Buxton Festival 1973 
Line-up: Chuck Berry; Canned Heat; Nazareth; Edgar Broughton Band; Sensational Alex Harvey Band; Medicine Head; Brewers Droop
Billed to play, but didn’t: Groundhogs; Roy Wood and Wizard
This was a pretty crazy event. The weather was miserable, but what really sticks in my mind is the Hells Angels who took control of the entire day and had us all in fear. I hitched there with my mate Gilly and arrived around lunchtime. This was a one day event with a pretty strong line-up. I was a big fan of the Groundhogs at the time, and went along largely to see Tony McPhee and the guys; sadly they didn’t play. When we arrived we found the festival which was right up on a cold moor, and the weather wasn’t great with wind and rain, and lots of mud throughout the day. A large group of Hells Angels had taken their place at the front of the crowd, bikes and all. They were all very drunk and stoned and got worse as the day went on. Every so often they would rev their bikes up and ride them through the crowd. How no-one was hurt, I don’t know. When they ran out of money for beer they came through the crowd asking for 10p from each of us. Almost everyone gave them something; we were all frightened not to. As the day went on they started to go up on stage and take control. John Peel was DJ for the event but at some point half way through the day a Hells Angel took over the mike and John left. A couple of the bands, Roy Wood and Groundhogs, arrived and saw what was going on, and left without playing. I was particularly disappointed that the Groundhogs didn’t play. Gilly and I had made a flag saying Groundhogs, which we were planning to wave during the set (that seems so sad now, but yes we really did do it). We threw the flag away in disgust when they didn’t play. All of the bands who did play were great. 
Edgar Broughton always gave value for money at such outdoor events, and that day was no exception. The Poppy was a favourite of mine at the time, and I remember him playing that song, in the white judo suit that he tended to wear at the time. Medicine Head were good: One and One is One was out then. Alex Harvey and his band started with the Osmonds’ Crazy Horses, which seemed a bizarre song choice for a rock band, but worked well. I also remember a great version of Del Shannon’s Runaway being another surprise that day. Alex jumped into the crowd at one point and faced up to a Hells Angel who was trying to beat up another guy, and stopped the violence. Alex had no fear; I had deep respect for the guy. Zal was crazy as ever and looked evil in his clown suit. Canned Heat gave us some great boogie, with Bob the Bear pumping away on his mouth harp. Nazareth were also excellent with Dan singing with a Hells Angel alongside him. By the time Chuck Berry took to the stage it was full of Angels, all dancing round him and trying to copy his duck walk. Chuck joked with them, and just got on with his set, he didn’t seem at all phased by what was going on. Chuck’s set was short, and he left to no encore and a hail of cans from the crowd. Brewer’s Droop came straight on and calmed the crowd down. We left in the early hours, as we didn’t fancy spending the night in the field with the Angels. We tried to walk to the main road, which was a long way. We got so far down a country road and were so tired that we lay down and slept on the steps of a house. When we awoke we were soaked and found ourselves lying in a puddle. We somehow managed to hitch home, getting back around Sunday evening. An experience never to repeated (thankfully). Having said that; reflecting on the event; I’m pleased I went. We saw some great bands and heard some amazing music that day. The ones that stick in my mind most are Edgar Broughton, and Alex Harvey, then Chuck Berry and Canned Heat. Great memories. 39 years is a long time ago.
Many thanks to Ian Johnson for sending me his photo of the event, which is of band Chopper, who I recall playing in 1974, and Ian is sure also played in 1973. What do others remember?
Posts Tagged ‘gigs’
18 Nov
Buxton Festival 1973
17 Nov
Buxton Festival 1974
The Buxton Festival 1974
Line-up: The Faces, Humble Pie, Mott The Hoople, Horslips , Chapman/Whitney StreetWalkers, Trapeze , Chopper, Badger, Strider, Lindisfarne, Man. 
My friend John and I have spent the week swapping memories of The Faces to help me write my blog. One memory that we share is of the 1974 Buxton Festival which we both attended. I’m not sure if it is a pleasant memory or not; and those of you who attended any of the outdoor Buxton events will know why I say that. Terry Battersby puts in well on the UK Festivals site: “I managed Buxton in 72/73/74.They should have been campaign medals issued”. I managed 73 and 74 and know what he means; I hold my medal with pride; the Buxton festivals were a real endurance test. Buxton is a town high up in the peak district and the festival was sited up on a moor. You couldn’t imagine a worse place to hold a pop festival. All of the three outdoor festivals (there were some indoor events which preceded them) suffered from poor weather, lots of wind and rain, and after 1974 the organisers abandoned the idea of holding any further festivals. I’ll write separately about the 1973 festival in a day or so, it was a strange event at which the Hells Angels took over and ran the event (which was pretty scary). Anyway, back to 1974. I drove down to Buxton with my friend Gilly, who also came to the 1973 event with me. We arrived on Friday afternoon, finding the place cold and windswept. Not being the most prepared festival-goers at the time, we didn’t have a tent and planned on sleeping in the car (not easy in an MG Midget), or in sleeping bags on the ground. When we arrived on the moor we saw lots of people building makeshift huts from planks of wood. I asked them where they found the wood, and they pointed me to a storehouse in the next field. 
So off I went to retrieve some wood for us to build our own shelter. I was leaving the store with some planks under my arm with a few other guys, when we were stopped by a policeman, who asked us where we were taking the wood. He quickly bundled us all into the back of a police jeep and took us off to a temporary police cabin which they had set up for the weekend. Once in their they searched us, took statements, and made us wait a few hours, telling us that we would probably be charged with theft for taking the wood. When they eventually did let us go we had to walk back to the site, where I found my mate Gilly lying asleep by the car. The bands had started by that point, and we went into the arena and caught as much of the show as we could. I remember seeing Man and Mott the Hoople that night. Mott started with Golden Age of Rock n Roll and were just great. I slept in the car and Gilly slept in a sleeping bag underneath the car. We were both frozen; it was truly awful. Highlights of the next day were Humble Pie (Stevie Marriott was awesome in those days and a big festival favourite), and Roger Chapman and the Streetwalkers. Anyone who was there will remember the magic moment in that dull rainy day when the sun came out during My Friend the Sun, as Roger sang “He’s there in the distance” to a great cheer from the crowd. The Faces were OK, but it wasn’t the best time I saw them; by this point they had added a horn section to the band. I remember keeping warm in the Release tent and chatting to Caroline Coon. My friend John was also there with a group of mates, although I don’t recall us running into each other. His memories: “My own recollections were that the weather was terrible,wet and cold,the facilities non existent and I slept in my dad’s car with three other mates. The Friday bands were good Mott , Man and Lindisarne. On Saturday there was the famous “My Friend the Sun moment” which I do recall and Humble pie were great.The Faces came on late and I remember the stage being pelted with bottles – reports on the Web said this is because they refused to play an encore…..those were the days!!!” Postcript: several weeks after the festival I received a letter summoning me to attend my local police station where I was issued with a formal caution for “stealing” the wood; and that was the last I heard of it. I did run into a couple of the lads who were in the jeep with me at Reading and Knebworth over the years and we always said hello. I wonder where they are now. Thanks to John for the ad showing the line-up for the festival. Note The New York Dolls were listed to play at one point (although they don’t appear in the listing above), but didn’t make it for some reason.
16 Nov
The Faces Newcastle Odeon November 26th 1974
The Faces Newcastle Odeon November 26th 1974
Support from Strider and Bill Barclay 
Yesterday I blogged about two amazing Faces gig at Sunderland Top Rank and Sunderland Locarno. I saw the band quite a few other times in 1972 and 1973; twice at the Reading Festival in 72 and 73, at the Lincoln Festival in 72, and in 1974 at the Buxton festival. All of the gigs were great fun; the band were at the top of their game at the time. By 1974, however, cracks were starting to show. Ronnie Lane had left the band to be replaced by Tetsu Yamauchi, and it would only be a couple of years before the band disintegrated, Ronnie Wood joined the Stones and Rod went solo. The last time I saw the Faces was at a gig at Newcastle Odeon in late 1974. By this point the band were massive and they managed to sell out two nights. My mate Will and I bought tickets late for this gig and ended up with seats right up at the back of the rear circle, looking down on the stage. Not a great view, but we could look down and watch the place going crazy along with band. 
Support that night came from folkie comedian Bill Barclay and rockers Strider. The Faces were as fun as ever; lots of craziness and much singing along. They always finished with Twisting the Night Away at that time, and I can picture everyone walking down the stairs of the Odeon still singing along. A sadly missed band. I haven’t managed to get along to any of the Faces reunion shows so far, and Ronnie is busy with the Stones at the moment, which has delayed any plans for further gigs. I heard an interview with Rod on the radio the other day, and he said that he will join up with the Faces for a reunion after Ronnie is clear from Stones work. Hope that happens, and will do my best to attend if it does. The set that night in 1974 will probably have included: It’s All Over Now; Take A Look At The Guy; (I Know) I’m Losing You; Sweet Little Rock’n Roller; Bring It On Home To Me/You Send Me; I’d Rather Go Blind; Stay With Me; Angel; Too Bad/Every Picture Tells A Story; Maggie May; Gasoline Alley; You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything; You Wear It Well; Mine For Me; I Can Feel The Fire; Twistin’ The Night Away.
15 Nov
The Faces Sunderland Top Rank and Sunderland Locarno 1972 and 1973
The Faces Sunderland Top Rank and Sunderland Locarno 1972 and 1973
The Faces were great fun and seemed to be playing all over the place, all of the time, in the early 1970s. Two memorable gigs took place at Sunderland Top Rank on March 5th 1972 and at Sunderland Locarno on April 13 1973.I remember the Top Rank (or Rink to us) gig very well. This was a big gig for everyone at my school. I took time off school to go and queue for tickets; demand was huge as Rod Stewart and The Faces had had some massive hits with Maggie May, Stay With Me and other great singles. This was one gig that I queued up early for on the night, going straight from school. I was one of the first in the queue with some of my mates and we ended up right at the front, crushed against the stage, where we stayed all night. I can think of nothing worse now; being crushed and unable to move all night, but at the time it was great! Support came from Byzantium who I saw a few times in the early 70s and were always good. The gig itself was great; Rod and the guys were just amazing. There were lots of my friends from school there and we spent days talking about how great it was. My friend John recalls the gig: “I remember the Faces as a good time band, musically rather sloppy and overall a bit ragged. I recall it was the night before one on my mock O levels, one of he easier ones I presume , maybe English. My recollections on the setlist are very weak, Internet search suggests Stay with Me and Losing You which I think I can recall as I always liked those two.The balance of the set was all Faces standard stuff Three Button Hand me Down, Maybe I’ m Amazed, Street Fighting Man, Miss Judy’s Farm, Love in Vain, Stay with Me and I’m Losing You. I think I can remember Maggie May and Every Picture but I certainly could be wrong.” I’m pretty sure they did play Maggie May. After the show some of us stood in a big queue to go back stage and meet the band. We waited for a long time but only the first few people in the queue were let in, including some mates from school who reported back that they partied with the band into the next morning. I remember the Locarno gig less, probably because I didn’t queue up and was at the back of the hall, and the place was packed to the walls. I think the support was a local act, perhaps Beckett, and John Peel was certainly DJ for the night. Peel joined the Faces on stage and is on record as stating several times that this was the best gig he had ever been to, which means it must have been pretty good! Postscript: My mate Norm reminded me that most of the Sunderland football team were at the Locarno gig and ended up on stage with the band. This was the team that went on to win the FA cup a few weeks later. Norm also thinks that the same gig was first cancelled, and them rescheduled a week or so later. That sort of rings true with me, now that he has reminded me.
14 Nov
Fleetwood Mac Manchester Arena 3 Dec 2003
Fleetwood Mac Manchester Arena 3 Dec 2003
Say You Will Tour
By 2003 it had been a long time since I had last seen Fleetwood Mac, and I was keen to do so again. I was a little frustrated when they announced a UK tour and I saw that they were playing Newcastle, which was a local gig for me, on the same night as I had tickets to see David Bowie at The Point in Dublin. Not to be put off, I quickly decided to buy tickets for David and I to go and see the Mac at the MEN Arena in Manchester. David was studying in Leeds at the time, so I arranged to meet up with him and we went off to Manchester together.
I remember the tickets for this gig were pretty expensive, and we decided to buy cheaper seats, which meant we were at the back of the arena and our view wasn’t great. Nevertheless we both enjoyed the gig which was a true greatest hits set. By this point Christine McVie had retired, which meant that some of the songs which she sang were dropped from the set, but the Mac train rolls on. Sadly for me this time round there were no songs from the early Mac days. The thing that we both remember most from that gig was the drum solo that Mick Fleetwood did, part of which involved him playing his waistcoat which had electronic drum pads built in; I kid you not! Its funny what sticks in your mind. 
I was to see Fleetwood Mac again 6 years later at Sheffield Arena, which I have already blogged on. There are rumours (no pun intended) of a Mac tour next year. Hope it happens. Setlist: The Chain; Dreams; Eyes of the World; Peacekeeper; Second Hand News; Say You Will; Never Going Back Again; Rhiannon; Come; Gypsy; Big Love; Landslide; Say Goodbye; What’s the World Coming To; Beautiful Child; Gold Dust Woman; I’m So Afraid; Silver Springs; Stand Back; Tusk; Go Your Own Way. Encore: World Turning; Don’t Stop. Encore 2: Goodbye Baby
13 Nov
Gong, Hatfield and the North & Tubular Bells film Newcastle City Hall 1974
Gong, Hatfield and the North, Tubular Bells Newcastle City Hall 25th April 1974
Virgin Records Crisis Concert
Ticket price 44p
As I’ve just seen Gong, and blogged about them yesterday, I thought I would have have a little break from covering bands beginning with the letter F and cover the only other time I saw the crazy Gong guys in concert. It was in 1974 as part of the Virgin Records Crisis (can’t remember what the crisis was at the time!) tour, which featured Gong, Hatfield and the North, and a film of Mike Oldfield performing Tubular Bells. To be honest, my friends and I went along largely to see the Tubular Bells film, as it was the only chance at the time to see a performance of this great album. We were also attracted by the very reasonable 44p ticket price! Although Mike Olfield did tour a few years later, at that time he was resisting offers to take his masterpiece on the road. The film was very good, and featured footage of Mike performing the entire album as I recall, in the studio I think. I also recall Viv Stanshall being part of it. The sound wasn’t great and the film was projected onto a small screen, which wasn’t too woderful, but I still recall enjoying it. I wonder if you can get a DVD of this? Gong and Hatfield and the North rotated headlining status on the tour; I don’t remember who closed the gig at Newcastle. I do remember finding both bands quite hard going, but that we enjoyed Gong’s silliness, and loved Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen’s Heads, from Camembert Electrique, which I am pretty sure they played. There were lots of wooly tea cosey hats and flying teapots in evidence.
12 Nov
Gong Alston Town Hall 11th November 2012
Gong Alston Town Hall 11th November 2012
Laura and I went to see Gong at Alston Town Hall last night. This was the first time I have seen Gong for almost 40 years, the last time being at Newcastle City Hall in 1974. This gig was originally scheduled to take place at Newcastle Academy, but low advance ticket sakes caused the promoter to cancel the gig. Not wanting to miss out on the chance to see Gong play in the North, a group of people from Alston decided to promote the gig themselves at Alston Town Hall. 
Alston is a small town in Cumbria and it is one of the highest towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level. So this meant a drive past Hexham and up a very windy road across the moors for Laura and I. The venue was, as we expected in the centre of the town, and was small, holding 200 people. This must be one of the smallest crowds that Gong have played to in some time. The gig had been sold out for some time, everyone tickets through a facebook page, and people had come from far and wide for this special Gong show. I’d spent some time on Sunday reading through the Gong mythology with Laura, so we knew a little of the story of Planet Gong, Radio Gnome and the PotHead Pixies. The band is fronted by founder Daevid Allen who looks great, and is as crazy as ever. Sadly the other founding member Gilli Smyth is not so well at the moment so couldn’t be with the band. Daevid encouraged us to all cry Miaow for Gilli, which he assured us would make her feel much better. Gong music still sounds very weird to me, and I can’t pretend to know the songs, although I do possess a copy of Camembert Electrique. The light show was fantastic, with various characters from the Gong story flying around the backdrop. The crowd loved it; lots of dancing and crowd reaction. Many congratulations to Janet and the rest of the crowd from Alston for putting this on. I wonder what their next project is?
11 Nov
Fleetwood Mac Glasgow Apollo Mon 4th April 1977 Rumours tour
Fleetwood Mac Glasgow Apollo 1977 Rumours tour
Support from Charlie
Fleetwood Mac returned to the UK triumphant, once again a major force in rock music following major success with the 1975 Fleetwood Mac album and 1977’s Rumours lp. This was the first time they had played the UK since Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had joined the line up, and demand for tickets was huge. Fans were eager to see this new lineup; so far all we had seen was a clip or two on the Old Grey Whistle Test. I recall that a video of the Mac playing Rhiannon was played on TV a few times. As was often the case at the time, the tour missed out the North East of England completely. However, determined to see the new rejuvenated Fleetwood Mac, my friend Ian and I bought tickets for the Glasgow gig, which was to be held at the great Apollo theatre. By this time I had been to the Apollo a few times and was used to making the drive there and back in an evening. We arrived in time for a drink before the gig, and popped into the pub across the road from the Apollo, where we ran into John and Susan; John was studying in Edinburgh at the time. Support came from UK band Charlie, who toured a lot in the mid to late 70s and had some success in the USA. From the Charlie website: “1977: Charlie support a squabbling, stoned, but nonetheless spectacular Fleetwood Mac on their Rumours tour but the album meets with mediocre response in the UK now in the grip of punk. The band consider calling it a day.” I couldn’t have put it better, Charlie. Fleetwood Mac were truly spectacular that night. 
Rhiannon was my favourite at the time, and Steve Nicks was mesmerisingly beautiful in voice and looks; wearing her top hat and telling us of the mysterious lady in the song. Lindsey Buckingham’s guitar playing was also ace; songs like The Chain, and Go Your Own Way were just great, as was their treatment of the only “old” Fleetwood Mac song that they played that evening: Oh Well. I recall for an encore they played a song which was very different, strange, and laden with drum beats. I am sure that they introduced it as a new song which was going to feature on their new album, and think it must have been Tusk, but this doesn’t show on any published setlists from the day. A great night that I still look back on even today as one of the best gigs I have seen. Although all may not have been well within the band, they still delivered at their best; they were riding on the crest of a wave, and John and Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood were no doubt pleased to come back to the UK and get such a great reaction from the crowds. Setlist: Say You Love Me; Station Man; The Chain; Dreams; Rhiannon; Oh Daddy; Never Going Back Again; Landslide; Over My Head; Gold Dust Woman; You Make Loving Fun; I’m So Afraid; Go Your Own Way; Oh Well; World Turning; Blue Letter; Second Hand News. Encore: Tusk
10 Nov
Fleetwood Mac Sunderland Top Rank January 1972
Fleetwood Mac Sunderland Top Rank January 1972
If you asked me to make a list of bands that I never saw, and wished I had done, pretty near to the top would be the original Peter Green version of Fleetwood Mac. I was just a little too young to catch them, although I have seen later versions of the band, and have also seen Peter Green in recent years. The first time I saw Fleetwood Mac was in early 1972 at a concert at Sunderland Top Rank. I went along on a cold January night some 40 (!) years ago with a group of school friends. We were all intrigued to see what Fleetwood Mac would be like, as we knew that the band had changed considerably from the blues oriented band of the late 60s. By this time Fleetwood Mac were fronted by Bob Welch, alongside Danny Kirwan, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood. This gig was very poorly attended, I recall a small crowd of 100 or so of us sitting on chairs on the dancefloor. The set was largely drawn from their recent Future Games album. As far as I remember the only old Fleetwood Mac tune they played was Oh Well, and possibly Black Magic Woman (although I am less sure about that). Much of the material was unfamiliar to me, but I do remember thinking that Bob Welch was impressive, but of course very different to Peter Green, and that the songs were refreshingly good. The band had moved from blues and rock n roll to much more melodic rock. It was to be a few more years before they would achieve great success again. Vocal duties were shared by Bob Welch, Danny Kirwan and Christine McVie. A bootleg recording from later in the same month shows the band playing the following songs: 1 Tell Me All The Things You Do; Future Games; Morning Rain; Woman Of A 1000 Years; Black Magic Woman; Get Like You Used To Be; Homeward Bound; Trinity; Child Of Mine; Oh Well; Drum Solo/Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On. I would imagine that the set I witnessed will have been similar. I think we walked home in the early hours. This is a gig that I am really pleased I attended, and I wish I had stronger memories of it. Another one where a time machine would be handy. The next time I saw Fleetwood Mac was at Glasgow Apollo, and there were returning to the UK at the start of their mega success which they achieved in the late 70s. I’ll blog on that gig shortly.
9 Nov
Eurythmics Newcastle City Hall 1983
Eurythmics Newcastle City Hall 1983
Touch tour
I’ve only seen Eurythmics once in concert, during their Touch tour at Newcastle City Hall in 1983. By this point in their career they had enjoyed quite a few hits, and the City Hall was packed. I’d seen the Tourists a few times, and had also see Dave Stewart in Longdancer in his early days playing in his home town Sunderland. The set consisted of all the hits to date, and was pretty good too. I don’t recall who the support act was; it all seems a long time ago, although actually, compared to some gigs I have blogged about it of course isn’t that long ago…
They were a major band by the time of this 1983 tour, and had a lot of great songs. Annie and Dave were due to play at Live Aid in Wembely, and I would have seen them at that concert, but as I recall they pulled out because Annie was unwell. Setlist (from the London gig of the tour): The First Cut; Never Gonna Cry Again; This Is the House; Here Comes the Rain Again; Regrets; The Walk; This City Never Sleeps; Who’s That Girl?; I Could Give You (a Mirror); Take Me to Your Heart; Cool Blue; Love Is a Stranger; Somebody Told Me; Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This); Right by Your Side; Wrap It Up; Jennifer
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