My blog friend Mark recommend I go and see The Wedding Present at Stockton Georgian Theatre as he was going to see them all three shows there. I could only manage to get tickets for the Sunday afternoon concert. The other shows were all fully subscribed. So, carer Chris, Norm and I turned up at 2 PM just-in-time to catch Cumbrian support act power pop-punk pair VOODOO RADIO consisting of singer/drummer Paige and her guitarist father Tony.
Their website states: “The duo started rocking the tunnels of Leicester Square tube station, London in 2018, stopping commuters and tourists alike in their tracks with a mesmerising ‘summer of 76’ power-pop sound. Tony, a seasoned performer was inspired by hearing Slaves on the radio and suggested to young Paige: “get two shoe boxes, anything that’s like a drumstick – a table knife and a wooden spoon and see if you can sing and play rhythms whilst hitting a beat” – Paige certainly could, and Voodoo Radio were manifested.”
“Since gaining a record deal last year with Holy Dotage Records the Cumbrian duo have been played on BBC Radio 6 by Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson. They were also record of the week on BBC Cumbria and have had various interviews. Tom Robinson also choose Voodoo Radio as one of his top 5 up and coming acts to look out for 2022. Summer hit Ice Cream Man was recently played on Absolute Radio by Frank Skinner. Last Year the duo played festivals such as Kendal Calling, Headlined the BBC Introducing stage at Coast Roads Festival, Guilfest, Front Row Fest, Micks Mayhem Punk Fest, Twisterella, Undercover Fest, Alternative Aycliffe to name a few.”
We had quite a struggle finding the venue, but eventually we managed to do so. Once inside, we took a vantage point upstairs which gave us a great view of the proceedings. Before seeing the support act Voodoo Radio, Chris and I went downstairs to the merchandise stand, and queued to purchase a couple of books and a George Best T-shirt. The lady on the stand promised that The Wedding Present front man and author David Gedge would sign the two books at the end of the concert.
Once back upstairs I asked Chris if he would go downstairs again and purchase two Voodoo Radio drumsticks, signed by Paige which he kindly did. Voodoo Radio played their set, Paige banging away at her drums, while Father Tony played excellent guitar. After this, Norm treated me to a pint of Guinness, before headliners the Wedding Present took to the stage. My friend, Mark who had travelled from down south to see his favourite band, introduced himself to me and told me how great they had been the previous evening.
The Wedding Present are excellent. David Gedge is clearly the front man of the band. They begin with “Brassneck” which sets the tone of the afternoon. Gedge, halfway through the concert, introduces “Rachel”, as the new guitarist. It is very clear that the band have a strong following, Gedge saying “Hello” to many of their fans who have no doubt travelled some distance to witness the afternoon concert. The final track is “Bewitched” afterwards we go downstairs and join the queue to get our books signed.
Their site states that: “They have had eighteen UK Top 40 hit singles… not bad for a band that has, from its inception, stubbornly refused to play the record industry’s game. It all started in 1985 when David Lewis Gedge boarded a National Express coach in London with 500 records packed into a pair of his mother’s suitcases and, in this fashion, delivered the band’s debut single Go Out and Get ‘Em, Boy! to a distribution company in Yorkshire. That pioneering spirit has been at the core of the band’s philosophy ever since. From George Best, “an unmitigated delight” [NME], the first full-length release on their own Reception Records onwards, the band has charted an appealing, if often eccentric, course of its very own.”
“With their early releases The Wedding Present had acquired a reputation for bittersweet, breathtakingly honest love songs immersed in whirlwind guitars, so it was extraordinary that Ukrainski Vistupi V Johna Peela, with the band exploring traditional Eastern European folk music, should be their major label debut for RCA Records. “(They) carry off what is basically a bold experiment with verve” [NME]. However, this was soon followed by the more traditionally incendiary Bizarro, “simply unbeatable” [Melody Maker] which featured their first hit single Kennedy.”
“The next step, made with characteristically twisted Wedding Present logic, was to enlist the aid of the noise-mongering [and, at that point, relatively unknown] sound engineer Steve Albini. The resulting Seamonsters, recorded in the snowy wilds of Minnesota in just 11 days, suggested a more thoughtful Wedding Present. The Guardian newspaper noted that: “Albini has given The Wedding Present considerable weight, with Gedge’s voice trickling between banks of scowling guitars. Indeed, the singing ranged from sensual whispering to feverish screams.”
An excellent concert by a tremendous band. Thanks to Chris for the photographs and navigating the site. Thanks to Norm for going outside, finding our taxi, and asking him to wait for us while we had the books signed.
VOODOO RADIO Set: (something like) Eat Your Words; Pretty Boy; Basic Bitch; Slag Bank; Ice Cream Man; Dog; Stupid Humans; She’s so Toxic; Space Girl; Turn out the Light.
Wedding Present Set: Brassneck; We Interrupt Our Programme; Dalliance; Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm; What Have I Said Now? Rachel; It’s a Gas; Gazebo; Don’t Talk, Just Kiss; Come Play With Me; Crawl; Catwoman; No; Kennedy; Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft; Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me); Take Me!; Bewitched.
This was a Mini festival of music which started at 4:30 PM! As I had other commitments on the afternoon I could not make the start of the show. I went along at around 7:30 PM just in time to catch the end of 
A massive singalong and a great introduction to our evening. Sadly, we had already missed 
Next up was the Wedding Present who were one of my main reasons for attending, the other being to see 
They were very loud, fast; reminiscent of the noise of The Birthday Party (Nick Cave’s first band); and David’s favourite band at the time of their formation. David is a very charismatic front man. The songs were unfamiliar to me but I greatly enjoyed each of them. Shades of punk and the Clash ran through my mind. They played a lovely loud, fast version of “Make Me Smile (Come up and See Me)” as a tribute to the late, great, sadly missed Steve Harley. Thanks Ciaran for the recommendation. I must see them again.
I have seen Peter Hook several times over the years. Firstly, with the pre-Joy Division band Warsaw, then the legendary Joy Division themselves and several times with New Order. I also saw him in an intimate book launch show where he talked about his career, demonstrated his different bass guitars and signed copies of his book (which I purchased and stored away upstairs in my hoarder’s vault):. As expected, Peter was centre-stage, bass low down almost on his knee (although not quite as low down as it used to be, perhaps) and delivered an excellent set including many Joy Division classics.
One welcome surprise came a few songs into the set. Peter declared (something like this): “I played my second ever gig in this hall. Our first gig, when we were called Warsaw, before we transformed into Joy Division, was in Manchester and we were playing with north-east band Penetration. They kindly offered to let us play with them the following night here so we came up and supported Penetration and the Adverts in this very hall”. Well, you were almost right, Peter, but I was at that concert and I am 100% certain that it was not in the City Hall but it was in the old Guildhall down by the Quayside.
I remember this particular concert very well. I followed Penetration, and many other punk bands at the time, and met Gary, from Penetration by chance outside the Guildhall. He said something like “We were playing in Manchester last night and met this new great band Warsaw. We invited them up to play here tonight”. The lineup was (in order of appearance): Warsaw, Harry Hack and the Big G (local Newcastle punk band), Penetration and headliners the Adverts, featuring Gaye) Advert on base and vocalist and bandleader TV Smith, had just had a hit with “Gary Gilmore’s eyes” (Gary Gilmore was an American killer who was executed in 1976 and the song is about a guy who wakes up in hospital having had an eye transplant and realises he has been given Gilmore’s eyes!) Crazy or what?.
My recollection of Warsaw is very sketchy but I did watch them and thought they were a reasonable new fast punk band. I almost shouted from my vantage point on the wheelchair platform “No Peter it was the Guildhall” but I was too reserved to do so and anyway I don’t think he would have heard me. I have a flyer for the gig somewhere but it doesn’t mention Warsaw at all as they were a late addition to the bill. Peter Hook then proceeded to play a Warsaw song which I’m afraid I did not recognise but sound quite good. Peter also dedicated a song to Steve Harley; the guy is much missed they ended their set with a brilliant rendition of “Love Will Tear us Apart”. Another fantastic singalong.
Peter Hook & the Light Setlist: No Love Lost; Exercise One; Digital; Warsaw; Reaction; Inside the Line; Ice Age; Novelty; Disorder; New Dawn Fades; She’s Lost Control; Shadowplay; Isolation; Twenty Four Hours; Atmosphere; Ceremony; Transmission; Love Will Tear Us Apart
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