A bit of an adventure in Leeds. I will explain more below.
First, one of my main reasons for making the trip to Leeds was to see Uriah Heep. We arrived at Leeds station, Jackie, Elaine and I at 6:20 PM. We walked straight up to the arena across the Headway which took me back to 1978 when I slept on the Headway (one of the main streets in Leeds) in a queue for Bob Dylan tickets at London’s Earls Court (Leeds was the nearest box office: no online ticket purchases in those days, you had to queue at box offices all over the country). We arrived at the Arena just as Uriah Heep took to the stage. Unfortunately the steward (who was very helpful) took us up and down the lift until we discovered that we were seated on the floor area. Somehow I had bought front row tickets which were not wheelchair accessible. Nonetheless we chose to stay downstairs and watch the bands from the floor. Sadly, however by the time we had located the seats Uriah Heep had just finished. I did manage to get a fleeting glimpse of Heep and heard them finish their set with “Gypsy” and encore with “Easy Livin’”. Oh well such is life.
Next up on this multi-band line–up was Saxon. Now Saxon and I go back a long way. The Saxon website aids me in explaining this: “Now in their fourth decade of making music, continuing the tradition that they helped create, Saxon are still a tour de force in heavy metal music. The Band are comprised of members Peter “Biff” Byford (vocals), Brian Tatler and Doug Scarratt (guitars), Nibbs Carter (bass) & Nigel Glockler (drums). Saxon were the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), they had eight UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums.
They had numerous singles in the UK Singles Chart and chart success all over Europe and Japan, as well as success in the United States. During the 1980s, Saxon established themselves among Europe’s most successful metal acts. The band tour regularly and have sold more than 13 million albums worldwide. The band was formed in Barnsley in 1977 by Peter “Biff” Byford on vocals, Paul Quinn and Graham Oliver on guitars, Steve “Dobby” Dawson on bass, Pete Gill on drums and were originally named “Son of a Bitch”. In 1979, the band changed their name to Saxon and signed to French record label Carrere who then released their eponymous debut album.”
It was when they were called “Son of a Bitch” that I first saw the band. They used to play Sunderland Boilermakers club on a Saturday afternoon just before the football match. I would regularly go and see them (but never went to the match). I also recall seeing them at West Cornforth “Doggy” club (don’t ask me why West Cornforth was known locally as “Doggy”: the answer is lost in my memory somewhere). Anyway “Son of a Bitch” were a class act. I then saw them transform into Saxon and gain fame as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
“‘Wheels of Steel’, released in 1980, charted at #5 in the UK and stayed in those charts for six months. It resulted in two hit songs: the title track and the crowd favourite “747 (Strangers in the Night)”. As a result, Saxon began a series of long UK tours. On 16 August, they earned a positive reception at the first Monsters of Rock festival, commemorated by the following year’s “And the Bands Played On”. Their set was recorded, but not officially released until 2000. In April of that year, Saxon made the first of many appearances on Top of the Pops, performing the hit “Wheels of Steel”.”
Anyway, they were absolutely great and warranted their position as second on the bill. I recognised many of the songs including “Dallas 1 PM” (about the assassination of JFK), “747 (strangers in the night)” and “wheels of steel”. Biff may have white hair these days but he still has a very powerful voice and looks fantastic. Towards the end of the set he brought onto the stage the original (now retired) guitarist. As I recall in the early days, he would have his guitar strapped to his belt and spin it around. It looked pretty impressed back in the day.
Setlist: The Prophecy; Hell, Fire and Damnation; Motorcycle Man; Sacrifice; There’s Something in Roswell; And the Bands Played On; Madame Guillotine; Power and the Glory; Fire and Steel; Dallas 1 PM; 747 (Strangers in the Night); Wheels of Steel; Denim and Leather; Princess of the Night.
After a short interval Judas Priest took to the stage with a massive backdrop and excellent light show. The headline act always has the best setup and show. Rob Halford retains his tremendous high operatic histrionic vocals, bald head and nowadays accompanied by a long white beard. He was wearing a long silver cold which soon became a leather jacket.
Like Saxon, I go back a long way with Judas Priest. I used to see them play regularly at Sunderland Locarno ballroom. I seem to recall seeing them in the very early days with another singer, before Rob Halford joined the band (or did I dream that?). Then I saw them many times at Newcastle Mayfair and Newcastle City Hall. I recall Rob whipping the audience at one concert: someone caught hold of the whip and almost pulled him into the crowd. They were always extreme loud metal, as they are today. Fantastic. They remain the epitome of heavy metal.
From the arena website: “There are few heavy metal bands that have managed to scale the heights that Judas Priest have during their nearly 50-year career. Their presence and influence remains at an all-time high as evidenced by 2018’s ‘Firepower’ being the highest charting album of their career, a 2010 Grammy Award win for ‘Best Metal Performance’, plus being a 2006 VH1 Rock Honors recipient and a 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination.
Judas Priest originally formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill would be the nucleus of musicians (along with several different drummers over the years) that would go on to change the face of heavy metal. After a ‘feeling out’ period of a couple of albums, 1974’s ‘Rocka Rolla’ and 1976’s ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ this line-up truly hit their stride. The result was a quartet of albums that separated Priest from the rest of the hard rock pack - 1977’s ‘Sin After Sin’, 1978’s ‘Stained Class’ and ‘Hell Bent for Leather’, and 1979’s ‘Unleashed in the East’, which spawned such metal anthems as ‘Sinner’, ‘Diamonds and Rust’, ‘Hell Bent for Leather’, and ‘The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)’. Also, Priest were one of the first metal bands to exclusively wear leather and studs – a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world. “
Setlist: War Pigs (intro, by Black Sabbath); Invincible Shield Tour Anthem; Panic Attackl; You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’; Breaking the Law; Rapid Fire; Lightning Strike; Love Bites; Saints in Hell; Trial by Fire; Turbo Lover; Invincible Shield; Victim of Changes; Metal Gods; The Green Manalishi; Painkiller.
Encore: The Hellion; Electric Eye; Hell Bent for Leather; Living After Midnight.
We had to leave early to catch our train. A quick walk down through the streets of Leeds took us to the station. When we arrived the passenger assistance guy was waiting at the station for us. “Your train is cancelled” he explained. We did not believe him at first, but soon we realised it was true. Apparently and sadly, a train had hit a deer somewhere near Northallerton and the line was blocked. Anyway the passenger assistance people guaranteed that they would get us home somehow. I explained that I needed to get back to take my night time medication. The guy then took us straight to the taxi rank at the front of the station and helped us into a wheelchair cab. Jackie, Elaine and I were then up the road through Wetherby and onward on the A1 towards Sunderland. 90 minutes later, at 1 AM I was back in my bed. The end of a fantastic very memorable adventurous evening.
This was a special, emotional evening for a number of reasons. First, and most importantly, my friend John came over from the States for a short trip with his wife, Susan, to see family and friends. Now John and I have been friends for many years and one of the first bands we went to see together at Newcastle City Hall in 1971 or 1972 was, none other, than 
Now as it was their 50th anniversary tour, Heep had chosen to do something quite different. The concert was in two parts, the first being an acoustic set, something I have never seen them do before. I arrived with my carer, Jan, in plenty of time to meet up with John before the show, swap stories and generally catch up on things. Then came showtime. The night opened with a video screen showing many other famous classic heavy bands, and artists, congratulating Uriah Heep on their 50th anniversary: Alice Cooper, Francis Rossi, Pete Agnew of Nazareth, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, Vanilla Fudge and many others. Now the only original, and surviving member of Uriah Heep is guitarist Mick Box who looks just great, really fit, lovely pure white long hair, and plays guitar just as he always did.
The rest of the band have joined some time along the way, the singer Bernie Shaw has been a member for many years and does a great job of singing those classic, almost operatic, tracks from the 70s and onward. The other members also are great musicians: Phil Lanzon on keyboards, who joined at the same time as Bernie in 1986, Russell Gilbrook on drums and Dave Rimmer on bass, both of whom joined more recently.
The acoustic set comprised several songs which were unfamiliar to me, some which were old favourites and lend themselves to acoustic treatment such as “The Wizard” and closing number “Lady in Black”. A surprise and great track from the first album, which John and I agreed we had never seen them play before, the haunting “Come Away Melinda” (also made famous by the great Tim Rose). A very pleasant change and surprise. Excellent for starters.
After a short break the band were back for the electric set, more in their usual format. To open the second set the video screen displayed images of all the past members, too many to mention. Members I would highlight for various reasons are keyboard player and writer of many of those classic songs, the late Ken Hensley; he of the magnificent operatic voice from the classic line-up, the late, great front man David Byron; surprisingly to me, local Sunderland hero (now a long-term member of Elton John’s band) drummer Nigel Olsson (who played on two tracks of the debut album); John Lawton who became singer after David Byron left and did a great job; former Spider from Mars, and also a member of Wishbone Ash at one point, the late great bass player, Trevor Bolder; another sadly passed bassist from the classic years Gary Thain and long-time more recently passed drummer Lee Kerslake.
In a similar way to the acoustic set, the band played old and new songs, some familiar, some new to me. Some which I absolutely love: the very atmospheric, operatic “Sunrise”, the rocking “Stealin'” and the great rock ‘n’ roll of “Sweet Lorraine”. Closing song “July Morning” is, as it always was, the closest Uriah Heep get to a ballad and just wonderful. Other familiar tracks were “Traveller in Time” and “Free ‘n’ Easy”. For the encore Mick Box took us right back to the start and the very basic, heavy metal riff of “Gypsy”. So simple and yet so great and just pure genius! The final song was another great rocker “Easy Livin'”. Congratulations to the band on 50+ great years. Long may they continue.
I met up with John on the way out. We both agreed that the show was excellent in every way. By the way, thanks to Jan for her photography and she is now a Uriah Heep fan! And thanks to John for a picture of his T-shirt!
Scared to Run; Rainbow Demon; What Kind of God; Sunrise; Sweet Lorraine; Free ‘n’ Easy; July Morning.
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