The Undertones live in 1979 & 1980
I first saw the Undertones at a gig in Middlesbrough Rock Garden on 4th March 1979. The place was completely jam packed and the band were simply incredible. There was a garage pop sensibility about this band, with Feargal’s wonderful warbling vocals, great tunes with instantly catchy hooks, cutting buzz guitar, and honest quirky songs about teenage angst and day to day life. The Undertones were a flash of welcome relief from the heavier political sentiments of many of the punk acts of the time. Their performances were pure raw energy, and they looked like (and were) young guys who had just stepped out of their front room rehearsals. The Rock Garden gig came soon after the release of the momentous “Teenage Kicks” single and before the release of their equally important first album. The original line-up of the band was Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O’Neill (rhythm guitar), Damian O’Neill (lead guitar), Michael Bradley (bass) and Billy Doherty (drums).
A few months later and the Undertones had been in the UK Top 20 with “Jimmy Jimmy” and were headlining theatres and civic halls up and down the country. I saw them at Newcastle City Hall on 8th October with support from Tenpole Tudor (“Swords of 1,000 Men”).
They were back in the charts in 1980 with “My Perfect Cousin” and the wonderful “Wednesday Week” which was my favourite song of theirs. The Undertones returned to Newcastle City Hall on 8th June 1980 for another glorious performance. Support this time came from the Moondogs, who were a fellow Northern Irish band.
Posts Tagged ‘new wave’
16 Dec
The Undertones live in 1979 & 1980
15 Dec
UB40 live 1980 to 1982
UB40 live 1980 to 1982
UB40 emerged out of the renewed interest in reggae during the punk and new wave movement of the late 70s and early 80s. UB40 were formed by Robin Campbell, his younger brother Ali, Earl Falconer, Brian Travers, James Brown, and Norman Hassan, who were all friends in Birmingham. They recruited Michael Virtue and Astro and aligned themselves to left-wing political ideals, naming themselves after an unemployment benefit form. I first saw them live during the summer of 1980 around the time of their debut single “King / Food For Thought” which reached the UK Top 5. I saw UB40 twice in the same week at Sunderland Mayfair on 23rd July 1980, and then supporting the Police at Milton Keynes Bowl on 26th July 1980.
UB40’s music was very different to anything else at the time. Political lyrics, sung over reggae rhythms with some lengthy instrumental passages, with horn solos and some rap and scat singing. Visually they were also very different, with so many musicians on stage. I remember going to the Sunderland gig having only heard “Food for Thought” and being pleasantly surprised by their performance.
UB40’s first album “Signing Off” was released in September 1980. The album cover shows a yellow British UB40 unemployment benefit card from which the band took their name, stamped with the words SIGNING OFF, signally that the band were leaving the world of unemployment and had arrived on the music scene. “Signing Off” went to No. 2 in the UK and stayed on the album chart for 72 weeks. I saw UB40 twice more, at Newcastle City Hall on 9th June 1981 & 19th January 1982. Both of these were great, fun gigs.
UB40 setlist from 1980: Tyler; My Way of Thinking; Burden of Shame; Strange Fruit; Adella; One In Ten; I Think It’s Going to Rain Today; Summertime; King; 25%.
Encore: Food For Thought; Little by Little
“Ivory Madonna dying in the dust, Waiting for the manna coming from the west.
Barren is her bosom, empty as her eyes, Death a certain harvest scattered from the skies.” (Food for Thought, UB40, 1980)
1 Dec
Ultravox Whitley Bay Ice Rink 4th Nov 1986
Ultravox Whitley Bay Ice Rink 4th Nov 1986
The U-Vox tour
The tour was sponsored by Harp lager and support came from Zerra One.
U-Vox was Ultravox’s eight studio album and continued the movement to a straight rock and pop sound. The album was their least successful by most measures, and it was criticised by the media, the fans, and later by the band itself, Midge Ure declaring it “unfocused”. The band sacked their drummer Warren Cann, and replaced him with Mark Brzezicki from Big Country. The band embarked on a tour to promote the album, but it was the beginning of the end, and they split in 1988. The tour saw them playing in arenas; in the north east they played the cavernous, cold, Whitley Bay Ice Rink, which could accommodate more people than the City Hall, but was not by any means the best venue for a rock concert. The band moved away from large gothic stage sets, choosing to stage a more straightforward rock show this time around.
SetList: Same Old Story; The Voice; New Europeans; Sweet Surrender; White China; Dream On; All in One Day; Time to Kill; All Stood Still; Hymn; Lament; Vienna; Passing Strangers; The Prize; One Small Day; Love’s Great Adventure
Encore: Dancing With Tears in My Eyes; All Fall Down
Writing this blog helps refresh my memory about the bands who I have seen in the past. Writing about Ultravox is a good example. I’d forgotten how many times I’d seen the band, and how much I enjoyed their music and their concerts. Both versions of the and were impressive in their own way. The first, John Foxx fronted, Ultravox! were very different to anyone else around at the time, and were a cool, dark, electronic synth band. I remember in particular their performance at Reading in 1978. And will also connect the later, Midge Ure fronted, Ultravox with “Vienna”, dry ice, and gothic stage sets. Happy days that I had put to the back of my mind and almost forgotten. Tomorrow I will start to write about a band who I remember very well, the mighty Uriah Heep. I’ll make my apologies now, it could be a bit of a marathon….
30 Nov
Ultravox Newcastle City Hall 19th May 1984
Ultravox Newcastle City Hall 19th May 1984
Support from Messengers
Ultravox’s 1984 tour was to promote “Lament” which is their seventh studio album. “Lament” was another big success, reaching No.8 on the UK album chart and achieving a gold record. By this time the band were starting to move away from synthpop, going in a more mainstream pop direction, with more guitar-oriented rock songs. The album featured three singles, including the big hit “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes”. The 1984 tour was called the “Set Movements” tour and once again included two sold-out concerts at Newcastle. I attended the second night. The tour was sponsored by Levis. The tour programme has a completely black rough-textured cover and features some quite arty and very posed photographs of the band. The Ultravox tours of this time featured massive gothic stage sets with quite dark moody themes and images, and lots of dry-ice. They were quite spectacular, and always good fun.
Setlist: Man of Two Worlds; Passing Strangers; We Stand Alone; New Europeans; I Remember (Death in the Afternoon); Visions in Blue; Heart of the Country; Western Promise; Vienna; Reap the Wild Wind; We Came to Dance; White China; One Small Day; Hymn; The Voice
Encore: Lament; Dancing With Tears in My Eyes
Later that year Midge wrote and commandeered the Band Aid single with Bob Geldof. I saw Ultravox at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium where they played a short four song set: Reap the Wild Wind; Dancing With Tears in My Eyes; One Small Day and of course Vienna.
I saw Ultravox on one further occasion, which I will write about tomorrow before moving on to blog about, I think, Uriah Heep.
29 Nov
Ultravox Newcastle City Hall 16th Nov 1982
Ultravox Newcastle City Hall 16th Nov 1982
Support from Messengers
Ultravox released their sixth album “Quartet” (their third with Midge Ure) in 1982 and toured around the world to promote it on the Monument Tour. By now they had followed the success of “Vienna” with a series of Top 20 UK singles: “All Stood Still”, “The Thin Wall”, “The Voice”, “Reap the Wild Wind” and “Hymn”. The band were very popular, so much so that this time they sold out two nights at the City Hall. I attended the second night. The Monument Tour was recorded for posterity in the form of a video and an lp “Monument” which was recorded at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, and released in 1983.
The Monument album peaked at no.9 on the UK album chart and was certified Gold in January 1984. The City Hall show was another great concert from a band who were at the top of their game.
Support came from Messengers a duo aka Danny Mitchell and Colin King, friends from Glasgow of Midge Ure and who supported Ultravox again in 1984. Mitchell has co-written songs with Midge Ure for many years.
Setlist: Reap the Wild Wind; When the Scream Subsides; The Thin Wall; New Europeans; We Stand Alone; I Remember (Death in the Afternoon); Visions in Blue; Mr. X; Sleepwalk; The Voice; Vienna; Astradyne; All Stood Still; Passing Strangers; Mine for Life
Encore: Hymn; The Song (We Go)
28 Nov
Ultravox Newcastle City Hall 24th Sep 1981
Ultravox Newcastle City Hall 24th Sep 1981
Support from Eddie and Sunshine (Eddie Maelov and Sunshine Patterson ex Gloria Mundi)
Ultravox! – John Foxx + Midge Ure = New Revitalised Ultravox = Vienna = Mega Success
So Ultravox regrouped with their new ( ex Slik ex Rich Kid) Midge, became a cool new romantic pop band and produced one of the greatest singles of the 80s. “Vienna”. Dark, brooding, gothic. The ultimate in 80s synth pop. The moody video. It was worth going to see them just for that one song.
Ultravox live = Vienna = lots of dry ice = very much of its time. Wonderful.
“We walked in the cold air.
Freezing breath on a window plane.
Lying and waiting. A man in the dark in a picture frame.
So mystic and soulful. A voice reaching out in a piercing cry.
It stays with you until the feeling has gone,
Only you and I. It means nothing to me.
This means nothing to me.
Oh, Vienna” (Vienna, Ultravox, 1981)
Setlist: The Thin Wall; New Europeans; Sleepwalk; I Remember (Death in the Afternoon); Stranger Within; Mr. X; Rage in Eden; Accent on Youth/The Ascent; Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again); Vienna; Passionate Reply; Passing Strangers; We Stand Alone; All Stood Still
Encore: The Voice
27 Nov
Ultravox! 1977 & 1978
Ultravox! 1977 & 1978
Early Ultravox! were quite different from the Midge Ure fronted band who produced Vienna. I saw the band on a few occasions:
16th April 1977 Middlesbrough Rock Garden
27th August 1977 Reading Festival (low down on the Saturday bill)
5th Feb 1978 Redcar Coatham Bowl
25th August Reading Festival (special guests on the Friday, appearing second on the bill to headliners The Jam)
I may also have seen them at Newcastle Mayfair, but can’t be sure.
The line-up of the band was John Foxx (lead vocals), Chris Cross (bass), Stevie Shears (guitar, replaced by Robin Simon in 1978), Billy Currie (keyboards, synthesisers, violin) and Warren Cann (drums). They recorded three albums: Ultravox!, Ha!-Ha!-Ha! And Systems of Romance. By their third album they had dropped the ! from their name. Ultravox! were an interesting band. Live they appeared a mix of Roxy, Bowie and Kraftwerk, combining glam and pop with punk and electronica. John Foxx was a charismatic and enigmatic front man, sometimes punky, sometimes robotic, always interesting. Foxx’s real name is Dennis Leigh, he chose the stage persona of John Foxx, saying: “Foxx is much more intelligent than I am, better looking, better lit. A kind of naively perfected entity. He’s just like a recording, where you can make several performances until you get it right – or make a composite of several successful sections, then discard the rest.” In 1979 Foxx left the band, who recruited Midge Ure and became a new entity.
Setlist Reading 1977: ROckwrok; Slip Away; The Frozen Ones; Distant Smile; Young Savage; My Sex; Wide Boys; Saturday Night in the City of the Dead; Artificial Life; The Wild, the Beautiful and the Damned; Fear in the Western World
24 Nov
U2 The Joshua Tree tour, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, 1st August 1987
U2 The Joshua Tree tour, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, 1st August 1987
Support Acts: Run Rig, Love & Money, The Mission, The Pogues
I went with my mate Ian to see U2 play at Edinburgh Murrayfield Stadium in August 1987 as part of the Joshua tree tour. By now U2 were headlining stadiums everywhere, and were one of the biggest acts in the world. We arrived in time to catch rousing support performances by The Mission and the Pogues who warmed the crowd up for the main act. The Joshua Tree is U2’s landmark album, which reached No 1 in the UK and US album charts, and solidified their position in the premier rock league. The album contains a number of important U2 songs including the epic track “Where The Streets Have No Name” which often opened their set during the tour, but which strangely the band didn’t play at this concert.
U2 were playing quite a few covers during this tour, and Bono was also including snippets from classic rock songs during their performances. At Edinburgh U2 started with two covers: “Stand By Me” (Ben E King) and “C’mon Everybody” (Eddie Cochran) and also played “People Get Ready” (Curtis Mayfield) and Help! (The Beatles). They also included the odd line from “Riders On The Storm” and “Break On Through” (The Doors), Van Morrison’s “Gloria” (rather than their own song of the same name); “Ruby Tuesday” and Sympathy For The Devil” (The Stones); and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Joy Division) thus showing their influences. I remember thinking it strange that they would start with two covers. I great concert, but very different from seeing the band in a small venue. We ran into old mate Gilly, who lives in Scotland, which was great. A great day, seeing a band who were writing and performing at their peak at the time. 
Setlist: Stand By Me; C’mon Everybody; I Will Follow; Trip Through Your Wires; I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Exodus (snippet); People Get Ready; MLK; The Unforgettable Fire; Exit / Riders On The Storm (snippet) / Van Morrison’s Gloria (snippet); In God’s Country; Sunday Bloody Sunday; The Electric Co. / Break On Through (snippet); Help; Bad / Ruby Tuesday (snippet) / Sympathy For The Devil (snippet); October; New Year’s Day; Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Encore(s): Bullet The Blue Sky / Loch Lomond (snippet); Running To Stand Still; With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars (snippet) / Love Will Tear Us Apart (snippet)/Fight For Your Right (To Party) (snippet) / Party Girl; 40
I lost touch with U2 after this tour and it was some 18 years or so before I went to see them again.
22 Nov
U2 Newcastle City Hall 1st March 1983
U2 Newcastle City Hall 1st March 1983
Support Act: The Nightcaps
In between seeing U2 at the Mayfair and this gig at the City Hall, I also saw them back at Gateshead Stadium, supporting the Police in 1982. I’ve written separately on that concert, when I covered the Police. It was another great concert and another triumph for U2. However it was The War album and that tour really sealed it for U2. They were now a major band. The City Hall concert sold out very quickly and a second night was added, three weeks later. You could feel the power in this band, and you also knew that the next time we saw them it would probably be in a big arena or stadium. This tour was the first and last time the band played the City Hall. It was an amazing show and we were right down the front. Bono, the rest of the band and the audience were all on fire that night. Bono ran around the stage waving a white flag during excellent new song ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and climbed up onto the balcony during ‘I will Follow’.
Setlist: Gloria; I Threw A Brick Through A Window; A Day Without Me; Seconds; New Year’s Day; Sunday Bloody Sunday; The Cry; The Electric Co./Send In The Clowns; I Fall Down; October; Tomorrow; Twilight; Out Of Control
Encore: Party Girl; A Celebration; 11 O’clock Tick Tock; I Will Follow; 40
The next time I saw U2 was in Wembley Stadium at Live Aid, where they played a short two song set (Sunday Bloody Sunday and Bad) and were one of the highlights of the day. Bono famously pulled a girl from the crowd up onto the stage that day. Bono: “I don’t like the distance between stage and crowd. I don’t like the distance between performer and audience. So I’m looking for a symbol of the day, something I can hold onto. Melanie Hills: “Bono looked at the audience and suddenly looked towards me…I was looking around: me? me? And they were saying, yeah, you, you, get up there. Oh my God. And so the security men grabbed me….” A magic moment that truly cemented U2’s position as a major rock force.
After Live Aid, the next time I saw U2 was at a big stadium in Scotland.
21 Nov
U2 Newcastle Mayfair 9th October 1981
U2 Newcastle Mayfair 9th October 1981
Support from the Comsat Angels.
This gig came a couple of months after we had seen U2 deliver an incendiary performance at the Rock on the Tyne festival at Gateshead Stadium, where Bono clambered up the lighting towers, played the part of the rock star and generally got everyone onside. The Mayfair was packed to the rafters. Everyone wanted to see this new band. U2 had just released their second album “October” and the excellent single “Gloria”. There was something very different about U2; something that it was difficult to get a handle on, or describe in the same terms as any other band of the period. To put it in some sort of context, U2 were coming up alongside The Teardrop Explodes and The Bunnymen; both excellent bands. But there was something almost intangible about U2 that seemed to set them apart. Their music came through new wave, but its roots lay deeply and squarely in the 60s, beat, The Beatles, Stones, soul, religion, spirituality and, of course, Van Morrison. Jim Green, writing in Trouser Press, in March 1982: “People haven’t asked U2 if they’re the future of rock. They’ve told them.” What I remember of this gig was a joyous, crazy night with Bono singing his heart out for us, and those great, powerful early songs: “Gloria”, “I Will Follow”, “Fire” and “11 O’Clock Tick Tock”. The U2 who played those club gigs was a raw, hungry, stunning act who were a million miles away from the stadium rock band that they would very soon become. A different time, a different band, a different place. It seems so far away now. But on the night, in the heat and sweat and volume and crush of the Mayfair U2 were shiny and young and Newark intense. And Bono ran around that stage and sang and sang for all of us. I know I have written this before about other bands, but on that night, in the Mayfair, as we all watched U2; they were simply the best band on the planet.
Setlist: Gloria; Another Time, Another Place; Rejoice; An Cat Dubh; Into The Heart; I Threw A Brick Through A Window; The Cry; The Electric Co.; I Fall Down; October; Stories For Boys; I Will Follow; Twilight; Out Of Control; Fire; 11 O’Clock Tick Tock
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