Much respect to Lulu. She has achieved so much throughout her career which now spans 6 decades since she 1ST hit the charts with “Shout” as a young, wee Scottish lass who came down from Glasgow and hit the lights and 60s magic of the big city, London and met other people from the North such as the Beatles. But more of this later. The show was a mixture of Lulu recounting her memories and excerpts from the songs which made her famous along the way.
The Playhouse website promoted the show thus: “Lulu has made music and memories with the greatest of all time. Elton John wrote songs with her, Bowie produced and recorded with her, McCartney duetted with her and one of the Bee Gees married her. It’s a story that has to be told and provides a once-in-a-lifetime insight into some of the world’s musical legends. Join Lulu as she shares, for the first time, many untold stories, her memories and experiences with the greats – and enjoy with her the music that has been her constant companion. This is Lulu – For The Record.”
She started, well, at the start, with an excerpt from “Shout”, the 1960s, and images of her with the Beatles and other stars from the era. And that was how the show progressed. The format was Lulu talking about her life and her music, interspersing her story with images and excerpts from the songs. She was accompanied by a keyboard player. So, for the 1960s she talked about her TV show and the famous night where Jimi Hendrix appeared. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was perched in front of the TV with my parents while Hendrix played “Hey Joe”, his current hit single. However, he had just heard that the mighty Cream had split and he soon had other ideas. “Enough of this”, he said, “I would like to play something as a tribute to Cream” and broke into “Sunshine of Your Love” which he went on to play well after he was due to finish. Apparently, the BBC technical staff and management went crazy, the guy was playing much longer than planned and eventually they had to roll on the closing credits while he kept playing.
Lulu told us that he was, as a result, banned from BBC TV and radio for some time afterwards. Then she spoke of the opportunity that was her appearance in the iconic film To Sir with Love, and which broke down racial barriers featuring the wonderful Sidney Poitier, and then singing part of the title song which was a number one hit for her in America. One of my favourite songs, which brought tears to my eyes. She then went on to talk about her short marriage to Maurice Gibb, and how as a result she sat in on a Bee Gees’ recording session which led into her singing an excerpt from “To Love Somebody”.
1969 saw Lulu representing the UK in the Eurovision Song contest, singing an excerpt from “Boom Bang a Bang”. She went on to win the contest. Then she talked about her collaboration with David Bowie, treating us to a short segment from “The Man Sold the World”. Next, we moved to the James Bond film theme “The Man with the Golden Gun”. This lady really was busy in the 1970s!
Swiftly into the 1980s, playing in pantomime, Peter Pan with the great Ron Moody and performing in the West End.
After a short interval Lulu took us through her later collaborations, several of which I was unaware including working with Elton John and writing a song for Tina Turner! Then her famous collaboration with Take That and more recent activity moving us forward to the present day and this latest project which will lead to the publication of her autobiography in the near future. So, there we have it. A whirlwind tour through the life and times of a much underrated artist who has achieved much throughout her career.
The show wasn’t quite what we (I, my carer Jackie and guest carer Jan) expected. We were hoping for more full versions of the songs and less talk. However, what we got was equally enjoyable and I certainly learnt a lot about the lady and her many accomplishments.
No photography was allowed so the pictures I have used have come courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and from my own collection.
Setlist (all songs are excerpts): Set 1: Shout; Hound Dog; To Sir With Love; Boom Bang-A-Bang; Run to Me; To Love Somebody; The Man Who Sold the World; The Man With the Golden Gun; I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)
Set 2: Independence; I Don’t Wanna Fight; Where the Poor Boys Dance; Teardrops; Shout; Relight My Fire.
was young watching Top of the Pops. He didn’t dare reveal his true ambition to his mother who would not have believed him so he kept it quiet until he met his friend Wild Willy Barrett and the two of them embarked upon a lifelong career, all with the ultimate aim of making John Otway a true pop star. Sometimes along that journey the two would fall out but destiny would bring them back together again as they are today. The strange marriage has now reached its 50th birthday (wow! Can it be true) and the odd couple are travelling the roads of England singing their songs to cult followers old and new.
Now it is long long time since I witnessed Otway and Barrett. I have seen Otway advertised solo many times over the years but have passed on the opportunity of joining our true pop star in concert until now. The last time I saw the duo was probably in Newcastle Cooperage on a tour where to gain entry, free, you had to take along their latest 45 rpm single. Or maybe it was at Maxwell’s nightclub in Tynemouth (long since gone). Whatever, it was in the late 1970s or early 1980s. So, time to renew my acquaintance with the one and only true pop star, John Otway.
Jackie, my carer, and I arrived early and on time to snatch a couple of seats close to the front (well actually everyone is close to the front in the Launderette). In fact, the kind man on the door made sure that I had plenty of room in my wheelchair and that we had a great view of the stage. Soon our heroes took to said stage and it was not long before Otway delivered his hit, which made him a pop star “Really Free” and brought the duo into our living rooms on the Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops. Otway was on top form, really getting into the angst of his ballads, ripping his shirt open, and being, well, a pop star.
After a short interval, during which I was pleased to meet my old friend Mitch, who would often comment on my blog, we were away again with “Somewhere over the Rainbow”, “Two Little Boys” (yes the song which became a hit for he who shall not be named, but Otway sang it before that) and the wonderful “Beware of The Flowers… Coz You Know They are Going To Get You… Yeah!”. Soon we are close to the end and Otway tears out his heart in front of us to the beautiful Bob Lind ballad “Cheryl’s Going Home “; I can feel the emotion in his voice and his typically over-the-top melodramatic performance is well; just wonderful.” Choo-Choo “goes the train down the track taking Otway’s love Cheryl away for ever. My heart goes out to my favourite pop star. Melodramatic magic.
Now I must make mention of the many guitars and other instruments including a violin and a set of Bagpuss bagpipes played largely by Wild Willy and sometimes by Otway. And I just have to mention Wild Willy’s brown dustbin which he opens frequently to reveal a loud amplifier hiding within. Willy closes the set by sawing his guitar in rhythm to the music, hitting the same guitar with a claw hammer (I kid you not) and then stamping on it. He sells the guitar to a guy in the audience for £31.99 and promises that if you bring two of his smashed guitars along to a gig, you will be admitted free. And he means it. A couple of encores and then our two heroes are gone. Jackie is now convinced that Otway is indeed a pop star.
“Billy is a Geordie”. So the chant went from the Newcastle crowd. Billy joined in and danced around while the crowd kept chant going. This occurred halfway through the set and demonstrated the love and respect the Newcastle crowd have for 
This time I went along and the impetus came from the man himself. I saw pictures of him and he looks so cool these days. He is reborn as a Rasta Man with long grey dreadlocks right down his back, almost to his waist. Completely unrecognisable from cool soul singer of the 80s. So when I saw recent pictures of Rasta Billy I decided I should go and show my support for the cool guy. And after all, I do know lots of his songs.
The City Hall was packed. Carer Jan and I arrived during the set of the support act, a young female singer 
Then he returns to his true roots, Bob Marley, and he does justice to “no woman, no cry”. My thoughts run back to the hot summer of 1976 when Marie and I were dancing along to Bob Marley performing that very song in Leeds Students Union Refectory. Billy brings back magic memories. The ballad “Suddenly” is just lovely. Billy the Geordie leaves us with, of course, “When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going”. Another massive singalong, the capacity crowd simply love the guy and his performance is superb. For many of the songs he holds his microphone towards the audience who take over the singing.
Now sometimes I don’t like it when an artist allows the audience to take over, but the vibe between Billy and the City Hall crowd is so strong and there is so much love for the guy, it works well. It is like we are all with him, the artist and the audience together as one; as it should be. A few moments later and he is back. There is only one song left to perform: “Caribbean Queen”. We all singalong with Billy the born-again Rasta man Geordie. Magic.
Second night of a three night run of concerts. Which is, by the way, quite hectic for me these days! The first night was a concert by Mike and the Mechanics who I have already blogged about and were superb, followed by 
Now imagine a concert where you just go along out of interest to see what someone is like. Of course, I remember Matt Goss as a member of Bros, teenybopper heroes who were not really my cup of tea at the time. My daughter Ashleigh was really into them however. I had read that Matt had rebuilt his career as a big Las Vegas star, singing Rat Pack, crooner type songs. Intriguing. So, I decided to go along just to see what he would be like. I didn’t really know what to expect, to be honest. So along I went with carer Jackie and guest sister-in-law Elaine. All of us wondering what Matt would be like.
To say it was a revelation is an understatement. I have never seen anyone who has turned around his career 360° and come out fighting, strong and simply superb. This guy has gone from being right up top as a youngster with his twin brother (who is also making his own success as an actor) to more or less disappearing, certainly from my view point, to rebirth as a new star in America and Vegas in particular. I have never seen anyone connect with the audience in the way that Matt Goss does. To say he reaches out to the audience doesn’t touch it. He literally walked right down into the crowd taking his time to talk to people, ask them where they came from (“Redcar, where is that? Oh, just past Middlesbrough”) and offer them a small glass of tequila to give a toast to the crowd (“keep the glass, it is a gift from me”) accompanied by his bodyguard at all times.
You can just imagine him moving around the tables smoothly in Caesar’s Palace, Vegas. And then he is swiftly back up on stage singing his heart out. His voice is strong and he is accompanied by a full orchestra and excellent backing band and singers. A fantastic show. But I guess what else were we to expect given this guy goes down great in Las Vegas. We were all totally overwhelmed by it. This is a show to top all other shows. I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best concerts I have ever attended. No joke, this guy is the business. He has everything, no fear, totally authentic, great voice, looks just great, snazzy suit, great moves on stage and a repertoire of classic songs.
Some of my favourite songs of all time from the Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Cole Porter stable. So, he sang “Luck Be a Lady Tonight”, the fabulous “Nature Boy” (one of my all-time favourite songs), Anthony Newley’s “Feeling Good” (another favourite of mine), “Birds Do It” (you know this one… Let’s Fall in Love), “Fly Me to the Moon” and (“it took me a long time to feel I earned the right to sing this one, but now I feel I can”) “My Way”. The classics keep coming. He throws in some new songs, which I obviously don’t know but sounded good; one is called “Mustang”. And he takes is back to his old band and “When Will I be Famous” and “I owe You Nothing”.
Simply great. Jackie, Elaine and I are all in total agreement. We had all witnessed something special.
Mike Rutherford has come a long way since I sat cross-legged on the ballroom floor in Sunderland Locarno watching Peter Gabriel and the rest of Genesis unfold magical tales such as “The Musical Box”, “Return of the Giant Hogweed” and climaxing in the rather spooky, swirling tones of “The Knife”. Somewhere in the background keeping the beat was the tall slender form of Mike Rutherford. And of course he also co-wrote the material. Roll forward 52 years and I have the pleasure of being in the company of Mike Rutherford once again, this time as front man and leader of 
The announcement on the Sage website told me: “Mike & The Mechanics who have sold over ten million records worldwide – announce their ‘Refueled! 2023 Tour – all the hits and a drop of Genesis.” Now the mention of a drop of Genesis intrigued me and further enticed me to attend the show.
The website went on to introduce the band: “Mike + The Mechanics are Genesis founding member Mike Rutherford (Guitar) – one of the UK’s most prolific R&B singer, Andrew Roachford – Lead and backing vocals – (whose previous hits include Cuddly Tour and Family Man) and Canadian-born singer, Tim Howar – lead and backing vocals – who formed and toured with his band Vantramp, with the likes of Rod Stewart and Paulo Nutini. Tim shares vocal duties with Roachford and they both add a new soulful dimension to the band’s already established sound.” In fact the band also included, in another drop of Genesis, Phil Collins’ son Nic Collins on drums.
Finally, I was promised: “The ‘Refueled!’ Tour in 2023, will include tracks from their critically acclaimed latest album ‘Out of the Blue’ plus some Genesis. Their ninth album features re-workings of some of the band’s best loved tracks, including ‘The Living Years’ and the unforgettable ‘Over My Shoulder’, along with three brand new songs: ‘Out Of The Blue’, ‘One Way’, ‘What Would You Do’.”
Set 2 starts off with some acoustic versions of familiar songs including the Genesis hit “Invisible Touch”. We move forward and back into an electric set with more Genesis in the form of “Follow You, Follow Me” and “I Can’t Dance”. Great versions of great songs.The band is excellent with exceptionally strong vocals from the duo of Tim Howart and Andrew Roachford.
Roachford gets to sing his massive hit “Cuddly Toy” and then we move forward and towards the end with the wonderful, moving epic that is “The Living Years”, “All I Need Is a Miracle” and closer “Over My Shoulder”. The band return to a standing ovation and play a much deserved encore: “Word of Mouth”.
And so the mighty 
The current line up of The Damned consists of: Dave Vanian; Captain Sensible; Paul Gray (on bass: I remember that name, yes he was in Eddie and the Hot Rods); Monty Oxymoron (crazy on keyboards) and Will Taylor on drums. And pretty great they remain!
We were soon on the home strait and the band crashed into classic after classic.”Love Song”, “Neat, Neat, Neat” moved into a mix of old songs including “Be Bop a Lula”! Class! Then “Eloise” (one of my favourite songs from the 60s, but hey guys, no one tops Barry Ryan and his version: the guy was my hero and role model when I was a kid!) “Smash It Up” and finally right back to the start and “New Rose”. These guys still know how to rock. Long may they do so.
Setlist: The Man With the Golden Arm; Street of Dreams; The Invisible Man; Wait for the Blackout; Lively Arts; Bad Weather Girl; You’re Gonna Realise; Western Promise; Beware of the Clown; Wake the Dead; Follow Me; Motorcycle Man; Leader of the Gang; From Your Lips; Born to Kill; Love Song; Second Time Around; Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow; Neat Neat Neat / 1969 / Folsom Prison Blues / Be Bop a Lula
is, in his own quiet way, a guitar innovator. His pedigree is strong and impressive and last night, reminded me just what a great guitarist the man is. As usual, and no apologies, the night brought back many memories of the man himself and of the venue. Steve Hillage currently has two identities (in fact, probably more): (1) as a reborn trance hero in the band System 7 and (2) he is now out on the road fronting a new Steve Hillage band, drawing from his classic mid – 1970s albums, such as my favourite L.
Firstly, memories of the venue came flooding back partly as I tried to work out in my head where Newcastle University Students Union Ballroom (or equivalent) might be these days. The last time I frequented said venue was during the 1980s witnessing great performances by bands such as Rip, Rig and Panic (featuring a fledgling Neneh Cherry, who had just left the Slits, and sometimes her father Don), Haircut 100 and The Cure. All of those concerts took place in the larger upstairs ballroom; a venue where I witnessed some great punk gigs during the 1970s including the Clash White Riot tour. (Tour advert from 
Some of the concerts including Sandie Shaw (rejuvenated by a collaboration with Morrissey at the time as I recall), Punishment of Luxury and the Au Pairs took place in a lower, smaller, hall named “The Canteen” (because that is exactly what it was during the day!). I was told that wheelchair access was via a lift through the students union building and the Co-op shop! Actually, those directions worked well and some helpful students directed me and my carer Jackie towards a lift which took us downstairs to the venue; I half recognised the hall, it may have been what I once knew as the Canteen. Anyway, sorry for going around the houses to say that we managed to get to the concert okay. However, by the time we arrived the hall was full and the best vantage point we could find was at the side of the stage. (picture of Steve from my ticket)
Secondly, Steve Hillage, psychedelic guitar wizard and inventor of the “glissando guitar” as exemplified by Steve’s wonderful soloing on his reinvention of the Donovan classic “Hurdy-Gurdy Glissando”. I have seen Steve Hillage several times over the years and he always strikes me as a quiet unassuming guy, and yet he has in his own quiet way achieved so much and forged a rich career along the way. I first came across Steve Hillage when he was a member of Khan, an early psychedelic band who I think I saw supporting Caravan in the early 1970s. I then saw him as a member of Gong and as part of Kevin Ayres band.
Roll forward to the Steve Hillage band 2023 in concert. Shortly after we arrived the band took to the stage, with lots of colourful lighting, wailing saxophone and electronica/psych keyboard wizardry courtesy of Steve’s long-term partner Miquette Giraudy. I am unsure who the rest of the band were, but I suspect they consisted of some current members of Gong, who continue to perform without any original members but with the blessing of Hillage and founder member, the late great Daevid Allen. After some wonderful twirling, swirling sounds the music soon took shape and morphed into Steve’s cover of the Beatles “It’s All Too Much” from L.
An excellent start to an evening of great music mixing tracks from throughout the band leader’s career. Some I recognised, several not, but they all featured great guitar dexterity from Mr Hillage. One he introduced as a Kevin Ayres song, in tribute to his former band leader. I suspect there was also a Gong track or two in the mix. Steve stood quietly centre stage sporting a short haircut (very unlike the 1970s proto-hippie Hillage we all know and love) and an intriguing looking guitar with no top stock. Soon we were at the end which featured further excellent guitar on “Hurdy-Gurdy Glissando”. The first encore started with some techno psych leading into The Move’s “I Can Hear the Grass Grow”.
As we left, the band came back for a second encore (I think from reports of other shows on the tour this may have been Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?”). The lift we came down on didn’t seem to work anymore, however a friendly guy soon took us to another much smaller lift, which we squeezed into, arriving at a different part of the University. We followed a few ramps and soon found our taxi, waiting to take us home.
A night of nostalgia. 
So tonight’s concert, which is in two parts with a short interval consists of a mix of old (pre-Mike D’abo; that is Paul Jones) era Manfred Mann hits, plenty of vintage blues, and some Paul Jones new solo album material mixed in. The first set is mostly blues with some great vocals and mouth harp from Paul Jones who looks good, sounds good and twists some great blues licks from his large collection of different key mouth blues harps which perch on the mic stand. Interspersed with that is the Bob Dylan cover (one of several which were a hit for Manfred Mann) “Just like a Woman” and the McGuinness Flint hit “Malt and Barley Blues”. Tom McGuinness is a member of the band (he was in Manfred Mann before forming McGuinness Flint) and turns out to be one of the stars of the evening with some great guitar work. They also sing Burt Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book” which was covered by Manfred Mann in the 1960s. Somewhere along the way there are plenty of blues songs including classics such as “Smokestack Lightning”. The closing song on the first set is one of Manfred Mann’s massive hits the wonderful “Pretty Flamingo”. Just great.
During the interval I catch a drink and purchase a couple of Paul Jones CDs which the man himself autographs for me; one for myself and one for my friend John in the USA. I am careful not to drink too much as I am still suffering from my misbehaviour the evening before at the Martin Carthy concert (see previous blog entry to read of my misbehaviour). The second set opens with another big chart hit “5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1”. We are soon treated to another classic song “Oh no! Not my Baby”, this one written by Carole King. Then Tom McGuinness comes up front for the McGuinness Flint hit “When I’m Dead and Gone” which, he reminds me was written by Gallagher and Lyle who were in the band alongside Tom McGuinness and Hughie Flint, before they went on to have many solo hits. I last saw McGuinness Flint supporting Humble Pie (or was it Wishbone Ash) at Newcastle Odeon in the early 70s. Then the band complete the show with “The Mighty Quinn” (another Dylan song, and sung originally by Mike D’abo, as I recall) and “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”. The encore is (most appropriately) “If You Gotta Go Go Now” (yet another Dylan song). And so it is over. A great night of classic 60s hits, and some great blues. At the end of a busy week of three concerts: Graham Gouldman, Martin Carthy and the Manfreds.
The last time I had the pleasure of being in the company of 
The Laundrette announced the concert thus: “For more than 50 years Martin Carthy has been one of folk music’s greatest innovators, one of its best loved, most enthusiastic and, at times, most quietly controversial of figures. His skill, stage presence and natural charm have won him many admirers…….Trailblazing musical partnerships with, amongst others, Steeleye Span, Dave Swarbrick and his award-winning wife (Norma Waterson) and daughter Eliza Carthy have resulted in more than 40 albums… [Including]… 10 solo albums. [He has]…influenced a generation of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon.”
Martin looked great wearing a brightly coloured shirt, a red scarf which he removed and placed on his guitar case, and two gold earrings in his left ear. He is a great storyteller, starting each song with a prolonged introduction setting the scene for the tale which would unfold in the song, and explaining to us from where, and from whom, the song originated. Sometimes he might have to think a little in order to remember the names of the songs origins, but hey, respect to the guy who is now in his early 80s. Each song comes from a poem, an old folktale, or an ancient ballad. He crafts each one carefully. He includes the traditional “Scarborough fair” which features on his first, early 1960s, album and was since made famous by Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Simon probably having picked up the song from Martin when he toured the UK folk clubs in the 1960s.
Another song was about Bendigo: “The Noble Fox-Hunting, also known as Dido Bendigo and The Duke’s Hunt, is a hunting song from England. English folk song collector A.L. Lloyd describes the song: “A stirring old hunting song known all over England from Cumberland to Cornwall.…… and, though the name of the sporting Duke may vary, the list of hounds stays much the same. Country people must have loved to roll the grandiloquent syllables of names like Dido and Bendigo around their mouths… The song has had a long life and still flourishes.” …… “Dido Bendigo describes the excitement of a noble fox hunt: the Duke of Wellington and some of his noble friends set out with their brave fox hounds, and each fox meets with a dreaded fate as they try to escape.” (
This man is a walking jukebox! Not only did he write/co – write all of the hits of the magnificent 10CC, he also penned many of the hits, all songs I loved and still love, from the 60s. So, when I saw he was appearing at the Fire Station in Sunderland I just had to go along.
Graham started acoustically with one other guitarist Andy song which I didn’t know he had written: “Pamela, Pamela” which was a UK hit for the late Wayne Fontana. A simple song with a very catchy tune. Lovely. Then he started to sing a series of songs which mean so much to me and were such an important part of my youth. With each song, Graham introduced a new band member until the stage was full of a set of four excellent musicians. And so he delivered: “Heart Full of Soul” which was a hit for the Yardbirds, the late great Jeff Beck’s guitar solo still jangling around my brain; the bittersweet tale that the note in a milk bottle can bring (Graham explained his father brought him the title for the song after seeing a milk bottle with such a note one day): “No Milk Today”, a hit for Herman’s Hermits, and then moving forward to a 10CC hit “Good Morning Judge”. It doesn’t come any better than this.
A few more songs in and then another classic, again inspired by a conversation with a family member about looking through windows as the bus passed by each house: “Look through Any Window” a big hit for The Hollies, one of my all-time favourite bands. Graham explained that when he was inducted into the rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame there was only one song he could choose and that had to be his favourite (and mine) “Bus Stop” which he wrote, again for the Hollies. Another excellent 60s pop song. Somewhere in there he sang a big hit which, to my shame, I had forgotten: “Bridge to your heart” which he co-wrote with the late great Andrew Gold in their short lived collaboration band Wax.
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