Daryl Hall and John Oates Newcastle City Hall 1976
I first heard of Daryl Hall and John Oates in 1976, when there single “She’s Gone” was released. They seemed to quickly become a very trendy band and those who were in “the know” told me how good this band were. Those who were into the disco movement, and frequented local clubs like Annabel’s, were raving about the blue-eyed soul of these guys. So when they toured and came to the City Hall, Marie and I went along to see what all the fuss was about. Hall and Oates were still relatively unknown to the general public and most concert-goers at the time, however they still managed to attract a reasonable crowd. Support came from the Chanter Sisters. Note the misspelling of “Oakes” rather than “Oates” on the ticket, another pointer to the fact that Hall and Oates were not that well known. 
Hall and Oates had played a well received UK debut concert at the New Victoria Theatre in London in 1975, but this was their first full UK tour. She’s gone rose to Number 7 in the UK chart and the band were starting to grow their own audience in the UK. My memories of this are of a great gig, with strong vocals by Daryl Hall. I didn’t know any of the material other than She’s Gone, so found it a little hard going at times, but overall I felt it was a good show. A DVD of the guys live from that period exists. They perform some of their greatest blue-eyed soul hits from their early hit albums “Bigger Than The Both Of Us”, “Abandoned Luncheonette” and “War Babies”. Track Listing: Rich Girl; Do What You Want, Be What You Are; Is It a Star; Abandoned Luncheonette; Ennui on the Mountain; Gino the Manager; Sara Smile; Room to Breathe; Johnny Gore and the C Eaters. I guess the set at the City Hall in 1976 will have consisted of some of those songs, although I am certain that they also plated She’s Gone. I hadn’t realised that Rich Girl was so early; I certainly hadn’t heard it at the time, but it looks like they may well have played it at the gig I attended in 1976.
17 Mar
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