The Damned’s line-up changes several times in the late 70s and early 80s, with a few different people filling the guitar spot. I lost track of the different permutations, and I also remember seeing the band billed as The Doomed at a Rock Garden gig at one point. My mate Norm reminded me that we went to see Damned spin-off band Rat Scabies White Cats in 1978 at Whitley Bay Rex Hotel. The White Cats were short lived and Rat soon returned to The Damned fold. The Damned played Newcastle Mayfair a few times in the early 80s, and always attracted a big crowd. By then they had a lot of strong singles, and the set was much longer than in the early days. 
A live album exists of their Mayfair gig from 1982; I gig which I probably attended, and shows the setlist as being: Ignite; Disco Man; Generals; I Just Can’t Be Happy Today; Stranger on the Town; Wait for the Blackout; Bad Time for Bonzo; Curtain Call; Dozen Girls; Limit Club; Melody Lee; Fuse; Love Song; Sensible’s a Wanker; Smash It Up; Looking at You; New Rose; Happy Talk; Noise Noise Noise; Hippy Hippy Shake; Citadel. Favourites for me at that time were Smash It Up and Love Song. 
I also loved their version of Eloise, which is one of my all time favourite songs. I loved the Barry Ryan original, and remember going out and buying the single. I saw The Damned at Newcastle City Hall in 1986, around the time of Eloise, and was still impressed by them. By that time, however, Sensible had left the band, and only Vanian and Rat remained from the original line-up. I think that was the last time that I saw the band in concert. I keep meaning to go and see them again, and would really like to do so, particularly as the latest line-up features Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible. They are playing in Newcastle in December, but I’m pretty sure that I will be working in Ireland that day, so will miss them again. Must put that right sometime soon. I have some great memories of Damned gigs, and always had fun when I saw them.
The Mayfair was a great venue and I remember some crazy nights with The Damned there. Jimmy Burns has kindly sent me an image of a poster from those heady days. Many thanks, Jimmy (a.k.a. Punk Hoarder). I’m pretty sure I will have been at that concert. I have seen The Damned since then, featuring Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible from the original band and they were as crazy as ever. I have tickets for their reunion concert next year at Manchester Apollo and I am really looking forward to it. Maybe happy days can be here again.
The Damned, like much of punk rock, were a breath of fresh air when they exploded on to the late 70s music scene. Unlike the Pistols, and to some extent The Clash, The Damned were played up and down the country all of the time. I saw them lots and lots of times in the late 70s at Redcar, Middlesbrough Rock Garden, Newcastle Poly and later at gigs at Newcastle City Hall and Mayfair. I first saw The Damned supporting The Flaming Groovies at Redcar Coatham Bowl in 1976. This was at the time of New Rose, and I remember we went into the gig early especially to see The Damned. I recall that, for some reason, Dave Vanium wasn’t wearing his usual gothic styled make up and clothing and appeared wearing a leather jacket and no make up. The Captain was just mad, Brain James was the guitar hero, and Rat was going crazy on the drums. Their set included New Rose, their manic version of the Beatles’ Help and some embryonic versions of songs which would feature on their first album, which came out the following year. 
I then saw them at a shambolic gig at Newcastle Poly; there was lots of glasses flying, much edginess, fights and the set was cut short as a result. Marie and I talked to The Captain in the bar; he held court to a few of us, telling us how he was an Abba fan, and devouring a packet of crisps, including the packet itself all in one go. I also remember a gig at the Rock Garden. I was one of the few people at the gig with long hair, and Rat came up to me at the bar and said he thought I was Lemmy (! not sure if that was good or bad, but it seemed a fun complement at the time). That particular gig finished with an encore and The Captain coming back on stage stark naked and peeing on the crowd (who very quickly moved back and out of the way; luckily we were standing at the back). The City Hall ticket above was for a 1977 gig, at which they were supported by The Dead Boys, featuring the late great Stiv Bators. The Mayfair ticket is for a later gig (may actually be from the 80s). I also saw them at The City Hall supporting T Rex, which was a strange, but for me successful, pairing. I think I saw them once or twice at Durham University Dunelm Ballroom as well. What I remember of these guys was chaos, madness, great fun, some loud, fast punk rock. Great nights. Can I be young again?
By the time of the Rio album and tour Duran Duran were massive and at the top of their game. They sold out two nights at the City Hall, and I attended the second night. The set included all the hits; their first two albums contain a load of great songs: Rio, Hungry Like the Wolf, Save A Prayer: all good. I was pretty near the front and the crowd was going crazy around me: great stuff! This was the last time I was to see Duran Duran in concert, other than their appearance at Live Aid in 1985, which signalled the end of the band for some 20 years until the recent reunion.
Setlist: Rio; Hungry Like the Wolf; Last Chance on the Stairway; Lonely In Your Nightmare; Sound of Thunder; Night Boat; New Religion; Friends of Mine; Save a Prayer; Planet Earth; Hold Back the Rain; Careless Memories. Encore: Come Up And See Me (Make Me Smile); My Own Way; Girls on Film. Interesting to see that they covered Cockney Rebel’s Make Me Smile as the first encore on this tour. Support came from Bloomsbury Set (thanks Greg!).
I first came across Duran Duran when they supported Hazel O’Connor on her Breaking Glass tour at Newcastle City Hall. It was clear then that this was a band with a strong image and some great pop songs with catchy hooks, which transcended the New Romantic tag which they had. A year later they were back with their own headlining tour. I remember being surprised at the time at how quickly this new band had risen to headline status. They had released three singles in quick succession: Planet Earth, Careless Memories and Girls of Film, but I still doubted that they could fill the City Hall. But the gig was full; Duran Duran had already started to build their own strong following. 
Deaf School were a very influential band, although they are seldom mentioned these days. Holly Johnson said: “They revived Liverpool music for a generation.”, and Paul Du Noyer (founder of Mojo magazine) claimed:: “In the whole history of Liverpool music two bands matter most, one is The Beatles and the other is Deaf School.” Strong praise indeed, and not bad for a band who never had a hit single and existed for only a few years in the late 70s.
I saw them several times, at Redcar Coatham Bowl, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Newcastle University and Newcastle Poly. I note from the ticket for the Redcar gig, that the support was Ray Phillip’s (ex Budgie) band Woman, who I saw a few times in the 70s. Deaf School always delivered a great show, and it was exactly that, a show. They should have achieved much greater success than they did. I suspect one reason why this never happened was because they couldn’t capture the fun, theatricality and atmosphere of their live show on record. They were essentially a great live band. Every time I saw them the crowd was totally blown away. Deaf School have reformed recently, and have played a few gigs in home town Liverpool, London and further afield. Another one for my list of people to see again.
The Dickies were at their height in the UK in the late 1970s. They are a crazy, fun punk band who played superfast versions of well known songs. They were like the Ramones, but even more tongue in cheek and took and very funny. Their album “The Incredible Shrinking Dickies” was quite a hit in the UK, as were versions of “Paranoid”, “Eve of Destruction” and “Nights in White Satin”. They had their biggest success with “Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)”, the theme tune from the TV show, which got into the UK top 10 in 1979, and was released in dayglo yellow vinyl. 
I saw The Dickies a few times, including gigs at the City Hall (first supporting the Jam, and then their own headline show at which they were supported by Chelsea) and The Mayfair. The Mayfair gig took place while Banana Splits was in the charts. Played live, the song featured loads of bananas being thrown into the audience. They were a great fun night out, a cartoon-like crazy punk band, every song played super fast, with the crowd pogoing for their lives. They had a pretty strong following in the North East with young punks. I found this report from the time: “A riot breaks out in Newcastle when the band appears at a record signing. 2500 kids skip school to meet them but end up breaking the store’s front window. The police are called.” I seem to recall for the Newcastle Mayfair gig they played two shows, an early show for under 16s and a later show for older fans. My memory tells me that I went to the early kids show, so that I could then go along to the City Hall and see Judas Priest, but my ticket shows the time of the show as 7pm start, so maybe I went to see Priest first and then went to The Mayfair. The Dickies remain popular with punks in the UK, and continue to play to this day.
Great to see the original line up of Sham 69 again in the Brudenell Social Club with David last night. Jimmy was on top form. Its must be more than 30 years since I last saw this band, back in the day. Sham always stuck out to me as one of the best punk bands. There was an edge about them, their songs were both punky and catchy, and Jimmy Pursey was so charismatic and passionate on stage. I saw them in Sunderland Polytechnic Wearmouth Hall and at Reading Festival in the late 70s. Both gigs were marred by skinheads and violence. In those days I couldn’t resist going to see Sham, but went in fear of my life, being the only guy in the audience with long hair. When I saw they had reformed the original line-up I just had to go and see them. The gig was sold out, and had been for some time. 
The Brudenell Social Club is a great little venue, and this was the second time that I’d been. First up were local band Acid Drop, who were good, and played a mix of punk, thrash and ska. Then after a short break Chelsea took to the stage. This is also a band that a saw a few times in the late 70s. I recall a gig at Newcastle City Hall where Gene October told the crowd to ignore the bouncers and come down to the front. 
I think they were banned from the City Hall after that gig. The band features original members Gene on vocals and James Stevenson on guitar. I recognised a couple of the songs; in particular Right To Work, which was the last song. It was good to see them again. Sham 69 took to the stage around 10.20pm. The place was completely packed, the crowd consisting of a mix of old punks, skinheads, and some younger fans, with a smattering of old timer long hairs like me. David and I managed to get a spot right down at the front, towards the side of the stage, and a safe distance from the mosh pit. Sham exploded onto the stage with What Have I Got, the crowd responding with a loud F*** All!. This set the mood for the rest of the evening, the crowd knew every word of every song, and went crazy at the front. Jimmy looks great, trim and fit, and was in great form. Lots of opening up his arms to the crowd and getting them to sing the lines. Lots of water being thrown about; by the end of the evening Jimmy was soaked. 
Favourites for me were always going to be Bortal Breakout, If the Kids are United and Angels with Dirty Faces. Other highlights were a great version of The Clash’s White Riot and a new song Stockwell, which was slow, dark and sombre. The set was short and the songs fast, and they were on stage around one hour, or slightly less. And they were just great, just as powerful, angry and relevant as they ever were. It was great to attend a Sham gig again, to have fun and not to be frightened. And the glasses that get thrown now are plastic! A great fun night. David is not a big fan of punk rock, but even he enjoyed them. We got home around 1am. The set consisted of (can’t remember the order, and may have missed some): What Have We Got; Hey Little Rich Boy; Tell Us the Truth; I Don’t Wanna; Ulster; Angels With Dirty Faces; George Davis; That’s Life; Money; Hersham Boys; Asbo Sports Day; Stockwell; Borstal Breakout; White Riot; If the Kids Are United; Rip Off; Hurry Up Harry. I could see the setlist on the stage and Questions and Answers was on the list, but not played. Photos are by David.
Patti Smith is one special artist. She is many things: a legend, an icon, a punk, a poet, a rocker, an outsider, but above everything what really strikes me is the total authenticity of the lady. With Patti what you see is 100% what you get; each and every time. Last night Patti was in a playful mood; she came onstage around 8.30pm, and treated a packed Newcastle Academy to a set which mixed tracks from her new album “Banga” and classics from her back catalogue. She seemed pre-occupied by the chicken that she had eaten at Nandos earlier in the day, which got the blame for everything. She fluffed the start of the first song, and started again, which was fine, and told us that it was because of the chicken. Later on in the set she admitted that she was chattering a lot, and wondered if the chicken was making her do that. Patti was indeed in a chatty mood. She told us that she’d been to the hairdressers to have her hair curled (she also thought that this might have caused her chatty mood, along with the chicken) and how she’d been photographed by the NME for their icon series, holding a copy of an old NME from 1976 which featured her on the cover. Enough about Patti’s chat; which I mentioned to illustrate the good mood that she was in. The music was great. She played several classics which went down well with the crowd: Free Money, Pissing In The River, Because The Night. All great. Long time band partner Lenny Kaye had his own spot, which he dedicated to local band Penetration, and featured: Night Time / (We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet / Born To Lose / Pushin’ Too Hard. During this spot Patti did her cute quirky little dance while Lenny and the guys ran through the songs. Gloria was the closing number. The encore was the title track of her new album Banga, followed by People Have the Power, and closing with an ace version of Rock ‘N’ Roll Nigger, the entire place singing “Outside of Society”. She closed around 10.20pm; almost two hours after she started. Patti closed by telling us how much she had enjoyed it, explaining that some nights are great musically, but that last night she had “fun”, and that Newcastle was a magical place. We all believed her; and judging by the comments of everyone leaving the venue, the crowd agreed and had great fun too. Just amazing. Some people do get better with time.
So Wilko was gone and Gypie Mayo was in. I had big doubts as to whether this could work. Wilko was a class act, and would be very hard to follow. The chemistry between Lee and Wilko was obvious, they worked together so well. It could never be the same again. So we went along to see; and it worked. All credit to Gypie Mayo for taking this on and making it work, but work it did. Apparently Gypie only had a week to learn the set before going out on this tour. He kept his own style, and didn’t try to imitate Wilko, but he and Lee worked together and the Feelgoods continued to rock, just as they had before. 
Support for the 1977 tour came from the very excellent Mink DeVille, who hit the charts around the same time with “Spanish Stroll”. We went along to the City Hall early to make sure we caught their set; this was one gig where we gave the bar a miss. Will DeVille was a cook guy and warmed the crowd up well for our session in the Dr’s surgery. 
Dr Feelgood often seemed to choose a strong support act to open for them. The support in 1978 was Squeeze, who are another class act. I think support in 1979 came from Red Beans and Rice. 
After 1979, the Feelgood’s North East gigs were in smaller venues than the City Hall, such as Durham University and Redcar Coatham Bowl. By 1981 there had been more change and Gypie Mayo had left then band, to be replaced by Johnny Guitar. I saw that line up at the Rock on the Tyne festival which took place over the 1981 August Bank Holiday weekend. This was the start of several more line up changes, which have gone on until this day. 
I saw Dr Feelgood once more, at Newcastle Mayfair in 1987. I’ll blog on that gig shortly. Its easy to forget just how great Dr Feelgood were in the 70s, particularly as a live act. Without the Feelgoods we may not have had punk, and things just wouldn’t have been the same. I spent some great nights with these guys. 
Dr Feelgood were just plain amazing in their early days. They grew out of pub rock and preceded punk, and were pretty untouchable as a live act. I first saw them as support for Hawkwind on their 1974 tour, and was blown away by them. I couldn’t take my eyes off the two front men Lee Brilleaux and Wilko Johnson. Wilko strutted backwards and forwards across the stage, playing his Fender Telecaster in his characteristic choppy style, while Lee stared menacingly at us all, dressed in a sharp white suit, wringing the mike and pumping his fist. Sparko and The Big Figure silently and relentlessly provided the rhythm. I loved those tunes: “Back In the Night”, “Roxette”, “She does it right”. There was no one like them and no-one to touch them. 
The Feelgoods visited the City Hall every year from 1976 to 1979 and I went each year. They were always a great live act, and I never saw them put on anything other than a great performance. They also had some pretty cool support acts: GT Moore and the Reggae Guitars on the 1975 tour, and the George Hatcher band in 1976 (although the ticket says Clover, I am pretty sure they were replaced on the tour by George Hatcher). I also saw them at the Reading Festival in 1975, where they were the favourites of the weekend. Went with a group of mates; I can remember all of us coming back from the local pub specially to catcg the Feelgood’s set. 
And then the unthinkable happened, and Wilko was gone. I was shocked, and couldn’t see how the band would survive the loss of such a charismatic figure. Wilko wrote many of the songs, and was so crucial and integral to their sound, and their live show. But survive they did. I’ll blog tomorrow on the post-Wilko gigs that I saw at the City Hall. The live album “Stupidity” gives an idea of a setlist from those days: Talking About You; 20 Yards Behind; Stupidity; All Through The City; I’m a Man; Walking The Dog; She Does It Right; Going Back Home; I Don’t Mind; Back in the Night; I’m a Hog for You Baby; Checking Up on My Baby; Roxette; Riot in Cell Block No. 9
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