Eddie and the Hot Rods Newcastle City Hall 1977
Support from Radio Stars
I looked forward to this gig with great excitement. I’d read a lot about Eddie and the Hot Rods in the music papers of the time, who compared them to The Sex Pistols and other punk bands of that era. In reality, and on reflection, they were closer to the Feelgoods and R&B than punk, but at the time I went along to any gig that closely resembled punk rock. The City Hall was packed to see The Hot Rods, and everyone was looking forward to a night of high energy punk rock n roll. Support act Radio Stars warmed the crowd up with their catchy pop/punk, frontman Andy Ellison going totally crazy, climbing up the speakers, jumping from the balcony and being every bit the mad punk star. I remember the song Dirty Pictures, which was good fun, and thought Radio Stars should have been more successful than they were. 
The Hot Rods live in 77 was pure energy. Singer Barrie Masters would run backwards and forwards across the stage at super speed, flanked by the guitarists who were throwing out Chuck Berry riffs at 1,000mph. The music was superfast R&B, blending pop, punk and garage; the Hot Rods were definitely a live force to be reckoned with in those days. Their set in those early days drew heavily from the first album Teenage Depression, and also included some well chosen covers, all played at breakneck speed: The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright”, Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” Bob Seger’s “Get Out of Denver,” ? Mark’s “96 Tears,” and the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”. A good fun night guaranteed. And the Hot Rods were just that, good fun. No deep politics, no snarling or pretentiousness, just good clean, very very fast rock n roll. We all rolled out of the City Hall that night wringing with sweat, worn out and totally satisfied!
Posts Tagged ‘concert’
6 Nov
Eddie and the Hot Rods Newcastle City Hall 1977
5 Nov
Emerson Lake & Palmer reunion Newcastle City Hall 1992
Emerson, Lake and Palmer reformed in 1991, and returned to play at Newcastle City Hall a year later. This gig was some 20 years since I had last seen the band, and I was looking forward to seeing how they shaped up after all that time. They released a new album Black Moon in the same year, and the programme features the cover from the album. The City Hall wasn’t full for this gig, but a respectable crowd turned out to see the band. The set was a mix of songs from throughout ELP’s career, including tracks from the new album. My favourites were the Greg Lake songs: Lucky Man, Still….You Turn Me On. It was good to hear America and Rondo again, which took me back to seeing the Nice. I don’t recall whether Keith played the City Hall organ at this concert, but I suspect he will have done so. 
Setlist: Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2; Tarkus; Knife-Edge; Paper Blood; Black Moon; Close to Home; Creole Dance; From the Beginning; Still… You Turn Me On; Lucky Man; Honky Tonk Train Blues; Romeo and Juliet; Pirates; Pictures at an Exhibition. Encore: Fanfare for the Common Man; America; Rondo. My friend John saw the US leg of the tour, and picked up a signed programme, which has a different to design to mine. Since that gig I have seen little of ELP or its members. I’ve seen Greg Lake playing solo once in concert, and he is touring the UK at the moment, so I may catch another gig of his shortly. 
The only time I’ve seen Keith Emerson recently has been as part of the supporting bill for the Led Zeppelin reunion/Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert at the O2 Arena in London in 2007. Emerson opened the concert along with Chris Squire and Alan White from Yes, and Simon Kirke from Bad Company/Free. This supergroup lineup played a new arrangement of “Fanfare for the Common Man” at the O2 gig. In 2010, a one-off Emerson, Lake & Palmer reunion concert closed the High Voltage Festival in Victoria Park, London to commemorate the band’s 40th anniversary. I regret now that I didn’t go to that gig.
4 Nov
Emerson Lake & Palmer Newcastle Odeon 1972
By 1972 ELP were mega popular, and had graduated to playing two shows at Newcastle Odeon which was a larger venue than the City Hall, the venue for their previous concert in the city. I went along to the early show with a group of friends. The concert was originally set to take place on November 16th 1972. The place was packed and everyone was looking forward to the gig, but before they were due to take to the stage a message went over the PA to tell us that there were problems with the equipment and the concert would not be going ahead. We all had to leave, very disappointed; however the concert was rescheduled to take place a couple of weeks later, on 29th November 1972. 
When we did finally get to see ELP this time, the spectacle had moved up a level. Keith had his usual bank on keyboards and also had a portable keyboard which he dragged around the stage and held out to the crowd for people to play. The stage show was much bigger; I seem to recall a massive Tarkus behind the band. ELP were massively successful at this point in their career, and would go on to even greater success, particularly in America. I recall the show as being pretty wild, with the crowd going crazy for the band, and Keith playing extended solos. We were quite close to the front and had a good view. A published setlist for Hammersmith Odeon on the same tour shows the songs played as: Hoedown; Tarkus; The Endless Enigma; At The Sign of Swinging Cymbal; The Sheriff; Take a Pebble; Lucky Man; Pictures at an Exhibition; Nutrocker. They may also, I suspect, have played Rondo. This time the programme was a nice white booklet with a red bow on the cover. 
Thanks to John for sending me a scan of the programme to the right, which comes from an earlier gig at the City Hall.This looks to me like a “show souvenir” which were often sold outside the venue. These are highly collectable now, more so than the official programmes.
I’ve been searching the internet a lot for any stories of ELP in concert in the early 70s to help jog my memory, but have found very little, which I must say surprises me. ELP were a very important band, and their legacy is often forgotten. They blended classical music with rock in a way that no other band did. There were, of course, several other bands working in a similar style, The Moody Blues, Yes and Deep Purple come to mind. But none of these bands were as true to the classical nature of the music as ELP. Having said that, they were very much of their time, and of that period. I think back to that gig at the Odeon with some fondness; it was vert different to anything else that I was going to see at the time.
3 Nov
Emerson, Lake & Palmer Newcastle City Hall 1971
Emerson Lake & Palmer Newcastle City Hall 1971
Support from Michael Chapman & Spontaneous Combustion
Emerson, Lake & Palmer were pretty hot stuff in 1971. They were very popular, and just on the verge of mega success. My mate had their first eponymous album and Pictures at an Exhibition, which had been recorded at Newcastle City Hall earlier that year. We used to go round to his house and we would play both albums again and again. The music on th first album was a curious blend of the pomp classical-rock of Keith Emerson, coupled with the beautiful melodies of Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer’s drum solo Tank. I would always ask to hear Take a Pebble and Lucky Man. I’d seen Keith Emerson in concert in the Nice at Sunderland Empire, and I knew how good a showman he was, so when ELP returned to the City Hall later in 1971, I bought a ticket. 
I remember being totally blown away by ELP that night; I had a seat close to the front, which always helps. Going to concerts was still a relatively new experience for me, and I would watch every minute of each gig that I attended, studying the musicians and their onstage antics, and ELP had so many strengths to wonder at. Emerson live was a spectacle to behold in himself. Surrounded by two Hammond organs, a Moog, a grand piano, and a Lesley cabinet; Keith was the ultimate early 70s performer. He would play two organs at once, pull them about and on top of himself, stab the organ with a massive dagger, use the dagger to hold down notes, and reach into the piano and play the strings with his hand. He would also famously run up the steps at the back of the City Hall stage and play the massive pipe organ, and is recorded doing so on the Pictures album. ELP’s concert set at that time featured most of the tracks from the first album; I also think Hoedown was included, perhaps as the opener. The Nice live favourite Rondo remained in the set from Emerson’s previous band, and Nutrocker was the fun encore. Pictures also featured, with the aforementioned trip up to the City Hall organ. 
The programme I have included here is worthy of special mention. It probably doesn’t look much from the scan, bit its actually one of the best produced programmes I have in my collection. Its a small booklet with a white card cover and the band’s name embossed across the top. Inside each picture page is separated from the next by a clear plastic page which contain the text surrounding the photos. It is really a lovely item, which my description can’t possibly do justice to. Looking through it the other day, I discovered that I’d kept a flyer for support act Michael Chapman, which I have also included here. Spontaneous Combustion were first on the bill at this gig. I’ve blogged separately about both of these acts elsewhere. Michael popped up all the time in those days, as support act on a number of tours of major bands, and was a good opening act with some great songs. Spontaneous Combustion were a largely instrumental prog/psych trio, who were produced by Greg Lake. They played a great version of Sabre Dance, as I recall.
2 Nov
The Everly Brothers in concert
The Everly Brothers in concert
You can hear the Everly Brothers everywhere; through their own music and through the way they have influenced the music of others. There are, without question, one of the most important acts in rock music. Without the Everlys, Simon and Garfunkel wouldn’t have sounded the same, The Beatles harmonies may not have developed in the way they did, and The Hollies, and CSNY would not have existed in the way they did. Their influence was that substantial. I was lucky enough to see The Everly Brothers in concert on four occasions. The first was low down on the bill at the Grangemouth festival in 1972. At that point, they certainly weren’t cool, and their importance was largely unrecognised or worse, forgotten, by most. They were just another band low down on the bill, singing some great pop songs. I remember wondering why they were on a bill alongside Jeff Beck and Status Quo, but being pleasantly surprised by their performance. I think at that point they were playing few of their hits and were playing their latest (country I think) album. 
The brothers then drifted apart, and didn’t perform together again for some years. I saw them twice on reunion tours, once at Newcastle City Hall, and again at Sunderland Empire. Those concerts were very much about the hits. By then we all knew just how important they were; its funny how it often takes some time to realise how good some acts were. The last time I saw them was as special guests to Simon and Garfunkel on their reunion tour some years ago, Paul Simon introducing them as the reason he started singing. The Everlys in concert were just superb. How could they not be with all those great songs to choose from? Don would lift up that big black acoustic guitar and strum the chords to Wake Up Little Suzie or another of those classics, and then Phil would come in and those perfect harmonies would just flow. There was simply nothing better. And as well as the songs, the show was a story of two brothers, who have had their differences and personal difficulties, and yet came together and made such beautiful music that everyone could enjoy. It just doesn’t get any better. A typical set would include all of these great songs and more: Cryin’ in the Rain; When Will I Be Loved; All I have to do is Dream; Bye Bye Love; Till I kissed you; Cathys Clown; Wake Up Little Susie; Let It Be Me; Walk Right Back; Bird Dog; the list just goes on and on. I have some of their old records on 78 upstairs; its time to dig them out and play them again on my trusty old Dansette.
1 Nov
60s Gold Show The Sage Gateshead 31 Oct 2012
60s Gold Show The Sage Gateshead 31 Oct 2012
Steve Ellis, The Animals, P J Proby, Gerry and the Pacemakers
I’m not a big fan of 60s shows. They tend to be a bit too cabaret for me, but this line up was so strong I just couldn’t miss it. This time the 60s Gold tour featured two of my favourite artists: Steve Ellis and P J Proby. I’ve blogged about P J before and have the greatest respect for the man; his voice is astounding and he is one of the best performers I have ever seen. But tonight I was particularly looking forward to seeing Steve Ellis who I haven’t see since the 70s when he fronted Widowmaker, along with Ariel Bender. To me Steve is still the cheeky young cocky cockney mod who exploded on my TV screen on Top of the Pops and blew me away with his performance of Everlasting Love in Love Affair all those years ago.
The show was introduced by compere Ally Bally (told you these shows are cabaret) and Steve Ellis was first up, backed by The Pacemakers. Steve looks great; from where I was sitting I swear he looked no different to how he did in the 60s. He still sports some pretty sharp gear, very much the mod, and his vocals were really strong. His performance was great, but I felt he could deliver so much more. He has one of the best soul voices, and commands respect for keeping the mod flag flying. I’d love to see him do a full set, as I know he performs soul classics as well as the Love Affair hits. For me, Steve Ellis is up there with Steve Marriott, and other 60s mod legends. Setlist: Day without love; Bringing on back the good times; All or nothing (dedicated to Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane); a version of The Beatles’ Please please me which was performed as a slow ballad; Rainbow valley; Everlasting love.
Ally Bally returned to tell us some facts about 1963, such as our favourite TV show at the time was Steptoe and Son. He then introduced The Animals. I’ve seen this version of the band a few times now and they do a very respectable job of playing the old hits. The band features original drummer John Steel and keyboard player Micky Gallagher who replaced Alan Price in 1965. Singer and frontman Peter Barton has a deep voice which sounds a lot like Eric Burdon and does justice to the songs. Setlist: Baby let me take you home; It’s my life; I put a spell on you; Bring it on home to me; Don’t bring me down; Don’t let me be misunderstood; We’ve gotta get out of this place; House of the rising sun.
After the interval it was P J Proby’s turn to take the stage. P J always puts on a strong show, and tonight was no exception. He was backed by the Pacemakers, along with a sax player. Setlist: Price of love; My love; Hold me; Three steps to heaven; If I can dream; The night has a thousand eyes; Somewhere. Ally Pally then returned with more facts from 1963. Did you know that Dr Who first appeared on our TV screens during that year? Or that a new Ford Cortina would cost you £670? As I said earlier, I’d come along largely to see Steve and P J, but was pleasantly surprised by Gerry Marsden. I’ve seem him once before on a 60s show, around 20 years ago, and also enjoyed him on that occasion. He really is a total pro, and his old hits still sound good. Setlist: How do you do; I’m the one; The way you look tonight; It’s gonna be alright; The rose (the Bette Midler song); Midnight hour (sung by the bass player); I like it; Don’t let the sun catch you crying (just beautiful; a classic and one of my all time favourite songs); Shot of Rhythm and blues; Ferry cross the mersey; You’ll never walk alone (lots of crowd singing along, and arm swaying). All in all this was a good evening with some top class performers, who still know how to entertain. And Steve the mod is still a cool guy. On my way out I bought a great psych/mod repro poster from a 60s Love Affair gig, and signed by Steve for £7. Bargain!
31 Oct
Sheena Easton Newcastle City Hall 1981
Sheena Easton Newcastle City Hall 1981
Another guilty pleasure, I’m afraid.
I have always been a sucker for a good song, and if you link it with a TV show, then I’m sold. I’d seen Sheena Easton on the Esther Rantzen produced BBC programme The Big Time. This documentary film chronicled the unknown Sheena’s rise to stardom, and featured the single Modern Girl. The show was followed by the hit single 9 to 5, which got to No 3 in the UK charts and No 1 in the US charts. Both of these are great pop songs. By 1981 Sheena was a Bond girl, in that she sang the theme to For Your Eyes Only and featured in the film’s opening sequence. 
All of this tempted me and my mate to go along to see her in concert at Newcastle City Hall. The concert was, as you would expect, unashamed pure pop. We had great seats close to the front, and I recall the show as being very slick, classy and professional. Its easy to forget how successful Sheena Eason is, particularly in the USA. From Wiki: “Easton is a two-time Grammy Award winner and achieved 6 Gold albums and 1 Platinum and has sold over 4 million albums in the US alone, and 20 million records worldwide. She has recorded 16 studio albums, released 45 singles, and has 15 Top 40 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100. Sheena Easton is the only artist in the history of the US Billboard charts to have a top 3 hit on each of the Billboards key charts: Adult Contemporary, Dance, Pop, Country, and R&B.” Pretty impressive stuff for a girl from the outskirts of Glasgow.
30 Oct
The Exploited Middlesbrough Town Hall 1981
The Exploited Middlesbrough Town Hall 1981
This gig was in Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt, which is a small hall underneath the main hall. The Exploited came out of Scotland, enthused by the music of the Sex Pistols and The Clash, and developed their own style of hardcore, fast punk rock, with highly political lyrics. This gig was in their early days, at the time of their Punks Not Dead album. It was a strange gig, as singer Watty was not well so guitarist Big John asked if any of us could sing and knew the lyrics. A member of the crowd got up on stage, and he and Big John shared vocals for the show. The Exploited released a live album around this time, I’ve included the track list here to show their setlist of the period: Cop Cars; Crashed Out; Dole Q; Dogs Of War; Army Life; Out Of Control; Ripper; F*** The Mods; Exploited Barmy Army; Royalty; S.P.G.; Sex And Violence; Punks Not Dead; I Believe In Anarchy.
29 Oct
Echo and the Bunnymen in concert 1981 – 1984
Echo and the Bunnymen in concert 1981 – 1984
The Bunnymen crept up on me in the late 70s and early 80s. There seemed a refreshing change from punk, providing a more melodic alternative to the fast trash of many other bands of the period. I saw them a few times in concert in the early 80s, each time at Newcastle City Hall. All of those gigs were enjoyable experiences, and by 1984 they had some really great songs. I especially liked The Cutter in concert, and The Killing Moon and Seven Seas (Kissing the tortoise!) are also favourites. Ian McCulloch was super cool on stage; I’ve just been looking at some early videos on youtube which remind me just how great this band were. 
The Bunnymen blended punk and new wave with shades of psychedelia; they were very clearly fans of The Doors and would sometimes play Light My Fire or People Are Strange in concert. The last time I saw Echo and the Bunnymen was when they played a few songs at the opening concert for the Capital of Culture event at Liverpool Arena a few years ago. I really must make a point of going to see them again soon. 
Looking at the ticket stub for the 1982 gig, it seems that the show must have been postponed until 1983, although I don’t recall why. I can’t be sure which tour the programme pictured below comes from; it consists of a series of quite arty black and white photographs of the band, with no text at all; very cool! 
Setlist from 1983: Going Up; With a Hip; Gods Will be Gods; All That Jazz; The Cutter; Porcupine; In Bluer Skies; All My Colours (Zimbo); Rescue; Heaven up Here; Heads Will Roll; Crocodiles; Over the Wall; Do It Clean
28 Oct
David Essex in concert 1976 and 1977
David Essex in concert 1976 and 1977
I guess its not cool to admit a liking for David Essex on a blog named vintagerock, so this should probably rate as a guilty pleasure.
I first went to see David Essex at Newcastle City Hall in 1976 along with one of my mates. But before I write about David Essex I will set out my memories of the rest of that day, which relates to another teen idol of the 70s. I spent most of that day queueing outside the City Hall for Rod Stewart tickets, The queue was massive and Marie and I stood for hours, only to be turned away when the shows sold out. That was some feat, as Rod was booked for four nights at the venue, which shows just how popular he was at that time. This was his first solo tour, around the time that Sailing was a massive hit. My mate also fancied seeing Rod and he had also queued unsuccessfully. 
So we both arrived at the City Hall somewhat disappointed that we hadn’t scored tickets. Still we were looking forward to seeing David Essex. I don’t give up easily where tickets are concerned, so as soon as I arrived at the City Hall I went straight to the box office, just on the off chance, and enquired about Rod Stewart tickets. To our surprise and delight, the lady in the box office told me that a couple of single tickets had been left unsold by mistake. They were for different nights, and not particularly good seats, but we took them anyway. This cheered us up a lot for the David Essex show.
I recall us feeling a bit awkward at the David Essex gig, as the place was packed with screaming girls, and we were definitely in the minority. We went to the early 6pm show, and had seats up in the balcony. David had hit the charts several times by this time, including two number ones: Hold Me Close, and I’m Going to Make You a Star. I had also seen him in the movies That’ll Be The Day and Stardust, in which he gave two great performances. The concert was a fun experience, with lots of hits, a great atmosphere and some great pop songs. 
The following year David Essex toured again, and called at Sunderland Empire. This time I went along to the concert by myself, largely to see the support act the Alessi Brothers (or simply “Alessi”), a duo of American identical twins, who had a UK hit at the time with the single Oh Lori, and which I was quite taken with. I bought a cheap seat up in the gallery, at the top of the theatre, and made sure that I got in early to see Alessi. And pretty good they were too. I will probably have the ticket stub for that concert somewhere, but the Empire didn’t print the name of the act on the tickets in those days, so unless you know the date of the concert, working out which ticket is for which gig is tricky. David Essex was once again fun, and ran through all his hits. 
It was 28 years until I saw David Essex in concert again, on a Once in a Lifetime bill with David Cassidy at Newcastle Arena; a gig which I have already blogged about.
Postcript: I managed to find the ticket for the Empire gig. By process of elimination it has to be this one, which I have just scanned and added to this post.
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