ARMS Charity Concerts

Flower

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I came upon the video of Layla performed and this concert (at the end of this post) and felt that "ARMS for Ronnie Lane" needed some love ..

ARMS Charity Concert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The ARMS Charity Concerts were a series of charitable rock concerts in support of Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis in 1983. The first (and initially planned to be the only) event took place at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1983, with subsequent dates occurring in the United States, with slightly different lineups of musicians.

Royal Albert Hall ARMS Concert

The idea for hosting the concert was envisaged by Ronnie Lane, ex-bassist for The Small Faces and The Faces, himself a casualty of multiple sclerosis. The concert featured a star-studded line-up of British musicians, including Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, John Paul Jones, Andy Fairweather-Low, Bill Wyman, Kenney Jones and Charlie Watts. The concert was particularly notable in the fact that it was the first occasion on which Clapton, Beck and Page, each a former lead guitarist for The Yardbirds, had performed together on stage.

The set list for the ARMS Charity Concert was as follows:

Everybody Oughta Make A Change
Rita Mae
Lay Down Sally
Ramblin' On My Mind/Have You Ever Loved A Woman?
Cocaine
Man Smart Woman Smarter
Roadrunner
Take Me To The River
Slowdown Sundown
Gimme Some Lovin'
Star Cycle
The Pump
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat/Led Boots
Hi ** Silver Lining
Prelude
City Sirens
Who's To Blame
Stairway to Heaven
Tulsa Time
Layla
Goodnight Irene

Clapton, Beck and Page each performed sets, with Andy Fairweather-Low and Steve Winwood also performing songs. Clapton, with Fairweather-Low, Bill Wyman, Chris Stainton, percussionist Ray Cooper, Kenney Jones, James Hooker, Steve Winwood and Fernando Saunders performed a selection of blues and rock numbers, each one culled from one or more of his albums - "Cocaine" and "Lay Down Sally" from Slowhand, "Rita Mae" from Another Ticket and "Everybody Oughta Make a Change" from Money & Cigarettes.

Jeff Beck's set consisted largely of instrumental rock jazz-fusion numbers, though he did (to both the surprise of his fellow musicians, the audience, and indeed, himself!) perform his 1960s hit "Hi ** Silver Lining". Jimmy Page's set was made up, first, of three numbers taken from the Death Wish II music he had put together for director Michael Winner earlier that year. The set ended with "Stairway to Heaven", which evoked a great cheer from the audience.

After Page's set, the entire cast of musicians gathered on stage to perform "Tulsa Time", a blues rock/country number from Clapton's album Backless, and then, what is arguably Clapton's most famous song, "Layla". In each number, Clapton, Beck and Page each shared lead guitar duties, and, notably in "Layla", each performed a different, and unique guitar solo.

At the concert's end, Ronnie Lane appeared on stage. Expressing thanks not only to the audience, saying that what had been achieved was 'terrific', he also thanked 'all the boys on the stage too', and then led the musicians in a rendition of "Goodnight Irene".

U.S. ARMS Concerts

The ARMS charity concert proved so popular with both the audience and the musicians that the decision was taken to perform a further nine concerts in the USA. The US dates included Joe Cocker, who notably sang lead vocals on "With a Little Help from My Friends", and Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page each shared lead guitar duties on "Stairway to Heaven". While Ronnie Wood appeared in New York, he did not appear at all of the US dates. They played in San Francisco at the Cow Palace.



Layla - Eric Clapton, The Stones, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page

 

Flower

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ARMS Concert Review
Donated by [email protected], December 8, 1983
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ALL-STAR GARDEN PARTY WITH A HEART OF GOLD
By Martin Porter
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The A.R.M.S. (Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis) benefit last night demonstrated that even the most brutal and bluesy guitar playing can come from a heart of gold. The concert at Madison Square Garden was a tribute to former Faces guitarist Ronnie Lane and a benefit for muscular dystrophy . The ensemble of superstar players - which concludes its international tour tonight at the Garden - proved that British blues and the finest British blues guitarists are aging quite nicely. Three hours after eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Kenney Jones opened the show, Lane - suffering from MS - was led onstage and exclaimed, "What do you think of my friends?" The crowd obviously thought a lot, especially moments earlier when the entire cast, including Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck, Ron Wood, Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers brought the show to an emotional climax with the appropriate John Lennon song, "With a Little Help from My Friends". The song, dedicated to the Beatle who died three years ago yesterday, summed up the emotional and musical best of the evening.

For most of the show, the musicians were pooled to form three bands structured around Clapton, Beck, and Page, three guitar giants who led the legendary Yardbirds through the band's various incarnations. There were many highlights, especially the Clapton group, which proved the tightest band of the concert. Page, the former Led Zeppelin guitarist, was unfortunately paired with Rodgers, the night's weakest vocalist. However, Page offered his fans what they have long waited to hear live - "Stairway to Heaven" - the song that Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant refused to sing during his recent international tour. But more than showcasing Page's stringmanship, the number brought the entire cast to the stage and launched the concert finale, memorably marked by Clapton's guitar masterpiece, "Layla", and the Lennon tribute. Overall, the A.R.M.S. benefit was an impeccably produced group effort by musicians dedicated to their craft and, more importantly, to a dear friend. They made you feel good about the music business all over again.



 

Foxhound

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What a superb lineup! Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and supporting musicians - including the fellow working hard on the gong. I love how cool Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts are amidst the surrounding frenzy.

Note as well that Jimmy Page is standing with his back to the audience much of the time and he doesn't get much camera attention. Evidently he was pickled to the gills that night....

:lols:
 

Cincinnatus

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Jimmy Page looks so ill at some of these shows it pains me to watch . I love the guy and I hat eto see him that way .Great tour for a great cause ! RIP Ronnie Lane
 

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