By 1980, Rory had moved to a harder rock sound, dropping many of the classic bluesy tracks which had been staples of his set throughout the 70s. So he was no longer playing Bullfrog Blues, Going to my Hometown, Messin with the Kid, as part of the main set, although he would sometimes play one or two of them during the encore, as I recall. Instead his set was focussing on tracks from his most recent albums; Top Priority (1980), Calling Card (1976) and Photo-Finish (1978). His stage show is documented on the live album Stage Stuck which was released in 1980, around the time of this gig at Newcastle City Hall. 
Although I still enjoyed seeing Rory, and he played with the same energy and passion as before, I missed the old familiar songs. The tracks on Stage Stuck give an indication of Rory’s setlist at this time: Shin Kicker; Wayward Child; Brute Force and Ignorance; Moonchild; Bad Penny; Key Chain; Follow Me; Bought and Sold; The Last of the Independents; Shadow Play. I saw Rory again at the Rock on the Tyne festival which was held at Gateshead Stadium in 1981. He headlined the second night, and came on after Dr Feelgood. The festival was held on the same weekend as the Reading Festival, and my mates and I decided to go to this local event and miss Reading that year. In fact, as things turned out, I never did return to the Reading festival. By this time Rory had put on a little weight, and wasn’t the same slim young guy that I had first seen 10 years or so earlier, but he had lost none of this power as a guitarist.
20 Dec
Vintagerock's Weblog. 