1974

Complete apart from 1 query

Confirmed events are indicated by a ♫
Events are only confirmed if printed evidence is available, i.e.. Magazine, Advert, Ticket, Poster etc. or if verified by two independent sources. Internet sourced dates are not classed as evidence due to errors being copied from site to site.
All acts are listed exactly as they appeared in the advert.
It will be noted that in the early years, some of the more famous bands had differing names and may have been lower on the bill. This usually means that they were, as yet, relatively unknown.
Additional information and corrections to this list are more than welcomed.

All the gigs and events at the California Ballroom during 1974
Date		Valid	Event	Comments
???	?		BT Express
Jan	5	♫	Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 60p
	11	♫	Friday Night Disco	With Shossie and Mad Harry in the Devil's Den
	12	♫	The Chants	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 60p
	19	♫	The Equals	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 60p
	26	♫	The Coasters	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 70p
Feb	2	♫	Robert Knight	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 60p
	9		Desmond Dekker	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 50p
	9		Delfonics	Blues & Soul has this listed which disagrees with the ad in the Luton News
	15	♫	Nicole and Marsh making their debut at the California on the opening night of their UK tour	With Shossie Adm. 60p
	16	♫	Clem Curtis & The Foundations	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
Mar	2	♫	New York City	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 60p
	8	♫	The Living World of WattStax	Adm. 50p
	9	♫	Alvin Stardust cancelled due to illness	I'm told by the agent at the time that Alvin wasn't ill. Jealous Mind had just been released and the record company insisted that he should appear on Top of the Pops. In order for the illness excuse to look valid, at least 3 booked gigs were pulled.
	9	♫	The Pioneers	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 60p
	15	♫	Pan's People	With Shossie & John Jones Adm. 60p
	16	♫	The Drifters	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
	23	♫	Limmie & The Family Cookin'	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 70p
	25	♫	Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes	Adm. £2
	30	♫	Mel & Tim	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 70p
Apr	6	♫	Jimmy Ruffin	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
	11	♫	Disco	With Shossie & John Jones Adm. 50p
	12	♫	Good Friday - closed
	13	♫	Barry Blue	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
	20	♫	Junior Walker & The All Stars And Edwin Starr	Adm. £1.50p
	27	♫	Alvin Stardust	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
May	4	♫	The Real Thing The Pioneers	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 80p
	11	♫	The Drifters	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
	18	♫	Detroit Emeralds	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
	25	♫	The Fantastics	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. 80p
Jun	1	♫	The Three Degrees	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1.50
	8	♫	The Glitter Band	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
	15	♫	Edwin Starr	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
	22	♫	R Dean Taylor	With Bruce Benson & John Jones Adm. £1
	29	♫	Jimmy Cliff	With John Jones Adm. 80p
Jul	4	♫	Sparks	Adm. £1
	11	♫	10cc	Adm. £1
	13	♫	Hot Chocolate	With John Jones Adm. £1
	20	♫	Geordie	With John Jones Adm. 70p
	27	♫	Nicky Thomas	Adm. 60p
Aug	3	♫	The Ronnettes	Adm. 70p
	10	♫	Jimmy James & The Vagabonds	With John Jones Adm. 60p
	17	♫	Ben E King	With John Jones Adm. 90p
	24	♫	The Rubettes	With John Jones Adm. £1
	31	♫	Freddie Mac and his Soul Extravaganza	With John Jones Adm. 70p
Sep	7	♫	Exciters	With John Jones Adm. 70p
	14	♫	Glitter Band	With Bruce Brown?????? Adm. £1
	21	♫	Showaddywaddy	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1
	28	♫	The Drifters	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1.50p
Oct	5	♫	Alvin Stardust	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1
	12	♫	Cozy Powell	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1
	19	♫	KC & the Sunshine Band	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1
	26	♫	The Three Degrees	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1.50p Reviewer Terry Murphy said in Blues & Soul Magazine, that there were 2000 people queuing outside when she arrived and it took 50 minutes to get in. When the show started there were 4000 people inside the ballroom.
Nov	2	♫	Delfonics	Adm. £1
	7	♫	Leo Sayer	Adm. £1
	9	♫	Carl Douglas	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1
	16	♫	Detroit Emeralds	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1
	23	♫	Four Tops	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £2.50p
	30	♫	Gwen & George McCrae	With Bruce Benson and John Jones Adm. £1.50p
Dec	7	♫	Chairmen of the Board And The Tymes	Adm. £2
	14	♫	Edwin Starr Eddie Holman	Adm. £1.50p
	24	♫	Emperor Rosko & Pans People	With see-through gear and naughty dancing
	31	♫	Coasters