McCarty recalls that he and Dreja produced a short film, which he describes as "a precursor to the modern pop video", prior to departing for another US tour. It was delivered to the show's producer, with the expectation that it would be aired during their absence from the UK. However, a second performance of the song on Top of the Pops was never broadcast, and McCarty believes that it "disappeared into the bowels of BBC, never to be seen again". After a concert performance at the Fillmore in San Francisco on 23 October, the group were filmed miming to "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" for television. It was the first appearance by a rock group on a programme hosted by veteran comedian Milton Berle, who preceded their performance with "An ancient English philosopher once said... if you want to add wild sounds to your shows, let the yardbirds of paradise fly up your nose". It was broadcast on 2 December and biographer David French writes: "Unfortunately, the band did not look very enthusiastic miming to the record and bad psychedelic effects marred the entire appearance." In concert, "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" was performed by the dual lead guitar line-up, until Beck left the group at the end of October 1966. The Yardbirds continued to tour as a four piece into 1968, with all the guitar parts played by Page. A performance on 15 March 1967 was filmed for West German television and the audio is included on the semi-official Cumular Limit (2000) and Glimpses 1963–1968 (2011) compilation albums. Critical reception Contemporary reviews When "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" was released in 1966, critical rock journalism was limited to a small number of publications. The Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things", released in February 1966, became the first song by a group in Britain to be described as "psychedelic". However, the term soon became overused and "the Yardbirds had been caught up in an English backlash against the emerging drug culture" (French). A review by Penny Valentine for the UK weekly Disc and Music Echo was harsh: In the US, the reaction was markedly different. The song received a favourable review in Billboard magazine's "Pop Spotlights" column: "Infectious driving beat and unusual arrangement combined with an off-beat lyric content makes this hot contender for a fast chart climber." In a record column for KRLA Beat magazine, Eden distinguished between "psychedelic" and "commercialized