John Otway - Aylesbury Friars 10th Birthday Party 2 June 1979 (Part 3)

On Saturday 2nd June 1979, Friars Aylesbury Music Club celebrated its tenth year of existence with a special gig at the Maxwell Hall. Stiff Little Fingers were headliners, with their third appearance at the venue in the space of nine months. The support acts included Starjets and local hero John Otway.
Some 40 years later, SLF were booked to appear for the 50th anniversary of Friars and as a nostalgic look back at that date in 1979, I was excited to find some rare audio recordings of the evening in my own personal collection.
This is part 3 of a series of audio clips I uploaded before Stiff Little Fingers appeared again at Friars on Saturday 25th May 2019.
This clip features Aylesbury legend John Otway taking to the stage as a surprise act ahead of the headliners, Stiff Little Fingers.
Otway had played Friars a month earlier on Saturday 28th April 1979 and became the first local artist to sell out a Friars gig. He was awarded the Aylesbury Friars Cup (FA Cup) as a mark of this achievement.
Otway played a short acoustic on set on 25th May 1979 featuring:
• Remember the Aloma
• Beware of the Flowers (Because I’m sure they’re gonna get you)
• Early One Morning
• Highway Man
• Really Free
I’ve included ‘Flowers’ and ‘Really Free’ on this clip. He got a fantastic reaction from the crowd.
The black and white picture in this video was taken at the April 1979 gig. It was published in The Bucks Herald and is also featured on the excellent Aylesbury Remembered Facebook page.
Part 4 of this series will feature headliners Stiff Little Fingers.