It is many years since I last saw Stiff Little Fingers. I seem to recall seeing them at Newcastle City Hall on their farewell tour, in the mid–1980s, supported by (I think) James (or did I dream that?). Somewhere along the line the band reformed, fronted by original member Jake Burns. Roll back a few years more and I remember witnessing their first Newcastle concert at the Guildhall in 1978 when they were supported by local punk heroes The Angelic Upstarts.
There was a lot of trouble that night as I recall. Keith Bell, a.k.a. The Sheriff, the manager of the Upstarts stood at the front of the stage keeping the crowd in order. This was at the time of their first album Inflammable Material and great songs such as “Suspect Device” and “Alternative Ulster”. So, roll forward almost 45 years and I am trying to make up for lost time, going to a SLF concert again. The band is once again fronted by Jake Burns. Perfect.
“In 2006, original bassist Ali McMordie returned to the fold, and the line-up has settled to the best ever; Jake Burns on lead vocals and guitar, Ali McMordie on bass, Ian McMallun on guitar, and Steve Grantley on drums. Though focused on their new material, they always play the old favorites at gigs. Jake said, “You have to strike a balance. The difficulty with a band like ourselves is to try not make it sound like a cabaret band.
Obviously, it’d be very easy to go, ‘Hey, here’s another old one you may remember.’ A lot of the old songs the audience greet like old friends. I suppose it’s the same as any band that’s been around for any length of time. And yes, there are nights that we don’t particularly want to play “Alternative Ulster” or “Suspect Device” because we’ve heard them ’til they’re coming out our ears. But there’s always the possibility that somebody out there has never seen the band before, never heard them.”” (From SLF website).
Support came from Glen Matlock, original Sex Pistol, who played a collection of his own songs, “Blank Generation” by Richard Hell, a Rich Kids song which was unfamiliar to me and “Pretty Vacant”. An excellent opening to the proceedings.
“Stiff Little Fingers formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1977 during the height of “The Troubles” and the early stages of the punk movement. In February 1978, in jest and as a very shrewd marketing move, the band made tapes of their inaugural single “Suspect Device” in packaging resembling a bomb, and dispatched it to record companies and radio stations.
One notable recipient who refrained from promptly tossing it into a bucket of water was John Peel. He played the track repeatedly, ultimately catalyzing a deal with Rough Trade and igniting a career that has endured for nearly 50 years, encompassing countless performances, 10 studio albums, 18 live albums, and only one breakup. 2024 is going to be a big year for Stiff Little Fingers with the “Hate Has No Home Here” tour, which starts in March in the UK.” https://www.inspitemagazine.com/in-spite-articles/stiff-little-fingers
The band were as incendiary as ever opening with “Suspect Device” and closing with “Alternative Ulster”. Along the way we were also treated to great songs including an excellent cover of “Love Of the Common People”, “Wasted Life” and “Nobody’s Hero”. Excellent. Jake Burns was on top form and the band were as powerful as they ever were.
Many thanks to Elaine for taking the photos and Jan for helping me manipulate the site.
Setlist: Suspect Device; State of Emergency; Fly the Flag; Hate Has No Home Here; At the Edge; Silver Lining; Love of the Common People; Just Fade Away; Last Train From the Wasteland; Roots, Radics, Rockers, Reggae; Empty Sky; Wasted Life; Get a Life; Strummerville; Nobody’s Hero; Tin Soldiers; Gotta Gettaway.
Encore: Doesn’t Make It Alright; Alternative Ulster
One year on and much has changed. Last year when I saw the band in the same venue they were at the point of retiring, as a result of the sad passing of original member and fantastic keyboards player Dave Greenfield. His Doors tinged keyboard mastery formed the backdrop and rhythm to many of their classic songs. Remaining founder member Jean Jaques Burnell felt strongly that it was time to call it a day and close 
The other big change was the layout of the City Hall. Last time it was all standing downstairs with the wheelchair area on a raised platform to the rear of the hall, with a great view of the stage. This time it was all seated with wheelchair customers right at the front of the hall. The view was equally good. However it was surprising that the hall was seated rather than standing. Most energetic bands including heavy rock and new wave/punk usually warrant a standing setup. I was surprised at this and the band also seemed somewhat surprised. Nevertheless everything worked well.
Finally the stage setup was amazing with raised platforms for the drummer and keyboard player who sat behind an amazing keyboard arrangement. Everything was set out in grey. It looked wonderful.
The other noticeable change is that Jean Jacques Burnell has taken more of a leading role. It seemed to me that he sang a lot more of the songs and has to some extent reclaimed the legacy of the Stranglers. I could almost hear him saying “this is my band and I am proud to lead it”. And so he should be. Alongside him local lad Sunderland’ s Baz Warne has taken over the space fronting the band which was left by Hugh Cornwell many years ago. And a great job he does of it.
As we got to the end and the encores, Jean Jacques announced “We started in 1974. There are few bands that have been around that long and kept going throughout. We came from the pub rock movement. Some bands seem ashamed of that but we are proud to have been born as a pub rock band. So let us go right back to the start and our first single “Go Buddy Go”. Fantastic. The Stranglers are back and proud to be filling venues like the City Hall again where I saw them over 40 years ago.
Setlist: Set 1: Just Like Nothing on Earth; Hallow to Our Men; The Raven; Baroque Bordello; North Winds; Genetix; Princess of the Streets; Breathe; Hanging Around; Down in the Sewer.
A bit of an adventure in Leeds. I will explain more below.
Next up on this multi-band line–up was 
They had numerous singles in the UK Singles Chart and chart success all over Europe and Japan, as well as success in the United States. During the 1980s, Saxon established themselves among Europe’s most successful metal acts. The band tour regularly and have sold more than 13 million albums worldwide. The band was formed in Barnsley in 1977 by Peter “Biff” Byford on vocals, Paul Quinn and Graham Oliver on guitars, Steve “Dobby” Dawson on bass, Pete Gill on drums and were originally named “Son of a Bitch”. In 1979, the band changed their name to Saxon and signed to French record label Carrere who then released their eponymous debut album.”
It was when they were called “Son of a Bitch” that I first saw the band. They used to play Sunderland Boilermakers club on a Saturday afternoon just before the football match. I would regularly go and see them (but never went to the match). I also recall seeing them at West Cornforth “Doggy” club (don’t ask me why West Cornforth was known locally as “Doggy”: the answer is lost in my memory somewhere). Anyway “Son of a Bitch” were a class act. I then saw them transform into Saxon and gain fame as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
“‘Wheels of Steel’, released in 1980, charted at #5 in the UK and stayed in those charts for six months. It resulted in two hit songs: the title track and the crowd favourite “747 (Strangers in the Night)”. As a result, Saxon began a series of long UK tours. On 16 August, they earned a positive reception at the first Monsters of Rock festival, commemorated by the following year’s “And the Bands Played On”. Their set was recorded, but not officially released until 2000. In April of that year, Saxon made the first of many appearances on Top of the Pops, performing the hit “Wheels of Steel”.”
Anyway, they were absolutely great and warranted their position as second on the bill. I recognised many of the songs including “Dallas 1 PM” (about the assassination of JFK), “747 (strangers in the night)” and “wheels of steel”. Biff may have white hair these days but he still has a very powerful voice and looks fantastic. Towards the end of the set he brought onto the stage the original (now retired) guitarist. As I recall in the early days, he would have his guitar strapped to his belt and spin it around. It looked pretty impressed back in the day.
Setlist: The Prophecy; Hell, Fire and Damnation; Motorcycle Man; Sacrifice; There’s Something in Roswell; And the Bands Played On; Madame Guillotine; Power and the Glory; Fire and Steel; Dallas 1 PM; 747 (Strangers in the Night); Wheels of Steel; Denim and Leather; Princess of the Night.
After a short interval 
Like Saxon, I go back a long way with Judas Priest. I used to see them play regularly at Sunderland Locarno ballroom. I seem to recall seeing them in the very early days with another singer, before Rob Halford joined the band (or did I dream that?). Then I saw them many times at Newcastle Mayfair and Newcastle City Hall. I recall Rob whipping the audience at one concert: someone caught hold of the whip and almost pulled him into the crowd. They were always extreme loud metal, as they are today. Fantastic. They remain the epitome of heavy metal.
From the arena website: “There are few heavy metal bands that have managed to scale the heights that Judas Priest have during their nearly 50-year career. Their presence and influence remains at an all-time high as evidenced by 2018’s ‘Firepower’ being the highest charting album of their career, a 2010 Grammy Award win for ‘Best Metal Performance’, plus being a 2006 VH1 Rock Honors recipient and a 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination.
Judas Priest originally formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill would be the nucleus of musicians (along with several different drummers over the years) that would go on to change the face of heavy metal. After a ‘feeling out’ period of a couple of albums, 1974’s ‘Rocka Rolla’ and 1976’s ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ this line-up truly hit their stride. The result was a quartet of albums that separated Priest from the rest of the hard rock pack - 1977’s ‘Sin After Sin’, 1978’s ‘Stained Class’ and ‘Hell Bent for Leather’, and 1979’s ‘Unleashed in the East’, which spawned such metal anthems as ‘Sinner’, ‘Diamonds and Rust’, ‘Hell Bent for Leather’, and ‘The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)’. Also, Priest were one of the first metal bands to exclusively wear leather and studs – a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world. “
Setlist: War Pigs (intro, by Black Sabbath); Invincible Shield Tour Anthem; Panic Attackl; You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’; Breaking the Law; Rapid Fire; Lightning Strike; Love Bites; Saints in Hell; Trial by Fire; Turbo Lover; Invincible Shield; Victim of Changes; Metal Gods; The Green Manalishi; Painkiller.
We had to leave early to catch our train. A quick walk down through the streets of Leeds took us to the station. When we arrived the passenger assistance guy was waiting at the station for us. “Your train is cancelled” he explained. We did not believe him at first, but soon we realised it was true. Apparently and sadly, a train had hit a deer somewhere near Northallerton and the line was blocked. Anyway the passenger assistance people guaranteed that they would get us home somehow. I explained that I needed to get back to take my night time medication. The guy then took us straight to the taxi rank at the front of the station and helped us into a wheelchair cab. Jackie, Elaine and I were then up the road through Wetherby and onward on the A1 towards Sunderland. 90 minutes later, at 1 AM I was back in my bed. The end of a fantastic very memorable adventurous evening.
As the title suggests, this was a greatest hits tour. I have seen 
That was, of course, the original lineup of Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. I then saw the later lineup during the period that they hit the chart with “Dreadlock Holiday”. I have not seen them since. So this was me reuniting myself with my old memories of excellent past concerts and the new version of the band fronted by Graham Gouldman.
The website of The Glasshouse proclaimed: “50 years on from their debut album, art pop and soft rock legends 10cc are back on tour. Their live shows are a hit Parade of sing-along classics like “I’m Not in Love,” “Rubber Bullets” and “The Things We Do For Love” that capture the band’s witty lyrics and innovative studio wizardry.”
“Having sold over 15 million albums in the UK alone, 10cc have eleven Top 10 hits to their name, including three No 1 singles – Rubber Bullets, Dreadlock Holiday and the ubiquitous I’m Not In Love – along with Donna (No 2), Art For Art’s Sake and Good Morning Judge (both reaching 5), The Things We Do For Love and I’m Mandy Fly Me (6), and The Wall Street Shuffle (10).”
The new band is led by Graham Gouldman, and also features Rick Fenn (lead guitar, bass), Paul Burgess (drums) – both of whom have been with 10cc since the early years; alongside Keith Hayman (keyboards, guitars, bass,) and Iain Hornal (keyboards).
Particular favourite songs were, for me: “Rubber Bullets” (which closed the evening), a wonderful a cappella version of “Donna”, “I’m Mandy Fly Me” and (of course) “I’m Not in love”. All of which took me back many years to many, many happy memories. At one point a wonderful image of Kevin Godley appeared on the screen. Almost spooky! Excellent.
Setlist: The Second Sitting for the Last Supper; Art for Art’s Sake; Life Is a Minestrone; Good Morning Judge; The Dean and I; Old Wild Men; Clockwork Creep; Feel the Benefit; The Wall Street Shuffle; Floating in Heaven; The Things We Do for Love; Say the Word; Silly Love; I’m Mandy Fly Me; I’m Not in Love; Dreadlock Holiday.
I first saw Yes in 1969, supporting the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band before 
On entering The Glasshouse Jackie and I headed for the merchandise stand where I met up with two friends I had not seen for some time. A nice surprise. The evening was full of surprises; more of which later. I purchased a couple of programmes, a signed poster and a T-shirt. We then moved speedily to the bar and I treated myself to a bottle of Newcastle Brown ale, something I have not had for many years (no Guinness available). Jackie and I then took to our seats.
Having taken up our seats at the rear of the hall, I uncharacteristically decided to have a look through my programme. To my delight I noticed that the lead singer for the evening was 
The concert was in two parts: a set of Yes classics, and after a short interval, a full performance of Rick Wakeman’s orchestral extravaganza LP Journey to the Centre of the Earth. So, we were treated to a short run through of some of the greatest prog rock of the early 1970s including a couple of my favourite songs: “Roundabout” and “And You and I”. It seemed a strange idea to have a lady like Mollie fronting the band and in effect taking the role of Jon Anderson, but it worked well. Jon always had quite a high pitched vocal, so maybe it was an inevitable choice. Mollie has a strong, powerful vocal and danced a little, charismatic and mesmerising. The plaudits of Mollie are many.
From the Mollie Marriott website: “Proving she can rock like her father, Mollie started her career in rock music at the age of 15 when working with Britpop legends, Oasis. Since then she has worked with and supported some powerhouses in rock: Robert Plant, The Who, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler, The Faces and the Modfather himself Paul Weller, who she worked with on her debut album, Truth Is A Wolf released in 2017.”
And so came the interval and time for a Jack Daniels, just to set me up for the rest of the evening. Rick returned wearing a different, equally flamboyant, cape and proceeded to lead his band through the entire journey to the centre of the earth album which, to my eyes and ears some 50 years later, was much, much more enjoyable than the first time round when I thought it a little over the top prog. Mollie was again excellent as was Rick, surrounded by an array of synthesisers and keyboards. This was clearly his music, his band/orchestra and it was absolutely fantastic. At the end of this extended piece, the crowd (the hall was full, by the way) gave Rick Wakeman a well deserved standing ovation.
I thought that would be the end of the concert. But the house lights remained down and the crowd continued to cheer for more. And Rick did indeed return to give us more. A wonderful rendition of “Starship Trooper” closed the evening. An evening full of memories, surprises and more importantly, excellent 1970s music. Perfect.
Setlist: Set 1: Roundabout; The YES Suite (Part A – The Meeting); The YES Suite (Part B – Wonderous Stories); The YES Suite (Part C – South Side of the Sky); And You and I;
A lovely evening spent in a great venue in my home town. I have passed on many chances to see 
For some reason, I have had Rory Gallagher in my mind lately. I was and remain, a big fan of Rory. I first saw him in 1970 when he was playing with his first band Taste. I remember Rory performing classic songs such as “Blister on the Moon” and “Catfish” complete with his battered Fender Stratocaster and a Vox AC30 amplifier. Out of pure madness I recently bought myself a Stratocaster and a Vox AC30 purely to use as ornaments with no chance of me ever being able to play them. Still, they remind me of Rory and many other great bands and guitarists. In those days the performer could fill the hall with the sound of that small amplifier; no big Marshall stacks then!
So, apologies for digressing. Why do I return to Rory? I saw glimpses of Rory in Joanne Shaw Taylor’s performance the other night in The Fire Station. Why do I need to compare people I see with my past heroes? Not sure, and it is probably an unfair thing to do. Joanne Shaw Taylor has her own, very powerful, unique repertoire to draw upon. Comparisons are unnecessary. She is a very soulful, bluesy singer who plays extraordinary electric blues guitar. How could I have missed opportunities to see this lady so many times before. Foolishness; pure foolishness, that’s all.
The Fire Station announced the gig: “Join Joanne Shaw Taylor and her stellar band performing songs from her critically acclaimed studio album, Nobody’s Fool, as well as songs from the upcoming new album. Her guitar prowess, vocal abilities, and songwriting talents reach new heights as she presents a bold slate of material at the peak of her career. Joanne will also dig deep into her rich back catalogue where she will hand-pick songs from her previous recordings along with classic blues songs.”
A mix of country, soul and blues. She even played a song from the 1960s which was very different to how I remembered it. So different that by the time I got home I had forgotten what the song was. I searched on the Internet and discovered that it was “If You Gotta Make A Fool of Somebody” which was, of course, a hit for Freddie and the Dreamers in the UK. Joanne’s version was very different; soulful and bluesy with exquisite electric guitar by Joanne herself and also her guitarist. Perhaps Joanne’s version is closer to the original song which I must look up.
Joanne is supported by a band of excellent musicians but is very much a charismatic band leader. Her performance was amazing, much better than I expected and she surely must progress to greater things. Joe Bonamassa comes to mind. Another comparison; apologies Joanne. Joe played blues clubs and small venues and gradually built up a following to the extent he now fills arenas around the world. It was a privilege to catch this great blues singer and guitarist in a small venue. Fantastic. Someone I must definitely see again.
I recall going to see many movies: all of the Disney cartoons,The Man from Uncle films, Cliff Richard in Summer Holiday, Born Free, Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu, the Beatles in Hard Days Night and Help and, of course, all of the James Bond films from Doctor No onwards through From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, the spoof Casino Royale and You Only Live Twice.
I was a massive fan of the Sean Connery Bond films and the theme tunes: the James Bond theme by the 
So I was looking forward to this performance of the James Bond theme songs and music, by no less than the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor 
The concert itself was excellent with great deliveries of the songs going from the early Sean Connery days up to the present day and epics such as “Skyfall” originally performed by Adele and “A View to a Kill” originally performed by Duran Duran. The vocalists delivered the songs excellently and the entire concert was just fine. I even decided to buy some of my old favourites on eBay (see images) and I purchased a natty little programme at the concert.
Many thanks to Chris for the images and navigating the site again. By the way, Sean Connery was still the best Bond. I still live back in the 1960s and my happy memories of the cinema with my dad. This concert took me back some 60 years. Happy days.
Setlist: Dr No – Theme; You Only Live Twice – Title Song; GoldenEye – Title Song; Live and Let Die – Title Theme; From Russia With Love – Title Song; Quantum of Solace – Another Way to Die; The World is Not Enough – Title Song; Goldfinger – Title Song; A View to a Kill – Title Song;
Thunderball -Title Song; Skyfall – Title Song; For Your Eyes Only – Title Song; The Spy Who Loved Me – Nobody Does It Better; Moonraker – Title Theme; No Time to Die – Title Song; On Her Majestys Secret Service – We Have All the Time in the World; Casino Royale – You Know My Name; Diamonds Are Forever – Title Song; Spectre – The Writings on the wall; Licence to Kill – Title Song
Being a massive fan of 
Now Nick Harper comes with some growing credentials including the following:
The extract below from Nick’s own site explains how he blends words, stories with music. He is also an excellent acoustic guitarist, by the way: “As 2020 got about its reckless mischief……Nick retreated to the studio. The resulting album couldn’t have been more of a great escape in every way. Phantastes is an ethereal dream realm of an album that explores the parallels of the seminal fantasy novel of the same name by George MacDonald and the beginnings of Nick’s own love story from 1982. Totally divorced from 2020 in time and space, the album has been enthusiastically received by fans seeking a temporary refuge from the here and now. Continuing his recent predilection for the spoken word, Nick cemented the bond between his music and the aforementioned book by recording an audiobook of Phantastes, with musical interpretations of George MacDonald’s poems and songs contained therein.”
So, on the recommendation of some friends and reading the above testimonies I went along with high expectations. After a short wait Nick took to the stage and it soon became obvious how many fans and friends this guy has. Everyone seemed to know Nick and his songs and there was quite a lot of banter between artist and crowd, no I would call them friends. This is somewhat reminiscent, although quite different, to the way in which his father Roy would interact and chat with his audience.
Each song was preceded by quite a lengthy, yet fascinating, explanation of how the song came together. Nick explained that some came in a matter of minutes and others took many years to gestate. There were references to his father, late mother, late grandfather and his daughter. This is clearly a close family, and that comes through in the stories and the songs. Sometimes I thought I could hear echoes of his father’s voice; only for an instant and then it was gone. Nick is his own man with a set of strong songs, lots of stories, and is an incredible acoustic guitarist to boot.
During the interval he kindly signed a copy of one of his albums which I purchased (see image). The second half continued with more stories and songs. Throughout the evening Nick replenished himself with shots of tequila, several of which he shared with members of the audience. All too soon it was over and Jan and I were out in the cold night air and into our taxi homeward bound (an intentional pointer towards one of Nick’s stated influences, Paul Simon, another being the great folk singer/guitarist Davey Graham, whose music he played before his set and during the interval).
A lovely evening spent with a great guitarist, singer and wordsmith. Many thanks to Jan for the photographs and to Chris for manipulating the site. Afterwards I went to his website and bought a T-shirt which also tempted me towards Roy Harper’s site where I also purchased a shirt. That’s me done on Harper merchandise for now. I have added an image of a flyer from when I saw Roy in 2019 just to round things off and take me back to my starting point.
This was a great local event, hosted by 
Friday night was wonderful and eventful in many ways. My carer Jackie and I arrived late afternoon in order to catch Eric Bell, who was playing two sets: one in the early afternoon and one later in the day. We decided to go along for the later set hoping to catch him play some old Thin Lizzy favourites. As we arrived we were welcomed by the guys on the door who pointed us towards the VIP lounge where we were introduced to the man himself, Eric Bell!
We had a pleasant chat with this legend, during which I reminded Eric about meeting him with Phil Lynott in the bar of Sunderland Locarno around 1971 or 1972. Eric asked me if liked old Thin Lizzy, which of course I replied I did, and I also said I liked the later Thin Lizzy which he agreed with. “Do you like the Beatles? And Jimi Hendrix?” Asked Eric. “Yes of course” I replied. “I also love the Rolling Stones” I added. Eric nodded his head. Do you like “Whiskey in the Jar” and “The Rocker” he asked. “Of course,” I replied.
We then entered the main stage room which was situated upstairs. Downstairs there were two further stages: an acoustic stage and a blues stage. This really was a fantastic, well-coordinated event. The organisers had kept a table for us at the back of the room where Jackie and I had a great view of the proceedings. They then very kindly, as a result of our early bird VIP tickets, presented us with a plate of pizza, and another containing garlic bread and nibbles. Lovely. This really was a great event in every way.
After a short while, the Eric Bell Trio took to the stage. The first part of their short set was a series of excellent renditions of traditional blues classics. I was beginning to think that maybe Eric now focuses on the blues and might not play thin Lizzy songs. But then the opening bars to “Whiskey in the Jar” rang around the room and we were off back into many happy memories of the early Lizzy that I saw several times in the first part of the 1970s. After a great rendition of “Whiskey in the Jar”, Eric finished the set with the aforementioned “The Rocker”. Pure magic from a gent and a legend.
After another short break, the 
We all left the club in quite an orderly fashion, Jackie and I taking the lift downwards and out onto the cold windy seaside street in Cullercoats. Everyone was waiting outside to be re-admitted to the venue. My friendly taxi driver was waiting around the corner so Jackie and I decided to take a ride home that evening. A very eventful and enjoyable evening at the 
Roll-on to Sunday night and we had a shorter but also eventful visit back to the Cullercoats Crescent Club. The programme told us that Martin Turner was playing two sets: one in the afternoon and one quite early in the evening. Once again, I was really interested in seeing Martin as the headline act so Elaine my carer for the evening and I turned up just in time to see him play. On arrival we were told “Martin Turner has already been on. Because of the weather he decided to play a longer set in the afternoon”.
I was a little disappointed, however the organiser was very kind and apologetic, explaining the circumstances which were, on reflection, very understandable. The weather last Sunday evening was terrible with gale force winds and we were situated right on the coast. I would imagine that Martin Turner had to travel quite a distance to home or his next gig so I can understand why he needed to leave early. Never mind I have tickets to see him perform at Newcastle Cluny later in the year. Elaine and I decided to join in with the full festival experience and after a pint of Guinness and a great set by the 
Two interesting acts at a local venue. It has been many years since I have seen both of these. I last saw 
The last time I saw 
We had a great vantage point on the wheelchair platform. First up were The Primitives who played a great selection of jangly pop tunes including, of course, “Crash” which sounded as fresh and singalong today as it did all those years ago. During Hugh Cornwell’s set Tracy was down in front of the merchandise stand and we caught her and she kindly signed my ticket (see image).
Soon Hugh took to the stage with his three-piece band. Himself on vocals and guitar, a bass player who pounded away on his bass guitar in a similar way to that of Stranglers bass player Jean-Jacques Burnel and mid-stage a drummer also pounding away at his kit. The set was once again a mixture of solo material and a few Stranglers gems thrown in here and there.
In total he played around 9 Stranglers tracks, some of which I recognised including “Always the Sun”, “Strange Little Girl” and the closing track which took me right back to the early days “Hanging Around”. A two hour set which didn’t drag at all. The crowd loved it and Hugh seemed to enjoy himself. At the end a guy dressed as a chicken arrived on stage to play maracas. Bizarre.
Setlist: I Wannahideinsideaya; Too Much Trash; Skin Deep (Stranglers); Wrong Side of the Tracks; Delightful Nightmare; Strange Little Girl (Stranglers); Totem and Taboo; Bad Vibrations; Who Wants the World? (Stranglers); Moments of Madness; When I Was a Young Man; Tramp (Stranglers); Pure Evel; Mr. Leather; Always the Sun (Stranglers); Duce Coochie Man; Goodbye Toulouse (Stranglers); Another Kind of Love; Out of My Mind (Stranglers); Live it and Breathe it; Leave Me Alone; Thrown Away (Stranglers); Lasagna; Hanging Around (Stranglers).
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