Mari Wilson & The Wilsations! live 1982 and 1983
13th May 1982 and my mate Dave and I are a student dance at New College Durham, in the old buildings up at Nevilles Cross. The headliner was none other than Mari Wilson (aka The Neasden Queen of Soul) and her group the sensational Wilsations!. We’d read a little about this lady and her band in the music press, but didn’t really know what to expect. There was a fun-packed programme for the evening which started with a screening of the movie “Animal House”, followed by a disco (of course) and support band the Sinatras. So by the time Mari took to the stage it was late and the young student crowd had partaken in more than a few drinks and were ready to dance, generally go crazy and be entertained. Nothing could have prepared us for the spectacular that we were about to witness. This was one of those gigs that I try to relive in my mind; to say Mari and the Wilsations! were sensational is an understatement. This was a totally full-on, expertly choreographed and colour co-ordinated rock’n’roll cum doo-wop 1950s review.
Imagine seeing a combination of Darts, The Ronettes, and ShaNaNa, fronted by Julie London. And imagine you are at the local hop in an episode of “Happy Days”, or you are a cast member of “Dreamboats and Petticoats”. Got it? Now make it even more colourful, funny, fast, and crazy than you imagined.
From the moment she stepped out on that school-hall style stage (it even “felt” like we were at the hop) we all knew that we were in the presence of a true “star”; 110%. Yes; Mari was centre-stage, wearing a Taffeta dress, and sporting her famous skyscraper beehive hairdo, but the show wasn’t just about her. The fully choreographed 12 piece band (or it may have been 18 piece, there were certainly lots and lots of them) The Wilsations! were a crucial part of the experience. 
This was an event – pure entertainment. Our compere for the evening was none other than Hank, a larger than life character straight from the high school hop: “Hi I’m Hank and this is the Hank Beehive show. Say “Hi Hank” [we all said “Hi Hank”] and say “Hi” to the band. Tonight we have the two Marines on backing vocals: Kurt L’Amour and Wilbur G Force [Kurt has a penchant for choc dips; throw those dips girls; if you want to win his heart, and Wilbur is a jujitsu expert of some renown and has just completed a karate ballet, drives a Marina and has mated his dogs with the Queen’s corgis]. And providing tonight’s musical accompaniment we have the Wilsations!; all handpicked because their names rhymed with Mari: Harry and Barry (sax and trumpet) [known as the brass monkeys; Harry drives a bottle-green Morris van and Barry has a reputation for anti-rust work on it, and on his trumpet], Larry (pianoforte) [Larry has a tough greaser look], Gary (big drums) [“I got where I am today because my name’s Gary and I know it”], Cary (guitar) [Cary is the resident health freak and has escorted a former Miss World], and Jim (big bass) [Jim always wanted to be in a band but nearly didn’t make it as his name didn’t rhyme with Mari]. And on backing vocals we have the two beautiful Marionettes: Barbarella and Candide [Barbie describes herself as a “professional debutante” and Candide was actually aka Michelle Collins aka Cindy Beale].” [Note: most of the elements in square brackets come from a later programme, by which the names of some of band members may have changed].
The interplay between Hank, the rest of the band, and Mari was hilarious, the dancing was sensational and the costumes perfectly co-ordinated. Mari was simple perfection. The set was a mix of 50s classics, and songs which would soon feature on Mari’s debut album “Showpeople”. This was before she hit the charts with ‘Just What I’ve Always Wanted’. I remember being totally captivated by her performance of ‘Cry Me A River’, the Julie London song which has been a big favourite of mine since I first saw Julie perform it in the film “The Girl Can’t Help It”. A crazy night, where it really felt like we were back in the 50s at the high school hop. I expected to turn around and see the Fonz and Potsie Weber standing next to me 🙂
A few months later and our hero appeared in our own front room, on TV, singing “Just What I’ve Always Wanted” on Top of the Pops. The girl with the big hairdo had done good and had “made it”, just like she always wanted, just like Hank told us she would, and just like we knew show would.
We saw Mari and her Wilsations! a couple of more times, once at Redcar Coatham Bowl on 10th October 1982, and then at Newcastle City Hall on 18th March 1983. The Redcar gig was an equally crazy, fun night. But things changed, somewhere along the way our hero Hank left the band and the membership of the Wilsations! changed (although some of the band members had the same names as their predecessors; isn’t that strange and rather convenient ? 🙂 ). Local north east guitarist, and old mate, Keith Airey joined as guitarist and Julia Fordham joined as one of the two girl vocalists. The City Hall show was good, but the authenticity of “the high school hop” was lost in a larger hall, and things were never the same without Hank. And soon it came to an end and Mari returned to Neasden to knit cardigans or raise a family (actually that’s not true, she continued to sing and does so to this day, moving towards a soul and jazz direction).
For me Mari Wilson and the Wilsations! were at their best that night in 1982 when, at a dance in the old New College hall, we were transported back to the 50s high school hop and Mari simply sang her heart out for us.
Posts Tagged ‘classic rock’
10 Jan
Mari Wilson & The Wilsations! live 1982 and 1983
9 Jan
The Waterboys Newcastle Tiffany’s 30th April 1986
The Waterboys Newcastle Tiffany’s 30th April 1986
Mike Scott and his Waterboys were on a rock’n’roll journey from “The Big Music” to the raggle taggle gypsy Celtic folk band that they became in the late 80s. This was Mike and the band at the top of their game, not long after the success of “Whole of the Moon”, yet choosing not to play that song and instead sweeping a ram-packed Tiffany’s along with joyous big swirling sounds, and a few carefully chosen covers. “The Big Music” filled the ballroom; I was standing on the balcony looking down onto the stage and the packed sweaty dance floor below, and it felt like any minute the roof would come off. Mike was one minute the rock star, the next a folk troubadour, and then he became a seer taking us all on a spiritual journey through the kaleidoscope of his music. He was Dylan when he sang “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” for us, and then Tex Ritter leading a country band into “The Wayward Wind”. And then we were transported to the Streets of Dublin, dancing to a Celtic fiddle band. This was one of those gigs where we all walked out into the cold night knowing we had experienced something pretty special.
Setlist: Medicine Bow; Be My Enemy; Medicine Jack; Fisherman’s Blues; The Thrill Is Gone / And The Healing Has Begun; Meet Me At The Station; A Girl Called Johnny; The Pan Within; I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight; We Will Not Be Lovers; Spirit / The 4 Ages Of Man; Savage Earth Heart; This Is The Sea
Encore: The Wayward Wind; A Pagan Place; Can’t Help Falling In Love; Red Army Blues
Encore 2: Death Is Not the End
8 Jan
War Newcastle City Hall 14th June 1976
War Newcastle City Hall 14th June 1976
Support from Moon
I was aware of War through their association with the great Eric Burdon. They are an American funk rock band from California, known for their hit songs “Low Rider” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”. War’s music fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae. The band are also known for breaking down racial and cultural barriers with their multi-ethnic line-up. As their name suggests, there was a serious political and cultural context to the band concept and War’s lyrics were often socio-political in nature.
“The year was 1969, and these ‘kids’ had the nerve to carry the name WAR at a time when peace was the slogan in an anti-Vietnam America. “Our mission was to spread a message of brotherhood and harmony”.
“Our instruments and voices became our weapons of choice and the songs our ammunition. We spoke out against racism, hunger, gangs, crimes, and turf wars, as we embraced all people with hope and the spirit of brotherhood. It’s just as apropos today” “Eric was ready to throw in the towel on the music scene and return to Newcastle. He was tired of the ‘rock’ thing and desperate for a fresh authentic sound….Eric was so blown away by what he had heard that he jumped on stage to jam with them.” WAR from the beginning was a concept & musical laboratory.” (from the official War site).
The City Hall was far from full for this concert, which was a shame because it was a great performance from a band who are now legends. I don’t pretend to be a massive fan of jazz funk, but I really enjoyed the concert. I remember them playing ‘Lone Rider’, ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ and ‘Me And Baby Brother’, which was a single at the time.
The line up of War at the time was Howard E. Scott (guitar and vocals); Lee Oskar (harmonica and vocals); Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen (percussion and vocals; Charles Miller (saxophone and vocals); B.B. Dickerson (bass and vocals); Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan (keyboards, vocals); Harold Ray Brown (drums and vocals).
Lennie Jordan continues to front War and a few years ago he reunited with Eric Burdon for a concert at the Albert Hall.
7 Jan
Rick Wakeman Newcastle City Hall 18th Sep 1980
Rick Wakeman Newcastle City Hall 18th Sep 1980
Rick Wakeman rejoined Yes in 1977, but left a few years later and in 1980 he was again on tour as a solo act, accompanied by his band.
I recall going to see the film “White Rock” in 1977. It was a documentary film about the 1976 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria, and the soundtrack was by Rick Wakeman. It wasn’t the most enjoyable film…all I can remember is lots of footage of bobsleds speeding through ice and snow…..
Rick was back at the City Hall again in 1980. This time the tour programme featured a spoof newspaper which proclaims: “Yes The Rick Wakeman Show is on the road. Months of government pressure both in England and abroad, high level summit meetings with the President in the White House and even a telephone call from Her Majesty the Queen, failed to stop Rick Wakeman taking his bunch of suicidal perverts around the world to seriously upset music lovers”. 🙂
Headlines in the programme included “Police Called to riot in Rick Wakeman show” and “Road Manager in Sex Scandal”. The band was Tony Fernanez (previous job ice cream salesman, drums), Ashley Holt (nickname Fatty, vocals), Tim Stone (previous job tester in a nose stretching factory, guitar) and Steve Barnacle (nickname Bog head, bass). As you might have gathered, as well as being a progrock giant, Rick also had a sense of humour and his concerts reflected this being celebrations of prog pomposity alongside some very silly stories and jokes from the band leader himself. A Rick Wakeman concert was thus a mix of fun and great music, which was also sometimes just a little too long and thus often frustrating.
Setlist (something like): Arthur; Katherine Howard; No Earthly Connection; Anne Boleyn; Sea Horses; Geraldine O’Brien; Catherine Parr; The Spider; Merlin the Magician; Journey to the Centre of the Earth; Swan Lager
Encore: White Rock
6 Jan
Rick Wakeman Newcastle City Hall 4th May 1976
Rick Wakeman Newcastle City Hall 4th May 1976
Rick Wakeman left Yes in 1974 to follow a solo career. He had already produced his first three solo albums “Piano Vibrations” (1971), “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” (1973) and “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” (1974) while he was still a member of Yes. On leaving Yes he continued to record epic prog / orchestral pieces, releasing “The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table” in 1975. Rick was also building a reputation for spectacular concerts. In fact “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” was recorded at the Royal Festival Hall, London with full orchestra and choir and topped the UK album charts, becoming a multi-million dollar seller within weeks. In 1975 Wakeman then went on to perform “The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table” on ice at Wembley Empire Pool. He the recorded the soundtrack for the Ken Russell film “Lisztomania” which starred Roger Daltrey as Franz Liszt, and also featured Paul Nicholas, Ringo Starr and, briefly, Wakeman himself as the god Thor. 
I remember going to see the movie at my local cinema at the time. It was crazy, mad piece telling the story of Liszt as the first, flamboyant, pop star, and was very much of its time.
In 1976 Rick Wakeman released the album “No Earthly Connection” and went out of a full UK tour to promote it. The album and the tour featured “Rick Wakeman and the English Rock Ensemble”. The album packaging included “a piece of silver foil which you were supposed to roll up and stand over the centre of the front or back cover. If you then looked into it you would see the distorted pictures of Rick brought back into proportion. I think there might have been a tiny graphic indicating this on the corner of the inner sleeve.” (from Recollection site). According to my programme from the concert the English Rock ensemble were vocalist Ashley Holt (aka Poldo), Roger Newell (bass and vocals; aka Budgie), John Dunsterville (guitars and vocals; aka Dusty), Tony Fernandez (drums and percussion; aka Woppo), Martin Shields (brass and vocals; aka Fartin’ Martin 🙂 ….typical Rick Wakeman humour ), and Reg Brooks (brass and vocals; aka Steptoe).
Thanks to Mitch for the photo which he took at this concert, and which shows Rick Wakeman resplendent in his cape (this was the ’70s). The tour programme was a spoof football programme, with a tankard on the cover, illustrating Wakeman’s extra-mural interests of the time. It tells me that “tonight’s programme will be taken form some of the following pieces: Catherine Parr, The Spaceman, The Battle, Lancelot & The Black Night, The Journey, The Recollection, Catherine Howard, Arthur, Listz’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13, The Forest, Merlin the Magician, Anne Boleyn, The Warning, The Prisoner, The Realisation. Aaah, the joys of the ’70s, and progrock excess 🙂
4 Jan
The Who Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 25th May 2007
The Who Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena, 25th May 2007
Support: Shack
The Who were on a roll and continued to tour throughout 2007, playing across Europe, the USA and headlining Glastonbury. Their set was similar to that which they had played during 2006, containing classic tracks and much of their, then current, “Endless Wire” album.
Setlist: I Can’t Explain; The Seeker; Relay; Who Are You; Behind Blue Eyes; Fragments; Real Good Looking Boy; Sound Round; Pick Up The Peace; Endless Wire; We Got A Hit; They Made My Dream Come True; Mirror Door; Baba O’Riley; Eminence Front; A Man In A Purple Dress; The Real Me; You Better You Bet; My Generation; Cry If You Want; Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Encore: Pinball Wizard; Amazing Journey; Sparks; See Me Feel Me; Tea And Theatre
That concludes my reminiscences of seeing The Who in concert. I have been to a few more Who gigs since 2007, but I have already blogged about those.
The Who are, without question, one of my favourite bands; alongside the Stones and the Groundhogs. There are few rock bands who can match their breadth and range of classic material, going from the great pop and mod singles of the mid 1960s, through the epic “Tommy” rock opera, the anthemic “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and to “Quadrophenia” (“A Way of Life” 🙂 ). My own particular favourites are “I Can See For Miles”, “The Seeker” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. I am also a big fan of “Tommy” and have grown to love “Quadrophenia” over the years, having now seen The Who perform it on four occasions. On a good night The Who are simply the best rock band in the world, and they have given me some of my best (and loudest 🙂 ) concert memories; including amazing gigs at Newcastle Odeon (1971 & 1973), Charlton (1974 & 1976) and Edinburgh Odeon (1979). And they still continue to deliver; the recent gig I saw at Newcastle Arena, which was part of their 50th anniversary tour, was excellent. I reckon I’ve seen The Who play 19 times to date; hope I get to see them at least once more.
3 Jan
The Who Wireless Festival Harewood House Leeds 25th June 2006
The Who Wireless Festival Harewood House Leeds 25th June 2006
Support from The Flaming Lips; The Zutons; Eels; Super Furry Animals; Robyn Hitchcock; The Answer; Casbah Club
Went with David to see The Who at the O2 Wireless festival at Harewood House, just outside Leeds. The ticket was a barcode on my phone, so no stub to post here 😦 The supporting line-up was strong with great performances from The Answer (an Irish rock’n’blues band in the mould of Free and ’70s rock), Eels, Robyn Hitchcock (retro psych genius) and Casbah Club (super modster band featuring Simon Townshend) performing on the main stage and in a marquee. The best performance, other than the Who, came from The Flaming Lips, with a spectacular theatrical show which featured front man Wayne surfing across the crowd in a giant hamster ball 🙂
The Who’s performance featured several new songs which would appear on their 11th album “Endless Wire”, the usual Tommy segment, old faves and some unexpected classics including “The Seeker” and “Relay”. Great stuff.
Setlist: Who Are You; I Can’t Explain; The Seeker; Anyway Anyhow Anywhere; Sound Round; Pick Up The Peace; Endless Wire; We Got A Hit; They Made My Dream Come True; Mirror Door; Baba O’Riley; Drowned; Relay; The Kids Are Alright; Behind Blue Eyes; Mike Post Theme; Cry If You Want; Pinball Wizard; Amazing Journey; See Me Feel Me
Encore: Substitute; Won’t Get Fooled Again
2 Jan
The Who The Royal Albert Hall London 29th March 2004
The Who The Royal Albert Hall London 29th March 2004
Support from The Coral
This was the first major UK performance buy the “Who 2”. It was preceded by three warm-up gigs at the London Forum. The line-up was Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend accompanied by Rabbit Bundrick on keyboards, Pino Palladino on bass, Zak Starkey (Ringo’s son) on drums and Simon Townshend (Pete’s younger brother) on guitars and backing vocals.
The concert, which was part of a run of shows in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust for which Roger was Chair at the time, was originally announced as a performance of “Tommy”, but for some reason that never came to be, and what was actually performed was a set of Who classics. Support came from Liverpool psych mod band The Coral, who were excellent. I went to the concert with David. This was the first time I’d been to the Albert Hall, and we stayed in a hotel close to the venue. We had quite good seats, close to the stage, on Pete’s (right hand) side. Roger had a terrible cold and as a result he was singing in an ultra raspy voice. You could see that it was hurting him when he sang. Pete wore black wrap around visor sunglasses for the first couple of songs, which made him look pretty moody. They premiered two new songs “Real Good Looking Boy” and “Old Red Wine”. It was great to see The Who in full flight again.
The Who in 2006. Many thanks to Paul Fenton for allowing this picture to be reproduced through WikiMedia Commons
It is unfair to attempt to draw comparisons between the current Who 2 and the 1970s Who. Of course, it is a different band, and it is impossible to recreate past performances. I am grateful that I can still go to a Who concert, and see Roger and Pete play those classic songs.
We got up very early to catch a train at 6am so I could get back up north and go to work.
Setlist: Who Are You; I Can’t Explain; Substitute; Anyway Anyhow Anywhere; Baba O’Riley; Behind Blue Eyes; 5.15; Sea And Sand; Love Reign O’er Me; Eminence Front; You Better You Bet; Real Good Looking Boy; The Kids Are Alright; My Generation; Old Red Wine; Won’t Get Fooled Again
Encore: Pinball Wizard; Amazing Journey; Sparks; See Me Feel Me.
The next time I saw the Who was at Live 8 in Hyde Park. They played a short two song set of “Who Are You” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, sandwiched between Robbie Williams and the reunited Pink Floyd and were introduced by Peter Kay 🙂 I need to blog about Live 8 on another day.
Tomorrow I’ll move to a Who performance in 2006 at the O2 Wireless Festival, Harewood House, Leeds, 2006.
1 Jan
The Who Newcastle Arena 6th Nov 2000
The Who Newcastle Arena 6th Nov 2000
Support from Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros
The Who’s tour in 2000 was in support of the live album “The Blues to the Bush” (as mentioned on the cover of the tour programme) and was their first full-fledged tour as a five-piece band since 1982. Roger, Pete and John were joined by Rabbit on keyboards and Zak Starkey on drums. This was the Who’s first visit to Newcastle since 1981. The set was a run through Who favourites, including a few, such as “The Kids Are Alright” and “Mary Ann With the Shaky Hands”, which hadn’t been performed live for many years. On some of the other nights of the tour they performed “The Seeker” and “A Quick One While He’s Away”. Support came from The Clash’s Joe Strummer with his band The Mescaleros.
It was great to see the Who again, and to hear all the classics. A great concert which reminded me just how great the Who were.
Setlist: I Can’t Explain; Substitute; Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere; Relay; My Wife; Baba O’Riley; I Don’t Even Know Myself; Bargain; Drowned; Behind Blue Eyes; Pinball Wizard; The Real Me; You Better You Bet; Who Are You; 5:15; Won’t Get Fooled Again
Encore: Let’s See Action; The Kids Are Alright; Mary Ann With the Shaky Hands; My Generation
John Entwistle passed away in hotel room 658 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on 27 June 2002, the result of a heart attack induced by cocaine. Townshend and Daltrey said in tribute : “The Ox has left the building — we’ve lost another great friend. Thanks for your support and love. Pete and Roger.”
The next time I saw the, now in effect a two piece, Who was in 2004 at a Teenage Cancer Trust concert at the Albert Hall. I’ll reflect on this concert tomorrow.
31 Dec
The Who Newcastle City Hall 24th Feb 1981
The Who Newcastle City Hall 24th Feb 1981
The Who went out on a full UK tour in 1981, their first since 1975. They called at Newcastle City Hall for two nights, I went along with a group of mates to the first night’s concert. The Who were on top form, playing a set which consisted of classics, a couple of covers, and a few new tracks from “Faces Dances” including “You Better You Bet”. Support came from R&B band Nine Below Zero. The brass section which had been with the band at Wembley didn’t feature; this was the four piece Who plus Rabbit on keyboards. Daltrey retained his short hair style, and seemed fitter than ever. Townshend was in good spirits and on top form. An amazing concert, it was great to see The Who close up in such a small venue again. We had seats close to the front, to the side of the stage.
Their new album “Face Dances” was released the following month. “Face Dances” received rather luke warm reviews and it is generally recognised as not being one of their best albums. Trouser Press magazine said at the time: “Face Dances is a pleasant and rather meaningless album that proves, not the Who’s continuing genius, but rather their ability to churn out “product,” watered down from their days of glory.” But the Who live was a different thing altogether, the band was still firing on all cylinders. However, things weren’t so good in The Who camp. Pete Townshend was drinking a lot, and taking cocaine, and Roger Daltrey and Kenney Jones weren’t getting on. This was to be the Who’s last full UK tour for a long time. The next time I saw The Who was at Live Aid in Wembley Stadium in 1985, where they played a short, but excellent set. It was then 11 years until I saw them again, this time in Hyde Park, where they performed Quadrophenia, sharing the bill with Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. By then the drum seat was taken by Zak Starkey. I’ve already posted about those two performances. For my next Who blogging, I’m going to roll forward to the year 2000, when the band returned to Newcastle to play the Arena.
The Who 1981 Setlist: Substitute; I Can’t Explain; Baba O’Riley; The Quiet One; Don’t Let Go the Coat; Sister Disco; Dreaming From the Waist; You Better You Bet; Drowned; Another Tricky Day; Behind Blue Eyes; Pinball Wizard; The Punk and the Godfather; Who Are You; 5:15; My Generation; What’cha Gonna Do About It (short snippet of Small Faces song); Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Encore: Young Man Blues; Dancing in the Street (Martha and The Vandellas cover); Dance It Away (Pete Townshend solo song); The Real Me
Vintagerock's Weblog. 