The Seekers The Sage Gateshead 10th May 2014
I have already admitted to one guilty pleasure this week. Today, I am afraid, I am writing about yet another. Last night I relived part of my childhood. I went to see The Seekers on their 50th anniversary reunion tour, which called at the Sage Gateshead. Many years ago, when I was young, one of the first records I can remember getting was The Beatles “Help” album. It was Christmas 1965 and I was 9 years old. From then on I started to collect records, and bought lots of pop singles, graduating to more grown up stuff by the late 60s. But in the background to all that was my parent’s record collection and their choice of music. One of the people they played all the time was The Seekers. When the lp “Best of the Seekers” came out in 1968, my dad went out and bought it. He played that lp record again and again. Of course, by then I would scoff at the pure pop and folk harmonies, and I felt I was much too cool to listen to anything as “straight” as The Seekers. But secretly I liked some of those tunes and still do; “Georgy Girl” in particular is one of those songs which sticks in your brain and rumbles around and around, driving you mad. The Seekers split in the late 60s and I never got the chance to see them at the time. They reunited for the first time for their 25th anniversary and toured the UK in 1993 and 1994, calling at Newcastle City Hall. I foolishly missed that concert, and have regretted it ever since. So when it was announced that they were returning to the UK, for what is quite likely to be the last time, I decided to set coolness aside and go along and spend an evening with part of my childhood and those great harmless tunes. The tour had been delayed (The Seekers were originally due to play the Sage last September) because singer Judith Durham suffered a brain hemorrhage last May. The good news is that she is now fully recovered and able to tour again.
The show started with a video montage of The Seekers in the 60s, played to The Seekers’ cover of The Beatles “In My Life”. The four of them then walked onstage, to a loud and warm standing ovation from the audience. The Seekers are, as they were in the 60s, Athol Guy (double bass), Keith Potger (12 string guitar), Bruce Woodley (guitar) and Judith Durham (vocals). The stage set-up was simple with the four of them, their acoustic instruments, a drummer, a couple of keyboard players, and a large video screen. The show was in two parts, and was interspersed with video clips of the band back in their heyday and of the swinging 60s. Athol Guy did many of the introductions, telling little stories of their success. They are clearly very proud of what they achieved in those days, and lots of famous names were mentioned. For me the most impressive clip was taken from the NME Poll Winners concert, which was held at Wembley Empire Pool in 1966. The Seekers shared the bill with, among others, The Beatles; who were shown playing “I Feel Fine”; and the Stones; who were shown playing “The Last Time”. The Seekers were then introduced as “a new act who are playing their brand new single”; cue the group launching into “A World Of Our Own”. Another clip showed the band back in the 60s joking about whether they would still be together in 50 years time and then cutting to a shot of what they might look like if they were; and showing each member with grey hair, an ear trumpet, a bath chair; etc. You get the idea.
I usually learn something new about the band when I go to a concert, and last night was no exception. I’d hadn’t realised how many people The Seekers had worked with; that they had written “Red Rubber Ball” with Paul Simon, and that they were friendly with Tom Paxton (sue “Last Thing on my Mind”). I sort of knew, but had forgotten, that most of their big hits were written by Tom Springfield of the Springfields, and brother of Dusty. And did you know that Tom Springfield wrote “Georgy Girl” with Carry On actor Jim Dale? Or that Bruce Woodley of the band wrote “I am Australian” which has joined “the ranks of other patriotic songs considered as alternatives to the Australian national anthem…is commonly taught in primary schools (Wikipedia)?
They played all the hits, keeping “Georgy Girl” to the end, and encoring with “The Carnival is Over”. I still can’t get away with the happy clappy gospel songs and cringed in my seat during those parts of the show, but I was also swept away with the nostalgia and emotion of hearing them play “I’ll Never Find Another You”, “A World of Our Own” and “Georgy Girl”. Oh and they didn’t play “Island of Dreams” (although the song was played over the PA during the interval (try the ginger ice cream)).
My final mention has to go to Judith Durham. I’ve seen many artists from the 60s in recent years. Some of them are ok, and some are shadows of their past selves. In many cases their voices have mellowed, changed, and they often can’t hit the notes in the same way as they could. Of all of them, this was the strongest vocal performance I have seen. Judith’s voice is as pure and clear as it ever has been.
An enjoyable evening. I thought I would be the youngest person there, but actually I wasn’t; the audience consisted of all ages, from young to old. It was of course very respectable, and I have to say, pretty uncool; I suppose. But then who is to say what is “cool”. My ears aren’t ringing this morning, and I wasn’t in fear of my life in any way last night, so maybe uncoolness is ok in some ways 🙂
Back to some rock bands for my writings for the rest of the week.
Setlist.
Set 1. Come the Day; I’ll Never Find Another You; A World of Our Own; Love Is Kind, Love Is Wine; The Water Is Wide; When Will the Good Apples Fall; Silver Threads And Golden Needles; Colours of My Life; Morningtown Ride; Just a Closer Walk With Thee; Myra; I Am Australian; Medley: This Little Light Of Mine/Open Up Them Pearly Gates/We Shall Not Be Moved.
Set 2. Someday One Day; When the Stars Begin to Fall; The Last Thing on My Mind; You’re My Spirit; Walk With Me; Guardian Angel/Guiding Light (Keith Potger solo); Louisiana Man (Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley & Athol Guy); The Olive Tree (Judith Durham solo); Red Rubber Ball; Georgy Girl; Keep a Dream in Your Pocket.
Encore: The Carnival Is Over.
Posts Tagged ‘gig’
11 May
The Seekers The Sage Gateshead 10th May 2014
10 May
Sigue, Sigue Sputnik Newcastle Mayfair 12th March 1986
Sigue, Sigue Sputnik Newcastle Mayfair 12th March 1986
Recipe for a successful pop/new wave band.
1. To start off you must have some existing credibility. In this case, Tony James had a significant punk pedigree, and had starred in Generation X. Tony was, and remains, a good friend of Mick Jones of the Clash, who was to be the new band’s sound engineer.
2. Find a charismatic and, ideally crazy, lead singer. Enter Martin Degville, or simply “Degville”.
3. Craft a new art-based image, and wear the wildest clothes you can. It helped that Degville was a clothes designer and worked in YaYa clothes shop in Kensington Market.
4. Choose a wild, obscure, strange name for the band, so everyone can talk about you and discuss what the name means (by the way what does Sigue, Sigue Sputnik mean?).
5. Rehearse a lot, and play rarely, and only at select trendy venues.
6. Talk to the press and “big up” your band. James described the band as “Hi-tech sex, designer violence, and the fifth generation of rock ‘n’ roll”.
7. Wait until you feel the time is right, and the band have gained enough of a buzz around them and then, and only then, release a single. Link the single with a movie, for mass exposure. In this case the band’s first single “Love Missile F1-11” was included in the film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. It reached No 3 in the UK charts.
8. Go out on tour at last. Make sure that there is lots of publicity around the tour. In this case the band were billed as the latest shock rock band; the next Sex Pistols. The Sun featured the usual shock-horror stories. Some of their shows were marred by violence and Sigue, Sigue, Sputnik were, as a result, banned from several venues. The Newcastle gig was moved from Tiffanies to the Mayfair, because of fears of violence.
Now to the concert. The gig itself was not that well attended, and the security entering the venue was one of the strictest I have seen. Full searches on the way into the ballroom. The show was as expected; outrageous, strange, fun and like nothing else we had seen. The music was a mix of dance, electronic, rockabilly and punk; if that makes any sense. Degville was very much a star, wearing the most outrageous headgear and costume. A video of the Newcastle gig can be seen on YouTube. Google Sigue, Sigue, Sputnik and Newcastle Mayfair and you’ll find it.
Sigue, Sigue Sputnik were Tony James – space guitar; Martin Degville – vocals; Neal X – electric guitar; Ray Mayhew – drums; Chris Kavanagh – drums; Yana YaYa (Jane Farrimond) – keyboards, space echo, special effects.
I saw them once more at Newcastle Riverside a year or so later.
9 May
The Spice Girls Reunion O2 Arena London 15th December 2007
The Spice Girls Reunion O2 Arena London 15th December 2007
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls held a press conference in London, announcing that they were to reunite. They revealed that they were going to embark on a world concert tour as a celebration of the group’s legacy and a final farewell to fans. Eleven concerts were announced in North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and South America and we were informed that we had to pre-register for tickets on the Spice Girls’ website. Lucky “winners” were sent a code which allowed them to buy tickets for the concerts. Initially only one night in London was planned, but it sold out in only 38 seconds, and more dates were quickly added. Concerts continued to be added, and they eventually played a massive 17 nights in London at the O2 Arena, and 3 nights at Manchester Arena. Laura wanted to see her childhood heroes again and we were lucky enough to get tickets for the opening night, thanks to a friendly Spice Girls fan from Germany who gave us a code to but tickets when they first went on sale, having not been successful ourselves in the initial draw. Our trip to planet Spice started on the train from Durham station down to Kings Cross, onward to a trusty Travelodge to dump our bags, and then to the classy O2 Arena to take our seats for a nostalgic trip back to the days of Girl Power !! 🙂 Laura bought a t shirt (perhaps I should have got one). We had pretty decent seats on the arena floor about half way back and with a great view of the stage. The first bit of excitement came when Will Young took his seat a few rows in front of us, to massive cheers and screams from the crowd.
The show began with a video of five young girls (representing our five heroes) playing inside a house. They find a magic box, open it, fireworks appear, and they all wish that they can become pop stars when they grow up (does it work like that?). Cue the music for “Spice Up Your Life” and videos and press cuttings of the Spice Girls. The girls then appeared on five massive high platforms and the whole place erupted. I have literally never heard such loud screaming go on for so long. The 20,000 strong O2 crowd gave the Spice Girls a reception unlike anything else I have seen. Breathtaking. Girl Power had returned to London.
“Spice Up Your Life” was followed by “Stop” and their reunion single “Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)” closed the first act. The second act had a jazz theme: “The Lady Is A Vamp” and a showgirl-style performance. The girls performed jazz versions of “Too Much” and “2 Become 1” with the girls dancing around pink and white poles. In the third act each of the girls took a solo spot which started with lots of catwalking from Posh to a remix of “Like a Virgin”. Scary then took a male member of the audience and chained him to a ladder while she performed (as of course she did for part of the Spice Girls career) and the four piece band performed “Holler”. She then returned to perform her big solo hit single “It’s Raining Men”, followed by Mel C singing her solo single, “I Turn to You”. The next section included “Mama” with images of the Spice Girls with their mothers and their own children. After a medley they finished with “Goodbye” and the concert ended with the slogan “SPICE – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”. The encore was (of course) their biggest hit and debut single “Wannabe”. and “Spice Up Your Life”.
Great fun actually.
Back to rock concerts tomorrow.
8 May
The Spice Girls Christmas In Spiceworld Manchester Arena 4th December 1999
The Spice Girls Christmas In Spiceworld Manchester Arena 4th December 1999
This is very definitely in the “guilty pleasure” category.
Laura was a big Spice Girls fan, and a member of their fan club, so when the “Christmas In Spiceworld Tour” was announced we decided to go to see them in Manchester so that her Christmas would come early that year. The tour was a complete sell out, those Spice Girls were pretty popular at the time; and it included eight massive arena shows in Manchester and London in the run up to Christmas 1999. The tour occurred between the albums Spiceworld and Forever. It was their first tour as a four piece girl group as Geri Halliwell (aka “Ginger Spice”) had left the band the year before to pursue a solo career. The line-up was thus Mel B (Melanie Brown aka “Scary Spice”), Mel C (Melanie Chisholm aka “Sporty Spice”), Emma Bunton (“Baby Spice”) and Victoria Beckham (“Posh Spice”).
We managed to get great seats through the fan club sale, right down front. It was I our first visit to the massive Manchester arena. The stage set was complex and extremely impressive. It consisted of a small platform surrounded by Christmas trees from which ran a very long runway leading to the main stage in the middle of the arena. The band (guitar, drums, bass, brass, and a small string section, I think) were in a pit in the middle of the main stage. The centre of the main stage raised up and rotated and above there were the usual stage lights and a massive Christmassy ice pillar. The girls entered the arena on the small stage and then made their way over to the main stage. During the concert they moved from the main stage to the circular one in its centre, and moved up and down and round and round, all to the delight of the crowd and all very impressive. 
The show was in four Acts.
Act 1: “Forever Spice”. They started with “Spice Up Your Life” and the place went crazy. I could hardly hear them for the screaming. Laura loved it, she had taken two of her Spice Girl dolls and was waving them at the girls. The rest of the first act featured the songs “Something Kinda Funny”; “Say You’ll Be There”; “Right Back at Ya”; “Step to Me”; “Mama” (where they were joined by a choir); “Too Much” and “W.O.M.A.N”. The last song of the first Act was “2 Become 1”. Mel B and Emma Bunton came down into the audience and picked two members of the audience (a man and a woman) to join them up on stage.
Act 2: Supergirls. The girls played the parts of superheroes on the revolving stage. The songs in this Act were: “Stop”; “Holler”; “Who Do You Think You Are”; “Never Give Up on the Good Times”; “Wannabe” and “Goodbye” (with the choir returning).
Act 3: It’s Christmas! (The Encore). The girls returned to the peal of church bells and performed “Viva Forever” and a Christmas Medley comprising “Merry Xmas Everybody”; “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” and a reprise of “Wannabe”.
The crowd, of course, gave them a standing ovation. All great fun and a spectacular show. Quite different from seeing Motorhead. Christmas gigs just don’t come any better 🙂
Spice Up Your Life.
Thanks to Wikipedia for reminding me of the detail of the production.
Fraid, to my shame, I am going to recount yet another guilty pleasure tomorrow. Not content with spending Christmas 1999 with those Spice Girlies, Laura and I just had to go to their reunion show eight years later….
7 May
Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire Newcastle City Hall 15th September 1975
Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire Newcastle City Hall 15th September 1975
This was a strong double bill of two quite different bands. Disco funk legends Earth, Wind and Fire opened the show. They had just released the album “That’s the Way of the World” and were massively successful in the USA, if less well known in the UK. I remember them having a big show, with lots of people on stage, and the highlight was a revolving drum kit (you had to see it to believe it 🙂 ). Santana had a lot to follow with such a strong opening act, but Carlos and the band rose to the occasion playing a set that included favourites like Black Magic Woman, Samba pa ti and Soul Sacrifice. The tour came between Santana’s sixth album “Borboletta” and their seventh “Amigos”. I recall that the concert was sold out and Marie and I went along without tickets. We managed to get two single seats, and spent the evening watching the concert standing at the back of the hall. 
The next time I saw Santana they were special guests for Bob Dylan at St James Park Newcastle, on 5th July 1984. Santana’s set at this massive open-air gig was Touchdown Raiders; Spirit; By the Pool; Samba pa ti; Breaking Out; Gypsy Queen; Incident at Neshabur; Waited All My Life; Two Points of View; Brotherhood; Savor; Who Loves You; Open Invitation; She’s Not There; Europa (Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile); Right Now.
6 May
Santana Newcastle City Hall November 22nd 1972 early (6.30pm) show: Exclusive Northern appearance
Santana Newcastle City Hall November 22nd 1972 early (6.30pm) show: Exclusive Northern appearance
John and I went to see Santana at Newcastle City Hall on November 22nd 1972. The band played two shows at the venue that evening, and we went to the early show which was at 6.30pm. John’s memories of the gig: “As I recall Santana were not frequent visitors to the UK and this was one of the earliest times they played in the North East in the post-Abraxas period. They played two shows, with no support and it was my birthday. At that time Carlos was heavily influenced by John Mahavishnu and was moving in a more jazz/fusion-influenced direction than the heavily percusive sounds of the first two albums. I believe at the beginning of the set he said “A moment of meditation for Devadip” which was the name given to him by his guru Shri Chimony. Apparently it means “The lamp, light and eye of God”. This change in musical direction caused considerable tension within the band and precipitated a number of line up changes. I remember really enjoying the gig and I think they played most of Side 1 from the Caravanserai album – “Waves Within”, “Look up (to see whats coming down)”, “Just in time to see the sun”, “Song of the wind” and “All the Love in Universe”. Funnily I don’t remember if they played “Black Magic Woman” or “Oye Como Va”. I never saw the band again but have great memories of this show.”
My memories of the gig are also of an enjoyable concert. I’m pretty sure that they also played “Samba Pa Ti”. Their visit covered only two UK cities, Newcastle and Manchester, as part of their 1972 European tour (not sure how it could be an “Exclusive Northern appearance” when they also played Manchester 🙂 ; but maybe it was at the time the tickets were printed). Santana had just released their fourth album Caravanserai, and as John says it was a sharp departure from his critically acclaimed first three albums. We were all familiar with Santana at the time because of their excellent storming performance of “Soul Sacrifice” in the “Woodstock” film. By the time John and I saw Santana and his band in Newcastle their musical style had changed considerably from the band we all saw and loved in “Woodstock”. I recall being quite surprised by the difference, which was moving the music closer to that which John McLaughlin was pursuing in his Mahavishnu Orchestra. Santana’s exquisite guitar playing shone out, as it always does, to this day. I also remember that Slade were performing at Sunderland Top Rank that evening, with Thin Lizzy and Suzi Quatro as support acts. As we returned home after the Santana gig, which will have bee finished by 8.30pm to allow for the late show, we could see people entering the Rink (aka Top Rank) for the Slade gig.
A setlist from three days later at a concert in Switzerland shows Santana as having played the following songs. I would suspect the Newcastle set is likely to have been similar to this one: Going Home; A-1 Funk; Every Step of the Way; Samba pa ti; Look Up (To See What’s Coming Down); Just in Time to See the Sun; Incident at Neshabur; Bambele; Stone Flower; Waiting; Castillos de arena; Free Angela; Earth; Se a Cabo; Savor; Toussaint L’Overture
5 May
Saxon Newcastle City Hall 1980, 1981 and 1982
Saxon Newcastle City Hall 1980, 1981 and 1982
I saw Saxon on three more occasions at Newcastle City Hall. The first was on 1th December 1980 on the “Strong Arm of the Law” tour. From the programme: “Hi there , this is Biff writing a few lines to tell you what’s happened since we last saw you. As you may know “Wheels of Steel” went silver and I was very proud to receive my silver disc. We are now becoming successful in other countries round the world and we owe all this to you, our British fans. I hope you like the new album and tour..Have a listen to “Heavy Metal Thunder” – it’s dedicated to YOU!”. I’ve just done as Biff suggested and watched a clip of Saxon playing “Heavy Metal Thunder” live at the time. Biff plays the rock star part to a T, long locks flailing about, and great silver spandex trousers. A solid slab of heavy metal rock. “Strong Arm of The Law” was Saxon’s third studio and was released only four months after “Wheels of Steel” charted at No. 11; these guys were on a roll. The song I remember most from the new album, and which I enjoyed seeing them play live was “Dallas 1 PM”, which was written about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Support on the tour was Limelight, a rock band from Mansfield. Limelight had a strong following in the North East clubs at the time. 
The next time I saw Saxon was on 21st October 1981. This was the “Denim and Leather tour”. Denim and Leather was their fourth studio album, released in 1981 and was the last album with the classic line, as drummer Pete Gill left the band due to a hand injury. It is also seen as the last of their three classic albums (along with Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law). Following its release Saxon stopped making albums for over a year, and concentrated on looking for success in the USA. Support came from American heavy rock band Riot. From the programme” “Denim and Leather. The two words were made from each. Like bread and butter. Salt and pepper. Gin and topic. Simmons and Stanley. They fit together as snug and neat as an expertly carpentered mortice and tenon joint. They roll over the tongue with ease, like the phrase “And incidentally music lovers” from Fluff Freeman’s lips. And they’re destined to become as much a part of heavy metal’s frenzied folklore as the expressions “mayhem merchant”, “titanic powerchord” and “flashbomb fever”. [Yeah, terms I use every day 🙂 ]. Denim and leather are old friends. And the older, more frayed, scraped, battered and tattered the better. Combined, the two materials make up a uniform to be reckoned with, a Kerrang! kostume more meaningful then the DM’s and Sta-Prest of the cropped-tops; more relevant that the tablecloths and Jolly Rogers….of the ephemeral futurists. Look at the Hammersmith hordes. The multitudinous Mancunians. Cower before the Bristil Battalion. The Glasgow garrison. There’s an army out there and the battledress is the same. Leather jacket, studded, patched with motorcycle brand names, once dark and supple, now cracked and turning brown. Or denim jacket, embroidered, faded, grubby, stiff and stained with the sweat of 100 hothouse holocausts. And the jeans, greasy with engine oil, wearing through all the knees, ill-fitting and overlong…..Heavy Metal, after all, is a mass experience, an enjoyment to be shared, not selfishly guarded, not confined to bleak bedsit seclusion…Some people will never understand but we relish being..An army of thousands surrounded by lights. And we have the power to proclaim that…Nobody stands in our way!” Apologies for reproducing so much from the programme here, but I feel that it sums up the mood of the time, and is very much “of the period”. 
Saxon were back at the City Hall on 17th September 1982. There was no new studio album to promote, but they had just released a live album “The Eagle has Landed” which was also the title of the tour. The cover of the tour programme shows Biff standing victorious on the Donington stage, facing a massive crowd of denim and leather, the famous tyre in the background. Support for the 1982 tour were Cheetah, a rock band fronted by two girl vocalists. The live albums contains the following tracks, which give a feel for Saxon concert sets at the time: Motorcycle Man; 747 (Strangers in the Night); Princess of the Night; Strong Arm of the Law; Heavy Metal Thunder; 20,000 Ft.; Wheels of Steel; Never Surrender; Fire in the Sky; Machine Gun; And the Bands Played On; See the Light Shining; Frozen Rainbow; Midnight Rider; Dallas 1PM; Hungry Years.
Part of the attraction of Saxon was the working class, Northern, nature and work ethic of these guys. They were living the dream, living their life through rock, and using as an escape from the pits and the factories which may otherwise have been their future. This was, I am sure, part of the reason they were so successful in the North East. The audience identified with them, it was as if they were looking at themselves on stage, and living out their fantasies and dreams through Biff and the guys.
I saw Saxon once or twice more at Monsters of Rock festival, but haven’t seem them again since those days. They continue to gig and have recently returned to the public eye, in part due to a TV programme in which Harvey Goldsmith helped them relaunch their career.
Another one for my ever-growing list of bands to see again, at least once more.
PS Just noticed that I was pretty close down front for all these gigs. That explains why my hearing is starting to fail these days….Has anyone ever taken a case against a group of bands for hearing loss ? 🙂
PPS Another memory entered my head today. I recall seeing Saxon play at West Cornforth (Doggy) club one night, it must have been in 1979. I think they were still billed as Son of a Bitch, but had changed their name to Saxon by the time they played the gig. They were awesome (and LOUD) in a small workingmens’ club. I still don’t know why they call West Cornforth “Doggy” 🙂
4 May
Yes Newcastle City Hall 3rd May 2014
Yes Newcastle City Hall 3rd May 2014
Yes are back touring the UK again, performing three of their most popular albums in their entirety: The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, and Going for the One. The current Yes line-up consists of founder, and only surviving original member, Chris Squire on bass; guitarist Steve Howe from the classic Yes line-up; long-time drummer and local lad Alan White drums, more recent returnee Geoff Downes from the 80s line-up keyboards, and new singer Jon Davison. It was good to go along knowing that I would be hearing classic songs such as “Yours is No Disgrace,” “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Starship Trooper,” “Close to the Edge,” “And You And I,” “Going for the One,” and “Wonderous Stories.
“We performed these three albums in their entirety on our North and South American tours, and the fans absolutely loved it,” says Yes guitarist, Steve Howe. “Fans did indeed love it,” states Yes co-founder and bassist, Chris Squire, “and so did we. Plus, we’ll be performing pieces we’ve rarely played live. In fact, I believe the one song we never performed in concert before our three-album tours is ‘A Venture’ from The Yes Album.” Alan White goes on to say, “As with our three-album North and South American tours, this is a great opportunity to share with our European fans the growth of Yes throughout different eras, and to revisit the great memories of those times, as well as create brand new ones. We’re looking forward to touring Europe, performing these albums, and most of all, meeting our wonderful fans. It’s great fun for us, and we think our fans throughout Europe will love the performance as well.”
It’s 45 years since I first saw Yes, and 43 years since I first saw them perform The Yes Album, which was also at a concert in the City Hall, when they supported Iron Butterfly. I wasn’t sure what to expect last night, particularly with another new singer in the band. What we got were excellent versions of all the songs. The new singer fits into the band perfectly. His vocals are spot-on and very close to Jon Anderson’s original recordings, and his performance, vibe and stage presence just seemed to fit with the feel of the band. It took me some time to get used to seeing the last guy they had singing, but this vocalist just seemed “right” from the first few bars of “Close to the Edge”. Of course, I will still prefer to see the return of Jon Anderson, but if that isn’t going to happen, you couldn’t get any better than this Jon as a replacement. But the star of the show last night was, without question Steve Howe, who played as well as I have ever seen him do, and was more animated than I have seen him for many years. The rest of the band all played faultlessly, and Chris Squire plays the role of senior member to precision, making most of the announcements and prowling around the right hand side of the stage. Each album and each song was announced on the screen at the rear of the stage, and the performance was augmented by a neat of set of visuals which included pictures, posters and tickets from “back in the day”. Similarly the tour programme is littered with images of memorabilia from early 70s tours, many of which I recognise. The programme also include the “Fragile” album, which must have featured in some of the US shows. The City Hall was pretty full last night, I would estimate that it would at about 90% capacity, and the crowd clearly enjoyed the show, giving Yes one of the best receptions they have had in Newcastle for many years.
An excellent concert from a band that just keeps on going, and who are as excellent musically today as they ever were.
Set 1. Close to the Edge: Close to the Edge; And You and I; Siberian Khatru. Going For The One: Going for the One; Turn of the Century; Parallels; Wonderous Stories; Awaken.
Interval.
Set 2. The Yes Album: Yours Is No Disgrace; Clap; Starship Trooper; I’ve Seen All Good People; A Venture; Perpetual Change.
Encore: Roundabout.
3 May
Saxon “Wheels of Steel” Newcastle City Hall 21st April 1980
Saxon “Wheels of Steel” Newcastle City Hall 21st April 1980
From the 1980 tour programme:
“Saxon. The name immediately conjures up visions of swashbuckling macho men who rape and pillage at every opportunity. Well, Saxon the band may not rape, but if anybody’s ever been to one of their concerts then they will know that the pillage bit is not that far from the truth. They’re the archetypal getcha rocks off head down no nonsense (mindless?) boogie band, hitting harder than a punch in the gut with a slab of concrete.”
Get the idea? Very much of its time and some of the language certainly wouldn’t seem acceptable these days. But this was the era of the dawn of the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) and Saxon came along riding high from deepest Yorkshire (Barnsley to be precise) with their brand of heavy rock.
I first saw Saxon when they were called Son of a Bitch and played regularly in a “before the match” spot at the Boliermakers club. It was obvious then that these guys were a pretty tight rock band and they built up their own following in the North East clubs. Some of my mates were pretty heavily into them at the time. The next thing we knew; they had rebranded themselves as Saxon and were appearing as support for major bands, such as Motorhead. 
Then they hit the big time, and were appearing on Top of the Pops playing “Wheels of Steel”. This all happened quite quickly. I remember going along to the City Hall gig, which was part of their first major tour, and wondering how many people would be there. It was pretty full, as a I recall, and Saxon delivered a solid set of heavy metal rock’n’roll. There are some damn fine rock tunes on the “Wheels of Steel” album including, as well as the title track, “747 (Strangers in the Night)”, which was a favourite of mine at the time, and “Suzie Hold On”. “Wheels of Steel” was Saxon’s second album and is recognised as their best work. It received positive reviews at the time; Eduardo Rivadavia said: “the album’s songs positively gleam with a bright, metallic sheen similar to that exhibited by the chrome eagle hoisting a motorcycle wheel on its iconic cover.” Support for the City Hall show was heavy rock band Lautrec.
Saxon were, at the time: Biff Byford (vocals, big hair, leather jacket and lycra trousers); Graham Oliver (guitar); Paul Quinn (guitar); Steve Dawson (bass); and Pete Gill (drums). I remember one of the guitarists had his guitar attached to his belt buckle and would spin it around and around, which looked pretty impressive. Biff was the main man, however, and had good rapport with the North East crowds who warmed to his Yorkshire humour.
Setlist: Motorcycle Man; Still Fit to Boogie; Freeway Mad; Backs to the Wall; 747 (Strangers in the Night); Rainbow Theme; Frozen Rainbow; Wheels of Steel; See the Light Shining; Judgement Day; Bap Shoo Ap; Street Fighting Gang; Stallions of the Highway; Suzie Hold On; Stand Up and Be Counted; Machine Gun.
“When my foots on the throttle there’s no looking back, I leave the motor tickin’ over when she’s back on the track, I’ve got a 68 Chevy with pipes on the side, You know she’s my idea of beauty, that’s what I drive. She’s got wheels, wheels of steel!…(Wheels of Steel, Saxon, 1980)
2 May
Damon Albarn The Great Hall Queen Mary University of London 1st May 2014
Damon Albarn The Great Hall Queen Mary University of London 1st May 2014 
Laura, David and Shauna and I went to see Damon Albarn play a special intimate show at The Great Hall Queen Mary University of London last night. David and Shauna are students there, so when this gig was announced Laura and I decided we would go down and join them for it. Demand for tickets was huge, with tickets limited to two per person and special arrangements to prevent touts from selling them on. We managed to get two seats, a single seat and a standing ticket, so we were spread out around the hall.
Albarn has just released his new studio album, Everyday Robots, which features cameo appearances by Brian Eno and Natasha Khan (Bat For Lashes). The album has been quite well received: “an intimate, introspective album that takes tentative steps to reveal the soul behind the star” (The Independent), “He’s arguably the foremost creative innovator of our times” (NME), “Beautiful, but subtle, cloudy and elusive” (The Guardian).
The Great Hall, part of Queen Mary’s historic People’s Palace, was re-launched in February 2013 following a £6m refurbishment project to restore the building to its former glory and install new technology.
Its a pretty amazing venue, and has a history of hosting gigs in the past; a poster on the wall shows that Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Curved Air, Edgar Broughton and others played there in the late 60s and early 70s. George Foden, Corporate Events Manager of the University said: “We’re really excited to be involved. The promoter was considering several venues around London, so we’re delighted they chose the Great Hall for this high-profile show. When the venue was refurbished we ensured that the technical equipment installed was of a high-specification in order to attract artists of this calibre. We hope this will be the first of many live concerts in the Great Hall for staff and students and the local community to enjoy, as the venue has a long history of hosting live music events.”
The set was a mix of tracks from the new album, and lesser known (by me anyway, but judging by crowd reaction the audience knew them) songs from Blur, Gorillaz, The Good, the Bad & the Queen, and Rocket Juice & the Moon (Albarn’s collaboration with Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers). Biggest crape reaction was for the Gorillaz hit “Clint Eastwood” which featured guest rapper Kano. Albarn moved from singing centre stage, to sitting at a piano, to rocking with a Graham Cxon signature Fender Telecaster. The pace and mood of the songs change similarly, with some intense rockers balanced by moody, delicate piano-based treatments of Blur songs, such as closer “This Is a Low”. Damon is accompanied by his excellent new band Heavy Seas and a small string section.
A great show 🙂 which demonstrated the breadth and richness of Albarn’s catalogue. Laura and I were up early to get the first Grand Central train home (07.52 😦 )
Setlist: Lonely Press Play; Everyday Robots; Tomorrow Comes Today (Gorillaz); History Song (The Good, the Bad & the Queen); Hollow Ponds; Slow Country (Gorillaz); Kids With Guns (Gorillaz); Three Changes (The Good, the Bad & the Queen); You and Me; Photographs (You Are Taking Now); Kingdom of Doom (The Good, the Bad & the Queen song); Poison (Rocket Juice & the Moon); Hostiles; El Mañana (Gorillaz); The History of a Cheating Heart; Out of Time (Blur); All Your Life (Blur). Encore: Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz; with guest Kano); Mr. Tembo (with choir); Heavy Seas of Love (with choir); This Is a Low (Blur)
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