Gillan Newcastle City Hall 13th Nov 1981
Support: Budgie and Nightwing
Gillan were back at Newcastle City Hall in November 1981, this time with local guitar hero Janick Gers who had joined the band as replacement for Bernie Torme. Looking back, Bernie’s departure probably was a sign that all was not well in the band, and it was perhaps inevitable that they were soon to split up. The new line up released the album Double Trouble shortly after Janick joined. Double Trouble was, as its name suggests, a double album, with one disc recorded in the studio, and the other recorded live. Janick Gers hailed form the North East, and was well know to the Newcastle rock crowd as the guitarist in local band White Spirit who had gigged consistently throughout the region in the late 70s and early 80s. 
Janick was a more than adequate replacement for Bernie. What was lost in terms of punk rock swagger and guitar heroics, was more than compensated for by Gers’ technical guitar wizardry and his more traditional rock star stance. The local crowd gave him a great reception that night, and the concert was as good as ever. Gers was, of course, to go on to much greater success with Iron Maiden. Support acts for this tour were rock stawlwarts Budgie, and Nightwing. Budgie has just released their ninth album Nighflight, and their line-up at the time was original member Burke Shelley – vocals, bass guitar; John Thomas – guitar; and Steve Williams – drums. Budgie retained their own strong following in Newcastle, had headlined the City Hall and the Mayfair themselves in previous years, and were quite a “big” name support act. I was to see Gillan once more at the City Hall in the following year, before the band split. I’ll blog on that gig tomorrow, which will be my final Gillan post.
Posts Tagged ‘heavy rock’
21 Jan
Gillan Newcastle City Hall 8th March 1981
Gillan Newcastle City Hall 8th March 1981
Support Dedringer
Gillan were back in Newcastle to play at the City Hall in the Spring of 1981. They were now touring twice a year, and to be honest they were perhaps playing just a little too much. Still, I knew a Gillan gig would always be good fun, so I continued to support them and went along to every show they played in Newcastle. This time they were touring in support Future Shock, which was their third and most successful album, reaching number 2 in the UK album chart. Future Shock contained their cover version of the old song New Orleans, which was to become a live favourite, and hit the charts around the time of this tour. Gillan had already hit the charts with a rather tongue in cheek cover of Elvis’ Trouble, and New Orleans followed the same formula. In fact Gillan had quite a few chart hits at this time, resulting in frequent appearances on Top Of The Pops. 
Gillan appearances on Top of the Pops opened up a new more mainstream audience for the band, and were pretty hammed up performances. Support on the Spring 1981 tour came from Dedringer, a heavy rock band from Leeds. Although they never had any great success, Dedringer toured the UK quite a lot, supporting Gillan, Triumph and the Michael Schenker Group. This was the last time that I saw Gillan with Bernie Torme in the ranks. Torme walked out of the band after a German tour, just as the band were due to return home and play on Top of the Pops. He was replaced by White Spirit guitarist Janick Gers. The band hardly stopped for breath, and didn’t let the change of guitarist slow them done, with 1981 proving to be their most prolific yet in terms of recording output and touring.
20 Jan
Gillan Newcastle Mayfair Wed 1 Oct 1980
Gillan Newcastle Mayfair Wed 1 Oct 1980
Support: White Spirit and Quartz
By late 1980 Gillan were pretty hot stuff live and a very popular rock act, having work hard over the last year with constant touring; a couple of great performances at Reading in 1979 and 1980, and the release of the Glory Road album. Glory Road came as a limited edition double LP, containing the free LP For Gillan Fans Only, and got to No 3 in the UK charts. This tour saw Gillan returning to the Mayfair ballroom. They were now at the peak of their success, to the extent that they played two nights at the venue. I went the first night; the place was packed to the walls and Gillan were just amazing. Of all the times I saw them this is the one that sticks out in mind as a great classic rock performance. The heaving Mayfair rock crowd gave them a great reception. I guess Gillan were one the favourite Mayfair bands at that time, along with AC/DC and possibly Motorhead. 
Support came from local NWOBHM act White Spirit, who featured ace guitarist Janick Gers, and had their own strong local following. They were also growing a national following, and like Gillan, they also played at the Reading Festival that year. Janick was, of course, to go on to join Gillan and ultimately Iron Maiden, who he remains with to this day. The bill was completed by Quartz who had supported Sabbath and gigged a lot during the 70s, playing Reading in 1976, 1977 and 1980. Setlist: What’s the Matter; Bluesy Blue Sea; Black Night; (always my Purple favourite, and still gives me goose bumps when I hear it); Trouble; Born to Kill; M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction); Hadely Bop Bop; No Laughing in Heaven; Dead of Night; Bite the Bullet; Smoke on the Water; New Orleans; Helter Skelter (Yes; the Beatles song!)
19 Jan
Gillan Newcastle City Hall 6th March 1980
Gillan Newcastle City Hall March 1980
Support The Broughtons
By 1980 Gillan had graduated to playing at the City Hall for their next visit to Newcastle. Gillan had, of course, played this great venue on a number of occasions with Deep Purple. This was a short nine date UK tour which ended at London’s prestigious Rainbow Theatre. The pictures on the front and back cover of the programme were taken at the previous year’s Reading Festival , where I had seen Gillan go down a storm. I found a setlist for the Manchester gig, which lists the songs played as: Second Sight; Unchain Your Brain; Are You Sure; Mr. Universe; If You Believe Me; Trouble; No Easy Way; Nervous; Vengeance; Sleeping on the Job; and Smoke on the Water. 
Support on this occasion was the Broughtons, which was the latest incarnation of the Edgar Broughton Band. I have been a big Edgar Broughton band since I first saw them in 1971, and remain a fan to this day. I went along to this Gillan gig with my mate Dave not knowing who the support act was going to be, and was really pleased when I saw the Broughtons listed in the programme. So we gave the bar a miss, and watched Edgar (Rob), Steve and Arthur Grant deliver their set. This was at the time of the Parlez-Vous English? album, and the band was augmented by an additional guitarist and keyboards. The Broughtons played all knew material, which was disappointing, but it was still great to see Edgar and the guys on stage again. Gillan were soon to record the Glory Road lp, which was one of their best and most successful albums, and returned to Newcastle later in the year to promote it.
18 Jan
Gillan Newcastle Mayfair 5th Oct 1979
Gillan Newcastle Mayfair 5th Oct 1979
Support: Samson; Speedometors (according to the programme); Randy California (according to the ticket)
By 1979 the Gillan band had transformed into a much more rocky combo featuring Gillan (of course) on crazy, screaming vocals, the powerhouse man mountain John McCoy on bass, the charismatic Irish guitar wizard Bernie Torme, Colin Towns (from the Ian Gillan Band) on keyboards, and Mick Underwood (who I saw in Strapps as Gillan’s support act a couple of years before) on drums. The Mr Universe album had just been released. This was the Gillan line-up that was to become a familiar feature of festivals and concert halls for the next couple of years. And it was very much a band with three strong front men in the form of Gillan, John McCoy and Bernie Torme; all of whom had their own very different personalities and stage personas. McCoy would prowl around the stage, growling at the front rows of the audience. Torme mixed punk attitude with an almost glamrock image, and some amazingly flashy guitar heroics. I’m pretty sure I saw Bernie Torme once or twice fronting his own punk band, and I remember being quite surprised when he joined Gillan, but the mix worked well. Ian Gillan was the respected classic rock front man, shaking his long hair, and screaming out the vocals. 
Going along to a Gillan gig was a guarantee of a night of good fun; proper rock, loud music, some humour, some new songs and a few Purple classics. And at least once in the night, Ian would give out a scream that tore your ears apart and seemed to go on for ever. This gig presents yet another conundrum to tax my memory (which as usual fails me). The programme lists the support acts as Samson and the Speedometors, while the ticket says it was Samson and ex-spirit man and Hendrix disciple Randy California. I can’t recall who actually played that night. I certainly remember seeing Samson a few times. They featured Bruce Bruce (aka Bruce Dickinson and soon to be of Iron Maiden) on vocals, Paul Samson on guitar, and Thunderstick on drums, who word a mask and performed from inside a cage. John McCoy and Bernie Torme had both been members of earlier incarnations of the band. I don’t know who the Speedometors were, but they look pretty punky from the picture in the programme. I also saw Randy California a number of times, but I don’t recall if this was one of them. Its funny how doing this blog regularly brings up mysteries for me. I also note that the ticket calls the band the Ian Gillan band, rather than Gillan; and that the price was a bargain at £2 (in advance).
17 Jan
Ian Gillan Band Middlesbrough Town Hall 15 May 1977
Gillan Middlesbrough Town Hall 15 May 1977
Support from Strapps
I didn’t realise how many times I’d seen Ian Gillan, or rather the band of his name; Gillan. I saw them at this gig at Middlesbrough Town Hall, twice at Newcastle Mayfair, four times at Newcastle City Hall, at least a couple of times at the Reading Festival, and at Donington Monsters of Rock. At the time of this Middlesbrough concert the band was called the Ian Gillan Band and the line up was Ian Gillan – vocals; Ray Fenwick – guitars; Colin Towns – keyboards; John Gustafson – bass; and Mark Nauseef – drums. The band was much more jazzy than the later Gillan, and they had just released the album Clear Air Turbulence. If you went along to Gillan concert you were always guaranteed a good fun night; some great (and very loud) classic rock, a few Purple songs, and some amazing vocals. Ian Gillan had an incredible range in those days, and would let out some unbelievable screams. The band often seemed quite tongue in cheek, and you got the sense that they didn’t take themselves that seriously. 
This was at the time of the emergence of punk, when you would imagine classic rock acts such as Gillan would struggle to fill their concerts, but heavy rock still has a strong following in the North East and there was a reasonably good turn out for this gig, which was in the main hall of Middlesbrough Town Hall. The set was drawn largely from their latest album with a few Purple classics; probably Child In Time (which was the title of the Ian Gillan Ban’s first lp), Smoke on the Water and Black Night. The members of Ian’s band came with a strong pedigree. John Gustafson had been in The Merseybeats and Quatermass; Mark Nauseef had been in Elf with Ronnie James Dio; and Ray Fenwick had replaced Steve Howe in The Syndicats. Colin Towns was the only member to stay with Ian in his next band Gillan, and is now a respected film composer. Support band Strapps also had links to Deep Purple: drummer Mick Underwood had been in Episode Six with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover in the late ’60s (and would later join Gillan), and their album was co-produced by Glover. Next I saw Gillan the band was very different, and the emphasis was much more on heavy rock. I’ll continue my recollections of Gillan gigs tomorrow.
12 Jan
Gamma (featuring Ronnie Montrose) Newcastle City Hall 1981
Gamma (featuring Ronnie Montrose) Newcastle City Hall 1981
Support from Praying Mantis
Ronnie Montrose came with a strong rock pedigree, having started off as a session musician for top artists such as Van Morrison, then becoming a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and by 1974 he was fronting the great Montrose along with Sammy Hagar. I saw Montrose twice; once as support for Status Quo, and around the same time as the opening act at the Who’s 1974 Charlton gig. They were amazing; full-on rock with two classic tracks: Bad Motor Scooter, and Space Station No 5. By 1981 Sammy Hagar was fronting his own band, and Ronnie Montrose was leading Gamma alongside Glasgow-born singer Davey Pattison. Gamma arrived to tour the UK at the time of the emergence of the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal), and support act for the concerts was NWOBHM band Praying Mantis.
In the tour programme Ronnie Montrose describes Gamma as a “full-blown, high energy rock ‘n’ roll band” and that is exactly my memory of this gig at Newcastle City Hall. Some classic, loud, heavy rock and the bonus of Montrose classics Bad Motor Scooter, and Space Station No 5. I was sitting close to the front, and they were LOUD. The gig was not that well attended, as I recall, which was a shame, as they were a pretty hot rock act. Ronnie Montrose sadly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2012; he had been battling prostate cancer. I didn’t realise it until I checked things out for this blog, but I saw singer Davey Pattison a few years ago as the singer in Robin Trower’s band. My searching for Gamma facts also unearthed a setlist for the Birmingham gig of the tour: Ready for Action; Thunder and Lightning; Dirty City; Razor King; Space Station No 5; Skin and Bone; Rock The Nation; I Got The Fire; Voyager; Four Horseman; Mayday; Mean Streak; Something in the Air. Encore: No Tears; Bad Motor Scooter.
2 Jan
The Groundhogs Bowes Cellar Darlington 1985?
The Groundhogs Bowes Cellar Darlington 1985?
This was quite an eventful gig, and is thus worthy of mention on its own. It was probably in 1985 (I must have seen the Hogs many times in that year) and I went with my mate Dave. At the time the Bowes was a well-known pub in Skinnergate in the centre of Darlington; I understand it is now an Italian Restaurant; it’s sad how many great old pub venues have disappeared. In the 80s it hosted a number of gigs; I remember Man playing there and a few other bands; I only went this once. The gigs were in a Cellar bar under the main pub. I am pretty sure that there was a support act; The Force who are a well known local rock band, and were quite new at the time. To get to the Cellar bar you went through a door in the middle of the pub, and down a flight of stairs. The gig was on a Saturday night, and the upstairs bar was full of bikers. The Cellar wasn’t very big, so you were quite close to and facing the band, and the music was very LOUD. The Force played a good (loud) set of rock covers before the Groundhogs took the stage. Just before the Groundhogs were due to come on, we could hear some commotion upstairs in the bar. A voice shouted downstairs telling us that the bikers were fighting up in the bar; the door to the cellar was locked and we were told to stay down there, until the police arrived to stop the fighting. The Groundhogs played a great set, and we remained oblivious of the events upstairs, but somewhat nervous as to what else might occur. As it happened, all was well; by the time Tony and the guys had finished playing all signs of bikers and trouble had been dispersed by the police and we emerged safe from the Cellar and able to drive home in one piece. The ticket for this gig is a piece of art in itself, and very professionally produced 🙂 The line-up was the (now very familiar to me) Tony, Alan Fish (bass), Mick Kirton (drums). I remember that we were so close to the band that the drum kit looked massive, and that my ears were ringing for days after.
31 Dec
Uli Jon Roth The Office South Shields 30 December 2012
Uli Jon Roth The Office South Shields 30 December 2012 (and 1983)
For my final gig of 2012 last night I went to see the legend that is Uli Jon Roth, ex-Scorpions, Hendrix aficionado, inventor of the Sky guitar, and exponent of neo-classical rock guitar. It was a real privilege to witness one of rock’s greatest guitarists so close up in such an intimate local venue. I arrived at the Office at 9am, just catching the end of support act Lovedrive’s (Scorpions tribute act) set. The gig was in the upstairs room of the venue, which is close to the centre of South Sheilds, and it was packed to the walls. The room holds 200 people and the gig was completely sold out. I made my way to the front to get a good view of the great man. Judging by the t-shirts, the crowd beside me were all Scorpions fans of many years. There was then a bit of a wait before Uli Jon Roth took to the stage to chants of “Uli! Uli! Uli!”. Within a few minutes he launched into All Along the Watchtower (ala Jimi Hendrix), and it was immediately apparent that this was going to some special concert. Many musician’s of Uli’s generation seem tired and have lost some of their spark, but not this guy. His playing was just amazing. His instrument for the evening was one of his custom Sky guitars, which is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, having additional frets going right up to the pick-ups, which allow Uli to get very high notes, and play his trademark riffs. Watchtower was followed by more Hendrix: If Six Were Nine, flowing straight into Little Wing. 
Just awesome; the 50 something guys at the front were saluting Uli and nodding to each other as if to say “This guy can still do it”. The rest of the set was largely Scorpions classics including The Sails of Charon; Life’s Like a River; We’ll Burn the Sky; and Fly to the Rainbow. There were other songs which were less familiar to me, but the crowd knew them all, singing along to every word. He also played Enola Gay (Hiroshima Today?) from his Electric Sun period. Vocal duties were handled by the bass player, who did a spectacular job reaching all the high notes, and singing sweetly during the ballad sections. The rest of Uli’s very tight, rocking band were a second guitarist, keyboard player and drummer. Uli told us that this was his first visit to South Shields but made reference to the fact that he had been to nearby Newcastle a few times, playing the City Hall in 1983, and 1985. He asked “How many of you were there?’ and a great roar came from the crowd. When I got home and checked my ticket stubs, I found that was at the 1983 City Hall gig. Is doesn’t seem almost 30 years since I last saw this guy in concert. Uli also commented on the rumours that the City Hall might be facing closure, and 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”. Uli’s playing has developed over time, moving more towards classical music; however last night’s set was very much focussed towards his rockier side, and his years with the Scorpions. As I left I heard a guy say to his mate “He’s just phenomenal!” which just about summed it up. Everyone in The Office last night will have been blown away by the skill, passion and warmth of Uli Jon Roth’s performance. It certainly felt like I had witnessed something pretty special. There was talk on bringing him back again next year; I’m sure the place will be equally as packed if that happens.
PS Oh, and it was very LOUD down the front. It was good to go home with my ears ringing; it brought back happy memories. Luckily they’ve stopped ringing by this morning.
PPS Apologies for the very blurred picture, which I took on my iphone. One of my new years resolutions is to practice using the camera on my phone so that I can take better pictures (why does everyone around me seem to be taking great photos?).
30 Dec
The Groundhogs play the clubs and pubs mid 80s
The Groundhogs play the clubs and pubs mid 80s
From 1985 onward the Groundhogs toured relentlessly, visiting the North East of England many many times. I caught quite a few Hogs gigs during this period, and they played that often that I must admit, there were gigs that I missed out on, simply because I had already seen them so many times that year. The line-up changed several times, and I couldn’t pretend to keep track of it. For some gigs, there would be a second guitarist alongside Tony. The line-up of Alan Fish (bass) and Mick Kirton (drums) played with Tony until 1989, and I saw this line-up several times during that period. Dave Anderson became a regular on bass from 2001 onward, and Mick Jones took the drumstool on a several occasions from 1989. I also definitely remember seeing Eric Chipulina (who had great dreadlocks) on bass and second guitar a few times, and Pete Correa on drums on several occasions. The one constant was of course Tony T S McPhee. The Groundhogs released a couple of albums of new material during this period: Razor’s Edge (1985); and Back Against the Wall (in 1987). And pretty good they were too. I still have a copy of Razor’s Edge (note to myself, I must get a copy of Back Against the Wall). A live album No Surrender – Razors Edge Tour 1985, was released in the 1990s, and shows the set at the time as being: Razor’s Edge, Baby Have I Done This Wrong; I Want You To Love Me; Light My Light; Superceded; Garden; Split Part One; Groundhog Blues; Cherry Red. I also remember a track One More Chance, from Razor’s Edge, which was a live favourite at the time. Eccentric Man, Soldier, and Ship On The Ocean would also often feature in the set.
The Hogs played some strange venues in the mid to late 80s including a spell playing working men’s clubs. I saw a few of these club gigs, with my mates Dave or Will at South Hetton Club, Wheatley Hill Club, and Blackhall Club. There were other club gigs that I missed including Newbottle Club and Sheildfield Club. These were almost surreal events. They were usually on a weekend, and the audience consisted of club regulars who were there for their Saturday or Sunday night out, and a smattering of rock fans. The club regulars (husband and wife couples in their 50s, 60s and 70s) were used to cabaret type bands playing the hits of the day, and just didn’t know what to make of the Groundhogs. At South Hetton Club the Groundhogs appeared in the upstairs concert room, playing two sets to allow for the regular bingo between the sets (I kid you not). The place was full or regulars who couldn’t understand what was happening. I remember comments such as “Too Loud. I’m going to complain to the committee” and “What is this Rubbish; they should be paid off” from old guys who were totally phased by it. The Groundhogs just played their normal set, and those of us in the audience who were rock fans loved it. Why wouldn’t we. We had an opportunity to sit, having a drink, watching our hero perform in an intimate setting. And we could play bingo in the interval (don’t think we won)! At Blackhall Club the place went wild, I remember it being much more full of rock fans, and everyone standing on tables, clapping and stomping along as Tony played an extended Groundhog Blues. Wheatley Hill Club was also a good gig, on a Sunday night I think, with a sold out hall (which we managed to blag our way into as I knew the promoter).
The ticket above is for a gig at a nightclub called Top Cats, which was somewhere in Newcastle (Benton I think); I remember the Hogs came on very late, after midnight and played until 2am. Around the same period (1985 to mid 90s) I also saw the Groundhogs play at Sunderland Ropery, Sunderland Kasbah (I think this may have been Tony solo), somewhere in Hartlepool (a group of us went to a packed venue which was, I think, an old church and was possibly called The Studio?), a pub in Darlington (a car load of us went on a Friday night and I can’t remember the name of the pub at all). I recall going to a gig a Billingham Swan, but I think the Hogs didn’t play for some reason. There were other gigs I attended around this time at Sunderland Old 29, Washington Arts Centre, and Bowes Wine Cellar in Darlington, which I will blog on separately over the next few days. I am sure that there were other gigs which I have forgotten.
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