Penetration Newcastle City Hall December 1978 and October 1979
Penetration played two memorable headlining concerts at Newcastle City Hall in December 1978 and October 1979. The 1978 concert was to promote their glorious first album “Moving Targets”. Support came from Punishment of Luxury and Neon. Punishment of Luxury were building their own following at the time, and were quite unique in their approach. Although their music undoubtedly grew out of punk, their spiky staccato art-rock had much more depth to it, and their performance were very theatrical (they had been members of a local theatre group), with use of masks and dance, lead by front men Brian Bond on vocals and Neville Luxury on guitar. Punilux (as they were known) had released the single “Puppet Life” in Summer 1978. Penetration were achieving national success at the time of this show, with Pauline and the guys often popping up in Sounds and NME. This concert was both a coming home and a celebration of their success, demonstrating that they were now of sufficient standing to headline the great hall where so many big acts had played, and where they had supported The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks only a year or so before. The set consisted of all the old favourites and tracks from the first album, including such great songs as: Life’s a Gamble, their cover of the Buzzcocks Nostalgia, Lovers of Outrage, and Movement. 
Penetration returned to the City Hall almost a year later. I can’t fully recall who the support act was; my memory tells me it may have been local band The Angelic Upstarts. This time Penetration were promoting their follow up album, ‘Coming Up For Air’. This was part of a full UK tour which visited all of the major venues on the circuit. But things were not right within the Penetration camp, and on stage that night Pauline announced to our shock, “This is the last gig that this line up is ever going to do here… I think everything’s got to change after a while”. I was sitting a few rows from the front, but remember not quite catching what Pauline had said, and not wanting to believe that we were witnessing the end of Penetration. They played the rest of the set with a level of passion and emotion like never before, to a hall full of fans who were simply stunned by her announcement. Penetration went on to complete the tour, including another local gig at Dunelm House, Durham which I attended, and their final gig at The Nashville in London. And there you had it. The end of a very under-rated band who were much more than simple punk. Pauline returned to the City Hall a few years later as Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls, and in recent years Penetration have reformed. But for a couple of years Penetration were out at the front of the local and national music scene, and gave us some great gigs to remember. Setlist from a gig on the last tour: Shout Above The Noise, Life’s A Gamble, She Is The Slave, Life Line, What’s Going On, Movement, Lovers Of Outrage, Party’s Over, Too Many Friends, Killed In The Rush, New Recruit, On Reflection, Nostalgia, Come Into The Open, Danger Signs, Free Money, Don’t Dictate. The following songs were recorded live at Newcastle City Hall in Dec 78 and Oct 79 and appear on the official bootleg: Come Into The Open; Movement; Lovers Of Outrage; She Is The Slave; Too Many Friends; Killed In The Rush
Posts Tagged ‘punk’
1 Jun
Penetration Newcastle City Hall December 1978 and October 1979
30 May
Penetration Peterlee Leisure Centre July 14th 1979
Penetration Peterlee Leisure Centre July 14th 1979
This gig was one event during a weekend of activities held in Peterlee, as part of the Peterlee Festival. Penetration played two shows at Easington Leisure Centre, an afternoon and an evening show. Support came from local heavy rock band White Spirit, who were up and coming at the time, and were soon to find fame as part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement. White Spirit featured Janick Gers who went on to play guitar in Gillan, and then Iron Maiden, who he plays with to this day. A strange pairing of acts, who both put on a great show. I went along to the afternoon concert, which was full of young punks. Penetration played a blinding set, as usual. I found the following entry on a message board, which I thought was interesting “…. a bunch of Hebburn Punks went to this gig. We got the bus from Newcastle but it broke down on the way. We thought we would never make the gig. However, the bus company sent another bus. We commandeered the top of the bus and changed the number and location to the 999 to No Place. We thought it was pretty appropriate considering, it was pretty cool watching peoples faces as we approached bus stops. Sean Halligan”
29 May
Penetration gigs in the North East 1977 and 1978
Penetration gigs in the North East 1977
In my opinion, Penetration were the best local punk band around in North East in the late 70s. Marie and I went to lots of their gigs, seeing many of their performances from early 1977 onwards. The gigs all blur into one now, but I remember seeing great gigs at Newcastle Poly, Newcastle Guildhall, the City Hall (as support and headlining), Middlesbrough Rock Garden (lots of times; Penetration were a big favourite there), Redcar Coatham Bowl, and probably some other places (maybe Sunderland Seaburn Hall, Newcastle University?) who knows….as I say its all a blur now. What I do remember are some great songs, and Pauline Murray’s performance which was always stunning. The early Penetration (and for me the classic line-up) featured Pauline, Gary Chaplin on guitar, Robert Blamire (R) on bass, and Gary Smallman on drums. I recall listening to them played on the radio for the first time; I think it was Duty Free Technology, and thinking how great it was that local guys had made it! And I got to know all the early tracks well before any were released on vinyl. Those early gigs included Don’t Dictate, Money Talks, Firing Squad, Never, Silent Community, VIP, Duty Free Technology, and of course their excellent version of Patti Smith’s Free Money. 
We would often run into Pauline and the rest of the band at punk gigs in Newcastle and the Rock Garden. The way in which they caught early Pistols gigs, and how that influenced them to form the band is well documented. Penetration in turn were a big influence on the North East music scene and on many local bands. They built up a solid following locally and gigged all over the country, becoming quite a “name” band, to the extent that they were one of the first punk bands to play the Reading festival in 1978 (another great gig). I remember their first gig with Neale Floyd, who replaced Gary Chaplain on guitar in early 1978. Fred Purser joined shortly afterwards and brought a heavier rock style with him. I recall going out and buying their lp Moving Targets (on luminous vinyl 🙂 ) when it came out in October 1978. All great memories. The ticket here is from a later gig at Redcar Coatham Bowl on 8th December 1978. Support act on that night were Teesside punk heroes (and Rock Garden regulars) Blitzkrieg Bop. The programme has a picture from their Reading Festival performance on the front cover, so must date from late 1978 or from 1979. I’ll reflect on some specific Penetration gigs over the next few days.
28 May
Rich Kids Newcastle and Redcar 1978
Rich Kids Newcastle and Redcar 1978
The Rich Kids were formed by Glen Matlock after he left the Sex Pistols (he was reportedly sacked for liking The Beatles 🙂 ), and featured front man Midge Ure (formerly of Slik and later to be of Ultravox), Rusty Egan (drums) and Steve New (guitar). The Rich Kids were early exponents of power pop, and were influenced by mod, The Small Faces and The Who. Their first single was the self-title Rich Kids. I was seriously into punk and the Pistols at the time, and I likes what I had read about the Rich Kids and their image, which seemed to blending elements of mod, punk, and 60s style. I went out and bought their debut single which came on red vinyl in a plain red sleeve, and when I saw they were playing at Newcastle Mayfair (on 24th February 1978) I went along with Marie to check them out. The Mayfair on a Friday night was still very much a heavy rock palace, and punk bands played there at their peril. I saw several punk acts soaked by beer and greeted by a hail of plastic glasses, including the Boomtown Rats, The Pretenders, Ultravox. Well the Rich Kids suffered a similar fate. As soon as they came on stage the glasses started flying. Midge was hit in the face by a full plastic pint glass, and the band left the stage during the first couple of songs, and didn’t return. I was pretty disappointed, as we had come along especially to see the band. Anyway, all was not lost, as the Rich Kids were playing at Redcar Coatham Bowl the following night. So, determined to catch a full show by Matlock and the guys, we drove down to the seaside on Saturday night. The Redcar Bowl was more of a concert venue, and if you went along you were probably going to see the band. So I figured The Rich Kids would get a better reception from the Redcar crowd. Support came from local band Neon. However, it seems I was fated not to see a full set by the Rick Kids. Many thanks to Mitch for reminding what happened that night: “They came on as scheduled but thirty seconds into their first song the PA cut out. Roadies then messed about for a while before the band attempted a restart……and the same happened again ! The Rich Kids then left the stage whilst the support bands amps were brought on and set up. The band returned, plugged in, got twenty seconds into the first song and the power cut out yet again. And that was it. Tickets were £1.25 and we were refunded £1 on the way out.” The Rich Kids’ set at the time included a cover of The Small Faces’ “Here Comes The Nice”, and The Pistols’ “Pretty Vacant”. My memory tells me that I saw them play both songs at a gig somewhere (but maybe it is playing tricks again….). I think I saw The Rich Kids once more, at a gig at Newcastle University Students Union on 20th October 1978, where I am pretty sure they managed to play a full set. The Rich Kids split shortly afterwards, with Glen going on to play with Iggy Pop, and Midge finding fame when he replaced John Foxx in Ultravox! There were a pretty hot band at the time, with a great image, the power of punk, and some catchy songs with great hooks. Their album “Ghosts of Princes in Towers” was released in August 1978, alongside a single of the same name.
27 May
Holidays in the Sun: The Sex Pistols at the Seaside: Scarborough Penthouse 24 August 1977
The Sex Pistols Scarborough Penthouse 24 August 1977
The Sex Pistols were banned from playing almost everywhere. I’d had a ticket for their show at Newcastle City Hall in December 1976 and was really looking forward to seeing them. The gig was cancelled, as was most of the rest of the tour, in the aftermath of their appearance on the Bill Grundy show. Foolishly I got a refund on the ticket; now there’s a stub I wish I had kept 🙂 By mid 1977 the Pistols had released three classic singles in a row: “Anarchy in the U.K.”, “God Save the Queen” and “Pretty Vacant”. Glen had been sacked and John’s mate Sid Vicious had been recruited as the new bassist.
When they were whispers that the Pistols might be playing some secret dates I was determined to see them. I picked up on hints of gigs through the press and the radio; there was no internet in those days. I also rang around local venues and managed to find out the location of most of the secret gigs. The tour is now referred to as the S.P.O.T.S Tour (Sex Pistols On Tour Secretly) and took in Wolverhampton Lafayette (the Pistols were advertised as S.P.O.T.S); Doncaster Outlook (Tax Exiles); Scarborough Penthouse (Special Guests); Middlesborough Rock Garden (Acne Rabble); Plymouth Woods (The Hamsters); and Penzance Winter Gardens (Mystery Band of International Repute). The gigs all took place over the last week of August and the first week of September 1977. The most local gig for me was Middlesbrough Rock Garden, a venue which I often visited for punk gigs. But sadly I had a dilemma, as I had tickets for the Reading Festival that weekend, and the festival started on the Friday night, which was the night of the Rock Garden gig. And to complicate matters further I had a car load of mates who I had promised to take to Reading. I decided that the best solution was to go and see the Pistols on Thursday in Scarborough, drive home that night, and then get up the next morning and drive to Reading with my mates. And thats exactly what I did.
I rang Scarborough Penthouse, who would only tell me that a “Special Guest Band” would be appearing on Thursday night. They wouldn’t be drawn as to whether it was the Pistols, and when I asked the guy directly I was told that I would just have to come along and find out. But it seemed pretty obvious that the Pistols were going to play Scarborough. I figured that there might a lot of demand, and the venue wasn’t selling any advance tickets. So the only thing to do was to make sure we arrived early. So on Thursday morning, Marie, I and a mate set off for the seaside, and sunny Scarborough. We arrived around lunchtime and found the Penthouse, which was a small club in the town. There were a few punks hanging around but no queue yet. We went to find a chip shop and passed the Pistols walking down the street, which confirmed to us that the gig was indeed taking place. 
A few others arrived, so we formed a queue and waited. We must have stood for 5 or 6 hours until the Penthouse opened its doors, by which time the queue was right down the street. The Penthouse club was a pretty small venue, in an upstairs room as I remember, and it could only have held a few hundred people at the most. The stage was set up with large crowd barriers in front of it, to make it pretty impossible to climb on stage. The gig soon filled up, and by the time the Pistols took to the stage it was absolutely rammed. The atmosphere was electric and the Pistols were incredible. Sid was new to the band, and was just learning to play bass, but he looked great; just the part. John was amazing, sneering and snarling, hanging off his mike stand and at times covered in spit from the crowd. Steve Jones was the ultimate rock guitar hero, all swagger in his leather jeans, and Paul Cook was smashing away at his drums. And they were LOUD, and fast.
The set was quite short; they were on stage for less than an hour. They started with Anarchy and played most of the yet to be released Bollocks album. The setlist was something like: Anarchy in the U.K.; I Wanna Be Me; Seventeen; New York; EMI; Holidays in the Sun; No Feelings; Problems; Pretty Vacant; God Save the Queen. They definitely finished with No Fun. We braved it in the scrum down the front for some of the set, but I eventually bottled it and took up a vantage point at the back, standing on a chair. Too much spitting and pogoing down the front for my liking. My mate tried to tell some punks to stop spitting at John but they took no notice 🙂 The stairs were lined by the local police as we left; they were presumably expecting trouble, but there wasn’t any. Everyone started singing Pretty Vacant right into the face of the policemen as we left. Luckily the police took it all in good spirits.
We drove back home, getting back in the early hours of the morning. I had a few hours sleep, and then I got up, picked up my mates and drove down to Reading where the festival was headlined by Golden Earing, Thin Lizzy, and Alex Harvey. Not much punk on show that year (although Wayne County and Ultravox! played), but there was lots and lots of mud. Another mate went to see the Pistols at the Middlesbrough Rock Garden and said they were awesome. That was the last time I saw the Pistols until a reunion show at Brixton a few years ago, but the gig still sticks in my mind as a very special event. At the time there really was no other live band like the Pistols. The songs, the image, the energy, the volume, the secrecy of the event, all made their gigs occasions like no other. Another one for my time machine.
26 May
The Sex Pistols Whitby 11 September 1976
The Sex Pistols Whitby 11 September 1976
I’d read about the new punk movement and The Sex Pistols in NME and Sounds, and was curious and interested in going to see them. Unbeknown to me the Pistols has already performed in the North East at Middlesbrough Town Hall and Northallerton Sayers club as support for Doctors of Madness in May 1976. I wish I’d been at those gigs. Anyway, I saw that the Pistols were playing at the Royal Ballroom in Whitby on a Saturday night, so I persuaded Marie that we should go along and see what this punk thing was all about. Whitby is around 60 miles away from home, just a nice drive for a Saturday night out. We didn’t bargain for the rain that night, which was torrential. Still, when I’m determined to do something I’m not easily put off, so we drove through flooded roads and past broken down cars in my little old MG sports. When we arrived in Whitby we went straight to the Royal Hotel, which is the splendid white hotel which overlooks the harbour. We went into the bar and asked where the Sex Pistols were playing. The staff gave us strange looks and didn’t seem to know anything about the gig, but suggested it might be in the disco which was in a room somewhere around the back. I remember that we went back to the car and drove away from the hotel until we saw a poster advertising “Saturday Disco Night featuring Top Band The Sex Pistols” on a gate, which led us into a pub, or the back room of the hotel. I’m not sure which. 
We got absolutely drenched just going from the car to the door, the rain was so heavy. We paid our entrance fee which around 50p each, and went into the venue which was pretty empty. We soon spotted the Pistols who were sitting at a table in the corner, so we knew that we had arrived at the right place. John was wearing a tam, a pair of bondage trousers and a teddy boy jacket. I went to the bar to buy some drinks and John and Steve came and stood next to me and ordered some food (chicken and chips, I think). Malcolm McLaren wasn’t with them; it was just the Pistols (Johnny Rotten, Glen Matlock, Steve Jones and Paul Cook) with Nils Stevenson. Nils was their road manager and drove them to gigs in his van at the time. The place started to fill up around 9ish with a regular Saturday night crowd of young people, all dressed up for their normal disco. I swear that Marie and I were the only people who looked like they had come to see the Pistols. There were no punks there at all (except the Pistols, that is 🙂 ). The DJ started to play some 70s charts music, from behind his set-up surrounded by lights, and a small group of girls took to the dance floor. After a little time, the DJ introduced tonight’s “group”: The Sex Pistols. The girls dancing at the front didn’t know what was happening. The Pistols were deafening and started with Anarchy in the UK, which hadn’t been released as a single yet, but I had heard John Peel play on the radio. 
I’d read reviews of Pistols gigs in London, so I knew what songs to expect. From memory, they played Seventeen (then called I’m A Lazy Sod), New York, No Lip (the Dave Berry song), and Stepping Stone (the Monkees song). By the time they were into Stepping Stone the crowd were getting restless, and couldn’t believe their eyes or ears. John was staring at them, snarling the lyrics. The DJ sensed that the Pistols weren’t going down too well with his normal disco crowd, who seemed totally phased by the whole thing; and between songs he turned their sound off, said “Thank you for tonight’s band the Sex Pistols, now its back to the disco” and started his disco up again. And that was it. The Pistols had played for around 20 minutes or so. But that was enough for me to know that I’d witnessed something pretty special. From then on I went to every punk gig that I could. We ran through the rain, which was still pouring down, back to the car, and drove back, passing more broken down cars on the way. The roads were flooded and the water was coming in to the car. How we made it back without breaking down I don’t know. The next night the Pistols played the Fforde Green hotel in Leeds, where they apparently played a full set and went down well. A month later they appeared on the Bill Grundy show and achieved notoriety. Anarchy in the UK was released a month after that.
I was back in Whitby with David a few months ago, and we went to the Royal Hotel to try and find the venue where I saw the Pistols. We drove around all of the streets near to the hotel, but couldn’t find the venue. Maybe it doesn’t exist any more. I saw the Pistols again the following year, again at the seaside, and this time in Scarborough. I’ll write about that gig tomorrow.
Note. My scan: “Anarchy in the UK” is the front cover of the first issue of a Pistols magazine which was released in 1976 or 1977. To get my copy I sent a cheque off to Glitterbest, which was Malcolm McLaren’s company. I’m not sure if there were ever any further editions after No 1. The large newspaper size mag contains picture of the early Pistols, incuding both Sid and Glen, although I am pretty sure that Sid was not a member at the point I bought it. The girl on the front cover is Soo Catwoman: http://www.soocatwoman.com/
The bus is from the back cover; this image was used to promote the Pistols on tour.
25 May
The Police Newcastle City Hall 28 April 1980 9.15 (late) show
The Police Newcastle City Hall 28 April 1980 9.15 (late) show
By 1980 The Police were one of the biggest bands in the world. In 1979 they had released their second album, Reggatta de Blanc, which topped the British charts for four weeks and included the UK number-one singles “Message in a Bottle” and “Walking on the Moon”. They headlined the first night of the Reading Festival in 1979, and, along with Thin Lizzy, were the highlight of the August Bank holiday weekend. So when Sting and Co returned to Newcastle in 1980 it was as triumphant heroes. They announced two shows at the City Hall, and early and late show on 28th April. Tickets went on sale by postal application only and the shows were massively over subscribed. 
I managed to get tickets for both shows, and Marie and I went along to the late show, having passed on the tickets to the earlier show to friends. We had great seats right down the front. Anticipation for the gigs was high, and The Police put on a great high energy show, to a rapturous reception from the home crowd. This was the last time I was to see The Police in a small venue. Other gigs from here on were massive outdoor shows at Milton Keynes Bowl and Gateshead Stadium.
Setlist: Next to You; So Lonely; Walking on the Moon; Hole in My Life; Truth Hits Everybody; Bring on the Night; Driven to Tears; The Bed’s Too Big Without You; Message in a Bottle; Roxanne; Can’t Stand Losing You
24 May
The Police Newcastle Mayfair 14 June 1979
The Police Newcastle Mayfair 14 June 1979
The next time I saw The Police was at Newcastle Mayfair. By then they had hit the charts with Can’t Stand Losing You, So Lonely and Roxanne, and had built up a strong following. They were on the brink of the mega-stardom which was to follow, starting later that year when they hit No 1 in the UK with Message in a Bottle and Walking on the Moon. I was spoilt for choice this night. Dire Straits were playing the City Hall, and The Police at the Mayfair. Which gig to go to? Well I tried to go to both, as I often did in those days. So my mate and I saw Dire Straits at the City Hall, and then raced down to the Mayfair for the Police. I’ve already written about the Dire Straits gig which was sold out and great; this was the first time they had played the City Hall and it was at the time of Sultans of Swing. 
For once the timings worked. We arrived at the Mayfair in time for the Police’s set having missed support acts The Cramps and Bobby Henry. The Mayfair was packed, and the Police were just great. Sting was on top form and was getting heavily into his Yo..Yo..Yo.. reggae cum jazz / scat singing at the time. It was very clear that this band was much more than a punk band, and were a great pop act. I always found it strange going into a gig late. Its like arriving at a party where everyone has been drinking all night and you come along sober. When we entered the Mayfair it was packed, hot, sweaty and the Police were just coming on stage. Sting was wearing his boiler suit, Andy was chopping out some great guitar rhythms and Stewart was at the back pounding away on his drums. A great night. The next time I saw the Police was when they returned to play two triumphant shows at the City Hall.
23 May
Cherry Vanilla and the Police Newcastle Poly and Middlesbrough Rock Garden 1977
I’d seen Sting several times in Last Exit and the Newcastle Big Band, and knew that he had gone down to London with Last Exit. The next thing I heard was that he had formed a punk band called the Police and was supporting an American punk singer called Cherry Vanilla who was touring the UK. The first chance to see this pairing was at a gig at Middlesbrough Rock Garden in early 1977. Cherry had been David Bowie’s USA publicist, and relocated to London in 1976. The set up for the tour was the Police as support act, with Sting and Stewart Copeland also playing in Cherry’s band. The Police line-up at the time was Sting on bass and vocals, Stewart Copeland on drums, and Henry Padovani on guitar. I remember thinking it a strange set-up. Here was the drummer from the prog-rock band Curved Air, a jazz bass player and an unknown guitarist supporting an American new wave singer. It didn’t seem that authentic at the time compared to other punk and new wave acts. I’d always been impressed by Sting in Last Exit, liked Curved Air, and was interested in the punk scene, and hence wanted to see Cherry Vanilla, so Marie and I went to the gig at the Rock Garden, which was on 12 March 1977. As it happened Cherry Vanilla didn’t turn up for some reason, and the Police headlined that night. Their set was pretty straight ahead punk as far as I can recall. The only recored output from that period was the single Fall Out. Their set at the time include Grand Hotel, which was a Last Exit song and Clouds in Venice, which was written by Stewart Copeland and his then wife Sonja Kristina (from Curved-Air). I recall the music as fast-paced typical 1977 speed punk. The Cherry Vanilla / Police pairing appeared at Newcastle Polytechnic on 6 May 1977. and Marie and I went along again. This time Cherry Vanilla did perform with Sting and Stewart in her band, the Police played their own short set, and the evening was opened by local band Penetration who were starting to gig around the region at the time. I was a big fan of Penetration and although their songs were just forming at the time, they were the highlight of that night for me.
12 May
Iggy Pop Leeds Harewood House Rock the House Aug 31st 2007
Iggy Pop Leeds Harewood House Rock the House Aug 31st 2007
This charity open-air gig saw Iggy appearing with the reformed Stooges in the form of the Asheton brothers, Scott on drums and Ron on lead guitar, with Mike Watt on bass. Support came from Idlewild, The SUnshine Underground, Sons & Daughters, The Horrors, The Young Knives and the Dirty. It was 20 years since I had last seen Iggy in concert, and the added attraction of the reformed Stooges convinced me to go along to the gig. David and Laura also fancied it so came along with me. We arrived quite early for once and saw most of the bands. I remember being quite impressed by The Horrors, who played some pretty good rock n roll, quite punky with big hair. The event was not well attended, there can’t have been more than a few thousand there, in a venue that probably holds 20,000 or so.
Iggy was on usual manic form and it was great to hear the old Stooges songs again. The set was all Stooges material, no Iggy solo, including I Wanna Be Your Dog, TV Eye, 1969 and Real Cool Time. The show also included some songs from the new Stooges album The Weirdness. During No Fun Iggy invited the crowd to join him up on stage. Fans started climbing over the barriers and the stage was soon completely rammed with everyone jumping around and going crazy. The artist and the audience becoming one and the same. Good fun; a great gig.
Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Live on the 15th of August, 2006. Budapest, Sziget Festival. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Derzsi_Elekes_Andor
Setlist (something like): Loose; I Wanna Be Your Dog; T.V. Eye; 1969; Real Cool Time; Fun House; Skull Ring; Trollin’; My Idea of Fun; She Took My Money; I’m Fried; No Fun.
Vintagerock's Weblog. 