Archive for the ‘Billy Squier’ Category

13 Feb

Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 24th May 1981

Posted by vintagerock in Billy Squier, Whitesnake. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 24th May 1981
whitesnaketix81Support from Billy Squier
In 1981 Whitesnake recorded “Come an’ Get It” which made No. 2 in the UK lp chart. It was kept off the No. 1 slot by Adam and the Ants’ Kings of the Wild Frontier. Two singles were released from the album: the Top 20 hit “Don’t Break My Heart Again” and the Top 40 hit “Would I Lie to You”. The band toured the UK in Spring, and this time their popularity had grown to the extent that they could sell out multiple nights at the top concert venues, including two nights at Newcastle City Hall. I went to the first night, and it was another great gig. Whitesnake were now one of the top heavy rock acts in the UK. A Whitesnake gig was heavy rock with a soul, featuring extended yet measured guitar and organ solos which came from the heart, rather than for flashiness or effect. And Coverdale was nothing short of amazing, his passion for the blues ripping and screaming its way through his performance, and his vocal ability simply outstanding.
whitesnakeprog81I saw the band a few months later when they appeared second on the bill to headliners AC/DC at the Monsters of Rock festival at Donington.
After the 1981 tour David Coverdale took time out from music, as his daughter was not well, which put Whitesnake on hold for a short while. Coverdale also felt that some of the members of the band were becoming a little complacent. There were also rows over money, and Coverdale felt that the rest of the band lacked his ambition to push Whitesnake onwards and upwards, so he ultimately came to the decision in early 1982 to disband the line-up entirely. There were shortly to re-emerge with a new line-up, but more of that tomorrow.
Setlist from City Hall 1981: Walking in the Shadow of the Blues; Sweet Talker; Ready an’ Willing; Don’t Break My Heart Again; Till the Day I Die; Lovehunter; Mistreated; Soldier of Fortune; Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick; Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City; Fool for Your Loving; Take Me with You; Come On; Wine, Women an’ Song