On 2nd July 2005 the impossible happened and the 1970s members of Pink Floyd reunited to perform at the London Live 8 concert in Hyde Park. I thought my chances of Roger Waters rejoining David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright were very slim, and I was delighted to be able to be see them together once more. This was the band’s first performance together in over 24 years, since The Wall concerts in 1981. Marie, David, Laura and I all went to Live 8, and greatly enjoyed the day, which I will blog about on another occasion. Today I’ll limit by writings to Pink Floyd’s appearance. Gilmour announced the reunion less than a month before the gig, on 12 June 2005: “ Like most people I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the third world. It’s crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations. Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if re-forming for this concert will help focus attention then it’s got to be worthwhile.” Pink Floyd appeared later in the day, sandwiched between great sets by The Who and Paul McCartney; who closed the show. Floyd’s set consisted of Speak to Me; Breathe; Money; Wish You Were Here; and Comfortably Numb; a good choice of songs for their short appearance. Waters said on stage: “It’s actually quite emotional standing up here with these three guys after all these years. Standing to be counted with the rest of you. Anyway, we’re doing this for everyone who’s not here, but particularly, of course, for Syd.” The band who played with Pink Floyd in Hyde Park were Tim Renwick (guitar); Jon Carin (keyboards); saxophonist Dick Parry Money (played on the original recording); and backing singer Carol Kenyon. The screens showed video from their past shows, and a film of the pig from the Animals flying over Battersea Power Station. This was simply mind-blowing stuff; for me it was the highlight of the day, and a very emotional experience. We were close to the front (I’d managed to score tickets in the enclosed area near the stage) and had a great view of the band. I found Wish You Were Here particularly powerful; you felt they were singing the song for Syd; which of course they were. Syd sadly passed away the following year. With Wright’s subsequent passing in 2008, this was to be the final concert to feature all four playing together.
Posts Tagged ‘prog rock’
26 Jan
Pink Floyd reunion Live 8 Hyde Park 2nd July 2005
25 Jan
Pink Floyd Knebworth 30th June 1990
Pink Floyd Knebworth 30th June 1990
The next time I saw Pink Floyd was as part of a multi-act bill at a massive show at Knebworth in 1990. This was the Silver Clef Award Winners Concert and had an amazing line-up including Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Tears for Fears, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Elton John, Genesis, Ray Cooper, Robert Plant (with guest Jimmy Page), and Status Quo. Pretty strong bill! I won a pair of free tickets in a competition; I think is was with KitKat, and Marie and I went down for the weekend. This was a great concert, which deserves a blog post of its own. I’ll save that for another day, and limit my reflections today to Floyd’s part of the day. Because of the number of acts appearing, everyone played a short set. Floyd appeared last, after Paul McCartney (although he was officially the “headliner”). Their set was limited to 7 songs: Shine On You Crazy Diamond 1 – 5; The Great Gig in the Sky; Wish You Were Here; Sorrow (the only track they performed from their most recent album A Momentary Lapse of Reason); Money & Comfortably Numb; with Run Like Hell as an encore. We’d had a little wind and rain during the day, and by the time Floyd took to the stage is was raining again, and they weren’t able to use their circular screen because of the wind. This was the Waters-less line-up of Pink Floyd which featured Gilmour, Mason and Wright and for the Knewborth show the following additional musicians: Guy Pratt (bass); Jon Carin (keyboards); Tim Renwick (guitar); Gary Wallis (percussion); Candy Dulfer (saxophone); and Durga McBroom, Sam Brown (who had recently been in the charts with Stop!), Vicki Brown (Sam’s mum and Joe’s first wife; ex Vernon girl, who sadly passed away a year after this gig) & Clare Torry (who sang the original vocal on Great Gig in the Sky on DSOTM) all on backing vocals. A fitting end to a great concert; it was good to see Pink Floyd again, and I particularly enjoyed Shine On You Crazy Diamond. We left during the encore; it took ages to find our car as there were no markings or lights in the car park.
24 Jan
Pink Floyd Wembley Empire Pool 17th March 1977
Pink Floyd Wembley Empire Pool 17th March 1977
The next time I saw Pink Floyd was during the “In the Flesh” tour, also known as “Animals” tour, in support of their new album “Animals”. The UK leg of the tour took in 5 nights at Wembley Empire Pool, and 4 nights at Stafford Bingley Hall. I went to the 3rd night at Wembley. I went down by train, leaving Newcastle around 3pm, straight on the tube across to Wembley, arriving at the Empire Pool around 7pm. The show followed the format that had become the norm for Floyd in the 70s; two parts, the first set featuring the new album “Animals”, and the second showcasing their last release “Wish You Were Here”. The encore was “Us and Them” from DSOTM the night I attended; some nights it would be “Money”, and one lucky audience in the States got the last ever performance of “Careful with that axe Eugene”. 
The tour featured large inflatable puppets, including the famous inflatable pig which flew over us and around the Empire Pool during “Pigs on the Wing”. I enjoyed the gig but found the band somewhat distant, and distant in a literal sense from my seat way up in the tiers. I’d seen the Sex Pistols live a few months before, and was starting to get interested in punk, and as part of that I was losing faith in bands like the Floyd. After the show I got the tube straight back to Kings Cross and caught the midnight mail train north, which got me back home around 7am. This was the last time I saw Pink Floyd for some 13 years; I missed the Wall shows at Earls Court, which in hindsight was a mistake that I now regret.
First set: Sheep; Pigs on the Wing 1; Dogs; Pigs on the Wing 2; Pigs (Three Different Ones)
Second set: Shine On You Crazy Diamond 1 – 5; Welcome to the Machine; Have a Cigar; Wish You Were Here; Shine On You Crazy Diamond 6 – 9. Encore: Us and Them
12 Jan
The Reading Festival 11th – 13th August 1972
The Reading Festival 1972
I first went to the Reading Festival in 1972 (is it really over 41 years ago 🙂 ?), and continued to go every year until 1980. I missed 1981 as it clashed with a local “Rock on the Tyne” Festival, and have never returned, although I did think of doing so on several occasions. I’m aiming to reflect on one year each week for the next few weeks, starting today with my first Reading experience.
I’d already been to the Lincoln Festival in May 1972 so I felt, as a 15 year old, I was already a hardened festival goer. I didn’t know anyone who wanted to go to Reading, so decided to go along myself. My parents weren’t keen on my idea of hitching so I agreed to go by train. The festival took place over the weekend of August 11th to 13th, 1972 starting on Friday afternoon. For some reason I decided to get the train down to London early on the Thursday night, arriving around midnight. Having nowhere to spend the night I took a tube to Piccadilly Circus and found an all-night cinema. It was showing Elvis films all night; I paid my money and sat close to the front. The cinema was quite empty, the audience was a few couples, some Elvis fans and several people alone like me, and just looking for somewhere to spend the night. I don’t recall which films were shown, I think there were six, and I’m pretty sure one was “Kid Galahad” (which, by the way, is a good movie), and I think another may have been “Fun in Acapulco” and “Girls, Girls, Girls” (not so good). I emerged, very tired, from the cinema in the early hours of the morning, and went across London to get the train to Reading. I didn’t have a ticket for the festival, so when I arrived I joined the queue and bought a weekend ticket. In those days it was all about seeing the bands, so I stayed in the queue to get a good spot in front of the stage. All I had taken was a sleeping bag; no tent; no change of clothes (I told you that I thought myself a hardened festival goer).
The Friday line-up was: Good Habit, Nazareth, Cottonwood, Steamhammer, Jackson Heights, Genesis, Mungo Jerry, Curved Air. The music started at 4pm and there were two stages set alongside each other to make for quick changeovers. I positioned myself close to the front somewhere between the two stages so I had a good view of both. There was a press enclosure right down front, and an area where the Hells Angels would encamp, so you couldn’t get that close to the stage. I got talking to a guy next to me; he was also alone, still at school and a similar age. We stuck together throughout the weekend, keeping each others place in the crowd, and sleeping there on a night in our sleeping bags. This seems crazy now, but hey I was young and just so excited about seeing the bands. You could sleep in the main enclosure in those days; you had to leave in the early morning so that they could clear up and get ready for the next day. Some clearing happened during the night; this didn’t make for a good night sleep as there was a danger that someone stood on you (this happened to me several times). The organisers stopped letting people sleep in the main enclosure a few years later; a punter was run over by a vehicle that was driving around collecting litter….The bands I recall on Friday were: Good Habit (saw them a few times, they used to were monks habits on stage), Nazareth (this was before “Broken Down Angel”; they played a great version of “Morning Dew”); Genesis (Simply amazing. I was a big fan at the time and have written separately about their set which included The Knife, Twilight Alehouse, Watcher Of The Skies, The Musical box, and The Return Of The Giant Hogweed. Classic); Mungo Jerry (got the crowd rocking), and Curved Air (also amazing; It happened today, Backstreet Luv, Sonja Kristina).
The Saturday line-up was: Jonathan Kelly, Solid Gold Cadillac, Man, Linda Lewis, Focus, Edgar Broughton, Jericho, If, Johnny Otis Show, Electric Light Orchestra, The Faces. I watched all of the bands, and also took some time to have a look around the stalls in the arena. I didn’t see any need to venture into town (that would come in later years) and spent the entire weekend within the confines of the festival. The weather was quite warm, sunny with a little drizzle now and then but nothing major, and certainly nothing compared to the rain I experienced at the Lincoln festival earlier in the year. Highlights I can dimly recall now are: Jonathan Kelly (Ballad of Cursed Anna simply wonderful), Solid Gold Cadillac (very jazzy), Man (very long guitar solos; Spunk Rock; great!), Linda Lewis (she looked so tiny on that stage and admitted to being scared), Focus (went down well with the crowd and were one of the successes of the weekend), Edgar Broughton (amazing, I was already a fan. Edgar very unspoken as always. Out Demons Out!!), If (jazzy, great guitarist), Johnny Otis Show (just blogged on them), Electric Light Orchestra (this was a very early performance and one of their first since Roy Wood’s departure. Wasn’t sure what to expect; they were good), The Faces (Rod and the guys on great form, lots of footballs kicked into the crowd, Twisting the Night Away and I’m Losing You were big live favourites of mine at the time).
The Sunday line-up was: Sutherland Brothers, Gillian McPherson, String Driven Thing, Matching Mole, Stackridge, Vinegar Joe, Status Quo, Stray, Roy Wood’s Wizzard, Mahatma Kane Jeeves, Ten Years After, Quintessence. John Peel and Jerry Floyd were comperes for the weekend. Jerry was the regular DJ at the Marquee Club, who organised the festival at the time. I spend much of the weekend chatting about music to the guy that I met on the first day and we struck up quite a friendship. I made a few friend at festivals in those days and would see some people every year but I never ran into this guy again. Wonder where he is now. Highlights of the day were: Matching Mole (featuring Robert Wyatt), Stackridge (“Slark” was a favourite of mine at the time), Vinegar Joe (Elkie just stunning), Status Quo (this was one of the shows that helped them break back. Peel was a big champion of theirs at the time; I think he introduced them as the “Finest rock’n’roll band in the world”, or something like that. They were playing amazing boogie at the time, with Francis giving it some cheeky banter. Someones Learning was a favourite), Stray (excellent, Del in mirror suit), Roy Wood’s Wizzard (pretty good, very retro rock’n’roll. Ballpark Incident had just been released), and Ten Years After (Alvin’s guitar playing was stunning, I’d just seen “Woodstock” and was a big fan). I left as Quintessence’s took to the stage as did many others (TYA were official headliners) to catch the last train to London. The tubes had stopped so I walked across London. I’d missed the midnight train so I spent the night in Kings Cross station.
Monday morning: I was stiff, tired, and scruffy. I got the first train home and went straight to bed 🙂
Wow! that took longer than I thought it would! The scans come from the newspaper style programme which was produced by the Reading Evening Post. The poster (it looks like a cartoon of Leo Lyons from TYA to me?) is from the middle of the programme. Oh and I forgot to mention the “Wally!” chants, which seemed to go on all night.
8 Jan
Mike Oldfield Newcastle City Hall 22nd May 1980 and 11th September 1982
Mike Oldfield Newcastle City Hall 22nd May 1980 and 11th September 1982
“Tubular Bells” was a massively popular album in the mid 70s, and a big favourite of mine. It is an important and groundbreaking album which broke new ground for progressive/classical rock music, helped to establish Virgins records, and received further recognition when the opening was used in the 1973 film The Exorcist (I still have the nightmares about Regan :)), introducing the work to a broader audience. The nearest I got to seeing a live performance of Oldfield’s magnum opus was a concert at Newcastle City Hall which featured a film of Mike and friends performing “Tubular Bells”, accompanied by live performances by Gong and Hatfield and the North; a concert which I have already blogged on. Mike Oldfield was quite reclusive at the time and didn’t tour until the late 70s. 
By 1980, when his “In Concert” tour called at Newcastle City, Mike was moving to a more pop-oriented style and was including covers and songs on his albums. He had also hit the singles chart with “Portsmouth”. The tour was in promotion of the “Platinum” album, which is the fifth album by Oldfield, and was released in 1979 on Virgin Records. His earlier albums were, of course, “Tubular Bells” (1973), “Hergest Ridge” (1974), “Ommadawn” (1975) and “Incantations” (1978). The tour featured the whole of the “Platinum” album and selections from his previous releases, including “Tubular Bells”, which is what we all wanted to hear.
Setlist: Platinum Parts 1 to 4; I Got Rhythm; Punkadiddle; Incantations Parts 1 to 4; Tubular Bells Parts 1 and 2; Guilty; Ommadawn Part 1; Blue Peter; Portsmouth; Polka; Radetzky Marsch; Blaydon Races.
Musicians: Mike Oldfield (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Peter Naphtali Lemer (synths and keyboards), Mike Frye (percussion), Tim Cross (keyboards), Pete “Bimbo” Acock (saxes), Nico Ramsden (guitar), Hansford Rowe (bass), Benoit Moerleb (vibrophone), Wendy Robert (vocals), Pierre Moerlen (drums and percussion).
A couple of years later Mike was back on tour again, this time to promote the “Five Miles Out” album (1982). In the interim he had also released “QE2” (1981).
Setlist: Tubular Bells Part 1; In High Places; Etude/Recuerdos De La Alhambra; Platinum Parts 1 and 2; Conflict; Ommadawn Part 1; Incantations Part 4; Hergest Ridge Part 2; Taurus II; Five Miles Out; Mount Teidi; Orabidoo.
Mike’s band was more compact this time: Mike Oldfield (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Tim Cross (keyboards), Tim Renwick (guitars and bass), Pierre Moerlen (drums and percussion), Maggie Reilly (vocals), Devra Robitaille (keyboards, guitar and vocals).
This was before the release of the great “Moonlight Shadow” which is a classic track. Both concerts were excellent, featuring perfect renditions of Oldfield’s intricate music, much credit for which must go to his backing musicians.
24 Dec
The Nice & Yes Sunderland Empire 1st February 1970
The Nice & Yes Sunderland Empire 1st February 1970
This was one of the first concerts that I attended, and as a thirteen year old who was just getting into music, it was a pretty big deal for me. This was the second time I had seen Yes, the first time being as support for the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band at the same venue the year before. I think there may have been two shows that evening, as was often the case back in those days. If that was the case, being a young kid, I would have attended the early show. The Yes line-up at the time was Jon Anderson: vocals, Peter Banks: guitar, Chris Squire: bass, Tony Kaye: organ, and Bill Bruford: drums. They playing material from their second album “Time and a Word” and the set included the excellent “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” (a cover of a Richie Havens song, with a swirling Hammond organ intro taken from the film “The Big Country”), “Then”, “Sweet Dreams” (which was an early single and has featured in their set off and on to this day), “Astral Traveller”. There was an acoustic part to their set which featured the track “Time and a Word”. Yes were one of my favourite bands at the time, largely as a result of seeing these performances at the Empire, which seemed so fresh, sharp and exciting at the time.
The Nice were virtuoso Keith Emerson: organ, Brian Davison: drums, and Lee Jackson: vocals, and bass. They had just released the album “Five Bridges Suite” and played the Suite in its entirety. The work was commissioned for the Newcastle Arts Festival in 1969, and refers to the city’s five bridges over the River Tyne. I recall Lee Jackson, himself a Geordie, making great play of the local aspects of the work. The album cover features a picture of the Tyne Bridge, and the five movements, which the Nice played that night are: Fantasia, Second Bridge, Chorale, High Level Fugue and Finale. I think they also played their moving interpretation of Tim Hardin’s “Hang onto a Dream”, “Rondo”, and “America”; the latter two songs being showcased for Emerson’s organ playing. Keith Emerson was sensational, pulling his Hammond organ about the stage, stabbing it with daggers, and generally being an amazing showman. The picture on the front of my programme, shown above, sort of sums it up. A great gig by two important and influential bands, which sticks in my mind to this day.
Many thanks to Gerry Rogerson for allowing me to use his photograph which brings back happy memories!
17 Dec
Van Morrison & The Caledonia Soul Orchestra Newcastle City Hall 27th July 1973
Van Morrison & The Caledonia Soul Orchestra Newcastle City Hall 27th July 1973
I coulnd’t let this section of my blogging pass without writing about Van Morrison again. I first saw Van Morrison at Newcastle City Hall in 1973. He had just created The Caledonia Soul Orchestra which is often considered to be “one of the tightest performing backup groups of the 1970s” (Wikipedia). This was, without any doubt, one of the greatest gigs I have ever witnessed. The concert was put on by local promoter Geoff Docherty and his Filmore North organisation, and it cost me all of 60p to sit at the back of the hall and witness one of the greatest singers and performers I have ever seen. Van sang with such passion and soul that night. I’ve seen him several times since this concert, but nothing has come close to matching that peformance. The tour was captured on the live lp: Its Too Late to Stop Now, some of which was recorded at a show at London’s Rainbow theatre, which took place just a couple of days before the Newcastle gig. The Rainbow Theatre gig was voted by Q Magazine readers as one of the top live performances of all time. Morrison was going through a divorce at the time and it is often said that his selection of material and impassioned performances were evidence of his inner turmoil. “I would say that that tour represented the height of his confidence as a performer,” band member John Platania remarked”, and the resultant double live album is considered as representing Van Morrison at his peak. I can picture him now, singing great versions of Here Comes the Night and Gloria. Everything about that show was perfect. The band was tight, the string section added a depth to the songs, Van was singing great, and more importantly he was clearly enjoying himself, and the crowd were up for it. We knew we were witnessing something special. If I had a time machine and could go back and relive a handful of gigs this would be one of them. I next saw Van at one or two festivals, including Knebworth, but didn’t catch up with him again at the City Hall until 1979. By then Morrison was moving in a more pop oriented direction, and although I still enjoyed the gig, the power and passion of that early 70s show was lacking.
John Collis comments that “with the magnificent Caledonia Soul Orchestra on song he [Morrison] came of age as a magnetic stage performer, culminating in the release of the double set It’s Too Late to Stop Now one of the most impressive of all attempts to squeeze the stage excitement of a rock performer on to vinyl.” (Collis, Inarticulate Speech on the Heart). So today I’ll think a little of that amazing 1973 concert, and look forward to the next time I have the chance to see Van Morrison, who for a couple of hours simply spellbound me in the City Hall all those years ago.
Setlist from the Van Morrison Rainbow Theatre London concert of July 24, 1973: Warm Love; Take your Hands Out Of My Pocket; Here Comes The Night; I Just Want To Make Love To You; Brown Eyed Girl; Moonshine Whiskey; Moondance; Help Me; Domino; Caravan; Cyprus Avenue; Wild Night; I Paid The Price; Saint Dominic’s Preview; Gloria.
The Caledonia Soul Orchestra Line Up: Van Morrison – vocals; John Platania – guitar; Jeff Labes – keyboards; Jack Schroer – saxophones; Bill Atwood – trumpet; David Hayes – bass; Dahaud Shaar – drums; Terry Adams – cello; Nancy Ellis – viola; Tom Halpin – violin; Tim Kovatch – violin; Nathan Rubin – violin.
12 Dec
Muse Wembley Stadium Saturday 16th June 2007
Muse Wembley Stadium Saturday 16th June 2007
This was the first time we saw Muse and the first rock concert at the new Wembley Stadium. Up until this point Muse were pretty unfamiliar to me, but friends had told me how good they were in concert, so I bought tickets as soon as they went on sale, which was the previous December. The concert sold out on the first day and a second show was added. Marie, David and Laura all came to the gig. Support came from The Streets, Dirty Pretty Things, and Rodrigo y Gabriela.
We travelled to London by train and stayed in a Hotel in Wembley, walking distance from the stadium. The support bands were OK, although they suffered from poor sound, as is often the case at large open air gigs. Rodrigo y Gabriela were very different to anything I was expecting, full of acoustic latin rhythms, and The Streets got the crowd going and in the mood for the main act. Nothing could have prepared us for just how amazing Muse were that day. It was one of those gigs where everything just came right. The sound was excellent, the band played a first class set, the stage set was incredible and the crowd were with Muse as soon from the moment that they walked on to the stage.
The band appeared up high, on a large rising platform, accompanied by smoke and confetti. They then walked through the centre of the crowd on a raised walkway, surrounded by men in yellow radio-active suits and hazard masks. They started with Knights of Cydonia, and the whole place erupted; 100,000 people jumping up and down and singing along as one. And the atmosphere stayed like that for the next two hours. Laura still says it is the best big show she has experienced. We have seen Muse twice more since then, once at Glastonbury and once in Manchester, which I have already blogged on.
Setlist: Knights of Cydonia; Hysteria; Supermassive Black Hole; Map of the Problematique; City of Delusion; Butterflies & Hurricanes; Citizen Erased; Hoodoo; Feeling Good; Sunburn; Invincible; Starlight; Man of Mystery; Time Is Running Out; New Born. Encore: Soldier’s Poem; Unintended; Blackout; Plug In Baby. Encore 2: Micro Cuts; Stockholm Syndrome; Take a Bow
4 Dec
Marillion Newcastle Mayfair 1983 & Newcastle City Hall 1984
Marillion Newcastle Mayfair 1983 & Newcastle City Hall 1984
Marillion came along when we least expected it. They sneaked up on us in the early 80s, playing very unfashionable prog rock, which really shouldn’t have been successful given the mood of the time. But Marillion were true to the cause, and the beauty and depth of their music shone through. This ensured their success and popularity, which continues to this day, despite the departure of their charismatic front man Fish. The first time I heard Marillion, at the time of their first album “Script for a Jester’s Tear”, I was struck by the similarity to early Gabriel era Genesis. I heard shades of “Musical Box” and “The Knife” in their music, and of Van Der Graaf (perhaps “Refugees”); and yet they also had their own distinctive sound. Being a devotee of early 70s prog and Genesis, I made sure I saw Marillion when the “Script” tour called at Newcastle. If I remember right Marillion played the Mayfair on that tour, on the same night as my mate Dave and I were due to see Culture Club at the City Hall. 
No problem, the timings were such that we managed to catch both gigs, calling at the City Hall first to see Boy George and co (which was good fun), and then racing round to the Mayfair Ballroom for Marillion’s set. This meant we sadly missed ex Van Der Graaf front man Peter Hamill, who was the support act for Marillion. But hey you can’t have everything. We arrived just as Marillion took to the stage. Marillion were great that night; the Mayfair was packed and their intricate prog sound filled the ballroom. The set consisted of the Script album, and of course their single “Market Square Heroes”. Fish was amazing at the time, the Gabriel and Hammill influences clearly showing; but he had his own stage presence.
Marillion were back in Newcastle a year or so later to promote the “Fugazi” album, and played another great gig at the City Hall. The last time I saw the band was in 1985 at the Donington Monsters of Rock Festivl, where they were second on the bill to Z Z Top. By then the classic “Kayleigh” had been released, and it called for a major sing a long by the crowd. I haven’t seen Marillion or Fish since the 80s; both continue to gig regularly and retain a strong fan base.
Setlist for 1983 Script tour: Script for a Jester’s Tear; Garden Party; Three Boats Down From the Candy; The Web; Charting the Single; Chelsea Monday; He Knows You Know; Forgotten Sons; Market Square Heroes; Margaret. Setlist for 1984 Fugazi tour: Assassing; Punch and Judy; Jigsaw; Script for a Jester’s Tear; Emerald Lies; Chelsea Monday; Incubus; He Knows You Know; Fugazi; Forgotten Sons; Garden Party; Market Square Heroes
“Do you remember, chalk hearts melting on a playground wall? Do you remember, dawn escaped from moonwashed college halls? Do you remember, the cherry blossom in the market square? Do you remember, I thought it was confetti in our hair?” (Kayleigh, Marillion, 1985).
2 Dec
Paul McCartney Sheffield and Birmingham April and May 2003
Paul McCartney Sheffield and Birmingham April and May 2003
Paul McCartney didn’t tour for quite some years after his 1990 outing, so when he announced a concert tour in 2003, I wanted to catch a show. I bought tickets for Marie, Laura, David and me to see Paul’s concert at Sheffield Arena. He was scheduled to play two nights in Sheffield, and the concert were due to take place in April 2003. We were booked to attend the second of the two nights. We booked a couple of rooms in the Travelodge next to the venue, and we were all really looking forward to the gig. On the afternoon of the show we drove down, checked into our rooms, and set off to walk just around the corner to the concert. Imagine our disappointment when we were greeted by fans coming in the opposite direction, everyone telling us that the concert was cancelled as Paul had ‘flu. We checked with the stewards, but sure enough it was true, the gig was cancelled with only an hour to go to show time. We decided not to stay the night, and drove home, very down about the whole thing. We had also been told that the show would be rescheduled but, not wanting to leave anything to chance, I got straight on the phone to Ticketmaster and booked tickets to see McCartney at Birmingham NIA the following week. I quickly booked hotel rooms and trains, and my disappointment started to lift…
So a week after our disappointment at Sheffield we traveled by train to Birmingham to see Paul McCartney in concert. Sometimes booking late for a show can be a good thing, as promoters often release excellent tickets close to the date of the concert. This was certainly the case for us this time, as our seats were in the third row, although a little to the side of the stage. The concert was just great. Paul played a marathon set, although the time seemed to fly over. Its easy to forget just how many classic songs the Beatles had, and on this tour Paul delved right back into that rich catalogue, playing excellent versions of songs that brought back so many memories for everyone there that night. Indeed, many of the songs had never been played live before this tour. For me the classic Beatles songs were highlights: All My Loving; We Can Work It Out; The Fool on the Hill; Eleanor Rigby; Here, There, and Everywhere; Things We Said Today; I’ve Just Seen a Face; Two of Us. All just great. Massive explosive flares burnt high into the roof of the hall during Live and Let Die. We were so close we could feel the heat, although the fire was so strong I suspect you could feel it at the back of the venue. At one point in the show I looked around the hall and saw so many people singing every word, and so many visibly weeping at the emotion of it all. Spine tingling, classic stuff.
The Sheffield concert was rescheduled for the end of May, and we couldn’t resist going to see Paul again. So a few weeks after seeing the show in Birmingham we drove to Sheffield and experienced the whole thing again. And it was just as good….:)
The band (who were, by the way, first class): Rusty Anderson: backing vocals, guitar; Brian Ray: backing vocals, guitar, bass guitar; Paul “Wix” Wickens: backing vocals, keyboards, accordion, acoustic guitar, percussion; and Abe Laboriel Jr: backing vocals, drums, percussion. Rusty and Abe were particularly outstanding.
Setlist from Birmingham: Hello, Goodbye; Jet; All My Loving; Getting Better; Let Me Roll It; Lonely Road; Your Loving Flame; Blackbird; Every Night; We Can Work It Out; You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry That Weight; The Fool on the Hill; Here Today; Something; Eleanor Rigby; Here, There, and Everywhere; Things We Said Today; I’ve Just Seen a Face; Calico Skies; Two of Us; Michelle; Band on the Run; Back in the U.S.S.R.; Let ‘Em In; My Love; She’s Leaving Home; Can’t Buy Me Love; Birthday; Live and Let Die; Let It Be; Hey Jude; The Long and Winding Road; Lady Madonna; I Saw Her Standing There; Yesterday; Sergeant Peppers/The End
Paul has continued to tour since 2003. We have seen him at Live 8 (2005), Liverpool Sound (2008) and at Glasgow Hampden Park (2010). I blogged on the Liverpool and Glasgow concerts at the time, and will write about Live 8 in a separate post one day soon.
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