Roy Harper Newcastle City Hall 1977
The next time I saw Roy Harper was in October 1977 at a concert at Newcastle City Hall. The programme lists the Albion Band as support (they were formed by Ashley Hutching, founding member of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span). However I also have a flyer for Spriguns in the programme, and Mitch tells me that is was them who supported that night. Roy was backed by the same electric band as earlier in the year. I think by now they were called Black Sheep, and featured Henry McCullough on lead guitar. Roy was performing a full electric set at the time. An audience recording from a concert in Dublin in 1977 shows the setlist as: One Of Those Days In England, Another Day, Naked Flame, Forget Me Not, Cherishing The Lonesome, Prick Up In The Saddle, Take Me Home, Referendum, When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease, Highway Blues and Grown Ups Are Just Silly Children. 
I guess this is the sort of set that Roy will have played at the City Hall, however, he has always tended to vary the set from one night to another. The cover of the tour programme shows Roy with one of his famous Black Sheep. The black sheep story came out when Roy became seriously ill with a strange illness called Osler-Weber-Rendu disease. He told the papers that he’d become ill after giving a sheep the kiss of life. In Roy’s words: “That same day, it was headline news in Australia and New Zealand. A big story there, given that the sheep outnumber the people about four to one. Then it hits the broadsheets here. The next thing I know, I’ve been kissing a sheep.” The illness was hardly a laughing matter, though. At first he was given seven years to live. However, “the doctor came back to my bedside a fortnight later and said ‘I think I’m wrong’. It’s been that sort of situation ever since.”
4 Apr
Posted by Mitch on April 4, 2013 at 7:22 am
I thoroughly enjoy reading your Roy Harper memories especially the Knebworth trip you had.
I was at this concert and also the June 1975 show. The support act for 1975 was Headstone, but in 1977 it was Spriguns – not The Albion Band.
Both shows were excellent.
Harper played a long set at Newcastle in 1977 –
Ten Years Ago
Home
Cora
Forget Me Not
My Little Girl
Square Boxes
Too Many Movies
Prick Up In The Saddle
Take Me Home
The Flycatcher
Breakfast With You
Referendum
Grown Ups Are Just Silly Children
Encores –
When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease
Highway Blues.
Posted by vintagerock on April 4, 2013 at 7:41 am
Spriguns being support makes sense as I have a Spriguns flyer in my programme (although the programme itself lists the Albion band as support). I’ll update the post.