Robert Plant (& Jimmy Page) Knebworth 30th June 1990
I next saw Robert Plant as part of a multi-act bill at a massive show at Knebworth Park in 1990. This was the Silver Clef Award Winners Concert and had an amazing line-up including Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Tears for Fears, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Elton John, Genesis and Status Quo. Pretty strong bill! I won a pair of free tickets in a competition (with KitKat 🙂 ) and Marie and I went down for the weekend. This was a great concert, which deserves a blog post of its own. I’ll save that for another day, and limit my reflections today to Plant’s part of the event. Plant was by now regularly featuring Zeppelin classics as part of his set, alongside his excellent solo material. He played mid-afternoon and was one of the highlights of the day for me, not least because of the venue, which was brought back memories of the last time I had been in that field; for one of the historic Zeppelin gigs, and the surprise appearance of Jimmy Page for the last two songs of Plant’s set. 
“Eleven years after Led Zeppelin’s historic two-night stand at Knebworth in England, Robert Plant returned to the concert grounds for a massive festival that featured sets by Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Genesis, Elton John and Eric Clapton. For his final two songs surprise guest Jimmy Page came out to join Plant on “Wearing and Tearing” and “Rock and Roll.” It was very well received, and a sign of things to come” (Rolling Stone magazine). Setlist: Hurting Kind (I’ve Got My Eyes on You); Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin); Tie Dye on the Highway; Liars Dance; Going to California (Led Zeppelin); Nirvana; Tall Cool One; Misty Mountain Hop (Led Zeppelin); Wearing and Tearing (Led Zeppelin; with Jimmy Page); Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin; with Jimmy Page)
Thanks to John for the image of his signed Page and Plant programme which comes from the 1995 US tour.
Posts Tagged ‘concerts’
12 Feb
Robert Plant (& Jimmy Page) Knebworth 30th June 1990
11 Feb
Robert Plant Newcastle City Hall 24th March 1988
Robert Plant Newcastle City Hall 24th March 1988
Robert Plant was back on tour in the UK in 1988, calling at Newcastle City Hall again. This time he had a new band, with Doug Boyle on guitar, Chris Blackwell on drums, Phil Johnstone on keyboards and Charlie Jones on bass.
Plant released his fourth album, Now and Zen in February 1988. The album was a return to a blues rock style reminiscent of Zeppelin and even featured Jimmy Page playing guitar on two of the tracks. The single “Tall Cool one” was also released around the same time. The UK tour was named the Non Stop Go tour, and for the first time a few Zeppelin classics were featured as part of the set. For the UK shows Plant played “In the evening”, “Trampled under foot” and “Misty mountain hop”; 
further Zep songs were added as the tour progressed and made its way across to the USA. The Newcastle gig was a great show, I particularly enjoyed it because it was the first time I had seen the old songs performed for some ten years. Support came from the excellent It Bites who were on top form and played the classic “Calling All The Heroes”.
Setlist (something like): Helen of Troy; Little by little; Billy’s revenge; In the evening; In the mood; Heaven Knows; Big log; Dimples; Trampled under foot; Tall cool one; Misty mountain hop; Other arms; Break on through (the Doors classic featured as an encore on several nights of the tour).
Thanks to John for the picture of his poster from the Non Stop Go tour.
10 Feb
Robert Plant Newcastle City Hall 28th November 1983
Robert Plant Newcastle City Hall 28th November 1983
It was the early 1980s. Zeppelin were no more, and Robert Plant began to establish himself as a solo artist. He released two excellent albums: Pictures at Eleven (1982) and The Principle of Moments (1983), both of which had shades of Zeppelin and yet also enabled Plant to forge his own identity. In the Autumn of 1983 he embarked on a full UK tour, calling at Newcastle City Hall in November. Demand was high to see Plant on his first major outing since Zeppelin days, and a second night was added at several venues, including Newcastle. He was also having his first real solo single chart success with the excellent “Big Log”. The line-up of Robert Plant’s band for the 1983 tour was Robbie Blunt (guitar), Jezz Woodroffe (keyboards), Bob Mayo (keyboards), Paul Martinez (bass) and Ritchie Hayward (drums; Phil Collins played on the US leg of the tour). The concert consisted of tracks from Robert’s first two albums. We were all hoping that he would throw in a few Zeppelin classics, but that wasn’t to be. 
This was made clear in the souvenir programme: “Tonight there will be no Slverhead, Black Sabbath, Foreigner, no Little Feat, Adverts [referring to the bands which each of the members had previously played in] or Led Zeppelin. Only music from the last two years and maybe…a medley of our hit [referring to Big Log]”. Never mind; Plant’s solo songs were strong, and his band was excellent, including amazing guitar work by Robbie Blunt, who had been in the very under-rated bands Bronco and Silverhead. The set started with “In The Mood” which had just been released as a single.
Setlist (something like): In the Mood; Pledge Pin; Messin’ With the Mekon; Worse Than Detroit; Thru’ With the Two Step; Other Arms; Horizontal Departure; Moonlight in Samosa; Wreckless Love; Slow Dancer; Like I’ve Never Been Gone; Burning Down One Side; Big Log; Stranger Here… Than Over There; Treat Her Right
“My love is in league with the freeway, Its passion will ride, as the cities fly by, And the tail-lights dissolve, in the coming of night, And the questions in thousands take flight.” (Big Log, Robert Plant, 1983). I loved “Big Log” at the time and still do; it was a very different song, quite distinct in terms of the chart of the time and from Zeppelin music; but I could never figure out what it was about 🙂
At the Hammersmith Odeon show Plant was joined onstage by none other than Jimmy Page for the encore ‘Treat Her Right’.
9 Feb
The Reading Festival 22nd – 24th August 1975
The Reading Festival 22nd – 24th August 1975
The Reading Festival hit its peak of success in the mid ’70s, and the 1975 festival sold out in advance. Although the previous years’ festivals that I had attended all seemed pretty full, you were still able to roll up and pay at the entrance. In 1975 the success of the festival and the draw of bands like Yes and Wishbone Ash ensured the site was completely packed, with hardly any room to be found in the campsites and car parks.
Friday line-up: Stella, Judas Priest, Wally, Kokomo, UFO, Dr Feelgood, Hawkwind. Judas Priest were an up and coming heavy rock band and were gigging constantly, as were UFO. Kokomo were a jazz/rock/funk outfit who were very successful during the ’70s. But the big success of Friday (and arguably the entire weekend) was Dr Feelgood, who were a massive hit with the festival crowd; Wilko and Lee being on red hot form. I was with a couple of guys who had recently become big Feelgood fans; “Back In The Night” had just been released and they were constantly singing it in my ear. “All around visible signs of the Doctor’s now-massive popularity – such as the many home-made banners (“Feelgood”, “Wilko” et al), the rapturous reception, the sea-of-weaving arms” (NME, 1975). “When Dr Feelgood stamped off they had within an hour, transformed this alfresco association into a tiny, sweaty, steaming R&B club. Charisma is too weak a word to describe what the Feelgoods had going for them that night.” (Brian Harrigan, Melody Maker, August 30, 1975). Hawkwind were ok, but it was cold, and they found it difficult to follow the Feelgood’s storming set.
Saturday line-up: Zzebra, SNAFU, Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, Kursaal Flyers, Thin Lizzy, Alan Stivell, Heavy Metal Kids (billed simply as “Kids” in the programme), Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Supertramp, Yes.
My memories are of Thin Lizzy delivering an excellent set as always; they were gradually building up their own following and would soon break through to become massive; The Heavy Metal Kids being as OTT as ever; and Yes, who were amazing. I must also mention the Kursaal Flyers, who are sadly often forgotten in the history of pub rock; they would hit the charts in the following year with the great pop single: “Little Does She Know” (“I know that she knows that I know she’s two timing me”). Supertramp were on the verge of mega-success; they had hit the charts with “Dreamer” and had a considerable following. I was, and remain, a big Yes fan and their performance at Reading came at a point where the band were at the peak of their success. I recall it being very cold, with epic versions of “Close to the Edge” and “And You and I”, and a great version of “Roundabout” as an encore (very late and off to our tents). A bootleg exists of Yes’ set that night: Sound Chaser; Close To The Edge; And You And I; Awaken; The Gates Of Delirium; I’ve Seen All Good People; Ancient; Long Distance Run Around; Ritual; Roundabout.
Sunday line-up: Joan Armatrading, Babe Ruth, String Driven Thing, Climax Blues Band, Caravan, Soft Machine, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Robin Trower, Wishbone Ash. My memory of Sunday is of Wishbone Ash. Like Yes they were enjoying massive success at the time, and also like Yes they played a set of pure class, with the twin guitars of Andy Powell and Laurie Wisefield soaring through the cool, late Sunday evening.
Our DJs for the weekend were once again John Peel and Jerry Floyd. The weather was cold, with some rain, and the beer can fights were constant throughout the weekend. The festival had always been an organised, carefully planned event, but was becoming even more commercial. The nature of the festival, and its line-up, would transform further in the years which followed; with the emergence of punk and the re-emergence of heavy metal through the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal). Any elements of the jazz festivals of the 60s had also disappeared.
Thanks to BaldBoris for allowing his image of the festival to be used through the WikiMedia Commons licence agreement.
7 Feb
Carl Perkins , Bo Diddley & Matchbox Newcastle City Hall 13th April 1978
Carl Perkins , Bo Diddley & Matchbox Newcastle City Hall 13th April 1978
This was a great concert with performances from two true legends of the first wave of rock’n’roll. First up were Matchbox, who are a rock’n’roll / rockabilly revival band that are still playing today. Matchbox went on to the have hit singles in 1979 and 1980 with “Rockabilly Rebel”, “Buzz Buzz a Diddle It” and “Midnite Dynamos”. Then came Bo Diddley who strutted the stage with his trademark rectangle guitar, playing those classic buzz riffs to the “Bo Diddley beat” like only he could, in tunes like “Who Do You Love” and “Bo Diddley”. From the programme: “Bo Diddley is one of the classic figures in contempary music, ranking alongside such originators as Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters”. 
Headliner Carl Perkins played the classic “Blue Suede Shoes” and a set of rock’n’roll, country and rockabilly. He played an excellent set, with was a little more country than rock. Dressed in a cream suit covered with rhinestones, he was in a every way a cool guy, and had the crowd (which included lots of teds in their full gear) literally rocking in the aisles. From the programme: “Had it not been for a serious car crash, Carl Perkins could have been bigger than Elvis Presley – at least, that’s the opinion of Sun Records’ boss Sam Philiips – the man who discovered them both.” A memorable gig, by two guys from the golden era who were part of the birth of rock music; I won’t see their like again.
6 Feb
Public Image Ltd Newcastle City Hall 1983 and 1986
Public Image Ltd Newcastle City Hall 15th November 1983 and 10th May 1986
I next saw PIL at Newcastle City Hall in 1983. The line-up of the band had changed completely since the early days are now featured John Lydon (vocals); Martin Atkins (drums; I’d seen him a few years earlier in his band Brian Brain); Louis Bernardi (bass); Joseph Guida (guitar) and Arthur Stead (keyboards). By 1983 PIL had released several singles and three albums, including ‘Metal Box’. The set featured a mix of tracks from the albums, the singles and, surprisingly, The Pistols’s ‘Anarchy in the UK’. Gone was the strange discordant band I had seen in 1978; this version of PIL were more of a straight rock band, which was ok in some ways, but disappointing in others. A great show; the crowd went crazy when they played ‘Anarchy’.
Set List: Public image; Low life; Annalisa; Religion; Memories; Solitaire; Flowers of romance; Chant; Anarchy in the UK; This is not a love song; Attack.
Public Image Ltd were back in Newcastle three years later on 10th May 1986. This time the line-up was John Lydon (vocals); the late great John McGeoch (ex Banshees and Magazine, and simply excellent; guitar); Lu Edmonds (ex-Damned and a member of the current PIL line-up; keyboards, guitars); Allan Dias (bass); Bruce Smith (drums). Another great gig. On this occasion I felt that PIL were much truer to the original spirit of the band, partly as a result of John McGeoch’s amazing guitar work. This time they played The Pistols’ classic ‘Pretty Vacant’. Setlist (from a gig in Edinburgh the following evening, but I think Newcastle was similar; I certainly remember them playing Pretty Vacant): Kashmir (I assume this is a different song to the Zeppelin track?); FFF; Annalisa; Fishing; Poptones; Pretty Vacant; Banging the Door; Flowers of Romance; Bags; Tie me to the Length of That; Round; Home; Public Image; Rise; Low Life; World Destruction; Ease.
5 Feb
Public Image Ltd, Creation for Liberation Benefit Gig, Manchester Belle Vue, 23rd February 1979
Public Image Ltd, Creation for Liberation Benefit Gig, Manchester Belle Vue, 23rd February 1979
This was Public Image Ltds 5th gig, and their first in the North of England. I’d been a massive Pistols fan, having seen them twice in 1976 and 1977, so I was looking forward to this one. I’d bought their first album, and found it quite strange and rather disconcerting, it was so different to the Sex Pistols. Marie and I went to the concert which was in the massive Kings Hall our at Belle Vue Manchester. We drove down and stayed at a hotel in the city centre (the Portland I think).
The concert was entitled ‘Creation for Liberation’ and was a benefit gig in aid of the ‘Race Today Friendly Society’. Also on the bill were Bristol’s The Pop Group (punky/jazzy/art-rock), Merger (a great reggae band), and poets Linton Kwesi Johnson and John Cooper Clarke. We arrived early to see all the bands. I remember seeing a lot of people from the Manchester punk scene; a couple of members of the Buzzcocks were in the crowd. Everyone had turned out to see what John’s new band was like. I remember both dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson (“England is a bitch’ was a stand-out) and local hero John Cooper Clarke (super fast) going down well, and then there was a long wait for PIL. 
The line-up of PIL was: John Lydon (vocals), Keith Levene (guitar); Jah Wobble (bass) and Eddie Edwards (from the Vibrators sitting in on drums for this one gig). There was a long, cold, ait before PIL came on stage. When they did, they wandered on and Lydon famously said to the waiting crowd, “No gimmicks, no theatre, just us. Take it or leave it”. They then launched into ‘Theme’ and played a set which featured songs from their first album, and the controversial Pistols songs ‘Belsen Was A Gas’ (this was the last time that PIL would ever perform the song, and the last time that it was performed live until the Pistols played it again during their reunion tour in 2002). The sound was poor and murky and you couldn’t hear Lydon’s vocals very well at all. John was as scary and engaging as ever, but overall the band’s performance was a little shaky, and lacking the power and depth that PIL can achieve on a good night. I was hoping we would get a Pistols hit for the encore (I should have known that was never going to happen), but they simply played ‘Annalisa’ again. It was great to see Lydon on stage again, and in a strange way, this was a memorable concert. It represented everything that PIL was about at the time: challenging, strange, not quite what you would expect, noisy and discordant.
Set List: Theme; Annalisa; Low Life; Religion; Attack; Belsen Was A Gas; Public Image; Annalisa
Thanks to Paul B. Toman for allowing the use of his image of the PIL button badge through the Wikimedia Commons licence agreement.
4 Feb
Robert Palmer Newcastle Mayfair 19th May 1983
Robert Palmer Newcastle Mayfair 19th May 1983
Robert Palmer was a cool guy and a great R&B and soul singer. I first came across him when I saw him in Dada, a jazz/rock fusion band, who supported Iron Butterfly on their 1971 UK tour. Dada also featured Elkie Brooks, and the pair of singers were soon to form the great Vinegar Joe, who I was lucky enough to see several times in the early 70s. Palmer and Brooks were great together live; the cool, suave Yorkshireman was the perfect complement to Brooks’ fiery, wild and raucous stage persona. After Vinegar Joe folded, Palmer went on to forge a solo career, achieving particular success in the USA. By the time I saw him again at this gig at Newcastle Mayfair in 1983, he had released 7 albums. The tour was to promote the Pride album, and followed his success in the UK singles chart with Some Guys Have All The Luck which reached No 16, and was his biggest hit to date. 
The show saw Palmer looking particularly cool in a snappy suit, and singing his blue-eyed soul to an appreciative Newcastle crowd. A live recording exists of the Hammersmith Palais show of the 1983 tour which shows the setlist as: Every Kinda People; What Can You Bring?; Dance For Me; Want You More; You Can Have It (Take My Heart); Woke Up Laughing; Say You Will; Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley; Pride; It’s Not Difficult; Some Guys Have All The Luck; Best Of Both Worlds; Sulky Girl; Looking For Clues; Johnny And Mary. I would imagine that the set at the Mayfair will have been similar. Palmer went on to even bigger success a few years later with Addicted To Love (and that iconic video) and She Makes My Day. He died of a heart attack in a Paris hotel room on 26 September 2003 at the age of 54.
3 Feb
Tom Paxton Newcastle City Hall 5th November 1974
Tom Paxton Newcastle City Hall 5th November 1974
I’ve only seen Tom Paxton once, but really enjoyed it. It was at a concert at Newcastle City Hall in 1974, and (to my shame) the only song which was familiar to me was “Last Thing on my Mind”. Tom held the audience entranced for an hour or two with songs and stories which mixed politics, sadness and humour. Tom continues to perform continuously and visits the region every year or so. His next tour sees him joined by Janis Ian, which should make for a great evening. 
My 1974 tour programme includes some quotes from the UK press about Tom’s visits to this country: “Tom Paxton’s business is communication and he is a master of it. There can be few folk singers or groups who haven’t used some of his songs. His writing is spontaneous but he doesn’t rush it. …I’d wait until morning and it is was still there I’d go to work on it” (New Spotlight)…”A Paxton happening cannot be called a concert. A more apt label would be “An Evening with Tom Paxton” [Note: that’s exactly what my ticket says:) ].. As he sings and strums, more beautifully as the tour rolls by, all aspects of life are reflected and expressed in his lyrics.” (Lancashire Evening Post)…..”Singer, composer, Tom Paxton, perhaps one of the most relaxed of all the Americans who come to these shores” (Evening Times, Glasgow).
2 Feb
The Reading Festival 23rd – 25th August 1974
The Reading Festival 23rd – 25th August 1974
This was my third visit to the Reading Festival; I felt I was a seasoned festival goer 🙂 . By now a large crew of local people were going to the festival, so there were lots of mates there, and we spent much of the weekend in the pubs in town, and down near the Caversham Bridge; particularly The Griffin. We would nip back to the festival site to catch the bands we wanted to see. The line-up in 1974 wasn’t particularly strong in comparison to the previous couple of years, and quite a few bands who had been advertised didn’t show (notably Eric Burdon, Ronnie Lane and Blodwyn Pig, all of whom I was looking forward to seeing). The Friday line-up was : Nutz, Johnny Mars, Hustler, Beckett, Camel, 10c, Fumble, Sensational Alex Harvey Band.
The first night of the festival saw the triumphant headlining return of the Alex Harvey band, who lived up to their name and were truly sensational. SAHB had appeared low down on the bill the previous year; there will have been many in the crowd who saw that performance, and knew how good they were. Johnny Mars and his Sunflower Blues Band gigged a lot in the early 70s; they played traditional blues; I remember seeing them at Sunderland Poly a few times; pretty good too. Fumble were a rock’roll revival band who also gigged a lot. Beckett were local North East heroes, featuring singer Terry Slesser. The SAHB setlist was something like this: Faith Healer; Midnight Moses; Can’t Get Enough; Give My Regards To Sergeant Fury; The Return of Vambo; The Man in the Jar; Money Honey; The Impossible Dream; Schools Out; Framed.
Saturday line-up: Jack the Lad, G T Moore and the Reggae Guitars, Trapeze, Sutherland Brothers, JSD Band, Procol Harum, Thin Lizzy, Long John Baldry, Heavy Metal Kids, Greenslade, Georgie Fame, Traffic.
Two bands stick in my mind from Saturday: Thin Lizzy who were excellent, and about to break through a year or so later, and Traffic. This was the classic Lizzy line-up featuring front-man Phil Lynott, the twin guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, and Brian Downey on drums; at the time of the Nightlife album; they were at the top of their game. Traffic were excellent. They had just released their album When the Eagle Flies, and their set at Reading featured a few songs from that album, plus some old classics. The line-up at the time was Steve Winwood (guitar, vocals, keyboards); Chris Wood (flute, sax); Jim Capaldi (drums, vocals); Rosko Gee (bass); Rebop (percussion). Stand-outs were Steve singing John Barleycorn, simple and beautiful with acoustic guitar, and Rebop’s congas and percussion throughout. I found a published setlist for Traffic, which shows they played: Empty Pages; Graveyard People; Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring; John Barleycorn; 40,000 Headmen; Love; When the Eagle Flies; Walking in the Wind; Dream Gerrard. I also have it in my mind that they performed Feelin’ Alright, but maybe that’s my memory playing tricks again. Also worthy of mention are Procol Harum (great version of Whiter Shade of Pale and a big success during the late afternoon), the late great Long John Baldry (excellent voice and a hero of mine), Heavy Metal Kids (the late Gary Holton as crazy and manic as ever), and Georgie Fame who seemed a bit out of place as part of the Saturday night line-up, but carried on the jazz and R’n’B tradition of the festival and went down pretty well.
Sunday Line-up: Gary Farr, Chilli Willi and the Red Hod Peppers, Esparanto, Strider, Barclay James Harvest, Chapman & Whitney Streetwalkers, Kevin Coyne, George Melly, Winkies, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Harvey Andrews, Focus.
My main memories of the final day are of Steve Harley. Cockney Rebel had split a few months before the festival, and this one of Steve’s first appearances with his new band. They stole the show; appearing just as it was getting dark; the audience was with Steve from the start, and the performance was a triumph. Tumbling Down closed the set with a mass crowd singalong of “Oh dear, look what they’ve done to the blues, blues, blues”. It was clear that Steve was back, as cocky as ever; 1975 would bring him massive success with Make Me Smile.
I also remember watching Kevin Coyne (Marjory Razorblade), George Melly (a return after his success the previous year) and Focus who closed the show, and were also great, but seemed a little of anti-climax after Steve Harley’s performance.
DJs for the weekend were John Peel and Jerry Floyd. Oh and there were lots of cheers of “Wally”, “John Peels a c**t” (not sure how that one started), and a revolt at the prices of food in the arena, which resulted in a fish and chip van being trashed. Crazy, happy days.
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