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 ‘Rod Stewart’ Category
5 Jul
Rod Stewart Ibrox Stadium Glasgow 18th June 1983
4 Jul
Rod Stewart Newcastle City Hall 14th December 1976
Rod Stewart Newcastle City Hall 14th December 1976
This was Rod’s first major solo outing, and it was billed as “The Concert” (I remember thinking that this was quite pretentious at the time, and to add to the pretentiousness; the tickets were printed gold!). I went with Marie to queue for tickets on the day they went on sale. Rod was playing four nights at the City Hall, and I figured that it wouldn’t be too difficult to get tickets with so many concerts. How wrong I was! When we arrived at the City Hall the queue was already right down the road. We joined the queue and stood for a few hours, only to be told that all the tickets had been sold. Gutted! However all was not lost. By chance I was going to the City Hall that night with a mate, to see David Essex, as I recall, and we asked at the box office if they had any tickets left for Rod. “You are in luck” said the lady. “We found two tickets after we closed up. They are single seats for different nights. Do you want them?” We snapped them up, I took one for the first night, and my mate took the other. I had to explain to Marie how I was now going to see Rod on my own….but she was ok with that.
The show was great. This was Rod at his best, and the crowd was massively up for it. His band was tight and hot, and he was Rod the Mod, great rasping vocals, massive ego and stage presence, lots of singalong, and loads of footballs kicked into the crowd at the end. I have never been a fan of “Sailing” but the rest of the set made up for it, in spades.
Support came from Liverpool Express.
Rod’s Band: Carmine Appice (drums), Phil Chen (bass), Jim Cregan (guitar), Billy Peek (guitar), Gary Grainger (guitar), John Jarvis (keyboards).
“The tour got off to a terrible start. The band and I were only just getting to know each other and I thought, ‘I’ll show you who can drink’. For about three weeks I was staying out all night and I wasn’t eating. It didn’t help. Then I got sick. Well, I was existing on port and brandy afternoon tea and toast. When we opened at Olympia I felt so bad it was almost like somebody telling me I shouldn’t be there.” (Rod to the Daily Mirror at the time)
Setlist: Three Time Loser; You Wear It Well; Big Bayou, Tonight’s The Night; Wild Side Of Life; This Old Heart Of Mine; Sweet Little Rock’n Roller; The Killing Of Georgie; I Don’t Want To Talk About It; Maggie May; Angel; True Blue; You Keep Me Hangin’ On; Get Back; (I Know) I’m Losing You; Sailing; Stay With Me; Twistin’ The Night Away
19 Jan
The Reading Festival 24th – 26th August 1973
The Reading Festival 24th – 26th August 1973
August 1973 and I was back at the Reading Festival. This year I hooked up with a large group of mates from town who had traveled down in a Transit van. I discovered Reading town centre, and the local pubs for the first time this year, and as a result missed some of the bands. The line-up was pretty mixed, with a clear attempt to become international; featuring bands from France, Italy and the USA, and also retaining jazz elements with appearances by Chris Barber and George Melly (who was great and a surprise success).
Friday line-up: Embryo (Germany), Alquin (Holland), Stray Dog (USA), Greenslade, Capability Brown, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen (USA), Jo’Burg Hawk (South Africa), Rory Gallagher. The successes of the day were Commander Cody and of course Rory, who was just amazing. This was classic Rory at his best: Messin’ With the Kid; Laundromat; Walk on Hot Coals; Pistol Slapper Blues; Going to My Home Town; and Bullfrog Blues. The crowd loved him. Capability Brown grew out of the ’60s band Harmony Grass; prog rock with great harmonies. 
The other thing I discovered was the bridge over the Thames, and we spent many an hour watching people dive off and down into the river (which seemed crazy and dangerous to me).
Saturday line-up: Dave Ellis, Clare Hamill, Tasavallan Presidentti (Finland), Riff Raff, Fumble, Magma (France), Lindisfarne (Mk II), Chris Barber band, Status Quo, Sensation Alex Harvey Band, Strider, Andy Bown, The Faces.
My memories of the Saturday are of Status Quo going down a storm, and the Faces being OK, but the real success of the day being the Sensation Alex Harvey Band. SAHB were just about to release “Next”; I think they started the set with “Faith Healer” which sounded incredible, the intro throbbing across the field. Alex was electric and made a lot of new friends that day. 
The Faces set was nowhere near as strong as the previous year. This was one of their first gigs after Ronnie Lane had been replaced by Tetsu (who was great by the way); you could sense that the band were losing their enthusiasm and a Rod would soon be on his way. Lots of footballs into the crowd again. Oh and Jesus dancing naked during the afternoon. I don’t recall Andy Bown’s set and didn’t know much about him at the time, other than he was in The Herd with Peter Frampton. I do remember being surprised as how high up on the bill he was. I think this was where he made friends with Quo; he joined them shortly afterwards on keyboards. Fumble were a rock’n’roll revival band who played a lot of gigs at the time; I recall seeing them several times at local student union dances.
Sunday line-up: Aj Webber, John Martyn and Danny Thompson, Ange (France), Tim Hardin and Lesley Duncan with the Tim Horovitz Orchestra, PFM (Italy), Jack the Lad, Medicine Head, Stackridge, George Melly and the Feetwarmers, Jon Hiseman’s Tempest, Mahatma, Jimmy Witherspoon (USA), Spencer Davis, Genesis. I think Roy Buchanan may have played also; he was advertised in early flyers, but doesn’t feature in the programme; I think I recall watching him. The stand-outs on Sunday were (surprisingly) George Melly who wore an incredibly sharp suit and totally engaged the crowd with his crazy jazz campness, and of course Genesis, with Peter Gabriel appearing with a strange pyramid arrangement on his head. Stackridge were good as always (Slark still a favourite of mine); Spencer Davis played all the hits, and had a great band featuring Charlie McCracken, Pete York, Ray Fenwick and Eddie Hardin. Tim Hardin sang his beautiful moving songs (If I was a Carpenter, Reason to Believe) and John Martyn went down well in his early slot, accompanied by the excellent Danny Thompson on double bass. The weather was pretty good as I recall, I don’t think we got much, if any, rain. Not one of the strongest Reading line-ups, but still a good weekend of music and fun, with excellent performances by Rory, George Melly, Alex Harvey, Quo and Genesis. Thanks to Ben Sutherland for making his photograph of the Reading Bridge available through WikiMedia Commons. The programme was once again produced by the local newspaper and cost all of 10p 🙂 . The poster of the Faces comes from the centrepages of the programme.
28 Sep
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 27th Sep 2013
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 27th Sep 2013
I nearly didnt go this time. In many ways Rod has become just a little too much Vegas, a little too much cabaret for my liking. But the voice in my head said “Come on. It’s Rod and he has a new album out and he will still sing some of the old songs”……so the day before the gig I bought a cheap 🙂 £60 (ouch! and what is this £7.75 “fee”? :() ticket way up the back of the arena. I arrived just before Rod took to the stage and bought a programme which reminded me why I came. It contains lots of old pictures of Rod; Rod and the Faces; Rod and Long John Baldry; Rod and Ronnie; Rod and Jeff Beck; Rod in the nattiest check suit with cool shades and a crazy mod barnet.
8.15 prompt and the curtain falls. He starts with “This old heart of mine” and lots of great images of Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, and the Isley Brothers behind him. Showing your roots Rod. “You wear it well”‘ a great version; takes me back.
“You can’t beat Friday night” Rod tells us and off we go with Sam Cooke’s “Twisting the night away” and I am back in a field in Reading more than 40 years ago. Very 60s swirling backdrop for that one. “Tonights the night”: not one of my favourites lots of embarrassing singalong. “Sweet little rock n roller”; this is more like it Rod. He has a pretty fine band, with a horn section, girl singers, and a good guitarist. The sound is pretty clear too, and I’m right at the back and can still hear ok. Being a “war baby” Rodd dedicates the next one to our troops; its “Rhythm of my heart” Then he introduces his daughter Ruby to sing one of her own songs “Just One More Day” which was pretty good. Good to see he’s keeping it in the family and supporting his daughter in this way. Rod returns and duets on “Forever Young” with Ruby which leads into them leaving the stage while the band perform a serious drum and percussion solo (oh no!) which actually goes down incredibly well with the crowd. Not to worry they are soon back to finish the song. Rod takes a seat and introduces the “small cocktail orchestra” which includes Julie on a very impressive harp. “First cut is the deepest” in acoustic form with harp and orchestra; just beautiful thats more like it Rod. 
“I don’t want to talk about it” which Rod introduces as “We have been singing this song together for 35 years” and sing along indeed the crowd does; cheesy but good and a new treatment with the string section. Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately” is next; a bit smaltzchy; a couple beside me get up and dance cheek to cheek at the back of the hall.Then it’s “new album time”: “Brighton beach”; “Can’t stop me now” with some great old black and white video of Rod from the 60s, and of his Dad. “She makes me happy”: I have heard this one too many times on the radio recently. Then its “a song from way back which mee and Ronnie recorded in one take back in 1971” and we are into Rather Go Blind. Great stuff. Takes me back 40 odd years again. Rod takes a break while the girls sing “Soul Man” ( as Soul Girl) in front of montage images of Sam and Dave.
Rod returns for “You’re in my heart” and then “Maggie May” which always brings back great memories of when I was a kid; it would be so good to see Ronnie back for this once more. Now we are on the home stretch: “Sailing”; “Hot Legs” with lots pf footballs; “Baby Jane” and the curtain comes down. I beat a retreat into the car park and make my exit to the strains of “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” which is the encore (and I assume the closing number).
Overall verdict. Pretty good actually. I’m glad I went. Better than the last couple of times I have seen him. The Mod is still in there somewhere and now and then he comes out and its just like old times. The old rockers are still the best.
16 Nov
The Faces Newcastle Odeon November 26th 1974
The Faces Newcastle Odeon November 26th 1974
Support from Strider and Bill Barclay 
Yesterday I blogged about two amazing Faces gig at Sunderland Top Rank and Sunderland Locarno. I saw the band quite a few other times in 1972 and 1973; twice at the Reading Festival in 72 and 73, at the Lincoln Festival in 72, and in 1974 at the Buxton festival. All of the gigs were great fun; the band were at the top of their game at the time. By 1974, however, cracks were starting to show. Ronnie Lane had left the band to be replaced by Tetsu Yamauchi, and it would only be a couple of years before the band disintegrated, Ronnie Wood joined the Stones and Rod went solo. The last time I saw the Faces was at a gig at Newcastle Odeon in late 1974. By this point the band were massive and they managed to sell out two nights. My mate Will and I bought tickets late for this gig and ended up with seats right up at the back of the rear circle, looking down on the stage. Not a great view, but we could look down and watch the place going crazy along with band. 
Support that night came from folkie comedian Bill Barclay and rockers Strider. The Faces were as fun as ever; lots of craziness and much singing along. They always finished with Twisting the Night Away at that time, and I can picture everyone walking down the stairs of the Odeon still singing along. A sadly missed band. I haven’t managed to get along to any of the Faces reunion shows so far, and Ronnie is busy with the Stones at the moment, which has delayed any plans for further gigs. I heard an interview with Rod on the radio the other day, and he said that he will join up with the Faces for a reunion after Ronnie is clear from Stones work. Hope that happens, and will do my best to attend if it does. The set that night in 1974 will probably have included: It’s All Over Now; Take A Look At The Guy; (I Know) I’m Losing You; Sweet Little Rock’n Roller; Bring It On Home To Me/You Send Me; I’d Rather Go Blind; Stay With Me; Angel; Too Bad/Every Picture Tells A Story; Maggie May; Gasoline Alley; You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything; You Wear It Well; Mine For Me; I Can Feel The Fire; Twistin’ The Night Away.
15 Nov
The Faces Sunderland Top Rank and Sunderland Locarno 1972 and 1973
The Faces Sunderland Top Rank and Sunderland Locarno 1972 and 1973
The Faces were great fun and seemed to be playing all over the place, all of the time, in the early 1970s. Two memorable gigs took place at Sunderland Top Rank on March 5th 1972 and at Sunderland Locarno on April 13 1973.I remember the Top Rank (or Rink to us) gig very well. This was a big gig for everyone at my school. I took time off school to go and queue for tickets; demand was huge as Rod Stewart and The Faces had had some massive hits with Maggie May, Stay With Me and other great singles. This was one gig that I queued up early for on the night, going straight from school. I was one of the first in the queue with some of my mates and we ended up right at the front, crushed against the stage, where we stayed all night. I can think of nothing worse now; being crushed and unable to move all night, but at the time it was great! Support came from Byzantium who I saw a few times in the early 70s and were always good. The gig itself was great; Rod and the guys were just amazing. There were lots of my friends from school there and we spent days talking about how great it was. My friend John recalls the gig: “I remember the Faces as a good time band, musically rather sloppy and overall a bit ragged. I recall it was the night before one on my mock O levels, one of he easier ones I presume , maybe English. My recollections on the setlist are very weak, Internet search suggests Stay with Me and Losing You which I think I can recall as I always liked those two.The balance of the set was all Faces standard stuff Three Button Hand me Down, Maybe I’ m Amazed, Street Fighting Man, Miss Judy’s Farm, Love in Vain, Stay with Me and I’m Losing You. I think I can remember Maggie May and Every Picture but I certainly could be wrong.” I’m pretty sure they did play Maggie May. After the show some of us stood in a big queue to go back stage and meet the band. We waited for a long time but only the first few people in the queue were let in, including some mates from school who reported back that they partied with the band into the next morning. I remember the Locarno gig less, probably because I didn’t queue up and was at the back of the hall, and the place was packed to the walls. I think the support was a local act, perhaps Beckett, and John Peel was certainly DJ for the night. Peel joined the Faces on stage and is on record as stating several times that this was the best gig he had ever been to, which means it must have been pretty good! Postscript: My mate Norm reminded me that most of the Sunderland football team were at the Locarno gig and ended up on stage with the band. This was the team that went on to win the FA cup a few weeks later. Norm also thinks that the same gig was first cancelled, and them rescheduled a week or so later. That sort of rings true with me, now that he has reminded me.
22 May
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 18 May 2010
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 18 May 2010
I always try and get along to see Rod. I guess I’m looking for glimpses of Rod the Mod, and Rod and the Faces. He still has the rocker within him, but in recent years I do worry that it is becoming more and more submerged in middle of the roadness. So I nearly didn’t go this time, fearing that I might be disappointed and put off by the ticket price (£70). But a couple of days before I spotted a single ticket on eBay and nabbed it for £25 (result! Many thanks Andy from York). The Royal Mail didn’t let Andy and I down and, as planned, ticket arrived by special delivery on the morning of the show. So I was all set to go along.
I arrived at the arena just as Rod was due to take the stage. The place was packed; this guy can still draw the crowds. The first couple of songs, Love Train and Some guys have all the luck, set the tone for the night, which was a mixture of soul classics and Rod hits. These were all delivered faultlessly; Rod’s voice is still good, the band are excellent and the show is very slick. The crowd loved it. For me the highlights were the old ones: Handbags and Gladrags and Maggie May. I slipped out during the encores (Sailing; followed by Baby Jane) to beat the rush in the car park.
So I still got my glimpses of the old Rod; but fear that they are less and less each time. Will I go next time? Maybe.
ticket
programme
Vintagerock's Weblog. 