The Gigs

Can't beat a good night out.

A good band.

I was there…………..

Kevin Ayres

Kevin Ayres used to live in Ibiza & pop over when he felt like playing, which wasn't that often. Long John Baldry was on fine form that night but this was probably his last major rock tour. Nice to catch a legend, though. Kevin had the incredible guitarist, Ollie Halsall, with him for this tour and it was a great concert.

They played 'Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes' of which I have a prized demo copy. Guess I was lucky to have been there.

Robin Trower

Robin, once of Procul Harum, was by now a very loud, very heavy player, with very long guitar instrumentals, similar to Hendrix, according to all & sundry. My ears were ringing for days.

If I remember he had two goes at this date, because he arrived for one and there was no Mandala Band/gear there. Maybe I'm confusing it with Rory Gallagher, who played an acoustic concert, when his equipment failed to show. What a trouper!

Kokomo

A-ha! Something unusual.

The Naughty Rhythms Tour, where three bands took it in turns to headline.

Part of the Rock Against Racism stance taken by musicians, when God (Clapton) made a ridiculous statement about Britain and ethnicity. This tour launched a number of major careers and extinguished one in particular.

Dr. Feelgood did well out of this sojourn, but more on them later.

Kokomo headlined this night and blew everyone away. Reminiscent of deep soul with a hint of funk, they astonished the audience with jazzy panache and sheer class.
Their first album still makes for an amazing listen. By the time the 2nd came out other bands were poaching their talented musicians.

They happened to be on CBS, the same label as Dylan at the time.

By chance they were in invited to accompany him on a session in New York.

After one failed take, Dylan said he didn't think the singing was going right, whereupon Big Jim, one of the guitarists, espoused, “Didn't know you could sing anyway!”

Instantly sacked.

Not sure if it's true, but it's a great yarn.

ELO

Playing to a respectably-sized audience in their hometown (a year later they would be gods – Mr. Blue Sky, indeed), they played a concept-album, El Dorado, in its entirety before launching into some favourites.

It's always great to catch someone just before it happens, so that you don't get the knobheads in the audience. Showdown is one of Lennon's favourite tunes (on which Jeff Lynne borrows Bolan's Gibson Firebird) and Ma Ma Belle was one of my favourites (on which he borrowed Bolan himself). Interesting group.

Didn't get the Spaceship period at all.

Nazareth

Perhaps The Naz were just too heavy for this time and never got massive commercial success. Uncompromising and full-on, I'm sure they'd have played the same if there was noone there. There weren't that many, but so what.... 

Paul Kossoff & Back Street Crawler 

Sometimes there's a show sometimes it's bigger than that......an event. An ominous event.

This was such an occasion.It should have been a straightforward superb rock concert, a solid Back Street Crawler gig. However, Kossoff turns up worse for wear - off his trolley. He couldn't even tune his guitar and, at one point, in frustration, hurls it the length of the stage, while we all watch in stunned silence. The singer sits over the edge of the stage patiently, waiting to see if anything will happen, while the organist plays, "I do like to be beside the seaside." It's very surreal.

Twenty minutes pass. The audience is remarkably patient. After all, Kossoff is rock royalty. They realise this is no ordinary night. Humour fills the air and some of it clearly irritates Kossoff who hurls mic stands around in desperation for a solution to his mental anxiety. The others on stage are in real danger of his violent outbursts and we witness sidesteps better suited to a rugby field.

Twenty-five minutes lapse. Looks like a no-show. Then, seemingly, out of nowhere, he finds an instrument which he's comfortable with. He starts playing. The band rush to their stations and join in. It's good. Very good. And then we get The Hunter. The place erupts.

We manage about 45 minutes before curfew. It was worth it. Probably the last people to get something from him. Within a week he's gone........

Died on a plane journey to America. What a waste of talent.

[If you get a chance listen to the John Martyn concerts, with him on tow]*

Dog Soldier 

support - Miller Anderson's outfit.

Outstanding set. Marc must have thought the same.

Next time he toured he was playing guitar for T Rex. 

Barry White & Love Unlimited

What’s this? A Walrus in a penguin-outfit fronting a full orchestra at Villa Park? Is this a Terry Gilliam film? No, it's the Love Unlimited Orchestra, conducted by Barry White, complete with failing microphones, false starts and female singers with unfeasibly large chests (resembling a melon-hurling competition). And I'm way up in the stands! 

Andy Fairweather-Low

Wide-eyed & legless................Andy is brilliant in concert. He's been around forever and is still doing the rounds. He had a great band here and was enjoying something of a career-revival. Excellent stuff!

Dr. Feelgood

R & B at its frantic best, with a much bigger following of mainly 'knobheads' than when they did the Naughty Rhythms Tour. Perhaps the notion of headlining had affected the performance. Whatever. The support were the stars here and were awesome. Can't believe G.T Moore didn't have much greater success. I bet nobody's even heard of them.   The big story is, of course, from now. Wilko was diagnosed with a terminal illness and did a farewell tour. Very sad. Until it was discovered that his cancer was a mis-diagnosis and he appears to be ok. What a turnaround! Unfortunately, Lee is no longer having sex with the stage or jacking off his microphone.
The band still tours, apparently, but without any of their important players. What a joke!

 Linda Lewis 

A true artist with a magnificent vocal range. Great band too. Linda played with all the UK greats and is still performing at small (jazz) venues today. 'Not A Little Girl Anymore' is one of the great albums of the mid-70s. Buy it! 

 Labi Siffre was great fun, too. 

Fox 

Fox made some great pop songs, catchy and simple. But in live performance their front man (woman), Noosha, often was forced to take a back seat to some bloke who insisted on fronting the band. Since noone had seen him or expected this, it made the whole spectacle a disaster. It may have been the writer/producer of the hits, but it destroyed the atmosphere, confused the audience and wrecked the whole enterprise. Noosha seemed baffled by the whole debacle. Bizarre experience. Latecomers would have been lucky.....

John Cale 

A legend. Here he is playing guitar and piano. Backed by the maestro session-player, Chris Spedding (Motorbiking?), who had done some great work with Bryan Ferry, and other top musicians, Cale produced a memorable set. John Cale, eh, with Chris Spedding on guitar & feedback! He seemed to be wearing a kind of boiler-suit and he played his guitar with his penis dangling about while lying on his back on the piano. Cock-rock, anyone? 

Bebop Deluxe

Bebop Deluxe play at the Students' Union at Edgbaston, relying on material from Sunburst Finish, an awesome creation, but the sound is awful in the Union Hall, so I spend most of the evening in the bar opposite - you could still hear the band clearly from there. Bill is a fantastic musician and a great guitarist, but this was a poor location. 

Planxty

They played one of the Halls of Residence at Birmingham University sometime. Not as famous as the Joy Division performance, by the sound of it.

Deaf School

Deaf School was interesting but I don't remember the location at all......

 Roxy Music 

T. Rex [1976 version]

On drums........Davey Lutton, of the 60s prog band, Eire Apparent.....What!!?

Backing singer......Tyrone Scott, from US soul band......et cetera......Odd line-up.

Gloria Jones on clavinet,

Dino Dines (Steve Marriot) on keyboards and Steve Currie still about (just) on bass.

The Lennie Macdonald Band were not amused. Some are just concerts, others are events. This was a major event. Marc hadn't toured since early 1974 and the crowds packed the Town Hall to the rafters. There were people up in the balcony waving huge flags as if it were The Kop. 'The King Is Back' one proclaimed. Marc was in a strange mood. He appeared angrily-obsessed with his treatment by the music press. He interjected often with, "We proved the motherfuckers wrong, eh?" Occasionally he'd raise his pint glass to toast the audience for coming. There were also many moments of humour and even self-deprecation.

During the acoustic set, he nonchalantly said, "Some people think I'm a stuck-up cunt."  There was an audible gasp from the audience.

The set comprised mainly 80 minutes of huge hits, including some never played before. A couple of new songs were added, one of which would morph from "Funky London Childhood" to "Visions of Domino." The encore, a funked-up version of 'Get It On' with outstanding lead guitar was the highlight of the night.

But after the chants of "Bolan! Bolan!" he smirked and mused, "And they all said I was finished."

You could cut the air with a knife. 

Chris Farlowe

Farlowe played Barbarella's, the nightclub off Broad Street, which was to play host to many of the fledgling punk bands, through 1977 & 1978. Farlowe was brilliant and a live album was cut from this short tour, which is a testament to one of the greatest voices the UK has ever produced. The club bounced that night.

 The Real Thing 

How the local Teaching Training College at Edgbaston got this gig I'll never know, but this all-female college (outnumbered sexually that night!) certainly knew how to put on a show.

"You to me are everything! the sweetest thing I ever seen ! oh! Baby!" 

Linda Lewis

Procul Harum

Barry White

[inside] Hippodrome, Birmingham
Barry must have learned from his earlier experiences of the inclement British climate and stayed indoors this time. He clung to his grand piano more this time and enjoyed a warm reception from a confusing demographic for the music papers. Grunt & Growling interspersed with orchestral melodies make for an arresting experience. Try explaining this to a Rihanna fan.

 T.Rex & The Damned 

a little piece of history...........

Here's the boys................

The Damned started on the Stiff label. What could go wrong?  

This pic was taken from the Dandy In The Underworld Tour, a slick, loud production which surprised the press and audiences alike.

Marc won over the doubters. The solos were restrained but explosive. All was well again.

Dave Vanian. What a voice!

How ironic that the Captain would move from bass and become one of the finest progressive lead guitarists on his beloved SG.

Loved it when Rat Scabies set fire to his drum kit for the finale and kicked them everywhere, only for Marc to suggest they play an an encore. Great to see him sheepishly rebuilding the drums in full view of the audience!

Happy Days. 

Eddie & the Hot Rods

Radio Stars

Radio Stars were fronted by the legendary Andy Ellison of John's Children. He liked to perform acrobatics on stage and off. Always picked on a girl in the audience to sit next to and chat, saying, "Know what I Like about you? You got Bad Breath!" Then he would leg it as quickly as possible to the stage, before the girlfriend's bloke could deck him. And so the pretence of the New Wave continued, as many old rockers found a way to exploit their hankerings for fame and fortune.

Geldof himself was a journalist for the NME.

 The Brothers Johnson 

Quill

The Motors

Back home to the Valleys & a surprise.The Memo in Newbridge has got a good concert on. The Stute started to build a reputation for enjoyable Sunday nights. Good enthusiastic knowlegeable crowds. Even Dire Straights turned up there. Glad I missed that. The Motors had a hit. Then they played the Stute. Couldn't make it up. Fun.

 The Kursall Flyers

Birmingham University
Who could forget the moustache? The Kurzalls were a great pub band. Kurzall Flyers.......& The Cortinas (Bristol punk). The Cortinas (check out the mod-morphing on wiki). Oh dear! 

Millie Jackson 

 Talking Heads

Brass Construction

Muscles

Another University gig, probably a hall, pre-dating Joy Division by several moons.  What tales this lot could tell! From the Crickets to the Fab Four.......beans were spilled.

They were all session blokes with a mixed and varied pedigree.  Geoff was a local, based in Hollywood (Birmingham, that is). I think he lived up a long road which was a bit winding. Of course, Mel got his rewards, when, years later, he became the drummer for Simple Minds at their peak in the mid-80s. Great bunch of lads. 

Steel Pulse & The Suburban Studs 

Another bunch of locals, who actually had a fair degree of success, especially with 'Handsworth Revolution.' Now for some politics!

Rock against Racism (RAR). Continuing the Eric Clapton theme, many bands from different ethnic backgrounds supported the campaign against racism. So, reggae bands joined forces with punk. That's how so much reggae appeared in new wave music. The Clash would play it. The Police embodied it.

Some evenings there was bound to be friction.

Birmingham University Students' Union

starring: Top reggae act Steel Pulse (from Handsworth, Birmingham)

Steel Pulse were awesome and won the crowd over easily.

And...co-starring, the Suburban Studs.......

With a Special Guest Appearance from.......my mate, Bernie.

Rock against Racism (RAR). Continuing the Eric Clapton theme, many bands from different ethnic backgrounds supported the campaign against racism. So, reggae bands joined forces with punk. That's how so much reggae appeared in new wave music. The Clash would play it. The Police embodied it.

Some evenings there was bound to be friction.

Birmingham University Students' Union

starring: Top reggae act Steel Pulse (from Handsworth, Birmingham)

Steel Pulse were awesome and won the crowd over easily.

And...co-starring, the Suburban Studs.......

With a Special Guest Appearance from.......my mate, Bernie.

Bernie, a devoted Northern Soul connoisseur and number one anti-fan of all punks, was on duty at the bar, where he worked occasionally for a few quid. He chased the lead singer up the speaker scaffolding after exchanging words and lobbing the glasses he'd been collecting at him. I still have an excellent photo of Bernie marching into the wintery waters of Blackpool with a piece of driftwood and chanting some Estonian/Latvian anti-Nazi stuff! The Studs were lucky.

and from the article above.........

the Punks from Birmingham, the Suburban Studs.......

They actually once headlined with the Clash in support, but they ran into one too many like Bernie. Iron bars and larynx, I believe......nasty.

Heatwave 

Bootsy's Rubber Band 

B.B. King 

Alice Cooper 

and from legends to those who aspire to be........... 

U2

Most of the ticket stubs in Birmingham (above) had the seat number, U1, where I liked to sit. Even if I didn't have that ticket I would gravitate there. Could have been an interesting name for a band that.......U1.It would never have caught on, would it?

So, U2 (odd name that) became stadium-fillers. They'd made some great music, War & The Unforgettable Fire. More out of curiosity than anything else we all piled into a GT and took off for the NEC.

Nightmare. The band looked like ants in the distance and Bono excelled at being a self-important clown.

What to do? It was someone's birthday, so we debunked to the bar downstairs and, with jacket potatoes and baked beans and crates of ale, we had a party, with U2 providing the background music from a suitably-safe distance.

What a great party it was! Soon we were joined by other afficianados of the 'earlier U2 incarnation.' Someone who'd seen them at a club in Leeds joined us.

"What's happened to this lot? That's a shower of shit up there? All that preening and razz. They were great in a club!"

And so on. So, U2 become megastars. Shame about that. Still occasionally pulling rabbits out of hats, but mostly.............

 David Bowie

CIA,Cardiff

'What a Fantastic Santa's Cap' is the bootleg to go to for this show. Recorded on DAT, it provides a window into Bowie's creative genius which was shining again, after the awful mid-80s shit of Glass Spider & Serious Moonlight. Thumbs up to Tin Machine! This was a great set, with a Brechtian-type theatrical backdrop. Opening with the magnificent 'The Motel' and closing with the epic 'Moonage Daydream' it was inexorably-brilliant.

Morrissey opened here, before he did a runner a couple of nights later in Scotland. His band were good, but he's such a dick. Now he supports Weinstein & Brexshit, or something. Some people think the Smiths produced the greatest album of all time. I think he's the biggest let-down of a generation. File under "Gallagher & Ringo."  

Mary-Chapin Carpenter

Alice Cooper

Newport Centre

Stiff Little Fingers

The Police

Reunion Tour 2006,Cardiff Millennium Stadium 

The Buzzcocks

The Railway Club !!!!!!Maindee, Newport

Fond memories of being at the bar chatting to my mate, Trev, when they launch into his favourite and he peels away from the bar jumping about furiously. 

The Damned
The Point, Cardiff

The Damned

 Ben Watt

Clwb Ifor Bach, October 2014 The "Hendra" Tour

The Rob Lear Band

Stute, Blackwood

Home ground for Rob and the band who are sensational live. For some reason they are happy to be associated with 'Folk' as a genre. Like Mary-Chapin the music really defies classification. Played a number of well-known (to his following) songs from his excellent first album and several from the then-pending second. That, too, was outstanding. Rob's probably going to go down as one of the most remarkable local talents to remain unknown to the masses. What a band!

Phil Cooper

Phil’s a great lad. Recently went pro. Writes good tunes and has now invested in a modest home studio. Neat.

Above....one half of Tom Crow (no relation to Sheryll) Loves a pint, Terry. He's too modest by half. You should hear his brilliant debut, 'Lifelines.'

Harvey Andrews

Newport Folk Festival (not that one)

Echo & the Bunnymen

St. David’s Hall 15th October, 2018

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Echo & the Bunnymen

St. David’s Hall, Cardiff 5th February, 2022

“A hustle here, a hustle there,

Cardiff City is the place where,

they say, Hey, Cardiff!

Take a walk on Merseyside!”

And, thus, Mac takes us on a leisurely jaunt through Lou Reed’s masterpiece, bookended by his own gorgeous Nothing Lasts Forever. Arms aloft those who had abandoned their seats were swaying in the shadows and the pain. It was an ‘I was there moment.’ But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s go back to the start. There was an energy and excitement about this concert after two years of lockdown and misery, both for band and audience. The release of frustration was tangible as Will induced a torrent of feedback on the first song. Suddenly we were Going Up. And we never came down.

Show Of Strength was a show-stopper from the outrageously brilliant second album (sorry, lads, but two and three do it for me - that’s Porthcawl & Norway for those who know). It’s a powerhouse of a performance. Mac thinks the bluesy Flowers is as good as Zep, as Will raises his eyebrows! All That Jazz & Rescue get the crowd buzzing. Dancing Horses threatens a sing-along but the respite is short. The majestic Over The Wall & Zimbo put paid to any hint of Butlins. It’s some backing the two original members are getting from the thunderous drum and bass unit.

More popular Bunnymen favourites follow. Bedbugs and Ballyhoo has been a staple of the set for a while and Seven Seas gets everyone flocking down the aisles to the front of the stage. Never Stop has the crowd dancing and partying. Inevitably we get the Bunnymen three card trick of Lips Like Sugar, The Cutter and The Killing Moon as the fitting encore. Will even tries his original harp on the latter while nonchalantly churning out a blistering solo.

The Cutter remains a mysterious masterpiece with its allusion to political indifference, entirely appropriate for the world outside this auditorium. It’s some show, cathartic for all who witnessed it. There was no alternative afterwards but to head out for the nearest bar and attack the Gin cocktails, while Will & the Lads tucked into their well-deserved Aldi’s jacket spuds!

Spare us the Butter!

Here is the setlist from the 2022 show.