Posts Tagged ‘concert’

28 May

Suzi Quatro Special guest for Status Quo at Middlesbrough Ormesby Hall 24th August 2002

Posted by vintagerock in Status Quo, Suzi Quatro. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

Status Quo and Suzi Quatro Middlesbrough Ormesby Hall 24th August 2002
imageMy next Quo encounter was at a National Trust open air show held at Ormesby Hall, Middlesbrough on 24th August 2002. I bought two tickets cheap on eBay (result! 🙂 ) and took David along, somewhat on sufferance. We made our way down to the front, right next to some hardened Quo fans who were playing their inflatable guitars (I kid you not) and pushing us around in the scrum. Great fun. One of the highlights of the gig was the support act Suzi Quatro who was on great form, as usual.
I’ve just realised that I should have written about Suzi Quatro before now; she deserves her own blog entry, so here we go.
In the early 70s there were a few bands who seemed to come back and play again and again at our local Mecca ballroom. They were all fun acts, chart toppers of the time, and you just knew you were going to have a good night if they were appearing. They were: Roy Wood’s Wizzard, Mungo Jerry, and Suzi Quatro. Oh, and possibly Geordie too. I first saw Suzi Quatro when she had just arrived in the UK; this was before she hit No 1 in the charts with “Can the Can”. It must have been late 1972. I remember this tiny lady, dressed all in leather, with this massive bass guitar slung around her, and a strong raunchy rock’n’roll performance. A few months later and she was No 1 and “Can the Can” was being played everywhere.quombroprogBetween “Can the Can” and her next No 1 hit single “Devil Gate Drive” which was a couple of years later, she played at the Mecca a number of times. It was probably 3 or 4 times, possibly more. The place would always be packed to the walls; I can here her screeching voice now: “Hey, you all want to go down to Devil Gate Drive? Well, come on”!
Lots of high kicking, silly choreographed dance routines, guitarist and husband-to-be Len Tuckey always at Suzi’s side and towering above her. Happy days.
Roll forward almost 30 years to 2002. Suzi still looked and sounded great, rocked as she always did, and warmed the crowd up for Quo and their fans. Suzi was a trail-blazer for many female rockers who followed her, and although she was as much pop as rock, she was still pretty cool, and those singles are still fun, and her live shows were great too.
Philip Norman (1974) said “Of all female rock singers, she appears the most emancipated: a small girl leading an all-man group in which she herself plays bass guitar. The image is of a tomboy, lank-haired, tight-bottomed and (twice) tattooed; a rocker, a brooder, a loner, a knife-carrier; a hell-cat, a wild cat, a storm child, refugee from the frightened city of Detroit.”
Frank Oglesbee writes (2008) that “The rebellion of rock music was largely a male rebellion; the women—often, in the 1950s and ’60s, girls in their teens—in rock usually sang songs as personæ utterly dependent on their macho boyfriends…”….and describes Quatro as “… a female rock pioneer, in some ways the female rock pioneer, …, a cornerstone in the archsheology of rock.”
And of course she was Leather Tuscadero, and she knew The Fonz. Now you can’t get cooler than that 🙂
quombrotix

A Suzi Quatro setlist: I’ve Never Been in Love; The Wild One; Tear Me Apart; She’s in Love With You; Stumblin’ In; 48 Crash; All Shook Up; Rock Hard; Can I Be Your Girl?; Leather Queen; Can the Can; Devil Gate Drive. Encore: If You Can’t Give Me Love; Sweet Little Rock & Roller; Sweet nothing

Status Quo Setlist: Caroline, The Wanderer, Softer Ride, Paper Plane, Hold You Back, Old Time Rock and Roll,4500 Times, Rain, Never Say Never, Solid Gold, Mystery Medley, Gerdundula, Big Fat Mama, Roll over lay Down, Down Down, Whatever You Want, Rockin’all over the World, In the Army Now, Anniversary Waltz/Junior’s Wailing/Rock’n Roll Music/Bye Bye Johnny

“Well, at the age of five they can do their jive
Down in Devil Gate Drive
And at the age of six they’re gonna get their kicks
Down in Devil Gate Drive
Well your mama don’t know where your sister done go
She’s gone down to the Drive. She’s the start of the show
And let her move on up. Let her come let her go.”
(Devil Gate Drive, Chinn & Chapman, 1974)

Reference: Oglesbee, F. W. (1999). Suzi Quatro: A prototype in the archsheology of rock. Popular Music & Society, 23(2), 29-39.

PS Just noticed both acts have the initials S Q (not sure why I mention that)
PPS That takes me to Quo show No 25 for me…..not far to go now…

27 May

Status Quo Newcastle Arena 6th December 1998

Posted by vintagerock in Status Quo, T'Pau. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

Status Quo Newcastle Arena 6th December 1998
quoprog98It had been five or more years since I had last seen the mighty Status Quo. I has lost some of my faith in the band, largely as a result of some substandard releases, which saw the band recording covers of some old rock’n’roll classics. But I couldn’t go on too long without seeing the band. So when I saw that they were playing Newcastle Arena on 6th December 1998, I persuaded a mate to come along with me to see them again. Support came from T’Pau. As soon as I heard the first few bars of “Down, Down” I was back in the Quo zone again. I remembered how great this band were, and why I had been to see them so many times. quotix1998This show at Newcastle renewed my faith in Status Quo, and got me back into them again. Having said that work, and family commitments meant that I missed the next few tours, and I didn’t see them again until 2002, which I will write about tomorrow.
Setlist: Down down, Hold You Back, Backwater, One man band,Softer Ride, The Wanderer, Living on an Island, Dirty Water, Gerdundula, Roll over lay Down, In the Army Now, Whatever you Want, Mystery Medley, Caroline, Rain, Burning Bridges, Anniversary Waltz.

26 May

Quo are back! 1986

Posted by vintagerock in Status Quo, Waysted. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Quo are back! 1986
quoarmytixYou can’t keep a good band down. It wasn’t much of a retirement for Francis and Rick. The “End of the Road” in 1984, back for Live Aid in 1985, and then in 1986 a new version of Status Quo emerged with front men Rossi and Parfitt, Rhino Edwards on bass, long time keyboard player Andy Bown, and Jeff Rich on drums. They released the album and single “In The Army Now” and went out on tour yet again. Quo supported Queen on their “It’s A Kind Of Magic UK Summer Tour 1986”. I saw them at the Queen gig at Newcastle St James Park on 9th July 1986. I then saw them headlining at Whitley Bay Ice Rink on 11th December 1986; I won tickets in a competition in a local newspaper. Support at Whitley Bay was Waysted featuring Pete Way and Paul Chapman from UFO. “In the Army Now” is a great single, quite different for Quo and a departure from their usual heads down boogie style, but it worked well live, with use of gunshots at an appropriate point in the song.
quoarmyprogI also have a programme for the “Ain’t Complaining Tour” which called at Whitley Bay on 29th June 1988, although I have no recollection at all of that gig. I do however recall seeing Quo at the massive Knebworth show which took place on 30th June 1990. 120,000 people attended this festival for the “Silver Clef Winners Award” and to see Status Quo alongside Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Elton John, Genesis, Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd. Quo were one of the highlights of the day at Knebworth, with major singalongs particularly for “Dirty Water”. The next Quo performance I saw was when they played as special guests for Rod Stewart at Gateshead Stadium in 2nd June 1991. The great Joe Cocker was also on the bill. I also have a vague memory of seeing them at South Shields Temple Park Centre in December 1993.
quo1988progTypical setlist of the period: Whatever You Want, Paper Plane, Roll over lay down, Dreaming, Little Lady, Mystery Medley, Hold You Back, Don’t drive my Car, Dirty Water, In the Army Now, Rockin’all over the World, Big Fat Mama, Don’t waste my Time, Roadhouse Blues, Caroline, Rain, Down Down, Bye Bye Johnny.
Quo continued to be a great live act but, for me, things were never quite the same after Alan Lancaster left. This takes me to 23 times I’d seen the band up until 1993. Although live there was still great, their recorded output was ot great, and the band had lost its way. Singles like “The Anniversary Waltz” (1990) which was a medley of rock’n’roll covers, and the “Don’t Stop” album which was an album purely of covers, and featured the band in suits (now imagine that I the 70s…:) ) on the front sleeve, let themselves down in my view. I have to admit I lost faith a little at this point and missed the next few tours. The next time I saw Status Quo live was 1998. I’ll pick up at that point tomorrow. The 90s were not the best years for Quo, but donor worry a return to form for our heroes was yet to come.

25 May

Live Aid Wembley Stadium 13th July 1985

Posted by vintagerock in Adam and the Ants, Alison Moyet, Boomtown Rats, Bryan Ferry, David Bowie, David Gilmour, Dire Straits, Elton John, Elvis Costello, George Michael, Howard Jones, Kiki Dee, Nik Kershaw, Paul McCartney, Paul Young, Phil Collins, Queen, Spandau Ballet, Status Quo, Sting, Style Council, The Who, U2, Ultravox!. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Live Aid Wembley Stadium 13th July 1985
liveaidtixI went with a couple of mates. We missed out on tickets when they went on sale and the only way we could get there was to buy tickets for a coach trip from Middlesbrough. So we were up at 4am, drove to Middlesbrough and joined a coach which left at 5am for London. We arrived well before noon, had a couple of drinks and entered the stadium, which was of course completely packed so we found a spot in the stands right at the back. A few minutes later Status Quo took to the stage with “Rockin’ All Over The World” and the day started. This was Quo reunited one year after the split, with Alan flying over from Oz to join Francis and Rick. Their short set also featured Caroline” and “Don’t Waste My Time”. A fitting start to the day. I have so many great memories of that day.
Queen’s performance is, of course, often rated as the greatest live performance by any band. Freddie certainly commanded the crowd the day and it propelled them to super stardom. Their well planned set was a medley with short sections of their anthems: “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Radio Ga Ga”, “Hammer To Fall”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions”. They had apparently been rehearsing their short set for days, to ensure perfection, and it showed, and worked. U2 weren’t far behind them, though, in terms of performance, with Bono showing how great a front man he was. U2 played two songs: “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and a lengthy version of “Bad” during which Bono dragged a girl from the rush down front to dance with him on stage, and which also included snippets from Lou Reed’s “Satellite of love” and “Walk On The Wild Side”, and The Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday” and “Sympathy for the Devil”. Electric.
liveadiprogFor me, however. the highlights were The Who and David Bowie, as I was, and remain, a big fan of both acts. Bowie started with “TVC15” (a strange and poor choice I felt, and remember being disappointed on the day), “Rebel Rebel” (great, good choice), “Modern Love” (well, ok) and then “Heroes” (we all sag along and it was pure magic). I still feel that with a better choice of songs Bowie could have eclipsed Queen and U2.
The Who performed “My Generation”, “Pinball Wizard”, “Love Reign O’er Me” (another strange song choice given the magnitude of the event) and a blistering “Won’t Get Fooled Again” with much mike swinging by Daltrey and lots of arm twirling by Townshend.
Other memories: Elton and Kiki sang “Don’t go Breaking my Heart” (great!). Paul McCartney suffered from sound problems and we couldn’t hear him at all for much of “Let It Be” although I gather it was fine on TV. Geldof drew massive cheers every time he set foot on stage, and he deserved every one of them. The scheduling worked amazingly, with very few hitches. Seeing the cameras pick out Charles and Diana over in their enclosure. The amazingly camp Bowie and Jagger video. The awful, sad and moving video of starving children played to the Cars’ “Drive”. Phil Collins playing Wembley and JFK courtesy of Concorde (show off).
But the truly unforgettable moment came at the end, and will stay in my mind for ever. That was the finale, with the entire stadium singing along to “Do They Know It’s Christmas ?” with Bob Geldof leading us, and everyone else on stage. I’ve never seen, felt, or heard anything like it before or since. We walked out of that stadium to the coach park, all of us still singing…..”Feed The World”…..
Then it was a long coach ride back to Middlesbrough. We arrived back around 5 or 6am, then drove home. 24 hours with hardly any sleep, just an hour or so caught on the bus, but a day I will remember forever.
Line-up: Status Quo; The Style Council; The Boomtown Rats; Adam Ant; Ultravox; Spandau Ballet; Elvis Costello; Nik Kershaw; Sade; Sting; Phil Collins; Howard Jones; Bryan Ferry (with David Gilmour on guitar); Paul Young/Alison Moyet; U2; Dire Straits/Sting; Queen; Video “Dancing in the Streets” by David Bowie/Mick Jagger; David Bowie; The Who; Elton John (Kiki Dee and George Michael join Elton); Mercury and May; Paul McCartney; Finale

24 May

End of the Road Newcastle City Hall 10th June 1984

Posted by vintagerock in Status Quo. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

End of the Road Newcastle City Hall 10th June 1984
QuoendoftheroadprogEnd of the Road! What! This was a big shock at the time. The plan, as announced by the band was that they were going to retire from touring, and possibly continue to record now and then. But Quo being Quo, they had to go out in style, finishing off with a tour consisting of 69 shows, including 7 nights at Hammersmith Odeon. The tour called at the City Hall for two nights, and I went along on the second night. We should, of course, have realised then that this wasn’t really going to be the end. A band who had played as constantly and consistently as Status Quo would find it difficult to just stop.quo84 The show I attended was a celebration of a great band and some great times. This was the 16th time I saw Status Quo, and it wasn’t to be the last either 🙂 Behind the scenes there were irreconcilable differences between Alan Lancaster and Francis Rossi. Alan saw Quo as a hard rock boogie machine and was getting increasingly frustrated with Rossi’s insistence on moving the band closer to the middle of the road, as he saw it, with the single Marguerita Time being the final straw. Alan moved to Australia and law suits followed. However a certain Bob Geldof persuaded the guys to get back together one more time and only one year later and I was standing in Wembley Stadium watching them open Live Aid. I will write about that great day tomorrow.
Setlist: Caroline, Paper Plane, Roll over lay down, Backwater, Just take me, Little Lady, Don’t drive my Car, Whatever You Want, Mystery Medley, Hold You Back, Rockin’all over the World, Over the Edge, Dirty Water, 4500 Times, Big Fat Mama, Don’t waste my Time, Roadhouse Blues, What you’re Proposing, Rain, Down Down, Bye Bye Johnny.

23 May

Courtney Love Newcastle Riverside 22nd May 2014

Posted by vintagerock in Courtney Love. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

Courtney Love Newcastle Riverside 22nd May 2014
courtneyI wasn’t sure what to expect of Courtney Love. I’d read quite a bit about her, but can’t pretend to be familiar with her music at all. I went along mostly out of curiosity and because her wild rocker chick image and attitude reminds of the days of punk. I guess I was expecting something like a cross between Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith, Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks. I know that all of those ladies were big influences on Courtney and her music. Add the attitude and values of the Slits and the Sex Pistols and a Rickenbacker guitar that looks like it is has come straight out of the hands of Roger McGuinn. Now if any of those guys come through in Courtney’s performance it ain’t gonna be half bad.Courtneytourflyer This was my first visit to the new Riverside, although I did go along to the original Riverside venue back in the day. Actually she was just great. It was like I was back in the late 70s at a punk gig. Local guy Ginger Wildheart was on guitar, Courtney was smoking Irish nights ecigs: “great ecigs”. She brings a guy up to sit on stage; he has been following the tour and has been right down front every night. Courtney: “When it comes to being a c**t I own the trademark”. Opened with “Wedding Day”. Covers included Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman” and “I’m not an addict” 90s hit by K’s choice (can’t say I remember it)..Courtney: “I love a good drugs song”…”I don’t do f***ed up I’m almost 50…I’m slightly inebriated”. Great stuff. The lady has some attitude. Rolling Stone once called her the “most controversial woman in the history of rock”.
Note the tour flyer doesn’t list the Newcastle date, which was added to the tour as a late addition.

22 May

Monsters of Rock Donington Status Quo 21st August 1982

Posted by vintagerock in Anvil, Gillan, Hawkwind, Saxon, Status Quo, Tommy Vance, Uriah Heep. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Monsters of Rock Donington Status Quo 21st August 1982
Line-up: Status Quo, Gillan, Saxon, Hawkwind, Uriah Heep and Anvil
quoknebworthThis was the third Monsters of Rock festival, and the second time I went to the event. I drove down with my mate Dave, and we had a great time. It was a strong line-up of hard rock bands with Status Quo topping the bill, and a clutch of great support acts in Gillan, Saxon, Hawkwind, Uriah Heep and Anvil. Tommy Vance was DJ and compere for the day. Highlights for me were Hawkwind, Uriah Heep and Quo. Saxon were quite successful at the time and represented the NWOBHM, and Gillan seemed to gig constantly during that period, and was always good fun, playing a few Purple classics alongside his own material.quodoningtonUriah Heep were fronted by new(ish) singer Pete Goalby, alongside long time Heepsters Mick Box, and Lee Kerslake. Their set included classic tracks like Stealin’, The Wizard, July Morning, Gypsy and Easy Livin’. It seemed strange to me to see them so low down on the bill. Both Heep and Hawkwind would have had headline status a few years earlier. Hawkwind’s set feautured Brainstorm, Angels of Death, Urban Guerilla, Psychedelic Warlords, and of course Silver Machine and Master Of the Universe. Their ever-changing line-up at this time included Dave Brock, Huw Lloyd Langton, Harvey Bainbridge and Nik Turner. Both great bands. But the day rightly belonged to Quo, who were worthy headliners. We pushed our way right down the front for their set. This show is often rated as not one of Quo’s best, but I enjoyed seeing them headlining a festival again, and thought they were pretty good. There were some problems with the sounds, with some parts of the crowd reporting that they couldn’t hear Quo very well, but I think this depended on where you were placed in the field. This was the first time I saw the band with Pete Kircher who replaced John Coughlan on drums. Quo were celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band.
Status Quo setlist: Caroline; Roll Over Lay Down; Backwater; Little Lady; Don´t Drive My Car; Whatever You Want; Hold You Back; Rockin All Over The World; Over The Edge; What You´re Proposing; Dirty Water; 4500 Times; Big Fat Mama; Don´t Waste My Time; Roadhouse Blues; Rain; Down Down; Bye Bye Johnny.

21 May

Status Quo Newcastle City Hall 15th May 1979

Posted by vintagerock in Status Quo. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Status Quo Newcastle City Hall 15th May 1979
quotix79It was three years since Satus Quo had played in Newcastle, and this time they were back to play three nights at the City Hallon 15th, 16th and 17th May 1979. I went to the first night of the three. This was a slicker, smoother Quo, although the set contained mostly rockers. In terms of songs played, this was classic Quo with all the favourites: “Caroline” as opening song, “Backwater”, “4500 Times”, “Don’t Waste My Time”, “Roadhouse Blues” and the great singalong (although more country than rock) “Dirty Water”. But the softer songs, and Francis’ country leanings, were creeping in, much to the annoyance of Alan Lancaster, who was denim and hard rock through and through. This was the beginning of the end, which would come in a few years time. An example of those softer leanings was the release of Rick’s “Living on an Island” as a single in 1979.
Things I remember about this gig: I thought the tickets were getting very expensive for Quo at £5 a seat, I was disappointed that there was no support on this tour as Quo usually had a great opening act, the backline of amps was massive and unlike any I had seen before, and it was a good gig but much slicker, professional and less raw than shows of old.
quoprogSome great quotes from the programme, which continue to portray the guys as the band of the people and down-to-earth: “We don’t get Jackie Onassis or Princess Margaret droppin’ backstage after a go like the Rolling Stones or Rod Stewart. We generally get Joe Bloggs from the factory …that’s who we get along fine with” (Bob Young); “Status Quo – the only band to buy all their equipment with No 6 cigarette coupons” (NME); “Parfitt stripped to the waist and in ragged jeans looking more like a builder’s labourer than a rock star has retained a workmanlike approach. His own stage T-shist cost him 75p. They all wear jeans. There is no gimmickry during a performance (Daily Express).
Typical setlist of the time: Caroline, Roll over lay down, Backwater, Rockers Rollin’, Is there a better Way, Hold You Back, Little Lady, Like a good Girl, Rockin’all over the World, Oh What a Night, Dirty Water, 4500 Times, Big Fat Mama, Don’t waste my Time, Roadhouse Blues, Rain, Down Down, Drum Solo; Bye Bye Johnny.
“Wooh, oh, oh, oh; The water’s getting deep; And I can’t swim; Beacuse it’s dirty dirty water; Wooh, oh, oh, oh; Wooh, oh, oh, oh” (Dirty Water, Staus Quo, 1977).

20 May

Jeff Beck Manchester Bridgewater Hall 19th May 2014

Posted by vintagerock in Jeff Beck, Mike Sanchez. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Jeff Beck Manchester Bridgewater Hall 19th May 2014
becktixWent to see Jeff Beck in Manchester last night in the beautiful Bridgewater Hall. After an uneventful drive down the A1 and across a surprising unjammed M62, I arrived just in time to catch support act Mike Sanchez who opened the show with a fine set of boogie woogie piano which made him some new friends.
Jeff Beck came on stage at 8.30pm dressed in a black jacket, waistcoat and trousers, and a white t-shirt, emerging from the wings playing a bright white Telecaster. The Telecaster was soon swapped for a white strat which remained his instrument for the remainder of the evening. For this tour Jeff Beck’s band are: Rhonda Smith bass; Jonathan Joseph drums and Nicolas Meier guitar. They are individually and collectively excellent, provided an accompaniment which blended jazz and classic rock. This time around Beck’s set drew from across his back catalogue, with over-all a heavier rock feel than on previous occasions I have seen him. I am becoming more and more of the opinion that Beck is the greatest living guitarist; he truly understands his instrument and can switch in an instant from the heaviest and raunchiest of rock riffs to the sweetest, most gentle tunes. The set had similar changes of style, from thundering rock reminding of his 70s days with Beck, Bogert and Appice, to Hawaian style, and to his treatment of ballads, such as Danny Boy, where he makes incredible use of tone and moving the volume control up and down. beckflyerYou can hear the influences, Hendrix of course, Santo and Johnny, Les Paul, John McLaughlin; all there somewhere in Beck’s playing, and yet he is also very much his own man with his own way of playing. The set was almost totally instrumental with bass player Rhonda Smith taking vocals on a couple of songs. But he held the attention of the crowd throughout. He hardly said a word all night, he comes over as a quiet guy who concentrates on his music, and is aware of his own stature and place in the history of rock. The guy is simply amazing and a genius. The crowd gave him a standing ovation at the end of the show.
The setlist consisted of some of (although not in this order, and I can’t pretend to know all of Beck’s material so have probably got some of this wrong): Loaded; Nine; Little Wing; You Know You Know; Hammerhead; Angel (Footsteps); Stratus; Yemin; Where Were You; Egyptian; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat; Brush with the Blues; You Never Know; Danny Boy; Why Give It Away ; Rollin’ and Tumblin’ ; Choral; Big Block; Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers; Declan ; A Day in the Life.
Jeff Beck finished at 10.10pm. I was home around 12.45am. I decided to come up the A19, as the signs above me on the motorway threatened a diversion on the A1, but that didn’t really help as the A19 was closed up at Peterlee, and I had to make a detour through Shotton Colliery; the joys of driving late at night.
While driving back I was creating my dream Jeff Beck setlist. Imagine if he put together a set that included (with a guest singer or two): Shape of Things, Morning Dew, Beck’s Boogie, Beck’s Bolero, Greensleeves. Love is Blue, Hi Ho Silver Lining, Keep Me Hanging On, A Day in the Life, Moon River, Jerusalem or Danny Boy, Little Wing, Over Under Sideways Down, You Shook Me. Not that would be something. Ain’t ever going to happen I guess, Jeff Beck is very much his own man, and plays what he feels is right. And that’s, I guess, how it should be.

19 May

The Reading Rock Festival 25 – 27th August 1978

Posted by vintagerock in After the Fire, Albion Band, Automatics, Bethnal, Business, Chelsea, Dennis O'Brien, Foreigner, Gillan, Greg Kihn, Gruppo Sportivo, Jam, Jenny Darren, John Peel, Lindisfarne, New Hearts, Pacific Eardrum, Patti Smith, Paul Inder, Penetration, Pirates, Radio Stars, Reading festival, Sham 69, Speedometors, Spirit, Squeeze, Status Quo, The Motors, Tom Robinson, Ultravox!. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

The Reading Rock Festival 25 – 27th August 1978
readingprog1 This was the year punk finally arrived. The festival was now officially known as the Reading Rock Festival, having dropped “jazz” from the title and the line-up, and weekend tickets cost all of £8.95. Our old friend John Peel was compere, as always, and a van load of us descended on the riverside site, having driven part of the way down on Thursday, gone for a drink in Wetherby and slept on Wetherby racecourse (the crazy things you do when you are young 🙂 ) Highlights of the weekend for me were Penetration (I was a big fan at the time), Sham 69, The Jam, Status Quo (most of our group were heavily into them) and Patti Smith.
Friday line-up: Dennis O’Brien; The Automatics; New Hearts (who would become mods and change their name to Secret Affair); Radio Stars; Penetration; Sham 69; The Pirates; Ultravox; The Jam.
Memories: Radio Stars were always good for a laugh; “Dirty Pictures” (turn me on) was a favourite at the time; it was great to see local north east punk heroes playing up on the massive Reading stage Penetration, although they suffered from murky sound throughout their set; The Pirates rocked the place with no-nonsense rock’n’roll, “Shaking All Over” and ace guitarist the late Mick Green (a big influence on Wilko); and the John Foxx version of Ultravox! played a quite moody atmospheric electronic set. The main event was Sham 69, who were excellent with Jimmy Pursey his usual cockney “boy on the streets” self, and those anthems “What have we got?”, “Borstal Breakout” and “If the Kids are United”. The Sham Army had come across to Reading in force, all braces, No 2 cuts, and Doc Martins, and ready to take on those hippies. We were right at the front, although we soon moved to the side of the crowd when the fights started. A bunch of skins climbed on to the stage, and Pursey tried to call order, pleading with the crowd to stop fighting to no avail. He was in tears, watching bedlam and violence all around him, and not being able to do anything to stop it. But that was the nature of a Sham gig at the time. Jimmy even brought Steve Hillage on stage to show that it was ok to mix with hippies, but that just annoyed the skins more. A nasty, frightening experience, which marred an excellent performance by Sham. The Jam were great, Weller the edgy young mod, getting himself into a strop at the poor sound quality, and trashing his gear. Punk really had arrived at Reading.
The Jam set included: Mr Clean ; Away From the Numbers; Don’t Tell Them You’re Sane; Tonight at Noon; David Watts; Down in the Tube Station at Midnight; “A” Bomb in Wardour Street; News of the World
Saturday line-up: Speedometors; The Business; Jenny Darren; Next; Gruppo Sportivo; Nutz; Greg Kihn Band; Lindisfarne; Spirit; The Motors; Status Quo.
readingprog2Saturday was a little more straightforward rock. Lindisfarne had recently reunited and hit the charts with “Run For Home”. The Motors were OK (Airport!). Spirit were excellent, with great Hendrix-style guitar from Randy California. Status Quo played a solid respectable set, nothing earth shattering. I know quite a few people were disappointed with them that night, but I thought they were OK. “Dirty Water’ was to become a crowd singalong favourite.
Status Quo setlist: Caroline; Roll Over Lay Down; Backwater; Rockers Rollin; Is There A Better Way; You Don’t Own Me; Hold You Back; Rockin All Over The World; Dirty Water; 4500 Times; Big Fat Mama; Don’t Waste My Time; Roadhouse Blues; Rain; Down Down; Bye Bye Johnny.
Sunday line-up: After The Fire; Chelsea; Pacific Eardrum; Bethnal; Squeeze; John Otway; The Albion Band; Paul Inder; Ian Gillan Band; Tom Robinson Band; Foreigner; Patti Smith Group.
Memories: Paul Inder is Lemmy’s son and was 11 years old (!) at the time; what a great thing to do when you are 11 🙂 ; Bethnal were a good band, who had a manic violin player; Squeeze were fun; Otway was as crazy as ever (Really Free); Tom Robinson led a mass singalong of “Glad to be Gay”; and Foreigner went down well with the crowd. But the day belonged to Patti Smith who was amazing. I was a big fan and left my mates to push my way right to the front of the crowd for Patti’s set. She had the whole crowd with her as she tore into “Gloria”, “Because the Night” and great covers of the Byrds’ “So You Want to Be (A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star)” and the Who’s “My Generation”. Stunning. I saw her again at Newcastle City Hall two days later and she was equally as electric.
Patti Smith setlist: Rock n Roll Nigger; Privilege (Set Me Free); Redondo Beach; Free Money; Ghost Dance; It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World; So You Want to Be (A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star); Ask the Angels; 25th Floor; Because the Night; Gloria, You Light Up My Life; My Generation; Godspeed

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