Man Newcastle City Hall 1975
Note Mann spelt incorrectly on the ticket again 🙂
I remember this gig very well for two reasons. The first was because of the appearance of the late great exponent of West Coast psych guitar John Cipollina from Quicksilver Messenger Service, who joined Man for the entire UK tour. I was a big fan of the Quicksilver song “Fresh Air” and also a Man fan, so seeing Cipollina with the Man band was too good an opportunity to miss. The other reason I remember this gig was to do with the vantage point fro which we watched the show. I went along to the concert with one of my mates, and we ran into another guy I knew, who had a technician job at the City Hall, and was operating the lights that night. He took us way up into the roof, to a little room at the back of the hall, where he shone a massive spotlight down onto the stage. While he worked the spot light, we looked down on the band playing. The view wasn’t great actually, but it seemed fun, and pretty cool, at the time to be way up there with a spotlight guy. The combination of Man and Cipollina worked well that night with some great guitar work from both Micky Jones and from his west coast hero.
Support came from ‘A Band Called O’ who Mitch recalls: “went down very well with the City Hall audience. Their main set finished with the Humble Pie song Red Light Mama Red Hot and they came back for an encore.” I remember seeing Band Called O a couple of times; I think I may have seen them at Sunderland Poly. They were a pretty good live band. From Wikipedia: “A Band Called O were a band from Jersey. Originally known as “The Parlour Band”, playing progressive rock, they renamed to “A Band Called O” and later to “The O Band” for a further albums with UA. Despite issuing five albums, and being championed by John Peel, they had no chart success; but were a popular live act.”
Man Set list: 7171551, Hard Way To Die, Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, Hard Way To Live, The Storm, Somebody’s Calling, Codine, Razorblades and Rattlesnakes, Many Are Called But Few Get Up, Bananas. Encore; Romain. No Spunk Rock! I must have been disappointed that night 😦 Buffy St Marie’s Codine and Babe I’m Gonna Leave You both featured in early Quicksilver setlists. I was secretly and niavely hoping that they would play “Fresh Air” but sadly it wasn’t to be.
The London gig was recorded and released as the Maximum Darkness album. The tour and the album both deservedly received rave reviews at the time. Andy Childs wrote in Zigzag in 1976: “Maximum Darkness was recorded live at the Roundhouse on May 26th and is probably the best live album we’re going to hear this year, not just for Cipollina’s frequent bursts of imaginative playing, but because of Man themselves who show up superbly – the best I’ve heard from them in a long time.”
I never did get to see Quicksilver Messenger Service, but I did get to see founder member David Freiberg sing “Fresh Air” with Jefferson Starship last year.
Many thanks to Mitch for the setlist.
Posts Tagged ‘concerts’
6 Nov
Man Newcastle City Hall 1975
5 Nov
Man Spring Tour 1974 Newcastle City Hall
Man Spring Tour 1974 Newcastle City Hall (note misspelling of Man on the ticket 🙂 )
Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics on the road
Come 1974 and Deke Leonard returned to Man, and they released their 9th album Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics. The small four sided tour programme for this tour has details of the planned set, commenting on every song. I don’t usually do this but I thought I’d reproduce the text from the programme below as it documents the Man band’s thoughts on each of the songs that they played on the tour.
“Terry: This is it. Another tour off on the road. Old faces, new faces. Old numbers, new numbers. Old gigs, new gigs. This is just a bit of info on some of the numbers we will be doing each night:
Spunk Rock: Old time favourite and stomper. This has been on record in many different disguises over the years. It first appeared on “Two ounces of plastic with a hole in the middle” then it became the 20 minute live track on the Greasy Truckers album. Then it sneaked its way into “Jam Up Jelly Tight” on the Back Into The Future album and its still going strong.
Bananas: “I like to eat bananas; ‘Cos they got no bones; I like marijuana; ‘Cos it gets me stoned”. What more can one say? Maybe one of the biggest favourites with audiences on our gigs in Britain today.
Romain: The good old shuffle. A story about a gig we had the misfortune to play in Belgium. Deke: This bastard of a cop picked in two young kids and Martin (Ace, that is) tried to help by pulling the cop’s head off – he nearly did. Terry: Romain was the cop’s name. Martin was badly beaten up and taken to gaol. We managed to get him out just in time for the gig by calling the Mayor of Ostend who just happened to be the promoter. When we eventually got home they landed us with a bill for 3 days pay because Romain was off sick. Now isn’t that a sad story? Micky: Not really – we never did pay!!!
C’mon: C’mon was caused by drugs. Deke: Extremely dangerous ones.
Blown Away: This is a song from the last Help Yourself album (return of K Whaley) and is a song about feeling desolate which is something most of us feel now and then. That’s all.
Hardway to live: ….is a song about what a hard way it is to live, and 7171/551 is a very private song, so I don’t want to tell you what it’s about.
Scotch Corner: …..is about a man we met who was on his way to the Lake District to commit suicide. He looked like a turtle. The place we met him was a transport cafe at Scotch Corner.
Four Day Louise: …..feels like its the kind of song we’ll play till we die, or split up, or something.
Taking the Easy Way Out Again: ….is about us. Something we try to do all the time.
The last three numbers are on the new album Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics.
Deke: If an unidentified number appears, do not panic – it’ll just be us having a jam. If any of the above numbers crumble it’ll give you the opportunity to study the effects of panic on the band’s faces. In this situation pretend nothing has happened……we’re going to have a lot of fun together. Have a good time. Luv. The Man Band”
The programme tells me that support came from Chris Darrow from the USA Kaleidoscope and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, although I can’t recall seeing him.
The line-up of the Man band for this tour was Micky Jones – Guitar, Vocals;
Deke Leonard – Guitar, Vocals; Malcolm Morley – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals; Ken Whaley – Bass; Terry Williams – Drums, Vocals.
I remember that I went to this gig with a group of mates and that we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Favourites were Bananas, which we all went around singing afterwards, and of course Spunk Rock. I saw Man again a couple of months later in the summer of 74 at the pure hell which was the Buxton (endurance) Festival, where they played a great set on the Friday night prior to Mott the Hoople’s headlining appearance. I’ve included a scan of the page which features Man from the Buxton programme. I’ve blogged separately on the full horror of the Buxton experience. Thanks to John for the scan of his poster from the Rhinos tour.
4 Nov
Man in concert in 1972
Man in concert in 1972
I was a big fan of Welsh wizards Man in the 70s and saw them several times in concert. Trying to work out exactly which line-ups of the band I saw is a complex piece of historical research in itself. Suffice it to say that this band changed members like many others changed guitar strings. The one constant who was in every early Man line-up was, of course, the late great ace guitarist Micky Jones. Coming in close second was guitarist Deke Leonard, who left and rejoined a couple of times. Other regulars members of the Man family were Martin Ace, Terry Williams, Clive John and Phil Ryan. Martin Ace fronts a version of Man which plays to this day.
The first time I saw Man was at Newcastle City Hall on 21st June 1972, when they were featured on a bill headlined by the Flamin’ Groovies. I saw them again a couple of months later in August 1972 at the Reading Festival; sandwiched between jazz rock fusion band Solid Gold Cadillac and folky warbler Linda Lewis, way down on a weekend bill headlined by Ten Years After, Curved Air and The Faces. The line up of the band in the Summer of 1972 was Micky Jones (guitar, vocals), Will Youatt (bass, vocals), Clive John (guitar, vocals), Terry Williams (drums, vocals), and Phil Ryan (keyboards, vocals). My enduring memory from those gigs is of Micky playing the excellent “Spunk Rock” on his cherry red Gibson SG. Now the said “Spunk Rock” was a lengthy instrumental piece, with meandering psych-tinged guitar solos. The song would often run for some 20 or more minutes, but I never became bored with it. It was based around a central riff, which Micky would return to as the song progressed. In many ways Man were our Grateful Dead, with lengthy west-coast influenced guitar-based tunes. Very much a “head” band. Micky Jones is quoted at the time: “We may not be the best band in the world, but we sure smoke the most dope.” Other well known tracks from their early 70s gigs are “Many Are Called But Few Get Up” and “Daughter of the Fireplace”, both of which feature in Man sets to this day. I was also seriously into their early psych classic single “Sudden Life” which came out in 1969 and still sounds amazing today.
From the Reading 72 programme: “Man not Boyo. Man come from Swansea where their career nearly ended after a bundle with half a dozen local greasers. Personnel changes were necessary when the bass guitarist smashed his hand up and the lead guitarist came adrift from his motorbike”.
I also think I saw Deke Leonard in his own band Iceberg at Newcastle City Hall, as a support act. The album “Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day” was recorded during this Deke-less Man period, and features the classic tracks C’Mon and Bananas, both of which were to become live favourites. “I like to eat bananas; ‘Cos they got no bones; I like marijuana; ‘Cos it gets me stoned”.
I saw Man several more times over the next few years and will write about those gigs over the coming days.
3 Nov
Toy Dolls North Shore Sunderland 2nd Nov 2013
Toy Dolls North Shore Sunderland 2nd Nov 2013
Last night mackem heroes the Toy Dolls made a long awaited return to Sunderland to play a concert in local venue North Shore. Its 30 years since they last graced a stage here, when they played a gig at the much missed Old 29 in 1983. As you might imagine, anticipation was high for last night’s homecoming, with tickets selling out in a day or so. North Shore (previously known as Manor Quay, or Close Encounters, or The Boilermakers Club, depending upon which era you are from) is a club venue which now plays host to the events of Sunderland University Students Union. But last night it was packed to the walls with punks young and old who had come to see the return of Olga and the Toy Dolls. 
Well Olga and the guys didn’t let us down, and played a blistering, crazy set of their fast punk anthems, which chronicle Olga’s life and tales from mackem legend, including Cloughy Is a Bootboy!; Dougy Giro; Dirty Doreen; Spiders In The Dressing Room; The Ashbrooke Launderette; Olga… I Cannot; Tommy Kowey’s Car; Queen Alexandra Road Is Where She Said She’d Be, but Was She There to Meet Me… No Chance; Harry Cross (A Tribute to Edna); hit single Nellie the Elephant. Fine stuff, great fun. The vibe of the night was friendly good hearted fun, with the crowd singing along to every word, and Olga running back and forth across the stage, chopping away at his Telecaster. Old friendships were renewed, and a good time was well and truly had by all.
2 Nov
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Edinburgh Usher Hall 1 Nov 2013
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Edinburgh Usher Hall 1 Nov 2013
Last night Laura and I crossed the border to Scotland, where we took a step over another border into the darker side of rock, for a night in the company of Nick Cave and his compatriots the Bad Seeds. I’ve only ever seen Nick Cave once before, and that was as at a solo concert at the Sage Gateshead some years ago. This was the first time that Laura had seen him, although she is a fan and familiar with much of his music. We had seats in the upper circle looking directly down on the proceedings, with a good view of the stage and the packed stalls where all the seats had been removed, and fans were crammed around the stage, awaiting an audience with Nick. Support came from solo artist Shilpa Ray who played a short set of her own songs, accompanied only by herself on harmonium. Her sound is a sort of bluesy punk with searing, screeching vocals.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds came of stage shortly before 9pm, and were truly amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a performance which maintained such passion, power and intensity throughout. Nick was dressed all in black, looking like a cool, young Bela Lugosi, and the songs were all very dark in both mood and lyric. Crazed bearded violinist Warren Ellis tore shreds out of his instrument and was a perfect foil to frontman Cave. Nick prowled around the front of the stage singing and talking directly to the first few rows of fans. The guy seemingly has no fear, and seemed to completely lose himself in the performance. The songs were, at one end of the spectrum, all power chords, manic instrumental breaks, with Cave dancing crazily and haranguing the front rows; to another extreme of dark, sombre, power ballads with Cave at the piano. Highlights for me were Jubilee Street, Tupelo, Red Right, The Mercy Seat, and Stagger Lee. The main set finished with Push the Sky Away, but the band returned for a incredible five song encore including Deanna, the great Breathless (my favourite 🙂 ) and closer Give Us a Kiss. The show finished just before 11pm, and we had an uneventful drive back down the A1; arriving home around 1.45am.
Setlist: We No Who U R; Jubilee Street; Midnight Man; Tupelo; Red Right Hand; Mermaids; From Her to Eternity; Stranger Than Kindness; God Is in the House; He Wants You; Into My Arms; Higgs Boson Blues; Hiding All Away; The Mercy Seat; Stagger Lee; Push the Sky Away. Encore: We Real Cool; Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry; Deanna; Breathless; Give Us a Kiss
1 Nov
Mötley Crüe Theatre of Pain tour Newcastle City Hall 1986
Mötley Crüe Theatre of Pain tour Newcastle City Hall 1986
Think big, loud, outrageous, OTT, heavy rock. Think glam, pyrotechnics, Kiss meets The Stooges and you are starting to get it. Mötley Crüe brought the “Theatre of Pain” to Newcastle and just blew us all away 🙂 .
Mötley Crüe are an American heavy metal band who formed in California in 1980. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were soon joined by fellow mad compatriots lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe have been described as “the world’s most notorious rock band” (Wikipedia). They are also one of the best-selling groups of all time, having sold 80 million albums (Wow!). I first came across Mötley Crüe when I saw them playing way down the bill at Donington Monsters of Rock in 1984. By 1986 they were touring to support their third album “Theatre of Pain”, and these guys were massive. I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to enjoy their outrageous stage show, but I knew that I just had to go along and see if they were as loud and crazy as I had read. The show was actually great fun, if a little tongue in cheek, and the music wasn’t too bad either.
The stage set was magnificent. Drummer Tommy Lee towered above us all on a drum riser which revolved through 360 degrees (don’t ask me how that worked 🙂 ?!). Guitarist Mick Mars and bassist Nikki Sixx prowled around the stage, both every bit heavy metal rock gods. And singer and total madman Vince Neil sang his heart out. The audience, well Vince told us many times that we were all “MotherF***ers”, and the Newcastle metal crowd didn’t argue with that; they just lapped it up. A night of total over the top madness! Plus these guys did a great version of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”; check it out on YouTube. I’ve been trying to work out who the support act was that night, and based on what I can find out there, it seems that the great Cheap Trick played on the UK dates. My memory lets me down again, as I have no recollection at all of seeing Cheap Trick that night. I am sure if they had been support I would have gone along early to see them; maybe I did and have forgotten all about it, which is increasingly likely….
Setlist: Looks That Kill; Use It or Lose It; Shout at the Devil; Fight for Your Rights; Home Sweet Home; Red Hot; Keep Your Eye on the Money; Louder Than Hell; Too Young to Fall in Love; Knock ’em Dead, Kid; Live Wire; Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room (Brownsville Station. Great choice for a cover!); Helter Skelter (The Beatles! Another great choice); Jailhouse Rock (Elvis!)
31 Oct
John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra 1974 & 1975
John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra 1974 & 1975. 
I was lucky enough to see the second Mahavishnu Orchestra three times. The first time was at the Knebworth Bucolic Frolic concert in 1974 where they shared the bill with The Allman Brothers, the Doobies, Van Morrison, SAHB and Tim Buckley. The setlist from Knebworth was: Wings of Karma,Sanctuary, Vision is a Naked Sword, Hymn to Him. This was a big band and the line up was: John McLaughlin – lead guitar, Jean-Luc Ponty – electric violin, Gayle Moran – keyboards, Michael Walden – drums, Carole Shive – drums, Marsha Westbrook – viola, Phillip Hirschi – cello, Steve Frankewicz and Bob Knapp – trumpet, fluegelhorn, flute, and Steve Kindler – violin. I remember that the band were all dressed in white and that McLaughlin started the set with a short reading, or it could even have been a prayer. 
My next Mahavishnu experience was at Newcastle City Hall in 1975, and the programme comes from that gig. I looked up the meaning of Mahavishnu out of interest, and found this on Wikipedia: “Mahavishnu (Devanāgarī: महाविष्णु) is an aspect of Vishnu, the Absolute which is beyond human comprehension and is beyond all attributes. The term Mahavishnu is similar to Brahman and Almighty Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead”. Pretty deep mystic stuff; eh?! And that about sums up their music; heavy, deep, with superb musicianship, jazz-rock, fusion, challenging, enjoyable, frustrating, exciting, boring; all of those things in part. Like nothing I have seen before or since. The last time I saw John McLaughlin and his Mahavishnu Orhestra was at the Reading Festival in 1975, where they shared a bill with Soft Machine, Robin Trower and headliners Wishbone Ash. McLaughlin is an intriguing character, and undoubtedly a musical genius. He still plays today, and I have just added him to the list of people I intend to try and see again in the next few years.
30 Oct
John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra 1973
John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra 1973. 
I first saw John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra at a concert at Newcastle City Hall in 1973. This was the original line-up of the band and featured leader “Mahavishnu” John McLaughlin on virtuoso guitar, Jan Hammer on keyboards, Jerry Goodman (from The Flock) on electric violin, Rick Laird on bass guitar, and Billy Cobham (from Miles Davis’ band) on drums. These guys were pioneers in so many ways; in McLaughlin’s use of the twin neck guitar which enabled him to switch from 6 to 12 strings, in Jan Hammer’s use of the mini-moog and in their unique fusion of rock, jazz, funk, classical and Indian influences. This was the band which recorded the seminal albums The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) and Birds of Fire (1973). Their music was like nothing else I had experienced at the time; experimental yet at the same time heavily orchestrated. Pioneering and fascinating stuff; I was deeply impressed by the musicianship and virtuosity on show. The set is likely to have been drawn from the first two albums and will probably have included tracks like Birds of Fire, Meeting of the Spirits, You Know, You Know, The Dance of Maya, Open Country Joy, Dream, Sanctuary, One Word, Hope, Awakening. All pretty mystical and deep heavy stuff for a young teenager, and quite different from seeing Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin! This was a brave booking for local promoter Geoff Docherty and his Fillmore North (note the misspelling of “North” as “Worth” 🙂 ). This line-up of the Mahavishnu Orchestra split later that year, and McLaughlin reformed the band with a completely new membership in 1974. I saw the new version of the Orchestra on three occasions, and I will write about that tomorrow.
29 Oct
The Monochrome Set Durham University 1981
The Monochrome Set Durham University 1981
The Monochrome Set was formed in London in 1978. The original line-up consisted of Indian-born lead singer and songwriter Bid, Canadian guitarist Lester Square, drummer John Haney and bass guitarist Charlie Harper. The band went through several bassists in the next few years. Experimental filmmaker Tony Potts began working with the band in 1979, designing their lighting and stage sets with the use of film projections for their live shows. The band’s early shows were defined by the shadowy, stage images created by his films and he is often described as being their “fifth member”. Today they are spoken of in reverential terms and are thought of as a seminal, legendary new wave / art-rock band. I only recall seeing the Monochrome Set once, at this gig at Durham University Dunelm Ballroom in 1981. By this point the line-up was John, Bid, Lester and Andy Warren on bass. My memories of the band are of a weird, slightly avant-garde arty new wave ensemble, very black and white (hence their name); quite strange.
From their official site: “You can never pin down The Monochrome Set. They’re so difficult in many ways, yet easy to appreciate.
They’ve been together now …. since the dying days of punk, developing a music which oscillates between furtive seriousness and high enjoyment and tries to connect fantasy with the world. Label them and their music at your peril. Because of the Rough Trade alliance, brief enigmatic press coverage, shadowy pictures, the casualness of the group, their seemingly aloof airs and faces, and the apparent strictness of their live performances, the wrong impression of the group is being communicated. I’m not sure they are doing all they can to change this.” Support came from local heroes the Carpettes.
The band have recently reformed and have been playing concerts to renewed acclaim.
28 Oct
Don McLean Newcastle City Hall 1980
Don McLean Newcastle City Hall 1980 
American Pie is an epic song in several senses. The album version runs at an incredible 8 minutes, although it was shortened to four minutes for the single release. Much has been written about the meaning of its cryptic lyrics, with the general consensus seeming to be that the song is about the tragic death of McLean’s hero Buddy Holly in a plane crash. McLean has been reluctant to explain the song’s meaning and is on record as joking: “It means I don’t ever have to work again if I don’t want to.” or more seriously “You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me…. Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence.”. 
My enduring memory of the song is seeing Don McLean perform it at the Lincoln Festival in 1972. The weather at the festival was awful, and the heavens opened during Don’s set. However when he sang this song the rain stopped, almost as if by magic, and we all sang along.
I saw Don McLean again in 1980 at a concert at Newcastle City Hall. The tour was to support a “Greatest Hits” compilation and the support act was local folk trio Prelude. As well as “American Pie” you could be sure that Don McLean would sing his other hits “Vincent” and “Crying”, as well as less known, but just as beautiful, songs like “And I Love You So” and “Castles in the Air”. He would also include one or two Buddy Holly songs such as “Everyday”, perhaps some Elvis or Bob Dylan, and some rock’n’roll. 
From the programme: “Don McLean is without doubt one of the most influential singer songwriters in the history of popular music. He has inspired many of his contemporaries and his classic song “American Pie” (released in 1971) has become a perennial on radio all-time Top Ten request lists. Another song “Vincent” – which is played every single day at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Holland – was cited recently by Stevie Wonder as one of his all-time favourites. And another – “And I Love You So” – has become a standard. It is also one of the most sung and recorded songs in history with versions by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Perry Como and Helen Reddy leading the way.”
Thanks to John for the scan of an early tour programme. The lower image is the front cover of the 1980 UK tour programme.
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