Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers Middlesbrough Town Hall 1977
Support from Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Models
This was a great gig with a pretty legendary line-up. It was billed to place in the larger upstairs hall, but was not that well attended, so the concert was moved to the small hall, known as “the crypt”, which was downstairs.. Punk was just arriving in the North East, and none of the bands on the bill were that well known at the time. Marie and I went to many the punk gigs which took place in the North East in the late 70s. I know we arrived early for this show, because I’d read about support act Siousxie and the Banshees in the Sounds and NME, and particularly wanted to catch them. First up were the Models, a punk band which featured Marco Pirroni who was to go on to join Adam and the Ants. Siouxsie was a revelation. She was full of edge, obviously out to shock, dressed in a see-through net top, a leather cap and looking just great. She commanded the stage with some crazy dancing and goose stepping. The band were very young at the time and looked it; this was the first and best line-up of the Banshees; before they released their first landmark album “The Sream”. I can’t be certain what they played that night, but remember being very impressed by them. I am pretty sure they played Metal Postcard, Carcass, T Rex’s 20th Century Boy (she announced the song “From one Carcass to Another” which I remember clearly as I thought it pretty bad taste at the time: Bolan had died just a few weeks before. I told you she was out to shock), Love in a Void, The Lords Prayer, and Helter Skelter. For me they were the best band of the night and I went on to see them many more times over the next few years. The Banshees stood out from the rest of the punk bands in their style, their attitude, and the mysterious, somewhat dischordant, dark noise that they made. Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers were as fast, loud and raucous as you would expect them to be. This was at the time of the L.A.M.F. album, and the set comprised most of the tracks from that record. I particularly remember them playing high energy versions of Born too Loose and Chinese Rocks. A great night. Wish I’d taken a video camera.
Archive for the ‘Models’ Category
26 Mar
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