The mavens will know this stuff, but it merits a recap: the Move were a vital link in ‘60s British rock between the R&B-influenced early ‘60s scene and the hard rock and prog that were to come. They distinguished themselves not just with heavy sounds, but with violent stage antics that made the Who look like featherweights—most notoriously, singer Carl Wayne was noted for destroying TV sets with axes. As hard rockers from Birmingham, the Move surely had an impact on the young men who’d form Black Sabbath, and indeed, Move drummer Bev Bevan turned up in that band’s lineup years later, on the tour in support of the Born Again album. But ultimately, despite their notoriety and influence in their day, the Move became best known in the early 1970s, when a later member named Jeff Lynne shepherded the band through its transition into the slick, orchestral-pop juggernaut Electric Light Orchestra, and they remain best known today under the long shadow cast by that enormously popular group.
 

 
Here’s a 1966 television interview that captures the young band at its most manic—this is the original lineup of Wayne, Bevan, founding bassist Ace Kefford, and guitarists Trevor Burton and the band’s de facto leader Roy Wood—mugging, goofing off, and generally just being silly young men on speed. When they (OK, not really “they,” mostly just Carl Wayne) manage to let off any serious answers, the origin and creative intentions of the band are discussed, but things really heat up when the band gets to playing. The mugging ends, their faces get serious, riffs get mangled, notes get bent out of shape, fires get lit, and a TV set is handily reduced to scrap. This is the band at its most insane, in the sort of performance that made its reputation as a live must-see.
 

 
Much gratitude is due to Craig Bell for this find!

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Roy Wood: The talent behind The Move, ELO and Wizzard