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Credit: Far Out \/ Showtime \/ The Eagles<\/p>\n
October 22nd, 2026 \u00b7 5:32pm BST <\/p>\n
In the modern age, where reunion tours and legacy records are rolled out with worrying frequency, the entire idea of a band having to start somewhere feels completely lost. We forget that the icons we pay overpriced tickets to watch were also once the grassroots band that we seem to neglect in modernity. <\/p>\n
But of course, bands like the Eagles<\/a> didn\u2019t just spawn from the wings of arena-sized stages, performing air-tight vocal harmonies. No, like every band, they had to cobble their way through the murky waters of burgeoning stardom, playing trainwreck shows to uninterested crowds before they could finally enjoy their acclaim. <\/p>\n In moments like this, a support slot is crucial. It gives emerging acts important time at the coalface of genius, learning how the greats craft a show, but perhaps more importantly, a daily proving ground for their music. A place where they play to fans, paying to see someone else, yet with enough curiosity to be won over.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s important, then, that the acts in question exist in some sort of crossover space, so that the fans can experience one consistent night of creativity. For the Eagles, the right act may have been The Beach Boys, or maybe even The Rolling Stones<\/a>. You wouldn\u2019t have chosen prog-rock outfit Jethro Tull as the right suitor, then.<\/p>\n The timing made the contrast all the more pronounced. These were June 1972 dates, with Tull riding the success of Thick as a Brick, an album built around one continuous composition spread across two sides of vinyl. It had just reached number one in America, proving there was a sizeable audience happy to follow Anderson down every winding musical corridor. <\/p>\n The Eagles, meanwhile, were introducing themselves through the compact, instantly welcoming country rock of their debut. Both acts were finding commercial success, but they were asking very different things of a listener. Putting them together meant more than swapping a flute for a few carefully stacked harmonies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was due to an agent who didn\u2019t really care whether the groups had anything in common or not,\u201d Don Henley told Classic Rock. \u201cHe said, \u2018You\u2019re gonna open for this group called Jethro Tull, and we went, \u2018Uh, OK.\u2019<\/p>\n The result was as damp as Henley\u2019s reaction, with not only a frosty atmosphere between the Eagles and Jethro Tull\u2019s confused fans, but also with the two bands themselves. <\/p>\n \u201cNo one had ever heard of the Eagles at the time,\u201d Jethro Tull\u2019ss Ian Anderson said to Prog in 2024. \u201cThey were shiny and new, which is why they wanted to do it \u2013 because it was exposure. But in the meantime, before the tour began, they had a big hit with \u2018Take It Easy\u2019, which was across the radio spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson conceded that their single granted them a level of musical respect, but maybe not within their circles. \u201cBy the time the tour began, they were becoming very well known,\u201d he continued. \u201cThough not to our audiences, because the concerts were sold out and new Eagles fans couldn\u2019t get tickets.<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cThey didn\u2019t enjoy the tour \u2013 they seemed rather remote. I remember them being kind of laid back, country rock music. It wasn\u2019t really music that was gelling with our audiences, who could be rather spiky.\u201d<\/p>\n Don Henley and his crew later gained notoriety for being somewhat uncompromising<\/a>. But they displayed it even in their early days, and despite their role as support for Anderson\u2019s band, showed the Brit how they acted around people they weren\u2019t overly interested in. <\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t really talk to them. I don\u2019t think they liked us, and we didn\u2019t really like them that much either.\u201d<\/p>\n It goes to prove, though, that support slots are crucial regardless of the outcome. The Eagles would have learned just as much, if not more, about their sound in the quiet humdrum of crowd disinterest as they would have in the manic hysteria of screaming crowds. Regardless of their outcome, support tours are a necessary chapter in any band\u2019s road to success<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Eagles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792694773_698_Eagles-1975-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ Asylum Records<\/p>\n
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<\/a> The Far Out Classic Rock Newsletter<\/p>\n