Alvin Lee & Ten Years After : Visual History
Ten Years After were thrust into the limelight following release of the Woodstock Festival film documentary in May 1970. Their set closing number, "I'm Going Home", remains as one of the most exhilarating rock performances captured on film. Many critics have said it was the Woodstock movie that "made" Ten Years After, however they already had a significant following on both sides of the Atlantic. It was the existing recognition which earned them an invitation to play at Woodstock. Their career actually began four years earlier when, like many other British groups of the period, they developed their skills while performing at clubs in Germany and Scandinavia. Ten Years After's first big success was a standing ovation from the 20,000 attending the 7th National Jazz & Blues Festival at Windsor, England in August of 1967. Within a year, rock promoter Bill Graham invited them to perform at his legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco and word of the group spread like wildfire. It was not long before Alvin Lee became one of the most revered guitar players of the period and was nicknamed "Captain Speedfingers" for his incredible speed and dexterity. Ten Years After were in the thick of things throughout the exciting and formulative late 60's and 70's era of rock music. Their story offers an interesting and entertaining trip back to a period when there wasn't a drum machine or synthesizer to be found and the music was only as good as the band. Ten Years After met the challenge and they are still performing today.