at all
costs.
David came to London with a very strong entourage and taking him anywhere was a great
challenge.
On the early morning of September 9, he arrived at the British Broadcasting House
to be interviewed by David Hamilton. The recording of that amazing and moving conversation
still exists105. Many years later David Hamilton said that never were so many fans outside the
Broadcasting House as on the morning David Cassidy was there.
3000 fans gave David a good-bye at Heathrow when he was leaving for Los Angeles a few
days later.
David Cassidy became one of the biggest superstars in the UK. On September 16, 1972, ‘How
Can I Be Sure’ became his first number 1 hit on the UK chart and stayed there for two weeks.
The next single, ‘Rock Me Baby’ was number 11 on November 25. His second solo album was
released in the UK in December so many young fans got it as a Christmas present, and
became number 2 in February 1973.
The British David Cassidy Fan Club was founded, and it even published its own magazine
called ‘The Official David Cassidy Magazine’. Number 1 was issued in June 1972, and the last
edition came out in December 1975.
British music magazines wrote quite a lot about David - mostly as a phenomenon. But
sometimes also about his music.
On February 10, 1973 a very long and detailed review on
‘Rock Me Baby’ was published on Record Mirror. It was called: ‘Cassidy - as he wants to be
heard’.
The journalist wrote not only about each and every song, but also about the meaning of the
pictures on the album's cover, and David's friendship with Elton John. He noticed a kind of
dichotomy of this album because David wanted to sing rock but he was the best with ballads.
He wanted to be appreciated by an older audience, however, 3 times on that album he did a
‘smooth talkie passage’. That seemed to be a concession to the young fans and It was giving
them something to ‘swoon over’. The conclusion was that : ‘In general ‘Rock Me Baby’ works
well for him and he does have a fair voice.’
David was so popular that nearly each released single with his vocals, regardless if it was The
Partridge Family’s or his own, made it at least to the Top 10 on the UK Charts in 1972 and
1973.
The Partridge Family’s singles. ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’, was Number 3 on July 7, 1972;
‘Looking Through The Eyes of Love’ peaked at Number 9 on February 3, 1973. ‘Walking In
The Rain’ was Number 10 on May 19, 1973.
In March 1973 David Cassid’s single ‘I Am A
Clown/ Some Kind Of Summer’ peaked at number 3.
Everybody was waiting for The European Tour scheduled for March 1973, but the excitement
started much earlier.
The main problem was, again, security. In 1972 David had a lot of
problems getting to and leaving his shows safely. He was being hidden in ambulances or
nondescript cars while his limo went in another direction to fool the fans.
Several times Henry
Diltz, a famous photographer and David’s very close friend, was in such a limo pretending to
be David. David often used a disguise, but the situation wasn’t funny because some fans were
aggressive and hysterical, and there were thousands of them. A few times he escaped at the
very last moment.
Another problem was fake tickets for David’s concerts. It was so serious that Scotland Yard
was involved in it. Bogus tickets had been distributed to thousands of teenagers from all over
Great Britain and even across the channel. The only way to get official tickets was by
application or buying them in person at the box office.
David had agreed to take part in the ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ campaign. Girls all over the UK were
ripping the advertising hoardings because they were giant posters of David with a slogan,
’Cherish Your Country’. In the beginning, not everybody was happy that an American would
‘preach’ to people in the UK about keeping Britain tidy.109 David was always very committed
to the environment and that campaign. Also because of him, it was a great success.
At last, the time came, and David arrived in Europe on his own plane. A 99 - passenger
Caravelle jet. Chartered for £ 7000. His name was painted in giant letters on it. Publicity first.
Show business rules. It was called in the British press ‘David Cassidy Flying Circus’. There
were many people on board, including a lot of security men.
In Germany, David attended the Radio Luxembourg Golden Lion Awards in Dortmund, played
one concert in Hamburg, and another one had to be canceled because of poor ticket sales.
He was in Spain to appear on a TV show, and played a concert in Antwerp. There was a short
stay in Luxembourg, and finally his jet landed in Amsterdam on March 11 and in the evening
David played a great concert at De Doelen, in Rotterdam.
The big day came and on Monday, March 12 instead of Manchester where he was expected,
David landed in Luton.
At the time, nearly no one knew where David had stayed. That top secret place was Beaulieu
Palace House, a 13th century great house owned by Lord and Lady Montague.
In 2022, a
current Lord who in 1973 was at boarding school, agreed to a request made by Sharron Liddle
from David Cassidy Legacy Great Britain Group. He kindly offered to place an information
board near the location on the river bank where David went fishing with the Lord’s mum. On
the board everybody can read that: ‘We have received many famous people at Beaulieu, but
few excited such interest as the American actor and singer David Cassidy.’
David took part in a very popular BBC program, ‘Blue Peter’ and, in great secrecy, a video
with David was filmed in London’s Syon Park. It was aired later in the year on The Top Of The
Pops. He couldn’t appear there live because of security problems.
David’s visit and his concerts were widely commented on.
First, he played four gigs in Manchester, at Belle Vue, on March 13 and 14.
‘David Cassidy mania swamped Manchester yesterday. Frantic fans leapt into a freezing hotel
pool. And there was pandemonium when he arrived for a concert at Belle Vue.
Next he played 6 sold out concerts at Wembley Arena. In 1973 it was called Empire Pool
Wembley (now OVO Arena). It is an indoor arena (next to Wembley Stadium) which in the 70s
had about 10,000 seats. 60,000 fans, mostly girls, saw him during one weekend. David
performed there on Friday, March 16 at 8pm, on Saturday, March 17 at 12pm, 4pm and 8pm,
on Sunday March 18 at 4pm and 8pm.
Still this is an extraordinary achievement. In March
2019 a tribute to David, recognizing his sell out concerts in March 1973 and others played
there in later years, was placed into a glass display cabinet in the Grand Foyer of the Wembley
Arena.
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The concerts and the frenzy surrounding them were comparable with Beatlemania. A lot of
articles appeared. They were mostly about the David Cassidy phenomenon, his sexy concert
act, his singing and acting skills.
A documentary was made about those three crazy days, called ‘Weekend At Wembley’, with
reporter Peter Taylor, for BBC series ‘This Week’.
It was aired on March 22, 1973. Still some
fragments of that amazing documentary exist. David sitting on the stage singing “I Am A
Clown’. Fans screaming. David after the concert, wrapped in a blanket, sweaty and exhausted,
in a van with his security men and the tv crew. A terrifying moment when fans punched the
car with their fists.
An interview at his hotel room, questions about his fans, so young but for
whom David’s concerts were a kind of sexual experience. David admitted that for him too. He
was aware about it, but said that there was a line he would never cross.
At the party after one of those concerts, David met Sue Shiffrin, an American model, singer
and songwriter. Nearly 23 years old, she had been living in London for a few years and had
a contract with Bell. There was mutual attraction from the start. She was seen with David, and
even some notes appeared in the press that David found a glamorous girl in London : ‘He failed to appear for lunch with the Environment Under Secretary (..) but he kept his dinner date
with Susan.’
David stayed in London for a few days. There were notes in the press that he had a cold and
was tired. Probably he was spending that time with Sue Shifrin. He left the UK on March 24,
and was bid farewell by thousands of fans at Heathrow. He wore a fur coat, a superstar in
every way..
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