Recently, in an interview with Sportv, the president of Santos Futebol Clube, José Carlos Peres, said that he welcomed the modernization of Vila Belmiro. According to the leader, it is possible for the Urbano Caldeira stadium to become a theater for large presentations.
Peres went further and said that Vila Belmiro could host shows that today are mostly concentrated at Allianz Parque, in São Paulo. Is it possible to glimpse relevant international names around here? For sure! History does not lie.
Brazil, São Paulo, SP, 08/20/1977. British singer Joe Cocker, during a concert at Ginásio da Portuguesa, in São Paulo
Santos has been the stage for artists of all sizes. From Deep Purple to Shakira. From Helloween to Bill Halley. From Men At Work to Joe Cocker. And so on. The list is immense. Some of these shows have even been forgotten.
One of them, in particular, caught my attention. In 1977, during his first visit to Brazil, Joe Cocker included Santos in the route. The other cities visited were Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Let's get to the facts: Santos received one of the most celebrated names at Woodstock, which happened eight years earlier, on a Monday!!! It does not stop there. The presentation took place right after two shows in a row at Ginásio da Portuguesa, in São Paulo.
British singer Joe Cocker, during a concert at Ginásio da Portuguesa, in São Paulo.
Turbulent moment
It should be noted that Joe Cocker was not experiencing the best moment of his career just before coming to Brazil. Between 1972 and 1977, the singer faced several problems with drugs, alcohol, depression and loss.
In 1974, during a series of performances on the West Coast of the United States, Joe Cocker even vomited on stage. A year before reaching Santos, Mad Dog still released one of their worst albums in terms of commercial reach. 1976's Stingray was recorded in Jamaica but failed to reach more than a modest 70 on the US charts.
To further complicate Cocker's situation, the musician arrived in Brazil with a debt of US$ 800,000 with A&M Records, in addition to a battle with alcoholism.
The game changer began after meeting producer Michael Lang, who agreed to go with Cocker on the condition that he remain sober. Accompanied by a new band, which included pianist Nicky Hopkins, guitarist Clifford Goodwin and saxophonist Bobby Keys (Rolling Stones), the Briton showed signs of improvement in his voice and posture on stage.
Joe Cocker's tour of Brazil, however, did not have a great response from the public. In Porto Alegre it was a fiasco. In Rio de Janeiro, Maracanãzinho, which could receive up to 30,000 payers, had only 4,000 payers. São Paulo, however, was an outlier. It took 12,000 people on each of the dates.
Advertisement in A Tribuna about Joe Cocker's show in Santos
Memories of Joe Cocker in Santos
In Santos, it is estimated that the audience was between 1,500 and 2,000 people. A relevant number for an inland city, even more so on a Monday. But it was well below expectations. At the time, it was said that in case of success, Santos would receive Peter Frampton and Chicago. It stayed on the beam.
There are few reports about Joe Cocker's show in Santos. The presentation took place on August 22, 1977, at the extinct Clube de Regatas Santista. Journalist José Roberto Fidalgo, formerly of A Tribuna, gave a very personal and interesting account of the concert. In the August 28 edition, he summarized it well: “the atmosphere of the whole group on stage, without exceptions, is of an incredible high spirits”.
“A lot of people complained about the sound. Really, the thing is a bit messed up. Gym acoustics are fire. But after the third song, I really got used to it. The audience was very funny. Before the show, there was a little commotion at the door, because access to the club was via a single entrance. But no noteworthy incidents,” wrote Fidalgo.
ADVERTISING
The journalist also recorded the public's enthusiasm, which only rose in the last two songs. “Was it groggy seeing Joe Cocker, the guy from Woodstock, face to face?”
Joe Cocker, who died on December 22, 2014, in Colorado, United States, came to Brazil three more times (1991, 1997 and 2012). However, it no longer included Santos in the route. But the memories of this Regatas presentation will never leave the fans' heads.
