Stolen PF gear in 1969

[Doorjam]

These guilty party sure did some unforeseen wreckage for PF fans. Wondering if anything ever turned up or claimed to be from the stolen haul? thoughts?
Private collection? pawn shops, private collector, lost to history or sold for drugs in the ghetto?

[Alanko]

The theft in New Orleans in 1970? I gather most of that was recovered. The black Strat and white P Bass seen in the KQED footage were never recovered. On the Y Forum I identified the bass as being different to the one Roger used in 1969. If that bass surfaced then there would be ways of identifying it.

[lennyif]

I do keep an eye out for the white strat or some WEM pa components in a pawn shop whenever I look for random musical goodies. I live almost in walking distance of where the theft took place. Some of this stuff is very likely to be around somewhere. It's not as far fetched as you might think that some of this stuff could still land in a shop or even on a curb somewhere on Tchoupitoulas St.

I also wonder if there is a tape of the gig they played at The Warehouse. There was a guy who used to own a record store in the french quarter who is no longer with us, unfortunately, that supposedly knew a guy who had a bunch of board reels of shows at The Warehouse that he was NOT interested in parting with unless someone gave him a big payday. The era that this guy had recordings from was when Floyd played there... so who knows. Could be tall tales as these things often are. I wish the guy I knew was still alive, so I could ask him more about it. When I last spoke to him, I was still pretty young, and did not know the right questions to ask and all that.

[goldenband]

I also wonder if there is a tape of the gig they played at The Warehouse. There was a guy who used to own a record store in the french quarter who is no longer with us, unfortunately, that supposedly knew a guy who had a bunch of board reels of shows at The Warehouse that he was NOT interested in parting with unless someone gave him a big payday. The era that this guy had recordings from was when Floyd played there... so who knows. Could be tall tales as these things often are. I wish the guy I knew was still alive, so I could ask him more about it. When I last spoke to him, I was still pretty young, and did not know the right questions to ask and all that.

If this is the guy who also has the last Doors show with Jim (1970-12-12 at the Warehouse), he's definitely known and still around. The claim I read is that he wants $1M from the band for the tape, which is never going to happen.

I think he said he grabbed other shows but left a lot of tapes behind, so it'd all hinge on how much he cared about a moderately-well-known underground band with a few weird albums on that day in 1971 (or whenever it was) that he grabbed what he could.

It'd be interesting to hear that Doors show at the Warehouse, which is pretty infamous, and find out whose story about the day's events is accurate -- the Doors equivalent of Montreal 1977, I guess (or maybe Miami 1969 is?). There are a few L.A. Woman songs on it with either one other live recording, or none at all. Another copy of the late, unreleased song "Palace in the Canyon" is tantalizing. But $1M is dreaming.

[Alanko]

I do keep an eye out for the white strat or some WEM pa components in a pawn shop whenever I look for random musical goodies. I live almost in walking distance of where the theft took place. Some of this stuff is very likely to be around somewhere. It's not as far fetched as you might think that some of this stuff could still land in a shop or even on a curb somewhere on Tchoupitoulas St.

Jimmy Page's Les Paul Custom came back from being stolen in 1970. The rumour was always that a light-fingered baggage handler lifted it and... that is apparently exactly what happened. Kept the guitar on the down-low for years by hiding it under a bed. What a waste!


Im hoping that Eric Clapton's 'Beano' Les Paul turns up some day.

[MrFender]

Jimmy Page's Les Paul Custom came back from being stolen in 1970. The rumour was always that a light-fingered baggage handler lifted it and... that is apparently exactly what happened. Kept the guitar on the down-low for years by hiding it under a bed. What a waste!


Im hoping that Eric Clapton's 'Beano' Les Paul turns up some day.

Joe Bonamassa claims to know who has Beano (US East Coast).

Peter Frampton got his Les Paul back from South America after it was thought to have been lost in a plane crash.

[lennyif]

If this is the guy who also has the last Doors show with Jim (1970-12-12 at the Warehouse), he's definitely known and still around. The claim I read is that he wants $1M from the band for the tape, which is never going to happen.

I think he said he grabbed other shows but left a lot of tapes behind, so it'd all hinge on how much he cared about a moderately-well-known underground band with a few weird albums on that day in 1971 (or whenever it was) that he grabbed what he could.

It'd be interesting to hear that Doors show at the Warehouse, which is pretty infamous, and find out whose story about the day's events is accurate -- the Doors equivalent of Montreal 1977, I guess (or maybe Miami 1969 is?). There are a few L.A. Woman songs on it with either one other live recording, or none at all. Another copy of the late, unreleased song "Palace in the Canyon" is tantalizing. But $1M is dreaming.

May very well be the same guy. I have heard about that Doors thing, too, but that was from things I have read online. Chances are good that it's the same guy. From what I understand he also has a bunch of recordings of the first ever NO Jazz Fest that don't do the rounds. Do you happen to have a name?

[TheGreenStrat]

There’s a famous story Jeff Beck told of having his Yardbirds guitar stolen and then immediately returned on the same tour which still had the fingerprint dust on the guitar all those years later.

[goldenband]

May very well be the same guy. I have heard about that Doors thing, too, but that was from things I have read online. Chances are good that it's the same guy. From what I understand he also has a bunch of recordings of the first ever NO Jazz Fest that don't do the rounds. Do you happen to have a name?

George Friedman is the guy in question (his name is mentioned openly at Mild Equator, so I'm not breaking any confidence or "outing" anyone by saying his name). It'd be wonderful if he has the Floyd stage recording reels but, sadly, it wouldn't surprise me if he simply passed them up (if they were even in the pile), either because they weren't famous enough in the United States or for reasons of taste.

[gorilla1973]

The theft in New Orleans in 1970? I gather most of that was recovered. The black Strat and white P Bass seen in the KQED footage were never recovered. On the Y Forum I identified the bass as being different to the one Roger used in 1969. If that bass surfaced then there would be ways of identifying it.

Rick's farfisa never turned up either...

[JerryIsBored]

Really? I thought everything but the guitars was returned.

On a somewhat coincidental note, a while ago there was a Reverb listing out of New Orleans for a Farfisa Compact Duo... maybe it was the stolen one?

[daemonspudguy]

The theft in New Orleans in 1970? I gather most of that was recovered. The black Strat and white P Bass seen in the KQED footage were never recovered. On the Y Forum I identified the bass as being different to the one Roger used in 1969. If that bass surfaced then there would be ways of identifying it.

Another thing that was stolen and never recovered during that time was Dave's white Telecaster his parents bought.

[JerryIsBored]

Actually, this had been lost two years earlier in 1968 during their US tour. TWA, the agency transporting their gear, misplaced the Tele and it was never seen again.

[daemonspudguy]

That's actually considerably worse because that would have been not long after he got it.