Refugee Newcastle City Hall 10th December 1973 and 16th June 1974
Refugee played epic classically-based rock music, which was soon to be know as prog rock. They were formed by former The Nice members bassist Lee Jackson and drummer Brian Davison, with the addition of ace virtuoso keyboardist Patrick Moraz, who very ably filled the place held by Keith Emerson in The Nice. Refugee’s music was a natural progression from that of The Nice featuring lengthy organ solos by Moraz, Jackson’s husky rasping vocals and Davison keeping the band on track rhythmically, from behind a massive drum kit.
After The Nice folded, Jackson had formed his own band Jackson Heights, which featured Davison in its latter days. I saw Jackson Heights at least a couple of times at the Lincoln and Reading festivals in 1972. Refugee released one album on Charisma Records, but the band was short-lived as Moraz accepted an offer to join Yes in 1974. 
I saw Refugee twice with my friend John; once in late 1973 which must have been one of their first gigs and then again in Summer 1974. They were both excellent concerts, with the set consisting of tracks from their debut and only album and one or two Nice tracks, notably “The Diamond Hard Blues Apples Of The Moon” and their interpretation of Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me”.
The 1974 Newcastle show was recorded and has since been released on CD. It shows the setlist as being: Ritt Mickley, One Left Handed Peter Pan, The Diamond Hard Blues Apples Of The Moon, Someday, Papillon, She Belongs To Me, Grand Canyon Suite, Refugee Jam. Support for the 1974 concert was Darien Spirit.
Note the spelling errors on both tickets: “Refugee” spelt “Refuge” on the 1973 stub, and “Patrick Moraz” becomes “Patrick Moral” 🙂 on the 1973 stub.
Archive for the ‘Refugee’ Category
20 Apr
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