late 70's / 80's band live

Seen Madness at Newbury Racecourse and loved it.

Also seen The Nolans at Tokyo Racecourse....Not Bad.

specials on tour next year,sold out everywhere, Middlesbrough town hall bank holiday sunday

u 2, the beat, on the undercard of  THE POLICE, GATESHEAD stadium more moons  a go than I care to remember,both outclassed the police on the day

best concert i went to was rory gallagher, oddly enough within about a couple of months of
seeing boomtown rats, he was just brilliant.

also loved omd, stranglers, ub40, bon jovi, cyndi lauper, and others

had tickets for jam, which i purchased in newcastle travelling through a foot of snow,to get them,
but then sold them to a mate who wanted to take his girlfriend, and never saw them live

had offer of bob marley ticket, didnt go, he died soon after...

saw terrence trent darby at kilburn natinal ballroom, supporting mick hucknall.

he was brilliant too

eagle
the cure did boro town hall a few times shocking omission from your list if you missed out

saw paul young when he was front man for the Q TIPS at a club called the kirk near yarm in Middlesbrough,all wore  bright red suits, they looked like showaddywaddy,

Company Christmas do at Bailey's in Watford, didn't want to see here but have to say Lulu put on a great show

yes...shocking omission...especially as I saw them around xmas time in 87....was Wembley Arena**** seats if I remember correctly...main reason I didn't enjoy it as much as I anticipated...nearly 50 now so the old memory is a bit hazy..es[ecially the gigs 87 onwards...was normally sh*t faced by the time the headliners came on..going to have to go through the old vinyl and check who else I missed off the list....wouldn't have minded OMD...

Again...the specials....would have loved to have seen them..got in to them after Madness so they had already split up when I discovered them...Was 9/10/11 when Madness were at their peak and it was hard to get someone to take me...plus a lot of the gigs at the time had an over 18 rule...well at least that's what my older sisters used to tell me...Went both days at the original reunion in Finsbury park...crazy . mad ,absolutely great weekend.

Talk Talk were brilliant live and the best band of the 80s imo, the band had the world at their feet and then never played live  again after 1986

Have to hang my head in shame..LLoyd Cole and the Commotions in late 87....think it was Brixton....top top gig....was there a finer song than Lost Weekend in 85....

Ist time poster
spent many a good night at the kirk,
happy days
regards
Ronnie.

hey Bromley boy.... they used to have some great punk all nighters at the chislehurst caves in the 70,s-80,s ...

Kaiser Chiefs were pretty good in August, would have liked a longer setlist though

The Smiths (with James in support) - good but not great
The Fall - my joint all-time favourite gig, even though I was barely a fan when dragged along
Bowie - during a distinctly uncool era
UB40 - unfortunately after the initial great albums phase
The Pogues - several times at the start, just chaos and madness
The Stone Roses - again not blown away
Prefab Sprout - sadly Wendy-less
Badly Drawn Boy - sensational
New Order - a much tighter band than I expected, very professional
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - chemical haze era

Always wanted Dexys (in any form) or Kate Bush
fortunately struck gold with the latter 3 or 4 years ago.

eaglewardy - saw Lloyd Cole last year doing his back catalogue acoustically in a smalltown venue
He was genuinely warm, erudite and funny
A pleasant surprise and worth checking out for any fans from back in the day.

Ian Brown was a shocking singer live for the Roses

I saw the Pogues support King Kurt

Saw a few bands at the Lafayette. It was a smallish nightclub in Wolverhampton (it's a mosque now)

Friday night was punk night. Forget most of them. I was plssed most of the time back then, but do recall seeing the undertones... Feargal Sharkey had his shirt off and was covered in spit. The Members where good (Solitary confinement)... Full scale riot when the Angelic Upstarts played. Couldn't get in to see The Spots (the pistols had had to change their name coz the councils kept banning them. Sex Pistols On This Stage)..

Saw The Jam twice at Wolves Civic... Brilliant. The LP Sound Affects came out on the Monday.. and the Jam were playing the civic on the Tuesday. I got the LP and played it non stop for a day so that I would know the new songs. That's Entertainment was one of the songs and I was 1 of only a few in the crowd that knew it. Funny how things like that stick in your memory.

Biggest regret... Not getting to see the Clash

i went to see hazel o connor, i thought it would be cancelled as she broke her ankle a few days before.

she did concert bouncing around on crutches, and was very good. after a brief stop to tell folk to stop spitting!

her suport band was duran duran, they were good too.

Mosk 

First gig...boomtown rats..tonic for the troops tour..alledgedly u2 backed them.
Regrets.. No jam or smiths
Best gig...everything but the girl
Best moment...seeing John Lydon on stage with the blockheads at the first mad stock in Finsbury Park
Never to be missed...a Liverpool royal court Bunnymen gig in the 80s

1977

Genesis ...no giggling
The Clash/Jam/Buzzcocks
Boomtown Rats

1978
Elvis Costello
The Stranglers
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Squeeze
The Who
Blondie
Rezillos
Eddie and the Hot Rods

1979
The Tubes
Talking Heads
Kate Bush

1980
Simple Minds

1981
U2 (October)
Dexys (Plan B)
Level 42
Funkapolitan

1983
David Bowie




1988
Michael Jackson
David Sylvian
1989
The Sugarcubes (with Bjork)

1996
The Prodigy




The Shamen
Underworld

1998
Prefab Sprout (finally!)

2001
U2 at Madison Square Gardens ...4 weeks after 9/11
2012
Madonna
2014
George Michael ,Prince

This year has been a good one

Alabama3
James Grant
PIL
Roger Waters
The The
Hugh Cornwell
The Rolling Stones

and probably the best i've ever seen
so good i went twice

David Byrne

sorry droned on a bit

1st time poster • December 2, 2018 7:56 PM GMT
saw paul young when he was front man for the Q TIPS at a club called the kirk near yarm in Middlesbrough,all wore  bright red suits, they looked like showaddywaddy,

First saw Paul Young and the Q Tips at the Roundhouse , Canning Town (Great venue , now demolished) . Saw him again a few years , supporting Genesis @ Wembley Stadium (Great venue , now demolished)

attitude adjuster • December 3, 2018 2:07 AM GMT
1977

Genesis ...no giggling ....... Richie Havens opened for them , if memory serves

what year was the long hot summer and the riots and punk was doing well uk subs, angelic upstarts, etc I remember concerts getting cancelled because of troubles on the streets on a weekend, one at the rock garden in boro was cancelled

ska bands,bad manners etc always done gigs in boro and always worth a look in small venues to see the old skins lads and girls still in the gear and basically a disco of the old skinhead, rude boy,ska anthems before the show starts

No Jam or Smiths for me.  Regretfully.  Or Everything But The Girl (pre-dance stuff).

Saw Joy Division supporting the Buzzcocks and pretty much ignored them.  Grrrr.....

Would have liked to have seen Prefab Sprout.

Haircut 100 was a fantastic gig in about 82!

Also, missed out on the B52s.  Sold my ticket and went to a FA cup replay.

Saw UB 40 (Signing off time) supporting The Pretenders, I think.

Saw Lloyd Cole maybe 8 years ago at small venue (Glee Club, Brum).  Fantastic, acoustic, intimate gig.

One thing with a lot of these bands having longevity is the chance of seeing those you didn't see 'at the time' e.g. Elvis Costello who was
brilliant about 6 or 7 years ago at Brum Symphony Hall.  Also there, Joe Jackson, who I did see in 1982 at an incredible outdoor concert in New York.

No Jam or Smiths for me.  Regretfully.  Or Everything But The Girl (pre-dance stuff).

Saw Joy Division supporting the Buzzcocks and pretty much ignored them.  Grrrr.....

Would have liked to have seen Prefab Sprout.

Haircut 100 was a fantastic gig in about 82!

Also, missed out on the B52s.  Sold my ticket and went to a FA cup replay.

Saw UB 40 (Signing off time) supporting The Pretenders, I think.

Saw Lloyd Cole maybe 8 years ago at small venue (Glee Club, Brum).  Fantastic, acoustic, intimate gig.

One thing with a lot of these bands having longevity is the chance of seeing those you didn't see 'at the time' e.g. Elvis Costello who was
brilliant about 6 or 7 years ago at Brum Symphony Hall.  Also there, Joe Jackson, who I did see in 1982 at an incredible outdoor concert in New York.

A minor tip for fellow music nerds.

Join a website called Concert Archives and you can log your personal gig-history.
Go through databases of previous tours along with Setlist.com and add dates, setlists and other bits and pieces.

The pleasant thing is now and again it sends you a daily email saying something like:


21 years ago today, you saw:
Super Furry Animals
May 27, 1997
The Roadmender Northampton

View more concert info on ConcertArchives.org →

.... unless you've got a scrapbook of ticket stubs or something, it's a laborious process

It took me several months to fill in, racking my brains of years, never mind dates and widespread towns and venues. 
And a song would come on and I'd think 'oh, I've seen them, should add them to the site'

Tended to do it for an occasional hour or so, late at night, when just listening to music

Must try that Setlist site again, set it for 1969 & 1970 when I saw, amongst others,  Pink Floyd & Deep Purple at Leeds Town Hall - came up with nothing

A great selection of gigs, Attitude Adjuster, my two favourites were David Byrne this year at Hammersmith and The Smiths (supported by James) back in the day.

Biggest regret, not ever getting to see Ian Dury and the Blockheads.

Some I've seen in no particular order:

The Smiths - superb
Big Country - average
The Stranglers - very good and even the new line up is worth a visit
The Ramones - a great night, oh to be young again
Pixies - very professional
Eels - seen 'em live a few times, love them so am biased
Lou Reed - my hero and was very good with a very loud electric set. So glad I got to see him before he died.
Echo and the Bunnymen - every time I've seen them they've been very good and McCulloch has been pissed and behaved himself - he has a great voice.
Iggy Pop - The master
Carter USM - Great fun, very lively as you'd expect
The The - disappointing
The Alarm - play all their standards and are good craic
The Rolling Stones - should be called 'Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones' when they play live - he is an outstanding front man
Oasis - Disappointing, almost too polished. Liam just stands there with his hands behind his back trying to look mean and moody and it sounds just like he's miming to the record
Boo Radleys - not very good
The Buzzcocks - Brilliant, although Pete Shelley tried to pull me! Haha
Robert Plant - Very good indeed, still got a voice and would recommend him
Flaming Lips - Brilliant trippy experience
ACDC - Always give the punters what they want, a back catalogue of non-stop hits
Billy Idol- Good old fashioned rocker, still can rock with the best of them
The Waterboys - really good
Van Morrison - doesn't really lend itself to live music as some of it is a little too smooth but if you like him you'll like him live.
The Cure - Very good indeed. Play for a long time too.
Dandy Warhols - Really good in a small venue back in the day
Dreadzone - Get a party atmosphere going.
Plenty of others too

If you like that sort of stuff - Check out IDLES.

Made me feel 17 again

Best live band since The Clash.

not a gig person but was in New York in 2010 Squeeze played Bryant park.they were different class only a few hundred there and it was free.we managed to sneak in

Love IDLES, Johnny The Guesser. Agree, great live act too!

Rainbow - Down To Earth era , every song lasted 15 minutes....even the chart hits.
Saxon - British metal at it's best on the Wheels Of Steel Tour
Gillan - Superb showman and band.
Dinosaur Jr - Wall of noise , I loved it my mates did not.
House Of Love - How they didn't sell millions I will never know , top show.
The Damned - Brill live every time.
Pixies - My fav band fab in 88 and 2017.
My Bloody Valentine - same gig as Pixies in 88 , they were ace.
Kitchens Of Distincton- Slick on record , loud and superb live.
Stiff Little Fingers - Never seen as many people pass out at a gig , they were great.
Kingmaker - big fave of me and my mates , and terrific live.
REO Speedwagon-  girl friend loved them , they were good live.
Kiss - No one but no one puts on a show like these guys.
The Mission-  Only band I have seen in two different cities in a weekend , superb.
Fields Of The Nephilim - Goth overlords one of my all time favs , top show.
Dr Phibes - my only time at the Hacienda .....to see a rock band .....first bar I asked for beer at said they had none and to try upstairs.
            For some reason most people were only drinking water .
Yes - won free tickets , didn't play Wonderous Stories , Going For The One or Don't Kill The Whale ....not impressed.

Pixies /Mbv.... T/C Kentish Town 88  ,,, top night

Dinosaur jnr/ Mud Honey .. Fulham Greyhound

Chishlehurst caves...lol....went a few times...Legend has it that they would offer any one 50 quid if they slept the night there.There was some water there where some kid drowned many years ago and now he haunts it.Stopped letting people take the challenge when some kid **** himself about 2am and when he ran out he whacked his head on the rock and nearly killed himself.Even though I have been in Malta now for over 2years a part of me still pines for the Orpington / Bromley area (obvioulsy except Star Lane)...lmfao..

Too many to mention , been going to gigs since early seventies and seen just about everyone and everybody ! Wishbone Ash were my fav Band back then and seen em loads of times, Jethro Tull were always amazing live Ian Anderson a brilliant frontman . Nowadays prefer smaller venues and this year my fav gigs The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Wooden Shjips, Eels, The Breeders, Mark Lanegan and Mogwhi.

Used to love the smaller venues...think you lose a lot of the impact in these big arenas and stadiums..An old friend (must be 60 now )of mine told me a great story years ago at work.Him nd a mate used to love going to these working man clubss / pub with small rooms to see new emerging bands.One night in 1977 he was in this seedy little annex room with no more than 50 people waiting for the support act to come on (he even forgot who was the main act).Turns to his mate , we watch these or go and get a pint?Mate says , lets watch these , you never know..He says fine , what are they called any way/Mate says...Police or The Police , probably **** but you never know...he used to enjoy telling that one

I don't get these arenas.   Won't go to them in general, but did make an exception with U2 a few years ago as I hadn't seen them previously.

It was a thrust stage and great seats, but go knows what views those at the back had.

Saw REM at Cardiff Millennium and we must have been 100 yards away!

pixie - Saw Ian Drury and The Blockheads at the Hope & Anchor , but not sure that was the name they performed under at the time .

I'm jealous, Reynard! Probably played under the name Kilburn and the High Roads, as they were known in the early days, when you saw them.

That was it , Kilburn and The High Roads , my memory is going with age lol .
Used to go and see Madness at the Dublin Castle , Camden Town , where they did a regular set before they first appeared on TOTP . There was a small room out the back that only held a few dozen . Saw John Otway there a few years later . Jeez that guy was crazy . Did a brilliant cover of Peter Sarstedt "Where Do You Go To" .

I've seen John Otway a few times, Reynard, he did a powerpoint presentation last time I saw him and he was absolutely hilarious, he is such a good bloke and brilliantly entertaining and eccentric. Julian Cope is another very good live act in a similar but slightly different vane.

Does he still do the Sarstedt cover ? If he did you wouldn't forget it

My Front Rooms Bigger than the Hope n Anchor

Reynard, he didn't do 'Where do you go to my lovely' last time.

Both John Otway and Julian Cope great live acts. In a similar vein  Mik Artistik is really good, check him out on you tube .

Shed Seven are brilliant live and will be doing their shedcember tour next year