After the Fire October 1979
I saw After The Firs a few times in the 70s. The band formed in the early 70s as a progressive rock band, but by the time of this gig in 1979 they had moved to a more poppy new wave sound. I recall the song Laser Love, which was also the title of their lp of the time.
After The Fire were regulars at The christian-based Greenbelt festival throughout the 70s. Greenbelt ran on the same August bank holiday weekend as the Reading festival, which I always attended. However I’m pretty sure that they defected to Reading one year; think it was in the late 70s. They were also support act on a number of tours. I remember seeing them at a gig at Newcastle Polytechnic in 1977, supporting The Damned. Think that gig was cut short because the crowd were throwing bottles and glasses at The Damned. I found a programme and a copy of their fanzine Friends, in among my programme collection. 
I was surprised to find that they have reformed, are gigging again, and that there is now a Friends website, which is attempting to connect old fans who subscribed to the fanzine.I’m not sure I’m too impressed with the posing on the programme cover! I must take the time to read the Friends magazine, which I’m sure will bring back some memories. I’ve just read through the band biography on the Friends website. This band gigged a lot, and achieved a lot in the late 70s, including headlining The Rainbow Theatre, and touring Europe as support for ELO and for Queen.
Posts Tagged ‘folk’
2 Mar
After the Fire October 1979
24 Feb
Noel Gallagher High Flying Birds Newcastle Arena 23 February 2012
Noel Gallagher High Flying Birds Newcastle Arena 23 February 2012
Good showing on all fronts for Noel Gallagher last night. The place was packed, and the crowd gave Noel the sort of reception only long time heroes can expect. I missed the support and arrived just before Noel and his band took to the stage. The set was a mix of songs from his recent album and a few Oasis songs thrown in for good measure. He didn’t include as many of the Oasis hits, as I’d expected. This was by no means a greatest hits performance. None the less, His new songs are potential anthems in their own right. The crowd certainly knew the lyrics of every song and sang along with every word. Better than I expected. Great band, and an orchestra and choir for a couple of songs. 
Some cheeky banter from Noel, who even had the nerve to tease the crowd about the Sports Direct Arena issue, brave man; only he could get away with it! Setlist: (It’s Good) To Be Free; Mucky Fingers; Everybody’s on the Run; Dream On; If I Had a Gun; The Good Rebel; The Death of You and Me; Freaky Teeth; Supersonic; (I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine; What a Life!; Talk Tonight; Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks; Broken Arrow; Half The World Away; (Stranded On) The Wrong Beach; Encores: Whatever; Little By Little; The Importance of Being Idle; Don’t Look Back In Anger
19 Feb
The Rolling Stones Knebworth 21 August 1976
The Rolling Stones Knebworth 1976
The Rolling Stones, 10cc, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia , Hot Tuna , Don Harrison Band.
By 1976 The Rolling Stones were reaching the peak of their success. The Knebworth festival of that year was a massive event of celebration. The band had sold out a big UK tour, and this show was added to satisfy the huge demand for tickets. I’d seen their Glasgow Apollo show a few weeks earlier, but couldn’t resist going to see them again at this big show. Lots of my friends were going, it seemed everyone I talked to was going to make the trip south for this gig. I drove down with Marie and my friend John arriving the day before the gig. I’d been to the 1974 (Allman Brothers) and 1975 (Pink Floyd) Knebworth concert, but the crowd for The Stones was much larger; with a capacity crowd of 100,000 attending the festival. The supporting bill was pretty strong: Todd Rundgren put in a good set (I Saw The LIght was one of my favourite tunes at the time), and Lynyrd Skynrd almost stole the show with a mega version of Freebird, and some superb guitar dueling. 10CC were OK, and played all their hits. The stage was a giant tongue, based on the Stones logo, and two large screens projected the stage action to the back of the crowd. There was a long, long, boring wait for the Stones who came on very late. The Stones played a marathon set and delved deep into their back catalogue, playing many songs that hadn’t featured in their set since the 60s. The sound wasn’t too good in some parts of the field, and although they were fantastic it wasn’t the best Stones performance, but it was a great event. 
Setlist: Satisfaction; Ain’t Too Proud to Beg; If You Can’t Rock Me / Get Off of My Cloud; Hand of Fate; Around and Around; Little Red Rooster; Stray Cat Blues; Hey Negrita; Hot Stuff; Fool to Cry; Star Star; Let’s Spend the Night Together; You Gotta Move; You Can’t Always Get What You Want; Dead Flowers; Route 66; Wild Horses; Honky Tonk Women; Country Honk; Tumbling Dice; Happy; Nothing from Nothing; Outta Space; Midnight Rambler; It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll; Brown Sugar; Rip This Joint; Jumpin’ Jack Flash; Street Fighting Man. 
Annoying, and unusually, I don’t have my ticket stub for this event (although I do have my programme); I’m pretty sure the whole ticket was taken from me at the gate. This musn’t have been the case at other gates, as stubs do come up on ebay. I must try and get one sometime. Update on May 12th 2012. I bought a stub on ebay! See scan to right. Thanks to John for sending me the poster scan.
17 Feb
Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading worked very hard at her craft in the early to mid 70s, supporting national tours by artists such as Supertramp, and gigging up and down the UK. She was one of those artists who popped up a lot as a support act, and at festivals, and her music grew on me over the years. I saw her at Newcastle City Hall once or twice in support slots, and also remember seeing her perform low down on the bill at the 1975 Reading Festival. 
In 1976 she had her fist hit with Love and Affection, and started to come more into the public eye. I first saw her headlining at the City Hall in 1977. By then her set featured some great songs, which were becoming well known to me, including the beautiful Willow and Down To Zero. Support for her 1977 tour came from the late Kim Beacon, a Scottish singer with a great blues/soul voice, who was once a member of String Driven thing.
I next saw Joan on her 1980 UK tour. By this time she had moved from a jazz oriented style to a rockier pop sound, and had a hit with the single Me Myself I. Support for the 1980 tour was Richard Digance. Joan’s music continued to grew on me over the years, and each time I saw her she put on a strong, passionate performance, with some lovely ballads. 
I haven’t seen her in concert since those days, which is something I need to put right. Joan has released 17 studio albums, and received many awards and accolades over the years since she emerged in the 70s. I’ve read some reviews of recent concerts and they suggest that she is certainly still worth seeing. She’s coming to the Sage in Gateshead later this year. I really must take the time to go and see her.
15 Feb
Aerosmith Glasgow Apollo 1976
Aerosmith Glasgow Apollo 1976
I’d read a lot about Aerosmith. They were being hailed as the new major rock band from the USA, and being compared to The Stones. So when they announced their first UK tour I was tempted to go along and see them. As was the case with many US bands at the time, the tour covered a few UK cities, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham and London, missing out the North East completely. I decided at the last minute to go and see them in Glasgow and drove up to the gig without a ticket. When I arrived in Renfield Street and joined the queue outside the Apollo, I found myself surrounded by a bunch of kids from a local reform institution, accompanied by a couple of social workers. Listening to them talking, they had all been brought along on an outing to see the band. I bought my ticket in the stalls, and took my seat in the half full hall. Clearly Aerosmith were not that well known in Scotland.
Support came from Phoenix, a band formed by John Verity who had just left Argent. I don’t recall anything about their set I’m afraid. Aerosmith were good, and Steve Tyler did look, and perform, like Jagger. The Rocks lp had just been released, and the set will have consisted of tracks from that album, Toys in the Attic and their earlier albums. I’d heard Dream On, but not much else, but was pleasantly surprised by the songs they played that night. Steve Tyler had many scarves tied around his mike stand as has become his trademark, and guitarist Joe Perry was impressive, the two of them working together very closely. I’m pretty sure that the encore was Train Kept a Rollin’. I saw quite a few gigs at the Apollo around that period: The Moody Blues, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Genesis, The Stones. It was a great venue with one of the best crowds in the UK. And they sold lovely scotch (mutton) pies. Its sad that its gone. Happy days.
13 Feb
Mike Absalom
Mike Absalom
Now this post really stretches my memory. Mike Absalom appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test around 1972, singing songs from his lp Hector and Other Pecadillos. The songs I recall are Hector the Dope Sniffing Hound, and The Saga Of W.P.C. Sadie Stick. Maybe they were the songs that he played on TV that night. I saw him in concert at Sunderland Poly shortly after that. I remember several us went along and we all sang along to those songs. I can still remember the lyrics to WPC Sadie Stick: “WPC Sadie Stick! Hit me again with your big black stick! I’ll ‘ave a word with you when I find my dic—tionary!”. Great stuff; if pretty childish, in hindsight. Mike was great fun, singing anti-establishment/hippy comedy folk songs. I must have seen him again a few years later, as the ticket I found is for a gig in 1977. I checked out Mike’s site; seems he returned to him home of Canada in 1980 where he lives to this day. He’s still very active however, as his site shows: “When not giving concerts, Mike makes wooden puppets for his children’s show: “Professor Absalom and his Amazing Acrobatic Street Dolls”. He gives his shows in English, French or Spanish and also speaks fluent Swedish and German.”! Great memories of what seemed a simpler world.
12 Feb
Van Morrison The Sage Gateshead 11 Feb 2012
Van Morrison The Sage Gateshead 11 Feb 2012
“No cameras. If anyone takes a photograph he says he will walk straight off stage” the lady at the door told me as I entered the concert last night. Welcome to a gig by the enigma that is Van Morrison. I was seated in a box to the left of the stage, just a few feet away from where the great man would stand. The gig had been sold out for weeks; Van’s legend is as strong as ever, and he is filling halls out again, as it should be. Spot on at 8pm as advertised the band took the stage, followed by Van who walked on from stage left playing a saxophone. They were straight into Brown Eyed Girl; a version with a jazzier feel than the original. Morrison was singing well and you don’t get much tighter than this band. So far so good, I thought. I’ve enjoyed the last couple of Van gigs that I’ve seen, and expected this to be similar. But it was so much better. Last night, I could sense that Van was getting more into the performance as the night went on. Maybe it was because I was close to the stage and could clearly see the expression on Van’s face, but I think it was more than that. I swear I saw him smile a few times, and by the last few songs he was singing with a commitment and passion that I haven’t seen for many years. Between songs he was having some little chats with members of band, particularly the bass player; obviously giving them some instructions as to the next song and the arrangement. I’d love to be able to hear what he was saying. Van himself played sax and harp on several numbers and on Haunts Of Ancient Peace he sat and played at a keyboard, something I can’t recall seeing recently. He even introduced one of the songs and asked us to thank the band several times. The band, by the way, are excellent; switching from jazz to blues to soul, with some great solos, whether it be by the sax player, guitarist or the pianist. By the last song, the old Them classic, Gloria, they were really rocking, and Van was belting out the lyrics. He just gets better. Setlist: Brown Eyed Girl; Higher Than The World; Not Feeling It Anymore/Hurting Game; These Dreams Of You; Enlightenment; All In The Game/No Plan B/No Safety Net; Real Real Gone/You Send Me; Crazy love; Moondance; Into The Mystic; Precious Time; Haunts Of Ancient Peace; In The Garden/Holy Guardian Angel; Fair Play; Ballerina; Help Me; Gloria. I told a guy at work, who used to go and see Van a lot, that I was going to the gig. He told me that he had been disappointed by Van’s performances in the past, and wouldn’t go again. He missed a treat. Wish I had tickets for York tonight, but I checked and its sold out, which is as it should be. Come back soon Van.
7 Feb
The Edgar Broughton Band in concert 1971 – 2005
Edgar Broughton Band in concert 1971 – 2005
Out Demons Out!!!! Rebel rock at its best.
Edgar Broughton is one of my all time heroes. He is the man; period. During the early 70s he was uncomprising, fearless, and a composer and singer of some great rock music. My early memories of Edgar were gigs at Sunderland Locarno and at festivals such as Reading’72 and Buxton’72. Edgar was usually sporting a snazzy karate suit, and singing tracks from the early EBB lps such as Freedom, Evil, American Soldier, Apache Drop Out and, of course, Out Demons Out. Edgar always had a lot to say and wasn’t frightened of speaking out against the police, the government and anything he didn’t feel was right. He was (and still is) a big man with a deep booming voice, often compared to Beefheart. But there was much more to Edgar. His guitar work was pretty tasty and his songs crossed genres, and defied categorisation.
Onstage I felt as if he was speaking directly to me, and he had quite a powerful, almost frightening personality. I saw him in The Locarno a few days before the (in)famous Redcar gig (which I regret not attending) where Edgar and the band turned up and played from the back of a lorry after being banned from playing on the seafront. He encouraged us all to come along to Redcar, to bring our friends and our cars and to screw up the town and the local police force. Edgar ended up spending the night in Redcar jail, and wrote the song “(Judge) called me a liar” about the experience. One night I recall him telling us not to buy the Out Demons Out single, as that would only give money to the record company. Instead he encouraged us to buy a spray can and spray “Out Demons Out” on walls around the time. As we moved into the mid 70s Edgar and the guys had graduated to playing the City Hall circuit. Although the music was still strong, I felt they lost some of the immediacy and passion that I had experienced in a club and festival setting.
The EBB had some great songs. Favourites of mine were The Poppy, Green Lights, Hotel Room and Evening over the rooftops. Listen to their albums if you get a chance. They are much under-rated. As we came to the end of the 70s, The EBB had all but disappeared from the scene. The last time I saw them they were called The Broughtons, and were supporting (Ian) Gillan at the City Hall around 1979. This was at the time of the Parlez Vous English? lp, which is one of the few Broughton albums which I don’t have in my collection. However, this week I’ve just bought a copy on ebay for 99p; I’m looking forward to playing it after all this time!
The band seemed to disappear from view in the 90s. I missed one show locally in the late 80s or early 90s which was while I was on holiday, and still regret it. However in 2006 they were back, and Will and I caught their gig at Sheffield Boardwalk. I went backstage before the band came on stage, said hello to Edgar (Rob) and the guys and got them to sign my gig flyer. The set that night included all of the well know tracks, starting with Evening Over Rooftops and continuing with Speak Down The Wires; the strange story of The Moth; Why Can’t Somebody Love Me; the great boogie of Momma’s Reward; American Boy Soldier with lyrics updated to comment upon modern war; the proto punk metal of Love In The Rain; Hotel Room; and Out Demons Out as an encore. In introducing the latter song Edgar told the crowd that the demons are still out there and explained that we needed to chant; just as we did in the old day! The EBB has sadly split since, but Edgar plays on, as passionate as ever. I saw him last year in York (see my post from August 2011).
5 Feb
Maggie Bell and Stone the Crows in concert 1971 – 1974
Maggie Bell and Stone the Crows in concert 1971 – 1974
I saw Stone the Crows in concert three times in 1971 and 1972. The first time was in late 1971 at Sunderland Locarno. This was the original band with Maggie Bell on vocals, and her partner Les Harvey (Alex’s younger brother) on guitar, before he was sadly electrocuted and killed on stage at Swansea Top Rank, by touching a live mike. They also had James Dewar on bass, who went on to have great success with Robin Trower. Maggie was often, and not unfairly, compared to Janis Joplin at the time, and the band were a great blues rock act. Although they were a great live act, they still weren’t that well known, and I recall standing near the front in a pretty small crowd watching Maggie, dressed in a denim jacket and jeans, tearing her way through the set. There was a hard edge about Maggie and her singing, and you felt that her blues matched the tough street image that Glasgow had at the time. I next saw Stone The Crows at the Lincoln Festival, which was their first performance after Les’ death, and Steve Howe from Yes stood in on guitar. 
The Lincoln performance was highly emotional and the crowd gave Maggie the strongest reception of the day, sensing how real the blues was to her that night, coming only a few weeks after she had lost her boyfriend. By September 1972, the band had a permanent new member in ex-Thunderclap Newman young guitar prodigy Jimmy McCulloch, a new album Ontinuous Performance, and a UK tour which called at the City Hall. Support at the City Hall came from Tennent and Morrison (mis-splet on the ticket), although I don’t pretend to remember much about them. Stand out gig tracks throughout those days were Penicillin Blues (I can picture Maggie now singing “You got the needle in me baby”) and a 20 minute version of Dylan’s Hollis Brown, and Niagara. They were a pretty incredible live act, and played some great blues at the time. 
By 1973, Stone The Crows had split, and Maggie had gone solo. I saw her twice in 1974. The first time was on the bill of The Who’s excellent Charlton gig, and the second was at The City Hall, with the wonderful Pretty Things as support. The Petty Things were now label mates, both appearing on Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label. Her set featured largely new material from her Queen of the Night and Suicide Sal lps. She put on a great rock show, but some of the raw power, and blues, of Stone The Crows had been lost. She’d moved to a more traditional heavy rock format (as had label-mates The Pretty Things), and in my mind, it didn’t suit her as well as the blues that she had grown up with. Maggie went on to have a hit with “Hold Me” which she sang with B A Robertson, and she also sang the theme tunes to the TV shows Hazell and Taggart. She moved to Holland and all but disappeared from the music scene, returning to the UK a few years ago. She is now playing solo, sometimes with blues singer Dave Kelly and sometimes in the British Blues Quartet, in the UK, Germany and mainland Europe. I haven’t caught up with her yet, and really must do so; it would be great to attend a Maggie Bell gig again.
3 Feb
Burt Bacharach Edinburgh Playhouse 29 July 2002
Marie and I had tickets to see Burt Bacharach in concert in Manchester in 2000. However, Burt was not well, and the concert was cancelled. Two years later he was due back in the UK, with a show in Edinburgh. We bought tickets straight away and managed to get seats in the middle of the front row. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew all of the great songs, but was unsure how Burt would perform them. 
First up was Scottish singer, Horse, who went down well with the home crowd. Burt, who sat playing a grand piano, was accompanied by a small band and a group of male and female singers who took turns at singing the songs. He performed all of the classics, including (although not necessarily in this order): What the World Needs Now Is Love; Don’t Make Me Over; Walk On By; This Guys In Love With You; I Say A Little Prayer; Trains & Boats & Planes; Wishin’ & Hopin’; Always Something There To Remind Me; I’ll Never Fall In Love Again; Do You Know the Way To San Jose; Anyone Who Had A Heart; Magic Moments; Tower Of Strength; The Look of Love; Arthur’s Theme; What’s New Pussycat; The Man who shot Liberty Valance; Wives & Lovers, He sang the last few songs Alfie; A House Is Not A Home; Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, himself. His singing voice is not great, but it was good to hear the man himself perform these great songs. It was a privilege to see the master perform all of those timeless classics. I managed to shake his hand as he left the stage. A night I will always remember.
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