Blast off to the stars with Sixties rockers

Cult Sixties psychedelic rockers Jefferson Starship are the next outfit to land at the Southampton venue on Saturday, November 2, following recent visits by The Electric Prunes, Tony Joe White and Southside Johnny.

The history of Jefferson Starship goes way back to 1965, when their forefathers, Jefferson Airplane, were formed by Paul Kantner and Marty Balin, becoming the first San Francisco rock group to be signed by a major record label.

Their debut album on RCA, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, was released in 1966.

When Grace Slick joined the band the following year, she brought with her the songs Somebody To Love and White Rabbit, which both hit the USA top ten during the 1967 'Summer of Love'.

Jefferson Airplane became icons of psychedelic rock over the next five years, releasing ground-breaking albums like Surrealistic Pillow and Bless Its Pointed Little Head.

Jefferson Airplane disbanded in 1972, with Paul Kantner recruiting Marty Balin and Grace Slick to form the first incarnation of Jefferson Starship in 1974, which produced three albums before Marty and Grace left the band.

The group produced three more albums before Paul left in 1984, taking the Jefferson name with him and leaving the group called just Starship.

Ironically, they enjoyed even greater commercial success including two US No 1 hits in 1985 and 1986 - We Built This City and Sara. Starship finally sank in 1990. Meanwhile, Kantner and Balin had revived the early Jefferson Airplane line-up.

The tortuous career of Jefferson Starship resumed in 1991 with a new line-up including former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince and blues violin master Papa John Creach, who died in 1993.

Over the last ten years, Jefferson Starship have performed nearly 800 concerts in 21 countries, recruiting sensational new singer Diana Managano, along the way.

The current tour includes rare songs from Surrealistic Pillow, plus songs like Crown of Creation and Sketches of China.

Call 023 8055 5366 for details.