American Blues Legends Barnes Hotel Sunderland 1975
I’m going to have a couple of days break from covering acts beginning with the letter “D”, before I embark upon the task of covering the Bob Dylan concerts that I have attended; which will be a considerable task. So I’m going to reminisce on the time a group of American blues legends came to town. I, along with many friends, was heavily into the blues in the early 70s, so when this tour came to the Barnes Hotel in Sunderland lots of people I knew went along. I didn’t buy a ticket in advance for the gig, and went along expecting to pay at the door, only to find that the place sold out. However, that wasn’t going to deter me too much from getting in. A group of us were in the same predicament. We had some mates who did have tickets and they agreed to throw a ticket out of the window, which we used in turn to gain entry. 
It worked a treat and several of us got in for nothing. The place was packed and we were treated to a night of great blues from some true masters of the art. Lots of mouth harp playing, by the acts, and by some members of the crowd, who always seemed to have an Echo Super Vamper in their pocket, which they would bring out at any opportunity to do some serious note bending. This was the 3rd UK tour of American Blues Legends, and the only one that I saw. The bill for the 1975 tour featured Billy Boy Arnold; Lonesome Jimmy Lee Robinson; Little Joe Blue; Homesick James; Tommy Tucker; Eddie Guitar Burns; with Pete York on drums. It was a great fun night, although I remember spending much of in the bar with a group of mates. Think I walked home after the show. The tour was promoted by Big Bear records, who subsequently released an album of the tour. My programme contains a “Bank of Big Bear” voucher with a £4 note which could be cut up into 8 50p vouchers to get a reduction on albums from the Big Bear catalogue. I wonder if it is still valid?
Posts Tagged ‘blues’
5 Oct
American Blues Legends Barnes Hotel Sunderland 1975
2 Oct
Dr Hook Newcastle City Hall 1974 and 1977
Dr Hook Newcastle City Hall 1974 and 1977
The first time that I saw Dr Hook, they were very different from the AOR band that they became in their later days. My mate Norm and I went to see them at Newcastle City Hall in 1974. We only knew one track Sylvia’s Mother, which is a great song, and were impressed by these crazy guys, who sang a mixture of southern rock and country, with great funny lyrics, many written by poet Shel Siverstein. Those guys had incredibly long hair at the time, were all stoned, crazy hippies, and front men Ray Sawyer and Dennis Locorriere had a great line in on-stage chat. Songs from that period were: Sylvia’s Mother, Cover of the Rolling Stone, Roland The Roadie And Gertrude The Groupie, and Ballad of Lucy Jordan (later covered by Marianne Faithful). They were great fun, and totally crazy. 
By 1977 when I saw them again at the City Hall, Dr Hook were riding on a wave of major success in the UK, having hit the chart with A Little Bit More and If Not You. Support came from Alfalpha. The show seemed a little toned down to me, with less crazy banter, and more straight songs. At this point the band were changing from a rock band to more a middle of the road rock/country act. They had even had their hair cut (which disappointed me)! 
Dr Hook went on to even greater success in the UK with a string of mega-hits. However, the memories I have are of those crazy long haired guys that I saw at the City Hall in 1974. A DVD exists of the band in those early days, when they were known as Dr Hook and the Medicine Show and shows the set as; Sylvia’s Mother; Marie Lavaux; Yodel; Cops ‘N Robbers; Carry Me, Carrie; Penicillin Penny; Roland The Roadie; Freakin’ At The Freaker’s Ball; The Cover Of The Rolling Stone.
24 Sep
Doctor Ross Sunderland Black Cat Club 1975
Doctor Ross Sunderland Black Cat Club 1975
Dr Ross was THE MAN. This gig was at the Black Cat Club, which sat in the grounds of Roker Park, the old Sunderland football ground. The Doctor had played previously in Sunderland at the Glebe Folk and Blues Club, and had built up quite a following on local blues aficionados. Doctor Ross was a black blues singer in the traditional style of John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson. He was a true one-man band, and played harmonica, acoustic guitar, bass drum, and hi-hat simultaneously.
Ross was born in Mississippi in 1925. He was apparently nicknamed Doctor because he carried his harmonicas in a black doctor’s bag. Doctor Ross achieved greater success in the UK and Europe than in his home country and spent quite a bite of time touring here during the 70s. His shows were impressive, great traditional blues with this one guy playing all the instruments as well as singing. He seemed an old guy at the time, but actually he was 50 years old (which seems very young now…).
A 1973 album: “Live an Montreux” contains the tracks: Doctor Ross Rockin’; Freight Train; Mama Blues; Good Morning Little Schoolgirl; General Motors Blues; Got Something to Tell You; Hobo Blues; Let’s Boogie All Night Long; Honey Bee Blues; My Airplane Chick, giving an indication of the set he was playing in the 70s. Dr Ross passed away in 1993, at the age of 67.
23 Sep
Steve Gibbons Band Beamish Hall Durham 23rd Sep 2012
Went along to Beamish Hall last night, where they have started a new music club, Shaftos. The club is holding music nights once a month, the venue being Shafto’s Hall. The place was pretty full; quite an impressive turn out for the first night of a new venture. Support came from local singer Steve Daggett, who warmed the crowd up with a set featuring Lindisfarne, Bob Dylan and Alan Hull classics. After a short break Steve Gibbons and his band took to the stage. It was good to see Steve again, it must be close to 30 years since I’ve seen him in concert. 
His set was very blues and R&B based, with a Dylan song or two thrown in. Steve has a vast catalogue of albums to draw from, and delved back through these, playing tracks from across his career. He is quite difficult to catagorise; his songs mix blues, rock n roll, R&B, country and shuffle. The confidence and stage craft developed over a 50 year career shines through, and he is backed by a band of first cass musicians. This gig brought back old memories; I saw Steve Gibbons a number of times during the 70s and early 80s. The ticket scanned here is from a gig at Sunderland Kasbah (a short lived venue) in the early 80s. The Steve Gibbons Band supported a number of bands during the 70s, including The Who. The current line up of the Steve Gibbons band is: Steve on vocals, guitar and mouth harp; Phil Bond on piano, and accordion; Brendan Day on drums; John Caswell on bass; and Howard Gregory on guitar, and violin.
19 Sep
The Doors (of the 21st Century) Manchester Arena 2004
The Doors (of the 21st Century) Manchester Arena 2004
Line-up Ray Manzarek – keyboards, vocals; Robby Krieger – guitar, vocals; Ian Astbury – lead vocals; Ty Dennis – drums, percussion; Angelo Barbera – bass guitar.
More than 30 years after I saw The Doors at Newcastle City Hall, David and I went to see them at Manchester Arena. This version of the band featured original members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, with new singer Ian Astbury of The Cult fame. Drummer John Densmore declined to take part in the project and sued the other band members over their use of the name. I had mixed views about going to the gig. The last time I saw the band Ray and Robby took vocal duties and the set was largely new material. This time it was clear that the set would be classic Doors and Ian was almost mimicking Jim Morrison. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about that, and how appropriate it was. However we did attend, out of interest as much as anything. The 20,000 capacity venue was nowhere near full, I would say it was a quarter full, if that. We had great seats a few rows from the front. There was no support act and the band were onstage for a couple of hours, the set consisting of a selection of Doors classics. Looking at setlists from the time it is clear that the band changed their set significantly from night to night. One disappointment for me was that they didn’t play Riders on the the Storm. But putting that aside, this was a great gig, which Ian carried off well. He looked like Jim, was dressed like him, and must have studied videos of his movements. But it worked well. We have the old songs, a psychedelic light show, and a band with two original members. It was just great and made me realise how amazing The Doors must have been in the day. David and I both enjoyed it. Setlist: Break On Through (to the Other Side); Not to Touch the Earth; Love Me Two Times; Alabama Song (Whisky Bar); Back Door Man; Love Her Madly; The Changeling; Hyacinth House; Spanish Caravan; Five to One; The Unknown Soldier; Peace Frog; Roadhouse Blues; L.A. Woman. Encore: Touch Me; Light My Fire
18 Sep
Glencoe: an under-rated early 70s band
Glencoe: an under-rated early 70s band
Blogging on the Deep Purple gigs that I attended in the early 70s, has made me think a little about Glencoe, who supported Deep Purple on their 1972 UK tour. I remember Glencoe well and saw them a few times. They featured Norman Watt Roy on bass and John Turnbull ( from Newcastle ) on guitar, who had been in Bell and Arc. Both of them went on to be part of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Norman is now bass player for Wilko Johnson. One particular gig comes to mind. I went along to see Stray and Glencoe at the Mayfair, with a friend who was heavily into Stray. It was a midnight to 4am gig; it may have been Easter Sunday or something like that. We got the last train through to Newcastle and arrived at the Mayfair. The queue was massive, and I remember being worried that we might not get in, and would be left stranded in Newcastle all night. We did get in and the place was packed to the walls. Glencoe played, and then they announced over the PA that Stray weren’t coming and would be replaced by a local band. My memory is hazy here. I have vague memories of both Lucas Tyson and Brass Alley playing. I think Lucas Tyson may have been on first, before Glencoe, and then Brass Alley replaced Stray (or was it the John Miles Set? Who nows….). We were also told over the PA that in compensation we could come along and see Edgar Broughton free of charge the following Friday. We didn’t think that was very fair, as we had come especially to see Stray, so we went along and spoke to a bouncer. I said I wanted to see the manager to ask for our money back. The bouncers weren’t the most understanding of guys in those days. He slapped me across the face, and told me to b***** off or he would throw us out. We decided it would be wiser to accept his advice. We stayed in the Mayfair until the gig finished at 4am. We then went to Bowers all night cafe which was opposite the station, had a cup of coffee and stayed there until the first train back to Sunderland, which was around 6am. Happy Days….Glencoe were a good band, who were a mix of funk and rock. Norman Watt Roy was the stand out as bass player, and John Turnbull was also great on guitar. I had their album at one point, and still have a single of theirs, called Friends of Mine. I also remember a song called Airport, which was a highlight of their live set at the time.
17 Sep
The Doors Sandy Denny & Hawkwind Newcastle City Hall 1972
The Doors Newcastle City Hall 1972
Support from Sandy Denny and Hawkwind
This was a pretty impressive line-up when I look back on it. I went along with my friend John, largely to see The Doors. This was post-Jim Morrison, at a point where the three remaining members were touring without any replacement singer. The line-up was Ray Manzarek – keyboards, vocals; John Densmore – drums, percussion; Robby Krieger – guitar, vocals; plus touring musicians Jack Conrad – bass guitar, and Bobby Ray Henson – rhythm guitar, back vocals, percussion. Ray and Robby took vocal duties, and they were promoting their recent album Other Voices. The advertised support act was Sandy Denny, who was touring as a solo artist, having left Fairport Convention a few years earlier. Hawkwind weren’t advertised at all, and were a nice surprise on the night. We arrived at the show not late but were suprised to find a band on stage that was obviously not Sandy Denny. At first we had no idea who they were, but were impressed by them and realised we were watching something which was quite weird and pretty special. Then they played Master of the Universe, which was in heavy rotataion at the local Mecca at the time, and we realised who we were watching. This was the classic Hawkwind, with naked dancer Stacia, Lemmy, Dik Mik, Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Del Dettmar, Simon King, and possibly Robert Calvert. There were certainly lots of them on stage. I recall great lights, a strong smell of joss sticks in the hall (the band were giving them out to the audience) and a set of great songs, which blended from one into the next. This was pre the release of Silver Machine, but I suspect the song will have featured in the set at that time. We were both blown away by Hawkwind and remain life long fans of the band to this day. Sandy Denny sat at a grand piano centre stage; I can’t remember what she played, but I suspect it was taken from her solo album Sandy which was released in 1972. The Doors were OK, but many of the songs were new and unfamiliar to us. The only old songs they played were Light My Fire and Love Me Two Times. We were both disappointed that they didn’t play Riders on the Storm. A great gig, and a great introduction to Hawkwind, who were at their height at that time. And all for 75p!
16 Sep
Deep Purple Newcastle Arena 2007
Deep Purple Newcastle Arena 2007
Support from Styx and Thin Lizzy
A group of us went to this gig, attracted as much by the strong support acts on offer, as by the prospect of seeing Deep Purple. My friends are all big Styx fans, and couldn’t miss the opportunity of seeing them. The gig started early at around 7pm, to allow each vabd to perform a reasonable length set. First up was Thin Lizzy, this line-up fronted by John Sykes and Scott Gorham. 
They delivered a set of Lizzy classics, proving that there is life for the band without front man Phil Lynott. In fact, I was surprised just how good they were, and it was great to hear classics such as The Boys Are Back In Town, and Jailbreak again. Styx were next up, also missing front man Dennis DeYoung. Styx gave headliners Purple a run for their money, and delivered a set of classics which went down well with the assembled crowd. Although Purple’s latest album was Rapture of the Deep, this show also featured the band playing their classic album Machine Head in full. A good evening in the company of friends, and three classic rock bands. Setlist: Fireball; Things I Never Said; Into the Fire; Strange Kind of Woman; Rapture of the Deep; The Well-Dressed Guitar; Highway Star; Maybe I’m a Leo; Pictures of Home; Never Before; When a Blind Man Cries; Smoke on the Water; Lazy; Space Truckin’. Encore: Hush; Black Night.
14 Sep
Deep Purple Newcastle Arena 2004 Bananas Tour
Deep Purple Newcastle Arena 2004 Bananas Tour
Support from Peter Frampton and Thunder
It was almost 20 years until I saw Deep Purple again. I went along with my mate Will to this gig, which was at Newcastle Arena. The show used part of the Arena, with the rest sectioned off. This allows the band to perform to a larger audience than can be accommodated in a concert hall, such as Newcastle City Hall, but loses much in terms of atmosphere. Support came from rock band Thunder and Peter Frampton. I hadn’t seen Frampton since the Frampton Comes Alive tour, and I’d forgotten just how good he is. He has some great songs and is a pretty neat guitarist to boot. He played, of course, Show Me The Way, and a few other classics from his 70s heyday. 
By 2004 Blackmore had left Purple again, and Jon Lord had just retired. Steve Morse was well established on guitar, and local hero Don Airey had recently joined on keyboards. Long-timers Gillan, Glover and Paice were there from the old days. The band had recently released the Bananas album. The set was a mix of old favourites, and quite a few recent tracks which were unfamiliar to me. I’d almost forgotten just how great Purple are, and was well impressed. It was great to see them play old favourites like Speed King, and particularly Hush. Steve Morse is an impressive guitarist and fits in well, and his solo on Contact Lost was a stan-out. Setlist: Silver Tongue; Woman from Tokyo; I Got Your Number; Strange Kind of Woman; Bananas; Demon’s Eye; Knocking at Your Back Door; Contact Lost; The Well-Dressed Guitar; Perfect Strangers; Space Truckin’; Highway Star; Smoke on the Water. Encore: Speed King; Hush.
13 Sep
Deep Purple Knebworth 1985
Twelve years after I last saw them, the classic Deep Purple line-up was back and playing at Knewborth. I went with my mate Dave on a trip bus from the town. The line-up for the day was very strong with The Scorpions, Meat Loaf, UFO, Mountain, Blackfoot, Mama’s Boys, and Alaska (can’t remember who they were) but unfortunately the weather was lousy. It rained and rained all day and then it rained more. Dave and I spent much of the day sheltering under a tree. At one point we found our way into an indoor bar which must have been for guests because it was empty (!) and we kept warm and dry in there. The Scorpions went down best of all the support acts, and there was a never ending two hour wait between the end of their set and Purple taking to the stage at around 10pm. 
I can’t remember much about the other bands, but Purple were good despite the rain. As expected they started with Highway Star and played all of the classics, along with quite a few songs from the new album Perfect Strangers. To cap it all our bus got stuck in the mud in the carpark and some of us had to push it out. We didn’t get out of the carpark until early morning and arrived back home at dawn. The things I’ve done for rock n roll…Setlist: Highway Star; Nobody’s Home; Strange Kind of Woman; A Gypsy’s Kiss; Perfect Strangers; Under the Gun; Lazy; Knocking at Your Back Door; Difficult to Cure; Space Truckin’. Encore: Speed King; Black Night; Smoke on the Water. Other memories are of some guys setting fire to the portaloos to keep warm, no screens and an awful view of the stage from the back, pretty cool lasers for Purple, and a massive firework display after Purple’s set. Happy Days.
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