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Still got those loons?


Happy Jack

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1 hour ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

I was in my early teens in the 70s and remember wearing flares, but not loons, whatever the difference may have been... :o

As I remember, loons were more fitted in the thigh than flared jeans, with a narrower waistband too. Often cotton / velvet material, thinner than denim. You could always find them for sale via mail order in the music paper small ads (Melody Maker and NME etc) where the same shops sold long sleeve scoop neck t-shirts , Afghan coats and tall fringed suede desert boots. Groovy...

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10 minutes ago, casapete said:

loons were more fitted in the thigh than flared jeans, with a narrower waistband too. Often cotton / velvet material, thinner than denim.

I would defy any man to advance a more concise or accurate summary of the loon trouser. It simply can't be done.

Nice work, Sir :)

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1 hour ago, skankdelvar said:

I would defy any man to advance a more concise or accurate summary of the loon trouser. It simply can't be done.

Nice work, Sir :)

Indeed - I would concur - they actually flared from the knee - if you were a Brummie THE place to get them (and afghan coats and all other such period 70s wear) was Oasis. The size of the flare on the loon pants was measured from the front to the back of the bottom of the leg (not around them) and the largest, and one to have was 19" - so about 1.5 or more times the length of your shoe (more likely clog 😏).

They came in some wonderful colours - I bought a pair in canary yellow on one occasion - soon dyed bottle green as they were way too much in yellow 😬 owing to their floppiness at the bottom, loon pants were also wonderful, in wet weather, at taking on water from the ground by capilliary action - so when dry they may have a tide mark midway between shoe and knee, and in wet weather a sort of two tone dark/lighter colour transition at some point below the knee, the darker part being soaked 😧

The 70s were great!! I last saw Steve Hillage in 1978 ish in Brum - I was probably wearing loon pants - and his band had a decidedly R and B rythmn section (as seemingly did everyone around that time) - and excellent it was too. Mr Hillage must be getting on in years these days? 

Edited by drTStingray
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7 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

I last saw Steve Hillage in 1978 ish in Brum -

I saw him in 1978 at Knebworth Festival (Genesis headlined) although i doubt he remembers me. I'm fairly sure I was wearing flares, not loons.

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11 hours ago, casapete said:

As I remember, loons were more fitted in the thigh than flared jeans, with a narrower waistband too. Often cotton / velvet material, thinner than denim. You could always find them for sale via mail order in the music paper small ads (Melody Maker and NME etc) where the same shops sold long sleeve scoop neck t-shirts , Afghan coats and tall fringed suede desert boots. Groovy...

I also rememeber that most of the loons didnt have pockets anywhere at all. 

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9 hours ago, Skinnyman said:

I saw him in 1978 at Knebworth Festival (Genesis headlined) although i doubt he remembers me. I'm fairly sure I was wearing flares, not loons.

I don't recall him playing at Knebworth in '78. (Or did you just mean that you bumped into him?)

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Regulation loons as described in this thread on display in this circa 1973 picture and before anyone wonders, it'd have been a B and H, nothing more 'herbal' as I was about to drive the car - which was almost new!!! 👍😬

image.thumb.jpeg.a1aa6707b6d22ff5b132c3e2072948d9.jpeg

Edited by drTStingray
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1 hour ago, fleabag said:

I also rememeber that most of the loons didnt have pockets anywhere at all. 

Yup, this ^.

It was pretty much the only distinguishing feature between loons and flared jeans (at their most extreme). Obviously they were made of plain cotton rather than denim, too.

We were all wearing platforms, and your trouser-bottoms had to hide just how much extra height you'd purchased. I routinely wore boots with side zips, 1" platform and 2" heel. That was pretty conservative in 1975.

These were all 'fashion' shoes, made of wafer-thin leather over what amounted to reinforced cardboard. The built-up soles were a honeycomb of cheap plastic. You might get a summer out of a pair, if you were lucky.

 

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1 hour ago, MrCrane said:

I don't recall him playing at Knebworth in '78. (Or did you just mean that you bumped into him?)

I just checked my old program and you're right. It wasn't 78.

So where the hell did I see him then? Sometime between 1977 and 1979 at a festival in the UK (I know because i remember driving back from the gig in the Hillman Hunter I had between those dates, playing the Salmon Song on my very much aftermarket cassette player).

Research needed, i think

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2 hours ago, MrCrane said:

I don't recall him playing at Knebworth in '78. (Or did you just mean that you bumped into him?)

Doesn't the same rule apply here as to the 60s? "If you can remember them, you weren't there" or some such?

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2 hours ago, Skinnyman said:

I just checked my old program and you're right. It wasn't 78.

So where the hell did I see him then? Sometime between 1977 and 1979 at a festival in the UK (I know because i remember driving back from the gig in the Hillman Hunter I had between those dates, playing the Salmon Song on my very much aftermarket cassette player).

Research needed, i think

Take a look in here

http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/bands/chrono/hillage.html

Possibly Reading - August '78?

Edited by MrCrane
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5 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

File0504.jpg

Oh, Jack! You're such a cutie, there. Your life ahead of you and a full head of wavy hair.

Anyway, the sideburns. Were they an homage to Mike Nesmith or a pre-cognitive stab at the Wolverine look as latterly popularised by Mr Hugh Jackman?

Joshing aside, that's a lovely picture :)

 

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6 hours ago, MrCrane said:

Take a look in here

http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/bands/chrono/hillage.html

Possibly Reading - August '78?

Thanks!

Just spoke to my old mate who was with me and it was Lancaster!

Not a festival at all.

He did confirm that we went to Knebworth in 78 and 79 though.

As someone just said, if you can remember it, you weren't there - turns out i definitely can't remember it 😃

Now, why did i come in here?

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