Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent at the Odeon in Maidstone. 1963 I think. God I'm ancient!
Pete
Pete
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Difficult one! Being a child of the 50's. There are so many, especially in the early days when seeing bands live was so cheap compared to todays concerts.
For me, the most influential band had to be 'The Nice', Keith Emerson and co. The one I regret missing was Led Zeppelin!! It was a, (to use todays jargon), 'a date' of see Zeppelin at Newcastle or some female who's name falls into obscurity!! Always regretted that one!! (Date wasn't worth it either just to rub salt in).
Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band are high up there too!!Comment
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I left out Sounds Incorporated as well as Jet Harris (ex-Shadows bassist) and the Jetblacks. Jerry Lee wasn't 'officially' on the tour - I think he couldn't get a work permit, so he was sitting in the front row surrounded by security. At one point during the show Richard walked to the front of the stage and said "Who's that sitting down there in the front row? My, it's my good friend Jerry Lee Lewis! Come up here and give us a song Jerry." They did "Great Balls of Fire" as a duet. NME reported that happening at another venue so it probably happened at every show.
When I worked at a Technical College, the Students' Union asked me if I'd help them out at another local college, where they had some bands booked but the college had decided that there must be an electrician present for safety reasons. I wasn't an electrician but apparently an electrical technician was acceptable, so i got paid to see a few gigs. Can't remember them all (this was late 70s) but they included Scorpions, Ray Davies (ex-Kinks), Racing Cars, Jasper Carrot, Andy Fraser (ex-Free), Alvin Lee with one of the later versions of Ten Years After, Max Boyce...
I'll edit this if my geriatric brain cell remembers any more.
PeteComment
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I have a couple that are my faves;
Megadeth - Seen them on their Youthanasia tour and got an after gig meet & greet pass. My mate and me spent about 20 mins talking to all the guys. Fantastic time.
Disturbed - Seen them at Barrowlands in Glasgow and my wife and I got to meet the band before the concert as well as being right at the front. Excellent time had
Rammstein - Saw them on their 'Pussy' tour. My wife and I were right at the front and they are a band that know exactly how to put on a superb live show. The pyrotechnics are amazing. My ears were ringing for hours afterwardsComment
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May '83, Hammersmith Odeon.
John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Buddy Guy & Junior wells.
I was 17 and had my mind well & truly blown.
Squeeze in Deptford were a close second.Comment
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So many great bands there. Dexys Midnight Runners, Projected Passion Revue Tour at the Old Vic, November 1981 - what an astonishing show!
I saw Tower of Power at Dingwall's Camden Lock, totally coked up to the eyeballs (them, not me) - best horn section EVER!
And I'd LOVE to see Richard Hawley live one day!Comment
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Over the late 80's I saw Jake Thackray, Tony Capstick and Mike Harding at my parents' local pub in Sheffield - it was a folk venue, also with jazz nights. Well known to me - my father took me for my first ( official ) drink in 1974, and my brother had his wedding reception there ( first of 3 wives ). Still there. although the name has changed, still a live music venue!
DaveComment
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I couldn't get a ticket when BB King played in Cardiff, my home city. Visited one of my regular customers the next day, and he spent ages telling me just how good the show was. His only complaint was that his wife didn't feel well, so she didn't go and he had an empty seat next to him!
PeteComment
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Wow Pete, that must have been a real bummer...Glad you didn't get upset and clock him one....
I had a time that was quite the opposite happen back in the beginning of the 80's. I was the manager of an audio store where I lived and our company sponsored concerts in the Poughkeepsie area, in upstate New York. I loved Warren Zevon and he was doing a show in Poughkeepsie, so I called our GM's wife Donna, who worked in the main store office, and asked if she could hook me up with 4 tickets for it. She said she would see what she could do and let me know...
About 2 hours later, she called back and said it's a done deal and have a good time. My salesman Greg, myself, and our girlfriends drove up to the concert and went to the entrance of the hall. I told the guy at the door who I was and that we had tickets reserved for us. He said oh, please wait a minute and made a quick phone call. 2 minutes later, out came the manager, who shook my hand and addressed me by my first name. He said he was expecting us and to please follow him inside. He showed us to a table, while motioning a waitress, and said she would take care of us. HUH!!! Were we on Candid Camera??? Anyway, the hall was an old Burlesque type theater with a balcony around the stage on the 2nd floor. The hall was tiered almost down to the stage with tables, like a club out of the 30's or 40's. There was a dance floor in front of the stage too. The stage curtain was a huge curtain that went straight up in the air, instead of opening to the sides......The scene was set!!!...
The lights dimmed, the curtain went up, and Warren, with his band started to play. On his left, was Waddy Watchel playing Bass too. An hour into the show, Warren got crazy on his acoustic guitar and he busted his 2 high strings, but kept on playing till the end of the song, with them flapping around in the air. Then he got on his baby grand piano and played "Roland, the Headless Thompson Gunner" and while hammering on the keys, proceeded to bust up the pedals under it. A roadie came out and attempted to fix it, without success. At the end of the song, Warren leaned over to the mic and said "Sorry, we have to take a short break to fix the sh*t I broke" and the curtain came down and the lights back on...
After about 20 minutes, the lights dimmed and the curtain began to rise again. I heard one, two, three, foowr!!! He and Waddy broke into "Lawyers, Guns and Money" (my favorite song) and every hair on my body stood up, along with the biggest goosebumps I'd ever had!!!!! I jumped up, danced around and was singing the song louder than he was...The highlight of the night......His last song was Werewolves and then it was finally over (bummer). I went to pay the bill and it was around $10 bucks for some snacks...HUH!!! I paid it, and I threw a tenner for a tip to the waitress too. All of our drinks were on the house and there were quite a few, or even more!!! We thanked everyone and we left to go home. I called Donna the next day and asked her what was the whole story about the concert. She said, she had told the concert hall manager that I was the GM of the company and please show me and my guests, a great concert evening!!! For $20, it was the best evening, just about, in my life....The next time, I saw Donna in person, she got the biggest hug and kiss on this planet!!!!!!! We won't get into what she did for me with Molly Hatchet tickets, at the Civic Center. I think I'm still half deaf in my right ear, 40 years later, from that concert.........
Sorry it's a long post, but this concert that was the second best musical evening (that I can remember) I've had..........................
Prost
Allen
PS, It's such a shame Warren Zevon died so young. His dark lyrics and great music will live forever in my heart.........Life's to short to be a sheep...Comment
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In 1981, I was due to see The Stranglers at Portsmouth Guildhall with my mate, Pete, who was stationed in the barracks in Pompey. I lived in married quarters at Eastney and went to the barracks to collect my mate. The guys at the main gate asked if I was meeting Pete and I said we were off to see The Stranglers. They laughed and told me that he had been rushed to hospital with acute appendicitis. I suddenly found myself with a spare ticket and so I caught a taxi home, rushed indoors and told my wife to get her coat on as she was coming to see The Stranglers! She didn't want to go but I said a taxi was waiting and eventually she agreed to come. It was a great concert, The Stranglers got a new fan and Pete lost his appendix.
DaveDaveCov - Founder of The Airfix Tribute Forum 2006Comment
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Sitting in pubs with the folk musicians was the very best for me.John Kirkpatrick and Martin Carthy were inspirations to me with an old bloke called Danny in the Ducie who played his fiddle like I've not heard since.Comment
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