Doctors of Madness
February 27th 1976 Newcastle Mayfair (with Bop Deluxe)
The Doctors of Madness were a weird band. Hyped up as the next big thing, and fronted by super-ego Kid Strange, they played some pretty strong proto-punk music which drew heavily from The Velvet Underground and Bowie. Although misunderstood and much maligned at the time, they are now recognised as being influential in the birth of punk rock, and sowed the seeds for The Pistols, and a lot of what was to follow. I first saw them supporting Be Bop Deluxe at Newcastle Mayfair in 1976, and still have a programme from the gig which includes a silver flexi (see scans). The flexi Tracks are: Waiting; Afterglow; Billy Watch Out; Noises of the Evening. My recollection of the band are of Kid Strange being exactly that: strange on stage, but also compelling and charismatic. I also remember Urban Blitz as a manic violinist. 
I saw the band a few times at the Mayfair and other local gigs, and really regret not going to see them at Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt in 1976, where they were supported by none other than the Sex Pistols in their first foray “up north”. That pairing also played Northallerton Sayers club at the same time. From the programme: “The music of the Doctors of Madness is extremely different, played with great honesty and without the “Rock Rule Book”. Members: Kid Strange: singer; guitarist and composer. He rates only Dylan and Lennon alongside himself as the most talented living songwriters. Its an accident that Kid Strange is a star. Stoner: Bass. The mercury man, slow and deliberate. He carries a haunted look and few know him well. Urban Blitz: Electric violin, baritone vialectra, guitar and mandolin. Began illustrious carreer at Kindergarten age as in the wont of such viruosi. “There is no musician I respect”. Peter di Lemma: drums. The silver surfer.” Pretty awesome stuff; eh?
Posts Tagged ‘punk’
25 Aug
Doctors of Madness 1976
23 Aug
Depeche Mode Newcastle 1981 and 1982
Depeche Mode Newcastle 1981 and 1982
Its easy to forget how important Depeche Mode are. They have had an incredible 48 songs in the UK Singles Chart and have sold over 100 million albums and singles worldwide, making them the most successful electronic band in music history (Wiki). Q magazine called Depeche Mode “The most popular electronic band the world has ever known”. This a far cry from the very young looking guys I saw at Newcastle University in 1981. Singer Dave Gahan will have been less than 20 years old at the time, and looked so young then. I remember them as a cute new pop / dance band. This gig was very early on in the career, and featured the original line up before Vince Clarke went off Yazooing. 
The band had hit the chart with “just Cant Get Enough” and this was the first night of their first proper tour. A few months went by, Vince Clarke had left the band, and they were back for another tour of the UK to promote “See You”. This time they played the City Hall. The scans on this page come from the programme from that tour. 
Its hard to believe that these cute young clean cut guys went on to produce some of the much darker, minimalist synth / electronica that emerged on their later albums. So, yeah, ny experiences of Depeche Mode in concert are from some 30 years ago, and way out of date. Keeping this blog, and revisiting my old concert going activities is making me realise how much great music there is out there, and how diverse it all is. It is also reminding me that there are quite a few bands that I should try and catch up with again, and Depeche Mode is one of them. 
So next time they come to the UK, I intend to put that right and see what these guys are up to these days. I bet its quite different, and has developed somewhat, from these two early gigs. I bet they don’t play “Just Can’t Get Enough” or “See You” these days. PS. I’ve just visited the Depeche Mode forum and see that there is talk of a visit to the UK next June. I also checked out recent setlists, and no they don’t play “Just Can’t Get Enough” or “See You”.
22 Aug
Devo Newcastle City Hall 1978 and 1980
Devo Newcastle City Hall 1978 and 1980
Question: Are we not men? Answer: We are DEVO.
There were some pretty crazy messages coming out of planet DEVO in the late 70s. The messages even got through to the north east of England and drew us all to Newcastle City Hall to observe these strange beings that were DEVO, listen to the songs that they chose to share with us, and do our mad DEVO dances. The DEVO guys were very different to UK punk rock, and to anything else that we earthlings had seen come out of American new wave. So along we went (twice in my case!) to be DEVOed and to stare in awe at these crazy guys who wore red pointy hats, weird yellow suits and sang quirky punk songs with strange lyrics and obscure messages, many of which also had quite catchy hooks. Mongoloid and Jocko Homo were quite good fun, and their version of Satisfaction was ok, if a little strange. 
As the programme says: “The band eveolved from a long line of brain-eating apes, some of which settled in N.E. Ohio around Akron where members of Devo eventually appeared years after the A-Bomb ended World War II. By the process of natural selection they met and shared the habits of making electronic noise, watching TV and watching everybody esle. They called that they saw around them De-evolution and called their music Devo. It made the sound of things falling apart.” Support for the 1978 Newcastle gig came from The Members whose Sound of the Suburbs was pretty neat. They were fronted by singer Nicky Tesco who was a cool guy and good fun on stage. 
The Members had been brought in at short notice to replace Doll by Doll (featuring Jackie Leven) who had been dropped from the tour because they were “not sufficiently DEVO”. Apparently Doll by Doll turned up for this gig, only to find out that they were not playing and were understandably not too pleased. Anyway, my two interactions with the DEVO aliens were both good clean fun, even if it was all a little crazy. But then, these were crazy times. I also had the good fortune to be present when the DEVO space craft landed in a field at Knebworth and they performed on a bill with Genesis, Tom Petty and Jefferson Starship. But thats a story for another days blogging. Perhaps the DEVO guys, who are still playing in the States, will yet take over the world and I will wake up tomorrow and find that I am living on planet DEVO. Perhaps I already am? Are we not men? We are DEVO? “If the spud fits; wear it : DEVO”
18 Aug
Nick Cave The Sage Gateshead 2005
Nick Cave Sage Gateshead 2005
Tickets for this gig sold quickly; Nick Cave has a very committed hard core following. This is the only time I’ve seen him in concert. I have vague memories of The Birthday Party supporting Bauhaus at Newcastle University in the early 80s, but can’t be certain I attended that gig. David and I went to the Sage gig, David being more familiar with Cave’s material than I was. This was a solo concert, with Nick on piano, and Bad Seeds Warren Ellis (violin), Martyn Casey (bass) and Jim Sclavunos (drums). It was one of the first gigs I attended at the Sage Gateshead, which had only been open for a couple of months. Nick’s songs are dark and intense, and the set drew songs from throughout his career, and a selection from the Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus album, which had been released around that time. Nick is a pretty cool guy (great moustache) and had some interesting banter with the crowd between songs. An excellent gig by a unique guy. Laura is pretty jealous and has Nick Cave high on her lists of concert must-sees. I bought her a signed copy of his book “The Death of Bunny Munro” which takes pride of place in her flat, and I have promised to take her to see him next time he comes to the North of England. Setlist: West Country Girl; Abattoir Blues; Red Right Hand; Hallelujah; Cannibals Hymn; God Is In the House; The Ship Song; Babe You Turn Me On; Christina The Astonishing; Henry Lee; The Mercy Seat; Hiding All Away; Messiah Ward; Rock Of Gibralter; Jack The Ripper. Encore 1: The Lyre Of Orpheus; Lucy; Stagger Lee. Encore 2: The Singer
12 Aug
Penetration Stockton Georgian Theatre 11 August 2012
Penetration Stockton Georgian Theatre 11 August 2012
Middlesbrough Rock Garden Revisited
“Nostalgia for an age yet to come”
This gig was one of a series of concerts organised under the Rock Garden Revisited banner, which is booking veteran punk acts to play at the Stockton Georgian Theatre and, in doing so, allowing ageing punks to relive their youth. Although I can’t claim to have been a true, and out and out, punk in the late 70s, I did go to gigs at the Rock Garden quite a lot in those glorious days which seem so long ago now, and Penetration were a band that Marie and I saw loads of times at various North East venues. 
So I decided to join in, and try and relive some of my younger days. This was my first visit to the Georgian Theatre, which is hidden away in the redeveloped Riverside quarter of Stockton. Actually, I was a bit unsure about going to this gig. Penetration are a band that we were really into in the day, to the extent that I still know the lyrics to most of the songs. Sometimes its better to leave memories intact; revisiting them runs a risk of tarnishing precious memories. However, I decided I would go and played their first album “Moving Targets” to remind myself of those great songs. The place was full; tickets had sold out in February. Penetration took to the stage around 10pm, and played a set of all their classic tunes. Great stuff, Pauline was on good form and in good voice, and the crowd loved it. The sound was a bit ropey at times, with feedback and distortion creeping in here and there, and they were really LOUD. My ears are still ringing this morning. 
Penetration started with Future Daze and the set included (although not necessarily in this order): Life’s a Gamble; Feeling; Lovers of Outrage; Movement; Free Money; Silent Community; Don’t Dictate; Danger Signs; Nostalgia; Come Into the Open; She is the Slave. The encore included Shout Above the Noise and Firing Squad.
31 Jul
Classix Nouveaux, Theatre of Hate Newcastle Mayfair 1981
Classix Nouveaux, Theatre of Hate, Fad Gadget & Shock
Newcastle Mayfair 26th March
This tour was billed as The 2002 Review, and was a package tour of bands under the “new romantic” banner. I guess 2002 was chosen as a “futuristic’ date. It certainly seemed a long way in the future at the time! “During the early part of 1981 the band (Classix Nouveaux) established their following with two major UK tours. The first was the much publicised 2002 Review which sprang from Sal Solo’s idea of combining a number of promising new bands in one package. This gave national exposure to Kirk Brandon’s Theatre of Hate and Shock” (from ChemistryDaily.com). Classix Nouveaux were formed from the ashes of X-Ray Spex plus shaven headed singer Sal Solo (great name). Theatre of Hate were fronted by Kirk Brandon, later of Spear of Destiny, and were much punkier that the headliner. Fad Gadget (Francis John (Frank) Tovey) was a synth-based musician and early proponent of industrial music. I don’t recall anything about the band Shock. I remember enjoying Theatre of Hate who delivered a very powerful set with great passion from Kirk Brandon. I was also impressed by Classix Nouveaux, whose set was quite dramatic, and Sal Solo a great, charismatic frontman. Great value; all for £3!
30 Jul
Cocteau Twins Newcastle Tiffanys 1984
Cocteau Twins Newcastle Tiffanys 1984
Support Felt
I went along to this gig with my mate Dave. We weren’t that familiar with the band’s music other than the exquisite “Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops” single. I recall that the place was absolutely packed to the rafters, to the extent that you could hardly move at all. We were surprised just how popular the band were. I’m afraid I don’t recall whether or not we saw support act Felt. I remember being impressed by vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, whose “distinctive singing earned much critical praise. She was once described as “the voice of God.” (from Wiki). This band has somewhat legendary status these days, so I’m pleased I got to see them. I had a t-shirt from the gig, which was worn out and thrown away some years ago. I’ve just checked their gigography and now realise that I also saw The Cocteau Twins a year earlier in 1983, supporting Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. A recording exists of the Tiffanys gig, featuring the tracks: “Hitherto”, “Kookaburra”, “Sugar Hiccup”, and “Pearly Dewdrops Drops”. A review of the recording says: “the gig itself is a bit of an oddity. It might be due to the sound quality but Liz Fraser’s voice sounds much more upfront in the front, and she’s throwing out strange vocal inflections into nearly every line, oversinging almost everything to the point of almost showing off.”
29 Jul
Morrissey Manchester Arena 28 July 2012
Morrissey Manchester Arena 28 July 2012
Welcome home Morrissey! Laura and I went to see the great man perform at the vast Manchester Arena last night. We arrived early, had a look at the merchandise, but decided to pass as Laura was looking for any Morrissey vinyl. We also noticed that all the fast food stalls were selling veggie. Morrissey had obviously insisted that no burgers were to be sold. Support came from Kristeen Young, who has opened for Mozza for some time now. Her weird screechy music bemused the audience as it usually does. During the interval the customary video show displayed some choice obscure cuts, several of which we had seen before, and a couple that were new to us. I recognised Shocking Blue, Vince Taylor (who Morrissey must have modelled himself on to some extent), New York Dolls, Bridget Bardot, and a great video of Francoise Hardy travelling through the night lights of a city (London and Soho?) in an open top car singing “All Over the World”; just perfect. And then a taped rant of some of the world’s ills is played across the PA (Adolf Hitler, torture, Nelson Mandella’s imprisonment, cancer, etc, you get the idea) which must have gone on 5 minutes or more, and Morrissey’s onstage early at 8.35pm. The early entrance took the crowd by surprise, and many people were still entering the arena at that point. The screen shows a cheesy picture of Adam West and Burt Ward (60s Batman and Robin). Morrissey was on good form, and in a really good mood: “Wherever you may roam, there’s no place like… Hulme”. He told us that he “hadn’t been invited to the Olympic opening ceremony because my smile is too sincere”. The Diamond Jubilee also got a mention: “How much longer do we have to put up with that moronic family?” The band were all wearing “We Hate William and Kate t-shirts”. The set bore some similarities to last time Laura and I saw him at Middlesbrough, but there have been quite a few changes, including a couple of new songs that Laura and I didn’t know. The Arena was pretty packed with only a few empty seats right up back at the very top. Guitarist Boz was in drag and introduced by Morrissey as Gaynor Tension (whats all that about?). An image of Oscar Wilde with the speech bubble: “Who is Morrissey?” kept popping up. The sound was clear and loud, from where we sat in the arena, although I know others felt that the sound was poor. Great lights, and the band seemed to me to have a much heavier, darker sound this time round. Towards the end Morrissey gave the mike to the crowd, and let a few fans make comment. One guy thanked Morrissey for meeting him in Belgium (I think) and mentioned that he had given Morrissey a T Rex book. 
Morrissey got one guy up on stage, who hugged him; this prompted lots of people trying to get on stage and some crowdsurfing at the front of the mosh pit. Morrissey dedicated the evening to John McBeath, a promoter from Manchester who passed away earlier this year. The image of Adam West and Burt Ward returned at the end. Highlights for me were: Everyday is Sunday; How Soon is Now; Please Let Me Get What I Want, Still Ill, which I don’t think I’ve seen him play since the days of The Smiths. Meat is Murder was quit extended with lots of old video footage of animals being slaughtered. I wonder if this is the same footage that was used on the Smiths’ Meat is Murder tour. It looks pretty similar. The crowd were quite subdued; the reaction wasn’t anywhere near what we’d expected, given this was a homecoming gig and his only British gig this year. Nothing like the 50th birthday gig at the Apollo. Notwithstanding that this was a good gig, which both Laura and I really enjoyed. He finished shortly after 10pm, and we were home by around 12.45am. Setlist: You Have Killed Me; Everyday Is Like Sunday; You’re The One For Me, Fatty; How Soon Is Now?; I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris; Ouija Board, Ouija Board; Maladjusted; When Last I Spoke To Carol; Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me; People Are The Same Everywhere; I Know It’s Over; To Give (The Reason I Live); Scandinavia; Black Cloud; Action Is My Middle Name; I Will See You In Far-Off Places; Meat Is Murder; Let Me Kiss You; Speedway; Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. Encore: Still Ill
22 Jul
Elvis Costello Sunderland 1980; Newcastle 1981 and 1982
Elvis Costello Sunderland Mayfair 1980
Very few of the top punk and new wave bands came to Sunderland, as most bands tended to call at Newcastle and/or Middlesbrough for their North East gigs. So when a punk act did come it was a big event. My 1981 the old Sunderland Locarno (or “Mecca” as it was more commonly known) had been renamed The Mayfair, taking the same name as its Newcastle counterpart. Sunderland Mayfair regularly featured heavy rock acts, and one or two punk / new waves bands also crept on to the schedule. The place was absolutely jam packed for Elvis Costello. I remember being down the front on the dance floor and being squashed and pushed all over the place. 
The next time I saw Elvis was a year later in 1981, when he was back at the City Hall. Elvis was incredibly prolific in the early years of his career. By the end of 1981 he had released 6 albums and 17 singles, and the vast majority had climbed high in the charts; an incredible achievement. This meant that he has a vast catalogue of songs to choose from in concerts, and his sets just got longer and longer over the years, often featuring in excess of 30 songs, which is some going, and certainly set him aside from many of his punk contemporaries. His shows were a great mix of high energy new wave, catchy jangly pop, beautiful moving ballads, with a classic cover thrown in every now and then. 
Costello was back at the City Hall a year later, at the time of the Imperial Bedroom album. 
The last time that I saw Elvis at Newcastle City Hall was some thirty years ago, in 1982. Support that evening came from The Bluebells, who were to hit the charts with Young at Heart a couple of years later. I saw Costello at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium, and then lost touch with his work. Reflecting back on these gigs has made me realise just how good he is, and I’ve promised myself that I will make every effort to see him when he comes to the Sage Gateshead in 2013.
21 Jul
Elvis Costello Newcastle City Hall 1979
Elvis Costello Newcastle City Hall 1979
Support Acts: Richard Hell; John Cooper Clarke
Elvis Costello was back at the City Hall in early 1979 fronting a great triple bill, with Richard Hell and the Voidoids and John Cooper Clarke as support acts. I’d seen Richard Hell as support for the Clash at Newcastle Poly, and John Cooper Clarke popped up quite often as a support act in those days. Both acts were well worth watching, of course. Richard had been a member of Television and, briefly, the Heartbreakers, and was known at the time for his signature tune “Blank Generation” and for “inventing’ ripped, safety-pinned shirts. John Cooper Clarke was a revelation in those early punk days. His rapid, caustic humour delivered in that greater Mancunian drawl always went down well with the Geordie crowd. Songs (are they songs?) such as “I Don’t Wanna Be Nice”; “Psycle Sluts 1&2” and “(I Married a) Monster from Outer Space” stick in my mind even to this day. 
Elvis Costello had kept on turning out those classic hit singles in the year since his last City Hall performance. “Oliver’s Army”; “Accidents Will Happen” and “Radio Radio” were all new to the set this time around. The set was much longer with two extended encores. I’ve just played last song “part Girl” on Youtube to remind myself how great Elvis was in those days. I must also mention Elvis’ band The Attractions, who were a very important part of his sound. Local guy Bruce Thomas played with Paul Rodgers in the 60s, and I saw him several times in the very under-rated band Quiver. The other members were Steve Nieve on piano and Bruce Thomas (whoo I’d previously seen with Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers) on drums. Setlist: Goon Squad; Hand In Hand; Oliver’s Army; (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?; Green Shirt; The Beat; Accidents Will Happen; Lip Service; This Year’s Girl; Lipstick Vogue; Watching The Detectives; Big Boys; You Belong To Me – including a line from The Last Time; Pump It Up. Encore 1: (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea; Mystery Dance; Radio, Radio. Encore 2: No Dancing; Party Girl
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