Out of Sight Out of Mind

The Avengers , Music Video – 1969

In this bittersweet clip from the 1969 Loxene Golden Disc Awards, Clive Cockburn is the sole representative of his former band, The Avengers. Having broken up just a few months earlier, the group were nominated for a Silver Scroll, which they won later that night for the lyricist David Jordan. Presenter Peter Sinclair introduces Cockburn as "The Lone Avenger", who takes to the piano and lip-syncs to 'Out of Sight Out of Mind' — fittingly, a goodbye song. It's a melancholic performance from Cockburn; an especially potent moment comes when the song swells with the pre-recorded backing vocals of his former, and notably absent, band.

It would have been a poignant three minutes and 33 seconds for Clive Cockburn as he sat at the grand piano, lip-synching to his vocal and hearing his musical family of the last three years coming to life through the foldback speakers. As the panel operator faded the image on the last note and the studio lights were dimmed to the sound of canned applause, so came down the final curtain on The Avengers.
– Grant Gillanders on Clive Cockburn's final performance for The Avengers, AudioCulture website, 18 February 2018