Neil Young ‘Harvest’ tribute marks day he came to Barking

A tribute “Neil Young Day” has been staged at Barking’s Broadway theatre, commemorating the time in 1971 when the iconic Canadian rock star recorded two tracks for his Harvest album at the venue.

A plaque commemorating the event in Rock history was unveiled by “the Bard of Barking” Billy Bragg who spoke of his memories of the theatre when it was known as Barking Assembly Hall.

He was in a science lesson at school the day Neil Young was recording the tracks at the hall.

Bragg was introduced by Barking and Dagenham council leader Darren Rodwell to unveil the plaque on June 3 and kickstart a day of festive events, which included a tribute concert and a record fair that attracted vinyl collectors.

There was a special a screening of Harvest Time, a documentary made in 1971 of Neil recording at the Assembly Hall with London Symphony Orchestra. It shows him performing with the orchestra and working with his manager in the dressing rooms.

The Neil Young tribute band Rust for Glory performed his Harvest track in its entirety and were over the moon at being given the very dressing room Neil had used in 1971.

Author Daryl Easlea gave a talk about Young’s career and influence, before musician Tom Burgess performed three of the songs.

Billy Bragg was just a schoolboy at the time growing up in Barking and a fan of North American singers like Neil Young — but was unaware that his hero was in his home town recording his biggest-ever hit.

Bragg went on to become a singer-songwriter himself in the 1980s.

“I was obsessed as a 13-year-old with North American singer-songwriters,” Bragg recalled in the run-up to the Neil Young tribute day.

“But growing up in Barking, that whole scene seemed like a million miles away.

“It would have blown my mind had I known that, while enduring a double physics lesson in school, Neil Young was recording at the Assembly Hall.”

Billy was a pupil at Park Secondary School, today’s Barking Abbey Secondary.

Now, more than 50 years on, he has paid homage by unveiling the plaque to commemorate Neil Young’s historic recording in Barking back in 1971, the day he was stuck doing physics at school.