Richie Havens Newcastle City Hall 1972
From the programme: “Richie Havens has a way of singing songs that makes people listen to them as if they’ve never heard them before. Taking as his material his own songs and the compositions of today’s greatest popular songwriters: Lennon and McCartney, Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot…. – Richie gets right inside the meanings of them in a way that corresponds exactly to the way he and his audiences feel about the songs, the stories in them and the world around them. Whereas many musicians re-interpret songs by surrounding them with symphony orchestras, swamping them with the thousand strong choirs, Richie’s method is exactly the opposite. 
Using a minimum of sideman, accompanying himself with his rhythmic and forceful guitar technique (for which he uses an unorthodox open E-tuning). Richie relies above all on the strength of his own personality to get the music across. And it works.” The Woodstock film brought world wide fame for a number of artists such as Richie Havens. His passionate performance in that film introduced me to his music, and drew me to see him in concert at the City Hall in 1972. I remember this gig well for his deep and personal treatment of some of his own songs and a selection of classics. The set included versions of Maggie’s Farm; Fire and Rain; War; Here Comes the Sun; Eleanor Rigby and Freedom. Richie was trashing away at his guitar, using his thumb across the frets. He would wander around the stage, and was dripping with sweat by the end of the show. Support came from the excellent Linda Lewis. I have just read that the great man passed away yesterday, aged 72. He will be greatly missed.
Posts Tagged ‘folk’
23 Apr
Richie Havens RIP and memories of Newcastle City Hall 1972
12 Apr
Tim Hardin Sunderland Empire Sat 19th April 1975
Tim Hardin Sunderland Empire Sat 19th April 1975
Special guests City Waites 
I can’t pretend that I knew much about Tim Hardin before I went to see him at Sunderland Empire. I knew he was a legendary figure and hey he was playing in my home town, so a friend and I went along to the concert. Support came from the City Waites, who specialise in traditional “English music of the 16th and 17th centuries from the street, tavern, theatre and countryside – the music of the common man”, and are still playing to this day. I am so glad that I got to see Tim Hardin. The concert was superb. It was just Tim sitting with an acoustic guitar singing those classic songs. I think he may have been accompanied by a double bass player (Danny Thompson is in my mind, but that could be my memory playing tricks again). I was pleasantly surprised to recognise quite a few of his songs that night: How Can We Hang On To A Dream, which I had seen the Nice perform at the same venue some years earlier; If I Were A Carpenter, I knew the Four Tops hit, and had also seen Stan Webb play an excellent version with Chicken Shack several times; Reason to Believe, which I knew from the Rod Stewart version; and Lady Came From Baltimore, the Scott Walker version was most familiar to me. A great concert by a true genius. How Can We Hang On To A Dream remains one of my favourite songs to this day. Tim Hardin suffered from a drug habit in his later years, and sadly died of a heroin overdose on December 29th 1980, just a few days after his 39th birthday. A tragic loss. 
Postscript. I found a ticket from the Empire which shows a date of Sun 20 April, while the flyer lists the show as being on Sat 19th April. I can’t be certain that this is my ticket for this particular gig, as (annoyingly) the Empire didn’t list the artist on the ticket at that time. The price looks right, as the flyer lists the price in the stalls as 50p and 60p, and my ticket is 60p for the front stalls. I suspect that this is the correct ticket and the show was moved by one day. I recall being quite close to the front, which would also fit (my ticket shows row E).
10 Apr
Fashion Newcastle Polytechnic 1982
Fashion Newcastle Polytechnic 1982
I just found this programme in a box. I obviously missed this when I covered the letter F; anywhere here goes. I saw Fashion at Newcastle Polytechnic in October 22nd 1982. Kajagoogoo were the support act. The programme lists the members of Fashion as: Troy Tate; Mulligan; Darby; Dik Davis; Marlon Recci. Although largely forgotten, Fashion were quite influential at the time. They grew out of the post-punk movement in Birmingham, alongside, and influencing Duran Duran, who supported them on their early shows. I first saw Fashion as support for the B-52s at Redcar Bowl in 1978. The line up had changed a little by the 1982 tour, as had their music. By 1982 Fashion had lost their lead singer Luke Sky, and had released their second album Fabrique, which was much in the new romantic and electronic mode. Fashion were also very much about image, all of them dressing very trendily; the programme features some quite arty photos of the band and its members. Mulligan was, as I recall, the main man, with dreadlocks and playing keyboards and bass. From wiki: “At the end of 2007 beginning of 2008, Luke (Sky) James, the original guitarist and singer of Mulligan’s Fashion, launched a Myspace site devoted to the band. On the site James wrote of the original line-up: “2 Dead” (Davis and Cottrell) / “1 living” (James) and “1 missing” (referring to Mulligan.)”
9 Apr
Roy Harper 100 Club London 19 Jan 2007
Roy Harper 100 Club 19 Jan 2007
I went with David to see Roy Harper at the legendary 100 Club on 19th January 2007. Roy played a run of shows at the London club, featuring one of his classic albums in its entirety each night. I think we got Stormcock that night, along with a selection of Roy favourites (I remember him playing White Man). This is the only time that I’ve been to the 100 Club, although I’ve walked past many times, wondering what it was like inside. The club is a great little venue for an intimate concert, and it was packed to the walls for Roy’s gig. 
You could hardly move, and getting a good view of the small stage wasn’t easy. Roy was his usual amicable self, with lots of chat with the crowd. Sadly a drunken guy was heckling him and threw his shirt at Roy, which hit him in the face. Roy carried on and handled it as well as anyone could. Roy seems to attract some crazy people as well as friends to his gigs. Roy did a signing session after the show, and I bought a copy of the Passions of Great Fortune lyric book, which he kindly signed for me. Then David and I walked back to our hotel somewhere along the Euston Road and we were up early in the morning to catch our train back up North and home.
This is the last of my posts on Roy. I’ve seen him a couple of times since this gig, including a show at the Sage, which I went to with Laura, where he supported Joanna Newsom, and his 70th birthday concert at the Roya Festival Hall a couple of years ago, which I went to with David. I have already blogged on those shows. I hope I get the chance to see Roy again one day. He is playing a couple of festivals this summer, but I’m not aiming to go to along. Maybe next year. Soon, as Roy wrote in my book (see scan :)).
8 Apr
Roy Harper Newcastle Tyne Theatre 2003
I’ve spent the last ten years or so reconnecting with some of my favourites bands and artists. Roy Harper is one of those. I went along to this show at the Tyne Theatre with David, not having seen Roy live for around 15 years, and was really looking forward to seeing him again. I wasn’t disappointed. Roy was accompanied by Matt Churchill on guitar. A 95-minute audience recording exists from the Glasgow show of this tourwith Tom Tiddler’s Ground, First Thing In The Morning, Don’t You Grieve, Pinches Of Salt, Highway Blues, Another Day, When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease, Me And My Woman, North Country, One Man Rock And Roll Band and The Green Man. David enjoyed the gig and went along with a friend to see Roy at Leeds City Varieties a couple of weeks later.
7 Apr
HRH Prog Fest Magna Centre Rotherham 6 April 2013
HRH Prog Fest Magna Centre Rotherham 6 April 2013
I won free tickets for the Prog fest at the Magna Centre yesterday, and drove down to Rotherham for this event with my mate Norm. The line-up was headed by Hawkwind, and featured a host of other prog-related acts including the Strawbs, It Bites, and Arthur Brown. We arrive at around 5pm just is time to catch Arthur Brown. Arthur is doing a great job of recreating the psych-tinged R&B which featured on his first album. His set is drawn largely from that album, and he fronts a new band of excellent musicians, including a great keyboard player and guitarist. He is also accompanied by a dancer, with whom Arthur engages in some crazy, comical moves. His voice is as strong as ever; the Crazy World lives on. After seeing Arthur and his Crazy World we nipped out to Ben and Jerrys in Meadowhall for a bite to eat, and returned in time to catch the end of It Bites’ set, including Calling All The Heroes.
The Magna centre is an intriguing venue for a rock festival. It is housed in a massive old steelworks, which in its day will have been at the heart of the Sheffield steel industry, and by day it is a visitor attraction showing the history of steelmaking. The festival took up much of Magna over this weekend with some festivals in one taking place: the Prog fest which was the reason for our visit and its companion AOR fest, both organised by HRH. Each festival had two stages: the Prog fest main stage was in the “Face of Steel” and stage 2 was in “Earth”. For the AOR fest the main stage was in the Big Hall, and the second stage was in “Fire”. Signing sessions took place in the “Fuel” restaurant: we headed their after It Bites, lined up and got a flyer signed by some of the members of Hawkwind (sadly Dave Brock did not come along 😦 ).
We then found our way to the strange little room, which was “Earth” at the other end of the venue, and watched a little of the acoustic Strawbs, before heading back to the “Face of Steel” for Hawkwind, who opened their set with my favourite “Master of the Universe”. It was really getting cold by now; the size of Magna, with massive high ceilings, means that it is probably impossible to keep warm now, although it will have been red hot in its day when it housed a furnace. Norm and I have experienced how cold it is before, when we went to see Hawkwind ay a fan club event a few years ago on a cold December night. We watched a little more of Hawkwind’s set and then decided to keep warm by moving around and visiting the AOR fest. The Main Hall was packed for Tesla who seemed an intriguing rock band. We then went up to “Fire” where we watched a couple of songs of Estrella. Then it was back round to Hawkwind again, passing “Earth” where Karnataka were playing. Hawkwind finished their set around 11pm with Damnation Alley from the Quark, Strangeness and Charm album. Hawkwind have been playing the entire Warrior at the Edge of Time album on their current tour, with dancers and light show. Apparently the stage at the Prog fest wasn’t big enough for the show, so Hawkwind decided to revert to a standard set. As it was getting late by the time Hawkwind finished and we had a two hour drive home we decided to pass on seeing Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash and heading for the M1 north. Got home 1am. The festival was fun, but the venue was FREEZING…..
6 Apr
Roy Harper Buddle Arts Centre Wallsend 1986
Roy Harper Buddle Arts Centre Wallsend 1986 
I next saw Roy Harper at the Buddle Arts Centre in Wallsend on 30th Sep 1986. The Buddle is a sadly missed local venue, that played host to many concerts over the years, although this was the only occasion that I attended a gig there. The Buddle was housed in an old school, and the concert room was a small intimate venue. It was great to see Roy close up again; just him, his acoustic guitar, his songs and his great banter with the crowd. I can’t recall the exact set, but I do remember that I was pleased that he played a lot of old favourites. I think that included When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease, Tom Tiddler’s Ground, Me And My Woman, I Hate The White Man and One Of Those Days In England.
Some information about the Buddle from the North Tyneside Council website: “For 27 years, the Buddle Arts Centre in Wallsend was North Tyneside’s community arts and creative industries resource and gained a deserved reputation as one of the most distinctive and innovative arts facilities in the North East. When the centre closed in October 2008, it brought to an end the latest phase of a history stretching back more than 130 years. The building was originally commissioned by the Wallsend School Board and completed in 1876. 
It was officially opened as the Buddle Board Schools on 30th July 1877. For some years the building housed the Wallsend Arts Centre, a voluntary organsiation, but its future was uncertain before beginning a new era as the Buddle Arts Centre on 21st September 1981. The Buddle Arts Centre was one of the first facilities of its kind in the North East – but from its earliest days it was really one of a kind. The core of the facility was the intimate performance space and exhibitions gallery. The centre quickly built up a reputation for its music and theatre programme, the quality of its exhibitions, its pioneering support for disability arts, its resources for youth music development.”
5 Apr
First Tyneside Music Festival 1986 Roy Harper
First Tyneside Music Festival mid 1980s Roy Harper
Strange one this. I googled this festival and can find very little on it. I have the small programme which I have included here, and looking at the line-up this event must have taken place in the mid 80s. The festival was at Exhibition Park just outside of the town. There were folk, rock and jazz stages. Roy Harper appeared in a marquee on the Friday night, as part of the Folk stage. Support came from Michael Chapman and Isaac Gullory. A group of us went through to see Roy. He was back to playing solo with an acoustic guitar, and sang a set of favourites. The rest of the bill included Beloius Some and Gonzalez. I also recall seeing Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at an event on Exhibition Park. I can’t recall whether this was the same event, however, Joan Jett is not mentioned in the programme, so I guess it was a different event. Actually my (very bad) memory seems to be telling me that the Joan Jett concert was a Radio 1 event held at Newcatle? I also saw Roy Harper at Newcastle Riverside around the same time, and remember him playing a very long (and excellent) version of Me and My Woman. Roy went through a difficult time in the 80s, both financially and musically. Roy, speaking to the Telegraph in 2011: “I ended up owing EMI £82,000 in 1980. I lost my house because I was in so much debt. So in 1982, I started again from scratch. But I wouldn’t want you to write this up in a negative way, because it’s been another lifetime since then, and it’s been a great life, actually.” 
Postscript. I found my ticket for this event which shows it took place on Friday 8th August 1986. Mystery solved.
4 Apr
Roy Harper Newcastle City Hall 1977
Roy Harper Newcastle City Hall 1977
The next time I saw Roy Harper was in October 1977 at a concert at Newcastle City Hall. The programme lists the Albion Band as support (they were formed by Ashley Hutching, founding member of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span). However I also have a flyer for Spriguns in the programme, and Mitch tells me that is was them who supported that night. Roy was backed by the same electric band as earlier in the year. I think by now they were called Black Sheep, and featured Henry McCullough on lead guitar. Roy was performing a full electric set at the time. An audience recording from a concert in Dublin in 1977 shows the setlist as: One Of Those Days In England, Another Day, Naked Flame, Forget Me Not, Cherishing The Lonesome, Prick Up In The Saddle, Take Me Home, Referendum, When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease, Highway Blues and Grown Ups Are Just Silly Children. 
I guess this is the sort of set that Roy will have played at the City Hall, however, he has always tended to vary the set from one night to another. The cover of the tour programme shows Roy with one of his famous Black Sheep. The black sheep story came out when Roy became seriously ill with a strange illness called Osler-Weber-Rendu disease. He told the papers that he’d become ill after giving a sheep the kiss of life. In Roy’s words: “That same day, it was headline news in Australia and New Zealand. A big story there, given that the sheep outnumber the people about four to one. Then it hits the broadsheets here. The next thing I know, I’ve been kissing a sheep.” The illness was hardly a laughing matter, though. At first he was given seven years to live. However, “the doctor came back to my bedside a fortnight later and said ‘I think I’m wrong’. It’s been that sort of situation ever since.”
3 Apr
Roy Harper Middlesbrough Town Hall February 1977
remnants of my ticket stub
Roy Harper Middlesbrough Town Hall 1977
1977 and Roy almost became a pop star. He released a fine single One of Those Days in England and had a proper rock band backing him. In Roy’s own words from his web site: “The single shot to no. 42 in the chart, with a promise from the Top Of The Pops producer, Robin Nash, to have us on the show as soon as the record reached 40 or better. That same week the record company released the album, with a free single inside it! ! ! So… that was it for that ‘campaign’.. At the time I had a constituency of about 150,000 people. Top Of The Pops would have given us a potential constituency of 13,000,000.” So Roy never made Top of the Pops and the single didn’t reach any higher in the charts. But he was pretty popular at the time and was filling concert halls up and down the country.
Flyer for an earlier tour (1975) I think. Don’t recall if I was at the gig at Newcastle City Hall or not!
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