The Radio 1 Club comes to Sunderland Top Rank 4th May 1971
The Radio 1 Club was launched in October 1968. The aim of the club was “to provide a link between the listeners at home, the DJs and stars”. It consisted of 2 hours with a top D.J. and a guest D.J., “leading groups” performing live, current hits, and requests/interviews with members. The show was broadcast live on Radio 1 at lunchtime. The first club date was on October 21st at London’s’ Lower Regent Street (a former cinema). It was hosted by Keith Skues, with guest D.J. Tony Blackburn and the Tremeloes played live. So that was the format; a couple of hours over a lunchtime, with a Radio DJ, a local DJ and a pop group playing live. Membership to the club was free of charge, by sending your details to the BBC. I’m sure I did so, and had a membership card somewhere, but I can’t find it (which is strange as I have kept most things to do with rock and pop music). Radio 1 boasted ‘a different DJ in a different Town each day’. The Radio 1 Club would tour the country and came to Sunderland Top Rank in 1971. I remember because I went along with loads of mates from school, proudly holding my Radio 1 Club membership card. The Radio 1 schedules archive have a record of it as “Radio 1 Club Dave Lee Travis 4 May 1971 from the Top Rank Suite, Sunderland 12.00 to 14.00.” I also remember that the “leading group” was none other than Paper Lace, who were unknown at the time, but hit the UK singles charts a couple of years later with “Billy Don’t be a Hero”.
It was an exciting day; we all got the bus to the town on our lunch break from School. The Rink was packed and we saw lots of people we knew from the town and from other schools. DLT was playing all of the chart hits of the time. “Double Barrel” by Dave and Ansel Collins was No. 1 and the Top Ten also featured T Rex (Hot Love), Dawn (Knock Three Times), Ringo (It Don’t Come Easy) and the Rolling Stones (Brown Sugar). Cool or what?! I remember being very upset at having to leave to go back to school. Missed most of Paper Lace. Some of my more fearless school mates decided not to return for the afternoon. Not sure if they received any comeback as a result. Great days.
Found this, which happened one month earlier: “April 1971 – students at St.Mungo’s High School in Falkirk threatened strike action as their headmaster would not grant permission to attend the lunchtime ‘Radio 1 club’ at the Town Hall!” Now they were cool guys. Classic!
19 Mar
The Radio 1 Club comes to Sunderland Top Rank 4th May 1971
18 Mar
Will Young, Gareth Gates & Pop Idol Live
Will Young, Gareth Gates & Pop Idol Live
This is definitely a guilty pleasure.
The first series of British reality TV pop music show Pop Idol was broadcast over the winter months of 2001 and 2002. The show was a competition open to singers between 16 and 26 years old, with the winner receiving a £1 million recording contract. The whole family watched the show which came to its climax in a singing duel between the two finalists Will Young and Gareth Gates. We were all cheering for team Will, even though Gareth was the favourite. The outcome was not quite what was expected with the jazzier Will coming first, ahead of the poppier teen idol Gareth. The ten finalists then went out on tour and we (me, Marie, Laura) trooped off to Newcastle Arena to relive the excitement of the show.
The concert was presented by judge Nicki Chapman with video clips of the TV show’s other judges. Korben, the first finalist to be voted off, opened the night. Other finalists were former train driver Aaron Bayley, 16-year-old Zoe and Darius Danesh. Darius gave a great hip swivelling performance of It’s Not Unusual which Tom Jones would have been proud of. The other finalists performing were Jessica Garlick, Laura Doherty, Rosie Ribbons and Hayley Evetts. 
But the big cheers were reserved for Gareth and Will. Gareth sang his version of Unchained Melody, which was soon released as a single. Will performed his version of the Doors’ Light My Fire, which had been a big hit in the show, and his Christmas single Evergreen. The second half of the concert had a big band theme. Highlights were Gareth singing Mack The Knife and Will doing Beyond The Sea, both of which had featured in the TV show. For a finale all the contestants sang the Sinatra Classic My Way. All good clean harmless pop fun.
Laura became a massive Will Young fan from then on, so I was treated to the Will and Gareth tour at the Arena later that year, and then Will on his own tour, again at the same venue, four years later in 2006.
That concludes my coverage of letter “Y”.
17 Mar
Paul Young Newcastle City Hal 1983 & 1984
Paul Young Newcastle City Hal 1983 & 1984
I’d seen Paul Young in Q Tips a few times, and was pretty impressed by his 1983 singles “Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)” which reached No 1, “Come Back And Stay” (No 4), and “Love Of The Common People” which made No 2 on re-release. He had put a great band together around him and that, coupled with great song choices and his sweet white soul voice, finally fulfilled the promise of his former group, and gave him the massive success he deserved. Young’s debut solo album “No Parlez” produced five singles, and stayed in the UK charts for 119 weeks, selling close to a million copies. Young’s backing band was ‘The Royal Family’ and included keyboardist Kewley, fretless bass player wizard Pino Palladino (now of the Who), guitarist Steve Bolton, drummer Mark Pinder, and backing singers Maz Roberts and Kim Leslie (AKA ‘The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts’). 
I saw them at Newcastle City Hall in 1983 when Paul was at the height of his new success. Paul Young had further success in 1984 with three more Top 10 singles: “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down”, “Everything Must Change” and “Everytime You Go Away”.
He was back at the City Hall later in the year for another concert.
Both shows were excellent events with a great selection of songs performed by a guy at the top of his game.
16 Mar
Blackfoot Sue live 1973
Blackfoot Sue live 1973
“Standing in the Road” was a great single. It had a solid repetitive riff to and strong rhythms. I remember seeing Blackfoot Sue perform the song on Top of the Pops and I was totally knocked out. It reached No 4 in the UK singles chart at the same time as Slade and glamrock, and Blackfoot Sue were naturally compared to the bands of the time. This was a little unfair as the band had a much broader musical repertoire.
Blackfoot Sue was formed in 1970 by identical twin Brummie brothers Tom and David Farmer and Eddie Golga. They toured relentlessly between 1972 and 1974, playing ballrooms and clubs up and down the country. Tom and David Farmer both had really long hair and looked great; Tom played a Rickenbacker bass and David pounded away on drums. “Standing in the Road” had a rhythm section in the middle of the song where they all picked up drumsticks and hit everything in sight including their guitars, coke bottles, beer crates, and whatever was around them.
I saw Blackfoot Sue play at Sunderland Mecca sometime in 1973. I’ve checked their official gig list, and although it lists gigs at Newcastle Mayfair and Sunderland Poly, there is no mention of a Mecca gig. However I’m sure I saw them there. Live they were quite a heavy band, and had great rock tracks like “Messiah” which opened their debut album, and was also the song that opened their live show, and of course “Standing in the Road”. They would close their set with their version of the 1812 Overture which featured guitar feedback, churchbells and all of the guys hammering on David Farmer’s drum kit. My friend John recalls them “smashing up beer crates – or milk crates ? – they were made of wood- at the end of the set to bemusement of the crowd”. “1812” features on their second album, takes up almost a whole side of the lp record, and “ventures into the free-flowing world of progressive rock and gives some idea of the energy of the band on stage – the song was a highlight of their live show” (from the official Blackfoot Sue website). David Farmer: “It was all done with violin bows on the guitars… we had huge great artificial stone letters spelling out “1812”… We used to smash it up with axes and strobe lights flashed while the cannons exploded.” (That must be the smashing up that John recalls).
Blackfoot Sue folded in 1977 and re-emerged as Liner. Tom and Dave Farmer continue to play as Cry Wolf along with their younger brother Gary, and are sometimes joined by Eddie Golga.
15 Mar
Futurama 2 Festival Queens Hall Leeds 14th September 1980
Futurama 2 Festival Queens Hall Leeds 14th September 1980
This was the second Futurama festival and it took place at Queens Hall, which was in the centre of Leeds. The Saturday line-up featured U2 (low down on the bill), Echo & The Bunnymen, Soft Cell and Siouxsie & The Banshees (who headlined). I attended the Sunday with my mate Dave and it featured The Psychedelic Furs, Gary Glitter, The Durutti Colum, Classix Nouveaux, Young Marble Giants, Hazel O’Connor, The Soft Boys, Flowers, Naked Lunch, Blurt, Artery, Notsensibles, Vice Versa, Desperate Bicycles, Frantic Elevators, Athletico Spizz 80, Brian Brain, Tribesmen, Boots for Dancing and Household Name. We arrived during the afternoon and missed some of the bands. Queens Hall was a cavernous building, which was originally a tram and bus depot. It was used as a concert venue during the 1980s. It has since been demolished and is now a car park.
When we arrived it looked like a war zone. Punk fans from all over the north, and further afield, had decamped there for the weekend, and had been in the venue all night, sleeping on the floors; there was trash everywhere. We saw faces that we recognised from Middlesbrough Rock Garden, which had closed for the weekend as everyone was going to the festival. We chatted to a few people; everyone was talking about how great Siouxsie (who had headlined the Saturday night) had been. There were stalls around the place and pop-up art performances in dark corners of the hall. I recall one performance which involved a guy having a crap in a bucket; we moved on. The bands were playing on a stage at the end of the massive hall. 
This was an opportunity to see bands who went on to stardom: The Frantic Elevators became Simply Red, and Vice Versa became ABC. There was a great mix of bands at the event and the atmosphere was wonderful, really friendly. Although on the surface this festival appeared messy and shambolic, it is actually one of the best I have every attended for the musical range and the feeling in the crowd. Highlights of the day were Hazel O-Connor, who was in the charts with “Eighth Day” and became the robot from “Breaking Glass”, Durutti Column featuring Vini Reilly’s meadering guitar, and the 4″ by 2″s who were a proto-Oi! band featuring Jimmy Lydon (John Lydon’s brother) and also at one point featured Youth of Killing Joke. But the highlight was an incredible performance by Notsensibles, a punk band from Burnley who had some success with their single “I’m in Love with Margaret Thatcher”. Their set included a lot of tongue-in-cheek songs, all performed in their strong Northern accent. They’d brought a large contingent of fans, who all sang along with every daft song. Notsensibles motto was “all we want to do is make silly records and play silly gigs”. There is a video on YouTube of them performing “Death To Disco” at the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIGrhea75qU
The festival ran very late into the night (inevitable given the incredible number of bands who were performing) and we left around midnight during Psychedelic Furs set to drive back up North and home, thus missing the headliner who was (also incredibly) the now shamed star Gary Glitter. The Futurama festival had a history of choosing off-the-wall headliners; on another occasion the closing acts was a reformed Bay City Rollers (now that must have been something to experience). A crazy, mad, fun event with some great bands. Happy happy days 🙂
14 Mar
Baker Gurvitz Army Newcastle Mayfair 24th November 1975
Baker Gurvitz Army Newcastle Mayfair 24th November 1975
Ginger Baker formed the powerhouse rock band Baker Gurvitz Army with brothers Paul and Adrian Gurvitz (formerly of The Gun and “Race with the Devil” fame), former Shark’s singer ‘Mr Snips’ (I recall seeing Sharks at Sunderland Mecca and they were excellent) and keyboard player Peter Lemer. They recorded their first album ‘Baker Gurvitz Army’ in 1974. The album was very much in the mould of Cream; “This album’s a strong, decisive statement, and if hard rock’s what you crave, you won’t be disappointed.” (Ralph Heibutzki, All Music Guide). In 1975 the band went out on tour. I saw their show at Newcastle Mayfair on 24th November. I’d always regretted missing out of seeing Cream first time round, and had made every effort to see their three members in concert. I’d seen Clapton and Bruce, and this was my first chance to see Ginger Baker. I remember enjoying the concert and that they played “White Room” and “Sunshine of Your Love”; and being delighted that they did so. Ginger had a massive drum kit which took up much of the stage; Adrian Gurvitz was an excellent guitarist and Snips, who I had seen before in Sharks, was a cocky punky character with a bluesy soulful voice.
A 1975 concert at Derby was recorded and released as a live album many years later. The tracklisting is: The Hustler; Space Machine; Remember; White Room; Neon Lights; Inside Of Me; Memory Lane; Sunshine Of Your Love; The Artist; Freedom; Time; Going To Heaven. I would imagine that the set at the Mayfair will have been similar to this. Baker Gurvitz Army were a great and now largely forgotten part of heavy blues rock history.
Chris Salewicz reviewed a gig in Watford on the same tour: “Okay, so there’s no phasing on the drums and he must be one of the only drummers currently working the rock and roll circuit who doesn’t take his shirt off on stage, and occasionally his style may still smack of ’67 And All That, but nevertheless Ginger Baker’s drumming is a positive joy to listen to. Baker’s playing oozes power. As such it blends in with and propels along the sheer energy which the Baker-Gurvitz Army seem to have cornered for themselves. Snips’ singing … is a direct utilisation of the lead singer’s voice as sensual instrument. Adrian Gurvitz, though not perhaps the most athletic lead guitarist around, certainly ain’t no slouch when it comes to the old brain power necessary for searching out those squealing, fleshy guitar notes or those near-psychedelic indented blues runs.”
Baker Gurvitz Army split in 1976 in part because “Adrian’s guitar playing was just too loud” and he was “getting off with every chick that I fancied!” (Ginger)
13 Mar
Gentle Giant Sunderland Locarno 21st April 1972
Gentle Giant Sunderland Locarno 21st April 1972
This was a strange tour. Prog rock band Gentle Giant toured the UK as support for “Jimi plays Berkeley”, which was a film of a Jimi Hendrix concert. “Jimi Plays Berkeley” was never intended for official release but was hurriedly put together as a film shortly after Hendrix’s untimely death, and was put out on an European tour complete with support acts, which was Gentle Giant in the UK. Because everyone was so hungry for anything to do with Hendrix, it became one of the most popular music films of its era. The film features excerpts of performances by Jimi, bassist Billy Cox, and drummer Mitch Mitchell from two concerts. They perform “Purple Haze”, “Machine Gun”, “Voodoo Child” “Star Spangled Banner” and “Johnny B. Goode.”
I found this fascinating write-up of the tour on the excellent Gentle Giant tour history site: “…the tour may have been a somewhat humiliating experience for the group, as they actually had to serve as the opening act for a movie, the Jimi Hendrix live concert film, Jimi Plays Berkeley. Certain ads for the tour had the band’s name in large, bold print, as if they were headlining, but they did, in fact, take the stage first each night, before the movie. This tour also had its share of problems, supposedly. At one gig, the film never arrived. At another unknown date on the tour, Giant’s equipment didn’t arrive, due to a van breakdown, so they were unable to perform. This also caused a further problem for the film, as the band’s PA system was supposed to be used for the soundtrack. Roadie Phil Freeman recalls that the angry crowd actually beat up the projectionist on this occasion, out of frustration…..” I recall very little about Gentle Giant’s set but I do remember a long wait before the film was shown. I think the film was travelling separately to the band. When it finally arrived it was a bit of a let down as the makeshift projection and screen facilities weren’t great in the ballroom and the picture and sound were poor.
Gentle Giant’s line-up at the time was Gary Green (guitar), Kerry Minnear (keyboards), Derek Shulman (lead vocals, saxophone), Phil Shulman (lead vocals, saxophone, trumpet), Ray Shulman (bass, trumpet, violin) and John “Pugwash” Weathers (drums, percussion). They were formed by the Shulman brothers from the remnants of Simon Dupree and the Big Sounds of “Kites” fame. The band’s aim was to “expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular”. Gentle Giant were much more experimental than other bands of the prog genre, making their music much less accessible and more difficult to get into than say Genesis, Yes or King Crimson. This concert was at the time of their third lp, “Three Friends”.
Gentle Giant’s setlist is likely to have consisted of the following songs: Prologues, Alucard, Funny ways, Nothing at all, Schooldays, Plain Truth, the Queen.
I saw Gentle Giant once more around the same time, supporting the Groundhogs at Newcastle City Hall.
12 Mar
Department S & Spizzles Sunderland Mayfair 9th April 1981
Department S & Spizzles Sunderland Mayfair 9th April 1981
I was driving yesterday, when the great Department S single “Is Vic There?” came on the car radio, reminding me that I saw the band at a gig at Sunderland Mayfair. It was around the time that the record was in the charts and they shared the bill with Spizzles, who were the 1981 incarnation of Spizz aka Spizz Energi (Where’s Captain Kirk). Spizz was always good for a crazy sci-fi laugh, but I went to the gig to see Department S and to hear them play “Is Vic There?”, which had such a catchy hook; it was one of those songs that once you heard you could never get out of your head.
Department S were formed in 1980, and took their stage name from the 1960s cult TV series of the same name which featured the great Jason King. They hit the UK charts with their debut single, “Is Vic There?”, which was originally released in December 1980 and reached No. 22 in 1981. Although Department S are usually characterised as a new wave band, “Is Vic There?” is quite a rocky guitar oriented song, with shades of darkness; the opening sequence of the song reminds me of the music of the Groundhogs. I remember that Department S were pretty entertaining live, although the only song that I, and the rest of the audience, recognised was the hit single; and I think, they also did a cover version of T.Rex’s “Solid Gold Easy Action” which was the single’s B side. For “Is Vic There?” singer and front man Vaughn Toulouse held his mike like a telephone, to fit with the recurring ring tone from the record.
Vaughn Toulouse was born Vaughn Cotillard on Jersey in 1959. He followed the Clash on tour in 1978 and wrote about the tour in “The Face” magazine. He then went on to form the bands Guns For Hire and Department S. Toulouse became a regular “face” of the ’80s London club scene, writing for the music press, performing as a DJ, appearing on the cover of the Jam’s final record, and playing with the Style Council. Vaughn Toulouse died in 1991 of AIDS-related illness.
“The night is young, the mood is mellow
And there’s music in my ears
Say, is Vic there?
I hear ringing in the air
So I answer the phone
A voice comes over clear
Say, is Vic there?”
(Is Vic There? , 1981)
11 Mar
Yes Manchester Arena 19th June 2004
Yes Manchester Arena 19th June 2004
In 2004 Yes reverted back to the classic 1970s line-up of Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White. They celebrated their rich musical legacy by going out on 35th anniversary arena tour, complete with a new massive OTT Roger Dean stage set. I feared that the massive 20,000 capacity Manchester Arena would be empty, as it was many years since Yes had performed in large venues in the UK. However, I needn’t have worried. Yes fans from all over the North turned out for the occasion, and although the upper tier of the arena was curtained off, the turn-out was impressive, with the lower tier and the floor area almost full. Marie and I went to Manchester for the weekend and had seats about half way back on the floor, with a great view of the stage. I was quite excited about seeing the classic band again, and with a big show.
This was Yes on full power, with a set which took us Right through their career, including going back to “Sweet Dreams” and “Your is no Disgrace”. The show was in two sets, the second set including acoustic versions of some of the classics. An excellent concert.
Set 1: The Firebird Suite (intro); Going for the One; Sweet Dreams; I’ve Seen All Good People; Mind Drive (Part 1); South Side of the Sky; Turn of the Century; Foot Prints; Mind Drive (Part 2); Yours Is No Disgrace
Set 2: The Meeting; Long Distance Runaround; Wonderous Stories; Time Is Time; Roundabout; Show Me (Steve Howe guitar solo); Owner of a Lonely Heart; Second Initial (Steve Howe solo); Rhythm of Love; And You and I; Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)
Encore: Starship Trooper
I saw Yes on three further occassions; in 2009, 2011 and 2014. I have already blogged about those concerts; so this concludes my coverage of Yes. I am going to spend the next few days catching up on a few bands/gigs that I have overlooked, before completing “Y” (I have Paul Young to cover) and then moving on to the letter “Z”.
10 Mar
Yes Symphonic (or Magnification) Tour Newcastle City Hall 12th December 2001
Yes Symphonic (or Magnification) Tour Newcastle City Hall 12th December 2001
For the Magnification album and tour Yes were accompanied by an orchestra. It had been many years since I had seen the band, and what better way to do so. The line-up of Yes for this tour was Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White. They were accompanied by Tom Brislin on keyboards. The orchestra was conducted by Wilhelm Keitel. I remember that I’d had a terrible day at work, and I was unsure whether to go to the concert at all. However, the thought of seeing Yes again raised my spirits and I enjoyed the concert and was pleased that I went.
The set was a mix of songs from throughout their career, including several newer ones which were totally unfamiliar to me. Classic Yes tracks which they played were “Close to the Edge”, “Long Distance Run-around”, “Starship Trooper”, “And You and I” and “I’ve Seen All Good People”. The encore was “Roundabout”. The orchestra added greater depth and richness to the Yes sound which suited some of their more expansive pieces such as “Ritual”. However, I felt that some of their songs, “Starship Trooper” for example, were better suited to their original “band” sound and that the orchestra added little to them, and sometimes detracted from the purity of the song. Having said that, I enjoyed the concert and it was great to see Yes again, after such a long time.
The concert at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on 22 November 2001 was recorded and released on DVD in 2002 and on CD in 2003.
Setlist: Give Love Each Day; Close to the Edge; Listen to Your Heart; Long Distance Run-around; Don’t Go; In the Presence of… Concerto in D (2nd Movement) (Steve Howe); Second Initial (Steve Howe); Starship Trooper; Magnification; And You and I; Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil); I’ve Seen All Good People
Encore: Roundabout
Many thanks to Mitch for the image of his flyer from the concert.
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