Blackmore’s Night Newcastle Tyne Theatre 2005
I saw the classic Deep Purple Mark 2 lineup several times in the 70s, and if you’d have told me that 30 years later I would be going to see Richie Blackmore dressed in medieval gear, and playing elizabethan folk music on a lute, I would have thought you were crazy. But so it is; its curious how things change and develop over time. I first saw Blackmore’s night at the Newcastle Tyne Opera House in 2005, with my son David. We went largely out of curiosity, but came away having really enjoyed the experience. If you go with an open mind you will enjoy the show, I’m sure. If you go expecting to see the old Deep Purple Ritchie, you are likely to be disappointed. Blackmore’s Night is a completely different experience to seeing Deep Purple. Heavy rock it is not, but great music it is.
Think medieval folk, lutes, Greensleeves, knights and damsels, and you are getting there. I guess there were hints of this in Blackmore’s Rainbow in the form of Sixteenth Century Greensleeves. Blackmore’s wife Candice Night is the exquisitely beautiful singer, and the rest of the band are minstrels of the highest order. If you wear medieval dress you can get cheap tickets for the front couple of rows, and people do! The set was largely new material, but did feature a copy Purple tracks in medieval style, and a few covers. The encore was the Bee Gees First of Mat which was just beautiful and has to be heard and seen to be believed. David and I both enjoyed it. If you go along and see them you will too; trust me! Setlist: Morning Star; Queen for a Day; Under a Violet Moon; Soldier of Fortune; Past Time With Good Company; Mond Tanz / Child in Time; Streets of London; Durch den Wald zum Bach Haus; (incl. Blaydon Races for the Newcastle crowd); Avalon; The Times They Are A-Changin’; Home Again (incl. Rule Britannia); Drink Drink Drink; I Still Remember; Renaissance Faire; The Clock Ticks On; Ghost of a Rose. Encore: Fires at Midnight; Wind in the Willows; First of May
Posts Tagged ‘R&B’
1 May
Blackmore’s Night Newcastle Tyne Theatre 2005
30 Apr
Van der Graaf Generator, Lindisfarne and Genesis Newcastle City Hall 1971
Van Der Graaf Generator, Lindisfarne and Genesis Newcastle City Hall 1971
I’d just started going along to gigs at Newcastle City Hall. The first gig I went to was Iron Butterfly with Yes and DaDa support, followed by this Charisma package tour which featured Van der Graaf Generator, Lindisfarne and Genesis. I went along with my mate Gillie, and remember that we paid at the door. The tickets were all of 30p, but we had some vouchers which Northern Arts were giving out at through schools at the time to encourage young people to go to live concerts, and they entitled us to half price entry, which meant that we paid 15p each! We hadn’t seen any of the three bands before and were really excited about it. We got the train through to Newcastle and when we arrived at the City Hall there was a massive queue to get in to the venue. The place was packed and we only just managed to get in. In those days, when the hall was full, they sometimes used to let you sit on the stage on tiered choir seats which are behind the performers. Thats where we ended up that night. The atmosphere was great up there, but the view wasn’t too good. I seem to recall that during the evening we wandered into the main hall and managed to find a couple of seats in the circle.
First up were Genesis. They had released their second lp Trespass a few months earlier, and were also playing tracks from Nursery Cryme which was released later in 1971. I remember being really impressed by them, and by singer Peter Gabriel in particular. At that time Peter would introduce the songs with quite intricate stories. Musical Box, Return of the Giant Hogweed, and Twilight Alehouse were all preceded by such stories and were great concert favourites at the time. Musical Box was my favourite; Cynthia kills Henry, by knocking off his head with a croquet mallet, and then finds his musical box in the attic. I found the story dark and fascinating and hung onto Peter’s every word. It was obvious in those early days that Gabriel was a tremendous front man. Genesis finished their short set with the Knife, which was always my favourite, and often the encore in those days. Gabriel held the mikestand as a machine gun, shooting us all, as a heavy strobe light featured him centre stage. Great memories. The set at that time will probably have consisted of: Happy the Man (to become a single in 1972); Stagnation (from Trespass); The Fountain of Salmacis (from Nursery Crime); Twilight Alehouse (not recorded until 1973 as B side of I Know What I Like, but a great favourite in concert); Musical Box (from Nursery Crime); Return of the Giant Hogweed (from Nursery Crime); closing with The Knife (from Trespass). This was the first of many times that I saw Genesis in the early 70s.
Next up that night was Lindisfarne who were local heroes and had us all singing along with Fog on the Tyne, Meet me on the Corner, Lady Eleanor, and Clear White Light (my favourite along with Winter Song). The band was yet to break through big, and I was to spend many memorable nights with them over the coming years; including the regular City Hall Christmas concerts.
The headline band for the evening was Van de Graaf Generator, who Gillie and I found quite strange and difficult to get into. I remember long sax solos, and the fabulous prog classic Killer (about a lonely Killer Whale): “So you live in the bottom of the sea, and you kill all that come near you ….but you are very lonely, because all the other fish, fear you …..”.
This was a great evening, and a bargain at 15p! Gillie and I both came away raving about Genesis and Lindisfarne, and a little confused by Van de Graaf….
29 Apr
Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band Reunion Newcastle City Hall 2006
Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band Reunion Newcastle City Hall 2006
I won two tickets for this in a competition form the Bonzos website. I had to locate a poster for the concert, which was outside Newcastle Central Station, and email a message which was displayed on the poster to the Bonzos website. I decided to take Laura with me as she’d heard some Bonzos songs as was quite intrigued by the humour of them. The concert featured much of the original line up, including Neil Innes, Legs Larry Smith, Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater, Bob Kerr, Sam Spoons and Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell. Sadly the great frontman Viv Stanshall, and bass player Dennis Cowan, have passed away. Viv’s place was taken by Ade Edmondson and Phill Jupitus. 
The band played all of the classics, and the show was great fun and brought back great memories. A DVD of the London show was released; the tracks are: Rule Britannia; Hunting Tigers; My Brother Makes The Noises; Doorstep; Little Sir Echo; Ali Baba’s Camel; Falling In Love Again; Watermelon; Lookout There’s A Monster Coming; Whispering; By a Waterfall; The Sheik of Araby; Hello Mabel; Jollity Farm; The Equestrian Statue; Cool Britannia; We Are Normal; The Strain; The Sound of Music; Exodus; The Trouser Press; My Pink Half of the Drainpipe; I’m Bored; Sport (The Odd Boy); Mr Apollo; Humanoid Boogie; Tent; Can Blue Men Sing The Whites; Look At Me I’m Wonderful; San Francisco; Rhinocratic Oaths; Mr Slater’s Parrot; Monster Mash; Urban Spaceman; Canyons of Your Mind. All of the old prop came out; and great fun was had by all. Laura particularly enjoyed Lookout There’s A Monster Coming, Jollity Farm, and The Equestrian Statue.
28 Apr
Bad Company Newcastle City Hall 1979 and 2002
Bad Company Newcastle City Hall 1979 and 2002
The next time I saw Bad Company was on the Desolation Angels on 1979. By this time, the band had morphed into a AOR band, playing much more straight rock. Few traces of the bluesy looseness of Free existed by this stage in the band’s evolution. I think the band played two or three nights at the city hall on the 1979 outing, and I remember thinking the tickets were pretty expensive. I also remember thinking they were dressed much more like your typical stadium rock stars!. It was still a great gig, and several of the old classics were played. 
The set list will have been something like this: Bad Company; Good Lovin’ Gone Bad; Gone, Gone, Gone; Burnin’ Sky; Shooting Star; Rhythm Machine; Ready For Love; Simple Man; Oh, Atlanta; She Brings Me Love; Run With The Pack; Evil Wind; Honey Child; Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy; Movin’ On; Live for the Music; Encore: Feel Like Makin’ Love; Can’t Get Enough. I lost touch with the band from then on. They went through a series of changes, which started with Paul Rodgers leaving Bad Company in 1982. There were then a couple of line ups of the band without Paul which played largely in the States during the 80s and 90s. 
I next saw Bad Company in 2002, when they returned to the City Hall. In the interim, I’d seen Paul Rodgers as a solo act a few times, and he was singing as well as ever, his concerts featuring songs from Free, Bad Company and his solo career. The 2002 line up featured Rodgers, Kirke, Dave “Bucket” Colwell on guitar and Jaz Lochrie on bass. Marie and I went to this gig, and we had great seats in the front row. We are amazed how good the band still were. The set was a mix of Bad Co classics, with a few Free songs thrown in, which were big crowd pleasers. I missed the last reunion tour, which I regret. Hope I get the chance to see them again some day.
27 Apr
Bad Company Newcastle City Hall November 1974
Bad Company Newcastle City Hall November 1974
Bad Company returned to Newcastle City Hall 8 months after their triumphant debut. In the months between, my mate John and I had seen them at the Who’s Charlton concert where they performed a strong set. In between the two gigs Bad Company had released their first album, and had a hit with the single Can’t Get Enough. That first lp features classics such as Ready for Love; Bad Company; and
Movin’ On, all which featured in the set at the time. Surprisingly later concert favourite, the beautiful Seagull does not seem to feature in setlists of the time. Ready For Love was a favourite of mine. I first heard in on the John Peel show as a Mott The Hoople track, and it stuck in my mind from that time. 
Support for the tour was Duster Bennet who was a one man band who played a bass drum with his foot, a harmonica on a rack around his neck and a 1952 Les Paul Goldtop guitar which had apparently been given to him by Peter Green. He is best known for his first album Smiling Like I’m Happy. A recording of the Newcastle concert exists which suggests that the setlist was: Little Miss Fortune; Rock Steady; Ready For Love; Don’t Let Me Down; Easy On My Soul; Bad Company; Deal with the Preacher; Movin On; Can’t Get Enough; The Stealer; Rock Me Baby. My memories are of another great gig by a band who were at the top of their game. Thanks to John for the poster which depicts the band at the time of their next album Straight Shooter, and was released in 1975, the year after this concert. They were already playing Deal with the Preacher which was to appear on Straight Shooter.
26 Apr
Bad Company First gigs Newcastle March 1974
Bad Company Newcastle City Hall March 9th 1974
This gig was a big deal at the time. It was the first gig by the new supergroup who had recently been formed by members of Free, Mott the Hoople and King Crimson. Free in particular were great favourites in the north east, and local fans had memories of top Free gigs at Sunderland Locarno, the Mayfair, the Bay Hotel, the Empire, the Rink and the City Hall. I was lucky enough to catch Free live three times at some of the venues I have just mentioned, and had fond memories of that great band. And I guess the decision to play their debut gig at the city hall was, to some extent a measure of the fondness which Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke had for the reason, and also I would think a result of the persistence of local promoter Geoff Docherty. 
If I remember right Bad Company originally announced a single concert at the City Hall, which sold out immediately and a second gig was swiftly added. I went along with a couple of mates and we had high expectations. We were not disappointed. The gig was breath taking, and the crowd were really up for it. Although for me, and many others I suspect, Bad Company never quite reached the same bluesy feel and groove that Free had, on that night they were tremendous. My friend John is a big Free fan, and he too feels that they had the edge over Bad Company. He was also at the gig, and he and I have been having some email debates as to the setlist that night. 
A recording exists of the gig, and it suggests that the set was Little Miss Fortune; Rock Steady; Ready For Love; Don’t Let Me Down; Easy on My soul; Bad Company; Deal With the Preacher; Movin’ On; Can’t Get Enough; The Stealer; Rock Me Baby. However, John is convinced that they played more Free songs including Travelling Man, and that they played Seagull. Me, my memory has big gaps, and all I recall is that it was a great experience and a highlight of my concerts at the time. Bad company were back at the City Hall a few months later. I’ll blog on that gig tomorrrow. 
Thanks to John for the scan of the unofficial show souvenir programme, and the poster which comes from a gig in Birmingham a month later. I always bought an official programme, but hardly ever bought the unofficial ones which were sold outside venues at the time. I wish I had, as they are pretty hard to find and mighty collectable now. Some of them were pretty good, while others covered the concerts of several bands so that they could be sold at gigs over a period of a few months. Thanks also to John for the great photograph of the concert (added 29th of August 2020) which he got from his friend Ken in New York, who used to live in Seaton Sluice and took the picture at the concert himself. Great memories of happy days, which seem so long ago, but which still bring me so much pleasure.
25 Apr
Black Sabbath Newcastle City Hall January 1982
Black Sabbath Newcastle City Hall January 1982
The last time I saw Black Sabbath was in 1982 on the Mob Rules tour. From this point on, the Sabbath line up went into a period of constant change, and I lost track, and to some extent lost faith in them. I went to see Ozzy several times and switched my allegiance to him, catching shows at The City Hall, The Mayfair and Donington. But it is some years since I saw Ozzy as well. The Mob Rules show was OK as far as I can recall, but to honest I remember little about it. 
By this time, the line up consisted of Ronnie James Dio on vocal and Vinny Appice on drums, with only Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler from the original band. Black Sabbath remained incredibly popular, however, and the tour sold out three nights at the City Hall and called at large venues across the UK. Typical set list from the Mob Rules tour: E5150; Neon Knights; NIB; Children of the Sea; Turn up the Night; Black Sabbath; War Pigs; Slipping Away; Iron Man; Mob Rules; Heaven and Hell; Paranoid; Children of the Grave. I am very tempted to go to Download at Donington this year to see Black Sabbath again. It would be good to see them once more. I must admit I’m not big on festivals these days, so I’ll ponder on that and will, of course, blog on it if I do go.
24 Apr
Black Sabbath Newcastle City Hall May 1980
Black Sabbath Newcastle City Hall Heaven and Hell tour 1980
And so it came to pass that the unthinkable happened and Ozzy left his Black Sabbath mates, to be replaced by one Ronnie James Dio. This seemed a strange pairing at first, but one which became more believable as time went on. Ronnie was of course known to me. I had seen him in Elf, when they supported Deep Purple on the Burn tour and Johnny Winter (thanks to John for reminding me of this), and a numbers of times in Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow. The change in line up didn’t seem to affect. Sabbath’s popularity. Indeed they were a popular as ever, with the tour selling out and featuring multiple nights at several venues, including Newcastle. So I went along with a group of mates to see this new Sabbath. Often when a band changes line up in this way, they come back stronger than ever. There are several reasons for this in my view. They have something to prove, the new member brings new energy, and the need for rehearsals also strengthens the band. I had seen this before. Deep Purple came back stronger than ever with David Coverdale on the Burn tour, and Genesis did the same, but in a different way, on the Trick of the Tale tour. 
And so it was with Sabbath. The Newcastle show was just great. We were right down the front, in the middle in front of the band, and Ronnie fitted in very well, much much better that I guessed. His small elf like frame added a new dimension t the stage show, and his devil horns two finger salute, was annoying, but it worked! I even did it back to him! The set was a mixture of tracks from the new Heaven and Hell album and old Sabbath classics. So far so good, we still had Sabbath to go and see, and also the promise of Ozzy and Blizzard of Oz shows (which were also great). Typical set list from the 1980 tour: War Pigs; Neon Knights; N.I.B.; Lonely Is The Word; Sweet Leaf ; Children Of The Sea; Black Sabbath; Heaven And Hell; Iron Man; Sabbath Bloody Sabbath; Orchid; Die Young; Paranoid; Children Of The Grave; Lonely Is The Word
23 Apr
Black Sabbath and Van Halen Newcastle City Hall 1978
Black Sabbath and Van Halen Newcastle City Hall 1978
The Black Sabbath 1978 UK tour was memorable for one reason in particular. The support act on the tour was none other than (relatively) new American band Van Halen. Van Halen has just released their first album and were hot. Their debut album sold over ten million copies in the US alone and is still one of the most successful debuts by a rock band. It features such classic track as Runnin’ with the Devil; Eruption, and their tremendous version of the Kinks’ You Really Got Me. Sabbath, on the other hand, had just released Never Say Die, which was to the last studio album featuring Ozzy. 
On the night Van Halen were simply stunning. Don’t get me wrong, I went with a group of mates and we all still enjoyed seeing Sabbath, but Van Halen were new, hungry and totally on the money. Sabbath, on the other hand, seemed to be in a routine, and Ozzy wasn’t the same strong, wild front man that he had been a few years earlier. I guess the excesses were starting to take their toll. I was chatting with my mate Norm about the gig the other night, and he agreed that Van Halen blew Sabbath off stage that night, and felt that they were much better than when they returned a year or so later to headline their own tour. This was the last time I was to see Sabbath with Ozzy, and at the time couldn’t imagine how they could possibly continue without their front man. However, a couple of years later they did return with a new singer, and actually they were pretty good. Typical setlist from the 1978 tour: Symptom of the Universe; War Pigs; Never Say Die; Dirty Women; Rock & Roll Doctor; Electric Funeral; Embryo / Children of the Grave; Paranoid; Snowblind; Black Sabbath; Sabbath Bloody Sabbath; Iron Man; Fairies Wear Boots; Hand of Doom; N.I.B.; Gypsy
22 Apr
Edgar Broughton The Adelphi Hull 21 April 2012
Edgar Broughton The Adelphi Hull 21 April 2012
Out Demons Out! Norm and I went to see Edgar Broughton at the Adelphi Hull last night. Edgar is performing solo these days, just him singing his new songs with an acoustic guitar; the set consists largely of material that he has written over the past few years. We set off for Hull around 5.30pm and arrived around 7.45pm, after an uneventful drive via the York ring road, and found the Adelphi surprisingly easily. We popped into Wetherspoons for a bite to eat, and then went along to the venue around 8.45pm. The Adelphi is a great little venue which sits in De Grey street, just off one of the main routes through Hull. It has been running for many years, and has hosted gigs by some famous names such as Oasis, Pulp and Radiohead. It was the first time we had visited the venue and we were both pleasantly surprised. Support came from local, Scarborough-based, one man band Joe Solo, who gave us a set of folk protest songs, passionately delivered. For his last song he gave everyone in the audience a small percussion instrument and the whole room played along with him. Joe told us that it was 20 years since he first played The Adelphi. 
Edgar took to the stage around 10pm, starting with Soldiers of the Light, which is a recent song about his relationship with his brother. He has a unique voice; dark and mournful. The rest of the set was drawn mainly from his latest album. I recognised several, having seen him perform in York last year, and it was good to hear them again. The set consisted of something like (although not in this order, and I will have missed some): This England; Ice on Fire; My Salvation; Christmas Song; Red Star; There’s a Hole in It and Evening Over Rooftops (from the Edgar Broughton band days). He finished with Arabesque / All Fall Down / Speak Down the Wires, which is an Indian-based chant. The encore was two songs, the first of which was The Poppy (“an early eco song we wrote in 1971”). No Out Demons Out to Norm’s disappointment. The crowd seemed to enjoy the set; Edgar is as passionate as ever, and the songs still have strong elements of protest and social conscience. We left around 11.15pm and were back home by 1.15am.
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