Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 18th October 1979
Support from Marseille
Former Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice joined Whitesnake in 1979. The band now included three former Purple members in Coverdale, Lord and Paice, and the new line-up recorded “Love Hunter”. This was the album that defined the early band, consolidated their position as heavy rock champions and started a journey to stardom which would continue on an upward trajectory for the next decade. The album features the excellent blues-rock anthem “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” and the title track is a fine slab of rock which showcases Moody’s slide guitar. The unforgettable and controversial cover art, which was also on the tour programme, features a naked woman riding a great big snake. The woman is clearly mesmerised by the evil looking snake (which surprisingly isn’t all white).
Whitesnake toured in October 1979 to promote “Love Hunter”, still on a high from the success of closing the Reading festival. Support for the tour came from Liverpool rockers Marseille, who had been the first band to win “UK Battle of the Bands” in 1977. I saw Whitesnake when they returned to Newcastle City Hall on 18th October for a triumphant performance.
In 1979 Whitesnake had everything going for them; a rock god vocalist with the most powerful and soulful voice you could find on any stage, a pair of excellent blues guitarists, the best Hammond organ player in rock, and now a legendary rock drummer.
Add to that a growing collection of blues rock classics and you had the recipe for a great rock performance. And that is exactly what Whitesnake delivered. But there was much more to Whitesnake than heavy rock; this band had a soul, a passion and a feel for the blues unlike any other band.
When Coverdale sang “I love the blues, They tell my story, If you don’t feel it you can never understand” in “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” you felt that he meant it.
Setlist: Come On; You ‘n’ Me; Walking in the Shadow of the Blues; Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City; Steal Away; Mistreated; Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick; Lovehunter; Lie Down (A Modern Love Song); Take Me with You
Encores: Breakdown; Statesboro Blues/Rock Me Baby.
Thanks to Mitch for his photo, taken at this gig.
Archive for the ‘Marseille’ Category
15 Jun
Judas Priest Newcastle City Hall 1979 and 1980 British Steel!
Judas Priest Newcastle City Hall 1979 and 1980 British Steel!
Judas Priest continued to tour throughout 1979 to 1980, moving from the Hellbent on Leather tour to the British Steel tour. Support acts were local band White Heat in 1979, and the mighty Iron Maiden in 1980. I also have a memory of attending a show at Newcastle Mayfair around this period; I think Priest may have played two nights at the City Hall and one at the Mayfair ballroom during the British Steel tour. British Steel was the sixth lp release by Judas Priest, and moved their music from dark, operatic metal, to shorter, more accessible and commercial rock songs. 
The album reached No 4 in the UK lp charts, their highest chart entry to date, and two singles from it reached the UK singles chart. These were Living After Midnight and the great Breaking the Law. The video for Breaking the Law is still shown on TV, and is a wonderful example of an early, very tongue in cheek, heavy metal promo. Their gigs continued to be crazy metal events, and Priest were a great favourite with the Newcastle metal crowds. The set around this time also included excellent covers of Fleetwood Mac’s Green Manalishi (1979) and Spooky Tooth’s Better By You, Better Than Me (in 1978). 
A typical setlist from 1980: Hell Bent for Leather; The Ripper; Running Wild; Living After Midnight; Sinner; Beyond the Realms of Death; You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise; Grinder; Victim of Changes; Steeler; Genocide; Tyrant; The Green Manalishi. The programme for the 1980 Judas Priest tour is a true heavy metal work of art in itself. The cover shows a zipped leather suited guy wearing (of course) a studded belt complete with Judas Priest buckle. 
But the real treat lies inside. The centre fold of the programme contains a pop up of the band in all their onstage metal glory.
My copy has become a tad creased over the years, but I’ve done my best to photograph and present it here. Rob is on his motorbike in his usual leather gear, and the guitarists all have their axes held aloft. You couldn’t beat it!
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