The Teardrop Explodes Newcastle Mayfair 25th June 1981 & Newcastle City Hall 2nd February 1982
The Teardrop Explodes were a great pop group. Although they emerged as part of the post-punk / new wave scene of the late 1970s, their music was very clearly influenced by ’60s psychedelia, and was labelled “bubblegum psych” or “bubblegum trance” by the music press. Led by charismatic, and fascinating, front man Julian Cope they exploded out of the Liverpool scene; friends of Wah! and the Bunnymen. I loved the singles “Treason” and “Reward” which remain classics of the genre and continue to influence bands today. I saw The Teardrop Explodes on three occasions, at Newcastle Mayfair on 25th June 1981, at Newcastle City Hall on 2nd February 1982, and supporting Queen at Elland Road on 29th May 1982. I have strongest memories of the Mayfair gig. The Teardrop Explodes had been high in the charts with “Reward” and the band, and Julian Cope in particular, were on top form. Julian was on the brink of becoming a major pop star. He was his usual exuberant, fearless, unashamed, “little boy lost” blonde bob self. And why wouldn’t he be; after all he was on the verge of becoming his hero Scott Walker. “The whole idea of the Teardrops to me is nice, nice melodies and lyrics that, while they’re always sung hopefully, have dark secrets in them when you start listening to them.” (Julian in Record Mirror, 1981). 
A packed Mayfair crowd gave the band a crazy reception; it was a great night; swirling, whirling waves of sound and colour lifted us all and taking us along for the ride. The 1981 programme proclaims the tour “Out of the Culture Bunker”. Julian explained what this was about in Record Mirror (1981): “I have a new song called ‘Culture Bunker’ that’s about the way we all reacted to other people trying to make it in Liverpool. We’d say we really want you to make it but we don’t, the whole thing is so smiley, smiley, stab you in the back. David Balfe is always slagging me off for smiling at people, and saying hello when I’m not interested in them but it’s just the way I’ve been brought up. I’m not one of, those people who declare ‘I’m honest, I’m frank, I tell people that they’re shits’.”
By the time I saw the band again at the City Hall things didn’t seem quite the same. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a great, enjoyable gig, but it lacked the edge and power, and joy, of the Mayfair concert the previous year. This was due, in part, to the lack of craziness which results when moving from a ballroom to a concert hall, but also I suspect because things weren’t too good in the band; there had been several line-up changes, and there was ill-feeling between Julian and some of the other members. The music was changing as well, and according to reports Julian was experimenting heavily with LSD. Julian’s mood felt darker; he was no longer Scott Walker, and was becoming a moody Jim Morrison. The evening before in Edinburgh the gig had ended on a dark note: “What I do recall very clearly is the interminable nonsense of the final encore: Sleeping Gas. Never a tune I have ever had much time for, the piece degenerated into an embarrassing ten minute Cope rant. The singer ended up on the floor towards the end burbling on about savaging the audience, and I am sure I was not the only one in the place thinking “Julian! For F**’s Sake. Behave yourself” (from http://therockandrollknife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/teardrop-explodes-edinburgh-1982.html ). Such was Julian Cope at the time. 
The last time I saw The Teardrop Explodes they supported Queen at Elland Road. It wasn’t a great day for them. The crowd started hurling bottles and cans at Julian and he spent a lot of time arguing with everyone. “Not sure who was first on, probably Teardrop Explodes, Julian Cope, I remember while they were throwing bottles at him, picked one up and started hitting himself with it and stretching his arms out saying he was an Argentinian bomber or something. It was during the Falklands war, remember.” (from a Queen fan forum). It was like watching a band self destruct in front of your eyes.
I like to remember The Teardrop Explodes as they were that night at the Mayfair; joyous, uplifting; a celebration of a young guy from Liverpool who was living out his dreams, and let us come along for the ride.
Julian Cope continues to perform and remains a unique, highly creative, individual.
Posts Tagged ‘psych’
12 Oct
The Teardrop Explodes Newcastle Mayfair 25th June 1981 & Newcastle City Hall 2nd February 1982
11 Oct
Tangerine Dream Newcastle City Hall 23rd March 1978 and 2nd November 1980
Tangerine Dream Newcastle City Hall 23rd March 1978 and 2nd November 1980
I saw Tangerine Dream on two more occasions. It is difficult to describe the concerts, as each time the band performed it was so different. In 1978 the line-up was Edgar Froese (keyboards), Christopher Franke (keyboards), Steve Jolliffe (saxophone, flute) and Klaus Krüger (drums, percussion). By the time I saw them in 1980 the line-up had changed again and had reverted back to a three piece, keyboard based, ensemble featuring Froese, Franke and Johannes Schmoelling. Their concerts continued to feature unique improvised soundscapes, loud and swirling music; psychedelic, spacey, rhythmic, sometimes dark and moody. They sometimes performed in cathedrals, I can imagine that the space and surroundings fitted the music well. One of those performances was in York Minster; I recall considering going and didn’t, which I regret to this day; I would imagine that it will have been an unforgettable experience.
The 1978 tour featured the Laserium light show which were produced live by a “laserist”. The Laserium projector (from the tour programme) “uses a one-watt Krypton gas laser as its light source, and refracts the tiny beam into four primary colors which travel through a series of optics to emerge as laser snowflakes or cloud formations suspended in space. This Laserium projector was especially designed for Tangerine Dream, and the custom made rear projection screen enables the live laser images to appear three-dimensional.” I was, and remain, intrigued by the band. 
I found their concerts fascinating, challenging, interesting at times uplifting, and yet at other times tedious and tiring. Looking back they were, and remain, a unique and hugely important and influential band. Edgar Froese drew his influences from the Rolling Stones: ”The first time I heard The Rolling Stones was in the middle of a rehearsal with a rock ‘n’ roll group. I was first of all attracted by their looks. Their faces were absolutely damaged. They were the absolute opposite of The Beatles… ” and the surrealist painter Salvador Dali, who he met also played in his villa: ”This was the biggest change I ever had in music…..By seeing the way he was working, talking and thinking, I found that everything was possible. I thought that I would do the same as he did in painting in music.” He explained his approach to Paul Morley in the NME (1978): “We never do anything just for success….We could do all the Donna Summer things, and make a lot of money. But what do you do in the end? If you’re interested in being rich, the record industry is very much part of the world’s commercial activity, and it’s very easy to be successful by doing your own thing, without compromise.”
I remember for one of the performances I attended the band played the entire concert from behind a new curtain. There was never any set numbers, no “act”, no props other than the light shows. Everything was improvised directly on stage, in the moment. The performance was fed by the musicians, how they were feeling that day, but also by the venue, the acoustics, and the audience and their reaction. The musicians would walk on stage, tune, explore and calibrate their synths and then sit behind their futuristic consoles in the dark and create sounds and music. They would be no interaction with the audience. Each piece would last an hour or so, and a concert would feature a couple of such pieces, followed by, if it felt right to do so, an encore of 20 minutes or so. Then they would leave the astounded, bewildered, fascinated, perplexed audience until next time. Because of the uniqueness of the events many were bootlegged. I’ve just listened to a recording on YouTube which was made from a 1978 live show in Berlin. Fascinating stuff, and it reminded me of what the experience was like. The music from that show includes some scary screaming vocals., which isn’t something I can remember from the gigs I attended. Tangerine Dream continue to perform to this day.
Thanks to Mitch for his picture of Edgar Froese taken at Newcastle City Hall on 23rd March 1978.
26 Apr
Spirit Reading Festival August 1978 and Newcastle Mayfair 31st July 1981
Spirit Reading Festival August 1978 and Newcastle Mayfair 31st July 1981
My first memories of Spirit are of hearing the track “Fresh Garbage” on the excellent 1968 CBS sample lp “The Rock Machine Turns You On”. The song is quite strange with a psychedelic feel to inn, and some disconcerting changes of tempo. The next time I ran into the band was when I saw them live at Reading Festival in 1978. By this time Spirit were a three-piece featuring front man Randy California on (amazing) guitar, vocals and Moog, Ed Cassidy on drums and Larry “Fuzzy” Knight on bass. California was an awesome guitarist and a big Hendrix fan, and the set comprised a few Hendrix covers (“Hey Joe”, “All Along the Watchtower” and “Wild Thing”) along with some Spirit classics (“Mr Skin”, “Nature’s Way”). Ed Cassidy was a power house drummer, and was also Randy’s step-father. He was much older than the other two guys, and will have been 55 at the time of the Reading gig. Spirit played between Lindisfarne and The Motors, on the early Saturday evening. Status Quo headlined the Saturday night, playing after The Motors. Spirit played a storming set, and got a good reaction from the crowd.
Setlist from Reading: Hey Joe; Looking Down; Animal Zoo; Mr Skin; All Along The Watchtower; Wild Thing; Nature’s Way; Like A Rolling Stone; My imagination.
I saw Spirit once more, at a gig at Newcastle Mayfair in 1981. I think I also saw Randy California supporting Ian Gillan at the Mayfair in 1979. The 1981 tour was to promote the Potato Land album. The album, whose full title is “The Adventures of Kaptain Kopter & Commander Cassidy in Potato Land” (I assume Randy California ia Kaptain Kopter), was originally recorded by Randy California and Ed Cassidy during 1973/74. A concept album, interspersed with dialogue, it was not released until 1981 through Line Records. The line-up of the band at the Mayfair was California, Cassidy, Liberty on bass and George Valuck on keyboards. 
The ballroom was half-full, and the set was similar to the Reading set, mixing Hendrix material, with old Spirit songs, and a few from the Potato land story. The programme contains a comic featuring the Adventures of Kaptain Kopter and Commander Cassidy in Potato Land complete with great graphics and a blank page on which you were invited to “Draw your own Potato Man”. I also seem to remember buying a badge which had a picture of a potato man on it, but I’m not sure what happened to it.
25 Feb
The Pretty Things and Arthur Brown Newcastle Tyne Theatre 5th October 2002
The Pretty Things and Arthur Brown Newcastle Tyne Theatre 5th October 2002
When I was a kid, way back in 1968, I received some record vouchers as part of my Christmas present. Now lps were precious items in those days; I went to the local record shop and spent ages choosing which discs to spend my vouchers on. In the end I chose “Prophets Seers and Sages, the Angels of the Ages” by Tyrannosaurus Rex and “Crazy World of Arthur Brown”. Both good choices. A few months later I came across and bought a copy of The Pretty Things’ “S F Sorrow” in a second hand shop. I played those albums constantly on our new home stereo system. The Arthur Brown lp had such wonderful prog tracks as “Spontaneous Apple Creation”, “Child of My Kingdom” and (of course) “Fire” and “Fire Poem”, featuring Arthur’s manic soaring vocals and the late great Vincent Crane’s rich swirling Hammond organ. And S F Sorrow simply amazed me; with its rich mix of great pop hooks, R&B, and psych. “Baron Saturday”, “She Says Good Morning” and “Loneliest Person” were my favourite tracks.
I first got to see Arthur Brown live around 1973 at a Kingdom Come gig in Sunderland Polytechnic Wearmouth Hall. That concert was spectacular, and unlike anything I’ve ever see before or since. The show started with Arthur being tied to a large wooden cross in a simulated crucifixion, featured a massive brain being chased around the hall by the pope, and concluded with Arthur being dragged from stage in a straitjacket.
The first time I saw The Pretty Things live was at Sunderland Locarno, in January 1973. Their set at the time drew heavily from S F Sorrow and also included some of their classic 60s R&B singles. Phil May had the longest hair I had ever seen, and remains to this day one of our best rock vocalists and front men. I saw them a few times after that gig, supporting touring acts at Newcastle City Hall; once with Status Quo, and with a few other bands; exactly who I don’t remember, maybe Bad Company.
So some 30 odd years later, this gig at the Tyne Theatre teamed up two of my favourite acts. Arthur was as crazy and powerful as ever, and the Pretty Things played much of S F Sorrow, featuring a line-up which reunited many of the original band members. Arthur also joined The Pretty Things for a couple of songs. Arthur signed my ticket with a weird hippy third eye, and Phil May and the rest of The Pretty Things signed a reissue copy of S F Sorrow which was on sale at the venue. A great night. Oh and David came along with me and became a fan of Arthur and The Pretty Things that night 🙂
26 Jan
Pink Floyd reunion Live 8 Hyde Park 2nd July 2005
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.
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
18 Jan
Pink Fairies live in the mid-’70s
Pink Fairies live in the mid-’70s
I was a big fan of the Pink Fairies in the early and mid ’70s and went to see them a number of times in concert. Those guys represented everything that was great about rock music; attitude, far-left politics, anti-establishment views, freedom and some great underground tracks. My mate had a copy of their “Kings of Oblivion” album which we played again and again, especially “City Kids” and “When’s the Fun Begin” (which was co-written by hero of the counter-culture, Mick Farren, who sadly recently passed away). Another favourite of mine was their version of “Walk Don’t Run” from the “What a Bunch of Sweeties” album, which adds vocals to the Ventures instrumental, and bends it into a piece of psych-tinged surf guitar grunge. 
You got the feeling that these guys lived on the edge, on the outside, and were 100% authentic. The line-ups that I saw featured Paul Rudolf and/or Larry Wallis on guitar, Duncan Sanderson on bass, and Russell Hunter on drums. The legendary Twink had departed some time before. My ticket stubs included here are for gigs at Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt and Redcar Coatham Bowl, probably around 1975 or 1976. I also saw the Pink Fairies at Newcastle Mayfair a couple of times; in 1976 and 1977. These guys were pure raw rock’n’roll live and LOUD. Amazing. It seems a reunion of some sort is in the air; as the 100 club is advertising a Pink Fairies gig in May, although its not yet clear who will be in the line-up. Something for me to watch out for.
2 Jan
The Only Ones Redcar Coatham Bowl 15th October 1978
The Only Ones Redcar Coatham Bowl 15th October 1978
I’ve just played “Another Girl, Another Planet” to remind myself how great The Only Ones were. The Only Ones were led by singer and guitarist Peter Perrett along with guitarist John Perry, drummer Mike Kellie (ex-Spooky Tooth) and bassist Alan Mair. I saw the band twice, at this great gig at Redcar Coatham Bowl and at Newcastle City Hall, as support for Television. The Only Ones were a strange and unique mix of punk and psych, with Perrett looking (a little) and sounding (a lot) like Syd Barrett. Their best known song “Another Girl, Another Planet” even has the line “I look ill, but I don’t care about it” which just about summed it up. Peter Perrett went on to develop a well-publicised drug habit, and disappeared from the public eye for many years. In recent years The Only Ones have reformed, and have been playing concerts again.
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.
9 Dec
The Damned Newcastle Academy 8th December 2013
The Damned Newcastle Academy 8th December 2013
Last night I continued in my attempts to relive my lost youth by going to see punk goth legends The Damned at Newcastle Academy. I last saw The Damned in concert in the late 80s, and I have been meaning to catch up with them for the last few years, but for one reason or another, I haven’t managed to do so. I was a big fan of this band back in the day. There was a sense of chaos, fun and theatre to a Damned gig; they were always quite different to the rest of the punk bands of the time. Their music blends rock’n’roll, punk, goth and psychedelia, and you can always be sure that Captian Sensible will be crazy and outrageous, which guarantees a fun night out for all. The line up of The Damned has changed many times over the years; the two remaining members are the Captain on guitar and vocalist Dave Vanium.
I arrived just in time to catch the end of support act The Ruts DC, who closed their set with the old favourite “In a Rut”. The Ruts are old mates of the Damned from the punk era; I particularly remember a manic Ruts gig at Durham Dunelm House where the Damned joined them on stage to much mayhem both onstage and off. The Damned came on stage around 9.10pm, Dave Vanium looking as cool as ever in his black Dracula / undertaker garb; this guy was goth before goth. First song was the eerie and dark Sanctum Sanctum. The set consisted of songs drawn from across their 10 albums, focusing mainly on that classic 70s and 80s period. The last few songs were pure classic punk nostalgia: Love Song; Second Time Around; I Just Can’t Be Happy Today; New Rose (“Is she really going out with him”) and closer Neat Neat Neat; they took me right back, and sounded just as good at they did when I first heard them. Their cover of “Eloise” was good to hear, as always. Its one of my favourite songs from the 60s; full of drama, passion and pathos. The Damned must have similar musical tastes to my own, they have covered quite a few songs which I consider to be classics; I am thinking of “Eloise”, Love’s “Alone Again Or” and Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”. The Captain seemed to be in a jolly mood, if a little reserved, he did explain that they had all been suffering from colds. I resisted the temptation of buying a Captain Kit, complete with red beret and round sunglasses, and a bargain at £10, with a signed (and quite obscene) Christmas card thrown in. I figured I probably wouldn’t suit the beret :). Great to see the old ones are still out there doing in, and doing so in style and with panache. Great stuff.
Setlist: Sanctum Sanctorum; Don’t Cry Wolf; Wait for the Blackout; Lively Arts; Silly Kids Games; History of the World; Ignite; Generals; Stranger on the Town; Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde; Plan 9 Channel 7; Eloise; Love Song; Second Time Around; I Just Can’t Be Happy Today; New Rose; Neat Neat Neat. Encore: To my shame I left at this point as I had promised to collect Laura (Apologies to Dave and the Captain). I bet they played Smash It Up and one or two others.
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