This thread might not work but there was such a great ‘feel good’ vibe last night from a few of us while watching The Cure play at Glastonbury on TV that I’d like to keep it going. So let’s hear your stories from gigs you’ve attended, no matter who or where, what it was like and anything funny or interesting that might of happened......try to keep it to maximum of 1 a day each person (I could fill it up with loads I’ve attended each day) So here goes......... ‘Punk/Skinhead All Day Gig’ Astoria, London 1994 Being a skinhead/casual back in the day I went primarily to see CockSparrer (a skinhead band) but there were various punk bands on the bill such as Chelsea, 999 and The Adicts as headline act. All was good with CockSparrer playing a blinding set and the skins in the audience lapping it up, with the various punks just watching from the sidelines as the crowd went wild and thrashed about to songs such as ‘England Belongs to Me’ and ‘Running Riot’. All started to go wrong when The Adicts came on stage with the lead singer being stark bollock naked, wearing only a crown of thorns and carrying a cross. This for some reason upset a load of the skinheads, who decided now was the time to kick off with the punks and storm the stage. I have memory of my mate Jimmy kicking the bands drum set across the stage and the band (who I actually liked and was looking forward to seeing) scarper off as quick as possible to avoid a beating. The lights came on and it was just a flurry of fists and boots on the dance floor as waves of punks and skins decided to battle it out with whatever came to hand. Being the hero I was, I realised it was getting out of hand and decided to get out of there before the OB arrived and nicked everyone, but not before swallowing a mouth full of tear gas sprayed at me from a Mohican wearing punk.....as I left the venue, the police in riot gear were coming in so knew it was a wise choice. 25 years ago and still it brings back some good memories.......... Any more ??
Along the same lines as Stainsey. The Levellers at the Roadmender in Northampton about 5 years ago. All starts well, but a few songs in the bass player Jez (the one with the dreadlocks) starts wretching drops his bass and rushes off. The PA asks is there a doctor in the house ....The band sort of look round, carry on with a couple of acoustic numbers and a roadie comes on to announce that Jez is suffering from "Cheese poisoning" as that was all he ate before the show (yeah right) and the show will continue with the help of the bassist from the support act. We start again with a song by Simon Friend, the guitarist and no sooner than he starts than a really tall and large man jumps onto the stage and threatens Simon because The Levellers made his girlfriend dump him. He grabs Simon by the neck and goes to punch him but was hit by a right hook by Jon the fiddler. By then security had woken up and dragged him out....he was still shouting "I'll be waiting for you outside, I will take the whole lot of you on". Security then decided to stand in front of the stage, whether to protect the band from us or us from the band I do not know
Seriously problem back in the seventies/eighties for gigs, I remember one at the Wembley conference centre? 1980/1 the tourists, Chelsea, black slate, X-ray specs and sham 69. Do you know that smell when you know it was about to kick off, well it stank. It was a rock against racism gig but the NF turned up, I spent the whole gig leaning on a push bar to exit bar, trouble all eve then when sham came on it exploded, really horrible and very scary, being the really tough, brave one, I still remember “if the kids were united” in the distance as I legged it to the tube.
May as well carry on the theme. Went to see the Meteors in 1989 at the London Midland Scottish in Hendon (now the Claddagh Ring for anyone who knows the area). It was an upstairs room with 100 snakebite swigging Psychobillies and me and my cousin - who are definitely not PsychoBillies. We stood at the back and were still having to avoid bouncing bloodied bodies coming flying back at us all night. Great gig as the band were superb and memories are made funnier by my cousin, who had boasted about getting out without a scratch, tripping on the pavement and incurring a black eye...
What were X-Ray Spex like live ? One of the bands I really wanted to see play live but never got round to it....and I had a little thing for Poly Styrene
They were the reason I went, and didn’t disappoint poly was great, Lora couldn’t play a note but it didn’t matter, did a fast and furious set, played all their songs and left 30 minutes later, no encore but was called for, I think they were the only band to finish a set. the tourists played 2 songs I think, before Annie lennox booted a thug who was gobbing at her, Chelsea just wanted to fight everybody, black slate, awful not the band but what happened when their fans got to the front, well it was just a battle, they didn’t last long, the memory still upsets me. And as mentioned not sure after shams first song cause I was gone
Can't recall anything particularly violent, but I was at the Stranglers 1978 gig in Battersea Park when the police threatened to intervene after strippers took to the stage during Nice 'n Sleazy.
Keeping on the punk theme, I went to see PiL at Manchester Apollo in 1986 (I was at college in Harrogate, so not to far to travel for a weekend). I was 17, and thought I was fairly streetwise having left home the year before. We got to the venue, and I'd never seen so many mohicans of every colour of the rainbow, all leather-clad with safety pins and tartan trousers. The tension in the crowd was quite electric, and I thought to myself "what the **** is going on" as I pushed my way towards the mosh-pit area during the support. Eventually the main act came on, and as John Lydon strode to the front of the stage he was pelted with bottles, pints and so much phlegm that the stage was a couple of inches deep in the ****! The spitting didn't stop all gig, with the punks vehemently shouting abuse at Lydon and accusing him of being at fault for the demise of the Sex Pistols. Hats of to him, he rode it out and performed a great set - I exited the mosh-pit pretty quickly, the thought of slipping and ending up covered in snot did not appeal to me!!
Fights, locals v students and more often locals v locals, were a regular feature of gigs at Durham Uni when I was there, 79-82, but nothing too serious, and purely the result of the Students Union deciding that gigs should be open to all, not just students. The worst was Adam and the Ants, original punk version, lot of blood on the dance floor. Of course in those days people had proper pint glasses with them, none of this plastic stuff. Another time JJ Burnel of the Stranglers hit someone in the audience with his bass. The bass guitar is a heavy instrument, this bloke was out cold, but probably deserved it. The big local punk band was Penetration, their gigs were always lively. Prefab Sprout were the other local group, but they were still playing pubs and practicing their harmonic mood shifts at that stage. It was much scarier going to St James’ Park or Roker Park with a London accent in those days. Or just asking for a pint at some of the local pubs “are you a fookin’ student like man? Piss off”
Loved the Sensational Alex Harvey Band in Reading back in the 70s and a few years back, I could have sold my Kate Bush ticket outside the Hammersmith Apollo for a grand but Mrs Rangercol wouldn't let me!!
I was with a girl I liked (I had hopes, of more dates) waiting in line to see Prefab Sprout at the old Hammersmith Palais. It would have been 1985, I was 17. Anyway, whilst queuing the girl I was with turned and shouted “look it’s Fergal Sharkey!” At which point good old Fergal came over and invited her to a party...... and off she went, leaving me in line. I remember bemoaning this event to some mates the next day and their universal sarcastic response was “what could Fergal possibly offer her that you couldn’t ?”
Yeah, they were playing pubs in Durham and Newcastle around that time, their flyers were stuck to lamp posts all over the place, quite enigmatic. Think their first single was early 82, but they had been around a lot longer. A mate who I didn’t meet until a couple of years later was at school with Paddy McAloon, and remained very good friends with him. Apparently he’s a lovely bloke and hugely musically talented, but has had a lot of health problems, especially with his eyes, for a long time. Have to say I saw them a few times when it was a short stroll to get there. Quite liked them, but was not a massive fan. Don’t think I appreciated the subtlety and complexity of the music then (or now).
SAHB really were brilliant. Only saw them once when I was probably too young to appreciate it, but in retrospect it was a Weimar Republic decadent cabaret masquerading as a rock show. Superb. Did you enjoy the Kate Bush gig? I kind of respect her for being so unique and unusual, but can’t say I’ve ever been a huge fan. But it’s a rare thing to have seen her live.
Loved SAHB. I'm not a Kate Bush fan, although I appreciate her talent. The first half was brilliant, telling a story and very much like a musical. 2nd half I didn't enjoy so much, although the percussion sections were excellent. Mrs Rangercol has always been a massive fan and I had to sit on line for hours to get her a ticket with her fan membership (she was at work). Even then we were quite near the back.
We flew down to see her. I was lucky with the tickets - we had standing, but what this meant was that you were supposed to sit on the floor in the aisles. However, we managed to stand behind the last row of seats, and had an excellent view. Agree with you Col, the first half of the show (Hounds of Love) told a brilliant story, especially the B Side when she's lost at sea and was choreographed very well. The second half, A Sky of Honey, was a lot slower (for me) and seemed to drag a bit, although the missus loved it all. I'm glad we got to see her, can't imagine her doing any more shows.
Loved SAHB as well, saw them at the Victoria Palace circa 1975, utterly brilliant showmen...….. Also was at Hyde Park for the free gig that Queen did in either 75 or 76...….It was a full day with support acts such as Steve Hillage, Kiki Dee and others that I really can't recall...…..Must have been around 100,000 in the Park and it was FREE, unreal to think that in this day and age.....
Yeah, I was at a few of the Hyde Park free concerts - Pink Floyd, Blind Faith and the Rolling Stones (separately of course). Brilliant times.
