Jeff Beck threw Peoria dinner across the room: English 'don't eat catfish'

The English guitarist Jeff Beck is considered one of rock's best ax men. Beck, who died Tuesday at age 78, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not once, but twice: first as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and secondly as a solo artist (2009). He ranked fifth on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

Among other songs, the Yardbirds are remembered for the hit "Heart Full of Soul," with Beck's guitar memorably mimicking a sitar.

In Peoria, Beck is recalled for a somewhat subdued performance and a heated encounter with a catfish dinner.

On Friday, June 25, 1976, Beck and the Jan Hammer Group performed as the opening act of a concert at the Glen Oak Park amphitheater. Fleetwood Mac was the headliner.

Related:From Fleetwood Mac to The Beach Boys, Glen Oak Amphitheatre rocked Peoria in the 1970s

"Most of the crowd came to see Fleetwood Mac and merely used the Jeff Beck opening to warm themselves up and finish socializing" before the main act, read a Journal Star review the next day. "Jeff Beck was something of a disappointment at first," the story continued. "The group began to get rolling near the end of their set, however, and Beck's flashing guitar was more than up to his usual high quality of surreal rock by the end of their performance."

Was Beck's slow-building performance linked to lingering resentment over his pre-concert meal?

In a 2016 Journal Star article, promoter Jay Goldberg looked back at that ill-fated repast.

"In his contract rider, Beck had specified that he wanted a fish dinner before performing," the story said. "Seeking to impress, Goldberg sent a go-fer to King’s Restaurant, north of Peoria on Galena Road and renown for its deep-fried catfish."

“I was so proud that I took it to Beck myself, into the dressing room,” Goldberg said then. “He looked down at it, then looked up at me, then looked down at it again — then threw it across the room.”

The story continued, "Goldberg scrammed, but later asked Beck’s manager about the catfish reaction. Huffy, the manager explained that Britons view catfish as beneath them: 'Jeff was insulted. We don’t eat catfish in England.'"

Related:Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac mesmerized Peoria audience in 1976

Looking back

Now 72, Goldberg recalls the catfish incident — and the concert — with amusement.

He sees the fish flinging as merely a sign of Beck's high standards.

"Jeff Beck was a perfectionist and wanted everything just right professionally. But he was really a nice, laid-back person otherwise," he said recently. "When Jeff realized that to us Peorians, King's catfish was a delicacy, we, together, had a laugh and the show went on."

He added, "I do have some fond memories of that concert and hanging out with Jeff Beck and Fleetwood Mac later that evening, but some stories are left best untold — LOL."

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Guitar legend Jeff Beck played in Peoria, threw his dinner across the room