It had been 7 years since I last saw Rod; far too long. I drove up to Glasgow with a group of mates for this concert. Baby Jane had been a big hit, and I saw it as a return to rock’n’roll for Rod. We had a drink in a proper spit and sawdust pub (I think it actually did have spittoons on a concrete floor covered in sawdust). Think it was called The Ibrox? I remember I asked for a half of lager (I was driving and that was all I was going to have to drink) and the barman told me in his strong Glaswegian accent “We dinna sell halves of lager in here”. Support came from disgraced rocker Gary Glitter who was having a little bit of a comeback at the time. From Everything2: “1982 and 1983 were spent by Glitter touring universities with his show. This appealed to Glitter as the people at university at this time were the teenagers who bought his records at the peak of his success. This success was followed by Glitter being asked to appear as a guest by his friend Rod Stewart in 1983 at his concert at Ibrox Park in Glasgow. Glitter jumped at this and appeared in front of an audience of 20,000 people [note. I am sure there were more than 20,000 people there, I would have said more like 50,000?] which was many more than he was used to at this time. At the beginning of his set, Glitter had a mixed reaction from the audience, but his unique style of working the crowd had them crying out for more by the time he had finished, so much that Stewart had to put in a very good performance to compete.”
The rest of the bill consisted of JoBoxers, who grew out of Subway Sect and had a hit with Boxer Beat and Scottish band Passionate Friends: “in the summer of 1983, following a series of gigs around the country, the band were brought to the attention of Harvey Goldsmith. Harvey was promoting the Rod Stewart gig at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, and invited the boys to play support to Rod, Gary Glitter, and Jo Boxers.” (Wikipedia) 
There was a great atmosphere at the gig, lots of Scottish flags, and a very warm welcome for Rod from his adopted home crowd. Rod had by now moved fully into rock/pop hero mode, and the set reflected his late 70s and early 80s solo work, with very little from the Faces days or his early solo outings. Favourites of mine were always “I’m Losing You”, “Mandolin Wind” and “Reason to Believe”, none of which featured in Rod’s seat at the time, although he did sing the excellent “Gasoline Alley” and finish with a rocking version of “Stay With Me”. An excellent concert, with the now traditional footballs being booted out into the stadium and onto the Ibrox turf.
Setlist: Tonight I’m Yours (Don’t Hurt Me); Sweet Little Rock & Roller; Dancin’ Alone; Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright); Passion; She Won’t Dance With Me; Little Queenie; Jimmy Z Blues; Sweet Surrender; I Don’t Want to Talk About It; You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim); Baby Jane; Young Turks; What Am I Gonna Do (I’m So in Love With You); Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?; Gasoline Alley; Maggie May; Sailing; Hot Legs; Baby Jane (Reprise); Stay With Me
Archive for the ‘Passionate Friends’ Category
5 Jul
Vintagerock's Weblog. 