Gillan Newcastle City Hall 8th March 1981
Support Dedringer
Gillan were back in Newcastle to play at the City Hall in the Spring of 1981. They were now touring twice a year, and to be honest they were perhaps playing just a little too much. Still, I knew a Gillan gig would always be good fun, so I continued to support them and went along to every show they played in Newcastle. This time they were touring in support Future Shock, which was their third and most successful album, reaching number 2 in the UK album chart. Future Shock contained their cover version of the old song New Orleans, which was to become a live favourite, and hit the charts around the time of this tour. Gillan had already hit the charts with a rather tongue in cheek cover of Elvis’ Trouble, and New Orleans followed the same formula. In fact Gillan had quite a few chart hits at this time, resulting in frequent appearances on Top Of The Pops. 
Gillan appearances on Top of the Pops opened up a new more mainstream audience for the band, and were pretty hammed up performances. Support on the Spring 1981 tour came from Dedringer, a heavy rock band from Leeds. Although they never had any great success, Dedringer toured the UK quite a lot, supporting Gillan, Triumph and the Michael Schenker Group. This was the last time that I saw Gillan with Bernie Torme in the ranks. Torme walked out of the band after a German tour, just as the band were due to return home and play on Top of the Pops. He was replaced by White Spirit guitarist Janick Gers. The band hardly stopped for breath, and didn’t let the change of guitarist slow them done, with 1981 proving to be their most prolific yet in terms of recording output and touring.
Posts Tagged ‘classic rock’
20 Jan
Gillan Newcastle Mayfair Wed 1 Oct 1980
Gillan Newcastle Mayfair Wed 1 Oct 1980
Support: White Spirit and Quartz
By late 1980 Gillan were pretty hot stuff live and a very popular rock act, having work hard over the last year with constant touring; a couple of great performances at Reading in 1979 and 1980, and the release of the Glory Road album. Glory Road came as a limited edition double LP, containing the free LP For Gillan Fans Only, and got to No 3 in the UK charts. This tour saw Gillan returning to the Mayfair ballroom. They were now at the peak of their success, to the extent that they played two nights at the venue. I went the first night; the place was packed to the walls and Gillan were just amazing. Of all the times I saw them this is the one that sticks out in mind as a great classic rock performance. The heaving Mayfair rock crowd gave them a great reception. I guess Gillan were one the favourite Mayfair bands at that time, along with AC/DC and possibly Motorhead. 
Support came from local NWOBHM act White Spirit, who featured ace guitarist Janick Gers, and had their own strong local following. They were also growing a national following, and like Gillan, they also played at the Reading Festival that year. Janick was, of course, to go on to join Gillan and ultimately Iron Maiden, who he remains with to this day. The bill was completed by Quartz who had supported Sabbath and gigged a lot during the 70s, playing Reading in 1976, 1977 and 1980. Setlist: What’s the Matter; Bluesy Blue Sea; Black Night; (always my Purple favourite, and still gives me goose bumps when I hear it); Trouble; Born to Kill; M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction); Hadely Bop Bop; No Laughing in Heaven; Dead of Night; Bite the Bullet; Smoke on the Water; New Orleans; Helter Skelter (Yes; the Beatles song!)
19 Jan
Gillan Newcastle City Hall 6th March 1980
Gillan Newcastle City Hall March 1980
Support The Broughtons
By 1980 Gillan had graduated to playing at the City Hall for their next visit to Newcastle. Gillan had, of course, played this great venue on a number of occasions with Deep Purple. This was a short nine date UK tour which ended at London’s prestigious Rainbow Theatre. The pictures on the front and back cover of the programme were taken at the previous year’s Reading Festival , where I had seen Gillan go down a storm. I found a setlist for the Manchester gig, which lists the songs played as: Second Sight; Unchain Your Brain; Are You Sure; Mr. Universe; If You Believe Me; Trouble; No Easy Way; Nervous; Vengeance; Sleeping on the Job; and Smoke on the Water. 
Support on this occasion was the Broughtons, which was the latest incarnation of the Edgar Broughton Band. I have been a big Edgar Broughton band since I first saw them in 1971, and remain a fan to this day. I went along to this Gillan gig with my mate Dave not knowing who the support act was going to be, and was really pleased when I saw the Broughtons listed in the programme. So we gave the bar a miss, and watched Edgar (Rob), Steve and Arthur Grant deliver their set. This was at the time of the Parlez-Vous English? album, and the band was augmented by an additional guitarist and keyboards. The Broughtons played all knew material, which was disappointing, but it was still great to see Edgar and the guys on stage again. Gillan were soon to record the Glory Road lp, which was one of their best and most successful albums, and returned to Newcastle later in the year to promote it.
18 Jan
Gillan Newcastle Mayfair 5th Oct 1979
Gillan Newcastle Mayfair 5th Oct 1979
Support: Samson; Speedometors (according to the programme); Randy California (according to the ticket)
By 1979 the Gillan band had transformed into a much more rocky combo featuring Gillan (of course) on crazy, screaming vocals, the powerhouse man mountain John McCoy on bass, the charismatic Irish guitar wizard Bernie Torme, Colin Towns (from the Ian Gillan Band) on keyboards, and Mick Underwood (who I saw in Strapps as Gillan’s support act a couple of years before) on drums. The Mr Universe album had just been released. This was the Gillan line-up that was to become a familiar feature of festivals and concert halls for the next couple of years. And it was very much a band with three strong front men in the form of Gillan, John McCoy and Bernie Torme; all of whom had their own very different personalities and stage personas. McCoy would prowl around the stage, growling at the front rows of the audience. Torme mixed punk attitude with an almost glamrock image, and some amazingly flashy guitar heroics. I’m pretty sure I saw Bernie Torme once or twice fronting his own punk band, and I remember being quite surprised when he joined Gillan, but the mix worked well. Ian Gillan was the respected classic rock front man, shaking his long hair, and screaming out the vocals. 
Going along to a Gillan gig was a guarantee of a night of good fun; proper rock, loud music, some humour, some new songs and a few Purple classics. And at least once in the night, Ian would give out a scream that tore your ears apart and seemed to go on for ever. This gig presents yet another conundrum to tax my memory (which as usual fails me). The programme lists the support acts as Samson and the Speedometors, while the ticket says it was Samson and ex-spirit man and Hendrix disciple Randy California. I can’t recall who actually played that night. I certainly remember seeing Samson a few times. They featured Bruce Bruce (aka Bruce Dickinson and soon to be of Iron Maiden) on vocals, Paul Samson on guitar, and Thunderstick on drums, who word a mask and performed from inside a cage. John McCoy and Bernie Torme had both been members of earlier incarnations of the band. I don’t know who the Speedometors were, but they look pretty punky from the picture in the programme. I also saw Randy California a number of times, but I don’t recall if this was one of them. Its funny how doing this blog regularly brings up mysteries for me. I also note that the ticket calls the band the Ian Gillan band, rather than Gillan; and that the price was a bargain at £2 (in advance).
17 Jan
Ian Gillan Band Middlesbrough Town Hall 15 May 1977
Gillan Middlesbrough Town Hall 15 May 1977
Support from Strapps
I didn’t realise how many times I’d seen Ian Gillan, or rather the band of his name; Gillan. I saw them at this gig at Middlesbrough Town Hall, twice at Newcastle Mayfair, four times at Newcastle City Hall, at least a couple of times at the Reading Festival, and at Donington Monsters of Rock. At the time of this Middlesbrough concert the band was called the Ian Gillan Band and the line up was Ian Gillan – vocals; Ray Fenwick – guitars; Colin Towns – keyboards; John Gustafson – bass; and Mark Nauseef – drums. The band was much more jazzy than the later Gillan, and they had just released the album Clear Air Turbulence. If you went along to Gillan concert you were always guaranteed a good fun night; some great (and very loud) classic rock, a few Purple songs, and some amazing vocals. Ian Gillan had an incredible range in those days, and would let out some unbelievable screams. The band often seemed quite tongue in cheek, and you got the sense that they didn’t take themselves that seriously. 
This was at the time of the emergence of punk, when you would imagine classic rock acts such as Gillan would struggle to fill their concerts, but heavy rock still has a strong following in the North East and there was a reasonably good turn out for this gig, which was in the main hall of Middlesbrough Town Hall. The set was drawn largely from their latest album with a few Purple classics; probably Child In Time (which was the title of the Ian Gillan Ban’s first lp), Smoke on the Water and Black Night. The members of Ian’s band came with a strong pedigree. John Gustafson had been in The Merseybeats and Quatermass; Mark Nauseef had been in Elf with Ronnie James Dio; and Ray Fenwick had replaced Steve Howe in The Syndicats. Colin Towns was the only member to stay with Ian in his next band Gillan, and is now a respected film composer. Support band Strapps also had links to Deep Purple: drummer Mick Underwood had been in Episode Six with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover in the late ’60s (and would later join Gillan), and their album was co-produced by Glover. Next I saw Gillan the band was very different, and the emphasis was much more on heavy rock. I’ll continue my recollections of Gillan gigs tomorrow.
16 Jan
Gallagher & Lyle Newcastle City Hall 1979
Gallagher & Lyle Newcastle City Hall 1979
Support from Judie Tzuke
The last time I saw Gallagher in Lyle in concert was in 1979 at Newcastle City Hall. This was the “Lonesome No More” tour, and the band were supported by Judie Tzuke. Lonesome No More was Gallagher and Lyle’s eight studio album, and was to be their last. Certainly for me there was much more of a buzz around the up and coming special guest star in the making Judie Tzuke than the headlining duo. In fact Gallagher and Lyle split shortly after this tour. Interestingly Judie’s band of the time consisted of Mike Paxman (now Status Quo producer), John (Rhino) Edward (current Status Quo bass player) and Jeff Rich (former Quo drummer). Some pretty heavy Quo connections there! 
This was at the time of her debut album Welcome to the Cruise, which contained the hit single, Stay with me to Dawn. The hall was packed for her performance, which wasn’t often seen for a support act, as punters (including me) would usually frequent the bar until the main act took to the stage. Judie was just exquisite; Welcome to the Cruise contains some beautiful songs, and she was soon back at the City Hall as a headliner in her own right. Gallagher and Lyle went their own ways after this album and tour. They reformed last year for a few gigs in Scotland; if they play again this year I should try and get along to see them, particularly if they venture south of the border.
15 Jan
Gallagher & Lyle Newcastle City Hall 1976 and 1977
Gallagher & Lyle Newcastle City Hall 1976 and 1977
Does this one rate as a guilty pleasure? It certainly is closer to easy listening than heavy or classic rock. Gallagher & Lyle came out of the Scottish music scene with connections to Marmalade, and were members of McGuinness Flint, before going solo and having their own hits in the early 1970s. They also spent a short period as members of Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance. They recorded a series of hits including I Wanna Stay With You, Heart On My Sleeve and Breakaway, and had some great songs, all of which featured in their concerts. I also recall them playing When I’m Dead and Gone. Gallagher and Lyle in concert guaranteed a night of good music. 
The tickets here are from gigs in 1976 and 1977 at Newcastle City Hall, and the programme is from the 1977 concert. The support act for the 1976 concert was Chris De Burgh. The programme tells me that the 1977 tour was in support of the Love on the Airwaves album, which was their sixth lp, and followed the massive success of the Breakaway album which stayed in the album chart for 35 weeks, and spawned three hit singles. Support for the 1977 gig was a band called Cado Bell, who hailed from Glasgow. 
Looking at the programme, I see that the lead singer was Maggie Reilly, who went on to sing Moonlight Shadow with Mike Oldfield. I often learn something each time I reflect on one of these gigs from the past; I wasn’t aware that I had seen Maggie Reilly, although having said that I may have seen her with Mike Oldfield. As well as these gigs I saw Ronnie Lane’s Passing Show tour, and Gallagher and Lyle were members of the band at that time. I also saw them as support acts for other artists. I saw Gallagher and Lyle once more in concert in 1979, again at Newcastle City Hall. I’ll reflect on that gig tomorrow.
14 Jan
Greenslade Newcastle City Hall 1974
Greenslade Newcastle City Hall 1974
Greenslade were formed by Dave Greenslade left Jon Hiseman’s Colosseum. The members of Greenslade were: Dave Greenslade – keyboards; Tony Reeves – bass guitar and double bass; Dave Lawson – keyboards and vocals; and Andrew McCulloch – drums and percussion. By the time of this gig in 1974 they had released three albums: Greenslade (1972); Bedside Manners Are Extra (1973); and Spyglass Guest which reached 34 in the UK charts in 1974. Greenslade were a keyboard and synth-led proggy rock band, with heavy use of melletron. A group of us went to this concert. I remember the set as being largely instrumental, and quite heavy prog stuff. Their lp covers were pretty neat with cool Roger Dean illustrations. I also saw Greenslade play at the Reading Festival in 1973.
13 Jan
Caravan Sage Gateshead Jan 12th 2013
Caravan Sage Gateshead Jan 12th 2013
For Girls Who Grow Plump 40th Anniversary UK Tour
Went to see Caravan at the Sage Gateshead last night. I can’t pretend to be a big fan, or to know much of their material but I enjoyed the gig much more than I expected. The set was drawn from “For Girls Who Grow Plump In the Night” and “Land of Grey and Pink” albums. The gig was in Hall 2, which is the smaller hall, and was packed with a very appreciative crowd of fans. I didn’t recognise any of the material; the only Caravan tracks I remember are “If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You” and “For Richard” Not being familair with a band’s material usually makes a gig boring for me, but I found last night pretty enjoyable. Caravan’s music has always been difficult to categorise, blending rock, prog, jazz, and folk. The latest line-up is original member Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals; Jim Leverton – bass; Geoffrey Richardson (who has been with the band since 1972) – guitar, viola, violin; Jan Schelhaas – keyboards and Mark Walker – drums, percussion. 
Some beautiful violin playing, and some nifty spoon antics, from Geoff, and Pye’s vocals held up well considering that he was suffering from the “lurgy”. The last track was the very long “Nine Feet Underground” which went down well with the crowd. A nice concert by a legendary band. list: Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss; In the Land of Grey and Pink; Smoking Gun (Right for Me); The Unauthorized Breakfast Item; L’ Auberge du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Backwards; The Dog The Dog, He’s At It Again; Golf Girl; Nightmare; Fingers in the Till; Chance of a Lifetime; Nine Feet Underground.
12 Jan
Gamma (featuring Ronnie Montrose) Newcastle City Hall 1981
Gamma (featuring Ronnie Montrose) Newcastle City Hall 1981
Support from Praying Mantis
Ronnie Montrose came with a strong rock pedigree, having started off as a session musician for top artists such as Van Morrison, then becoming a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and by 1974 he was fronting the great Montrose along with Sammy Hagar. I saw Montrose twice; once as support for Status Quo, and around the same time as the opening act at the Who’s 1974 Charlton gig. They were amazing; full-on rock with two classic tracks: Bad Motor Scooter, and Space Station No 5. By 1981 Sammy Hagar was fronting his own band, and Ronnie Montrose was leading Gamma alongside Glasgow-born singer Davey Pattison. Gamma arrived to tour the UK at the time of the emergence of the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal), and support act for the concerts was NWOBHM band Praying Mantis.
In the tour programme Ronnie Montrose describes Gamma as a “full-blown, high energy rock ‘n’ roll band” and that is exactly my memory of this gig at Newcastle City Hall. Some classic, loud, heavy rock and the bonus of Montrose classics Bad Motor Scooter, and Space Station No 5. I was sitting close to the front, and they were LOUD. The gig was not that well attended, as I recall, which was a shame, as they were a pretty hot rock act. Ronnie Montrose sadly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2012; he had been battling prostate cancer. I didn’t realise it until I checked things out for this blog, but I saw singer Davey Pattison a few years ago as the singer in Robin Trower’s band. My searching for Gamma facts also unearthed a setlist for the Birmingham gig of the tour: Ready for Action; Thunder and Lightning; Dirty City; Razor King; Space Station No 5; Skin and Bone; Rock The Nation; I Got The Fire; Voyager; Four Horseman; Mayday; Mean Streak; Something in the Air. Encore: No Tears; Bad Motor Scooter.
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