Bow Wow Wow 1981 and 1982
I was quite into Malcolm McLaren’s vision in the late 70s. I’d seen The Sex Pistols a couple of times, and early Adam and the Ants shows. So when I read of Malcolm’s latest idea of a new band concept that blended the Ants with The Pistols with Burundi rhythms and a young girl with squealing vocals, I just had to see them. The first chance to experience this new sensation was at Newcastle University Student Union in 1981.
The programme for the event lists the singers as Annabella and Lieutenant Lush, who later became Boy George. George sang alongside Annabella at some of the early gigs, but I don’t recall him appearing at this show. The gig was pretty strange, almost bizarre as I recall, but I went away impressed and interested. 
Bow Wow Wow were back on Tyneside a year later, at a gig promoted by AntiPop in Newcastle Mayfair Ballroom. Once again, a good fun time was had by all. Bow Wow Wow had some pretty fun tracks; Marie and I used to like Wild in the Country at the time. It all seems a different world and a long long time ago. I see that Bow Wow Wow have reformed, and have played in Newcastle again recently. I chose to keep my memory and didn’t go along to the gig. Perhaps I’ll catch them if they come up here again.
Posts Tagged ‘R&B’
25 May
Bow Wow Wow 1981 and 1982
24 May
Guns N Roses and Thin Lizzy Newcastle Arena 23 May 2012
Guns N Roses and Thin Lizzy Newcastle Arena 23 May 2012
My friend John and I saw a marathon, but amazing, gig by Guns N Roses in Newcastle last night. They came on stage around 10.40pm and played until 1.40am. John has been over from his home in the USA, and suggested we go to the gig. We got there quite early, bought our programmes, and John bought a poster, and we took our seats to see support act Thin Lizzy. They came on stage around 8.30pm and delivered a set of all the classic songs, finishing with The Boys are back in Town. The latest line up of Thin Lizzy is pretty true to the original, however the sound wasn’t wonderful in the big area. The venue was around three quarters full, and Lizzy got a warm reception, although everyone was there to see the headline band. We had read report of Axl and crew coming on stage very late on this tour, and Ticketmaster had emailed me to warn that they would be on stage at 10pm. On the night Guns N Roses actually took to the stage at 10.40pm, around an hour after Lizzy had finished their set. This wasn;t as long a wait as we had feared, and the crowd didn’t seem too restless. The band literally exploded onto the stage, with lots of flares and explosions, which continued at various points throughout the gig. Their performance was much much better than I had expected. Axl has assembled a band of excellent musicians, all of whom showed just how good they are. Although the set came in at around 3 hours, it didn’t drag at all. Its a long time since I’ve seen a band play this long, yet I didn’t get bored. The timings were perfect. A great mix of classic GNR tracks, well chosen covers and impressive solos that were just the right length made this a class rock show. 
And Axl still has all the energy that he did when he was a much younger guy; his voice is also as strong as it ever was. All in all John and I both agreed that this was a pretty neat gig. Impressive stuff, even if I am still tired today. Setlist: Chinese Democracy; Welcome to the Jungle; It’s So Easy; Mr. Brownstone; Sorry; Rocket Queen; Estranged; Better; Richard Fortus Guitar Solo; Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings); This I Love; Motivation (Tommy Stinson lead vocals); Instrumental Jam ; Dizzy Reed Piano Solo (based on The Who’s Baba O’ Riley); Street of Dreams; You Could Be Mine; DJ Ashba Guitar Solo; Sweet Child O’ Mine; Instrumental Jam; Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd); Axl Rose Piano Solo; November Rain; Glad to Be Here (Bumblefoot lead vocals); Don’t Cry; Civil War; Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan); Nightrain.
Encore: Madagascar; Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC); Patience; Paradise City
23 May
The Brothers Johnson Newcastle Poly 30 September 1977
The Brothers Johnson Newcastle Poly 30 September 1977
A few of my friends were heavily into disco and funk in the mid to late 70s. Not being one to frequent the dance floors myself, I never quite got into that particular genre of music. However Marie and I regularly went to the Friday night dances at Newcastle Poly around that period, and saw many great bands there such as The Clash, The Damned, Taking Heads and others. So we were there when The Brothers Johnson played, along with some friends who had come specially to see them. This was the first night of their first UK tour, and by this time they had reached almost legendary status as a result of their work with Bobby Womack, Billy Preston and Quincy Jones. I remember that they arrived very late for the gig. They had flown in via London, I think, and had been delayed. However they did arrive and play a shortened set, which went down with a packed crowd which was a mix of the usual Friday night students, and soul and disco aficionados who had come especially for the occasion.
19 May
Blancmange Newcastle City Hall 1984
Blancmange Newcastle City Hall 1984
Guilty pleasure time again. Blancmange came out of the Soft Cell / Depeche Mode stable, and had a few hits in the early 80s, the biggest of which was Living on the Ceiling. The band was a duo of of Neil Arthur (vocals, guitar) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards). They formed in London in the late ’70s.
This gig at the City Hall was part of their 1984 tour, in support of the Mange Tout album. Their single at the time was a pretty nice cover of Abba’a The day before you came. There was more to Blancmange than simple synth pop in that their music blended middle eastern influences with European electro dance. Like many bands of that era, they disappeared from the scene in the mid-80s, to reform last year, and “emerged into the sunlight with a 21st Century Blancmange LP” –“blanc burn”. Their facebook page describes them as the “maiden aunts of electronic music – the godfathers being Kraftwerk”. The ticket for this gig tells me that I was close to the front, in row F of the stalls. However, I don’t recall a lot about the concert, so I went to youtube and watched videos of Living on the ceiling, and Day before you came. I also found some video of the band live at Hammersmith Palais in 1984, which must have been from the same tour. The show looks very impressive blending synth pop with eastern drummers, singers and costumed dancers. Watching the video brought back memories of how good some of the much maligned 80s bands actually were at the time, and how influential they have been, which is often sadly forgotten. Maybe this isn’t such a guilty pleasure after all!? PS The pink blancmange on the cover of the programme looks tasty.
18 May
The Blues Band Redcar Coatham Bowl
The Blues Band Redcar Coatham Bowl late 70s or early 80s?
It’s hard to believe that The Blues Band have been around for over 30 years. I’ve seen them a few times over that period, although not recently. The ticket and programme pictured here come from different gigs. The programme is from their 1981 tour which I caught at Sunderland Polytechnic Students Union in Wearmouth Hall (now sadly demolished) and the ticket is from a gig at the Coatham Bowl which I suspect was a year or two earlier.
Fronted by Paul Jones, The Blues Band always delivered a great night, and did exactly what it says on the tin, playing a set of traditional blues standards and some of their own (blues) compositions. Its interesting to see that the Coatham Bowl gig featured Stonebridge McGuinness as a support act. Stonebridge and McGuinness were both members of McGuinness Flint, another great band who I recall seeing supporting Humble Pie in the early 70s. Stonebridge and McGuinness were also members of the Blues Band, and of course the real genesis of these bands hails from Manfred Mann, which deserves a blog post of its own on another day!
17 May
Brand X and Peter Hammill
Brand X and Peter Hammill Newcastle City Hall 1978
This was a somewhat strange pairing, in fact the tour is known as “The Odd Couple Tour” on the Van Der Graaf Generator website. Brand X were a jazz rock fusion band, and were highly respected in the 70s. Phil Collins played with them at one point, although he wasn’t in the drum stool at this gig. I also saw them play at the Reading festival a year or so earlier. I recall the set as being largely (solely?) instrumental, with impressive musicianship. Setlist was apparently (I found this on a website): Access To Data; Black Moon; Smacks Of Euphoric Hysteria; The Ghost Of Mayfield Lodge; The Poke. 
I went along with some mates for a couple or reasons. Firstly because of the Phil Collins and Genesis connection, and secondly to see Peter Hammill, who had recently left Van Der Graaf Generator to go solo. Peter wass in a pretty crazy phase, and had shaved half his beard (see programme). He was accompanied by violin and sax, and delivered a strange set to a pretty empty hall. 
Peter’s set was straneg, dark, quirky and everything you would expect of him. A review of the time proclaimed him the “Springsteen of Weird”. This was a memorable gig, although it was a shame that the City Hall was pretty empty. The tour was pretty ambitious in booking this pairing into largish concert halls.
16 May
Blackfoot Newcastle Mayfair 1982
Blackfoot Newcastle Mayfair 1982
Blackfoot made a few trips to the UK in the early 80s. I saw them as part of the 1981 Monsters of Rock bill, and I think I also caught them supporting the Scorpions at the City Hall. 1982 saw them headlining for the first time in the UK, off the back of the Marauder album which had been released the year before. Having come out of the Lynyrd Skynyrd school of southern boogie, the band moved towards a heavier rock style and regularly played alongside more straight metal bands.
At one point Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep joined the band. I think he may have been a member at this Mayfair gig in 1982. The one thing I remember about this gig was that Blackfoot were VERY LOUD INDEED. The Mayfair was packed and they rocked loud and hard and fast and a good time was had by all. The more I think about these old gigs the more I understand why my hearing ain’t too good these days…….I also saw Blackfoot as part of the 1985 Deep Purple bill at Knebworth. The setlist for that gig was: Can’t Be So Bad (great cover of the Moby Grape song which is one of my favourite songs); On The Run; Every Man Should Know (Queenie); Dry County; Wishing Well (Free cover: good choice); Morning Dew (another great song to cover; this band has good taste); Gimme, Gimme, Gimme; Train Train; Highway Song. I’ve just checked and see that Blackfoot are still around and toured the UK last year. I think I’ll aim to catch them next time they are over here.
15 May
Blondie Reunion Newcastle Arena 1999
Blondie Reunion Newcastle Arena 1999
So, some 19 years after I last saw Blondie at the City Hall, Ashleigh and I went to see the reformed band play at the Newcastle Arena. Ashleigh had, in the interim, been to see Debbie Harry when she performed at Sunderland Empire. The band had hit the charts with the single Maria and had released a new album No Exit. 
The concert was pretty good, as I recall, and the magic was still there. However, the sound was lost in the cavernous arena, and the venue was cold. Support came from Squeeze. Blondie have played a few times in the region since then, including a gig at Newcastle Academy which Laura attended. For me they are the perfect pop band, and bring back memories of nights out in the late 70s and early 80s.
14 May
Blondie Newcastle City Hall 1977, 1978, 1980
Blondie Newcastle City Hall 1977, 1978, 1980
I first saw Blondie when they appeared as support on the 1977 Television UK tour. They were the highlight of the evening; having just released their first album and the single X Offender. Debbie and the band were simply stunning, and quite a contrast to Television, who were also good, but much more serious. By the time they returned in 1978 they had hit the charts with Denis and Touched by your Presence Dear. That year saw the release of Plastic Letters and Parallel Lines, both excellent pop albums, and the hit singles just seemed to come again and again. 
Blondie were just untouchable as a live band and as a chart act in the late 70s and early 80s. The band were tight as anything, Debbie always looked stunning and sang great, and the set was crammed with catchy pop tunes. Their shows at the City Hall in 1978 and 1980 were both sell outs and great gigs. 
I also had tickets for a 1982 gig by Blondie at the City Hall. However the tour was cancelled as a result of Chris Stein’s ill health, and the band split shortly afterwards. 
Bootlegs exist of some of those early shows; one from 1978 shows the setlist as being the following: X Offender; Detroit 442; A Shark in Jet’s Clothing; In The Sun; Little girls lies; Denis; (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear; Fan Mail; Look Good in Blue; Rifle Rangle; In the flesh; Cautious Lip; Contact In Red Square; My Possession; I didn’t have the nerve to say no; Bermuda Triangle Blues (Flight 45); Kidnapper – Rip Her To Shreds; Kung Fu girls; Funtime ( Iggy pop cover)
13 May
Shift-Static The Cluny 2 Newcastle May 12th 2012
Shift-Static The Cluny 2 Newcastle May 12th 2012
So Shift-Static returned after a gig hiatus, the members regrouping from various corners of the UK to play a show in The Cluny 2, along with Houses, Baskin’s Wish, and Euan Lynn. A healthy crowd gathered to see this home gig, some having travelled especially for the show. Laura ventured from her normal situation behind keyboards, taking front of stage to deliver her haunting vocals. The set consisted of five songs, and lasted around 30 minutes, featuring some new tunes and one old favourite. Crowd members were shouting for recent online release Sky Burial, which proved to be a big hit. The songs are a sublime mix of electronica, dance, and guitar jangles, Gordon concentrating on the beats and the electrickery, Will on the jangle guitar, Charlie master of the samples and further beats, Joe pounding away on the rhythm bass, and Laura overlaying her textured, haunting vocals. The band received a well deserved positive reception from the assembled Cluny crowd, the new set hitting the right spot with everyone. Shift-Static next perform at Newcastle Miners Institute on Friday 25 May. Setlist: Intro; New Song; Father’s Footsteps; Five Bar Gate; Sky Burial.
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