Supertramp Newcastle City Hall 14th October 1977
I first saw Supertramp when they played as support for Ten Years After at Newcastle City Hall in 1971. It was at the time of their second album “Indelibly Stamped”. The thing I remember most was that the album sleeve was quite controversial for the time, as it featured a picture of the tattooed torso of a woman, including her bare breasts. Apparently two gold stars were pasted over the nipples for the US issue of the lp. The line-up of the band at the time was Roger Hodgson (vocals and guitars), Rick Davies (keyboards and vocals), Dave Winthrop (flute, saxophone, vocals), Frank Farrell (bass) and Kevin Currie (drums). They played a solid set that night, but I’d gone to see TYA, and the truth is I remember little about their performance. I next saw them at the 1975 Reading festival. By this time the band had released “Crime of the Century” and were starting to receive major recognition, particularly for “Dreamer” which reached No 13 in the UK singles chart. I made a point of watching their performance that weekend, and was impressed by them. The band’s line-up had changed quite a bit by then with Hodgson and Davies being the only members remaining from the band I saw in 1971. They were joined by John Helliwell who as well as playing sax, flute and singing also took on the role of addressing the audience and cracking jokes with the crowd, Dougie Thomson (bass) and Bob Siebenberg (drums). 
The next, and last time, I saw Supertramp was at Newcastle City Hall on 14th October 1977. By then they were a major band. They had released two more albums “Crisis? What Crisis?” (1975) and “Even in the Quietest Moments…” (1977), both of which were chart successes. They also hot the UK singles chart with “Give a Little Bit”. Support came from a new artist called Chris De Burgh. Their set is likely to have included: Give a Little Bit, Bloody Well Right, Lady, Dreamer, Give a Little Bit, Bloody Well Right, Sister Moonshine and Crime of the Century. I enjoyed the show, but can’t pretend that I was a big fan. Supertramp went on to even greater success with the “Breakfast in America” album and hits including “”The Logical Song”. I never saw them live again, which I now regret as their music has grown on me over the years, and I realise now how great a band they were. Supertramp last toured a few years ago, although the current line-up does not feature Roger Hodgson, with Davies and Helliwell now fronting the band. I really should try to see Supertramp, and Roger Hodgson, again if/when they next play.
Posts Tagged ‘classic rock’
22 Jul
Supertramp Newcastle City Hall 14th October 1977
21 Jul
Stretch Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt December 1975
Stretch Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt December 1975
The story of Stretch is strange and fascinating. Stretch were fronted by vocalist Elmer Gantry, from Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, who recorded the excellent late ’60s single “Flames”. I first heard “Flames” on the 1968 CBS lp Rock Machine Turns You On, which was the first UK bargain priced sampler album, selling at 14/11 (£0.75), less than half the price of a normal full price lp at the time. “The Rock Machine…it’s the happening sounds of today….”. The album had some great tracks by Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Moby Grape, Spirit, Taj Mahal, Blood, Sweat and Tears and others. I played it again and again; “Flames” was one of the best tracks on the album, along with Moby Grape’s “Can’t Be So Bad”, and the Zombies “Time of the Season”. Great stuff.
Roll forward six years to 1974 and Elmer Gantry was part of a crazy plan to put together a bogus version of Fleetwood Mac, with the help of Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis and (supposedly) drummer Mick Fleetwood. The plan was for the band, with Mick Fleetwood on drums but no other Mac members, to perform as Fleetwood Mac on a US tour to fulfil an outstanding contract, which the original band were unable to do because several members had left. However, something went wrong and Fleetwood didn’t join the band, denying any knowledge of the plan. The tour went ahead anyway but it was obvious to audiences that this was not the real Fleetwood Mac, and the turnfell apart with later dates cancelled amid threats of legal action. Bass player Paul Martinez is quoted as saying: “Mick Fleetwood pulled out at the last minute claiming not to know who we were!” The band quickly changed into Stretch and guitarist Kirby wrote a song, “Why Did You Do It?”, about the debacle, accusingly pointing a finger at (presumably) Mick Fleetwood: “I’ve been thinking ’bout what you have done to me, The damage is much deeper than you’ll ever see, Hit me like a hammer to my head, I wonder were you pushed or were you led?”
“Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?, Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?, The only one who knows the truth, Man it’s him me and you.”
(Why Did You Do It?, 1975)
“Why Did You Do It” gave Stretch a No. 16 UK hit single in November 1975. I saw the band a month later at this concert at Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt. The place was packed, and there were a pretty hot rock band. Stretch had just released their first album “Elastique” and the set will have included tracks from that. I also have a vague memory that they may have played “Flames”, but that could well be my memory playing tricks, and wishful thinking. The line-up of Stretch changes quite a bit over the next few years. At the time of this gig it was probably Elmer Gantry (vocals), Kirby (guitar), Roshi (guitar), Paul Martinez (bass; he would go on to play with Robert Plant) and Jim Russell (drums). I also saw Stretch the following year at Newcastle City Hall when they supported Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow on their 1976 Rainbow Rising tour. I recall that they received a great reception that night. Stretch split in 1979. In 2007 Elmer Gantry and Kirby reformed the band.
18 Jul
Johnny Winter New Victoria Theatre London 26th October 1974
Johnny Winter New Victoria Theatre London 26th October 1974
I was very sad to hear of the passing yesterday of the great Johnny Winter.
Johnny Winter was an incredible blues guitarist, an amazing performer, and a spectacular rock’n’roll star. He looked great, played and sang impeccable electric blues, and his performance was like being caught in a whirlwind.
The first time I saw Johnny Winter live was at a concert at the New Victoria Theatre, London in 1974. I went with my friend John, and it seemed quite an adventure travelling all the way to London for a concert. I’d been to a few festivals and one day events, but I think this was the first time I had travelled to the capital for a single artist concert in a theatre. Support came from Elf, who were fronted by Ronnie James Dio, but it was Winter we had gone to see. The concert was sold out and we had seats up in the circle, looking down on the stage. I recall that Johnny Winter was late coming on stage, but boy was he worth waiting for. This was Johnny the young rock’n’roll bundle of energy and fire (he will have been 30 at the time, but he still looked young and sharp to us). He wore a flash cowboy shirt shirt with long tassels flowing from the arms, and he twisted, twirled and ran around the stage, his incredibly long white hair swirling around him under his cowboy hat, while he shot fire-fast riffs from his trademark Gibson Firebird. 
Winter was every inch pure rock’n’roll energy; the renegade electric cowboy, playing dark and fast music from the delta. Flanked by fellow ace guitarist Floyd Radford, Johnny Winter and his band rocked through a set of blues, his own tracks including the ace “Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo” (written by Derringer), great covers of the Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Honky Tonk Women”, Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven, and Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”. He was simply stunning and we were blown away.
Philip Norman wrote in The Times of the concert at the time: “Johnny Winter has long white hair and sleeves with red streamers like abandoned conjuring-tricks; his legs are as slim as the caddis-fly’s and, like that nervous insect, he lives in electric storms…effect is not calculated by mere voltage; there was something breathtaking …in this unrepentant chaos”
John’s memories of the concert: “I first got into Johnny Winter after listening to one of the many great lives albums from the early 70’s Johnny Winter and Live. As I recall he did not tour the UK much and certainly not out in the provinces, so when we saw the date in London, we decided to go. The tour was to promote the recently released Still Alive and Well which was recorded after one of his many periods of ill health. The setlist included the title track and I think “Silver Train” (the B side from “Angie”? by the Stones). He did a lot of covers and seemed to especially like the Stones. But the stand out track was his own blues tour de force “Mean Town Blues”, which remains one of my favorite live cuts from that period to this day.”
Thanks to John for his image of the album of the time and for the photo of his poster which he bought at the concert that night in 1974.
RIP Johnny Winter.
14 Jul
Rod Stewart St James Park Newcastle 25th June 2007
Rod Stewart St James Park Newcastle 25th June 2007
Rod was back in Newcastle in 2007 to play a massive open air show at St James Park in June 2007. I turned up on the night and bought a ticket for half price outside the stadium (result, as tickets for Rod Stewart concerts were getting more and more expensive 🙂 ), the show was far from sold out. It was a dreary, cold night with spells of rain, which didn’t help the atmosphere inside the stadium. The stage was placed in the middle of the stadium, which created quite strangely angled views, from whichever position you took in the vast area. Support came from the excellent Pretenders, with Chrissie Hynde chatting with the crowd and playing their hits from the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Brass In Pocket and Talk Of The Town. 
Rod’s performance included an acoustic set in the middle of the show. Not the best time I’ve seen Rod, but still an enjoyable evening, with the highlight for me being the chance to see the Pretenders again.
The setlist was something like: You Wear It Well; Some Guys Have All the Luck; Sweet Little Rock & Roller; It’s a Heartache; Rhythm of My Heart; Reason to Believe; Missing You; Father and Son; Every Beat of My Heart; Having a Party; Stay With Me; The Tracks of My Tears; Hot Legs; I Don’t Want to Talk About It; Dirty Old Town; Every Picture Tells a Story; The First Cut Is the Deepest; Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright); This Old Heart of Mine; Young Turks; Sailing; Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?; You’re in My Heart; Baby Jane; Maggie May. Encore: Twistin’ the Night Away; I Was Only Joking
10 Jul
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 7th Dec 2005 The Great American Songbook tour
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 7th Dec 2005 The Great American Songbook tour
By 2000 Rod Stewart was a massive world wide star, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. In 2002 his career took a change in direction as he began to record 1930s and 1940s pop standards from the “Great American Songbook”, written by songwriters such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George and Ira Gershwin. Although this met with great popular success, giving Rod the same level of album sales as he enjoyed during the 1970s, it was also met with disappointment and dismay by those of us who still held memories of Rod the Mod and Rod the Rocker, and of those great Faces concerts. So when I decided to go along to see Rod perform some of these classics in 2005, I feared the worst. The first half of the concert was a standard Rod set (good 🙂 ), with the Great American Songbook” reserved for the latter part of the evening. So in the first part of the show we got Rod, complete with his band, playing his normal sort of stuff. There was then an interval and for the second part of the show Rod donned his tux and was accompanied by a “Palm Court” type orchestra. The show was slick, and yes I had to admit that the songs are classics and that Rod delivered them well, but it still didn’t feel right. 
However the “Songbook” part of the show was, in the event, only five or so songs, and it was then back to more traditional Rod (relief), some (I think) with the orchestra, and the later songs (Maggie May, Baby Jane) with the band. I spent the second part of the evening wandering around the rear of the arena, viewing the show from different vantage points. For me this was a strange event, which I still have mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed it in parts, but there were other times during the night where it just didn’t feel right.
The setlist will have been something like this (Rod varied the set from night to night)
First set: You Wear It Well; This Old Heart of Mine; Young Turks; Sweet Little Rock & Roller; Every Beat of My Heart; Tonight I’m Yours; Downtown Train; The First Cut Is the Deepest; Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright); Reason to Believe; Hot Legs; What Am I Gonna Do (I’m So in Love With You); I’m So Excited; Have I Told You Lately; You’re in My Heart.
Second set: I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Irving Berlin); They Can’t Take That Away From Me (Gershwin); Blue Moon (Rodgers & Hart); As Time Goes By (Herman Hupfeld); A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Maschwitz & Sherwin); Pennies From Heaven (Johnson & Burke); I Don’t Want to Talk About It; It Takes Two; Twistin’ the Night Away; Having a Party; Rhythm of My Heart; Sailing; Maggie May / Gasoline Alley; Baby Jane
9 Jul
Pearl Jam Leeds Arena 8th July 2014
Pearl Jam Leeds Arena 8th July 2014
This was my initiation to Pearl Jam. I’ve been meaning to go and see them for some time and finally did so last night in Leeds. The closest I got until now was seeing singer Eddie Vedder guest with The Who at the Albert Hall a couple of years ago.
My evening started shortly after 5pm, as I set off down the A1. I had am uneventful journey south into Yorkshire and was parked up in a multi- storey car park in Leeds by 7pm. It was then a short walk to the First Direct Arena, before I took my seat in the first tier, just to the left of the stage. Pearl Jam came on just before 8.30pm; there was no support act. This was one of only two UK dates which they are playing this time around, the other being a massive open air show at Milton Keynes bowl.
Leeds First Direct Arena is a fine venue, which holds around 10,000 people, but somehow has the feel of a much smaller hall. This is my second visit, having seen Springsteen there last year.
I’m familiar with very little of Pearl Jam’s material, but I’ve read a lot about them, and was really looking forward to this gig.
Got home late last night. This was an epic 3+ hours, 30+ songs, set from the band, and they exceeded all my expectations. Few bands connect with the audience in the way Pearl Jam did last night. At times I felt like I was the only one in the entire arena who didn’t know all the words to every song as the whole crowd sang along, arms waving. It was like being an observer at someone else’s massive party. The band were very clearly having a great time, and made several references to being pleased to be playing in Leeds, where The Who recorded their famous live album. The encores included covers of two Who classics: The Real Me and Baba O’Reilly. I find Pearl Jam’s music difficult to categorise; although they grew out of the grunge movement, their songs reflect their classic 70s rock roots. You can hear The Who, punk, The Ramones all mashed in there somewhere. In some ways the epic, lengthy nature of the set, and the loyalty of the fans reminded me of seeing the Grateful Dead back in the day. Perhaps that’s a strange comparison, as the music of the two bands is so different. However, I am not alone in making it: “Is Pearl Jam a Modern Grateful Dead? Pearl Jam has long been linked to flannel, but what about tie-dye? As the band closes in on its second decade making music, Pearl Jam and its follow-them-anywhere fans have slowly become one of the tightest communities in rock ’n’ roll, complete with a vibrant bootleg trade centered around the band’s ever-changing, much-lauded live show that many claim transcends the pomp and circumstance of normal rock shows for something more human. Sound like a mouthful? Sure. Sound like the Grateful Dead? Absolutely.” (You can read the full article by Justin Jacobs at http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/pearl-jamband-are-pearl-jam-a-modern-grateful-dead.html )
Last night what I witnessed was a classic rock act who transcend genres, were obviously enjoying themselves and unquestionably playing on top form. Many fans are already proclaiming it the best Pearl Jam gig they have attended.
Setlist: Pendulum; Of The Girl; Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town; Breakerfall; Hail Hail; Once; Mind Your Manners; Lightning Bolt; Tremor Christ; Wishlist; Who You Are; Ghost; Even Flow; Sirens; Push Me, Pull Me; Do The Evolution; Don’t Gimme No Lip; Army Reserve; Present Tense; Given To Fly; Setting Forth; Rearviewmirror.
Encore 1: Man Of The Hour; All Or None; Fatal; The Real Me (The Who cover); Porch.
Encore 2: Smile; Leaving Here; Black; Jeremy; State Of Love And Trust; Alive; Baba O’Riley (The Who cover); All Along The Watchtower (Dylan cover); Indifference
6 Jul
Rod Stewart, Status Quo & Joe Cocker Gateshead Stadium 2nd June 1991
Rod Stewart, Status Quo & Joe Cocker Gateshead Stadium 2nd June 1991
This was an excellent line-up with three class acts, and played for two nights at Gateshead Stadium in 1991. How could I not go to this one, Rod, The Quo and Joe Cocker. I have always been a big fan of Joe Cocker, and was very much looking forward to the opportunity of seeing him in concert again. It had been almost 20 years since I had last seen him perform, on a cold windy night in a field somewhere near Lincoln. 
If my memory is correct this was also a wet day, but all three acts played great sets to a packed crowd. I took Ashleigh along to this concert, and although she wasn’t a fan of any of the acts and a teenager at the time and into punk and heavy metal, she also enjoyed it. Rod Stewart setlist: Tonight I’m Yours; Sweet Little Rock’n’Roller; This Old Heart Of Mine; The First Cut Is The Deepest; Downtown Train; Hot Legs; Tonight’s The Night; Passion; Go Out Dancing; Every Beat Of My Heart; Sweet Soul Music; Rhythm Of My Heart; Da’Ya’ Think I’m Sexy?; Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay; Time Is Tight (band only);Every Picture Tells A Story; Mandolin Wind; You’re In My Heart; Muddy Waters Blues; Baby Jane; Some Guys Have All The Luck; Reason To Believe; Maggie May; You Wear It Well; I Don’t Want To Talk About It; Sailing; Twistin’ The Night Away; It Takes Two; Stay With Me
5 Jul
Rod Stewart Ibrox Stadium Glasgow 18th June 1983
It had been 7 years since I last saw Rod; far too long. I drove up to Glasgow with a group of mates for this concert. Baby Jane had been a big hit, and I saw it as a return to rock’n’roll for Rod. We had a drink in a proper spit and sawdust pub (I think it actually did have spittoons on a concrete floor covered in sawdust). Think it was called The Ibrox? I remember I asked for a half of lager (I was driving and that was all I was going to have to drink) and the barman told me in his strong Glaswegian accent “We dinna sell halves of lager in here”. Support came from disgraced rocker Gary Glitter who was having a little bit of a comeback at the time. From Everything2: “1982 and 1983 were spent by Glitter touring universities with his show. This appealed to Glitter as the people at university at this time were the teenagers who bought his records at the peak of his success. This success was followed by Glitter being asked to appear as a guest by his friend Rod Stewart in 1983 at his concert at Ibrox Park in Glasgow. Glitter jumped at this and appeared in front of an audience of 20,000 people [note. I am sure there were more than 20,000 people there, I would have said more like 50,000?] which was many more than he was used to at this time. At the beginning of his set, Glitter had a mixed reaction from the audience, but his unique style of working the crowd had them crying out for more by the time he had finished, so much that Stewart had to put in a very good performance to compete.”
The rest of the bill consisted of JoBoxers, who grew out of Subway Sect and had a hit with Boxer Beat and Scottish band Passionate Friends: “in the summer of 1983, following a series of gigs around the country, the band were brought to the attention of Harvey Goldsmith. Harvey was promoting the Rod Stewart gig at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, and invited the boys to play support to Rod, Gary Glitter, and Jo Boxers.” (Wikipedia) 
There was a great atmosphere at the gig, lots of Scottish flags, and a very warm welcome for Rod from his adopted home crowd. Rod had by now moved fully into rock/pop hero mode, and the set reflected his late 70s and early 80s solo work, with very little from the Faces days or his early solo outings. Favourites of mine were always “I’m Losing You”, “Mandolin Wind” and “Reason to Believe”, none of which featured in Rod’s seat at the time, although he did sing the excellent “Gasoline Alley” and finish with a rocking version of “Stay With Me”. An excellent concert, with the now traditional footballs being booted out into the stadium and onto the Ibrox turf.
Setlist: Tonight I’m Yours (Don’t Hurt Me); Sweet Little Rock & Roller; Dancin’ Alone; Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright); Passion; She Won’t Dance With Me; Little Queenie; Jimmy Z Blues; Sweet Surrender; I Don’t Want to Talk About It; You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim); Baby Jane; Young Turks; What Am I Gonna Do (I’m So in Love With You); Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?; Gasoline Alley; Maggie May; Sailing; Hot Legs; Baby Jane (Reprise); Stay With Me
4 Jul
Rod Stewart Newcastle City Hall 14th December 1976
Rod Stewart Newcastle City Hall 14th December 1976
This was Rod’s first major solo outing, and it was billed as “The Concert” (I remember thinking that this was quite pretentious at the time, and to add to the pretentiousness; the tickets were printed gold!). I went with Marie to queue for tickets on the day they went on sale. Rod was playing four nights at the City Hall, and I figured that it wouldn’t be too difficult to get tickets with so many concerts. How wrong I was! When we arrived at the City Hall the queue was already right down the road. We joined the queue and stood for a few hours, only to be told that all the tickets had been sold. Gutted! However all was not lost. By chance I was going to the City Hall that night with a mate, to see David Essex, as I recall, and we asked at the box office if they had any tickets left for Rod. “You are in luck” said the lady. “We found two tickets after we closed up. They are single seats for different nights. Do you want them?” We snapped them up, I took one for the first night, and my mate took the other. I had to explain to Marie how I was now going to see Rod on my own….but she was ok with that.
The show was great. This was Rod at his best, and the crowd was massively up for it. His band was tight and hot, and he was Rod the Mod, great rasping vocals, massive ego and stage presence, lots of singalong, and loads of footballs kicked into the crowd at the end. I have never been a fan of “Sailing” but the rest of the set made up for it, in spades.
Support came from Liverpool Express.
Rod’s Band: Carmine Appice (drums), Phil Chen (bass), Jim Cregan (guitar), Billy Peek (guitar), Gary Grainger (guitar), John Jarvis (keyboards).
“The tour got off to a terrible start. The band and I were only just getting to know each other and I thought, ‘I’ll show you who can drink’. For about three weeks I was staying out all night and I wasn’t eating. It didn’t help. Then I got sick. Well, I was existing on port and brandy afternoon tea and toast. When we opened at Olympia I felt so bad it was almost like somebody telling me I shouldn’t be there.” (Rod to the Daily Mirror at the time)
Setlist: Three Time Loser; You Wear It Well; Big Bayou, Tonight’s The Night; Wild Side Of Life; This Old Heart Of Mine; Sweet Little Rock’n Roller; The Killing Of Georgie; I Don’t Want To Talk About It; Maggie May; Angel; True Blue; You Keep Me Hangin’ On; Get Back; (I Know) I’m Losing You; Sailing; Stay With Me; Twistin’ The Night Away
3 Jul
Strawbs 1972, 1973 and Newcastle City Hall 23rd September 1976
Strawbs 1972, 1973 and Newcastle City Hall 23rd September 1976
My mate Tony had the Strawbs lp “Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios” which we listened to endlessly. It must have been 1970 or 1971. Our favourite tracks were “Fingertips”, the epic “Where Is This Dream of Your Youth”, which still sounds great today, and (strangely) Rick Wakeman’s piano solo “Temperament of Mind”. I didn’t get to see Strawbs live until May 1972 at the Lincoln festival, where they played on a cold wet evening between I think Stone The Crows and The Faces. By then Rick Wakeman had departed and the line-up was Dave Cousins (vocals), Tony Hooper (guitar), Richard Hudson (drums), John Ford (bass) and Blue Weaver (keyboards). By that point their set contained classics such as “The Man Who Called Himself Jesus”, “The Hangman and the Papist” and “Benedictus”.
There was, and is, something unique about Strawbs music which sets them apart from many of their folk-rock contemporaries. Dave Cousins voice has a strange, other worldy, yet vpleasant, quality and their songs tell great stories.
The line-up of the band changed dramatically in late 1972 and early 1973, and Strawbs began to pursue a more rock/pop sound, hitting the charts with the excellent “Lay Down” and “Part of the Union”. By the time I saw them again in, I think, 1973 at Sunderland Locarno the line-up was Dave Cousins (now the only original member), Dave Lambert (guitar), Chas Cronk (bass) and Rod Coombes (drums). This was much more a rock band; Dave Cousins even wore a bright sparkling glittery jacket 🙂
The ticket here is for a later gig, in 1976 at Newcastle City Hall. By then the band were focussing more on playing in the USA. They called it a day in 1980, but soon reformed. Cousins, Lambert and Cronk continue to play today. I’ve written elsewhere on recent Strawbs gigs which I have attended, and pretty good they are too.
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