The UK Subs Middlesbrough Rock Garden 20th October 1979
“The U The U The UK Subs! The U The U The UK Subs!” The chant got louder and louder. The Rock Garden was packed. Completely. You couldn’t move and the crowd were hungry to see their heroes again. The UK Subs were big favourites as the Rock Garden and played there on several occasions. They were almost the house band there and big favourites with the Boro punk crowd. Charlie Harper bounded on to the stage and the Subs crashed straight into the set; fast, frantic, manic, loud. The punks went totally crazy, pushing, shoving, moshing, pogoing, and spitting. My mate Dave and I were lurking at the back of the dancefloor, trying to avoid the scuffles and stopping ourselves from being dragged into the moshpit. The Subs had just released their debut album Another Kind of Blues which reached No. 21 in the UK album charts and had been in the singles charts (and on Top of the Pops) with “Stranglehold” (reached No. 26) and “Tomorrow’s Girls” (No. 28). You could easily find reasons to knock the UK Subs. Their music was pretty basic punk thrash with a hint of pub rock, their songs had no particularly deep or political message, and (shock horror) singer and front man Charlie Harper was 35 years old! But there was a worth ethic and honesty to the Subs, that made them working class heroes to punks like the Rock Garden mob, and those in clubs up and down the country. And on a good night (and they we both good nights on the two occasions I saw them) the UK Subs were great fun.
The UK Subs returned to the Rock Garden again on 5th April 1980. This time they played two shows, we went to the late show, as the early gig was aimed at under 14s.
The Subs line-up at the time was Charlie Harper (vocals), Nicky Garratt (guitar), Paul Slack (bass), and Pete Davies (drums). The UK Subs continue to this day, still fronted by a 70 years young Charlie Harper. Respect!
Posts Tagged ‘new wave’
27 Feb
The UK Subs Middlesbrough Rock Garden 20th October 1979
23 Feb
The Vibrators live 1976 – 1978
The Vibrators live 1977 – 1978
Well I’m getting within sight of the end of my project. I’ve covered the letters up to and including “X”, leaving only “Y” and “Z” to do. I’ve been working through my concert memories with the aid of my tickets and programmes, which means I’ve missed some bands for whom I don’t have anything in my collection. For instance, any gig where I paid on the door, and wasn’t given a ticket, may have been missed. So over the remaining period I will be jumping about a bit, trying to cover those bands, or at least the ones I can remember and who I feel should be mentioned. I also have some festival events to cover. Still I reckon another couple of months and I will probably be finished. Mitch reminded me that I hadn’t written about The Vibrators, so here goes.
Ian “Knox” Carnocan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis and drummer Eddie formed The Vibrators in early 1976, and they played their first gig supporting The Stranglers in London. The band’s debut single “We Vibrate” came out in November 1977 and was one of the first punk singles. Marie and I first saw the band at Middlesbrough Rock Garden in December 1976. The gig was close to Christmas, I think it may have been 23rd December, and if I remember correctly, the band played two nights at the venue. This was one of the first gigs at the Rock Garden and our first visit, of many, to the venue which was to become the home of punk rock in the North East. I remember them playing “We Vibrate” which was quite a catchy rock’n’roll single. The Rock Garden was quite empty, punk (and the venue) were just starting to take off. We saw the Vibrators again at a packed gig in Newcastle Poly bar a few months later. 
I remember we were standing right in front of Knox, and the music was deafening in the small venue.
Early in 1977 I saw The Vibrators again, this time at Newcastle City Hall supporting Iggy Pop (the “Idiot” tour with David Bowie on keyboards). Around this time they released their classic “Baby Baby” single, which was a big live favourite, followed by their debut lp “Pure Mania”, a punk rock classic, which spent five weeks in the UK album charts. A second, live, single from the album “London Girls” (another great song, which I remember seeing them play), came out in Summer 1977. We next saw The Vibrators supporting Ian Hunter at Newcastle Mayfair (Hunter’s “Overnight Angels” tour). Bassist Pat Collier left soon after the Ian Hunter tour, and was replaced by Gary Tibbs (who would go on to play with Roxy Music and Adam and the Ants). The last time I recall seeing The Vibrators was at a headline gig at Seaburn Hall, Sunderland (pictured). This was soon after they released the single “Automatic Lover”, which reached No. 35 in the UK singles chart and got the band a spot on Top of the Pops. They released their second lp “V2” in April 1977; another punk classic, and the line-up of the band started to change shortly afterwards. Drummer Eddie continues to lead The Vibrators today. The Vibrators were a great live act, full of energy and with some classic punk tunes, and a very important part of the early punk scene.
21 Feb
XTC Newcastle City Hall 19th May 1981
XTC Newcastle City Hall 19th May 1981
I saw XTC a few times at Newcastle University during 1978 and 1979. They played the University students union on 4th February 1978, 4th November 1978 and 27th April 1979. I think I was at least two of those gigs, but can’t recall exactly which ones. This was the early version of the band with a line-up of Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Terry Chambers and Barry Andrews. Andrews left in early 1979 to be replaced by Dave Gregory. Early XTC were all jerky rhythms; much more experimental and punky than the later post-Andrews band, which became poppier. By the time I saw them at Newcastle Mayfair on 21st September 1979 XTC had entered the single charts with the excellent “Life Begins at the Hop” and had just released their new single, the classic “Making Plans for Nigel”. Support came from the Yachts. 
I saw XTC once more before they quit touring, at a concert at Newcastle City Hall on 19th May 1981. They had just been in the singles chart with “Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)”, another classic pop tune. Support at the City Hall came from Last Touch. “Senses Working Overtime” was XTC’s last Top 10 hit in 1982. After that they became a studio band of Andy Partridge and session musicians.
A great pop band who have been hugely influential. You can hear XTC in Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and many other guitar-oriented jerky pop bands.
Setlist (something like): Real by Reel; Life Begins at the Hop; When You’re Near Me I Have Difficulty; Respectable Street; Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me); Snowman; Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins); Ball and Chain; Love at First Sight; No Language in Our Lungs; Scissor Man; Towers of London; Burning With Optimism’s Flames; Making Plans for Nigel; Living Through Another Cuba; Generals and Majors; Helicopter; Are You Receiving Me?.
20 Feb
X Ray Spex Redcar Coatham Bowl 23rd April 1978
X Ray Spex Redcar Coatham Bowl 23rd April 1978
The night the Coatham Bowl turned Dayglo.
Poly Styrene exploded onto the stage; a bundle of crazy youthful energy. Art-I-Ficial !! Off we went, the crowd jumping and pogoing along to the loud raucous noise. A manic hippy looking guy with long hair ran to the front of the stage, squeezing discordant noises from his sax. Poly screamed into the mike, shook her head, swung her dreads around and around, and lost herself in a childish whirling dance. The pace, the noise and the music were relentless. Identity !! ……Warrior in Woolworths (my favourite)….They played many of the tracks which would make their classic debut Germ Free Adolescents so great. X Ray Spex were joyous, hectic, amateur, funny, bright and loud. They were also amazing and one of the most fun acts to emerge from punk. Their songs each had a message, but not in the serious gloomy way of many of the bands of the time. Poly was a one-off and the songs all had catchy hooks and were 100% pure pop. They crashed through Oh Bondage! Up Yours! And then they were gone, back to the planet Plastic, from whence they came. Wonderful.
Support came from local Teesside punk rockers Britzkrieg Bop.
Setlist (something like): Art-I-Ficial; Obsessed With You; Identity; Let’s Submerge; Plastic Bag; I Live Off You; I Am a Poseur; Genetic Engineering; I Am a Cliche; The Day the World Turned Dayglo; Warrior in Woolworths; Oh Bondage! Up Yours!
RIP Poly Styrene
8 Feb
Reading Festival 24th – 26th August 1979
Reading Festival 24th – 26th August 1979
This was my 8th visit to Reading. The line-up was a predictable mix of new wave and heavy rock. It was also a year of line-up changes. Two of the main bands who were billed to play: Thin Lizzy and The Ramones did not appear. Thin Lizzy pulled out at a few days notice due to Gary Moore’s departure from the band. Lizzy were replaced by Scorpions and The Ramones by Nils Lofgren. Both of these changes were major disappointments. The weather wasn’t bad and the event was well-attended, but didn’t sell out. My recollections of the weekend are below:
Friday line-up: Bite the Pillow, The Jags, Punishment of Luxury, Doll by Doll, The Cure, Wilko Johnson, Motorhead, The Tourists, The Police.
Friday was the “new wave” day. I watched all of the bands from Punilux onwards. Highlights were The Cure who impressed me even though the only song I had heard before was “Killing an Arab”, and Wilko and Motorhead, both acts going down a storm with the crowd, who preferred their rock heavier and more traditional. The Police were riding on the crest of a wave of success, and were amazing, Sting had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and the entire field sang along to the hits. It was great to witness a band at their peak.
The Police setlist: Deathwish; Next To You; So Lonely; Truth Hits Everybody; Walking On The Moon; Hole In My Life; Fall Out; Message In A Bottle; The Bed’s Too Big Without You; Peanuts; Roxanne; Can’t Stand Losing You; Landlord; Born In The 60s
Saturday line-up: Root Boy Slim; Fame; The Yachts; Little Bo Bitch (not sure that they played?); The Movies; Bram Tchaikovsky; Gillan; Steve Hackett; Cheap Trick; Inner Circle; Scorpions
We spent much of Saturday enjoying the delights of local hostelries and didn’t venture into the arena until later in the day. To be honest, looking at the line-up now, it was pretty uninspiring. We made it into the festival for Gillan onwards. Gillan seemed to play everywhere at the time, and were always good fun. I’d seen them so many times that I was getting to know the new songs, but I also always looked forward to hearing Purple classics, which they did including ‘Smoke on the Water”. Steve Hackett played “I Know What I Like” which prompted a mass crowd singalong. The highlight was Cheap Trick with crazy antics from Rick Nielson and an exquisite performance by Robin Zander. A video of their performance that night is on YouTube. You can find “I Want You To Want Me” here, a bit rough, but still amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTLEYcO2VnE
For the encore Cheap Trick were joined onstage by Dave Edmunds and Bad Company guitarist Mick Ralphs for a rendition of The Beatles’ “Day Tripper”. Classic 😄
Inner Circle’s reggae rhythms went down well. Scorpions were great (I really liked “Loving You Sunday Morning” at the time), but we were disappointed that we weren’t seeing Lizzy who had become a Reading favourite and were massive at the time.
Sunday line-up: The Cobbers; Terra Nova; Speedometers; Zaine Griff; Wild Horses; The Members; Molly Hatchett; Climax Blues Band; Nils Lofgren; Peter Gabriel; Whitesnake.
Sunday highlights for me were The Members who were in the charts with “Sounds of the Suburbs” and got a mixed reaction from the crowds with some people liking them, and others lobbing cans, and Peter Gabriel who started with “Biko” and played classic solo tracks like “Moribund The Burgermeister”, “Solsbury Hill” and “Here Comes The Flood”. Phil Collins joined Gabriel for the end of his set for “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway”. Whitesnake closed the evening and were worthy headliners (although they weren’t billed as so, with Peter Gabriel and non-showers The Ramones having shared top billing in the pre-festival publicity). They started with an amazing new song “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” which set the tone for the evening. Ian Paice had just joined on drums and Whitesnake now had three former Purple members (Coverdale, Lord and Paice).
Whitesnake setlist: Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues; Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City; Steal Away; Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick; Mistreated; Soldier Of Fortune; Love Hunter; Breakdown; Whitesnake Boogie.
An enjoyable Reading weekend, if not one of the strongest line-ups.
20 Jan
Kim Wilde Newcastle City Hall 9th October 1982
Kim Wilde Newcastle City Hall 9th October 1982
Another (semi) guilty pleasure today? Kim Wilde burst onto the music scene in 1981 with her debut single “Kids in America”, which reached number two in the UK charts. Kim is, of course, the daughter of 1950s rock ‘n’ roller Marty Wilde. The single was a great catchy pop song with a new wave / rock’n’roll edge, and was promoted by a wonderful video of a pouting dancing Kim, accompanied by her brother Ricky and band. I went to see Kim in concert at Newcastle City Hall on her first UK tour, which took place in 1982. Support for the tour came from BB featuring Stevie B and Jo Burt, who had both been members of Tom Robinson’s Sector 27. By the time of this concert Kim had been in the singles chart on five occasions with, in addition to “Kids”, “Chequered Love”, “Water on Glass”, Cambodia” and “View from a Bridge”. All classic pop singles. The songs on Kim’s debut album were all written by Marty Wilde and her younger brother Ricky and most of the music was played (rather surreally 🙂 ) by The Enid! However, by the time she went out on tour, Kim had her own backing band, which wasn’t The Enid and featured her brother Ricky. 
The concert was great fun, and featured all of her hits. I found this short review on the Wilde Life site: “Her music is catchy, pleasant but not very memorable, and Kim Wilde’s first visit to Newcastle was much the same. But that is not to detract from Miss Wilde for at least she knows her limitations. She will never be Chrissie Hynde, for example. She has waited a long time before touring which is a measure of the concern she has to give of her best. And for her devoted fans the wait was worth it. The quality of sound was first class, and for a new band, the musicians knitted together extremely well. The highlights for me were “Water on glass”, “26580” and the encore number “Kids in America” – MR”.
I saw Kim once more, when she supported Michael Jackson at a massive concert at Leeds Roundhay Park, shortly after she had a UK No. 2 hit with her great version of the Supremes’ song “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”.
Setlist: Water on glass; Tuning in tuning on; Our town; Everything we know; Take me tonight; Words fell down; When the boy’s happy (the girl’s happy too); View from a bridge; Child come away; Watching for shapes; You’ll never be so wrong; Boys; 26580; Falling out; Cambodia.
Encore: Kids in America.
19 Jan
Wreckless Eric Ashington Regal 16th April 1978
Wreckless Eric Ashington Regal 16th April 1978
Support from The Showbiz Kids
Back in the 1970s there were still some lovely old cinemas around, and many of them were being used as venues for concerts. In the North East, I attended gigs in Newcastle Odeon, Jesmond Cinema, Gosforth Royalty and this concert which was in Ashington Regal. These were all beautiful theatres, very ornate, with plush comfortable seats, and sculptures of cherubs looking down at the audience. They brought back memories of going to the pictures in the ’60s and the Saturday morning picture clubs that we would all troop off to, such as the ABC Minors. The whole street would meet at the bus stop and get the bus down to the down to watch old Laurel and Hardy, Flash Gordon and Perils of Pauline films. Sadly all of the cinemas I have mentioned here are now no more.
The Ashington Regal Theatre was built on the site of the Miners’ Theatre. It opened in 1939, and had a 39 feet wide proscenium, an orchestra pit that could hold 15 musicians, and a cinema organ. It was taken over by the Noble Organisation in 1972, and closed in November 1979, just over a year after this concert. The building then lay derelict for several years until it was eventually demolished, and a nursing home was built on the site.
In 1978, in what I would imagine was a last chance saloon move to keep the cinema open, a series of Sunday concerts were put on at the Regal. I think this Wreckless Eric gig was the only one I attended, although I may also have seen Slade there, but can’t be sure. I know Whitesnake also played the Regal as part of the series, and I think Squeeze may also have featured at one of the shows.
We knew Wreckless Eric from seeing him on the Stiff tour and for his classic Stiff single “(I’d Go The) Whole Wide World”. Eric had just released his first album, and gave a typical shambolic, yet enjoyable performance. I saw him once more a couple of years later supporting Squeeze at the Mayfair. The Regal concert was quite poorly attended; Wreckless Eric was not such a big name at the time, and headlining a cinema of this size was probably quite an optimistic move. Support came from local band The Showbiz Kids, who were managed by local promoter Geof Docherty (who I think also promoted this gig) and featured Olga (later of the Toy Dolls) and Rob Kane (now of Dr Feelgood).
“We are the boys and girls well known as Minors of the ABC. And every Saturday we all line up, to see the films we like and shout aloud with glee. We like to laugh and have a singsong, such a happy crowd are we. We’re all pals together, we’re minors of the ABC.” Happy days 🙂
17 Jan
Wah! Newcastle University Students Union 28th Nov 1981
Wah! Newcastle University Students Union 28th Nov 1981
Support from The Set
Pete Wylie was born in Liverpool and began his career in 1977 forming a band “Crucial Three” with future Bunnyman Ian McCulloch and future Teardrop Exloder and druid poet Julian Cope. Wylie then went on to be in a stream of short-lived bands, sometimes with Cope, including the Mystery Girls (also featuring future Dead or Aliver Pete Burns), the Spitfire Boys (pretty sure I saw them as a support act), the Nova Mob, the Opium Eaters (also featuring future Banshee Budgie, future Frankie Goes to Hollywooder Paul Rutherford and future Lightning Seeder Ian Broudie), and Crash Course. So, as you can see, he was very much part of the Loverpool and Manchester Rock new wave scene.
In 1980 he then formed Wah! Heat, who received critical acclaim, became a John Peel favourite, and released two singles “Better Scream” and “7 Minutes to Midnight” Their biggest hit single was of course the great “The Story of the Blues”, which was released in late 1982, and reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.
I saw Wah! once, at a Saturday night gig at Newcastle University students union. In was in late 1981, before Wah! had released The Story of the Blues. I’d read of Wylie and the band in the music papers, and heard Peel championing then and went along to see what Wah! were like. I’d heard the Wah! Heat singles, and remembering enjoying the gig. The music was a mix of new wave and electronica as I recall.
Based on a published set list of the time it is likely that they played the following songs: The Wind Up; Better Scream; Some Say; Forget the Down; Don’t Step on the Cracks; 7 Minutes To Midnight; Hey Joe.
“Here in my pocket I’ve got the story of the blues,
Try to believe me cos’ it could be front page news,
I said I live it like it hasn’t happened yet
I keep thinking of everyone how I’m the one, the one they’re trying to get.
To tell…The Story of the Blues…..
First they take your pride, then turn it all inside,
And then you realise, you got nothing left to lose.
So you try to stop,try to get back up,
And then you realise you’re telling The Story of the Blues.”
(Pete Wylie / The Mighty Wah!, The Story of the Blues, 1982)
9 Jan
The Waterboys Newcastle Tiffany’s 30th April 1986
The Waterboys Newcastle Tiffany’s 30th April 1986
Mike Scott and his Waterboys were on a rock’n’roll journey from “The Big Music” to the raggle taggle gypsy Celtic folk band that they became in the late 80s. This was Mike and the band at the top of their game, not long after the success of “Whole of the Moon”, yet choosing not to play that song and instead sweeping a ram-packed Tiffany’s along with joyous big swirling sounds, and a few carefully chosen covers. “The Big Music” filled the ballroom; I was standing on the balcony looking down onto the stage and the packed sweaty dance floor below, and it felt like any minute the roof would come off. Mike was one minute the rock star, the next a folk troubadour, and then he became a seer taking us all on a spiritual journey through the kaleidoscope of his music. He was Dylan when he sang “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” for us, and then Tex Ritter leading a country band into “The Wayward Wind”. And then we were transported to the Streets of Dublin, dancing to a Celtic fiddle band. This was one of those gigs where we all walked out into the cold night knowing we had experienced something pretty special.
Setlist: Medicine Bow; Be My Enemy; Medicine Jack; Fisherman’s Blues; The Thrill Is Gone / And The Healing Has Begun; Meet Me At The Station; A Girl Called Johnny; The Pan Within; I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight; We Will Not Be Lovers; Spirit / The 4 Ages Of Man; Savage Earth Heart; This Is The Sea
Encore: The Wayward Wind; A Pagan Place; Can’t Help Falling In Love; Red Army Blues
Encore 2: Death Is Not the End
17 Dec
The Vapors Newcastle University 14th June 1980
The Vapors Newcastle University 14th June 1980
The Vapors were a one hit wonder band best remembered for their single “Turning Japanese”, which mixed pop hooks, with oriental riffs, and silly lyrics. The band were managed by Paul Weller’s dad, who also managed the Jam. I saw them twice, once at this headlining gig at Newcastle University Students Union, and on one other occasion when they supported the Jam at Newcastle City Hall as part of one of the Jam’s national tours. I remember the Vapors as a fun pop / new wave act, but can’t pretend to remember anything other than “Turning Japanese”. There was a lot of talk at the time about the meaning of the song. The band explained it thus; songwriter and front man David Fenton: “Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn’t expect to”; and guitarist Rob Kemp: “It’s a love song about somebody who had lost their girlfriend and was going slowly crazy, turning Japanese is just all the cliches of our angst… turning into something you never expected to.” The Vapors existed between 1979 and 1982 and released two albums, and eight singles. “Turning Japanese” reached No 3 in the UK singles charts.
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