Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 14th December 1982
Support Samson
When David Coverdale returned in late 1982 with a new Whitesnake. Only Jon Lord and Micky Moody remained from the old band with Bernie Marsden, Neil Murray, and Ian Paice being replaced by guitarist Mel Galley from Trapeze, bassist Colin Hodgkinson, and drummer Cozy Powell respectively. Micky Moody had actually also left the band and rejoined. Whitesnake released the album “Saints & Sinners” which was another Top 10 UK album and contained the hit single “Here I Go Again”.
Micky Moody explained the changes thus: “By ’81 people were becoming tired. We had too many late nights, too much partying. We weren’t making nowhere near the kind of money we should have been making. Whitesnake always seemed to be in debt, and I thought ‘what is this?, we’re playing in some of the biggest places and we’re still being told we’re in debt, where is all the money going?’. 
We hadn’t got much money out of it and to be told you’re £200,000 in debt, when you just had six golden albums. It wasn’t just me, cause everybody was getting tired, p***ed off and losing their sense of identity. It was over by then, we couldn’t get any further. It’s difficult for a band to go more than three or four years without getting tired of each other and losing ideas. Nothing lasts forever. Everybody wanted to do something different after a few years, a solo album or write with someone else.” The changing line-up didn’t seem to impact upon the band’s popularity. They toured the UK in late 1982, playing to packed out halls everywhere. The tour called at Newcastle City Hall for 3 nights, and the concert was as explosive as ever.
Support for the tour came from Samson featuring new vocalist Nicky Moore, who had replaced Bruce Dickinson, who’d left to join Iron Maiden.
Setlist: Walking in the Shadow of the Blues; Rough an’ Ready; Ready an’ Willing; Here I Go Again; Don’t Break My Heart Again; Lovehunter / Steal Away; Crying in the Rain; Soldier of Fortune; Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City; Fool for Your Loving; Wine, Women an’ Song
Posts Tagged ‘classic rock’
13 Feb
Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 24th May 1981
Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 24th May 1981
Support from Billy Squier
In 1981 Whitesnake recorded “Come an’ Get It” which made No. 2 in the UK lp chart. It was kept off the No. 1 slot by Adam and the Ants’ Kings of the Wild Frontier. Two singles were released from the album: the Top 20 hit “Don’t Break My Heart Again” and the Top 40 hit “Would I Lie to You”. The band toured the UK in Spring, and this time their popularity had grown to the extent that they could sell out multiple nights at the top concert venues, including two nights at Newcastle City Hall. I went to the first night, and it was another great gig. Whitesnake were now one of the top heavy rock acts in the UK. A Whitesnake gig was heavy rock with a soul, featuring extended yet measured guitar and organ solos which came from the heart, rather than for flashiness or effect. And Coverdale was nothing short of amazing, his passion for the blues ripping and screaming its way through his performance, and his vocal ability simply outstanding.
I saw the band a few months later when they appeared second on the bill to headliners AC/DC at the Monsters of Rock festival at Donington.
After the 1981 tour David Coverdale took time out from music, as his daughter was not well, which put Whitesnake on hold for a short while. Coverdale also felt that some of the members of the band were becoming a little complacent. There were also rows over money, and Coverdale felt that the rest of the band lacked his ambition to push Whitesnake onwards and upwards, so he ultimately came to the decision in early 1982 to disband the line-up entirely. There were shortly to re-emerge with a new line-up, but more of that tomorrow.
Setlist from City Hall 1981: Walking in the Shadow of the Blues; Sweet Talker; Ready an’ Willing; Don’t Break My Heart Again; Till the Day I Die; Lovehunter; Mistreated; Soldier of Fortune; Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick; Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City; Fool for Your Loving; Take Me with You; Come On; Wine, Women an’ Song
12 Feb
Night of the Guitars Newcastle City Hall 22nd November 1988
Night of the Guitars Newcastle City Hall 22nd November 1988
No Speak was an instrumental-only record label, founded by Miles Copeland in 1988. To complement the release of the label’s Guitar Speak album, Copeland organized a week-long “Night Of The Guitars” British tour with many of its featured artists. The line-up was truly stellar, and featured Copeland as Master of Ceremonies and the following guitarists: Randy California (Spirit), Pete Haycock (Climax Blues Band), Steve Howe (Yes), Steve Hunter (ex Lou Reed band), Robby Krieger (Doors), Alvin Lee (Ten Years After), Andy Powell & Ted Turner (Wishbone Ash), and Leslie West (Mountain). Each guitarist played a few songs of their own, backed by a “house band”. Highlights were Randy California playing “Hey Joe”, Powell & Turner with “The King Will Come”, Steve Howe performing “The Clap” and Leslie West with “Theme from an Imaginary Western”. But best of all was Robby Krieger who was introduced as the star of the show and played an impeccable version of the Doors “Love me Two Times”.
The London gig was recorded and the album contains the songs below. The show I attended featured a similar set.
Pete Haycock & Steve Hunter – Dr Brown I presume, The Idler, Lucienne
Randy California – Groove Thing, Hey Joe
Robby Krieger – Love me Two Times
Ted Turner & Andy Powell – The King will Come
Leslie West – Theme from an Imaginary Western, Never in my Life
Steve Howe – Clap Medley, Wurm
Alvin Lee – No Limit, Ain’t Nothin’ Shakin’
Everyone on stage for – All Along the Watchtower and a rock’n’roll medley including Whole Lotta Shakin’ , Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Johnny B. Goode, Rock and Roll Music & Bye Bye Johnny
11 Feb
Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall Newcastle City Hall 18th June 1980
Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall Newcastle City Hall 18th June 1980
Support from Gary Moore’s G Force
The 1980 tour programme gave a great build-up for a great concert: “To categorise Whitesnake as a heavy metal band is something like passing off Bob Dylan as a folk singer. Certainly there are those root elements, but anyone with the ability to peer over the obvious can see that Whitesnake are far more than a headbanging storm machine. One of the strongest influences in creating the thunderous hard rock they belt out is the blues and not just a token wail and groan here and there, but a sincere realisation of what the blues is all about. Good times, no nonsense progressive rhythm and blues, that’s what Whitesnake is all about and they’re ready an’ willing to prove it.
With Whitesnake onstage we get David Coverdale throwing back his head in a halo of curling hair, exploding in vocal dynamic, teasing and pleading for us to join in singing and share the whole experience together as one….Two of the best blues-rock guitarists in the business: Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden firing on all six and generating truly awesome electric guitar virtuosity tempered with raunch and taste….Jon Lord, the Maestro, with his battery of keyboards providing a sweeping sound of colours, fusing rock and classical roots to paint the backdrop of Whitesnake….Neil Murray’s strong, me.odic bass-playing which rises above and expands on normal bass riffing to give a definite extra edge and subtlety to the rhythm lines created by…..Ian Paice, considered by many to be the Guv’nor drummer. As any of you who saw Ian’s welcome return to the rock and roll stage on Whitesnake’s ’79 UK tour can testify, he is the consummate drummer. 
This is what we get….from a whisper to a scream……Whitesnake!”
Bernie Marsden was recently given a video featuring unseen live footage of this gig. Taking about the video Bernie says: “This video is very special. A few months ago I was given a reel of film by a fan of a Whitesnake gig at Newcastle City Hall on the “Ready an’ Willing” tour in 1980. It is unique and unseen footage of the classic early Whitesnake line up…. It’s a little grainy, but it is the real deal, watch Jon Lord in classic style on the Hammond organ. Many thanks to the people of the North East in the film, and of course the whole of the Whitesnake army out there. Special thanks to Mark Smith for his camera work and great editing. Hope you enjoy it, those on-tour Snake memories flood back!” You can see the video here: http://classicrock.teamrock.com/news/2014-10-21/premiere-bernie-mardsen-s-trouble-feat-coverdale
Setlist: Come On; Sweet Talker; Walking in the Shadow of the Blues; Ain’t Gonna Cry No More; Lovehunter; Mistreated; Soldier of Fortune; Nighthawk; Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick; Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City; Fool for Your Loving; Take Me with You; Ready an’ Willing; Lie Down (A Modern Love Song)
10 Feb
Reading Festival 22nd – 24th August 1980
Reading Festival 22nd – 24th August 1980
DJs: John Peel, Bob Harris & Jerry Floyd
By 1980, the Reading Festival had become a heavy metal extravaganza. Headliners were Whitesnake, UFO and Rory Gallagher, with a full supporting heavy rock cast including new up-and-coming NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) bands Def Leppard and Iron Maiden. It was the 10th anniversary of the festival being at Reading, and the 20th anniversary of the national jazz and blues festival.
Friday line-up: Red Alert (a heavy rock band, I think and not the North East punk band of the same name); O1 Band; Hellions; Praying Mantis; Fischer Z; 9 Below Zero (a great R&B set); Krokus; Gillan (always a good solid set); Rory Gallagher.
The highlight of Friday was, without a doubt, the reappearance of Rory Gallagher. Rory was a hero of mine, a class act, an amazing guitarist, and always came over as a regular down-to-earth guy. 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 or Messin’ with the Kid, as part of the main set, although he would sometimes play one or two of them during the encore. Instead his set was focussing on tracks from his most recent albums; Top Priority, Calling Card and Photo-Finish. But these are minor quibbles; Rory’s performance at Reading in 1980 was, as always, outstanding.
Rory setlist: I Wonder Who; Follow Me; Wayward Child; Tattoo’d Lady; Bought And Sold; Country Mill; Hellcat; Out On The Western Plain; Too Much Alcohol; Going To My Hometown; Moonchild; Shadow Play
Saturday line-up: Trimmer and Jenkins, Quartz; Writz; Broken Home (featuring Dicken from Mr Big); White Spirit (North East NWOBHM heroes featuring Janik Gers); Grand Prix; Samson (the drummer played from inside a cage!); Pat Travers Band; Iron Maiden; UFO
Highlights were Pat Travers who played an intense set, Iron Maiden with original singer Paul Di’Anno at the time of the anthemic “Running Free” and headliners UFO. UFO had released their eighth album “No Place to Run” and the line-up was Phil Mogg (vocals), Paul Chapman (guitar), Paul Raymond (keyboards), Pete Way (bass) and Andy Parker (drums). I was a fan at the time and it was good to see them headlining, and hear heavy rock classics like “Doctor Doctor” and “Lights Out” and more gentle tracks like “Love to Love”.
UFO setlist: Lettin’ Go; Young Blood; No Place to Run; Cherry; Only You Can Rock Me; Love to Love; Electric Phase; Hot ‘n’ Ready; Mystery Train; Doctor Doctor; Too Hot to Handle; Lights Out; Rock Bottom; Shoot Shoot
Sunday line-up: Sledgehammer; Praying Mantis; Angelwitch; Tygers Of Pantang; Girl; Magnum; Budgie; Slade; Def Leppard; Whitesnake
Sunday belonged to two bands: Slade and Whitesnake. Slade first. Metal legend Ozzy Osbourne was billed to play on the Sunday with his new band Blizzard of Oz, but he pulled out at the last minute and was replaced by Slade. I have already written about Slade’s amazing performance, and have reproduced some of my previous post here. Slade appeared after glam heavy metal band Girl, and just before NWOBHM heroes Def Leppard. The field wasn’t that full as Bob Harris announced that Slade were taking the stage. Their entrance was greeted with a hail of cans. Noddy wasn’t phased at all by that, and asked everyone if they were “ready to rock”. And then they launched straight into “Dizzy Mama”. And then it started to happen. Slowly at first, the crowd began to cheer. People wandering around the outskirts of the site started to run towards the stage. Slade knew they had to win the crowd over and were working so hard, rocking so hard, and playing the hits. The area around the stage was soon completely rammed and the whole field was going crazy. Amazing. Slade nailed it, and in the space of one hour made sure that they were well and truly back. Dave Hill: “One heck of an experience, ‘cos I wasn’t going to do that gig. Slade manager Chas Chandler talked me into it…the confidence came when there was a reaction, as it built and built, sort of got bigger and bigger. I mean getting that lot to sing “Merry Xmas Everybody” was amazing.” The event was recorded and a few tracks were released as an EP.
Def Leppard appeared after Slade and didn’t go down too well with the crowd. Joe Elliott: “The legend about us getting bottled off at Reading 1980 is a myth really – we got an encore at Reading. We probably had six or seven bottles of piss thrown up – and maybe a tomato – but it didn’t put us off. That ‘backlash’ was all blown out of proportion. We’re living proof that bad reviews make no difference.” Actually they were pretty good.
Whitesnake consolidated their position as worthy festival headliners. They’d closed the festival the previous year, despite not receiving top billing in the pre-festival publicity. This year, however, their headline status was clear, and they deserved it. They had just released Ready an’ Willing their third studio album, which reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, and featured the hit single: “Fool for Your Loving”. This was a great Whitesnake performance; their set now included classic Purple tracks “Soldier or Fortune” and “Mistreated” and new favourites the aforementioned “Fool for Your Loving”, along with “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” and “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City.”
Whitesnake setlist included: Sweet Talker; Walking in the Shadow of the Blues; Ain’t Gonna Cry No More; Love hunter; Mistreated; Soldier of Fortune; Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City; Fool for Your Loving
I got back to the camp site after Whitesnake and discovered that someone had nicked my tent 😦 Oh well, you can’t win them all. It was a cheap crappy tent anyway. This my last visit to Reading. The following year my mates and I decided to stay up North and attend the Rock on the Tyne festival, and once the annual cycle of attending Reading was broken, we never returned. For me, family and the pressures of parenthood kicked in, and the heavy metal dominance within the line-up made the Reading festival seem a little less attractive. I’d been 9 years in a row, seen the emergence of Quo, Genesis and Thin Lizzy, the re-emergence of Slade, great sets by the Faces, Rory and Yes, festival favourites like Edgar Broughton and Hawkwind, my personal favorites like Stray, the introduction of punk and new wave to the bill, and the recent growth in popularity of (new) heavy metal. Over the years I have toyed with the idea of returning to the Reading festival, or going to the more local Leeds festival, but have never got round to doing so. I suppose I fear that if I do, I will feel too old, and too out of place 🙂 I had some great, crazy times at Reading; maybe it’s best to leave the memories as they are. If I did go along, it could never be the same as when I was young.
9 Feb
Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 18th October 1979
Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 18th October 1979
Support from Marseille
Former Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice joined Whitesnake in 1979. The band now included three former Purple members in Coverdale, Lord and Paice, and the new line-up recorded “Love Hunter”. This was the album that defined the early band, consolidated their position as heavy rock champions and started a journey to stardom which would continue on an upward trajectory for the next decade. The album features the excellent blues-rock anthem “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” and the title track is a fine slab of rock which showcases Moody’s slide guitar. The unforgettable and controversial cover art, which was also on the tour programme, features a naked woman riding a great big snake. The woman is clearly mesmerised by the evil looking snake (which surprisingly isn’t all white).
Whitesnake toured in October 1979 to promote “Love Hunter”, still on a high from the success of closing the Reading festival. Support for the tour came from Liverpool rockers Marseille, who had been the first band to win “UK Battle of the Bands” in 1977. I saw Whitesnake when they returned to Newcastle City Hall on 18th October for a triumphant performance.
In 1979 Whitesnake had everything going for them; a rock god vocalist with the most powerful and soulful voice you could find on any stage, a pair of excellent blues guitarists, the best Hammond organ player in rock, and now a legendary rock drummer.
Add to that a growing collection of blues rock classics and you had the recipe for a great rock performance. And that is exactly what Whitesnake delivered. But there was much more to Whitesnake than heavy rock; this band had a soul, a passion and a feel for the blues unlike any other band.
When Coverdale sang “I love the blues, They tell my story, If you don’t feel it you can never understand” in “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” you felt that he meant it.
Setlist: Come On; You ‘n’ Me; Walking in the Shadow of the Blues; Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City; Steal Away; Mistreated; Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick; Lovehunter; Lie Down (A Modern Love Song); Take Me with You
Encores: Breakdown; Statesboro Blues/Rock Me Baby.
Thanks to Mitch for his photo, taken at this gig.
8 Feb
Reading Festival 24th – 26th August 1979
Reading Festival 24th – 26th August 1979
This was my 8th visit to Reading. The line-up was a predictable mix of new wave and heavy rock. It was also a year of line-up changes. Two of the main bands who were billed to play: Thin Lizzy and The Ramones did not appear. Thin Lizzy pulled out at a few days notice due to Gary Moore’s departure from the band. Lizzy were replaced by Scorpions and The Ramones by Nils Lofgren. Both of these changes were major disappointments. The weather wasn’t bad and the event was well-attended, but didn’t sell out. My recollections of the weekend are below:
Friday line-up: Bite the Pillow, The Jags, Punishment of Luxury, Doll by Doll, The Cure, Wilko Johnson, Motorhead, The Tourists, The Police.
Friday was the “new wave” day. I watched all of the bands from Punilux onwards. Highlights were The Cure who impressed me even though the only song I had heard before was “Killing an Arab”, and Wilko and Motorhead, both acts going down a storm with the crowd, who preferred their rock heavier and more traditional. The Police were riding on the crest of a wave of success, and were amazing, Sting had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and the entire field sang along to the hits. It was great to witness a band at their peak.
The Police setlist: Deathwish; Next To You; So Lonely; Truth Hits Everybody; Walking On The Moon; Hole In My Life; Fall Out; Message In A Bottle; The Bed’s Too Big Without You; Peanuts; Roxanne; Can’t Stand Losing You; Landlord; Born In The 60s
Saturday line-up: Root Boy Slim; Fame; The Yachts; Little Bo Bitch (not sure that they played?); The Movies; Bram Tchaikovsky; Gillan; Steve Hackett; Cheap Trick; Inner Circle; Scorpions
We spent much of Saturday enjoying the delights of local hostelries and didn’t venture into the arena until later in the day. To be honest, looking at the line-up now, it was pretty uninspiring. We made it into the festival for Gillan onwards. Gillan seemed to play everywhere at the time, and were always good fun. I’d seen them so many times that I was getting to know the new songs, but I also always looked forward to hearing Purple classics, which they did including ‘Smoke on the Water”. Steve Hackett played “I Know What I Like” which prompted a mass crowd singalong. The highlight was Cheap Trick with crazy antics from Rick Nielson and an exquisite performance by Robin Zander. A video of their performance that night is on YouTube. You can find “I Want You To Want Me” here, a bit rough, but still amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTLEYcO2VnE
For the encore Cheap Trick were joined onstage by Dave Edmunds and Bad Company guitarist Mick Ralphs for a rendition of The Beatles’ “Day Tripper”. Classic 😄
Inner Circle’s reggae rhythms went down well. Scorpions were great (I really liked “Loving You Sunday Morning” at the time), but we were disappointed that we weren’t seeing Lizzy who had become a Reading favourite and were massive at the time.
Sunday line-up: The Cobbers; Terra Nova; Speedometers; Zaine Griff; Wild Horses; The Members; Molly Hatchett; Climax Blues Band; Nils Lofgren; Peter Gabriel; Whitesnake.
Sunday highlights for me were The Members who were in the charts with “Sounds of the Suburbs” and got a mixed reaction from the crowds with some people liking them, and others lobbing cans, and Peter Gabriel who started with “Biko” and played classic solo tracks like “Moribund The Burgermeister”, “Solsbury Hill” and “Here Comes The Flood”. Phil Collins joined Gabriel for the end of his set for “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway”. Whitesnake closed the evening and were worthy headliners (although they weren’t billed as so, with Peter Gabriel and non-showers The Ramones having shared top billing in the pre-festival publicity). They started with an amazing new song “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” which set the tone for the evening. Ian Paice had just joined on drums and Whitesnake now had three former Purple members (Coverdale, Lord and Paice).
Whitesnake setlist: Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues; Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City; Steal Away; Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick; Mistreated; Soldier Of Fortune; Love Hunter; Breakdown; Whitesnake Boogie.
An enjoyable Reading weekend, if not one of the strongest line-ups.
7 Feb
Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 26th October 1978
Whitesnake Newcastle City Hall 26th October 1978
Support from Magnum
David Coverdale embarked on a solo career in 1977 after the split of Deep Purple. His first solo album “White Snake” was released in February 1977. All the songs were written by David Coverdale and Micky Moody, who was also guitarist in David’s band. The album wasn’t particularly successful, but its title inspired the name of Coverdale’s future band, which was to come together one year later. In early 1978 Coverdale released his second solo album “Northwinds”. The band which was to be Whitesnake was already coming together. In June 1978 the “Snakebite” EP was released, which contained the Whitesnake favourite, their cover of Bobby Bland’s “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. Coverdale: “Originally I had no plans to actually record ‘Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City’…if you can believe it…a song that connects so deeply with so many that I still play it today, 25 years later.”
I first saw Whitesnake at Newcastle City Hall in October 1978. They had just released the “Trouble” album, and this was the first night of their first major tour of UK concert halls. The line-up was David Coverdale (vocals), Micky Moody (guitar), Bernie Marsden (guitar), Neil Murray (bass), Jon Lord (keyboards) and Dave Dowle (drums). Jon Lord had just joined. From the programme: “David Coverdale and Whitesnake – two names that have imprinted themselves on the British Rock media and the public in the last nine months….David Coverdale and Whitesnake left audiences and industry aware that a brilliant, yet deeply experienced new force had arrived on the rock scene.”
Whitesnake were heavy but soulful. Much more bluesy than Purple, but also heavier. Coverdale had an incredible voice; one minute he could be singing the most soulful gentle blues, and then he would thrust his head back, that mane of hair would sway behind him, and he would bellow and scream some of the rockiest songs to be heard on a concert stage anywhere. And with Jon Lord in the band, you knew that they had to play some Purple songs. Their versions of “Might Just Take Your Life” and “Mistreated” were pure class. “Mistreated” in particular was a tour de force for Whitesnake; particularly because of Coverdale’s amazing vocal performances of the song. But Whitesnake wasn’t just the David Coverdale show; this was a strong rock band with two excellent guitarists who both understood, and could play, the blues, and in Jon Lord the greatest exponent of the Hammond organ.
Phil Sutcliffe, reveiwing the concert is Sounds (11 November 1978): ‘Mistreated’: the most astonishing first line I’ve ever heard is Coverdale gathering into that bellow of “I’ve been Mistreated”: the sort of passion that 
enabled Samson to pull down the Philistine temple; the song is magnificent and raw, an insight like an old roaster’s painting of a butcher’s shop, life as red meat; at the end Coverdale throws his head back and howls like a wolf and we roar at him; “You like the blues? Of course you f***ing do – all northerners like the blues and don’t we know it”. Whitesnake were incredible that night, and the Newcastle heavy rock brigade now had a new band to worship alongside Rainbow and Gillan.
I saw Whitesnake 10 or so times over the next 5 or 6 years and will write about those gigs over the next week.
Setlist: Come On; Might Just Take Your Life (Deep Purple cover); Lie Down (A Modern Love Song); Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City; Trouble; Steal Away; Mistreated; Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick; Take Me with You; Rock Me Baby; Breakdown.
Thanks to Mitch for his photo of David Coverdale and Whitesnake, which he took at an earlier concert at Redcar Coatham Bowl on 24th March 1978.
6 Feb
Leslie West and Del Bromham Newcastle Opera House 21st April 2004
Leslie West and Del Bromham Newcastle Opera House 21st April 2004
An evening with two great guitarists and two heroes of mine. The ticket lists the support act as Stray, but it was actually their frontman Del Bromham on a solo outing, as was Leslie West. The concert was in the bistro bar (again, the ticket doesn’t quite match this as it lists a seat number, which suggests that the concert was originally intended for the main hall, and moved into the more intimate setting of the bistro, perhaps to reflect ticket sales).
Leslie West was quite a regular visitor to the North East at the time, with his band Mountain, who often played the Opera House. This particular event featured West alongside the guitarist from Sheryl Crow’s band, Todd Wolfe. Leslie had just released his “Blues To Die For” solo album and likewise, Del had recorded his first solo album, “The Devil’s Highway”.
Del opened the show with a set of songs from “Devil’s Highway” which is a blues-based album with a combination of old songs which Del remembered from his childhood and some self-penned songs in the style of the old blues masters. He also threw in song Stray favourites. A great opportunity to see a legend close up and an excellent start to the evening. “In the late 60s the first wave of heavy guitar idols were usually Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Bromham’s past work should be reappraised as he clearly slipped through the net.” (Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 2002)
Leslie West has a unique guitar style, which can effortlessly move from the sweetest, gentlest tone to the deepest heaviest rock. His advice to Joe Bosso on MusicRadar (2011): “Tune your guitar. So many people who don’t like their sound aren’t in tune. So tune your damn guitar already, that’s the first thing. After that, take off any effects you have going on. 
Play straight into the amp. That’s the only way to do it. Work with your hands. Play right into that amp. You’ll find a sound. It might take time – a couple of years or whatever – but that’s all right. The important thing is to get there.” “West was affectionately nicknamed “The King of Tone” by his legions of fans, referring to his influential and world-renowned guitar tone” (WikiPedia). Leslie’s set was a mix of blues from his current album and a few Mountain classics. In 2011 Leslie West had his lower right leg amputated as a result of complications from diabetes. He continues to play and tour, although he hasn’t visited the UK in recent years.
This was a great opportunity to see two legends close up. The following night I was back in the Opera House with a group of mates to see the late great Alvin Lee, with Edgar Winter and Tony McPhee. Happy days 🙂
5 Feb
Jefferson Starship Sage Gateshead 4th February 2015
Jefferson Starship Sage Gateshead 4th February 2015
Support from Auburn (Lesley Roley, as listed on the ticket, was not well and di not play)
So Captain Kantner steered the Starship to the cold wilds of the North of England, where it landed in Hall 2 of the beautiful peanut known as the Sage (at least Patti Smith said it looked like a peanut when she visited). A small, but enthusiastic crowd watched in awe as the Starship rolled back the years, became the Airplane and treated to an evening of psychedelia, nostalgia and good ole west coast rock. For two hours we transported back to the ’60s and the ’70s, and classic songs like “White Rabbit”, “Miracles” and “Jane”. Kanter spends much of the night seated on an amp, still managing to squeeze those broody, meandering rhythms from his Rickenbacker. Cathy Richardson has been in the band for 7 years now, and is clearly still relishing the opportunity to sing with her heroes, and recreate the sound of Grace Slick, which she does perfectly. Cathy told us how she was a big fan of the Airplane and Starship before she joined the band, and that when Paul Kantner approached her to become singer, she showed him her stack of old vinyl Airplane albums, asking him to sign “Blows to the Empire”. For me the star of the evening was David Freiberg who still has the voice of a rock’n’roll angel. Freiberg was “once described as “the nicest guy in the San Francisco music scene,” and holds the singular distinction of having been associated with more of the original San Francisco bands than any individual, boasting membership in Quicksilver Messenger Service (1966-1970), Jefferson Airplane (albeit only for a few months in 1972), and Jefferson Starship (1974-1984), and having equally strong connections to the Grateful Dead” (Wikipedia). 
Frieberg performed one song solo, which I didn’t recognise but I guess must be from the first Quicksilver album (he said it was the first song he wrote) and it was incredible. He also led the band in the ’60s classic “Get Together” which was first a hit for the Kingston Trio and was written by his Quicksilver Buddy Chet Powers (aka Dino Valenti). They finished with a storming “Somebody to Love” and returned for an encore of “Volunteers”. The revolution starts here. Laura came with me and also enjoyed it. A privilege to be able to see legends up and close and hear the classics which helped shape American rock.
The current line-up of Jefferson Starship is founder and leader Paul Kantner on guitar, vocals, long time member and founded of Quicksilver Messenger Service David Freiberg on vocals and (sometimes) guitar, Donny Baldwin on drums who first joined in 1982, Chris Smith on keyboards, synthesizers, Cathy Richardson on vocals (and sometimes guitar) and Jude Gold on lead guitar.
“Look what’s happening out in the streets
Got a revolution
Got to revolution
Hey I’m dancing down the streets
Got a revolution
Got to revolution
Ain’t it amazing all the people I meet
Got a revolution
Got to revolution” (Volunteers, Jefferson Airplane, 1969)
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