Talking Heads Newcastle Poly 27th Jan 1978 and Newcastle City Hall 27th Nov 1979
I first saw Talking Heads at a concert at Newcastle Poly in January 1978. They were touring with Dire Straits as support at the time. Dire Straits were starting to become known as a result of their single “Sultans of Swing” and Talking Heads were the darlings of the US new wave, with rave reports of their concerts in the States coming through the UK music press. I watched Taking Heads on TV performing “Psycho Killer” on the Old Grey Whistle Test and was hooked. The quirky jabbing rhythms and the strange lyrics (who would write a song about a psycho killer?) intrigued me. By the time they came to play at Newcastle Poly they were performing songs from their first album and the yet-to-be-released “More Songs About Buildings and Food”. Live Talking Heads were excellent. There was a feel of an art school band about them; very different to the punk of the Ramones or to any of the UK new wave. David Byrne was the eccentric school teacher, whose manic stage manner held us all transfixed, and Tina Weymouth bobbed away playing a bass that looked bigger than she did. I remember there being mutters that Dire Straits would outshine them; not so, Talking Heads were great and the crowd loved them.
Roll on a year or so and Talking Heads were back in Newcastle playing to a packed City Hall. By now they had released their third album “Fear of Music” and were massively successful, their popularity transcending the new wave tag. Human League were billed as support but I think they were pulled from the tour because they wanted to play a recorded set? I think A Certain Ratio were support in the end. It was another great performance by Talking Heads, with the packed hall giving the band a great reception.
Talking Heads Newcastle City Hall 27th Nov 1979
Setlist for the Newcastle Poly show: Love-> Building on Fire; Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town; Don’t Worry About the Government; Take Me to the River; The Book I Read; New Feeling; The Big Country; Artists Only; Tentative Decisions; Stay Hungry; Thank You for Sending Me an Angel; Who Is It?; Psycho Killer
Encore: No Compassion; Pulled Up; I’m Not in Love; 1, 2, 3 Red Light
Setlist for the City Hall show: Artists Only; Stay Hungry; Cities; Paper; Mind; Heaven; Electric Guitar; Air; Animals; Love-> Building on Fire; Found a Job; Memories Can’t Wait; Psycho Killer
Encore: Life During Wartime; Take Me to the River
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