It was forty years ago, July 1968 when The Yardbirds played their final gig at Luton Technical College in Bedfordshire, England. The lineup at that time was Keith Relf as lead singer and on harmonica, Jimmy Page on guitar, (Jeff Beck had already left the group by that time,) Chris Dreja on bass and Jim McCarty on drums, percussion and backup vocals.
Actually, July 1968 was The Yardbirds last performance with this lineup. Jimmy Page went on that same year to fulfill the rest of The Yardbirds contractual commitments, and through a series of events assembled the blues rock powerhouse that became Led Zeppelin. Ownership of The Yardbirds name was claimed by Chris Dreja, who reformed the group in the nineties with Jim McCarty.
I remember hearing “For Your Love” and “Heart Full of Soul” in the late sixties during the summertime and that memory really set the tone for this young teen; the warm summer nights, windows open, listening to my transistor radio produce the psychedelic sounds of these incredible songs. Songs based on American blues played by my British pop star heroes. Fantastic!
“And I know well if she had me back again, I would never make her sad, I got a heart full of soul.”
YouTube video: Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page - Their Yardbirds Years
