Long time since we've had a "What's Your Favourite............?" thread so it's high time we resurrect and reminisce on three essential delights to the oral, aural and visual senses. A veritable triumvirate of Favourites rolled into one like a delicious Arctic Roll. Venue (Past) - Apollo in Glesgae, the whole ****ing building shuddered like **** and was structurally unsound and was eventually demolished in 1985. Stage was about 12ft high but the atmosphere was palpable. Venue (Present) - The Music Hall in Aberdoom, gloriously beautiful interior with perfect acoustics. Saw Debbie Harry there in 1991. Soup - Leek and Potato Biscuit - Ginger Nut Fill yer boots, peeps
Bowes Lyon House, Stevenage was the venue for alternative music down my way. My first gig and many more were there and were mainly punk/hardcore. Saw Napalm Death and strangely Jeff Buckley before he was famous. Or dead. When I was a student in London went to The Sir George Robey a lot. Ozric Tentacles blew my mind. Walked past Sonja Kristina there, she was pretty. Soup: chicken noodle Biscuit: Viscount
I played in a lot of places in my youth, nothing special, classical music. The Fairfield halls in Croydon was the best place I managed, it was a venue for battle of the orchestras. We didn't win. I love the Albert Hall, that's a special place. Soup, Split pea. Biscuits, Pink wafers
I've often heard about King Tuts but where exactly in Glasgow is it? Another smashing venue in Glasgow - The Barrowlands - been there a few times.
Top end of St Vincent - close to Charing Cross train station It’s a small venue - about 300 - excellent sound The Barras is awesome as well , Seen loads there as well . Love the Tunnels in Aberdeen , been up a few times there . Also , Drummonds Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s
Troxy Ballroom is fast becoming my favourite venue. It's up there with Ally Pally and Shepherd's Bush Empire. I used to enjoy seeing the big beasts at Earl's Court. Homemade minnestrone. Marks' chocolately orange. It's mostly chocolate, you know.
Many of the venues I played back in the day are sadly no more. The Marquee (yes I was that good) The Clarendon, The George Robey, The Rock Garden. Of those venues still going I'd have to say the Town & Country Club is my favourite as it is big enough to get a decent band playing and various elevations for those of us with deficiencies in height and the stage is high enough to get a good look at the acts. Went to the 100 Club recently (played there too in my yoot) and it is as shabby as ever. The Roundhouse has been done up really well, saw a few gigs there last year but the volume needs sorting out, far too quiet. The Brixton Academy has re-opened after some negroes got squished after thousands of them turned up late with no tickets for a jigaboo concert but I haven't fancied any of the acts so far, I'd like to go back for a proper show. Shepherd's Bush Empire is a decent size and easy to get to. I also got to see a few friends of friends play at various pubs around town, nice to see live grass roots music is still happening in this age of music theft, samples and auto-tune blandness. Soup - Big Biscuit - Chocolate Hobnob
Most memorable was the Milton Keynes Bowl for U2 (headlining) on the longest day (sunlight wise) concert mid 80s - an all day concert- recall Billy Bragg and The Ramones were two of the supporting acts - pissed down the night before and all day long, so quickly became a sea of mud (worse things happen) peeps turned the steepest sides into giant mud slides ... U2 came on to the the Clannad song (the theme to Harry's Game) guessing around 9pm by which time there was an incredible steam rising up from the huge audience into the lights - eerily unforgettable... Cream of Wild Mushroom Garibaldi
Milton Keynes Bowl is probably the worst venue to get home from with Castle Donnington running a close second. Seen some decent shows at both but the homeward trips were awful.
