The Heavy Metal Kids Gigs in the 70s and 2012
I saw The latest incarnation of The Heavy Metal Kids supporting UFO at Newcastle Academy on Saturday. It made me think about all the times I saw the band in the past during the 70s, with the late great Gary Holton on vocals. One of the first times I saw them must have been supporting Nazareth at Newcastle City Hall in 1973. I know because I’ve just been looking through a Nazareth programme, to get ready for going to see that band on Tuesday in Newcastle. The pages I’ve scanned here come from the back of the Nazareth programme. I remember wondering who the totally mad, cocky, cockney was running around the stage. Looking back their music and their act bridged the worlds of glam and punk. They dressed the part, and were full of arrogance and cheek. They also had some pretty good songs; my favourites were Its The Same from the first lp, and the single She’s No Angel; I remember them playing it on Top of the Pops. For The Cops Are Coming they would stage a scene from a Keystone Cops movie, chasing each other around the stage. 
The Kids supported lots of bands in the 70s; I saw them as support for Uriah Heep, Alice Cooper and possibly a few others. I also saw them a few times on Friday rock nights in Sunderland Locarno and Newcastle Mayfair, and at the Reading Festival. they played a lot; I must have seen them a fair few times. They were always good fun, a good laugh, and some good rock n roll, but they never quite made the step up to major headliners. A much under rated, and almost forgotten band. If you get the chance, listen to their three albums. Rolling forward to 2012, the latest Heavy Metal Kids line-up consists of original members Cosmo on guitar, Ronnie Garrity on bass, Keith Boyce on drums and new guitarist/vocalist Justin McConville. I arrived late, and missed the first few numbers of the set. They put on a pretty good show, with some nifty guitar work from Cosmo, and strong vocals from Justin. Old Kids classics Chelsea Kids, Delirious and She’s No Angel were rolled out, and pretty good versions they were too. Listening to those songs again made me realise how punky they were. Good fun, and brought back memories of Gary Holton on stage. A big character; much missed. Thanks to Sir Bawls for the set list below. The Kids setlist at Newcastle 17th March 2012 was: Hangin’ On; Blow It All Away; Hit The Right Button; Chelsea Kids; A Hundred Skeletons; Whisky; Marseilles; Rock Candy (Montrose cover); She’s No Angel; Delirious. The line-up: Justin McConville – vocals & guitar; Cosmo – lead guitar; Ronnie Garrity – bass; Keith Boyce – drums.
Posts Tagged ‘blues’
18 Mar
UFO Newcastle Academy March 17th 2012
UFO Newcastle Academy March 17th 2012
Its around five years since I last saw UFO, although it doesn’t seem it. I’ve been preparing myself for the gig, by blogging about UFO during the week, and by playing their live album Strangers in the Night and their classic Phenomenon lp, of which I have a signed copy, which I found at a car boot sale for 50p many years ago! (I have no way, of course, of knowing if the signatures are genuine; but they look pretty authentic to me). I arrived at the Academy early, just after 7pm so that I could catch support act The Heavy Metal Kids. I was intrigued to see what the new incarnation of the Kids would be like, particular without the charismatic Gary Holton. I’ll blog on them separately later this week. They were on stage when I arrived; Saturday gigs at the Academy start and finish early, as the venue turns into a night club at 11pm. 
UFO came on stage just after 8pm. By then the venue was packed, and the crowd gave the band a great Geordie reception. They started with Mother Mary; the set was a mix of old and new with all of the old favourites featured. Phil Mogg is lean and fit, and his voice is as strong as ever. Old timers Paul Raymond (keyboard and second guitar) and Andy Parker (drums) are still there alongside, and (now well established in the band) guitarist Vinnie Moore played some great solos, and easily matches up to the legend of Schenker and Tonka. Stand outs for me were Only You Can Rock Me, Love to Love, Lights Out and, of course, Doctor Doctor, which is one of my all time fave rock songs. Great night; from a band that never ceases to amaze. Setlist: something like (although I may well have the order wrong): Mother Mary; Let It Roll; Fight Night; a couple of songs from the new album; Wonderland; Only You Can Rock Me; Love to Love; Hell Driver; Venus; Too Hot To Handle; Lights Out; Rock Bottom. Encore: Doctor Doctor; Shoot Shoot.
16 Mar
Soft Cell Kirklevington 1982 Marc Almond Newcastle Mayfair 1985
Soft Cell Kirklevington Country Club 1982 and Marc Almond Newcastle Mayfair 1985
The Kirk was a legendary venue on North Yorkshire which played host to Jimi Hendrix, Clapton, Joe Cocker and many other bands in the late 60s. By the early 80s it was a very trendy night club. I went a couple of times, once to see Soft Cell and another to see Geno Washington. 
The Soft Cell gig was great, coming not long after their number one hit with Tainted Love. The gig was sold out, but I went down with a couple of mates, and managed to blag our way in, can’t quite remember how. The place was ram packed and Soft Cell were great. They had just released Say Hello Wave Goodbye. Their set was short, but spot on, great atmosphere, and Marc Almond was every bit a star. I remember manager Stevo standing in the crowd, watching his proteges from the dancefloor. A very special night. The next time I saw Marc was at Newcastle Mayfair. By now he had gone solo, was dressed heavily in leather and very much the melodramatic torch singer. Impressive stuff.
15 Mar
UFO live Redcar Coatham Bowl 1984 and Newcastle Academy 2006
UFO live Redcar Coatham Bowl 1984 and Newcastle Academy 2006
UFO reformed in 1984 after a short break. The new band consisted of Phil Mogg on vocals, Paul Gray (ex Hot Rods and Damned) on bass, and the wonderfully named Atomic Tommy M on guitar. Davey and I went to see them at their Redcar Coatham Bowl gig in December 1984. I remember being intrigued by Atomic Tommy who was a manic Japanese guitarist. Actually they were pretty good, played the usual favourites and we all went home smiling. 
Then followed a long gap before I saw the band again. I’d all but forgotten how great UFO were, apart from times when now and then I would put Phenomenon on the turntable and play Doctor Doctor; which would remind me of a misspent youth and happy nights of a long long time ago.
So……roll on over 20 years and I’m back in Newcastle, this time the Mayfair has closed and the equivalent (if there ever could be one) is the Academy, and I’m seeing UFO again. And it was great. The power, the rock n roll, the melodies were all there. Doctor Doctor, Lights Out, Only You Can Rock Me, Love to Love. You can’t get much better for a night out. Roll on Saturday. UFO here I come. Is it really 6 years since last time? The years are catching up with me…Doctor Doctor please….
14 Mar
UFO Newcastle City Hall 1980s
UFO were touring constantly throughout the early 1980s, coming to Newcastle City Hall once or twice a year. The band released a number of albums throughout the period, several of which scored in the UK charts. However, the band had already recorded their best tracks in the 70s, including Doctor Doctor, Lights Out, Love to Love, Only You Can Rock Me, and Rock Bottom. 
The live double album Strangers in the Night captured UFO at their live best, and is often rated as one of the best live albums of all time. The shows at the City Hall were always great nights. Phil Mogg is a great show man; 
I can picture him now singing “Lights Out in Newcastle” and “Misty green and blue, love to love to love you”; the entire City Hall singing along with him. The UFO line up changed quite a lot during this period, with a couple of key members leaving the fold. First keyboard player Paul Raymond left, to be replaced by Neil Carter. Then original bass player Pete Way left to form Fastway with Motorhead’s Fast Eddie and then Waysted. At the time, I remember thinking that Pete Way’s departure marked the beginning of the end. 
Pete was so central to the band’s sound and their stage show, prowling around the stage with his bass slung low around his knees; it just wasn’t the same without him there. But continue they did recruiting Paul Gray from the Hot Rods and the Damned to take the bass slot. 
I also saw UFO headline the Reading Festival in 1980, topping the bill over Iron Maiden. 1980 was very much a New Wave of British Heavy Metal year for Reading, and UFO pulled their weight alongside the newer heavy metal bands, playing a great set on the Saturday night. My tickets and programmes tell me that I saw UFO at least a dozen times in the 70s and 80s, and I honestly can’t recall any of those gigs being anything but great. They always delivered. 
By 1983, UFO had decided to disband and the 1983 tour became a farewell event. So came the end of a great run of concerts by a great band. I went along to that last City Hall gig thinking I would never again see UFO play Doctor Doctor. 
However I should have known that the band wouldn’t stay away for too long, and a year or so later Phil Mogg would be back with yet another UFO line up. I’ll report on that line up in another post. I’m quite getting into UFO again, and I’m looking forward to seeing them later this week. I must look out my copy of Strangers In The Night!
12 Mar
UFO in the 1970s
UFO are a much under rated rock band. I spent many nights in the 70s and 80s at UFO gigs. They are appearing at Newcastle Academy next Saturday, and I intend to go along and see them, so I thought I would reminisce on UFO gigs past this week.
I first saw UFO in 1972 at Newcastle City Hall at a free gig which local promoter Geof Docherty put on, as a thank you to fans. Support came from local band Beckett, featuring Terry Slesser, and Melody Maker poll winner Lloyd Watson. At that point in 1972 I think Pink Fairies’ Larry Wallis was playing guitar with UFO. I remember the show being pretty wild with some long guitar solos, and Phil Mogg or Larry Wallis (can’t remember which) climbing up the speaker stack and onto the balcony of the venue. The music at this time would have been drawn from the first couple of lps, and was quite spacey, psychedelic stuff. The next few times I saw UFO was at Sunderland Locarno, Newcastle Mayfair, and at the 1974 reading Festival. 
By then Michael Schenker had joined the band and they had released the classic album Phenomenon, followed by Force It and Lights Out, featuring such great songs as: Only You Can Rock Me, Doctor Doctor, Love to Love, Lights Out, Rock Bottom, and Shoot Shoot. There was nothing better than a Friday night in a packed ballroom watching Schenker, Mogg and Way play Doctor, Doctor. Great guitar intro, and first class melodic heavy rock. By 1979 UFO had graduated to playing Newcastle City Hall, and Michael Schenker had left the band to be replaced by Paul Chapman. I’ll report next on some of those City Hall gigs which took me into the 80s.
10 Mar
Mick Taylor Buck Hotel Reeth 9 March 2012
Mick Taylor Buck Hotel Reeth 9 March 2012
Reeth is a lovely village situated deep in the Yorkshire dales. It took Marie and I just over an hour to drive there, down the A1M to Scotch Corner and across through Richmond. The Buck Hotel stands tall at one end of the village green. Last night there was a Sold Out sign at the door, and the small room to the side was packed with rock fans of the older variety, who had all come to see a legend play some blues. The venue is a lovely old village inn, and the concert room holds around 100 people; this was like seeing Mick Taylor play to you in a friends house. Mick and band took to the stage just before 9pm, and started with Secret Affair. It was obvious from the word go that Mick has put together one hell of a tight band, with the great Zoot Money on keyboards, Ronnie Johnson on second guitar, Michael Bailey on bass, and Jeff Allen drums. The pace was set for the evening, with some rocking, shuffling blues and Mick singing and taking the lead with lots of use of slide. Mick’s playing was at times exceptional, very reminiscent of Peter Green at his best, very fluid with great use of tone; and yet sometimes he didn’t quite make it. His vocals were pretty strong, much better than I expected. It was great to see him, and his playing was much better than I expected, and he was generally on better form than previous times I’ve seen him. Mick looked well last night, and seemed in good spirits. But this was a band show as much as Mick’s. Second guitarist Ronnie Johnson took a couple of solos and gave Mick a run for his money. Ronnie seemed familiar to me; I see he has played with Manfred Mann and Van Morrison among others, so I guess I must have seen him somewhere before. Zoot Money took the vocals for a few songs, notably It never rains but it pours, which he wrote for Jimmy Witherspoon, and Will the Circle be Unbroken, which he dedicated to those no longer with us, including the names of sadly departed friends: Tony Ashton, Robert Palmer and others. Zoot’s singing was pretty incredible and he almost stole the show with his jazzy R&B. There was a short break half way through the set, during which everyone took advantage of the fine real ales on offer. Dylan’s Blind Willie McTell moved into All Along The Watchtower, with a Hendrix style solo. The band finished with an excellent version of the Stones’ song No Expectations, which was a fitting end to a great gig. The drive around the winding Yorkshire roads was fine and we were back home by 12.30. Set included: Secret Affair; Twisted Sister; Fed Up With The Blues; It never rains but it pours (Zoot vocal); Tore Down; Will the Circle be Unrboken (Zoot vocal); Blind Willie McTell / All Along The Watchtower; No Expectations. I’ve listed the songs I recognised and have definitely missed quite a few.
8 Mar
The Alarm live in Newcastle 1983 to 1988
On a good night in the 80s The Alarm were untouchable. Full of righteous passion, great stirring singalongs and celtic rock. Occupying a territory somewhere between The Clash, U2 and Dylan, this band could really cut the mustard. My first Alarm experience was at Newcastle Tiffanys club. I may have seen them before that as a support act, but can’t be sure. This gig was just as 68 Guns had been released. 
I can picture my mate Davey and me, on the balcony in Tiffanys looking down on the stage with the whole place singing along and the whole balcony shaking. Happy days. The next couple of times I saw The Alarm they were at the City Hall. I remember those gigs as being good, but its that night at Tiffanys that sticks in my mind. 
They had quite a few hits, but none of them matched the power of 68 Guns, and the passion that Mike Peters sang it with. Mike Peters has not been well, but has kept playing, and The Alarm play on to this day. The last time I saw Mike Peters was in the bar at a Springsteen gig at the O2 in London. The guy has good taste.
7 Mar
Adele Newcastle Tyne Theatre April 2008
Adele Newcastle Tyne Theatre April 2008
This gig doesn’t seem that long ago, but its getting on for four years since Laura and I saw Adele at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle. I recall at the time being surprised how quickly this gig sold out, and that was well before the mega-stardom that she enjoys now. At the time I had only heard “Chasing pavements” but was caught up in the wave of new female singers, such as Amy Winehouse and Duffy. So Laura and I decided to check Adele out. The show was very impressive, particularly considering that Adele was just 20 at the time. She struck me as quite shy, and couldn’t seem to believe it all herself. I remember her singing the Dylan song “Make You Feel My Love”, and realising that it was one Dylan song that I didn’t know. Good to see how her career has gone from strength to strength since then. I wonder if we’ll ever see her back at the Tyne Theatre again? And with a ticket price of £15?
6 Mar
America and Poco Newcastle Odeon 1975
America and Poco Newcastle Odeon 1975
This was a pretty cool line up, and was my fist time seeing both bands. I knew a lot of stuff by America, but nothing by Poco. I went along with my friend Ian, as I recall. America had previously toured as support for Family in 1971, but the gig was the same night as Led Zeppelin played Sunderland Locarno (theres a gig I must report on), so I didn’t go. So when they returned to Newcastle for this gig at the Odeon I made sure that I attended. The Odeon is now sadly closed, but was an important venue for gigs in the North East in the early 70s. It was a little bigger than the City Hall, with a capacity of around 3,000, and I saw a few bands play there: Humble Pie, King Crimson, Black Sabbath, ELP, The Faces and The Who come straight to mind. BY the mid 70s it had sadly been converted to a multi-screen cinema, and the capacity reduced. I am pretty sure that this was the case for this gig. I recall both bands being really good that night. Typical America set list from 1975: Tin Man; Muskrat Love; Baby It’s Up to You; Moon Song; Old Man Took; To Each His Own; Lonely People; I Need You; Don’t Cross The River; Ventura Highway; Only In Your Heart; Woman Tonight; The Story of a Teenager; Half a Man; Company; Hollywood; Sister Golden Hair; Encore: Sandman; A Horse With No Name. I also googled and found a Poco setlist from 1974: Blue Water; Fool’s Gold; Rocky Mt. Breakdown; Bad Weather; Hoedown; Railroad Days; Ride the Country; Faith in the Families; Angel; Drivin’ Wheel; I Guess You Made It; Restrain; A Right Along; C’Mon. My friend John, who was also at this gig, has just emailed me to remind me that America/Poco played “Don’t Cross the River if you can’t swim the tide” with both bands on stage as the final number.
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