Z Z Top Rocking the Castle, Donington 17th August 1985
Line-up: ZZ Top; Marillion; Bon Jovi; Metallica; Ratt; Magnum; Tommy Vance (DJ)
Donington 1985 became “Rocking the Castle” rather than “Monsters of Rock”, presumably because the line-up was a little more mixed than the usual heavy metal fare. Z Z Top returned to the festival after playing third on the bill a couple of years earlier. They were joined by a strong clutch of bands including Bon Jovi and Metallica, both of whom who would go on to be headliners in their own right. It was a beautiful hot day; one of the best Donington festivals I attended, in terms of the weather. Don’t remember much about Magnum or Ratt, although I have always been a fan of Magnum. Metallica seemed very thrash metal to me at the time; they hadn’t yet developed the subtlety that was to come later. Bon Jovi were amazing; you could just tell that they were going to be massive. 
At some point during the afternoon the Z Z Top car flew over the crowd, carried by a helicopter; this resulted in a massive cheer, and a hail of bottles and cans, none of which (luckily) managed to get high enough to touch the limo. This was the era of the can fight…. Marillion were the hit of the day, and went down really well with the crowd. They were at the tipping point of their career, having just released “Misplaced Childhood” and with major chart hits “Lavender” and “Kayleigh”. But the day belonged to boogie kings Z Z Top who were one of the biggest acts on the planet at the time, and effortlessly tore the place up with those classic songs, tongue in cheek humour, and unique style. Classic.
Z Z Top setlist: Got Me Under Pressure; I Got The Six; Gimme All Your Lovin’; Waiting For The Bus; Jesus Just Left Chicago; Sharp Dressed Man; Ten Foot Pole; TV Dinner; Manic Mechanic; Heard It On The X; I Need You Tonight; Pearl Necklace; Cheap Sunglasses; Arrested For Driving While Blind/Hit It Quit It; Party On The Patio; Legs; Tube Snake Boogie; Can’t Stop Rockin’; Jailhouse Rock; La Grange; Tush.
Two days to go ……
3 Apr
Z Z Top Rocking the Castle, Donington 17th August 1985
Posted April 3, 2015 by vintagerock in Bon Jovi, Magnum, Marillion, Metallica, Ratt, Z Z Top. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, festival, gig, gigs, heavy metal, heavy rock, music, prog rock, rock, rock n roll. 12 Comments
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Posted by Armin Steininger on February 2, 2019 at 1:35 am
I was there when I was a 17th year old boy from Austria………It was one of the best concerts in my life…….please take me back to this wonderful time in my life
Posted by Anna Kyle on July 27, 2023 at 9:49 am
I was there it was EPIC
Posted by vintagerock on July 27, 2023 at 1:44 pm
Hi Anna I agree. Epic indeed! Happy days Peter
Posted by Simon on November 8, 2023 at 3:30 pm
My youngest daughter just sent me a Spotify link to ZZ Top – Sharp Dressed Man with a comment… “just heard this and thought you would like it” .
I replied saying I was also there in 1985 and saw the ‘flying’ car.
Also sent her the link to this post.
Amazing day, amazing times!!!
Posted by vintagerock on November 8, 2023 at 6:46 pm
Hi Simon many thanks for sharing the link to my blog. It would be great if she reads it and subscribes 🙂 happy days. I try to be a sharp dressed man 🙂 Peter
Posted by James Rice on August 20, 2024 at 6:58 am
I was there too. It was the best. The helicopter carrying the car had the same ZZ stripes so it all looked so cool. They then drove the car on stage to open up their set. Before this I remember people were drinking two litre bottles of cider, pissing in the bottle and then launching them in the air. There must have been hundreds in the air and you were lucky if they didn’t land on you or cover you with piss. Very rock n roll. Tommy Vance came on stage to try and calm the crowd down but he was met with a crescendo of “fuck off Tommy” and all the cider bottles were now aimed at him. As soon as the first notes of Got Me Under Pressure started the crowd were bouncing. Special day never to be forgotten.
Posted by vintagerock on August 20, 2024 at 11:04 am
Wild times. Peter
Posted by Paul Harrison on August 23, 2024 at 5:13 pm
I was there , only remember ZZ top , the rest is a blur due to 8 – 10 pints of cider 4 pints of bitter and a big bag of magic mushrooms . An amazing day .
Posted by vintagerock on August 24, 2024 at 11:27 am
Happy days
Posted by Ralph Haldane on October 24, 2024 at 12:45 am
was there, it’s almost 40 years ago and much of it a blur but I remember it was an epic day. I’m 60 now and wish I could relive those days.
Posted by vintagerock on October 24, 2024 at 11:08 am
Hi Ralph if only we could go back in time…… I am 68 and my memory is sadly not what it was Peter
Posted by steven O'Shea on May 16, 2025 at 9:18 pm
I was there, amazing day, I’m 60 now, but wicked memories of one of my qst ever concerts, just wish I had taken pics