Posts Tagged ‘classic rock’
7
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in Squeeze, Tubes. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, new wave, rock, rock n roll. 1 comment
The Tubes Newcastle City Hall 13th May 1979
Two years on since The Tube blew us all away with a crazy visual onslaught, they were back on tour in the UK again. This time they had a concept album to play and show to us all. “Remote Control” was based around the concept that “TV is King” and was produced by Todd Rundgren. The show featured the new album and old favourites with all the crazy stage antics that we had come to expect from these guys. This time The Tubes played two shows in one night, I went to the late show with a bunch of mates. A fun show, but for me it was beginning to feel more like a musical theatre show than a rock show. Still, it was all worth while just to get the chance to see along with Fee on “White Punks on Dope”.
Support came from the excellent Squeeze.
Setlist (something like): Getoverture; Turn Me On; TV Is King; Be Mine Tonight; Don’t Touch Me There; No Mercy; Only the Strong Survive; I Want It All Now; What Do You Want From Life; No Way Out; Telecide; Love’s a Mystery (I Don’t Understand); Tubes World Tour; Stand Up and Shout; White Punks on Dope (The Who’s Baba O’Riley and The Kids are Alright featured as encores at some shows)
“We’re white punks on dope
Mom & Dad moved to Hollywood
Hang myself when I get enough rope
Can’t clean up, though I know I should
White punks on dope
White punks on dope”
(White Punks on Dope, The Tubes, 1975)
6
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in Tubes, Wire. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, new wave, punk, rock, rock n roll. 13 comments
The Tubes Newcastle City Hall 6th November 1977
This was a gig like no other. The Tubes were virtually unknown in the UK, but stories of their crazy OTT stage show were gradually creeping over from the USA. This was the band to out-shock, out-punk, and out-do everyone else, and outrage the general population at the same time. So when “The Toobs” came over for a tour of UK theatres and concert halls we just had to see them. We had tickets for Yes, with Donovan support, at Glasgow Apollo on the same night, but we sold them to friends, as we couldn’t pass on the chance to see this.
Video screens all over the place, dancers, 50ft stacks, lots of props and each song a new concept and the chance for the band to play new roles. So many highlights. You couldn’t take it all in. And just when you thought the Tubes had been as outrageous as they could possibly be, the next song is even crazier, wilder, and more obnoxious.
Alpha male Fee Waybill and the gorgeous Re Styles dueted on’Don’t Touch Me There’ from a motorbike. Fee Way strapped Styles between two video monitors to perform some ‘MondoBondage’. The band become the punk parody “Johnny Bugger and the Dirtboxes”. Waybill threatens us all with a chain saw while singing “I Saw Her Standing There”. For the end of the show Waybill became Quay Lewd, the ultimate glam rock star complete with three feet high platform shoes, and led us all through a crazy rendition of “White Punks on Dope”.
Totally amazing. We were all blown away. 🙂 🙂
Support came from Wire (Dot Dash 🙂 )
Reviews of the time were ecstatic. “The Tubes are a spectacle unlike any other. They present a relentless onslaught of humour, outrage, parody, idiocy, music and costume – a feast for the senses.” (Paul Rambali, NME)
“It’s nothing short of magnificent. The only words you can use are ones like sensory overkill. The act doesn’t leave you alone. One moment it’s the band in white intern coats playing straight techno-rock. Then it’s a dance troupe on the lam from Star Wars, and then there’s the punk pastiche. Except, pastiche or not, The Tubes can cut harder and deeper than 90%s of the new wave.” (Mick Farren, NME).
Set list (based on the live lp recorded during the 1977 London concert run at Hammersmith): Overture; Got Yourself a Deal; Show Me a Reason; What Do You Want from Life; God-Bird-Change; Special Ballet; Don’t Touch Me There; Mondo Bondage; Smoke (La vie en Fumér); Crime Medley (starting with a siren and including themes from Dragnet, Peter Gunn, Perry Mason & Untouchables); I Was a Punk Before You Were a Punk; I Saw Her Standing There; Boy Crazy; You’re No Fun; Stand Up and Shout; White Punks on Dope.
The Tubes were Fee Waybill (front man extraordinaire, crazy guy & vocals), Bill Spooner (guitar), Michael Cotten (synth), Mingo Lewis (percussion), Prairie Prince (massive drum riser and kit), Roger Steen (guitar), Vince Welnick (keyboards), Rick Anderson (bass) and Re Styles (vocals, dance and many unspeakable things with Fee).
I saw the Tubes again in 1978, at the Knebworth Festival sharing a bill with Frank Zappa and Peter Gabriel. I’ll save that one for when I come to write about Zappa. The Tubes were back at the City Hall again in 1979 for the ‘Remote Control’ tour, with support from Squeeze. I’ll write about that gig tomorrow.
5
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in 10cc. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
10cc Newcastle City Hall 1978 & 1980
I saw 10cc on two further occasions. The first was at Newcastle City Hall on their 1978 tour. This was at the time of the “Bloody Tourists” album and the massive No. 1 single, the reggae-tinged “Dreadlock Holiday”. There was one change to the line-up with Duncan McKay (ex Cockney Rebel) replacing Tony O’Malley on keyboards. “Dreadlock Holiday” was 10cc’s last hit. In 1979 Eric Stewart was seriously injured in a car crash, which set the band back.
Stewart: “It flattened me completely. I damaged my left ear, I damaged my eye very badly. I couldn’t go near music. I couldn’t go near anything loud and I love music and motor-racing. I had to stay away from both things for a long time, for about six months. 
And the momentum of this big machine that we’d had rolling slowed and slowed and slowed. And on the music scene, the punk thing had come in a big way. The Sex Pistols, The Clash, lots of things like that. So by the time I was fit again to play, I think we’d just missed the bus. It’d gone. And whatever we did after that, we got a few tickles here and there and we could continue touring forever on the strength of the past hits, but it didn’t feel right again, we just didn’t have that public with us.”
In 1980 10cc released their seventh studio album “Look Hear?, which reached No.35 in the UK album charts. Two singles were taken from the album: “One Two Five” and “It Doesn’t Matter at All”, but both failed to chart. I saw the band for the last time at Newcastle City Hall on their 1980 tour.
10cc continued to deliver the goods live, and I enjoyed the 1978 and 1980 concerts. But the band’s popularity was declining and they split in 1983. Gouldman puts it thus: “Really, after ’78 things went downhill for us. I don’t know what it was.”
Typical 10cc setlist from 1980: L.A. Inflatable, The Wall Street Shuffle, One Two Five, I’m Mandy Fly Me, Lovers Anonymous, How’m I Ever Gonna Say Goodbye, Good Morning Judge, From Rochdale to Ocho Rios, Art for Art’s Sake, It Doesn’t Matter at All, The Things We Do for Love, Don’t Send We Back, Dreadlock Holiday, Feel The Benefit (Pt.1-3), I’m Not in Love, Rubber Bullets, Life Is a Minestrone, Roll Over Beethoven
Graham Gouldman currently fronts a new line-up of 10cc which also features former members Rick Fenn and Paul Burgess.
4
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in 10cc, David McWilliams. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. 2 comments
10cc Newcastle City Hall 2nd June 1977
Must all good things come to an end? In 1976 the perfect pop group that had been 10cc split into two halves. Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman continued with the pop band that was 10cc, while Godley and Creme went their own way as a duo to work on a project that started with promoting their new gadget the “Gizmotron”, and eventually evolved into the triple LP set Consequences (1976), an adventurous and innovative concept album. The “Gizmotron” (see image) was a device which fitted over the bridge of an electric guitar, and contained six small motor-driven wheels attached to small keys. When a key was pressed, the Gizmotron wheels produced endless sustain, allowing the guitar to sound like the string section of an orchestra.
Godley explained: “We left because we no longer liked what Gouldman and Stewart were writing. We left because 10cc was becoming safe and predictable and we felt trapped.” Stewart saw it this way: “I was sorry to see them go. But we certainly did fall out at the time. I thought they were crazy. They were just walking away from something so big and successful….The collective dynamite of those four people, four people who could all write, who could all sing a hit song. In one band.”
Was this the end of 10cc? It was certainly difficult to imagine how they could continue with the loss of two key founding members. But continue they did, although to be truthful, things would never be the same. The band continued at first as a three piece with Stewart and Gouldman continuing to work with drummer Paul Burgess. They recorded a new album “Deceptive Bends” which reached No. 3 in the UK charts and also featured two excellent hit singles, “The Things We Do for Love” and “Good Morning Judge”. Stewart: “I was out to prove also that we could write a hit album without Kevin and Lol … we did!”
In June 1977, 10cc set out on tour to promote “Deceptive Bends” with a new band consisting of Stewart, Gouldman, Burgess with guitarist Rick Fenn, keyboardist Tony O’Malley and additional drummer Stuart Tosh. The tour called at Newcastle City Hall for two sold out shows. The change of line-up has not diminished their popularity; indeed if anything 10cc were more popular than ever. It was a great show, with the hits and album favourites all performed faultlessly; however I felt that the new band lacked the depth and versatility of its predecessor. Support for the 1977 tour was Irish singer songwriter David McWilliams who hit the charts in the 60s with the great quirky psych-tinged classic single “Days of Pearly Spencer”. We decided to forego the delights of the City Hall bar, especially to watch McWilliams who didn’t let us down and performed “Days of Pearly Spencer” although I don’t think he used a megaphone for the chorus and hence didn’t quite recreate the sound of the original. Thanks to Mitch for the photo which he took at 10cc’s 1976 Newcastle concert.
3
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in 10cc, Chas and Dave. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. 3 comments
10cc Newcastle City Hall 20th April 1976
“I’m Not In Love” is a masterpiece. Simple as that. That song propelled 10cc from being a clever pop band to the realm of massive stardom. Built around a simple story by Eric Stewart, the arrangement and especially the choral backing which featured multiple overdubs of the voices of Stewart, Gouldman, Godley and Creme singing a single note and creating a lush 256-voice “virtual” choir, was just unlike anything else we had heard before. It was played everywhere and soon moved to the well-deserved No 1 spot in the UK single charts. Released in May 1975, “I’m Not in Love” was 10cc’s second No 1.
Eric Stewart: “I looked at Graham, and I said that song’s a hit, you know…..I rang them [the record company]..
I said come and have a listen to what we’ve done, come and have a listen to this track. And they came up and they freaked, and they said, ‘This is a masterpiece. How much money, what do you want? What sort of a contract do you want? We’ll do anything.’ On the strength of that one song, we did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money.”
Next time 10cc came to Newcastle they played two nights at the City Hall. The concerts were originally scheduled to take place on the 9th and 10th February 1976, however they were rescheduled (I don’t recall why) and actually took place on 19th and 20th April. Both nights were completely sold out. I went to the second night, Chas and Dave were support.
Would they play “I’m Not In Love”? Could they recreate the sound live? Actually yes they did play it, with the help of some technical trickery (probably tapes) and pretty good it sounded too. A great gig with pure class songs; as well as “I’m Not In Love”, other live favourites were “One Night in Paris”, the wonderful “I’m Mandy Fly Me”, “The Second Sitting For The Last Supper” and of course “Rubber Bullets” which would often close the proceedings.
I saw 10cc a few months later at Knewborth, with 100,000 or so others, when they supported the Stones. There was a long delay before 10cc came on stage, apparently there were some technical problems. The sound was a bit rough for the first few songs of their set, but soon picked up. They went down well, but were a little too mainstream pop for a Stones and festival crowd. We then had an even longer wait, on a cool June night, for the Stones. happy days.
Setlist for the City Hall: Art For Arts Sake, Silly Love, Lazy Ways, Rock ‘n’ Roll Lullaby, The Worst Band In The World, Second Sitting For The Last Supper, Old Wild Men, Iceberg, Don’t Hang Up, Headroom, Ships Don’t Disappear In The Night Do They?, The Sacro Iliac, I’m Mandy Fly Me, I Wanna Rule The World, Wall Street Shuffle.
Encores: I’m Not In Love, One Night In Paris, Rubber Bullets.
Setlist at Knewborth: One Night in Paris; The Worst Band In The World; Good Morning Judge; Silly Love; Don’t Hang Up; Old Wild Men; The Wall Street Shuffle; Neanderthal Man – Run Baby Run; Ships Don’t Disappear In The Night (Do They)?; I’m Mandy Fly Me; The Second Sitting For The Last Supper; I’m Not In Love.
Encore: Rubber Bullets
Thanks to Mitch for his photo of Eric Stewart which he took at the City Hall at this concert.
2
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in 10cc, Julian Brook. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. 2 comments
10cc Newcastle City Hall 17th September 1974
The first time I saw 10cc was at the Reading festival in 1974, followed by this concert at Newcastle City Hall. This was the original, and classic, line-up featuring Eric Stewart on guitar and vocals, Graham Gouldman on bass and vocals, Lol Creme on guitar, keyboards and vocals, and Kevin Godley on drums and vocals. Additional drummer Paul Burgess was also a regular feature on their concert tours. 10cc had been in the charts a few times with singles including “Donna” and “Rubber Bullets”, which I thought were great pop songs. They had released two albums “10cc” and “Sheet Music”. They seemed to be the perfect pop band, with every clever, intricate arrangements which were sort of Brian Wilson meets Elvis meets Frank Zappa, blending Doo wop, rock’n’roll, art rock and pure pop. They were all accomplished musicians, with an excellent pedigree.
10cc played the Friday night of Reading in August 1974, following Camel, and playing before headliner the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. The Saturday was headlined by Traffic and Sunday by Focus. From the Reading programme: “10cc – a band of talent from old hits. Remember the Mindbenders and Groovy Kind of Love? And later, do you remember Hotlegs and a one-off bockbuster hit Neanderthal Man? Then, going back a bit, do you remember the Yardbirds’ hits For Your Love, and Heart Full of Soul, then Hollies’ successes Bus Stop and Look Through Any Window and even Herman’s Hermits’ hit No Milk Today? What may you ask is all this leading up to? Answer – 10cc [Eric Stewart was of course in the Mindbenders and Graham Gouldman wrote all those hits]…..
a band that doesn’t rely on volume, themselves recorders of many an interesting and witty hit record…[but Godley and Creme were just as an important part of the 10cc sound and] invented a new musical instrument – the Gismo – an extension to the guitar which produces a rich orchestral sound.” The Reading set was slick, professional and we all sang along to Rubber Bullets. They were perfect for warming up the crowd for Alex.
A month or so later I saw 10cc at the City Hall, which was another great gig. Support came from Julian Brook who had released an album “Portrait”. (Note. Who on earth were Robbers Dog, as mentioned on the flyer? 🙂 )
In 1974 a 10cc setlist would be something like his: Speed Kills, Sand In My Face, Donna, Oh Effendi, Waterfall, Silly Love, Headline Hustler, The Wall Street Shuffle, Worst Band in the World, The Dean and I, Rubber Bullets.
However the best was yet to come. In May 1975 10cc released “I’m Not In Love”.
I saw 10cc a few more times over the next few years, and will write about those gigs over the days to come.
1
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in Alcatraz, Magnum, Tygers of Pan Tang. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy metal, heavy rock, rock, rock n roll. 2 comments
Tygers of Pan Tang Newcastle City Hall 13th May 1981 & Newcastle Mayfair 3rd Sep 1982
The Tygers of Pan Tang were formed in Whitley Bay. For readers who are not from the North East, Whitley Bay is a seaside town. close to Newcastle upon Tyne. The original Tygers line-up was Robb Weir (guitar), Rocky (bass), Jess Cox (vocals) and Brian Dick (drums). They released the single “Don’t Touch Me There” in 1979 and the album “Wild Cat” in 1980. I saw the original band several times at gigs in the north east; I think at their old stomping ground The Rex Hotel in Whitley Bay, and possibly at the Old 29 and/or the Mecca in Sunderland. I also saw them supporting Magnum at Redcar Coatham Bowl and The Scorpions at Newcastle City Hall. John Sykes (later of Thin Lizzy) joined the band during 1980; soon afterwards Jess Cox left and was replaced by Jon Deverill.
The new line-up recorded their second album “Spellbound” and went out on a headline tour to promote it. 
I won a competition in a local paper and as my prize received a clutch (I think it was 6 or 8!) tickets for the City Hall gig, a sweatshirt, a copy of the new “Spellbound” album and some badges. Result 🙂 ! So I played my prize to get to know the songs ready for the gig. A group of us met in Steels club on the night of the concert and drove through to the City Hall in a couple of cars, clutching our free tickets (note the ticket stamped “COMPLIMENTARY”. Support came from Magnum (a bit of an about turn, as the Tygers had supported them just a year earlier) and Alcatraz, who I can only assume were a NWOBHM band and not to be confused with Alkatraz (a Man spin-off band who I had seen a few years earlier) or Alcatrazz (a band formed in 1983 by vocalist extraordinaire Graham Bonnet, guitar ace Yngwie Malmsteen and ex-Maiden drummer Clive Burr). 
The City Hall wasn’t full for the gig, but the Tygers performed a set of class metal, fronted by the powerful front trio of Jon Deverill who stood stage front open shirted, mane of long hair, confidently and powerfully screaming the vocals, John Sykes who was already a rock star in his head and you just knew it to watch him, and founder and guitar anchor Robb Weir. They released a great version of “Love Potion No 9” around the same time. John Sykes left shortly afterwards the tour to join Thin Lizzy, and was replaced by Fred Purser from Penetration, which is the line-up I saw at the Mayfair in 1982. The Tygers were one of the better bands to emerge from the NWOBHM genre. Robb Weir fronts a reformed Tygers to this day.
PS. I’ve just found this great flyer, in a pile of things in my room. It shows bands coming to Newcastle Mayfair (Rock on Friday!) in 1980: Vardis, Quartz, Anglewitch and Tygers of Pan Tang (with special guest DJ Alan Robson 🙂 ). All very NWOBHM. It also advertises “Forthcoming attractions in October: 5 Giants of the rock world: Gillan, The Scorpions, Cheap Trick, Motorhead, AC/DC. Tickets on sale now!” Happy days.
28
Oct
Posted by vintagerock in Blondie, Only Ones, Television. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, new wave, pop, punk, rock, rock n roll. 2 comments
Television Newcastle City Hall 23rd May 1977 and 10th April 1978
Marquee Moon was one of those songs which seemed to follow me everywhere in 1977. The title track of Television’s highly acclaimed (and rightly so) debut album was on everyone’s playlist. If was so…. different from anything else at the time, and came from a different dimension to any of the more familiar variants of punk or new wave. No thrash, no poppy tune. Instead Marquee Moon had all the ingredients of great new music: Tom Verlaine’s extraordinary razor sharp edgy riffs, cutting in and out of the off-beat, and some seriously weird lyrics which were difficult to understand but seemed to tell some strange dark story. The rest of the album was equally as good, with great twin guitar work, an arty, precise, almost clinical feel and elements of classic rock. The critics loved it. Television’s line-up at the time was Tom Verlaine (guitar, vocals), Richard Lloyd (guitar), Fred Smith (bass) and Billy Ficca (drums). Television toured the UK with support from Blondie, playing at Newcastle City Hall on 23rd May 1977. There was a good turn out for the concert which drew punk, rock and pop fans.
Although both bands hailed from the same New York new wave scene, they were musically and artistically very different and those differences came through in their performances that night. Blondie were on the cusp of massive success, and were bright, poppy, fast and lots of fun. Debbie Harry was amazing. In contrast Television were serious, distant, and simply played their (excellent) music with no particular light show and very little interaction with the audience. A great concert, with two contrasting bands both performing well.
Relations weren’t great between Television and Blondie on the tour. Blondie’s Chris Stein said that Television were “competitive” and recalled the Glasgow show where “all our equipment was shoved up at the Apollo and we had like three feet of room so that [Tom Verlaine] could stand still in this vast space.”
A 1977 Television setlist would be something like this: See No Evil, Friction, Venus, Prove It, Elevation, Marquee Moon, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
(Bob Dylan cover), Satisfaction (Rolling Stones cover).
The Damned has a similar experience to Blondie when they played with Television. Brian James: “When we did that first American tour, we had a gig on the West Coast supporting Television. We got there and they said ‘We’re not letting this bunch support us’. We were stuck on a limb. We went down to see them and play and we had tee-shirts saying ‘Television are c**ts’. It really intimidated them. Captain wrote a song called ‘Idiot Box’ — like TV — about them.” “I can turn you off, Well I just tried & left you off
Tumbling you may be art, But you sure ain’t rock’n’roll
People standing in the rain, Just to see that screen Verlaine
Supersonic I’ll come back soon, ‘Cause all we got is a Marquee moon” (Idiot Box, The Damned)
Television returned to Newcastle City Hall on 10th April 1978. The hall was far from full, and much emptier than the previous year. Support this time was The Only Ones, Peter Perret’s great band. This was at their time of their excellent single Another Girl, Another Planet. Another big contrast between support and headliner. This was a lack lustre performance by Television. They spent some considerable time tuning up, ignoring the audience, to the extent that several people walked out. The feeling that came over was one of coldness and distance.
Sorry to leave my memories on a less than positive note. Television were an exceptional band, a breath of fresh air and the sound of Verlaine’s guitar on Marquee Moon cut through everything else around at the time.
Many thanks to Mitch for the photos which he took at the 1977 concert.
27
Oct
Posted by vintagerock in Genesis, Mostly Autumn, Steve Hackett. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, prog rock, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Steve Hackett Genesis Extended Tour York Barbican 26th October 2014
Support from Mostly Autumn (Acoustic)
The success of Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited project has grown over the past couple of years. He started with a few classic Genesis songs, playing in smaller venues, but the tour soon developed to a full blown Genesis set, playing in theatres up and down the country, including sold out concerts at Hammersmith Apollo and the Royal Albert Hall. Hackett is now touring with “Genesis Extended” a new show which includes many of the classic songs from the early to mid -’70s era.
Steve has put together a great band featuring Gary O’Toole on drums, Nad Sylvan on vocals, Roger King on keyboards, Rob Townsend on flute, sax and percussion, and Nick Beggs (ex Kajagoogoo) on bass. There are all excellent musicians and manage to do justice to this formidable back catalogue. 
They started with Dance on a Volcano and featured gems such as Return of the Giant Hogweed, Fountain of Salmancis, Dancing With the Moonlit Knight and Lilywhite Lilith. My favourites were always going to be The Musical Box, which got the first full standing ovation of the evening, and The Knife. Both dark, moody stories and enduring pieces of rock theatre. The intricate beautiful music of The Musical Box was recreated perfectly as was the swirling, manic dance of The Knife. I was a little nervous that I wasn’t going to enjoy this concert, as I songs like The Musical Box and The Knife hold a special place in my memory, and I feared that they could never be played with the detail and reverence they deserve. However Steve and the band managed to strike the right balance of playing the music perfectly, and setting a mood that matched that of the originals, including some of the theatrical elements that Peter Gabriel so famously pioneered. Much of that was down to the performance of Nad Sylvan who was incredible, and pulled off the impossible. I wasn’t sure how this long-haired blonde guy, dressed in a ruffle shirt and tight black trousers would be able to play the part of Gabriel, and I remained a little unconvinced during the first few songs. However as the performance progressed I started to warm to the guy. He introduced his own performance, his own theatre to the songs, yet also drawing heavily from the mannerisms and style of Gabriel. 
Little jerky mannequin movements and twisting hand gestures in The Musical Box, a dark dancing figure in The Knife, wildly grabbing the mike and tearing the words out of his throat and an epic performance in old fan favourite Supper’s Ready dressed in a cloak, and with the crowd helping out with vocals (A Flower?). Epic. The red light eyes even returned in Watcher of the Sky. I even sort of enjoyed Supper’s Ready; I always found it too long and a little tedious in the ’70s. Special mention to Nick Beggs, who played bass, and second guitar flawlessly. And there was dry ice. Perfect.
Setlist: Dance on a Volcano; Squonk; Dancing With the Moonlit Knight; Fly on a Windshield; Broadway Melody of 1974; The Return of the Giant Hogweed; The Fountain of Salmacis; The Musical Box; I Know What I Like; Horizons; Firth of Fifth; Lilywhite Lilith; The Knife; Supper’s Ready.
Encore: Watcher of the Skies; Los Endos
26
Oct
Posted by vintagerock in Grand Slam, Phil Lynott, Thin Lizzy, Young Blood. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy rock, music, rock, rock n roll. 2 comments
Phil Lynnot’s Grand Slam Middlesbrough Town Hall 11th July 1984
This gig wasn’t well attended. Grand Slam were a shadow of Thin Lizzy, and sadly Phil Lynott didn’t look well. His face was bloated and his performance lack lustre. The concert was a disappointing, sad affair, particularly in comparison to the power and glory days of Lizzy. They played a few Thin Lizzy songs, I think “Whiskey in the Jar”, “Sarah” and “Cold Sweat” from “Thunder and Lightning”. They also performed Phil’s great solo track “Yellow Pearl” (written with Midge Ure and the theme to Top of the Pops in the early ’80s) and “”Parisienne Walkways”, which Phil wrote with Gary Moore. A live CD suggests that they may also have played covers of “Whiter Shade of Pale” and “Like a Rolling Stone”, but I don’t recall. Support came from Young Blood a NWOBHM band from Darlington.
Grand Slam’s line-up was Lynott (bass, vocals), Laurence Archer (lead guitar; ex-Stampede, Wild Horses, Lautrec), Donal ‘Doish’ Nagle (guitar; ex-The Bogey Boys),[ Robbie Brennan (drums), and Mark Stanway (keyboards; ex-Magnum).
I prefer to remember Phil as the wild rover, the cowboy, the vagabond, the Rocker, “one of the boys” that he wrote and sung about, and to think about the many magnificent Thin Lizzy performances I saw in the north east and at the Reading festival.
Phil Lynott died on 4th January 1986 (aged just 36) from heart failure and pneumonia. He had been admitted to hospital on Christmas Day, after collapsing from a drink and drug binge at his home in Surrey.
RIP Phil Lynott.
“Down from the glen came the marching men
With their shields and their swords
To fight the fight they believed to be right
Overthrow the overlords
…..They had come to claim the Emerald
Without it they could not leave”
(Emerald, Thin Lizzy, 1976)
Another sad note. Yesterday we lost another great musician, bass player and singer, Jack Bruce. I am a big fan of Jack Bruce’s music. His passing is really sad and makes me realise that we are coming to a stage where we are losing more and more of the legends who formed rock as we know it.
RIP Jack Bruce
Two years on since The Tube blew us all away with a crazy visual onslaught, they were back on tour in the UK again. This time they had a concept album to play and show to us all. “Remote Control” was based around the concept that “TV is King” and was produced by Todd Rundgren. The show featured the new album and old favourites with all the crazy stage antics that we had come to expect from these guys. This time The Tubes played two shows in one night, I went to the late show with a bunch of mates. A fun show, but for me it was beginning to feel more like a musical theatre show than a rock show. Still, it was all worth while just to get the chance to see along with Fee on “White Punks on Dope”.
Setlist (something like): Getoverture; Turn Me On; TV Is King; Be Mine Tonight; Don’t Touch Me There; No Mercy; Only the Strong Survive; I Want It All Now; What Do You Want From Life; No Way Out; Telecide; Love’s a Mystery (I Don’t Understand); Tubes World Tour; Stand Up and Shout; White Punks on Dope (The Who’s Baba O’Riley and The Kids are Alright featured as encores at some shows)
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