Archive for the ‘Primitives’ Category

23 Jan

Hugh Cornwell and The Primitives The Boiler Shop Newcastle 18 January 2024

Posted by vintagerock in Hugh Cornwell, Primitives, Stranglers. Tagged: , , , , , , .

HUGH0Two interesting acts at a local venue. It has been many years since I have seen both of these. I last saw Hugh Cornwell at Durham Gala Theatre quite a few years ago. My recollections of that concert were very positive. Hugh played a selection of his solo material mixed in with several Stranglers classics.

PRIM1The last time I saw The Primitives was at Newcastle Mayfair when they were in the charts with their one-off power pop single “Crash”. My elder daughter informed me that I “fancied” singer Tracy Tracy at the time but I can’t really recollect that at all.

So time to catch up with these punk/postpunk acts again. It was a freezing night and The Boiler Shop is not the warmest venue so carer Jackie and I wrapped up well for the evening.

PRIM2We had a great vantage point on the wheelchair platform. First up were The Primitives who played a great selection of jangly pop tunes including, of course, “Crash” which sounded as fresh and singalong today as it did all those years ago. During Hugh Cornwell’s set Tracy was down in front of the merchandise stand and we caught her and she kindly signed my ticket (see image).

HUGH C 1Soon Hugh took to the stage with his three-piece band. Himself on vocals and guitar, a bass player who pounded away on his bass guitar in a similar way to that of Stranglers bass player Jean-Jacques Burnel and mid-stage a drummer also pounding away at his kit. The set was once again a mixture of solo material and a few Stranglers gems thrown in here and there.

HUGH3In total he played around 9 Stranglers tracks, some of which I recognised including “Always the Sun”, “Strange Little Girl” and the closing track which took me right back to the early days “Hanging Around”. A two hour set which didn’t drag at all. The crowd loved it and Hugh seemed to enjoy himself. At the end a guy dressed as a chicken arrived on stage to play maracas. Bizarre.

Thanks to Jackie for the photos and Chris for navigating the site.

HUGH1Setlist: I Wannahideinsideaya; Too Much Trash; Skin Deep (Stranglers); Wrong Side of the Tracks; Delightful Nightmare; Strange Little Girl (Stranglers); Totem and Taboo; Bad Vibrations; Who Wants the World? (Stranglers); Moments of Madness; When I Was a Young Man; Tramp (Stranglers); Pure Evel; Mr. Leather; Always the Sun (Stranglers); Duce Coochie Man; Goodbye Toulouse (Stranglers); Another Kind of Love; Out of My Mind (Stranglers); Live it and Breathe it; Leave Me Alone; Thrown Away (Stranglers); Lasagna; Hanging Around (Stranglers).

24 Feb

The Primitives Newcastle Mayfair 1st May 1988

Posted by vintagerock in Primitives. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

The Primitives Newcastle Mayfair 1st May 1988
primitivesThe Primitives burst out of the indie rock scene in the late ’80s with the single “Crash” which reached No 5 in 1988. It was on the strength of that single that a mate and I went to see them when they played Newcastle Mayfair. I can’t pretend to remember any of their material other than “Crash” but do recall enjoying the gig. From their official site: “Fronted by indiepop blonde bombshell Tracy Tracy, The Primitives emerged from the independent scene of the mid-80s …Their sound distilled the shimmering guitar jangle of the Byrds, the buzzsaw style of The Ramones and 60′s girl group melodies into two and a half minute pop gems….A widely acclaimed first album, Lovely, made them the UK’s indie darlings, while the huge success of the single ‘Crash‘ saw them cross over to a mass audience. Further chart success followed, along with two more studio albums, Pure and Galore, plus extensive tours of Europe and the US, before the band called it a day in 1992.” The Primitives have recently reformed and are now gigging again.