Archive for the ‘Pallas’ Category

15 Mar

Uli Roth and Pallas Newcastle City Hall 21st May 1983

Posted by vintagerock in Pallas, Uli Jon Roth. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Uli Roth and Pallas Newcastle City Hall 21st May 1983ulijonroth1983
Uli Roth obviously has fond memories of Newcastle City Hall. When I last saw him in concert, at The Office in South Shields a year or so ago, the City Hall was facing possible closure, and Uli told us that we must not let it happen: “get a petition; do something, you can’t let it close, that hall is one of the most beautiful in your country”. Well Uli, we did. The City Hall gained a reprieve, and continues to host rock concerts. From the Newcastle Journal: “Newcastle’s under-threat City Hall has been saved from closure after the city council announced it would not axe 100% of its arts budget…Plans to remove the City Hall from the council’s books were met with strong opposition. Around 11,000 people, both online and on paper, signed a petition against the move, started by the North East Music History group.” Anyway, back to Uli Roth. Uli formed his band Electric Sun after leaving the Scorpions in the late ’70s. pallasUli is a charismatic and flamboyant character who developed his own guitar style. Technically excellent, and a massive influence on many of today’s players, he blends the blues with indian and classical influences, and this; coupled with showmanship and virtuosity, make him a unique guitar player. He is also massively influenced by Jimi Hendrix. This show at Newcastle City Hall was recorded and segments of it appear on the 2006 DVD release Historic Performances. I remember being totally stunned by his playing, and the epic nature of his songs. Support came from the excellent Pallas, who had just released their first single “Paris is Burning”. I picked up a copy of their fanzine “The Sentinel” (pictured here) at the concert. Pallas were one of the few bands flying the prog-rock flag in the early ’80s, when that particular genre had become very unfashionable in the wake of punk, and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.