The Groundhogs Stray & Gentle Giant Newcastle City Hall 1972
A group of us went to this gig, and we had seats right down the front. The line-up was very strong, with support from the amazing Stray and prog-rock heroes Gentle Giant. Gentle Giant were first up. This group grew out of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, and are now looked upon as a legendary band. At the time, however, it all seemed just a little too weird for our simple rock tastes. Stray were favourites of mine at the time and were just great, with Del wearing his mirror suit, lots of strobe lights during All In Your Mind, and the exploding dustbins to close the show. My favourite Stray song at the time was Jericho, from the Suicide album. 
This was the Groundhogs first tour with new drummer Clive Brooks, and took place between the release of Who Will Save The World and the Hogwash albums. The set would have consisted of classics from Thank Christ For the Bomb, Split, and Mistreated from Blues Obituary. I suspetc that they may also have played some songs from Hogwash. I Love Miss Ogyny and 3744 James Road were to become great live favourites of the next couple of years. The programme tells me: “The playing of the Groundhogs as a group, and of Tony McPhee as a soloist goes from strength to strength. On Who Will Save The World Mac adds mellotron and harmonium to his electrifying guitar, and because of what seems to be essentially a guitarist’s approach to these instruments he adds a new dimension to their usage. The Mighty Groundhogs, now with super-Mac on sythesiser and mellotron as well as his whining, wheeling guitar are very heavy, very heavy indeed”.
Posts Tagged ‘concerts’
25 Dec
The Groundhogs, Stray & Gentle Giant Newcastle City Hall 1972
24 Dec
The Groundhogs early 70s gigs: the classic line-up
The Groundhogs early 70s gigs: the classic line-up 
This is going to be a bit of a marathon, so please indulge me on this. If there is one band that I have followed consistently over the past 40+ years, it is The Groundhogs. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen them, and hope that collecting my memories in the form of posts on my blog, will help me recall some of the great times I have had at Groundhogs gigs. I intend to blog about this great band over the Christmas period, and its going to take me quite a few days (perhaps a couple of weeks!) to cover all the different line-ups of the band that I have seen, since I first caught them in concert in the early 70s. I’ll also cover the legend that is Tony McPhee as a solo artist during my bloggings.
The first time I saw The Groundhogs was at Newcastle City Hall in February 1971, when they were support act for The Rolling Stones. I’ve blogged separately on this gig from a Stones perspective, but I need to concentrate on my memories of Tony and the guys here. This was, of course, the classic power trio line-up of McPhee on guitar, Pete Cruikshank on bass, and Ken Pustelnik on drums. I didn’t know who was supporting the Stones until I got into the hall, and they introduced them as they came on stage. So it was a nice surprise to find out I was about to witness my first Groundhogs gig. 
This was just around the time that they released Split, and their (very short) set comprised a few songs from that and Thank Christ for the Bomb. The Groundhogs set was particularly short that night, as there were two performances of the Rolling Stones show, the first being from 6.30 to 8.30pm, which didn’t allow the support act to play for much more than half an hour. The Leeds University gig of the tour was recorded and released as the Live At Leeds EP, which shows the set as being: Cherry Red; Garden; Split Part One; Groundhogs Blues; and Eccentric Man. That night I became a lifelong Groundhogs fan. Their music was a unique mix of blues and rock, and they were truly at the height of their powers at the time. I saw this original classic line-up four more times over the next year or so; at Newcastle City Hall, Sunderland Bay Hotel, Newcastle Mayfair, and Sunderland Top Rank.
The City Hall gig was during 1971 and was a co-headlining show with Chicken Shack. Things didn’t go entirely to plan and for some reason The Groundhogs weren’t able to appear that night, so Chicken Shack headlined the gig, and very good they were too. The gig was promoted by local guy Geoff Docherty, who came on stage to apologise and tell us The Groundhogs would play a couple of weeks later. This was one of those gigs where you handed your tickets in at the door, so they gave them back to us as we left, so that we could use them at the rescheduled gig. One of my mates was quite enterprising and kept going in and out of the hall, and thus managed to collect a few extra tickets, which he sold on to people at school. So a couple of weeks later we returned to the City Hall, and as promised The Groundhogs did indeed play for us. I also remember that Bridget St John was support at one of those two gigs; I think it was the first night when Chicken Shack played. I remember someone threw a can, just missing her, and Geoff Docherty came on to the stage to tell the crowd to calm down. At the time The Groundhogs would start with Mistreated (from Blues Obituary), and then play a selection of tracks from their first few albums including Eccentric Man, Still a Fool (from the first album, Scratching the Surface), Split I, Garden, and Groundhog Blues. They would finish with Split II with a marathon solo by Tony and lots of use of the whammy bar, and return for an encore of Cherry Red. Tony was quite rightly rated as one of the best guitarists in the country at the time, and his guitar playing was stunning and a joy to experience.
A group of us went to see The Groundhogs play at Sunderland Bay Hotel sometime late in 1971. I decided to go at the last minute, missing a gig by Rory Gallagher at the City Hall so that I could see the Hogs with my mates. The place was packed and Tony was on top form; I remember this as one of the best times I ever saw the band.
In early 1972, I was at Newcastle Mayfair to see The Groundhogs and Chicken Shack share a bill again, at a dance for Ashington College students. Both bands did play this time, alongside a couple of other bands, as I recall. Chicken Shack were on top form with Stan walking around the dance floor playing his guitar, using an extra long lead. The Groundhogs had just released the Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs album, and played a couple of tracks from the new lp: Earth is not Room Enough, and Music is the Food of Thought. I think this is the only time I’ve ever seen them play those tracks. Tony was also getting into some serious soloing at this point, playing a very Hendrix-ish version of Amazing Grace.
Around the same time, in early 1972, a group of us saw The Groundhogs at Sunderland Top Rank. We’d been to see Slade (who were excellent) at Sunderland Locarno earlier that night, and came into the Rink (as it was known) just as The Groundhogs took to the stage, having missed the support act Ashton, Gardner and Dyke. I managed to make my way right to the front, and stood right in front of Tony as he soloed on Amazing Grace and Split II. We also got back stage that night and chatted to Tony and Pete.
Its amazing how many times The Groundhogs played in the north east within the space of a year. In fact there were more gigs then these, including a concert at the City Hall where they were supported by Egg and Quicksand (see flyer), which I missed (and I still regret it!). Ken Pustelnik was soon to leave the band, to be replaced by Clive Brooks, and that version of the band toured extensively over the next couple of years, calling at the City Hall a few times. I’ll blog on those gigs in the coming days.
22 Dec
The Grateful Dead Newcastle City Hall 1972
The Grateful Dead Newcastle City Hall 1972
Some gigs take on a whole new level of importance as time goes on. This is one such gig. When the Grateful Dead came to Newcastle City Hall to play a concert in 1972 I went along more out of curiosity than as a fan of this legendary band. I knew very little of their material; I’d probably heard Casey Jones, Truckin’ and Dark Star, but not much else. I’d also read that they played very long concerts, sometimes going on for 5 or 6 hours. Since then I’ve picked up most of their albums over the years, and appreciate just how great The Grateful Dead are. This gig is definitely one I wish I could go to again, knowing then what I know now, as the say. But, hey, such is life. At least I got to see them even if I didn’t savour this gig the way I should have.
I had a seat in the third row, and went along quite excited to see what these guys were like. The place was full of hard core hippy types, and there was a distinct smell of dope in the air. The Dead’s amplifiers were decked out in psychedelic tie dye colours, and there was a whole lot of gear on the stage. There was no support act, and the Dead came on pretty promptly at 7.30pm and started their set. The songs seemed a mix of countryish rock with long meandering psychedelic west coast guitar solos. I was seated more or less directly in front of Bob Weir, who sported a long pony tail which was almost down to his waist. Jerry Garcia was on the other side of the stage. Pigpen was wearing his cowboy hat and playing his Hammond organ. Sometime between 9pm and 10pm the Dead took a break before returning for a second set, which seemed to go on for ever. I enjoyed the concert, but it just went on a little too long for me. I also found it heavy going, because I wasn’t familiar with the material.
My dad used to sometimes drive through and pick me up from the City Hall, and I’d asked him to do so that night, as I figured I might miss the last train home. I think I’d asked him to come along for 11.30pm, as I thought the concert would go on quite late. As it was, I decided I better leave at midnight, as I knew he was sitting in the car waiting outside. However, I regret to this day leaving this gig early. I heard from others that they played until after 1am. These shows are, of course, now legendary; it is generally recognised that The Dead were at their best during this tour. This was their first European jaunt, and the tour was recorded, and a selection of songs released on the Europe 1972 triple album. The entire tour has recently been released as a box set.
Set I: Greatest Story Ever Told; Deal; Mr. Charlie; Black Throated Wind; Tennessee Jed; Big Boss Man; Beat It on Down the Line; Sugaree; Jack Straw; Chinatown Shuffle; China Cat Sunflower; I Know You Rider; Playing in the Band; Next Time You See Me; Brown-Eyed Women; Looks Like Rain; Big Railroad Blues; Casey Jones.
Set II: Good Lovin’; Ramble on Rose; Truckin’; Drums; The Other One; Comes a Time; Sugar Magnolia; Brokedown Palace.
Encore: One More Saturday Night
16 Dec
The Sweet The Sage Gateshead Dec 15th 2012
Slade and Sweet The Sage Gateshead Dec 15th 2012
I bought a ticket for this gig on ebay for £1.75 (result!) and was particularly looking forward to seeing the latest version of the Sweet, as it is many years since I have seen the band. These days the Sweet features guitarist Andy Scott as the only original member. I’ll blog about their set, rather than Slade, as I wrote about the latest (Noddy-less) version of Slade when I saw them at London’s Koko club last christmas. 
I saw the classic Sweet line-up a couple of times in the 70s, and also saw Andy, Steve Priest and Mick Tucker as a three piece in the early 80s, after Brian Connolly had left the band, and Brian Connolly’s Sweet in the early 90s. All of these line-ups were good fun in concert, so I was interested to see how this latest incarnation would shape up. Sweet started their set with Hellraiser, which sounded really good. Andy is very clearly the leader of the band, playing those chunky fuzz-toned guitar riffs that are the bedrock of all the old hits on a lovely red strat. They followed Hellraiser with New York Groove, which is the title track of their new album. Its good to see that the guys are still releasing new material. 
This new track was followed by The Six Teens, which is often forgotten, but is one of the best Sweeet hits in my view. Then we got a few of the hits: Wig Wam Bam ran straight into Little Willy. By now most of the crowd were up on their feet, singing along to every word. It was during Teenage Rampage that I looked down from my seat in the circle and saw a group of 50-something men and women singing “Recognise your age it’s a teenage rampage”; which seemed almost surreal. The next song was a cover of Dead or Alive’s You Spin Me Round, which also appears on the new album. Love is Like Oxygen followed; a great song, written by Andy, and quite different to the rest of Sweet’s material. Then Andy paid tribute to Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker, and the “crazy journey which I was on in the 70s”, and assured us that “as long as there is breath in me”, he would be there playing with Sweet. Then they played Blockbuster, Andy introduced the members of current line-up, and they finished with Fox on the Run. Great stuff. The new line-up is very strong, with three great front men: Andy, Tony O’Hora on guitar, vocals and keyboards, and, on lead vocals and bass, local Geordie guy Peter Lincoln. The powerhouse drummer is Bruce Bisland. The current band plays all the hits in a blend of heavy rock and pop that seems entirely right. Andy looks good; great 70s style hair; very thick and long (makes me dead jealous). The crowd wouldn’t let them leave without an encore; we got Action (another great, under-rated and oft-forgotten song); and of course, the whole place then went crazy to the Ballroom Blitz. I went down to the foyer during the interval and queued in a line to meet the members of Sweet, who signed my programme. Great to shake hands with Andy Scott! Legend. A good fun set, and better that I had expected.
13 Dec
Status Quo The Sage Gateshead 12 December 2012
Status Quo The Sage Gateshead 12 December 2012
It’s Christmas time and Quo are on tour again. The tour concept is once again “QuoFestive” but unlike last year, the strong support acts (Bonnie Tyler, and Eddie and the Hot Rods) are limited to a few venues. Support at the Sage Gateshead came from Bad Influence, who have been getting good reviews on the tour. I was feeling pretty ropey with a flu bug, so turned up late, just in time for the Mighty Quo, and missed the support. This year has seen some changes to the set, with Marguerita Time in, alongside Living on an Island; both songs bringing a respite from the high energy rock pace of the rest of the set. The Sage was sold out, and the crowd in good spirits, although a little reserved compared to some of the gigs I have attended at the City Hall. Maybe that was down to the venue which Francis deemed as being “posh”. 
Rick has a new short haircut, looks fit and is, as always, the relentless rhythm guitar machine. Francis is as cheeky as ever, and on good form, Good gig, if pretty standard. Roll on next March and the Frantic Four reunion tour. Setlist: Caroline; Paper Plane; Hold You Back; Rain; Mystery Song; Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ You; Beginning of the End; What You’re Proposing / Wild Side Of Life / Railroad / Again And Again; Big Fat Mama; The Oriental; Creepin’ Up On You; Marguerita Time; Living on an Island; In the Army Now; Drum Solo / The Killer; Roll Over Lay Down; Down Down; Whatever You Want; Rockin’ All Over the World. Encore: Walking in a Winter Wonderland / Rocking Around The Christmas Tree / It’s Christmas Time; Burning Bridges
12 Dec
Franz Ferdinand Newcastle Arena 2005
Franz Ferdinand Newcastle Arena 2005
Support from Editors. 
Franz Ferdinand were everywhere in 2004 and 2005. The single The Dark of the Matinée made a particular impression and their sharp, quirky tunes, very reminiscent of early Roxy Music and quite arty, suggested that they would be an attractive possibility to see in concert. David and Laura were also impressed by them, so along we went when their first arena tour called at Newcastle. Support came from Editors, who were quite dark with shades of Joy Division. The crowd were really up for Franz Ferdinand and the band put on an impressive show, including their hit singles and tracks from their first two albums. Setlist: This Boy; Come on Home; Do You Want To; Auf Achse; I’m Your Villain; The Dark of the Matinée; The Fallen; Walk Away; Eleanor Put Your Boots On; Take Me Out; Darts of Pleasure; You’re the Reason I’m Leaving; 40′; Michael. Encore: Jacqueline; Evil and a Heathen; Outsiders; This Fire
11 Dec
Bryan Ferry As Time Goes By Newcastle City Hall 1999
Bryan Ferry As Time Goes By Newcastle City Hall 1999
Over 20 years since I last saw Bryan Ferry solo in concert, Marie and I went along to the City Hall to see him on his “As Time Goes By” tour. He had just released the album of the same name, which featured Bryan singing old standards. The middle of the road nature of the album made me think twice about attending this gig, but Marie quite fancied it so we bought a couple of tickets. Bryan, as usual, performed well, and I quite enjoyed the concert which mixed the standards with a few Roxy Music favourites. 
Bryan had no support act for the tour, and performed the show accompanied by a band and string quartet. The show opened with a harp solo followd by the string quartet and the band playing a song before Bryan joined them on stage. There was an interval where the band played Sweet Georgia Brown, while Bryan had a short breather. Quite interesting, and different, and very well done. I always find Bryan an interesting and intriguing performer. He carries the image of the cool sophisticated guy, but onstage he often strikes me as being slightly awkward and uncomfortable, and comes over as quite a shy person. His vocal performance is always impeccable, and I have to admit his choice of songs is excellent, even if some of them are middle of the road. Setlist would be something like: The Way You Look Tonight; Love Me or Leave Me; Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Chance Meeting; Carrickfergus; Where or When; Bitter Sweet; Out of the Blue; The Only Face; As Time Goes By; Sunset; September Song; Falling in Love Again; Just One of Those Things; Avalon; Jealous Guy; Let’s Stick Together; Love Is the Drug; Do the Strand
10 Dec
Bryan Ferry Newcastle City Hall 1977
Bryan Ferry Newcastle City Hall 1977
Things were busy for Bryan Ferry in the mid-70s. He released a series of solo albums, by 1976 Roxy Music had officially disbanded, and in 1977 he embarked upon his first solo tour. The UK leg of the tour was originally set to take place in late 1976, but was put back to early 1977. Bryan assembled a very impressive band for the tour consisting of former fellow Roxy members Paul Thompson on drums, Phil Manzanera on guitar, and John Wetton on bass. Ace guitarist Chris Spedding was also in the band, alongside Ann O’Dell on keyboards, a brass section of Mel Collins, Martin Drover and Chris Mercer and the trio of Dyan Birch, Frank Collins and Paddie McHugh, who came via Arrival and Kokomo. The set was drawn from Bryan’s solo albums and also included a couple of Roxy Music songs. This covered a mix of pop, rock, soul and more traditional middle of the road songs. 
I remember that the middle of the road nature of some of Bryan’s solo outings put me off a little, but I remember this as a very enjoyable concert. Bryan’s excellent versions of The ‘In’ Crowd and Dylan’s A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall would be worth the price of admission on their own. A typical setlist for the tour was: Let’s Stick Together; Shame, Shame, Shame; Roadrunner; All Night Operator; Party Doll; You Go To My Head; Could It Happen To Me; In Your Mind; Casanova; Love Me Madly Again; Love Is The Drug; Tokyo Joe; This Is Tomorrow; The ‘In’ Crowd; A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall; The Price Of Love; It’s My Party; Tracks Of My Tears
9 Dec
Fun Boy Three Newcastle Mayfair 1983
Fun Boy Three Newcastle Mayfair 1983
Fun Boy Three were formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials. Although they only existed for 2 or 3 years in the early 80s, during that time they produced half a dozen great singles; including It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It (which introduced the world to Bananarama); The Tunnel of Love and Our Lips Are Sealed. By the time I got to see them at Newcastle Mayfair ballroom they had hit the charts quite a few times. The tour was put back a month (I don’t recall why), as can be seen from the new date which has been stamped on the ticket. The gig was good fun; three friends having a great time, and making great music. You can’t ask for much more really. I found a set list from a gig in Germany, which took place a couple of months after I saw them at the Mayfair. I would think that the set I saw will have been similar, and includes Gangsters from the Specials days: Faith And Hope And Charity; Pressure Of Life; The Telephone Always Rings; Farmyard Connection I; This Is My Home; The Lunatics Have Taken over The Asylum; Things We Do; Alone; Well Fancy That; Summertime; Alibi; Our Lips Are Sealed; The Tunnel Of Love; We’re Having All The Fun; Gangsters; ‘T Aint What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It; The More I See The Less I Believe; Farmyard Connection II; Best Of Luck Mate.
8 Dec
Fat Grapple
Fat Grapple
In my daily blogging I have tended to write about gigs of major bands that I have attended, in most cases including a scan of a ticket or a programme or both. Well in the case of this band, I am afraid that I don’t have either a ticket or a programme. I also found it very difficult to find any image relating to the band that I could use. I guess most people will not have heard of Fat Grapple, but I just couldn’t move from letter F to G without mentioning them. Fat Grapple came from the North East of England (Billingham to be precise) and featured a young Eddie Jobson before he moved on to Curved Air, Rozy Music and prog rock fame. The picture I have here is of violinist Eddie Jobson in his days with Roxy music.I saw them a few times at local gigs in Sunderland Locarno, and they were just amazing, and it was very clear that Eddie was a virtuoso musician and a star in the making. The first time I saw Fat Grapple was at one of the regular Friday night gigs at the Locarno. All we knew was that they were a local band, and none of us had heard of them before. There was only a small crowd that night but they just blew us away with a blend of prog rock, and a great violin player that they introduced as “the beautiful Edwin”. This was the young Eddie Jobson of course, who was totally unknown at the time. He was great, playing covers of Jig a Jig, Curved Air’s interpretation of Vivaldi, and Hava Nagila, and stole the show. We all went crazy and called them back for encore after encore. They got such a great reception that they were booked again for the following week, and the place was packed this time; the word had clearly got around just how good this band were. It wasn’t long before Eddie had joined Curved Air. Fat Grapple continued to gig up and down the country into the mid 70s, by which time Eddie Jobson had left the band. They also produced a single in 1975, called Happy in the Lord. I remember that they had a song Skinhead Sandy which I thought was particularly catchy and was a live favourite. It had lyrics something like: I-I-I-I-I-I said, I’ve Got no hair on top of my head, So I-I-I-I-I’ll be a Skinhead said Sandy. I wish I could find a recording of it, or even better some video footage of the band, but I have searched and I suspect nothing exists.
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