Ratt Invasion of Your Privacy World Tour ’85/’86
I found a programme for Ratt’s “Invasion of Your Privacy” ’86/’86 world tour in my collection, but I couldn’t find a ticket stub to match. My conundrum was soon solved however, when I realised that I’d seen Ratt down the bill at Donington Monsters of Rock in 1985 and as support for Ozzy Osbourne on 12th February 1986 at Newcastle City Hall. Ratt were very much on their way upward at the time, and must have had their own tour programme, either at Donginton or alongside Ozzy’s merchandise. I have already written about the Ozzy gig, but I didn’t say much about Ratt. As I have a programme to feature here, I figured I should write a little about the band.
Ratt are an American hard rocking band, and were instrumental in the formation of the early ’80s Los Angeles glam metal scene, often referred to as the ‘Sunset Strip’ sound. Like their friendly rivals Mötley Crüe, Ratt’s sound fused pop hooks with the metal ethos along with big hair, and over the top on-stage performances and (on- and off-stage) behaviour. Ratt continue to tour and record today despite several hiatuses and many lineup changes. They were formed and led by vocalist Stephen Pearcy; at the time I saw them the line-up included Warren De Martini and Robbin Crosby on guitars, Bobby Blotzer on drums and Juan Croucier on bass. The tour programme describes Ratt as having “wiry energy”, “desperate rightness” and an attitude which guitarist Crosby calls “gladiator land-gyspies; cement pirates” [whatever that might be 🙂 ]. It tells me that the band went from “sleeping on the floor of a converted garage in Los Angeles, their pillows nestled against their Marshall amps” to massive success with their debut album “Out of the Cellar” and that “we’re finally out of the cellar and into your living rooms. Ratt cannot be exterminated”.
Ratt are little mentioned these days, with much of the publicity and credit for the scene going to Mötley Crüe, who perhaps did out-do them in terms of outrageousness. However, Ratt were without doubt a formidable force at the time, and their shows were glorious celebrations of what is possible if you take pop and glam sensibilities and align them with the values, volume, approach and craziness of heavy metal. Their concerts were something to be experienced, and Ozzy must have found it difficult to follow them on that stage some nights.
Ratt’s line-up has changed a lot over the years; however they are now back to more or less their classic formation with Stephen Pearcy, Warren De Martini, Bobby Blotzer and Juan Croucier all once again in the fold. They are joined by Carlos Cavazo on guitar.
Setlist from 1986: Dangerous but Worth the Risk; Give It All; Wanted Man; In Your Direction; Never Use Love; Walkin’ the Dog; You Think You’re Tough; Lay It Down; You’re in Love; Sweet Cheater; Round and Round
PS Ratt made a big noise and had big hair, so I figured I’d use a bigger than usual image of their tour programme for my post today. Rock on.
Posts Tagged ‘heavy metal’
21 Mar
Rainbow Whitley Bay Ice Rink 8th September 1983
Rainbow Whitley Bay Ice Rink 8th September 1983
The next time Rainbow visited the North East it was to play in the cold and cavernous Whitley Bay Ice Rink, which was the venue of choice of bigger bands in the 80s, before Newcastle had an arena. This was now Rainbow MK VIIII (!) and the line-up was Ritchie Blackmore (guitar); Roger Glover (bass); Joe Lynn Turner (vocals); David Rosenthal (keyboards); Chuck Burgi (drums). Support came from ex-Runaway Lita Ford.
Whitley Bay Ice Rink was a pretty awful venue for a rock concert. It held a lot of people but standing on top of an ice rink covered in wooden boards is not the best setting for a gig, and it was always soooo cold. 
However Rainbow’s performance made up for it. Ritchie was on excellent form, controlling his guitar and the band with strange almost magical hand gestures. A bootleg recording exists of the show. It was a long set by Rainbow standards, probably around two hours. Very loud and a storming performance. One of the best times that I saw Rainbow live. I think Ritchie’s strat was smashed into pieces, which he threw into the crowd, if I remember correctly. This was the last time I saw Rainbow. The next time I saw Ritchie it was back in Purple at their massive comeback show at Knebworth.
Setlist: Spotlight Kid; Miss Mistreated; I Surrender; Can’t Happen Here; Catch the Rainbow; Drinking with the Devil; Difficult to Cure; Power; Blues; Stargazer; Stranded; Death Alley Driver; Fire Dance; All Night Long; Maybe Next Time; Since You Been Gone; Encore: Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll
20 Mar
Rainbow Newcastle City Hall 23rd July 1981
A year had passed since Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow last graced the stage of Newcastle City Hall, and things had yet again changed in the band. Graham Bonnet and Cozy Powell both resigned to pursue other projects following a very successful performance at the first Monsters of Rock festival at Donington. The new line-up was Rainbow Mk VII and featured Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Roger Glover (bass), Don Airey (keyboards), Bobby Rondinellu (drums) and Joe Lynn Turner (vocals). Their UK tour called at the City Hall for two nights, and I attended the first night, on 23rd July 1981. Support came from Rose Tattoo, an Australian hard rock and roll band, fronted by bald-headed and heavily tattooed Angry Anderson, who went on to major solo success with the power ballad “Suddenly”. I remember that there was quite a buzz about Rose Tattoo at the time, so I made a point of watching their set, and pretty good they were too.
By now I was getting used to the ever changing format of Rainbow, and I’d heard the single “I Surrender” which gave the band another big chart success. Joe Lynn Turner was another great front man and vocalist and took the band even further in the direction of classic AOR and even bigger success around the world. This was another amazing performance by Blackmore and the band.
Setlist: Land of Hope and Glory / Over the Rainbow; Spotlight Kid; Love’s No Friend; I Surrender; Man on the Silver Mountain; Catch the Rainbow; Can’t Happen Here; Lost in Hollywood; Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll. Encore: All Night Long.
19 Mar
Rainbow Newcastle City Hall 19th February 1980
Rainbow Newcastle City Hall 19th February 1980
It was now 1980, and Rainbow’s line-up had changed yet again. Blackmore had his eye on the commercial rock market, and wanted to move Rainbow’s music in the direction of more commercial straight ahead rock, away from their traditional “swords and sorcery” thematic. Ronnie James Dio was having none of this, so he was off, soon to join Black Sabbath. So the band morphed yet again. In came singer Graham Bonnet, last seen fronting The Marbles who hit the UK charts in the late ’60s with a Bee Gees penned pop classic “Only One Woman”. Bonnet has a great solid rock voice, with an amazing vocal range; although at the time I found it difficult to imagine anyone other than Dio singing Rainbow classics like “Man on the Silver Mountain”. But sing them Graham did, and he made a pretty good fist of it too. The line-up of Rainbow Mk V was Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Cozy Powell (drums), returning old Purple mate Roger Glover (bass), Don Airey (keyboards) and Graham Bonnet (vocals). 
The changing nature of the band didn’t seem to impact upon their popularity. If anything Rainbow were more popular, and once again sold out two nights at the City Hall. I attended the first night’s concert. Support came from NWOBHM band Samson featuring Bruce Dickinson (or Bruce Bruce as he was then). This concert displayed more shades of classic rock than the mystical dark elements on show during the Dio-era. It was a different type of gig, but no less enjoyable, and Blackmore was as on-fire as ever. The new formula had already paid dividends in the form of a massive hit single “Since You Been Gone”, which was followed by the almost as successful “All Night Long”.
Setlist: Eyes of the World; Love’s No Friend; Man on the Silver Mountain; Catch the Rainbow; Lost in Hollywood; Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll / Kill the King; All Night Long
18 Mar
Rainbow Newcastle City Hall 1st November 1977
Rainbow Newcastle City Hall 1st November 1977
Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow returned to the City Hall in 1977 to promote their upcoming album “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll”. The ever changing line-up had evolved into Rainbow Mk4 and was now Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Bob Daisley (bass), David Stone (keyboards) and Cozy Powell (drums). This time demand to see the band was massively high, resulting in two sold out performances at the City Hall. Support came from Kingfish. Once again, Rainbow put on an amazing show, with guitar pyrotechnics ala Blackmore, soaring vocals from Dio, and an amazing stage and light show. They just don’t make rock bands like this any more.
From the tour programme: “Welcome to one of the most exciting events in rock music today. This is not simply another travelling show. It is a spectacular of lights and music. Rainbow’s $100,000 computerised ‘firework machine’ brings a new dimension to the concert stage…Visually, it is stunning. Musically, it weaves through every emotion. But the emphasis on this tour is excitement. ‘If anyone has come for a nice, quiet night’ smiles Cozy Powell ‘they’d better head for the exit. If we don’t burst your ears, we’ll blind your eyes.’ Long Live Rock & Roll!”
Well said, Cozy.
Setlist: Kill The King; Mistreated; Sixteenth Century Greensleeves; Catch The Rainbow; Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll; Lazy-Man On The Silver Mountain; Still I’m Sad.
17 Mar
Rainbow Newcastle City Hall 14th September 1976
Rainbow Newcastle City Hall 14th September 1976
In 1975 Ritchie Blackmore was becoming disillusioned with Deep Purple, wanting to move their music in a different direction, drawing from his interest in classical music. He decided to try a few songs out with rock band Elf, fronted by Ronnie Jame Dio; Elf having supported Purple on the 1974 Burn tour. The liaison with Dio worked well and so Blackmore decided to leave Purple to form his new band Rainbow, although he was less than happy with the rest of Elf, and soon changed the rest of the line-up. By the time the band started to tour, and reached the UK; the line-up of Rainbow Mk2 consisted of Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Jimmy Bain (bass), Tony Carey (keyboards) and Cozy Powell (Drums). Their first tour called at Newcastle City Hall on 14th September 1976.
Support came from Stretch, a band that was fronted by Elmer Gantry (of Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera and “Flames” fame). Stretch developed from a band put together in 1974 with (according to them) help from Mick Fleetwood, to perform as Fleetwood Mac on a US tour. In the end Fleetwood dropped out (and denied any involvement) and they toured without him, but punters soon realised that the band contained no members of Fleetwood Mac and the tour collapsed. They subsequently had a hit single in 1975 with “Why Did You Do It?”,which was a direct attack on Fleetwood. Stretch were a pretty good rock band, who I saw a couple of times in the mid-70s. 
Rainbow concerts were tremendous events. The stage was surrounded by a massive rainbow which consisted of 3,000 coloured lights. And Blackmore was at the height of his powers in both guitar prowess and showmanship excess. He would climb on top of the stacks up and onto the balcony. I remember one show (I think it may have been this one) where he stood on top of a massive stack bashing his Strat against the side of the balcony, until it (the guitar that is) was totally demolished (I think it also left a few dents in the side of the balcony which had to be repaired afterwards). Of course we all cheered him on. Great stuff. Dio had an unbelievable vocal range, and added lyrics, and an atmosphere, of demons, goblins and mysticism to the proceedings. Their songs were excellent too: “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves”, “Man On The Silver Mountain” and “Stargazer” are classics from the time. Blackmore retained “Mistreated” from his days with Purple. In the early days of Rainbow their concerts consisted of a relatively small number of songs, each one becoming an opportunity for epic jamming, particularly by Blackmore. The guy was amazing and his performance simply breathtaking in those days.
Setlist: Kill The King; Mistreated; Sixteenth Century Greensleeves; Catch The Rainbow; Man On The Silver Mountain; Stargazer; Still I’m Sad; Do You Close Your Eyes.
Note added 20th July 2014. I found the programme below in my collection. I guess it must be an unofficial programme which I bought outside the City Hall show in 1976. 
15 Mar
Uli Roth and Pallas Newcastle City Hall 21st May 1983
Uli Roth and Pallas Newcastle City Hall 21st May 1983
Uli Roth obviously has fond memories of Newcastle City Hall. When I last saw him in concert, at The Office in South Shields a year or so ago, the City Hall was facing possible closure, and Uli told us that we must not let it happen: “get a petition; do something, you can’t let it close, that hall is one of the most beautiful in your country”. Well Uli, we did. The City Hall gained a reprieve, and continues to host rock concerts. From the Newcastle Journal: “Newcastle’s under-threat City Hall has been saved from closure after the city council announced it would not axe 100% of its arts budget…Plans to remove the City Hall from the council’s books were met with strong opposition. Around 11,000 people, both online and on paper, signed a petition against the move, started by the North East Music History group.” Anyway, back to Uli Roth. Uli formed his band Electric Sun after leaving the Scorpions in the late ’70s. 
Uli is a charismatic and flamboyant character who developed his own guitar style. Technically excellent, and a massive influence on many of today’s players, he blends the blues with indian and classical influences, and this; coupled with showmanship and virtuosity, make him a unique guitar player. He is also massively influenced by Jimi Hendrix. This show at Newcastle City Hall was recorded and segments of it appear on the 2006 DVD release Historic Performances. I remember being totally stunned by his playing, and the epic nature of his songs. Support came from the excellent Pallas, who had just released their first single “Paris is Burning”. I picked up a copy of their fanzine “The Sentinel” (pictured here) at the concert. Pallas were one of the few bands flying the prog-rock flag in the early ’80s, when that particular genre had become very unfashionable in the wake of punk, and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.
17 Jan
Ozzy Osbourne live 1982 to 1986
Ozzy Osbourne live 1982 to 1986
On 19 March 1982 a light aircraft piloted by Andrew Aycock (Ozzy’s band’s tour bus driver) carrying guitarist Randy Rhoads and Rachel Youngblood, the band’s make up designer, crashed while performing low passes over the band’s tour bus. In a prank turned deadly, the left wing of the plane clipped the bus, causing it to crash, killing Rhoads, Aycock, and Youngblood. Randy was only 26, and although he played for only a short period, he has been an immense influence on a whole generation of musicians in heavy rock and metal. Guitar World proclaimed that the guitarist “could have been the greatest”.
The Ozzy band were shocked and crushed by the tragedy, but regrouped with a new line-up (Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake had left the band). By the time I saw Ozzy again on the Speak of the Devil tour when it called at Newcastle City Hall on 18th December 1982 the band was: Ozzy, Brad Gillis (from San Francisco band Ranger) on guitar, Tommy Alridge (from Black Oak Arkanas, and the Pat Travers Band), Pete Way (UFO) on bass. They were also joined by actor John Allen who was executed in a mock hanging as part of the now highly theatrical stage show. 
Support once again came from Budgie. From the 1982 tour programme: ” Tragedy struck, and rock lost a great guitar hero and a friend in Randy Rhoads. And yet in the midst of the quiet that followed our loss, there was movement. When the music stopped there was silence. However, it wasn’t a simple silence. It was a silence that would whip itself into a greater sound – a sound that would Speak of the Devil. As time changed me, as time has no doubt changed you, my infatuation with horror made things move faster. The tracks you’ll hear capsulize a real life story that helped cleanse my soul of the 13th anniversary of my career. I am Ozzy Osbourne…and sometimes we all Speak of the Devil”.
Setlist: Over the Mountain; Mr. Crowley; Crazy Train; Revelation (Mother Earth); Steal Away (The Night); Suicide Solution; Goodbye to Romance; Flying High Again; Believer; Sweet Leaf; Children of the Grave; Iron Man. Encore: Paranoid.
Ozzy was back in Newcastle on 18th November 1983 at the Mayfair for the Bark at the Moon tour with support from Heavy Petting. The line-up had changed again and was Ozzy, Jek E Lee on guitar, the return of Bob Daisley on bass, Don Airey on keyboards, and the legend Carmine Appice (Beck, Bogert and Appice; Vanilla Fudge) on drums. Ozzy had morphed into a werewolf, and the show was even more theatrical. I saw the show again as part of the 1984 Monsters of Rock festival at Donington where Ozzy joined a bill headed by AC/DC and also featuring Van Halen; Gary Moore; Y&T; Accept; and Mötley Crüe.
Ozzy setlist from Donington 1984: I Don’t Know; Mr. Crowley; Over the Mountain; Rock ‘n’ Roll Rebel; Bark at the Moon; Revelation (Mother Earth); Steal Away (The Night); Suicide Solution; Centre of Eternity; Flying High Again; Iron Man; Crazy Train; Paranoid
Two years later I saw Ozzy again; back at Newcastle City Hall on 12th February 1986. Support came from US rockers Ratt. A new tour and yet another line-up: Ozzy; Jake E Lee remaining on guitar; Phil Soussan on bass; the late Randy Castillo on drums (who went on to join Motley Crue) and John Sinclair on keyboards. The tour was in support of The Ultimate Sin album. From the programme: “”Ozzy Osbourne is still the reigning madman of rock’n’roll. He’s still an intense performer who often pushes himself too far……The music’s great, the band is hot and we’re ready to take on the world”.
Setlist: O Fortuna; Bark at the Moon; Suicide Solution; Never Know Why; Mr. Crowley; Shot in the Dark; I Don’t Know; Killer of Giants; Thank God for the Bomb; Flying High Again; Secret Loser; Iron Man; Crazy Train; Paranoid.
This was the last time I saw Ozzy live until the current Black Sabbath tour. Ozzy’s visits to the UK became less and less frequent as he concentrated on the US. I did have a ticket to see him at Newcastle Arena 10 years or so ago, but the concert was cancelled as Ozzy was not well at the time. Ozzy is a great heavy rock singer, and a crazy and compelling front man whose stage presence is as powerful today as it ever was.
16 Jan
Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard of Ozz September/October 1980
Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard of Ozz September/October 1980
When Ozzy left Black Sabbath in 1979 I honestly thought it could be the last we saw of him. Sure; he was a great, mad front man in Sabbath, but I really didn’t see him as a solo act. Ozzy always struck me as crazy, fearless, yet almost child-like. He fitted well within the Sabbath context, and as part of a group; but on his own? How wrong I was. No-one could have predicted just how successful his career would turn out to be. But it was obvious from the first time I saw him in concert and heard him play his new songs that Ozzy was going to be OK, more than OK in fact. The new album had some great tracks in “Crazy Train”; “Goodbye to Romance”; and “Mr. Crowley”, and he included Sabbath favourites “Iron Man”; “Children of the Grave”; and “Paranoid” in the live show, so how could he not be great. Oh, and Randy Rhoads was a simply incredible guitarist, just as good as his legend suggests. The tour called at Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Mayfair and Sunderland Mayfair. Now this is another one of those gigs that has tested my memory; which has been playing tricks on me again. Now in my mind I went to see Ozzy at the City Hall concert; but I can’t find a ticket for that show, and I always keep them. I do have a programme so I know that I did see Ozzy that year, and on that tour, and I can definitely remember it was shortly after the Blizzard of Oz album was released. I can only conclude that I must have gone to the Sunderland Mayfair gig, and I either paid at the door or tickets were collected on the way in. I’m learning just to accept things like that now; I can’t always remember details fully these days, and it’s no good dwelling on them or trying to figure it out; it just drives me nuts 🙂 . The line-up of Blizzard of Ozz was Ozzy (of course) on vocals, the late and truly great guitarist Randy Rhoads; Bob Daisley from Rainbow on bass, Lee Kerslake fom Uriah Heep on drums and local lad Don Airey on keyboards (replaced by Lindsey Bridgewater for the tour). Support came from those excellent Welsh rock heroes Budgie.
Setlist for the tour was: I Don’t Know; You Lookin’ at Me Lookin’ at You; Crazy Train; Goodbye to Romance; Mr. Crowley; Suicide Solution; Iron Man; Children of the Grave; Steal Away (The Night). Encore: Paranoid
15 Dec
Black Sabbath Sheffield Arena 14th December 2013
Black Sabbath Sheffield Arena 14th December 2013
Last night I went with my mate Norm to see those mighty metal pioneers Black Sabbath in concert at Sheffield Arena. Its been over 30 years since we both last saw Sabbath, so we were really looking forward to revisiting our youth and reminding ourselves who the true gods of metal are, and where it all started. We left around 4pm and drove down to Sheffield arriving just after 6pm. There was time for a bite to eat at one of the pubs over the road from the arena, before we walked over to the Arena to have a look at the merchandise (nice, but pricey, so we passed) and catch the support act, who were a young new UK band called Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats. Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats have been described as “the original Alice Cooper band jamming in a cell with early Black Sabbath and the Stooges” (Metal Blade Records), and that sums them up pretty well. Their heavy, dark riffs filled the hall, are very reminiscent of early Sabbath, and prepared the crowd for the main act. The crowd was a mix of heavy rock and metal fans of all ages; old-timers like us, and young metalheads, everyones knows how important Sabbath are in the history of heavy metal and classic rock. Right on time at 8.30pm, Black Sabbath took to the stage. We had standing tickets and made our way as close to the front as we could get. We knew what to expect, Norm has been watching a DVD of Sabbath on tour in Australia earlier this year, so we were anticipating a set full of classics. And that’s exactly what we got; Ozzy and the guys took us right back to their first album, and played all those great 70s metal anthems, with a few songs thrown in from their new album “13”. The packed arena was up and ready for a night of classic heavy metal. From the first chords of opening song “War Pigs”, everyone had their hands in the air, waving back at Ozzy who goaded us to “Go F***ing Crazy!”. The sound was clear, loud and crisp, and the playing excellent; all four band members were rocking, giving it full throttle and volume throughout the entire set. These guys invented heavy metal, and it still doesn’t get much better. I feared that they might not be able to cut it anymore, but last night they delivered 100% and then some. 
Ozzy looked pretty fit, and his voice was in much better shape that I had hoped or imagined. The guy still has stamina and kept a crazy pace going all night. Tony Iommi’s guitar playing switched between exquisite dark, doomy riffs and impressive solos, and Geezer Butler stood solid, pounding thunderous classic metal rhythms from his bass. Its sad that Bill Ward isn’t with them on the tour, but explosive new dynamo drummer Tommy Clufetos, who comes from Ozzy’s band, did an excellent job, full of energy and power. The stage set was impressive with large screens showing a mix of live video of the band, and images of darkness, doom, war, and blasphemy underlining that we were witnessing the classic dark heavy metal band. The show was almost exactly tow hours, and included “Snowblind”, “Black Sabbath”, “N.I.B.”, “Fairies Wear Boots” and “Iron Man”. The encore just had to be “Paranoid”. Stunning, powerful stuff. Sabbath showed us just what heavy metal is and can be, and for me last night they reclaimed their crown as the hardest, darkest rock band on the planet. Sometimes the old guys are still the best, and can still deliver.
Setlist: War Pigs; Into the Void; Under the Sun / Every Day Comes and Goes; Snowblind; Age of Reason; Black Sabbath; Behind the Wall of Sleep; N.I.B.; End of the Beginning; Fairies Wear Boots; Rat Salad/Drum Solo; Iron Man; God Is Dead?; Dirty Women; Children of the Grave. Encore: Paranoid.
We left the Motorpoint Arena at 10.30, drove up the MI, A1 and the A19 and were back home safe just before 12.30am, ours ears still ringing; and thoughts of a classic rock band running through our heads, some 40+ years since we first saw and heard them. It just don’t get any better.
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