Kate Bush Sunderland Empire April 12th 1979 
I nearly didn’t go to this gig, but I am so glad I did. Marie and I had tickets to see Thin Lizzy at Newcastle City Hall on the same night. I’d already bought the Thin Lizzy tickets before Kate’s gig was announced. I was quite a fan of Lizzy, and went to every tour; however I also quite fancied seeing what this strange lady singer was like. So we decided to forego the Lizzy concert (I can’t remember what I did with the tickets, I may have sold them or given them away….) and to go and see Kate Bush. [In fact, Lizzy were playing two nights, and in the end I managed to get a ticket for the alternate night, and saw Lizzy one night and Kate Bush the next. Result!] I queued for tickets at the Empire the day they went on sale. There was quite a queue when I arrived and by the time I reached the box office all I could get were a couple of seats to the rear of the circle. But never mind, we were in. 
The show itself was quite different to a normal rock show. It was very theatrical, with dancers and Kate herself doing a lot of dancing. The set featured songs from her first two lps, and the hits to date. The sound was impeccable and the performance faultless. She succeeded in bringing the concept to the stage, and blended pop/music, dance and theatre perfectly. I can picture myself now, looking down from the balcony at Kate and her dancers performing Wuthering Heights. Oh to go back in time and relive the experience. Will she ever perform in this way again. I doubt, but I hope so. If she does I will be there, no question. Setist: Moving; The Saxophone Song; Room for the Life; Them Heavy People; The Man with the Child in His Eyes; Egypt; L’amour Looks Something Like You; Violin; In the Warm Room; Fullhouse; Strange Phenomena; Hammer Horror; Kashka from Baghdad; Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake; Wow; Coffee Homeground; In Search of Peter Pan; Symphony in Blue; Feel It; Kite; James and the Cold Gun; Oh England My Lionheart; Encore: Wuthering Heights
Posts Tagged ‘music’
1 Feb
Arthur Brown in concert 1973 – present
Arthur Brown is a total one-off. From the moment I saw the guy singing Fire on Top of the Pops in 1968, I knew he was something special. I went out and bought his first lp, which had such wonderful prog tracks as Spontaneous Apple Creation, Child of My Kingdom and Fire Poem, featuring Arthur’s manic soaring vocals and the late great Vincent Crane’s rich swirling Hammond organ. I first got to see Arthur Brown live around 1973 at a Kingdom Come gig in Sunderland Polytechnic Wearmouth Hall. That gig was spectacular, and unlike anything I’ver ever see before or since. 
Remember, this was before Alice Cooper and any other rock theatre, and it was sensational. The stage was set with a massive wooden cross as its centre. Arthur was brought on stage and tied to the cross in a simulated crucifixion, where he stayed as he sang the first song. His voice was so strong, deep, loud and operatic in texture. His hair was very long, and the rest of the band looked pretty menacing, with lots of make up. After the first song Arthur leapt from the cross and started dancing around the stage like a madman. At one point in the set they had a section called The Brain, where one of the band crawled into the audience in a massive brain costume (it worked better than it reads…) followed by another member dressed as a priest. The priest then chased the brain around the hall, eventually capturing it while Arthur sang something about religion screwing up your brain. Pretty heavy stuff, but it worked, and blew my mind as a teenager. At the end of the set all of the band departed, leaving Arthur alone on stage singing a strange rambling song which appeared to be totally improvised. After some time the band came back on stage, captured Arthur, put him in a white straitjacket and dragged him off still singing and screaming. I wish I had this on video. Arthur disappeared for a long time from the scene during the 80s, and reappeared in the UK in the late 90s. The next time I saw him live was at a free open air show in Tynemouth. His set was pretty much as it is today, often starting with Dylan’s Hard Rains Gonna Fall, with Arthur wearing a black mask, eerily tapping a long walking stick on the floor as he slowly walks up to the stage. Other regulars in his set are I Put a Spell on You, Time Captives, Spontaneous Apple Creation, and of course Fire. Sometimes he plays covers such as Green Manalishi, Kites and How Strong my Love is. I’ve seen him a few times over the past 10 or so years. Once in his home town of Whitby (see ticket), and also as support act for Robert Plant, The Pretty Things, where he signed my ticket (I will look that out and scan it in for this post) and Hawkwind. He never fails to amaze, his voice is as strong as ever, and the guy has so much energy. The true God of Hellfire!
31 Jan
Argent in concert 1972 – 1974
Argent in concert 1972 – 1974
I first saw Argent in concert at Sunderland Top Rank on a double bill with Beggars Opera. I have a feeling it was a 12 midnight to 4am show that they put on now and then, sometimes on bank holiday weekends. Both bands were heavily organ-based; I had already seen Beggars Opera before, but Argent were new to me. Hold Your Head had just been realised, which places the concert sometime in 1972. I remember everyone standing on the tables in the Rink, singing to Hold Your Head Up; think they played in twice, once in the set and once as an encore. (Update note: I’ve just seen someone selling a poster for the gig on ebay. It was on Sunday 28th/ Monday 29th May 1972, from midnight to 4am. The gig was promoted by Fillmore North ie Geof Docherty. Support for Argent came from local bands Brass Alley and Beckett, and Beggars Opera. Tickets were all of 60p). I was impressed enough to go and see Argent again at Newcastle City Hall in 1973. 
Their lp at that time was “In Deep” which features the track God Gave Rock and Roll to You, later to be covered by Kiss. Argent were back at the City Hall in 1974, boasting a quadrophonic/stereo show, which featured speakers around the hall; I remember I was sitting right next to one on the balcony. The ticket advertised the concert as quadrophonic downstairs and stereo in the balcony! Interesting concept. 
The lp for this tour was Nexus, which was pretty heavy prog rock stuff, with tracks such as The Coming Of Kohoutek (great title) and the mega opus Music From The Spheres, which clocks in at over 8 minutes on the lp and was probably longer live. Alongside these new songs, The Zombies’ Time of the Season also got an outing in concert in those days. By 1974 Russ Ballard had left the band to be replaced by John Verity and guitarist John Grimaldi. Argent was a class act. Some great songs, and some top keyboard form Rod Argent. I remember being jealous of Rod Argent’s (very) long hair, and being fascinated by Russ Ballard’s guitar which had holes drilled through the body. 
A few years after Argent had split, I saw Rod Argent at a free keyboard demonstration concert at Middlesbrough Town Hall. I notice the ticket for the 1974 tour shows that Clancy, who were part of the pub rock scene of the early 70s, were the support act. Argent have reformed recently, and have been playing a few concerts in the past week. I would like to see them again, but haven’t caught up with them yet. (Update note: I found a flyer for the Quadrophonic gig at the City Hall so have added it here). I have since seen Rod a couple of times with Colin Blunstone and with The Zombies, who he tours with now. 
Update on 26/12/12. I’ve added a scan of the poster from the gig at Sunderland Top Rank, which John bought on ebay. This shows that it was a midnight to 4am show, on May 28/29 1972 (late May bank holiday). The Line-up was Argent, Beggars Opera, Beckett and Brass Alley.
30 Jan
Budgie: a much under-rated rock band. Memories of gigs 1972 – 2005
Budgie: a much under-rated band. Memories of gigs 1973 – 2005
My first memories of Budgie were seeing their name on the bill at the 1972 Lincoln festival. I was at the festival and noticed in the programme that they were playing in the Giants of Tomorrow tent. I remember thinking that Budgie was a strange name for a band. I can’t remember if I actually went to see them; I suspect not, as I spend most of the time in front of the main stage. The next time that Budgie came onto my radar was an appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test. 
They played Breadfan and the riff just blew me away. My friend had the album Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, and I spent hours practising and learning the riff. Not long after that I went to see them at the local Locarno ballroom in Sunderland. Seem to remember they started with Breadfan, and played it again as an encore. But they had other great rock songs: Parents, Zoom Club, In the grip of the tyre-fitters hand. 
The album Never Turn your Back on a Friend is a classic, which I played again and again at the time. Burke Shelley has a unique vocal style. By 1977 Budgie were a regular on the concert hall circuit and often played at Newcastle City Hall. By 1978 guitarist Tony Bourge had left the band, and original drummer Ray Philips had also departed some time ago. Burke Shelley kept the band going, and signed up new guitarist Robert Kendrick. I went to see Budgie twice at the City Hall in 1978. They were still drawing a respectable crowd, but not filling the place, and I was beginning to feel that their time had passed. However, the dawn of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal gave a kick start to their career and a spot at the 1980 Reading Festival, where I saw them play on the Sunday afternoon, kept them in the minds of heavy rock fans.
They returned to headline Reading in 1982, a gig I sadly missed. It was to be over 20 years before I saw Budgie again. In fact the band all but disbanded in the late 80s, concentrating on studio work, and not gigging at all. They returned in the late 90s and started touring the UK again around 10 years ago. Will and I took the chance to see them when they last came to Newcastle in 2005 to play at Trillians Rock Bar, which used to be The Man on the Moon pub in the 70s. 
The set consisted of some new tracks but the old favourites: Parents, Zoom Club, and of course Breadfan all featured. They were loud, in fact very loud, and the guitarist Simon Lees was excellent. Burke Shelley’s screeching vocals were as strong as ever and he played and looked great. It was really good to see them again. Will and I had tickets to see them again at Trillians a few years later, but the gig was sadly cancelled. The last I heard was that Burke Shelley had taken ill while on tour in Poland. The rest of the tour was cancelled and Burke returned home to recover. Hope he’s OK. 
Budgie are often forgotten, and are never given the credit they deserve. They were a pretty good solid rock band, who I remember with some fondness. Hope I get to see them again one day. I’ve just found a very old (and very small) programme from the Never Turn Your Back on a Friend tour. 
I must have got this (probably free) at Sunderland Locarno or Newcastle Mayfair in the early 70s. I didn’t know I had it. I’ve scanned it and added it to the post (see right).
29 Jan
Carlito and The Drug Store Cowboys The Ivy House Sunderland 28 January 2012
Carlito and The Drug Store Cowboys The Ivey House Sunderland 28 January 2012
Carlito (Carl Stephenson) is the son of Sunderland born Jazz drummer Ronnie Stephenson, house drummer at Ronnie Scott’s Club in the 60s. He formed The Drug Store Cowboys in Holland a few years ago, and has recently returned to Sunderland to form a new version of the band. Last night was their debut gig, and was full of friends and relatives. Luke, guitarist in the new Cowboys, is Davy’s mate; so we went along to support them on their first night. Carlito is a high energy performer from the mould of Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger; think of The Damned, The Dead Boys, The New York Dolls, Captain Beefheart and The Stooges all rolled into one. 
The set was a mixture of originals, other than a version of The Velvet Underground’s Waiting for the Man, and the encore of The Stone’s Sympathy for the Devil. Luke also got to perform three of his own songs. The sound mix wasn’t great at times, but Carlito’s manic performance made up for it. Davy got me the setlist. The guys play the White Room in Sunderland soon (see flyer to the left, which Davy designed).
28 Jan
The Bay City Rollers Sunderland Locarno 1974
The Bay City Rollers Sunderland Locarno 1974
Another guilty pleasure today. In fact, this is perhaps THE most sad admission I could make in terms of my gig going. OK I’ll admit it, I did go and see the Bay City Rollers….. and I survived to tell the tale, although only just. Actually, I think the Rollers deserve more respect than they ever get. I once read an article which described them as part of the true origins of punk rock, a bunch of Scottish street kids who played music for kids like themselves, and I sort of agree with that. In the history of pop The Rollers are often seen as a joke, which I think is sad. The Bay City Rollers played in Sunderland at the Locarno, just as they were taking off. It was probably in early 1974; when Shang-a-Lang was hitting the charts. They played on a Friday, which was a normal rock night, and a strange choice of billing. The normal faithful rock/hippy crowd, who went every Friday come what may, stayed away in droves, but I decided to go along with a couple of mates just to see what it was like. The ballroom was full of young girls and a smattering of skinheads. On any other Friday, I would have known almost everyone in there; that night I saw almost no-one I recognised, other than a handful of regulars who, like us, had come out of habit and curiosity. I couldn’t actually hear much of the Rollers set over the screaming, and the sound wasn’t wonderful. I do remember them singing hits such as Shang-a-Lang; Remember; Saturday Night and Summerlove Sensation (all from their first lp Rollin’) alongside a number of covers such as Be My Baby. Musically they weren’t great, but the way they worked the crowd was very impressive, Les on his kness at the front singing to the girls and all of the guys hamming it up. That was night was eventful for me for another reason. I was walking around the balcony when a skinhead came up to me and punched me hard in the face for no reason at all. I was dazed, and walked away; not very hurt, but pretty shocked. He was with a group, so it wouldn’t have been sensible to retaliate. However one of them came up to me, asked if I was OK, and explained that his mate was just edgy, and didn’t like guys with long hair. Just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess, but it did spoil the rest of the evening for me. I never did go and see The Rollers again, which is something I regret. From then on they played theatres and concert halls. I guess my experience that night put me off going along.
23 Jan
Blood Sweat and Tears Newcastle City Hall 14 June 1974
Blood Sweat and Tears Newcastle City Hall 14 June 1974
Spinning Wheel by Blood, Sweat and Tears seemed to be on the radio all of the time in the late 60s and early 70s. I only saw the band once, when my friend Norm and I went to see them when they came to Newcastle in 1974. The line up of this band changed many times over the years, and both Al Kooper and David Clayton-Thomas had left by the time of this tour. Nevertheless B,S & T put on a competent performance and played favourites ‘You’ve made me so very happy’ and ‘Spinning Wheel’. As I recall the City Hall was pretty empty for this gig.
The line up consisted of Bobby Colomby drums (by then the only original member!), Jerry Fisher lead vocals, Jerry Lacroix vocals, David Bargeron trombones, Georg Wadenius guitar, Larry Willis piano, Ron McLure bass, Tony Klatka sax, and Bill Tillman vocals. This was version 5 or 6 of the band, whose memberships has changed many times over the years with more that 100 (!) musicians passing through. A version of B,S & T continues to tour to this day.
22 Jan
ABBA Stafford Bingley Hall 11 November 1979
I’m starting this weeks posts with a guilty pleasure. I’ve always had a broad taste in music, and over the years, I’ve been to see quite a lot of straight pop acts, and artists from other genres. One concert that I am particularly proud of attending, and feel no quilt at all about, is Abba. My mate Davy and I went to see Abba at Stafford Bingley Hall at the height of their fame in 1979. Abba toured the UK twice, once in 1977 and again in 1979, and played around a dozen shows in the UK in total. Their first tour was at smaller venues such as Glasgow Apollo, and I remember regretting missing them on that tour. So when they announced some dates at larger venues in 1979, I bought a couple of tickets to see them in Stafford Bingley Hall. The concert was on a Sunday, and we drove down to the concert on the afternoon, and as I recall, went to a chinese restaurant for a meal before the gig.
Stafford Bingley Hall was used for gigs throughout the 70s, Davy and I also went there to see The Who in the mid 70s. It was a big old cattle market, and smelt like one! For the ABBA concert they laid plastic seats in rows, we were in Row 18, which wasn’t too far away from the front. I don’t recall there being any support act for this gig. One thing I do remember is we were both were quite tickled that the actor, John Forgeham, who played Jim Baines in Crossroads at the time was sitting in the next row. 
The setlist will have been something like: Gammal Fabodpsalm; Voulez-Vous; If It Wasn’t for the Nights; As Good as New; Knowing Me Knowing You; Rock Me; Not Bad At All; Chiquitita; Money Money Money; I Have a Dream; Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight); S.O.S.; Fernando; The Name of the Game; Eagle; Thank You For The Music; Why Did It Have to Be Me; Intermezzo No. 1; I’m Still Alive; Take a Chance on Me; Summer Night City; Does Your Mother Know; Hole in Your Soul; The Way Old Friends Do; Dancing Queen; Waterloo. The four members of Abba were accompanied by a band, and by a large choir of local children for I Have a Dream. They played all the hits and a selection of album tracks. The sound at big gigs wasn’t great in those days, and I seem to remember that being the case at this gig; it was quite quiet in comparison to a more traditional rock concert. Davy and I really enjoyed it, and I still look back on this gig with fond memories and feel quite lucky that I got to see Abba. My programme is above. After the gig we then drove straight back up to Newcastle, which is around 200 miles. It started snowing as we got further north, and I dropped Davy off at Newcastle City Hall, where he joined the queue for tickets for Paul McCartney and Wings which went on sale the next morning. I went home for a few hours sleep, got up went to work for a short time, then went through to Newcastle and met (a very cold and tired) Davy who had managed to get the Wings tickets, but thats a story for another day.
21 Jan
Jeff Beck Newcastle City Hall 1974, 1981 and 2004
Jeff Beck in Newcastle 1974, 1981 and 2004
Writing my post about the Grangemouth Festival, where Jeff Beck headlined, made me think about the other times that I’ve seen Beck. The most recent was at the O2 a couple of years ago, when he co-headlined and dueted with Clapton. It was a great gig, with an astounding performance from Beck. I’ve seen him three other times, making five in total.
After Grangemouth I was keen to see Beck again, so when Beck, Bogert and Appice came to Newcastle City Hall in January 1974 I made sure that I was there. The set was similar to that he played at Grangemouth the year before. This was classic rock, but there were hints of the more experimental guitar technique that Beck was to move into in the future. The setlist for their Live in Japan 1973 DVD is: Superstition; Lose Myself With You; Jeff’s Boogie; Going Down; Boogie; Morning Dew; Sweet Sweet Surrender; Livin’ Alone; I’m So Proud; Lady; Black Cat Moan; Why Should I Care; Plynth/Shotgun. I would guess that the set that night will have been similar. 
By 1981 Beck was more into jazz-rock, and his 1981 show at the City Hall reflected this. As I recall, Ian and I went to this gig, and the set was all instrumental. Beck no doubt gave us some great guitar playing, but I found it a bit too much, and I was bored by the end. He’d released the Wired and There and Back albums in 1975 and 1980, and the set mainly comprised tracks from those lps, with no old songs, and definitely no Hi Ho Silver Lining. Looking at published setlists, around that time the set was something like: Star Cycle; El Becko; Too Much to Lose; The Pump; Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers; Space Boogie; Led Boots; Freeway Jam; Diamond Dust; Scatterbrain/Drum Solo; Blue Wind; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat/You Never Know; Going Down. 
It was over 20 years until I saw Jeff Beck again. By 2004, when Will and I last saw him in Newcastle, he was still playing mostly instrumental, with a singer for a few of the songs. By now he’d moved into a more experimental mode, using techniques which blend rock, jazz and sounds from the 50s and 60s; shades
of The Shadows, surf guitar, Duane Eddy, Dick Dale and Santo and Johnny. He was awesome that night, and I realised again just what a craftsman he is. My programme for the 2004 gig is to the left. His instrumental version of The Beatles Day In The Life is a revelation. His set from The Albert Hall concert a few days later was: Resolution; Star Cycle; Freeway Jam; Roy’s Toy; Big Block; Cry Me a River; Stratus; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat; Angel; Even Odds; Brush with the Blues; Nadia; Nothing but Love; Loose Cannon; Blancet; Rollin’ and Tumblin’; Blue Wind; Voyage Home; Rice Pudding; Cissy Strut; Led Boots; A Day in the Life; Where Were You; You Never Know; Encore: People Get Ready. Still no Hi Ho Silver Lining. I’d resigned myself to never seeing him play the 60s classic. However, that was to come as a surprise at the gig with Clapton (see my earlier blog).
20 Jan
Billy Connolly Newcastle City Hall January 19th 2012
David and I really enjoyed Billy Connolly last night. We met him briefly at the stage door before the show and I got my ticket autographed (see scanned ticket to the right). He was on for over two hours without a break and told us some great stories. He looked great, with a smart new hair cut which he explained was for a movie that he is currently filming. 
His stories seemed to be completely natural and improvised; it would be interesting to go along again tonight and see how much of the show is the same. Lots of swearing, and crudity, vomit was a bit of theme of a few of the stories….great fun. A couple of friends from work were there; their comments were: “crying with laughter at the finish. It was really weird the way he came on and just started talking as if he had been doing it all night, then a complete stream of consciousness for 2.5h and then just stopped and left. He is very charismatic on the stage and you felt as if he was just having a chat with you down the pub.”
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