Will Young, Gareth Gates & Pop Idol Live
This is definitely a guilty pleasure.
The first series of British reality TV pop music show Pop Idol was broadcast over the winter months of 2001 and 2002. The show was a competition open to singers between 16 and 26 years old, with the winner receiving a £1 million recording contract. The whole family watched the show which came to its climax in a singing duel between the two finalists Will Young and Gareth Gates. We were all cheering for team Will, even though Gareth was the favourite. The outcome was not quite what was expected with the jazzier Will coming first, ahead of the poppier teen idol Gareth. The ten finalists then went out on tour and we (me, Marie, Laura) trooped off to Newcastle Arena to relive the excitement of the show.
The concert was presented by judge Nicki Chapman with video clips of the TV show’s other judges. Korben, the first finalist to be voted off, opened the night. Other finalists were former train driver Aaron Bayley, 16-year-old Zoe and Darius Danesh. Darius gave a great hip swivelling performance of It’s Not Unusual which Tom Jones would have been proud of. The other finalists performing were Jessica Garlick, Laura Doherty, Rosie Ribbons and Hayley Evetts. 
But the big cheers were reserved for Gareth and Will. Gareth sang his version of Unchained Melody, which was soon released as a single. Will performed his version of the Doors’ Light My Fire, which had been a big hit in the show, and his Christmas single Evergreen. The second half of the concert had a big band theme. Highlights were Gareth singing Mack The Knife and Will doing Beyond The Sea, both of which had featured in the TV show. For a finale all the contestants sang the Sinatra Classic My Way. All good clean harmless pop fun.
Laura became a massive Will Young fan from then on, so I was treated to the Will and Gareth tour at the Arena later that year, and then Will on his own tour, again at the same venue, four years later in 2006.
That concludes my coverage of letter “Y”.
Posts Tagged ‘pop’
18 Mar
Will Young, Gareth Gates & Pop Idol Live
17 Mar
Paul Young Newcastle City Hal 1983 & 1984
Paul Young Newcastle City Hal 1983 & 1984
I’d seen Paul Young in Q Tips a few times, and was pretty impressed by his 1983 singles “Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)” which reached No 1, “Come Back And Stay” (No 4), and “Love Of The Common People” which made No 2 on re-release. He had put a great band together around him and that, coupled with great song choices and his sweet white soul voice, finally fulfilled the promise of his former group, and gave him the massive success he deserved. Young’s debut solo album “No Parlez” produced five singles, and stayed in the UK charts for 119 weeks, selling close to a million copies. Young’s backing band was ‘The Royal Family’ and included keyboardist Kewley, fretless bass player wizard Pino Palladino (now of the Who), guitarist Steve Bolton, drummer Mark Pinder, and backing singers Maz Roberts and Kim Leslie (AKA ‘The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts’). 
I saw them at Newcastle City Hall in 1983 when Paul was at the height of his new success. Paul Young had further success in 1984 with three more Top 10 singles: “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down”, “Everything Must Change” and “Everytime You Go Away”.
He was back at the City Hall later in the year for another concert.
Both shows were excellent events with a great selection of songs performed by a guy at the top of his game.
16 Mar
Blackfoot Sue live 1973
Blackfoot Sue live 1973
“Standing in the Road” was a great single. It had a solid repetitive riff to and strong rhythms. I remember seeing Blackfoot Sue perform the song on Top of the Pops and I was totally knocked out. It reached No 4 in the UK singles chart at the same time as Slade and glamrock, and Blackfoot Sue were naturally compared to the bands of the time. This was a little unfair as the band had a much broader musical repertoire.
Blackfoot Sue was formed in 1970 by identical twin Brummie brothers Tom and David Farmer and Eddie Golga. They toured relentlessly between 1972 and 1974, playing ballrooms and clubs up and down the country. Tom and David Farmer both had really long hair and looked great; Tom played a Rickenbacker bass and David pounded away on drums. “Standing in the Road” had a rhythm section in the middle of the song where they all picked up drumsticks and hit everything in sight including their guitars, coke bottles, beer crates, and whatever was around them.
I saw Blackfoot Sue play at Sunderland Mecca sometime in 1973. I’ve checked their official gig list, and although it lists gigs at Newcastle Mayfair and Sunderland Poly, there is no mention of a Mecca gig. However I’m sure I saw them there. Live they were quite a heavy band, and had great rock tracks like “Messiah” which opened their debut album, and was also the song that opened their live show, and of course “Standing in the Road”. They would close their set with their version of the 1812 Overture which featured guitar feedback, churchbells and all of the guys hammering on David Farmer’s drum kit. My friend John recalls them “smashing up beer crates – or milk crates ? – they were made of wood- at the end of the set to bemusement of the crowd”. “1812” features on their second album, takes up almost a whole side of the lp record, and “ventures into the free-flowing world of progressive rock and gives some idea of the energy of the band on stage – the song was a highlight of their live show” (from the official Blackfoot Sue website). David Farmer: “It was all done with violin bows on the guitars… we had huge great artificial stone letters spelling out “1812”… We used to smash it up with axes and strobe lights flashed while the cannons exploded.” (That must be the smashing up that John recalls).
Blackfoot Sue folded in 1977 and re-emerged as Liner. Tom and Dave Farmer continue to play as Cry Wolf along with their younger brother Gary, and are sometimes joined by Eddie Golga.
15 Mar
Futurama 2 Festival Queens Hall Leeds 14th September 1980
Futurama 2 Festival Queens Hall Leeds 14th September 1980
This was the second Futurama festival and it took place at Queens Hall, which was in the centre of Leeds. The Saturday line-up featured U2 (low down on the bill), Echo & The Bunnymen, Soft Cell and Siouxsie & The Banshees (who headlined). I attended the Sunday with my mate Dave and it featured The Psychedelic Furs, Gary Glitter, The Durutti Colum, Classix Nouveaux, Young Marble Giants, Hazel O’Connor, The Soft Boys, Flowers, Naked Lunch, Blurt, Artery, Notsensibles, Vice Versa, Desperate Bicycles, Frantic Elevators, Athletico Spizz 80, Brian Brain, Tribesmen, Boots for Dancing and Household Name. We arrived during the afternoon and missed some of the bands. Queens Hall was a cavernous building, which was originally a tram and bus depot. It was used as a concert venue during the 1980s. It has since been demolished and is now a car park.
When we arrived it looked like a war zone. Punk fans from all over the north, and further afield, had decamped there for the weekend, and had been in the venue all night, sleeping on the floors; there was trash everywhere. We saw faces that we recognised from Middlesbrough Rock Garden, which had closed for the weekend as everyone was going to the festival. We chatted to a few people; everyone was talking about how great Siouxsie (who had headlined the Saturday night) had been. There were stalls around the place and pop-up art performances in dark corners of the hall. I recall one performance which involved a guy having a crap in a bucket; we moved on. The bands were playing on a stage at the end of the massive hall. 
This was an opportunity to see bands who went on to stardom: The Frantic Elevators became Simply Red, and Vice Versa became ABC. There was a great mix of bands at the event and the atmosphere was wonderful, really friendly. Although on the surface this festival appeared messy and shambolic, it is actually one of the best I have every attended for the musical range and the feeling in the crowd. Highlights of the day were Hazel O-Connor, who was in the charts with “Eighth Day” and became the robot from “Breaking Glass”, Durutti Column featuring Vini Reilly’s meadering guitar, and the 4″ by 2″s who were a proto-Oi! band featuring Jimmy Lydon (John Lydon’s brother) and also at one point featured Youth of Killing Joke. But the highlight was an incredible performance by Notsensibles, a punk band from Burnley who had some success with their single “I’m in Love with Margaret Thatcher”. Their set included a lot of tongue-in-cheek songs, all performed in their strong Northern accent. They’d brought a large contingent of fans, who all sang along with every daft song. Notsensibles motto was “all we want to do is make silly records and play silly gigs”. There is a video on YouTube of them performing “Death To Disco” at the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIGrhea75qU
The festival ran very late into the night (inevitable given the incredible number of bands who were performing) and we left around midnight during Psychedelic Furs set to drive back up North and home, thus missing the headliner who was (also incredibly) the now shamed star Gary Glitter. The Futurama festival had a history of choosing off-the-wall headliners; on another occasion the closing acts was a reformed Bay City Rollers (now that must have been something to experience). A crazy, mad, fun event with some great bands. Happy happy days 🙂
12 Mar
Department S & Spizzles Sunderland Mayfair 9th April 1981
Department S & Spizzles Sunderland Mayfair 9th April 1981
I was driving yesterday, when the great Department S single “Is Vic There?” came on the car radio, reminding me that I saw the band at a gig at Sunderland Mayfair. It was around the time that the record was in the charts and they shared the bill with Spizzles, who were the 1981 incarnation of Spizz aka Spizz Energi (Where’s Captain Kirk). Spizz was always good for a crazy sci-fi laugh, but I went to the gig to see Department S and to hear them play “Is Vic There?”, which had such a catchy hook; it was one of those songs that once you heard you could never get out of your head.
Department S were formed in 1980, and took their stage name from the 1960s cult TV series of the same name which featured the great Jason King. They hit the UK charts with their debut single, “Is Vic There?”, which was originally released in December 1980 and reached No. 22 in 1981. Although Department S are usually characterised as a new wave band, “Is Vic There?” is quite a rocky guitar oriented song, with shades of darkness; the opening sequence of the song reminds me of the music of the Groundhogs. I remember that Department S were pretty entertaining live, although the only song that I, and the rest of the audience, recognised was the hit single; and I think, they also did a cover version of T.Rex’s “Solid Gold Easy Action” which was the single’s B side. For “Is Vic There?” singer and front man Vaughn Toulouse held his mike like a telephone, to fit with the recurring ring tone from the record.
Vaughn Toulouse was born Vaughn Cotillard on Jersey in 1959. He followed the Clash on tour in 1978 and wrote about the tour in “The Face” magazine. He then went on to form the bands Guns For Hire and Department S. Toulouse became a regular “face” of the ’80s London club scene, writing for the music press, performing as a DJ, appearing on the cover of the Jam’s final record, and playing with the Style Council. Vaughn Toulouse died in 1991 of AIDS-related illness.
“The night is young, the mood is mellow
And there’s music in my ears
Say, is Vic there?
I hear ringing in the air
So I answer the phone
A voice comes over clear
Say, is Vic there?”
(Is Vic There? , 1981)
28 Feb
Yazoo Newcastle City Hall 19th November 1982
Yazoo Newcastle City Hall 19th November 1982
Yazoo were the British synthpop duo formed by Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke (keyboards) and Alison Moyet (vocals). They came together in late 1981, and over the next 18 months they made two albums which blended Clarke’s synthesizers and pop tunes with Moyet’s bluesy vocals. They had big single hits with “Only You”, “Don’t Go” and “Nobody’s Diary”. From the official Yazoo site: “I put an ad in Melody Maker looking for a semi-professional band,” say Alison “Not someone who’d just had a massive hit album.” Vince: “I’d heard Alison perform under various guises and I knew she was an amazing singer,” Vince recalls. “I wanted songs to be sung with a lot of emotion. I didn’t know how it would work, but I wanted to try.” Schooled in the ideologies of the “splendidly low rent” punk scene, Alison was hardly looking for stardom: “Ambition was wanting to move up from being third on the bill at a pub to headlining at a pub,” she recalls. “Vince was an anomaly – he’d taken it to the next level with Depeche Mode and achieved success at a point when, for me, there was nothing cool about being on Top Of The Pops. But when he got in touch, there was a certain perverse appeal in trying something I’d never done before. It’s almost freak like, this idea of someone from Basildon moving out and actually doing something. I found it incredibly compelling.”
On stage Yazoo incorporated a slide/film visual display, using seven slide projectors and film projectors. The films and slides were (back) projected onto five screens at the back of the stage. From a review of the time: “Three of the projectors produce most of the animated effects on the centre screen and there are approximately 350 different slides seen in each set. The screens are used to display various pieces of photography and graphics, which ‘sort of’ relate to the music.” A great concert by an excellent pop act. Yazoo split acrimoniously in May 1983; however they have reunited to play a series of concerts in recent years.
Setlist: Situation; Too Pieces; Goodbye Seventies; Winter Kills; Bad Connection; Tuesday; Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I); Midnight; Chinese Detectives; In My Room; Don’t Go; The Other Side of Love; Ode to Boy; Only You; Situation.
27 Feb
The UK Subs Middlesbrough Rock Garden 20th October 1979
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!
26 Feb
Wizzard live 1972 & 1973
Wizzard live 1972 and 1972
I’ve always been a big Roy Wood fan. “Fire Brigade” and “Blackberry Way” are two of my favourite songs; I remember sitting as a kid, in front of the TV with my parents, watching Top of the Pops totally transfixed by Roy and the late great Carl Wayne. By the time I got to see Roy live the Move had split, Roy had formed ELO with Jeff Lyne, and then left to form his own ultimate rock’n’roll band Wizzard. I first saw Wizzard when the made their second live appearance at the Reading Festival in August 1972. They had just released “Ball Park Incident”. I recall being surprised how different to the Move Wizzard were, complete with horns and that great full big band sound. I saw Wizzard twice more; at Sunderland Locarno on 19th January 1973, with the Jook support and again at the Locarno on 13th July 1973 with Silverhead support (thanks to Mitch for confirming the dates and support acts). Roy Wood was a marvel to behold in those days, with his distinctive warpaint make-up, long backcombed dyed locks and colourful costumes. And Wizzard were a big crazy band, complete with piano, cello and horns. They completely filled the small Mecca stage, and the ballroom was packed for those two shows. Wizzard were flying high in the UK single charts with two Number 1 singles “See my Baby Jive” and “Angel Fingers” during 1973, and of course that Christmas song later in the year. Roy Wood understood rock’n’roll and managed to create the Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” both on record and live in concert. Wizzard was, however, a big and expensive band to maintain, because of the large line-up, and in terms of recording costs. Bassist Rick Price: “When we finished recording “Angel Fingers” it was rumoured that we had spent more time in the studio than Paul McCartney had with the whole of the Band on the Run album. Whether it was true or not, this meant that most of the record company’s money was spent in studio time and that the members of the band had to rely on live touring work for their income. A couple of tours in the U.K. and one tour of the U.S. were not enough to ensure regular wages for the band.” By autumn 1975 they had split.
Wkzzard line-up: Roy Wood (vocals, guitars, saxophone, percussion); Mike Burney (saxophone, clarinet, flute); Charlie Grima (drums, percussion, vocals); Nick Pentelow (saxophone, clarinet, flute); Rick Price (bass); Keith Smart (drums); Bill Hunt (keyboards, French horn); Hugh McDowell (cello, synthesisers).
25 Feb
Neil Young Edinburgh Playhouse 3rd March 2008
Neil Young Edinburgh Playhouse 3rd March 2008
Thirty five years after I first saw Neil Young in concert, David and I went to see him at Edinburgh Playhouse on a cold Winter evening. We drove up through Jedburgh, stopping for a coffee along the way. The Playhouse is a beautiful old theatre, and was completely sold out for this concert. Neil played two sets, and this time he played a lot of old favourites. There was no support act; rather he was accompanied by an artist who painted as Neil played. From the Guardian review of the London concert (2008): “For reasons known only to Young, an artist paints canvases at the rear of the stage and announces songs by placing interpretative pictures on a large easel stage right. The unexplained visual art theme extends to Young’s paint-spattered suit.” The first set was acoustic, during which Young performed old favourites including “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man” much to the delight of the crowd. 
After the interval, Neil became Mr rock’n’roll and grunge, and we were treated to an excellent and powerful electric set, with some amazing meandering guitar solos. The encore included “Cinammon Girl”. Classic.
The snow was falling as we drove home. This time we followed the A1 through Berwick, which is a slightly longer route, but a safer road, given the winter conditions. A great concert by a legendary artist.
Set 1: From Hank to Hendrix; Ambulance Blues; Sad Movies; A Man Needs a Maid; Try; Harvest; After the Gold Rush; Mellow My Mind; Love Art Blues; Don’t Let It Bring You Down; Heart of Gold; Old Man
Interval.
Set 2: Mr. Soul; Dirty Old Man; Spirit Road; Down by the River; Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black); Too Far Gone; Oh, Lonesome Me; The Believer; Powderfinger; No Hidden Path
Encore: Fuckin’ Up; Cinnamon Girl
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.
Vintagerock's Weblog. 