Public Image Ltd, Creation for Liberation Benefit Gig, Manchester Belle Vue, 23rd February 1979
This was Public Image Ltds 5th gig, and their first in the North of England. I’d been a massive Pistols fan, having seen them twice in 1976 and 1977, so I was looking forward to this one. I’d bought their first album, and found it quite strange and rather disconcerting, it was so different to the Sex Pistols. Marie and I went to the concert which was in the massive Kings Hall our at Belle Vue Manchester. We drove down and stayed at a hotel in the city centre (the Portland I think).
The concert was entitled ‘Creation for Liberation’ and was a benefit gig in aid of the ‘Race Today Friendly Society’. Also on the bill were Bristol’s The Pop Group (punky/jazzy/art-rock), Merger (a great reggae band), and poets Linton Kwesi Johnson and John Cooper Clarke. We arrived early to see all the bands. I remember seeing a lot of people from the Manchester punk scene; a couple of members of the Buzzcocks were in the crowd. Everyone had turned out to see what John’s new band was like. I remember both dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson (“England is a bitch’ was a stand-out) and local hero John Cooper Clarke (super fast) going down well, and then there was a long wait for PIL. 
The line-up of PIL was: John Lydon (vocals), Keith Levene (guitar); Jah Wobble (bass) and Eddie Edwards (from the Vibrators sitting in on drums for this one gig). There was a long, cold, ait before PIL came on stage. When they did, they wandered on and Lydon famously said to the waiting crowd, “No gimmicks, no theatre, just us. Take it or leave it”. They then launched into ‘Theme’ and played a set which featured songs from their first album, and the controversial Pistols songs ‘Belsen Was A Gas’ (this was the last time that PIL would ever perform the song, and the last time that it was performed live until the Pistols played it again during their reunion tour in 2002). The sound was poor and murky and you couldn’t hear Lydon’s vocals very well at all. John was as scary and engaging as ever, but overall the band’s performance was a little shaky, and lacking the power and depth that PIL can achieve on a good night. I was hoping we would get a Pistols hit for the encore (I should have known that was never going to happen), but they simply played ‘Annalisa’ again. It was great to see Lydon on stage again, and in a strange way, this was a memorable concert. It represented everything that PIL was about at the time: challenging, strange, not quite what you would expect, noisy and discordant.
Set List: Theme; Annalisa; Low Life; Religion; Attack; Belsen Was A Gas; Public Image; Annalisa
Thanks to Paul B. Toman for allowing the use of his image of the PIL button badge through the Wikimedia Commons licence agreement.
Posts Tagged ‘gigs’
5 Feb
Public Image Ltd, Creation for Liberation Benefit Gig, Manchester Belle Vue, 23rd February 1979
4 Feb
Robert Palmer Newcastle Mayfair 19th May 1983
Robert Palmer Newcastle Mayfair 19th May 1983
Robert Palmer was a cool guy and a great R&B and soul singer. I first came across him when I saw him in Dada, a jazz/rock fusion band, who supported Iron Butterfly on their 1971 UK tour. Dada also featured Elkie Brooks, and the pair of singers were soon to form the great Vinegar Joe, who I was lucky enough to see several times in the early 70s. Palmer and Brooks were great together live; the cool, suave Yorkshireman was the perfect complement to Brooks’ fiery, wild and raucous stage persona. After Vinegar Joe folded, Palmer went on to forge a solo career, achieving particular success in the USA. By the time I saw him again at this gig at Newcastle Mayfair in 1983, he had released 7 albums. The tour was to promote the Pride album, and followed his success in the UK singles chart with Some Guys Have All The Luck which reached No 16, and was his biggest hit to date. 
The show saw Palmer looking particularly cool in a snappy suit, and singing his blue-eyed soul to an appreciative Newcastle crowd. A live recording exists of the Hammersmith Palais show of the 1983 tour which shows the setlist as: Every Kinda People; What Can You Bring?; Dance For Me; Want You More; You Can Have It (Take My Heart); Woke Up Laughing; Say You Will; Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley; Pride; It’s Not Difficult; Some Guys Have All The Luck; Best Of Both Worlds; Sulky Girl; Looking For Clues; Johnny And Mary. I would imagine that the set at the Mayfair will have been similar. Palmer went on to even bigger success a few years later with Addicted To Love (and that iconic video) and She Makes My Day. He died of a heart attack in a Paris hotel room on 26 September 2003 at the age of 54.
3 Feb
Tom Paxton Newcastle City Hall 5th November 1974
Tom Paxton Newcastle City Hall 5th November 1974
I’ve only seen Tom Paxton once, but really enjoyed it. It was at a concert at Newcastle City Hall in 1974, and (to my shame) the only song which was familiar to me was “Last Thing on my Mind”. Tom held the audience entranced for an hour or two with songs and stories which mixed politics, sadness and humour. Tom continues to perform continuously and visits the region every year or so. His next tour sees him joined by Janis Ian, which should make for a great evening. 
My 1974 tour programme includes some quotes from the UK press about Tom’s visits to this country: “Tom Paxton’s business is communication and he is a master of it. There can be few folk singers or groups who haven’t used some of his songs. His writing is spontaneous but he doesn’t rush it. …I’d wait until morning and it is was still there I’d go to work on it” (New Spotlight)…”A Paxton happening cannot be called a concert. A more apt label would be “An Evening with Tom Paxton” [Note: that’s exactly what my ticket says:) ].. As he sings and strums, more beautifully as the tour rolls by, all aspects of life are reflected and expressed in his lyrics.” (Lancashire Evening Post)…..”Singer, composer, Tom Paxton, perhaps one of the most relaxed of all the Americans who come to these shores” (Evening Times, Glasgow).
2 Feb
The Reading Festival 23rd – 25th August 1974
The Reading Festival 23rd – 25th August 1974
This was my third visit to the Reading Festival; I felt I was a seasoned festival goer 🙂 . By now a large crew of local people were going to the festival, so there were lots of mates there, and we spent much of the weekend in the pubs in town, and down near the Caversham Bridge; particularly The Griffin. We would nip back to the festival site to catch the bands we wanted to see. The line-up in 1974 wasn’t particularly strong in comparison to the previous couple of years, and quite a few bands who had been advertised didn’t show (notably Eric Burdon, Ronnie Lane and Blodwyn Pig, all of whom I was looking forward to seeing). The Friday line-up was : Nutz, Johnny Mars, Hustler, Beckett, Camel, 10c, Fumble, Sensational Alex Harvey Band.
The first night of the festival saw the triumphant headlining return of the Alex Harvey band, who lived up to their name and were truly sensational. SAHB had appeared low down on the bill the previous year; there will have been many in the crowd who saw that performance, and knew how good they were. Johnny Mars and his Sunflower Blues Band gigged a lot in the early 70s; they played traditional blues; I remember seeing them at Sunderland Poly a few times; pretty good too. Fumble were a rock’roll revival band who also gigged a lot. Beckett were local North East heroes, featuring singer Terry Slesser. The SAHB setlist was something like this: Faith Healer; Midnight Moses; Can’t Get Enough; Give My Regards To Sergeant Fury; The Return of Vambo; The Man in the Jar; Money Honey; The Impossible Dream; Schools Out; Framed.
Saturday line-up: Jack the Lad, G T Moore and the Reggae Guitars, Trapeze, Sutherland Brothers, JSD Band, Procol Harum, Thin Lizzy, Long John Baldry, Heavy Metal Kids, Greenslade, Georgie Fame, Traffic.
Two bands stick in my mind from Saturday: Thin Lizzy who were excellent, and about to break through a year or so later, and Traffic. This was the classic Lizzy line-up featuring front-man Phil Lynott, the twin guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, and Brian Downey on drums; at the time of the Nightlife album; they were at the top of their game. Traffic were excellent. They had just released their album When the Eagle Flies, and their set at Reading featured a few songs from that album, plus some old classics. The line-up at the time was Steve Winwood (guitar, vocals, keyboards); Chris Wood (flute, sax); Jim Capaldi (drums, vocals); Rosko Gee (bass); Rebop (percussion). Stand-outs were Steve singing John Barleycorn, simple and beautiful with acoustic guitar, and Rebop’s congas and percussion throughout. I found a published setlist for Traffic, which shows they played: Empty Pages; Graveyard People; Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring; John Barleycorn; 40,000 Headmen; Love; When the Eagle Flies; Walking in the Wind; Dream Gerrard. I also have it in my mind that they performed Feelin’ Alright, but maybe that’s my memory playing tricks again. Also worthy of mention are Procol Harum (great version of Whiter Shade of Pale and a big success during the late afternoon), the late great Long John Baldry (excellent voice and a hero of mine), Heavy Metal Kids (the late Gary Holton as crazy and manic as ever), and Georgie Fame who seemed a bit out of place as part of the Saturday night line-up, but carried on the jazz and R’n’B tradition of the festival and went down pretty well.
Sunday Line-up: Gary Farr, Chilli Willi and the Red Hod Peppers, Esparanto, Strider, Barclay James Harvest, Chapman & Whitney Streetwalkers, Kevin Coyne, George Melly, Winkies, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Harvey Andrews, Focus.
My main memories of the final day are of Steve Harley. Cockney Rebel had split a few months before the festival, and this one of Steve’s first appearances with his new band. They stole the show; appearing just as it was getting dark; the audience was with Steve from the start, and the performance was a triumph. Tumbling Down closed the set with a mass crowd singalong of “Oh dear, look what they’ve done to the blues, blues, blues”. It was clear that Steve was back, as cocky as ever; 1975 would bring him massive success with Make Me Smile.
I also remember watching Kevin Coyne (Marjory Razorblade), George Melly (a return after his success the previous year) and Focus who closed the show, and were also great, but seemed a little of anti-climax after Steve Harley’s performance.
DJs for the weekend were John Peel and Jerry Floyd. Oh and there were lots of cheers of “Wally”, “John Peels a c**t” (not sure how that one started), and a revolt at the prices of food in the arena, which resulted in a fish and chip van being trashed. Crazy, happy days.
1 Feb
Pete Seeger Newcastle City Hall 8th March 1978
Pete Seeger Newcastle City Hall 8th March 1978
Support from Louis Killen and The High Level Ranters
The passing earlier this week of the legendary Pete Seeger makes me cast my mind back to the one occasion I saw the great man in concert; which was at Newcastle City Hall in 1978. It is one of the simplest, yet most powerful performances I have had the pleasure of attending. I went along with a friend, neither of us massive folk fans, but the legend of the man transcends musical boundaries and drew us to the City Hall that night.
Seeger performed alone; seated centre stage on a simple wooden chair for much of the performance, accompanied only by his banjo, and sang all those great songs. He told us stories, sang his own tunes, and covered traditional and contemporary folk songs. There was a purity, authenticity and truth about his performance; Seeger was completely in tune with the audience; we all sang all with him to classics such as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”; “If I Had a Hammer”; “Turn! Turn! Turn!”; “Little Boxes”; and “We Shall Overcome”. The title “legend” is often applied to many different artists and musicians, but few actually deserve it; Pete Seeger is one who undoubtedly and absolutely does.
31 Jan
Alan Price, “Kelly”, South Shields Marine & Technical College, 17th July 1977
Alan Price, “Kelly”, South Shields Marine & Technical College, 17th July 1977
This was the first performance of “Kelly”, a musical play co-written by Alan Price and Tom Kelly in 1977. Kelly was based on the story of the Second World War warship HMS Kelly, which was sunk off the coast of Crete in 1941 while captained by The Queen’s cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten. HMS Kelly was a destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company at Hebburn on the River Tyne in 1937, launched in 1938 and commissioned in 1939, just before the commencement of the war. She was named after Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Kelly.
The musical Kelly was staged at South Shields Marine & Technical College (now South Tyneside College) and the rehearsals for the show were also filmed for a documentary, which was later shown on BBC TV. The performance featured a group of young local actors, some of whom were to go on to gain fame locally, including Ray Spencer, who is now director of the Customs House in South Shields, and Peter McIntyre, who is one half of the Maxie and Mitch comedy duo.
Tom Kelly also directed the stage show. Tom now writes full-time and works on creative writing projects, most recently ‘Men of the Tyne,’ for the Customs House commemorating those who worked on the river through monologues, songs and film. The Kelly show was part of the local celebrations for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.
The show was in two parts. The first part was the performance of Kelly, and the second a performance by Alan Price and his band, during which he performed hits such as Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear, The House that Jack Built and The Jarrow Song. I went with a few mates, and it was an interesting and quite different performance to the rock concerts that we were used to attending at the time, and a very welcome change.
Cast: Narrator: Alan Price; Elsie: Iris Johnson; Bill: Jim Greaves; Jack: Bob Stott; Jimmy: Ray Spencer; Recruiting Officer: Ron Ainley; Kathleen: Elizabeth Ayre.
Music: The Alan Price Band; the South Shields Male Voice Choir; The Vintage Trad Jazz Band; Malcolm and Maxie.
The programme says of Alan Price: 1977; And he’s still working and moving on and moving back to the North East. “Will you do a concert for the Jubilee? No – we’ll do something more; and the “Kelly” is launched”.
30 Jan
James Arthur Newcastle City Hall 29th January 2014
James Arthur Newcastle City Hall 29th January 2014
Support from Titch
This is definitely a guilty pleasure. Laura quite fancied seeing James Arthur; in fact we were all impressed by him, and followed his progress on X Factor. In fact we feel so guilty admitting that we went to see James that Laura didn’t tell her friends that she was going (hope they don’t read this 🙂 ). But James isn’t your stereotypical X Factor contestant; his music, image and attitude draw from indie, grunge, soul, R&B and hip-hop. James is now on the cusp of becoming a regular pop star, selling out concerts up and down the country. He has, of course, had a few blips, said some inappropriate things, is a bit controversial and has been in the press along the way. This was a sort of home-coming show; bringing James back to the North East, although the real home town gigs take place in a couple of days time when he headlines two nights at Middlesbrough Town Hall. The City Hall was packed with James’ fans who are, in the main, young girls, but there were also a sprinkling of older ladies, some mums and dads who had brought their daughters, a few couples and a few male fans too. A young girl in the front row had “I love you James” written across her face in makeup. It was that sort of night. 
The set comprised his debut album in its entirety, and the closing encore was his hit Impossible. James is backed by an impressive band with guitar, bass, keyboards, drums and two excellent lady singers. The songs are very much r’n’b/soul/pop; the only cover was Marvin Gaye’s Lets Get it on. His set was powerful, and relatively short (an hour and a quarter), and the crowd was on its feet and screaming throughout. Lots of ladies underwear was thrown on stage and James must have touched hands with everyone down at the front (the girl with “I love you James” on her face cried). We had seats in the middle of the third row, right in the throng of it. Pretty good fun, musically and as an event. I bet the Middlesbrough gigs are good.
Setlist: You’re Nobody ’til Somebody Loves You; Flying; Emergency; Roses; Smoke Clouds; Suicide; Get Down; Recovery; Let’s Get It On; New Tattoo; Certain Things; Supposed. Encore: Is This Love?; Impossible
29 Jan
Procol Harum live Newcastle 1973, Reading 1974 and Middlesbrough 1976
Procol Harum live Newcastle 1973, Reading 1974 and Middlesbrough 1976
I am a big fan of Procol Harum, although I have only seen them three times in concert. White Shade of Pale, Homburg and Conquistador remain favourite songs of mine to this day. Their appearances in the UK are few and far between these days; although they do continue to play a small number of shows in mainland Europe. I first saw Procol Harum at a concert in Newcastle City Hall on 16th March 1973. The 1973 line up was Gary Brooker (keyboards, vocals), Alan Cartwright (bass), Chris Copping (keyboards), Mick Grabham (guitar), B J Wilson (drums), Keith Reid (lyrics). Support for the concert at the City Hall came from Hemlock, who were a new blues rock band fronted by Miller Anderson (ex Keef Hartley band). My memories of the performance are of a great, powerful set, which started with Conquistador, but I was also disappointed that they didn’t play White Shade of Pale that night. The setlist will have been something like this (based on published setlists of the time): Conquistador; Bringing Home the Bacon; Toujours L’Amour; The Devil Came from Kansas; Homburg; Fires (Which Burnt Brightly); For Liquorice John; Whaling Stories; Grand Hotel; Kaleidoscope; Robert’s Box; Power Failure; Simple Sister; Repent Walpurgis; A Salty Dog.
I next saw Procol Harum at the Reading Festival in 1974. They played, I think, on the Saturday afternoon, and were equally as good; and this time they did play Whiter Shade of Pale 🙂 . 
The next time I saw Procol was at a concert at Middlesbrough Town Hall on 7th January 1976. This time there were supported by the very brilliant and much-lamented Vivian Stanshall, who entertained us with a crazy set featuring Bonzo classics and his solo material. Procol were magnificent that night, the swirling chords of their majestic pieces reverberating around the beautiful main hall of Middlesbrough town hall. They were joined by Viv Stanshall for the encores which included a crazy song called the Browns, which Viv had written with Keith Reid; it was based on a story Viv had read in the newspaper about a family called the Browns. The setlist will have been something like this (based on published setlists of the time): Toujours l’Amour; Bringing Home the Bacon; Shine on Brightly; Fresh Fruit; As Strong as Samson; The Unquiet Zone; Grand Hotel; Conquistador; Pandora’s Box; Cerdes (Outside the Gates of); Souvenir of London; Power Failure; A Salty Dog; The Blue Danube. Encores: I keep Forgetting; The Browns (with Viv Stanshall); A Whiter Shade of Pale.
The Middlesbrough gig was the last time I saw Procol in concert, although I had a ticket for a gig at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle in 2002, which was sadly cancelled. I still have my ticket which is pictured here. I hope I can get to see them one more time, and await their next performance in the UK. Thanks to John for his scan of the poster from the 1973 Newcastle City Hall concert with Hemlock support.
28 Jan
Paice Ashton Lord Newcastle City Hall 28th March 1977
Paice Ashton Lord 28th March 1977
Paice Ashton Lord were formed in 1977, after the break-up of Deep Purple. Ian Paice (Purple’s drummer) and Jon Lord (Purple’s keyboardist), joined Tony Ashton (keyboards and vocals; ex Ashton, Gardner and Dyke and Family) for the project. The band was completed with Bernie Marsden on guitar and Paul Martinez on bass. Paice Ashton Lord (PAL) released their first album, Malice in Wonderland, in 1977, and undertook their only UK which I saw at the City Hall. I think some of the dates on the tour were cancelled because of poor ticket sales. I saw the show at Necastle City Hall, which was not well attended. The group didn’t last for long, and broke up shortly after the tour: I think Tony Ashton broke his leg falling off a stage. The set consisted on tracks from the new alsbum, and as far as I can remember, they didn’t play any Purple classics. 
Support came from a band called Bandit who were fronted by Jim Diamond. Lord, Marsden and Paice went on to join David Coverdale in his band Whitesnake. Martinez joined Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, before going on to play with Robert Plant. Both Tony Ashton and Jon Lord died of cancer; Ashton in 2001; Lord in 2012. From the tour programme: “This is the first tour of a band, already making a big impression on the music scene…this new band are certain of a brilliant future on their own merits which will in no way be reflected glory from the now past Purple band”. A CD of PAL in concert has the track listing: Ghost Story; On The Road Again, Again; Silas And Jerome; Arabella (Oh Tell Me); The Ballad Of Mr. Giver; I’m Gonna Stop Drinking; Steam Roller Blues; Remember The Good Times; Malice In Wonderland; and Sneaky Private Lee. I would imagine this was the set that I saw at Newcastle.
27 Jan
Del Amitri Newcastle City Hall 26 January 2014
Del Amitri Newcastle City Hall 26 January 2014
Support from The Os
I’ve never seen Del Amitri, and quite like some of their songs, so last night I was making up for lost time, and went to see them at Newcastle City Hall on the fourth night of their reunion tour. And good there were too. I’d forgotten just how many great songs this band have. They started with Always the Last to Know and Kiss This Thing Goodbye. The set featured an acoustic section which closed with a rousing version of Nothing Ever Happens. Other highlights were Roll to Me, and the final encore, the simply beautiful Move Away Jimmy Blue, which is my favourite and actually was the main reason I went along last night. 
Setlist (something like): Always the Last to Know; Kiss This Thing Goodbye; The Ones That You Love Lead You Nowhere; Just Like a Man; What I Think She Sees; Not Where It’s At; Hammering Heart; This Side of the Morning; Sleep Instead of Teardrops; Be My Downfall; Food for Songs; Tell Her This; In the Frame; Nothing Ever Happens; Roll to Me; Driving With the Brakes On; Spit in the Rain; Being Somebody Else; Drunk in a Band. Encore: In the Meantime; Here and Now; Just Before You Leave; Move Away Jimmy Blue.
Justin Currie speaking of the current tour in the Scotsman newspaper: “We started talking quite honestly about it….You know, will it be any good or will it be rubbish? We wanted to only enter into it if it was going to be decent, although only the audience can tell us that, of course.”
Vintagerock's Weblog. 