Archive for the ‘D C Lee’ Category

10 Nov

Dee C Lee Wylam Brewery 2 October 2024

Posted by vintagerock in D C Lee. Tagged: , , , , , , .

From memory, the last time I saw Dee C Lee was on the Red Wedge tour, when she was part of the Style Council. She also sang her own hit single “See the Day” which was a big favourite of mine. At the time she was the partner of Paul Weiler, who she went on to marry. They parted some time afterwards.
So I could not resist going to see her again at the lovely Wylam Brewery.

The Brewery announced the show: “Dee C Lee brings the Just Something tour to Wylam Brewery this October. Performing her first new record since 1998, this tour will feature a 9-piece live band – promising a captivating performance and unforgettable evening.” The concert featured the following artists: Dee C. Lee, Steve White, and Steve Edwards (the latter two singers were members of Lee’s band and also performed their own set).

This lady comes with some pedigree. She was born Diane Catherine in 1961. She was a backing singer for Wham!, then released her first solo single, “Selina Wow Wow”, in 1984. She started working with the Style Council, while continuing as a solo artist. So, I must have seen her with Wham! who I saw at Newcastle City Hall, Whitley Bay Ice Rink, and their final concert, entitled The Final, at Wembley Stadium. Happy days.

Soon, she worked with the Style Council and appeared on their debut album. Lee then released another solo single; the self-penned ballad “See the Day”. The single became a hit and peaked at No. 2 in the UK chart in December 1985, selling a quarter of a million copies in the UK alone, and earning Lee a silver disc.
And so, Jan and I went along to the lovely Wylam Brewery in Newcastle Exhibition Park. The venue actually is a brewery, and you can drink the ale straight from the barrel.

This included, as I recall, Guinness which tasted great, nice, and cold. We managed to get situated right in front of the stage and were treated to an excellent set of jazz, blues and soul delivered by none other than D C Lee herself, accompanied by an excellent band. Halfway through, the aforementioned singers Steve White and Steve Edwards took centre stage for their own short set.

The lady finished with (of course) “See the Day” which was an excellent finish to a great evening with a very underrated singer. Many thanks to Jan for the photographs and Margy for manipulating the site. I treated myself to a signed LP record (see picture).

Setlist: (something like) Anything; Back In Time; The Paris Match; How To Love; Walk Away
Encore: See the Day; No Time To Play.

30 Mar

Red Wedge tour (featuring The Smiths) Newcastle City Hall 31st January 1986

Posted by vintagerock in Billy Bragg, Communards, D C Lee, Jimmy Somerville, Junior Giscombe, Paul Weller, Prefab Sprout, Style Council, The Smiths.

Red Wedge tour Newcastle City Hall 31st January 1986
redwedgeThe Red Wedge concert at Newcastle City Hall in January 1986 is one of the most memorable gigs I have been to. Red Wedge was a collective of musicians, fronted by Billy Bragg, who set out to engage young people with politics, and the Labour Party in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election, in the hope of ousting the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher. Billy Bragg was joined in Red Wedge by Paul Weller and The Communards lead singer Jimmy Somerville. Red Wedge organised a number of major tours and concert. The first and most memorable, took place in January and February 1986, and featured Billy Bragg, Paul Weller’s band The Style Council, The Communards, Junior Giscombe, and Lorna Gee. The core touring acts were joined by other guest bands throughout the tour.
The City Hall concert featured Billy Bragg, Junior Giscombe, The Style Council, The Communards, with guests Prefab Sprout and, as a big and very welcome surprise, The Smiths. It is The Smiths who stole the show, and their performance that night sticks in my memory as one of the best I have ever seen, by any band.
All of the bands performed short sets; a few songs each. The Communards were impressive, Jimmy Somerville’s soaring vocals were amazing, and the Style Council were also good. I seem to recall D C Lee guested with them and sang “See The Day”. Local heroes Prefab Sprout also went down well. John Hardy recalls their two song set on his North East Music History Blog: “But topping the local talent was the accoustic Paddy McAloon. The quirky ‘Dublin’ – a nostalgic carol to lost Ireland – his carressing croon and lyrical magic came through on ‘Cruel’, aided by the sylph like Wendy”.
RED_WEDGEprogBut it was The Smiths who stole the show. There were whispers around the hall that something special was going to happen. Without any real warning, The Smiths were announced and stormed straight into ‘Shakespeare’s Sister, followed by ‘I Want The one I Can’t Have’, ‘Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ and ‘Big Mouth Strikes Again’ (“our new single”). There is something about a short set; it allows a band to focus and to maintain a high level of energy and passion throughout. The Smiths were simply phenomenal that night; there was a buzz about them at the time, and everyone was delighted to see them perform. But it was more than that. It was as if they had decided to put everything into those four songs; the power, the intensity, and Morrissey and Marr’s performance were a step above anything I had seen them deliver before (or since) that night. It was as if they knew that they were simply the best band on the planet at the time, and they came out with the confidence and ability to deliver a word class, stunning performance. We sat there, feeling that we were witnessing something special. It was that good. It was the best time I saw The Smiths, and a performance that will stay with me for ever. Perfect rock ‘n’ roll in four songs and 20 or so short minutes.
Johnny Marr said afterwards: “The Red Wedge gig at Newcastle City Hall was one of the best things we ever did. Andy and I had done a couple of gigs already with Billy Bragg in Manchester and Birmingham the week before…I was telling Morrissey about it and he was fairly up for just doing an impromptu show. So we drove up to Newcastle, without telling anyone. I walked into the sound-check…the other bands were a little bit perplexed as to what we were doing there. We had no instruments, so we borrowed The Style Council’s equipment and just tore the roof off the place. In the middle of the set we just walked on to this announcement and the place went bananas.” Morrissey said (NME, 1986): “…that was why we made a very brief, but stormy appearance. When we took to the stage the audience reeled back in horror. They took their walkmans off and threw down their cardigans. Suddenly the place was alight, aflame with passion!”