Fields of the Nephilim Newcastle Mayfair 1988
I got quite into goth music in the late 80s, and read a lot about Fields of the Nephilim. I was intrigued by their “dust and death” image; these guys looked pretty cool in their dusty leathers and large brim cowboy hats, straight out of a spaghetti western. Their music was a strange mix of doomy heavy rock, with soft growled vocals. Live they were a strange experience; very moody and challenging, but ultimately this was a gig I still remember to this day. This was the “Precious to the Lost” tour. 
The stage was filled with some sort of combination of dry ice, smoke or dust and the band were dressed in long ragged, cowboy clothes, covered in flour to give their trademark dusty look. The lighting was dark and doomy and the songs slow, rhythmic with strong bass lines and powerful vocals. I picked up a copy of their fan mag “Helter Skelter” at the gig. The picture on the cover will give you an idea of the band’s image. Their website also explains where they are coming from: “Fields of the Nephilim is the creation of vocalist and front man Carl McCoy, a seeker of the greater truth”. Their lyrics draw from the occult and related mythologies. This band still continues to this day, playing gigs every now and then and commands quite a legendary status. A setlist from a gig around that time shows the band playing the following songs: Preacher Man; Love Under Will; Endemoniada; Psychonaut; Trees Come Down; Celebrate; The Watchman; For Her Light; At the Gates of Silent Memory; Chord of Souls. Encore: Last Exit for the Lost; Moonchild; Phobia. I would guess that they will have played some of these songs at the gig I attended.
Posts Tagged ‘gigs’
27 Nov
Focus Newcastle Mayfair 1976
Focus Newcastle Mayfair 1976
Jan Akkerman left on the eve of Focus’ 1976 UK tour. His last minute replacement was Belgian jazz-fusion guitarist Philip Catherine. Marie and I had been planning to go along to see them at Newcastle Mayfair, and to be honest, we hesitated and thought twice before attending. I just couldn’t imagine how Focus could continue without Jan Akkerman; he was such an important part of the band. However, several bands have continued successfully after the departure of a key member; Genesis, Deep Purple come to mind for example. So we did go along to the gig, to see what the new version of Focus were like. A respectable crowd turned out that night, but the place was by no means full. The concert was great, and the new guitarist was a fine replacement. However, Focus were soon to disband. However before they did they recorded one further album, “Focus con Proby” along with singer P J Proby. This was an unlikely pairing, and the album did not sell well. Focus were to lie dormant for many years until Thijs reformed the band in more recent times. Today they tour the UK pretty regularly; I’ve blogged on them a couple of times in the last couple of years. I really must try and find a copy of Focus con Proby on ebay; I’d love to hear what it sounds like.
26 Nov
The Rolling Stones O2 Arena London 25 November 2012
The Rolling Stones O2 Arena London 25 November 2012
I am sitting on the 06.15 train out of London, returning home after an amazing concert.
Well they pulled it off. Last night the Rolling Stones gave me and 20,000 other fans a night that we will remember for the rest of our lives. I should never have doubted how incredible they would be.
I travelled down to London on Sunday afternoon, arriving in time to meet my son David for a chat and a pizza. I travelled across London and arrived at the O2 around 7pm, to make sure I was there on time, as we had all been told that The Stones would be on stage at 8pm sharp. I bought a programme, and took my cheap (£250 ouch!) seat in the upper tier. A lot has been said and written about the expensive prices of ticket for these 50th anniversary gigs, with most floor and lower tier seats costing £400 and upwards, and I wondered if there would be a lot of empty seats, but on the night the O2 arena was packed. The stage was modelled on the Stones’ trademark lips and tongue, with a standing area in the centre of the tongue where lucky fans could get close up to our heroes. Actually, I had a pretty good view up there; I was seated in the fourth row of the balcony, directly opposite the stage and could see everything that was happening.
The proceedings started slightly later than advertised, at approx. 8.20pm with a video of stars giving their views on The Stones in their 50th year, including Elton John, Iggy Pop, Johnny Depp, Pete Townshend, The Black Keys and Angus Young. Iggy told us “hearing Keith Richards’ guitar is like being hit in the face by a wet mackerel”! Next a troop of 100 or so drummers in Grrr Gorilla suits paraded around the floor area, filling the arena with sound and rhythm. Then the lights went down and Jagger and co took to the stage. 
First song was “I Wanna Be Your Man”, with Mick wearing a black and white jacket and matching trilby. We were back in the 60s, and the sound and playing was superb. From where I sat I could hear every word clearly, and it was crisp and quite loud. A screen at either side of the stage and at the back, in the heart of the mouth, showed images of the band in their youth. Next was “Get Off My Cloud”, followed by “All Over Now”. Mick was in a playful mood asking “How is it up in the cheap seats?” and adding “Oh they aren’t really cheap are they?”, and joking about how the band missed out on the Queen’s jubilee and the Olympics ceremonies, but just made it “under the wire” for these gigs. He took off his jacket, all dressed in black for an amazing version of “Paint It Black” and the whole arena sang along; Ronnie and Keith sharing guitar parts, with Ronnie on an electric sitar. Ronnie Wood really shone in those first few numbers, taking on most of the lead parts. However, Keith came more to the fore as the show went on. “Gimme Shelter” saw the band welcome their first guest of the night, who was Mary J Blige, taking the vocals alongside Mick Jagger: “It’s Just a Shot Away”; great. The tone and the pace were then lowered a little for a beautiful version of “Wild Horses”. “All Down the Line” was accompanied by a video of the Stones’ influences and heroes: John Lee Hooker, James Brown, Howling Wolf, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, and a host of others appeared on the screen. The next guest to appear was “one of our contempories” Jeff Beck who led the band through “Going Down”, playing some amazing guitar; very flashy, loud, and for a few minutes outshining the band who were clearly loving it. The next song was “Out of Control” from Bridges to Babylon, which was less familiar to me. 
Mick then introduced the two new songs “One More Shot” and “Doom and Gloom”. I must say that these two new tracks are not my favourite Stones’ songs, but they sounded pretty good last night.
Original bass guitarist Bill Wyman joined the guys for the next two songs: spot on versions of “It’s Only Rock n Roll” and “Honky Tonk Women”. The band, and the crowd seemed genuinely pleased to see Bill, who looked well, and had a smile right across his face, obviously enjoying being back with his old mates. Jagger introduced the band members before the next song, including Bobby Keyes on brass, who has been with the band since I first saw them in 1971.
Keith took front of stage for the next couple of numbers: “Before They Make Me Run” and “Happy”, singing and playing well, and giving Mick a well-deserved breather. Jagger returned with Mick Taylor for an unbelievable version of “Midnight Rambler” which took me back to shows in the 70s, and seemed just as dark and moody as it did in those days. Many say that Taylor was the best guitarist The Stones ever had, and last night his bluesy playing was exactly what was needed. We were on the home stretch now, and next up were “Start Me Up”, “Tumbling Dice”, and “Brown Sugar”, all crowd pleasers, keeping up the pace. The last song was a classic version of “Sympathy for the Devil”, Mick looking the part in a long black furry cloak. Jagger, Wood, and Richards were running around the edge of the tongue, playing to the crowd. Mick in particular has so much and energy and seems so fit, he really was performing just as he did in the 70s. 
The band left the stage to a tremendous reception; they had delivered 100%, the last two hours had just flown over, and everyone in the arena cheered for more. They were quickly back, accompanied by a choir for a sweet version of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, followed by closer “Jumping Jack Flash”, with the voices of the crowd almost drowning the band. They left the stage for the last time at 11pm, the crowd clapping and shouting for more; then the tongue logo appeared with the words “Thanks for coming; have a safe journey home” and we knew that it was finally over. Apparently the set list had also included “Satisfaction” as the last song, but the strict curfew prevented them from playing it. So that was it. You have to give it to them; they showed all their critics that they could still deliver, and at a level that I haven’t seen for a long, long time. This was one of the best times I have seen The Rolling Stones; much, much better than the last time I saw them at the O2 in 2007. I can honestly say that I can’t think of any band to match last night in terms of performance, energy and the rich back catalogue that they have to draw from. And yes Mick’s voice held out, Keith can still play (and well too), Ronnie was great, and I mustn’t forget to mention Charlie, who sits quietly at the back, keeping the beat. And you could tell that they were all enjoying it. The self-styled Greatest Rock n Roll Band in the World retains its crown for a while yet.
I caught a packed tube back to my Travelodge, which I reached at around midnight, and was up at 05.15 to catch this train. Wish I was going again on Thursday. Those of you who are, enjoy it. You won’t be disappointed.
25 Nov
Focus and Blue Newcastle City Hall 1974
Focus Newcastle City Hall 1974
Support from Blue 
Focus were back at Newcastle City Hall in 1974, a year after their last gig at that venue. They had a new album out at the time, which was called “Hamburger Concerto” and a single “Harem Scarem” was released from the album. Their set at the time featured tracks from the new album and old favourites such as “Sylvia” and “Hocus Pocus”. This was another good gig, with amazing performances by Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman. I blogged about Focus quite a bit yesterday, so today I will focus (no pun intended 🙂 ) on the great support act Blue. Before Blue were a boy band, there was this outfit from the early 70s. Blue were fronted by ex-Marmalade guitarist Hughie Nicholson. Nicholson was a member of Marmalade between 1971 and 1973, writing their hits, “Cousin Norman”, “Back On The Road”, and “Radancer” before forming Blue in 1973. 
Blue’s most well known number is probably “Gonna Capture Your Heart”, but my favourite is “Little Jody”, which is a great song and got a lot of airplay at the time, although it didn’t chart. The late, great Jimmy McCulloch was also a member of Blue for a short period of time; however, by the time of this gig in 1974, Jimmy had left to join Paul McCartney and Wings. Blue made some good music, blending pop with soft rock, and some strong melodies. I still have their first album, which is a classic and gets played every now and then. It was to be a couple of years before I saw Focus again, by which time Jan Akkerman had left the band.
23 Nov
Focus Newcastle City Hall 1973
Focus Newcastle City Hall 1973
Support: Programme says Harvey Andrews and Graham Cooper; Ticket says Snake Eye!
I first saw Focus at a couple of festivals (Lincoln and Reading) in 1972. They were virtually unknown at the time, but were a big success with the crowd. They were (and still are!) a crazy, fun band. They had all the right ingredients, a crazy front man in Thijs van Leer, who was also a very accomplished and classically trained musician, an excellent, fluent guitarist in Jan Akkerman, some complex and beautiful instrumental pieces, and lots of crazy, mad fun. Highlights at the time were Hocus Pocus, House of the King and Sylvia. By 1973, Focus were well known enough in the UK to headline their own tour of concert halls. 
Thijs is a magnetic performer and dynamic guy on stage. He mixes first class musicianship (on organ and flute) with some very strange nonsensical lyrics, yodelling and very high falsetto singing. Jan Akkerman was the perfect foil; he seemed quiet and shy on stage, and his guitar playing was slick, beautiful, restrained; just perfection. A great gig. The programme says Harvey Andrews and Graham Cooper were support, while the ticket says Snake Eye! My memory doesn’t stretch to confirming who actually supported Focus that night. I certainly remember seeing Harvey Andrews on a number of occasions, but don’t recall when. I have no recollection of ever seeing Snake Eye, or who they were. Based on live recordings from the time, I would think that the set is likely to have contained a selection taken from the following Focus tunes: Focus; Focus II; Focus III; Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!; Eruption; Sylvia; Hocus Pocus; Anonymous; House Of The King.
23 Nov
The Firm Middlebrough Town Hall 7th December 1984
In the early 80s Paul Rodgers joined forces with Jimmy Page to for The Firm, a British rock supergroup which also comprised Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and Uriah Heep drummer Chris Slade and bass player Tony Franklin. The band, played two UK gigs in 1984, one in London at Hammersmith Odeon, and another at Middlesbrough Town Hall. This was a big deal at the time, with two rock superstars coming back to the North East. In Paul Rodgers case, this was also a homecoming show, as he was born in Middlesbrough. The tickets went on sale from the Town Hall on a week day, and I was at work at the time. My mate Dave was on night shift that week and was able to go down to Middlesbrough and bought tickets for us.
We were really excited about the gig and full of anticipation. We were hoping for one or two Free, Bad Company or Zeppelin songs, but that wasn’t to be. The set consists of the new Firm album and some songs from Jimmy and Paul’s solo work. I remember Paul Rodgers seated at a grand piano for “Live in Peace” from his earlier solo album. Jimmy Page played songs from the Death Wish II soundtrack, which featured his trademark playing of the guitar with a violin bow while beneath the Zeppelin laser pyramid. They also played a great version of the Righteous Brothers’ You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’. It was a very enjoyable show, but I think we were expecting something more. The set list for the London show is listed as this: Closer; City Sirens; Make or Break; The Morning After; Together; Cadillac; Prelude; Money Can’t Buy; Radioactive; Live In Peace; Midnight Moonlight; You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’; The Chase; Someone To Love; Full Circle; Boogie Mama; Everybody Needs Somebody. I would imagine that the set at Middlesbrough was similar.
22 Nov
Free spin-offs gigs: Back Street Crawler, Andy Fraser band, Paul Rodgers; Bad Company
Free spin-offs gigs: Back Street Crawler, Andy Fraser band, Paul Rodgers; Bad Company
Having written about my Free concert experiences over the past few days, I thought it would be fitting to blog today about the Free spin-off bands that came about in the early to mid-70s, and the (relatively few) gig memories I have of those bands. 
I’ll start, for no particular reason with Free guitar legend Paul Kossoff. After Free split, I saw Paul Kossoff play at Sunderland Locarno a couple times. I think (but my memory could be playing tricks again) that one of these gigs was billed as The Paul Kossoff band, and the other as (the more familiar name of) Back Street Crawler. These gigs were, I would guess, in 1974 and 1975. Back Street Crawler featured excellent soulful local singer Terry Wilson-Slesser from Beckett. Although it was great to see Kossoff in action again, and some of the old guitar magic was still there, it was also clear that his health was not good. Sadly Paul Kossoff was to die on on an overnight flight from Los Angeles to New York in 1976. 
After leaving Free Andy Fraser formed Sharks along with vocalist Ships and guitarist Chris Spedding. He wasn’t with Sharks long; I saw Sharks in concert when they played Sunderland Locarno, but it was after Fraser had left the band. Sharks were a great live band, and Snips is a very under-rated singer. Snips and Chris have recently re-emerged as King Mob, who looked great, but were short-lived and have already split. Anyway, back to Andy Fraser. He next formed the Andy Fraser Band, a trio with Kim Turner on drums and Nick Judd on keyboards. I saw the band once at a gig in Sunderland Locarno in 1973; Andy took the front man role, but the lack of a guitarist seemed strange and didn’t work for me. The gig was poorly attended and I never saw the band again, although I do recall them playing Newcastle City Hall around the same time. 
Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke formed Bad Company. I have blogged separately about Bad Co in concert, who were just great, and carried the Free flag forward to some extent. However, they became a bit too much standard rock for me, and didn’t have the same emotional feel that Free had; they also moved to a more AOR style in their later days. Thats not to say that I didn’t enjoy Bad Company in concert; I did. But it was a very different band to Free, and although some things were gained and were better, some things were also lost in the transition. 
As usual, I did some searching to check my facts before blogging. I often discover something new, or I am reminded of something that I have forgetten. Today I discovered that after leaving Bad Con in 1982, Simon Kirke was briefly involved with a band called Wildlife who toured in support of the Michael Schenker Band. Now I saw Michael Schenker on most of his UK tours in the 80s, so will probably have seen Wildlife (although I have no recollection of doing so). 
I’ll finish today’s bog activity with a Postcript from my friend John who was lucky enough to see Paul Rodgers fronting his band, Peace, who were formed when Free split in 1971. This was at a gig at Newcastle City Hall (see programme right) which I sadly missed out on. Over to John: “I saw Peace play their only ever tour, supporting Mott the Hoople, November 5th 71 at the City Hall. They were a three piece, I liked them but remember think they sounded a lot like Free and so couldn’t understand why they had split up. This tour with Mott was to lay the foundations for Bad Company but that, of course, is a different story.”. I’ll complete my blogging on Free related bands tomorrow, by writing about The Firm, who I saw in Middlesbrough in 1984, and featured Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page.
21 Nov
Free Sunderland Locarno October 1972
By late 1972 Free were falling apart. Andy Fraser had left to be replaced by Tetsu and Rabbit, and in a few short months the band would be no more. This was a result of internal friction particularly between Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers, and because of Paul Kossoff’s health problems. Kossoff was replaced by a session musician on some of the tracks of their final album, Heartbreaker and on a tour of the USA his place was taken by the guitarist from Osibisa, which marked the end for the band. Free returned to play in Sunderland only a few months since their last gig in the town. I have a programme from that time which doesn’t actually list the Sunderland gig, but it does mention local gigs at Newcastle Mayfair, Durham University and Redcar Jazz Club. However, I’m certain that I bought it at a gig in Sunderland Locarno, which was presumably added as an extra date after the programme was printed. By this time Wishing Well had been released as a single and some of the new tracks from Heartbreaker will have featured in the set. My memories of this Free gig are much hazier than those of the gigs I saw earlier that year, which suggests to me that it didn’t reach the same heights, both in terms of performance and audience reaction. I don’t remember the place being packed. The programme lists support as caming from Smith Perkins and Smith, who were an American soft rock / country band. The next time I was to see Paul Kossoff and Andy Fraser it was as part of their own individual bands, and in the case of Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke as members of Bad Company.
20 Nov
Free Sunderland Top Rank Feb 13th 1972
I next saw Free at Sunderland Top Rank (or the Rink as we knew it at the time). Support came from Vinegar Joe featuring Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer, who I had seen the previous year in the band Dada. I went along with a few mates from school, and we arrived early sitting cross legged on the dance floor; as you did in those days. Vinegar Joe were a great live band; Elkie was very much the raucous rock chick singer, with swirling gypsy skirts, and quite a raunchy stage act. Her vocals were complimented by Robert Palmer’s more soulful approach. I saw Vinegar Joe quite a few times around that period; they were very popular, but didn’t achieve anything like the great success that Elkie and Robert went on to in their own right. The place went crazy for Free. I recall being crushed near the front of the stage, and concentrating on watching Paul Rodgers and Paul Kossoff. These guys seemed so much older than me, but they were actually pretty young at the time. Paul Rodgers was an incredible front man; lots of throwing the mike stand around, and a great vocal performance. Kossoff would really wring the notes out of his Les Paul. He has influenced so many people, including Joe Bonamassa who owns one of Kossoff’s original guitars. 
The setlist is likely to have included Little Bit of Love (which was a single at the time), My Brother Jake, Travellin Man, Ride on Pony, Be My Friend, Fire and Water, Songs of Yesterday, Mr Big, All Right Now,and The Hunter as the encore. A great gig. Thanks to John for sharing his memories of the gig with me, and for reminding me of some of the songs for the setlist.
19 Nov
Free Newcastle City Hall 1st February 1972 and early 70s gigs
Free Newcastle City Hall and early 70s gigs
If you asked a teenage gig-goer from the North East of England in the early 70s to name their favourite live bands, they would probably have said Free, Family, and possibly Stray. All three of those bands played in the region a lot at the time, and were great live, as a result building a strong following. In Sunderland Free in particular had a strong cult following, and played lots of gigs at the Bay Hotel, and Sunderland Locarno. I was just that little bit too young to catch some of those early gigs, and was very jealous at the time of some of my slightly older mates who told me how great Free were live. Indeed some of the tracks on the album Free Live was recorded at a gig at Sunderland Locarno (or Fillmore North) in 1970. Free existed only for a brief few years at the end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s, and yet their shows and records are still spoken of today. There was a unique emotional groove to their music that set them above others, and gave them a different feel to the heavier bands of the time like Purple, Sabbath and even Zeppelin. This came from the combination of Paul Rodger’s soulful vocals and Paul Kossoff’s bluesy guitar. The first time I got to see Free was at a gig at Newcastle City Hall in early 1972. This was something of a comeback gig, as the band had broken up briefly in 1971, due at least in part, to Koss’ drug problems. The City Hall was packed but the gig was abandoned due to a power failure. Support came from Bronco featuring Jess Roden, who managed to complete their set by performing acoustic versions of some of the songs. Free took to the stage, but again there were problems with the power, and they had to cut their set short, promising to return later in the month. Free did return for two nights on the 21st and 22nd of February, with one of the nights being a free concert for ticket holders from the original gig. I went along to the new gig and saw Free play a full set, and they were amazing; every bit as good as my mates had told me. By then I had also seen them play at Sunderland Top Rank (I will blog about that gig tomorrow), so I saw them three times in the same month. Live favourites for me were The Stealer, My Big, Alright Now and, of course, The Hunter, which was always the encore. 
My friend John was one of the friends who did get to see Free at some of those earlier gigs that I mentioned earlier. He remains a strong Free fan and has sent me some of his memories: “I have to say that my three favourite bands of all time are Free, Zeppelin and the Black Crowes followed by Humble Pie and Mountain. There are three things I man does not forget: his first beer, his first real girlfriend and in my case my first rock and roll show. I was very fortunate that it was the Indoor Festival of Music at the Top Rank Suite in Sunderland promoted by Geoff Docherty which featured Free as the headliner with Deep Purple, Principal Edwards Magic Theatre, Cochise and Yellow. All for the princely sum of a Pound! I was not quite 15 and can still remember how excited I was to going to the show which was billed as starting at 7.30pm and finishing at 2am – wow how cool was that. Purple had some transportation problems and so Free went on first. Fire and Water was released in June of that year, they had played the Isle of Wight and All Right Now had reached number 2 in the charts, they had appeared on Top of the Pops, very heady times for a band still barely in their 20’s. We bought tickets from Bergs Records (and Bicycle) shop which were very cool looking; we sat on the floor and had a fantastic time. The setlist was heavily drawn from Fire and Water and Highway which was released in December of that year: Ride on Pony, the Stealer, Be My Friend, Mr Big, All Right Now, Don’t say You Love me, Fire and Water, I’m a Mover, Walk in my Shadow, Songs Of Yesterday, closing, of course, with The Hunter. If you ask any Free fan from the time I am pretty sure they say that Mr Big and The Hunter were their favourite songs and to this day I still get goose pimples when I hear the opening chords of the live version of The Hunter. Fast forward to the Sunderland Empire in 1971 and Free appeared supported by Amazing Blondel. I think I can remember local famed promoter Geoff Docherty introducing Free. I have in my head Geoff coming out and saying “he couldn’t ask them to play anymore as they were knackered”.”
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