The Groundhogs Middlesbrough 1975 and 1976
Tony reformed the Groundhogs in 1975 this time with a completely new line-up consisting of Mick Kent on bass, Mick Cook (ex Home) on drums, and a second guitarist; Dave Wellbelove. I saw this version of the Groundhogs on at least a couple of occasions; once at Teesside Polytechnic students union (I think in 1975, but it may have been 1976), and once at Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt in 1976. I also vaguely recall seeing them at Newcastle University ballroom, but that could be my memory playing tricks. It was great to see The Groundhogs back in action again, but it seemed strange to see Dave Wellbelove sharing guitar duites with Tony. This line-up was much more rock-oriented, moving further away from the blues, and released two albums: Crosscut Saw and Black Diamond. Both are respectable, with a couple of highlight tracks on each, but they don’t reach the heights of Split and Thank Christ for the Bomb. A live album from this period, entitled Groundhogs UK Tour 1976, was released in 2004, and features the tracks: Boogie Withus; Promiscuity; Corn Cob; Eleventh Hour; Crosscut Saw; Fulfilment; Light My Light; Split Part 2; Cherry Red, drawing heavily from the Crosscut Saw album. Sadly this version of the Groundhogs was shortlived and the band was to split again in 1976, with Tony going solo, and fronting a new band Terraplane.
Posts Tagged ‘blues’
27 Dec
The Groundhogs four piece line-up Middlesbrough 1975 and 1976
26 Dec
The Groundhogs 1973 and 1974
The Groundhogs Newcastle City Hall 1973 and other gigs in 1974
The Groundhogs called at Newcastle City Hall twice in 1974. The first of these two gigs featured Ellis (with Steve Ellis) and Spyda as support acts. For the second gig, the support was a band called Jonesy. Ellis featured Zoot Money, ex-Peter Bardens guitarist Andy Gee; ex-Fat Mattress bassist Jimmy Leverton (later replaced by Nick South); and drummer Dave Lutton. Jonesy featured Alan Bown on horns. The Groundhogs were at the peak of their success at this time, selling concert halls out up and down the country. They had just released the album Hogwash (1972), which was followed by Solid in 1974, and the set at the time featured the classics (Split I and II, Cherry Red, Garden, Mistreated, Groundhogs Blues, Eccentric Man) and sometimes tracks like Strange Town, Soldier and Ship on the Oceon, along with newer songs such as I Love You Miss Ogyny, 3744 James Road, and Light My Light. 
Free from all Alarm, and Sins of the Father were also sometimes featured in the set. The Groundhogs released two singles around this time: Sad Go Round and Plea Sing Plea Song. Tony was particularly busy during this period of his career, and took the time to record a solo lp, the Two Sides of Tong (TS) McPhee. He did a short tour in September 1973 to support the album, but didn’t play in the North East, so sadly I missed it. 
These gigs were the last time the Groundhogs were to play large concert hall tours, although they continued to gig constantly until the band split in 1974. The line up throughout this period was Tony, Pete Cruikshank and Clive Brooks. I saw them a few other times: twice at the Mayfair (once in 1973 and again in 1974; I recall the band Back Door being the support act on one of these occasions), once at Sunderland Locarno, and once at Spennymoor Top Hat Club. There may have been other gigs that I attended, the band certainly toured a lot at this time. Tony decided to split the band during 1974, but they were to reappear in a different form in the following year. I’ll blog on that line-up tomorrow. Many thanks to John for the scan of the great poster.
I found a setlist which is listed as being from a gig at Glasgow Greens Playhouse (later to become the Apollo) during the November 1973 tour: Ship on the Ocean; Light My Light; I Love You Misogyny; Earth Shanty; Sad Go Round; Dog Me bitch; Split 1; Joker’s Grave; Train Train; Lawdie Miss Clawdie; Soldier; Split 4; Split 2; Sad Go Round. I can’t ever remember the Groundhogs playing old tunes like Lawdie Miss Clawdie, but then my memory is not so good these days…….
25 Dec
The Groundhogs, Stray & Gentle Giant Newcastle City Hall 1972
The Groundhogs Stray & Gentle Giant Newcastle City Hall 1972
A group of us went to this gig, and we had seats right down the front. The line-up was very strong, with support from the amazing Stray and prog-rock heroes Gentle Giant. Gentle Giant were first up. This group grew out of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, and are now looked upon as a legendary band. At the time, however, it all seemed just a little too weird for our simple rock tastes. Stray were favourites of mine at the time and were just great, with Del wearing his mirror suit, lots of strobe lights during All In Your Mind, and the exploding dustbins to close the show. My favourite Stray song at the time was Jericho, from the Suicide album. 
This was the Groundhogs first tour with new drummer Clive Brooks, and took place between the release of Who Will Save The World and the Hogwash albums. The set would have consisted of classics from Thank Christ For the Bomb, Split, and Mistreated from Blues Obituary. I suspetc that they may also have played some songs from Hogwash. I Love Miss Ogyny and 3744 James Road were to become great live favourites of the next couple of years. The programme tells me: “The playing of the Groundhogs as a group, and of Tony McPhee as a soloist goes from strength to strength. On Who Will Save The World Mac adds mellotron and harmonium to his electrifying guitar, and because of what seems to be essentially a guitarist’s approach to these instruments he adds a new dimension to their usage. The Mighty Groundhogs, now with super-Mac on sythesiser and mellotron as well as his whining, wheeling guitar are very heavy, very heavy indeed”.
24 Dec
The Groundhogs early 70s gigs: the classic line-up
The Groundhogs early 70s gigs: the classic line-up 
This is going to be a bit of a marathon, so please indulge me on this. If there is one band that I have followed consistently over the past 40+ years, it is The Groundhogs. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen them, and hope that collecting my memories in the form of posts on my blog, will help me recall some of the great times I have had at Groundhogs gigs. I intend to blog about this great band over the Christmas period, and its going to take me quite a few days (perhaps a couple of weeks!) to cover all the different line-ups of the band that I have seen, since I first caught them in concert in the early 70s. I’ll also cover the legend that is Tony McPhee as a solo artist during my bloggings.
The first time I saw The Groundhogs was at Newcastle City Hall in February 1971, when they were support act for The Rolling Stones. I’ve blogged separately on this gig from a Stones perspective, but I need to concentrate on my memories of Tony and the guys here. This was, of course, the classic power trio line-up of McPhee on guitar, Pete Cruikshank on bass, and Ken Pustelnik on drums. I didn’t know who was supporting the Stones until I got into the hall, and they introduced them as they came on stage. So it was a nice surprise to find out I was about to witness my first Groundhogs gig. 
This was just around the time that they released Split, and their (very short) set comprised a few songs from that and Thank Christ for the Bomb. The Groundhogs set was particularly short that night, as there were two performances of the Rolling Stones show, the first being from 6.30 to 8.30pm, which didn’t allow the support act to play for much more than half an hour. The Leeds University gig of the tour was recorded and released as the Live At Leeds EP, which shows the set as being: Cherry Red; Garden; Split Part One; Groundhogs Blues; and Eccentric Man. That night I became a lifelong Groundhogs fan. Their music was a unique mix of blues and rock, and they were truly at the height of their powers at the time. I saw this original classic line-up four more times over the next year or so; at Newcastle City Hall, Sunderland Bay Hotel, Newcastle Mayfair, and Sunderland Top Rank.
The City Hall gig was during 1971 and was a co-headlining show with Chicken Shack. Things didn’t go entirely to plan and for some reason The Groundhogs weren’t able to appear that night, so Chicken Shack headlined the gig, and very good they were too. The gig was promoted by local guy Geoff Docherty, who came on stage to apologise and tell us The Groundhogs would play a couple of weeks later. This was one of those gigs where you handed your tickets in at the door, so they gave them back to us as we left, so that we could use them at the rescheduled gig. One of my mates was quite enterprising and kept going in and out of the hall, and thus managed to collect a few extra tickets, which he sold on to people at school. So a couple of weeks later we returned to the City Hall, and as promised The Groundhogs did indeed play for us. I also remember that Bridget St John was support at one of those two gigs; I think it was the first night when Chicken Shack played. I remember someone threw a can, just missing her, and Geoff Docherty came on to the stage to tell the crowd to calm down. At the time The Groundhogs would start with Mistreated (from Blues Obituary), and then play a selection of tracks from their first few albums including Eccentric Man, Still a Fool (from the first album, Scratching the Surface), Split I, Garden, and Groundhog Blues. They would finish with Split II with a marathon solo by Tony and lots of use of the whammy bar, and return for an encore of Cherry Red. Tony was quite rightly rated as one of the best guitarists in the country at the time, and his guitar playing was stunning and a joy to experience.
A group of us went to see The Groundhogs play at Sunderland Bay Hotel sometime late in 1971. I decided to go at the last minute, missing a gig by Rory Gallagher at the City Hall so that I could see the Hogs with my mates. The place was packed and Tony was on top form; I remember this as one of the best times I ever saw the band.
In early 1972, I was at Newcastle Mayfair to see The Groundhogs and Chicken Shack share a bill again, at a dance for Ashington College students. Both bands did play this time, alongside a couple of other bands, as I recall. Chicken Shack were on top form with Stan walking around the dance floor playing his guitar, using an extra long lead. The Groundhogs had just released the Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs album, and played a couple of tracks from the new lp: Earth is not Room Enough, and Music is the Food of Thought. I think this is the only time I’ve ever seen them play those tracks. Tony was also getting into some serious soloing at this point, playing a very Hendrix-ish version of Amazing Grace.
Around the same time, in early 1972, a group of us saw The Groundhogs at Sunderland Top Rank. We’d been to see Slade (who were excellent) at Sunderland Locarno earlier that night, and came into the Rink (as it was known) just as The Groundhogs took to the stage, having missed the support act Ashton, Gardner and Dyke. I managed to make my way right to the front, and stood right in front of Tony as he soloed on Amazing Grace and Split II. We also got back stage that night and chatted to Tony and Pete.
Its amazing how many times The Groundhogs played in the north east within the space of a year. In fact there were more gigs then these, including a concert at the City Hall where they were supported by Egg and Quicksand (see flyer), which I missed (and I still regret it!). Ken Pustelnik was soon to leave the band, to be replaced by Clive Brooks, and that version of the band toured extensively over the next couple of years, calling at the City Hall a few times. I’ll blog on those gigs in the coming days.
21 Dec
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall 1982 and 1987
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall 1982 and 1987
I saw Rory twice more at Newcastle City Hall, once in 1982 and once in 1987. I remember the 1987 gig, I particularly recall thinking that it had been some time since I had seen the great man, and looking forward to the gig. I also remember that he played a long set, with a lot of new songs which weren’t familiar to me, and quite a few of the old classics. I found a setlist for the London show of the tour, which shows him playing 25 songs, including old favourites: Out On The Western Plain; Pistol Slapper Blues; Tattoo’d Lady; Bullfrog Blues. This was to be the last time I would see Rory Gallagher live in concert. 
Setlist (from London gig on 1987 tour): Continental Op; Moonchild; I Wonder Who; Don’t Start Me Talkin’; I Ain’t No Saint; Shin Kicker; Kickback City; Loanshark Blues; Off the Handle; Failsafe Day; Out On The Western Plain; Walkin’ Blues; Pistol Slapper Blues; Keep Your Hands Off Her; Bad Penny; Follow Me; The Loop; Seems to Me; Tattoo’d Lady; Double Vision; When My Baby She Left Me; Shadow Play; Lonely Mile; Bullfrog Blues; I’m Leavin’. In later years Rory suffered health problems, caused by combinations of prescription medication and alcohol use, which resulted in liver damage. He had a liver transplant, but sadly died from an MRSA infection in London on 14 June 1995. A very sad loss. I’ve enjoyed blogging on Rory over the past few days; it has reminded me just how great he was, in many different ways, and how much I looked forward to, and enjoyed, Rory gigs. A great man, who has left a great musical legacy.
20 Dec
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall 1980
By 1980, Rory had moved to a harder rock sound, dropping many of the classic bluesy tracks which had been staples of his set throughout the 70s. So he was no longer playing Bullfrog Blues, Going to my Hometown, Messin with the Kid, as part of the main set, although he would sometimes play one or two of them during the encore, as I recall. Instead his set was focussing on tracks from his most recent albums; Top Priority (1980), Calling Card (1976) and Photo-Finish (1978). His stage show is documented on the live album Stage Stuck which was released in 1980, around the time of this gig at Newcastle City Hall. 
Although I still enjoyed seeing Rory, and he played with the same energy and passion as before, I missed the old familiar songs. The tracks on Stage Stuck give an indication of Rory’s setlist at this time: Shin Kicker; Wayward Child; Brute Force and Ignorance; Moonchild; Bad Penny; Key Chain; Follow Me; Bought and Sold; The Last of the Independents; Shadow Play. I saw Rory again at the Rock on the Tyne festival which was held at Gateshead Stadium in 1981. He headlined the second night, and came on after Dr Feelgood. The festival was held on the same weekend as the Reading Festival, and my mates and I decided to go to this local event and miss Reading that year. In fact, as things turned out, I never did return to the Reading festival. By this time Rory had put on a little weight, and wasn’t the same slim young guy that I had first seen 10 years or so earlier, but he had lost none of this power as a guitarist.
19 Dec
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall Dec 1978
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall Dec 1978
Rory Gallagher tour relentlessly throughout the 70s. He would often return to Newcastle twice within the same year. In 1978 he played the City Hall in April, and he was back again in December. I never tired of seeing him, which was not the case with many other bands. During the late 1978 tour, which ran into 1979, Rory clocked up 100 concerts in 65 cities in 12 countries in 16 weeks. He was very much the working, gigging bluesman; out on the road playing his guitar to anyone who wanted to see him. Support for this gig came from Bram Tchaikovsky, who had recently left The Motors. Bram was, at the time, fronting his own post-punk powerpop band. 
This gig was at the height of punk, when many bands were re-examining themselves and their musical approach. Rory seemed untouched by all of that change around him, and did what he did best, turning up at a hall with his old trusty strat, a Vox AC30 or two, and belting out the blues for a couple of hours. This gig was to promote his latest album, which was Photo-Finish. Looking at my ticket I was pretty close to the front for this gig, with a direct view of the great man. These gigs were really something; I just wish Rory was still with us. Setlist (from a date in the USA on the same tour): Bought & Sold; Garbage Man; Secret Agent; A Million Miles Away; Shadow Play; Country Mile; Tattoo’d Lady; Sea Cruise; Bullfrog Blues.
18 Dec
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall April 1978
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall April 1978
Support Joe O’Donnells Vision Band 
I was back at Newcastle City Hall to see Rory Gallagher again in April 1978. When I think of Rory, I think of his battered strat; a tartan shirt; total commitment to his music and to the audience in the hall; his hair flying about and by the end of the night sticking to his face with sweat. He would arrive quietly on stage, often without introduction and the place would just go crazy for him. This is the first time I got a programme at a Rory gig; I’m not sure if there were any for previous tours. From this programme: “When the gods were making guitar heroes they didn’t bother giving Rory Gallagher any greasepaint or give choreography with which to woo his fans. They knew to leave well alone: that being a guitarist who transcends mere technical pizzaz with a blazing, emotional style that not only brings the electric blues style into the Seventies, but leaves it reeling, would be more than enough. 
And there couldn’t be an unlikelier axe hero than the shiy Irish guitarist, who plays with a fire most musicians are able to muster only on “good nights”. You get the feeling that they’re all good nights for Rory, that the thrill of playing his battered Strat is renewed every time he straps it on.” Support came from Joe O’Donnell, the programme tells me “is one of the finest electric violin players performing in the Celtic tradition. He’s also widely acclaimed as a first-class mandolin-player, singer and composer.” Joe hails from Limerick, Ireland, won two scholarships for the Royal Irish Academy of Music, had played with East of Eden stepping into the shoes of their celebrated fiddle-player Dave Arbus. He was featured on their hit album Another Eden and was touring to support his album Gaodhal’s Vision, a concept album of his own compositions, “heralded as a fusion of Celtic music with jazz and rock.” Rory set List (from Glasgow gig of the tour): Secret Agent; Body and Soul; Moonchild; Bullfrog Blues; Going To My Hometown; Down on 31st Street; Souped Up Ford; Tattooed Lady; Brute Force and Ignorance; Cruise On Out. Encores: Let Me In; Messing With The Kid
17 Dec
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall February 1977
Rory Gallagher Newcastle City Hall February 1977
By 1977 Rory Gallagher was at the top of his game. His band consisted of long-standing sidekick Gerry McAvoy on bass guitar, with the drum stool filled by Wilgar Campbell (1970-72), Rod de’Ath (1972-76) or ex-SAHB Ted McKenna (1976-1981). Keyboard player Lou Martin also featured for some of that time. Rory’s latest album was 1976’s Calling Card. His stage set would be drawn from the following classic Rory tracks: Messin’ With the Kid; Laundromat; Could’ve Had Religion; Pistol Slapper Blues; Going to My Hometown; In Your Town; Bullfrog Blues; Tattoo’d Lady; A Million Miles Away; Out on the Western Plain and Walk on Hot Coals. All of the great Rory gigs I saw at Newcastle City Hall during the 70s have merged together in my mind. I recall them as joyous, crazy gigs, with Rory and band lifting the roof off the City Hall, and the audience all singing along to Messin’ with the Kid, and Going to my Hometown, which featured Rory on mandolin. The pace was relentless and completly full-on for the entire set, with Rory dripping with sweat and his battered old strat ending the show even more battered than when he arrived on stage. There has never been anyone like Rory, before or since. He was simply 100% class, a great guy, and a superb guitarist. 
My ticket stubs give me a conundrum in terms of this 1977 gig. I have two tickets; they are both clearly printed with the date Wednesday 9th February 1977. However, one of them has been over-written by hand Friday 18th February 1977. They are for different seats a couple or rows apart. I can’t figure out what happened here. I found a Rory gig list which suggest that both gigs were played, but that wouldn’t explain the hand written ticket. My guess is that the first gig was cancelled or abandoned and I bought a second ticket for the rescheduled gig so that Marie could come along with me. Wish I’d kept a diary.
15 Dec
Rory Gallagher early 70s gigs
Rory Gallagher early 70s gigs
There are many advantages to blogging on the gigs I have attended, one of which is it forces me to reflect on artists who I haven’t seen in concert for many years. I was a big fan of the late great Rory Gallagher, and knew that I had seen him quite a few times in concert. However, looking through my tickets and the few Rory programmes I have (Rory wasn’t big on programmes), I now realise that I must have seen him around 20 times in concert. 
This includes many gigs at Newcastle City Hall, which he visited many times during the 1970s in particular, and at some festivals (Lincoln, Reading and Newcastle Rock on the Tyne) and gigs at Newcastle Mayfair and Sunderland Empire. I’m going to spend this week reflecting on Rory and the many memories I have on him in concert. 
I first saw Rory in concert with Taste, a gig which I blogged on yesterday. I missed him the first couple of times that he played the North East as a solo act, the first time I remember being at the Mayfair with Joe Walsh and the James Gang in support. Some mates went and told me how great that gig was. I had a ticket to see him play Newcastle City Hall in late 1971 or early 1972, but passed and went to see The Groundhogs at Sunderland Bay Hotel instead that night, as most of my mates were going to the Groundhogs gig. 
The first time I caught Rory Gallagher solo in concert was in 1972 when he played Newcastle City Hall. By this time he had released a couple of albums and the set already featured classics such as Sinner Boy, Laundromat, and In Your Town. Rory was THE MAN for many of us. He seemed like us, a young guy with long hair, wearing jeans, and seemed so down to earth. His guitar playing was just incredible, and he played with such passion and energy. I’ll spend the next few days writing more on Rory.
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