Aha Newcastle City Hall 1986
Aha were big news in 1986. They’d had big hits with Take on Me and Hunting High and Low, and the video for Take on Me was very distinctive, using a mix of pencil drawings, animation and live action. Ashleigh was very into them, and we went along to their show at the City Hall. This was their first tour and the gig sold out very quickly. I remember the show as being very slick, great vocals, good light show and wonderful pop. I’ve never felt the need to see Aha again, but pleased that I did. Ashleigh really enjoyed seeing them and still talks about it to this day. 
I had a conversation with a taxi driver in Dublin a few years ago, after a gig at the Point (think it was Status Quo). He’d seen Aha at the same venue a few days earlier and said they were absolutely first class. Setlist for 1986 tour: Train Of Thought; Love Is Reason; Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale; Cry Wolf; The Blue Sky; The Sun Always Shines on T.V.; Driftwood; Here I Stand And Face The Rain; We’re Looking for the Whales; And You Tell Me; Hunting High and Low; I’ve Been Losing You; Scoundrel Days; Take On Me
Posts Tagged ‘music’
9 Mar
Aha Newcastle City Hall 1986
8 Mar
The Alarm live in Newcastle 1983 to 1988
On a good night in the 80s The Alarm were untouchable. Full of righteous passion, great stirring singalongs and celtic rock. Occupying a territory somewhere between The Clash, U2 and Dylan, this band could really cut the mustard. My first Alarm experience was at Newcastle Tiffanys club. I may have seen them before that as a support act, but can’t be sure. This gig was just as 68 Guns had been released. 
I can picture my mate Davey and me, on the balcony in Tiffanys looking down on the stage with the whole place singing along and the whole balcony shaking. Happy days. The next couple of times I saw The Alarm they were at the City Hall. I remember those gigs as being good, but its that night at Tiffanys that sticks in my mind. 
They had quite a few hits, but none of them matched the power of 68 Guns, and the passion that Mike Peters sang it with. Mike Peters has not been well, but has kept playing, and The Alarm play on to this day. The last time I saw Mike Peters was in the bar at a Springsteen gig at the O2 in London. The guy has good taste.
7 Mar
Adele Newcastle Tyne Theatre April 2008
Adele Newcastle Tyne Theatre April 2008
This gig doesn’t seem that long ago, but its getting on for four years since Laura and I saw Adele at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle. I recall at the time being surprised how quickly this gig sold out, and that was well before the mega-stardom that she enjoys now. At the time I had only heard “Chasing pavements” but was caught up in the wave of new female singers, such as Amy Winehouse and Duffy. So Laura and I decided to check Adele out. The show was very impressive, particularly considering that Adele was just 20 at the time. She struck me as quite shy, and couldn’t seem to believe it all herself. I remember her singing the Dylan song “Make You Feel My Love”, and realising that it was one Dylan song that I didn’t know. Good to see how her career has gone from strength to strength since then. I wonder if we’ll ever see her back at the Tyne Theatre again? And with a ticket price of £15?
6 Mar
America and Poco Newcastle Odeon 1975
America and Poco Newcastle Odeon 1975
This was a pretty cool line up, and was my fist time seeing both bands. I knew a lot of stuff by America, but nothing by Poco. I went along with my friend Ian, as I recall. America had previously toured as support for Family in 1971, but the gig was the same night as Led Zeppelin played Sunderland Locarno (theres a gig I must report on), so I didn’t go. So when they returned to Newcastle for this gig at the Odeon I made sure that I attended. The Odeon is now sadly closed, but was an important venue for gigs in the North East in the early 70s. It was a little bigger than the City Hall, with a capacity of around 3,000, and I saw a few bands play there: Humble Pie, King Crimson, Black Sabbath, ELP, The Faces and The Who come straight to mind. BY the mid 70s it had sadly been converted to a multi-screen cinema, and the capacity reduced. I am pretty sure that this was the case for this gig. I recall both bands being really good that night. Typical America set list from 1975: Tin Man; Muskrat Love; Baby It’s Up to You; Moon Song; Old Man Took; To Each His Own; Lonely People; I Need You; Don’t Cross The River; Ventura Highway; Only In Your Heart; Woman Tonight; The Story of a Teenager; Half a Man; Company; Hollywood; Sister Golden Hair; Encore: Sandman; A Horse With No Name. I also googled and found a Poco setlist from 1974: Blue Water; Fool’s Gold; Rocky Mt. Breakdown; Bad Weather; Hoedown; Railroad Days; Ride the Country; Faith in the Families; Angel; Drivin’ Wheel; I Guess You Made It; Restrain; A Right Along; C’Mon. My friend John, who was also at this gig, has just emailed me to remind me that America/Poco played “Don’t Cross the River if you can’t swim the tide” with both bands on stage as the final number.
4 Mar
Bryan Adams Gateshead Stadium July 12th 1992
Bryan Adams Gateshead Stadium July 12th 1992
Support: Squeeze, Extreme, Little Angels
Bryan Adams was at the height of his success at the time of this concert in 1992. He’d just had a mega hit with Everything I do. Although that particular songs is not one of my favourites, some of his others songs, and especially Summer of 69, are great. A packed Gateshead Stadium gave him a great reception that night. Setlist: House Arrest; Kids Wanna Rock; Hey Honey – I’m Packin’ You In!; Can’t Stop This Thing We Started; Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya?; Cuts Like a Knife; It’s Only Love; Touch The Hand; Heaven; Lonely Nights; (Everything I Do) I Do It for You; Run to You; When the Night Comes; Somebody; There Will Never Be Another Tonight; B-Stage: C’mon Everybody; She’s Only Happy When She’s Dancin’; Encore: Summer of ’69; Diana; Straight from the Heart. 
The concert also sported strong support acts in Squeeze, Extreme and Little Angels. Little Angels are a heavy rock band who come from just down the coast, in Scarborough. I can’t recall seeing them, and probably arrived after they played. I do remember seeing Extreme, and made a point of making sure I saw them. Although they are also primarily heavy rock, there best known song is the classic ballad More Than Words, which had been a hit just the year before this gig. Squeeze have some top songs and got the crowd singing along. This is the only time I’ve seen Bryan. I’m not a fan, really, and haven’t felt the need to see him again, although he has returned to the region several times, playing the Arena, Gateshead Stadium again two years later, and a recent unplugged show at the Sage.
3 Mar
Average White Band in concert 1976 and 1980
Average White Band 1976 and 1980
PIck Up The Pieces! The Average White Band were great favourites of some of my mates in the 70s. Their blend of funk and rock would fill the dance floor in discos. I saw them in concert a couple of times, at Newcastle City Hall in 1976 and again in 1980. I remember that as a tight rock/jazz outfit, great at what they did, but to be honest they were never really by cup of tea. I went to see them along with friends who were more into them than me.
The Average White Band split up in 1982 but regrouped after some years and are still playing today. They played recently at the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall as part of the Celtic Connections festival. Looking back through the programmes, which are pictured here, from those gigs did bring back some memories. The support act on one of those tours, I owuld think 1976, was Kokomo. 
Now there was a band, who are all but forgotten now, and much under-rated. Their blend of soul and funk was much more to my liking. Kokomo drew its musicians from a number of UK bands including The Grease Band, Arrival, and King Crimson. I recall seeing Kokomo quite a few times: a great gig in Newcastle Poly and at the Reading Festival, but can’t recall any of their songs. I must try and find one of their lps.
Bands like Average White Band and Kokomo represent a particular time and period to me; in fact I’d almost forgotten them. I’m finding the exercise of working through my programme and ticket collection very interesting. Its bringing back old memories, and reminding me of bands and times that I had forgotten. Its taking longer than I thought, however; I’m working through them, at least in part, alphabetically, and I haven’t yet completed the letter A…..
2 Mar
After the Fire October 1979
After the Fire October 1979
I saw After The Firs a few times in the 70s. The band formed in the early 70s as a progressive rock band, but by the time of this gig in 1979 they had moved to a more poppy new wave sound. I recall the song Laser Love, which was also the title of their lp of the time.
After The Fire were regulars at The christian-based Greenbelt festival throughout the 70s. Greenbelt ran on the same August bank holiday weekend as the Reading festival, which I always attended. However I’m pretty sure that they defected to Reading one year; think it was in the late 70s. They were also support act on a number of tours. I remember seeing them at a gig at Newcastle Polytechnic in 1977, supporting The Damned. Think that gig was cut short because the crowd were throwing bottles and glasses at The Damned. I found a programme and a copy of their fanzine Friends, in among my programme collection. 
I was surprised to find that they have reformed, are gigging again, and that there is now a Friends website, which is attempting to connect old fans who subscribed to the fanzine.I’m not sure I’m too impressed with the posing on the programme cover! I must take the time to read the Friends magazine, which I’m sure will bring back some memories. I’ve just read through the band biography on the Friends website. This band gigged a lot, and achieved a lot in the late 70s, including headlining The Rainbow Theatre, and touring Europe as support for ELO and for Queen.
28 Feb
Alkatraz Sunderland Polytechnic Wearmouth Hall Jan 21st 1977
Writing this blog, with a post each day based on my ticket and programme collection is an interesting exercise, particularly when I come across a ticket like this. I must admit that I have absolutely no recollection of seeing Alkatraz or even who the band were. But for completeness I am including them, and I decided to see if I could find anything out about this band. The name would suggest a mid 70s heavy metal outfit, perhaps at the start of the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal). Sure enough some googling uncovered the following album description: “ALCATRAZ – DOING A MIDNIGHT – 1976 (UK) heavy progressive. Meanwhile, after his stint in The Neutrons, Will Youatt joined up with his ex-Quicksand partner James Davies to found Alkatraz, a fabulous and all too short-lived band who we’d hoped would carry the welsh rock flag into the eighties. Their one release, Doing A Moonlight, is a really superb example of intelligent and well-executed guitar based rock.” which I found on the orexisofdeath blogspot. The Neutrons were a spin-off from Welsh rock wizards Man, and were well thought of in the 70s. So the Man connections make Alkatraz look an interesting outfit to me. Interesting also to see that DJ support came from the Dave Wood Road Show. I wonder if that was the same Dave Wood who established the local heavy metal label Neat in the late 70s? I only wish I could recall all these gigs, or go back in time and relive them!
27 Feb
Fairport Convention Sage Gateshead February 26th 2012
Fairport Convention Sage Gateshead February 26th 2012. Support Act: Kieran Goss
Marie and I spent a very pleasant evening in the Sage Gateshead last night seeing Fairport Convention. This time the band had chosen to visit the smaller Hall 2, which had been sold out for some weeks. We bought a programme on the way in, which Dave Pegg and Ric Sanders, who sitting at the merchandise table, kindly signed. Support came from Irish singer songwriter Kieran Goss, who delivered a short, but enjoyable set, before being joined by the Fairports for a nice version of Reach Out (I’ll Be There), the old Motown classic. This was Fairport’s 45th (!) anniversary tour, and for the occasion they asked fans to nominate songs, via email, that they would like to hear from their massive back catalogue. This has resulted in a set list with old favourites and a few surprises. 
We bought a programme calendar when we arrived and Dave Pegg and Ric Sanders kindly signed it for us. For me, the highlight of the night was a beautiful rendition of Sandy Dennny’s Fotheringay from the 1969 lp, What We Did On Our Holidays. The sound was crisp and clear; the Sage has wonderful acoustics. Setlist: Reach Out (with Kieran Goss);Sir Patrick Spens; Crazy Man Michael; Farewell, Farewell; Albert & Ted; The Cell Song; Genesis Hall; John Gaudie / Shetland Tunes; Interval: Mercy Bay; Fotheringay; Celtic Moon; Rosie; Jewel In The Crown; I Wandered By The Brookside; Hexamshire Lass; Hiring Fair; Danny Jacks Reward; Matty Groves; Encore: Meet On The Ledge
26 Feb
The Rolling Stones O2 Arena London August 21st 2007
The Rolling Stones The O2 Arena London August 21st 2007
I saw the Stones in Sheffield in 2006 on the first leg of the Bigger Bang tour, which was the 9th time I’d seen the band, and convinced me I should take every chance I could to see them so, when they returned to the UK a year later in August 2007 to finish the tour at the O2 Arena London, I decided to go and see them again, and bought myself a ticket. Having already paid top prices for David and I to go to the Sheffield gig, I couldn’t justify paying for a seat down the front, so I bought a cheap(?!) £75 ticket up in the heights of the arena in the top balcony at the side of the stage. I figured it would be interesting seeing them from that part of the arena anyway. On the night of the gig I arrived in time for support The Kooks, who played to a pretty empty arena, and a largely uninterested crowd. I knew their hit “She Moves in Her Own Way”, which is pretty neat. However the crowd was very much there to see the Stones, and everyone was waiting for the main act. During the interval I wandered around the arena, exploring the place, taking in the crowd and sharing in the atmosphere of a Stones gig. 
As I came down an escalator, an official with a pile of tickets asked me if I would like to upgrade my seat. He offered to swap my ticket for a seat “right down the front”. Great I thought. The deal was done, and with around 15 minuutes to show time I walked downstairs to take my new seat. My eyesight is not so good these days and not having my glasses with me I couldn’t read the row and seat number, so asked a steward for help in locating where I was to be sitting. “Oh you are in the middle of the front row of the front block, continue down to the very front” I was told! So, excited as a little kid, I took my place in the middle of the front row, in a prime £150 seat. The band/promoter/arena had clearly kept some fromt row seats back, presumably to give out to surprised fans on the night! 10 minutes later and the band took to the stage, with Keith, Mick and the rest of them only a few feet in front of me. I never thought I’d ever be as close to the Stones again. Jagger was prancing up and down the stage, incredibly lean and fit. They kicked off with Start Me Up, and went through a set of usual favourites. It was great being so close; the sound was loud yet crisp, the band so energetic, particularly Jagger. Awesome. I was buzzing for days after. Setlist: Start Me Up; You Got Me Rocking; Rough Justice; Rocks Off; Let It Bleed; Beast of Burden; Can’t You Hear Me Knocking; I’ll Go Crazy; Tumbling Dice; You Got The Silver; Wanna Hold You. B-Stage: It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It); Respectable; (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction; Honky Tonk Women; Sympathy for the Devil; Paint It Black; Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Encore: Brown Sugar.
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