Jethro Tull Newcastle City Hall 1982
The Broadsword and the Beast tour
The next time I saw Jethro Tull was in 1982 at Newcastle City Hall. They had just released The Broadsword and the Beast which was their 14th studio album. The line-up of Tull at the time was: Ian Anderson on vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, crazy dance and cocked leg; Martin Barre on wondrous electric guitars; Dave Pegg (ex-Fairport and friendly folkie) on bass guitar; Peter Vettese on keyboards; and Gerry Conway on drums. There was no support act, and the ticket made sure that we knew: “Please note. No support Jethro Tull on Stage 8pm prompt”. This was quite a theatrical show with lots of props and the band wearing medieval clothing. The set was a mix of old and new, with quite a few acoustic songs. I was still concerned about the folk influence at this stage, but enjoyed the show, as always. 
Setlist: Clasp, Hunting Girl, Fallen On Hard Times, Pussy Willow, Broadsword, Jack-In-The-Green, Seal Driver, Heavy Horses, Weathercock/Fire At Midnight/Flute Solo (including God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Bourée)/Sweet Dream, Flying Colours, Songs From The Wood, Watching Me Watching You, The Swirling Pit, Pibroch, Beastie, Too Old To Rock’N’Roll…, Aqualung, Minstrel In The Gallery, Locomotive Breath/Black Sunday, Cheerio
Thanks to Doug for the picture, which he took at this gig, showing Martin Barre in his best gear.
A bootleg recording of the Newcastle gig exists, often entitled “The Beastie of Newcastle”.
“Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding. Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.
Bless with a hard heart those who surround me. Bless the women and children who firm our hands.
Put our backs to the north wind. Hold fast by the river.
Sweet memories to drive us on for the motherland”
(The Broadsword and the Best, Ian Anderson, 1982)
24 Jul
Vintagerock's Weblog. 
Posted by dawn on July 24, 2013 at 11:35 am
lov this band! seen them many times over the years, they are one of the few bands in a class of their own i have most of their albums in my vinyl collection and listen to their music often, not seen them for a while now missed them when they came to sunderland im sure i will catch them again as they do seem to still tour regular, i did see they brought out thick as a brick 2 listened to it on their web site it was good hope they do a british tour soon:)
Posted by Ian Turner on August 9, 2013 at 12:10 pm
I was at the 1982 concert and seen them many times since. This concert they were at their folk rock height before the electronica of under wraps set in.
Posted by olive.hawk@btinternet.com on April 22, 2016 at 1:43 pm
I remember they came on late. It was the first time I had seen them so was looking forward to the show. Having seen them quite a few times, it was very unusual for Ian and co. not coming punctual!
Peter John Vettese. The new boy, came on to introduce himself, apologise for the late running. With a small Casio type electronic keyboard he said what sort of stuff they would be playing, cue an impromptu snippets. I guess most of the crowed wanted John Evan and David Palmer, so had to put up with a lot of boos!
As well as the bootleg tape, there appears also to be some 8mm footage going around youtube of the gig.
Posted by vintagerock on April 22, 2016 at 2:46 pm
Happy days Cheers Peter