The Police Gateshead Stadium 1982
Support Acts: U2, The Beat, Gang Of Four, Lords Of The New Church.
Sting: “Seven years ago I left this town and I said I would make it. It’s nice to come back and make you part of the success.”
Another one day event headlined by The Police. This one was local to me (no three hour drive home; great 🙂 ). The weather was ok, dull but no major rain problems. Attendance was estimated at around 12,000; well below the capacity, and there was lots of empty space in the stadium. The Police were good, but for me and most of he crowd, the revelation of the day was U2. I had seen U2 a few times before this gig, and thought they were good, but it was at this Gateshead gig that I realised just how powerful a U2 performance could be. Bono was simply sensational; his singing, passion, energy and performance were amazing. He climbed all over the lighting towers and had the entire crowd on his side by the end of their set. The Police found it hard to follow U2, and Sting wasn’t in a particularly good mood; but after a slow start, all those hits got the crowd singing along. The standard Police three piece line-up was augmented by a brass section for this show.
From reviews of the time:
“U2 took advantage of the day’s upswing to reinforce the numerous claims made on their behalf to be ‘the next big thing’. Currently cooped up in the country getting their third album together, they exploded with a barrage of pent-up energy that no amount of pastoral activity can fulfil. “(Sounds)
“The Police were totally predictable. Coming on over a tape to ecstatic applause from the half empty stadium, Sting yodelled and changed basses for every other song in sight …. I can’t say that they played badly – they’re much too professional and slick for that – but their many hits were trotted out with a lack of excitement which suggests that their days as a group may be numbered [interesting comment in hindsight]….The audience loved it – but then at £8.30 a time they could hardly afford not to could they? ” (Record Mirror)
U2 setlist: Gloria; I Threw A Brick; A Day Without Me; An Cat Dubh; Into The Heart; Rejoice; Electric Co; I Will Follow; Out Of Control. Encore(s): A Celebration; 11 O’Clock Tick Tock; The Ocean
The Police setlist: Message In A Bottle; Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic; Walking On The Moon; Spirits In The Material World; Hungry For You; When The World Is Running Down; The Bed’s Too Big Without You; De do do do, De da da da; Demolition Man; Shadows In The Rain; Driven To Tears; Bring On The Night; One World (Not Three); Invisible Sun (with Bono); Roxanne; Don’t Stand So Close To Me; Can’t Stand Losing You; Regatta de Blanc; Be My Girl; Can’t Stand Losing You; So Lonely
Archive for the ‘Lords of the New Church’ Category
20 Feb
The Police & U2 Gateshead Stadium 31st July 1982
3 Sep
Lords of the New Church Barbary Coast Sunderland 1983
Lords of the New Church Barbary Coast Sunderland 1983
The Lords of the New Church were a punk supergroup formed in 1982, by the late great (and totally crazy) Stiv Bators (The Dead Boys), Brian James (The Damned), Dave Tregunna (Sham 69) and Nick Turner (The Barracudas). Having seen The Dead Boys once or twice, and the Damned lots of times, this band seemed an attractive live attraction. The Barbary Coast was the latest incarnation of the old Boilermakers club, which is now North Shore, and part of the Sunderland University Students union. The Lords played in a small side room, not in the main hall, and the place was pretty empty. Their music was melodic punk / rock n roll, with a dark gothic psych tinge to it. Live they were a cross between The Damned and the New York Dolls, with Stiv a manic front man showing shades of Iggy, and no fear. Support came from Agent Orange, an American punk band.The Live lp has the following track list: New Church; Livin On Livin; Eat Your Heart Out; Russian Roulette; Fortune Teller; Open Your Eyes; Girls Girls Girls; Holy War; Apocolypso; New Church. I would guess that the set I witnessed that night will have been similar to this. From the rhapsody.com site: “Lords Of The New Church quickly established themselves as a must-see live act due to the wild, death-defying (literally!) stage antics of Bators.” From Wiki: “Bators had developed a fearless reputation in his Dead Boys days and continued such antics with The Lords, the most famous being the time he reportedly hanged himself during a show. Bator’s stunt went awry and he was pronounced clinically dead for several minutes.” Stiv died in Paris in 1990, after being knocked down by a taxi.
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