GIROSCOPE ROCK 4 EMILY
  After a
blistering review on Riffs from our resident
reviewer - The Seaham Silverback - of
astounding new band Giroscope (right), ["I'd
walk barefoot over broken glass to see them again"
was one of his quotes] we are pleased to announce
that the lads not only turn out some brilliant toons
but have hearts the size of Rainbow's
band members' list. Along with Michael Lavery from Groovetrain, they
are giving of their time and talents totally and
completely FREE to play at a fundraising event at
Gateshead Rugby Club on Friday April 3. At only £4
to see a sensational band, a great compere and
acoustic support, and to help a brave young lady
with Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy, you'd need a heart
of stone to not support this event. But enough from
me, this is an extract from an email from her father
Ian with some background to the event:
 "My daughter Emily is a disabled
athlete who competes nationally for Gateshead
Harriers and hopes to compete for Team GB at-a
future Paralympic Games. Emily has Cerebral Palsy
and epilepsy.
We are holding a fundraising evening to raise funds
for travel and accommodation costs as well as entry
fees to national competitions for the forthcoming
outdoor and indoor season for 2019/20.
In 2018 Emily competed at the CPISRA WORLD GAMES in
Barcelona coming home as a 5 time world champion.
Later that year Emily was invited to become part of
the British Athletics Paralympic development squad
with the intention of producing Para athletes for
Paris 2024.
We have the fantastic GIROSCOPE playing as our band
for the evening. Tickets are available from the
Rugby Club bar or directly from me Ian on
07711415820. This event is a ticket event but any
unsold tickets will be sold on the door. .Please
take a look at Emily’s website www.emilystewart-t38.com"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
STEVESTOCK WEEKEND 2020
in aid of Macmillan Cancer
Support
FRIDAY 31st
Ground Floor and FREE:
7 SINS 10.15 / ELENBAK 8.40 / MONKS IN AN EGGCUP
7.15 / BRANDON PROCTOR 6.30
First Floor £5 door (strictly limited
capacity):
THE BREAKFAST CLUB 11.00 / RIGID DIGITS 9.25 /
THIS MACHINE 7.55
SATURDAY 1st
Ground Floor and FREE:
FM 10.15 / TINY AFRO 8.40 / LOU ROSS BAND 7.15
First
Floor £5 door (strictly limited capacity):
LITTLE DEVIL midnight / DIAMOND DOGS 11.00 / DEEP
PURPLE IN ROCK 9.25 / TIN SOLDIERS 7.55
SUNDAY 2nd
Ground
Floor and FREE:
NUTOPIANS
7.15 / THE WHODLUMS 5.30 / DEJA VU 3.45
First
Floor £5 door (strictly limited capacity):
THE FORCE
8.00 / BIG TED 6.30 / VINTAGE EDITION 4.30
Please note that ALL
tickets have now been sold, but £5 door is
available - first come first served.
------------------------------------------------------------------
GOODBYE TO BB's MARGE
 The
highly-respected landlady of the Bell and
Bucket in North Shields bids a farwell to
bands and punters alike this weekend (17, 18, 19)
when she goes out with a bang - well, hopefully
not literally - as three excellent bands intend to
raise the roof in honour of this much talked about
lady. Riffs has had no personal contact with Marge but, by all
accounts, she is much admired and treats the bands
with the respect they deserve. A
rare flower indeed. Norman
Force
says about her "a lovely landlady who will be
a big miss").
Her three last gigs are ROCK
SOLID on the 17th, FM on the 18th,
and STICKY
FINGERS on the 19th.
Please go along and make Marge's last three gigs
ones she will never forget. Pictures welcome . . .
Also, we have just heard (cheers Norm) that no
less than Tony Liddle
is to be the new vocalist for FM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERCURY
AND MAY - THE ULTIMATE QUEEN TRIBUTE
Queen fans
must feel like all their Christmas and birthdays have
come at once at the moment. Not only two excellent
Queen tributes gracing our venues, but now an act that
highlights the incredible vocal talents of Freddie Mercury and
the outstanding guitar playing of Brian May.
The gig, Mercury & May live at
Boldon Community Association, New Road, Boldon
Colliery NE35 9DS is on Friday January 31st and the
performance commences at 8.30pm. Tickets are just £5
and the venue contact is 0191 5368085.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DIABLO - Happy
New Year Everyone!
2019 saw some great gigs
for Diablo with
fab crowds culminating with a cracking headlining slot
at Tynedale’s annual Music and Beer Festival in
Corbridge. The big success of the year, without
doubt, was the new album “Screaming Out” (still
available) which eclipsed sales and triumphs of all
previous Diablo recordings – so nearly achieving a hit
record! Rave reviews kept pouring in such as Andy
Jennings at GigItNorthEast; Harvey Smith of The
Bastards of Eclectic Music Taste; Crack magazine
Newcastle among many, and the track “I’m Unknown”
became BBC2 Music North East Introducing Show’s Record
of The Week in January. Tracks “Screaming Out” and
“Crawl” have been played on local Nova Radio and “I’m
Unknown” played at Gateshead FC International
Stadium’s PA! Diablo’s original songs have been played
on social media and YouTube over 77,000 times and
those are just the plays we’ve managed to track! And
with streaming the new album there have been literally
thousands of plays and downloads. Thank you EVERYONE
for supporting the album and us, for so long – we
love you all. And Davy has just announced that the
next album has already been written and is slated for
2021 release. Onwards & Upwards through 2020 –
Diablo’s 16th year of continued success!
Dave Drums Diablo xxx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blackhall Community Centre is to
host an AC/DC
show featuring Livewire, with
support from local lads Sticky Fingers. It's
on Saturday February 22nd and tickets are £15,
from ents24, seetickets or from the venue itself.
Doors 6.30 and you'll be fully Rocked out by 11.30. By
all accounts Livewire
put on a fantastic show; but with the outrageous
guitar of Phil Martin, I think if there is a band that
can give Livewire
a run for their money then it's the Stickies. Be prepared
for a battle of the guitars!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILTHY RICH AND STARZ
I think it was only this year (still in 2019 - oh
yeah) that Starz took the North-East music
scene by storm [well, okay that might be a slight
exaggeration, but certainly a breath of fresh
Rockin' air at the very least] and  no
other three guys looked more as though they belonged
together than guitarist
Kenny, drummer Mark
and singer/guitarist Kiko.
So, to hear that they had pulled in a dedicated
singer and formed a second band did crease my brow a
tad (although that
could be just age).
But as Kenny explained: "American Girl is now
finished and we wanted to replace that band - when
we heard singer Rich
Myers (hence Filthy
Rich, yeah?) audition we just went
'WOW' as he is such a powerful vocalist."
Kenny told Riffs exclusively: "Filthy Rich will
be doing one set of the American
Girl songs that Rich wants
to do and one set of all new Rock
cover songs that we think people will love and
will be different to the usual covers."
I can recommend Starz
unreservedly as all three members have their own
charisma, style and musical skills; and if you're
gonna add a dedicated frontman to the mix and gig
as Filthy Rich
then 'scuse me while I kiss the sky! Kenny
continued: "We start gigging as Filthy Rich in
February and have gigs booked for the whole of
2020 but not as many as we'd like because Starz has
taken off and is soooooo busy."
A website for the band is under construction and
we will announce it as soon as it is up and
running.
---------------------------------------------------------------
FM at The Turf in Consett
today (Boxing Day) 4pm. Unless my memory serves me
incorrectly, you're in for a heavy dose of AC/DC and Zeppelin. And
personally, I can't think of many things that
would do it for me at this time of year. Get along
and RAWK.
-----------------------------------------------------------
PB
update: Firefox is being a bit of an arse with
connecting. However, Google Chrome connects
without a problem. Weird, but that's how it is.
I download all my albums from PB without a
problem; I've paid for them in vinyl, then paid
again on DAT, then again on CD, I'm buggered if
I'm gonna pay again for mp3 files!
--------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Dirty Dogz Phil
with some bad news - the trial run gig a the Cluny
this Sunday 22nd is now OFF due to flu. Needless to
say, Phil is gutted, but hopes to re-arrange the gig
for February. Any news concerning the gig and we
guarantee to be the first to let you
know............
------------------------------------------------------------
Apologies
to the few peeps who have emailed to say the
current PB address is not working. More and more
ISPs are blocking it, but the address that is
currently showing (top right, under page links) is
fully working as of Wednesday 18th. I will try and
keep it up to date. Appreciate you letting me
know.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Three Tuns in
Gateshead is now booking for January and February
2020. Anyone interested text me (Paul) 07940715824.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The below article we
originally put together a few weeks ago and things
have come together nicely and Phil has now not only
a got a date for the gig, but also has sold over
fifty tickets for this Rockin' event. Phil is
understandably cagey concerning the event and
explains: "Me
and the boys have booked a trial run at The Cluny
on Sunday 22nd December, but this is to get a
taster for next year." The gig is £10 a ticket
(in excess of fifty sold to date) and kicks off at
6pm and runs till 9. Expect a night of
surprises.....................
DIRTY
DOGZ PHIL PROPOSES A NIGHT OF
'PANACHE, POWER,
PRECISION AND PASSION'
 And talking of 'no-nonsense', Riffs
is excited at an email from
Phil from Dirty
Dogz fame who, after the demise of
aforesaid band, has been pining for some quality,
down-to-earth Rock done by mature, experienced
musicians - or in his own words 'A tasty selection of highly regarded and
seasoned pros' (I'm hearing
people standing and clapping at the back . . .) and
with the adage 'if you want something doing properly
do it yourself' resounding around his thinking
organ, Phil has decided to do just that.
Putting
his money where his mouth is, Phil is arranging a
'little' soiree where he expects to showcase some
incredible Rock talent. He
told me: 'There’s still some
cracking nights to be had out there I’m sure
but, as most bands are finding, it's often hard
chuffin work playing to 2 men, a whippet and a
crazy couple in the corner who are adamant they
want a bit of Britney! However, the frustration
and disappointment seems to have wained a tad
over the noted period of inactivity and I am
dipping my arthritic toes (some may say
foolishly) into the local, unpredictable
rock'n'roll waters again.'
Still in its early stages,
Phil is wanting to gauge support before he goes full
tilt. He continued: 'Looking for definite feedback
from real fans of live music who like nothing more
than to immerse themselves in a night of quality
sounds delivered with panache, power, precision and
passion'. Expectations are high and Phil hopes
the setlist to include
'interpretations/improvisations of classic rock,
blues and psychedelia from Hendrix, Zeppelin, Cream,
Stones, Beatles, Free, Neil Young, Peter Green, Bob
Dylan...plus the odd original and a few surprises.'
Phil has emphasised that this will happen only
with enough prior interest. He welcomes texts on 07803 640235. I have promised Phil,
Riffs' full involvement and when anything happens -
we wanna know!
LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
-----------------------------------------------
The Schooner in Gateshead is
looking for bands for Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Call Paul 07940 715824
-----------------------------------------------
The Schooner in
Gateshead is looking for a band or artist to play
This Saturday 7th December.
0191 477 7404. NOW SORTED NOW
SORTED NOW SORTED
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A
heads up............
Hearing little birdies talking
about The Black Horse in Monkseaton stopping bands
as the manager is close to leaving.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BUFFALO
FOUR SECRET NO LONGER
It seems only a brief five minutes ago that
I popped along to Bishop Auckland's Bay Horse to catch
the excellent Four
Letter Word (review way, way down this very page). I
also remember drummer Andy
- not only for his steady and rhythmic playing - but
also for the fact that I never got a picture of him!
And I can well understand his disappointment when
everyone in the band gets a photo - but not him. Even
more so, considering he was doing the band a favour,
standing in for their regular drummer. Andy plays in Buffalo
Four who go down
extremely well in the
Blacksmiths in Gosforth but, he
explained: "we have played there quite a few times
and had some great nights with many compliments but
apart from that venue we are unknown around
Newcastle." It seems that Four
Letter Word did quite well from Riffs mensh and Andy
goes on to say: "they got a rave review and plenty
of interest and some gigs from your article so
thought we [Buffalo Four] are maybe due some
attention. We have been going for 6 years and play
to some pretty appreciative audiences but we are
almost a secret in some places." Whoops, think I
may have blown your secret Andy. Buffalo Four are at
the Blacksmiths
this Friday (6th).
Pic linked
to the band playing 'I Won't Back Down'.
Metallica? AC/DC?
C'mon lads, practice what you wear!!
------------------------------------------------------------
Air4ce
at Cluny 2, Newcastle, 21st January 2020
Celebrating the life and
music of Ginger Baker,
featuring some of the north east's finest musicians
- PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS...music from Ginger's work
with Cream, Blind Faith,
Graham Bond, Airforce, Billy Preston,
and more.
Tickets (£8adv): click on poster.
And more information as it is announced here -https://www.facebook.com/Air4ce2020/
Apparently the first words that St. Peter
said to Ginger, upon his arrival, were "look, I
don't want any trouble".
--------------------------------------------------------------
Those Queen tribute
guys did it again - this time at Darlington's
Hopetown & Whessoe Club on Saturday 23rd
of this month when they wowed a packed house
with Queen
and Freddie's
record-breaking and memorable songs covering
over forty years. Qween's next gig is
this Friday (29th) at Newcastle's Heaton Buffs
but unfortunately there will be a lot of
dissatisfied punters as the gig is strictly a
private function so, unless you hold that
special ticket, no entry. But keep your eye on
Riffs Listings page as the lads will be
playing in 2020.
If you just can't wait that long then We Are Champion,
who do a superb tribute to Queen, have
several gigs running up to Christmas. Also, on
Sunday December 1 with a start time of 6pm at
the Isabella in Blyth you can catch a Freddie Mercury
tribute. Spoilt for choice!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHOT
DOWN IN FLAMES
"Interesting
idea, the tips for the band idea…..but here’s where
my cynicism kicks in;
We have to be careful of the law of unintended
consequence, it’s only a kick in the arse from there
to playing for tips only, or used as an excuse not
to pay a band or reduce their fee. Who would do such
a thing I hear you say? Well there are plenty of
reasons why a struggling venue may take that
approach even before you factor in any exploitative
reasons.
Yes it would sort some wheat from the chaff,
but overall the standard would diminish because who
would layout all that cash on gear without a fair
chance of paid gigs?
But that dismisses the nous of even the most
cynical of band bookers, theres not many that book
bad bands, safe bands perhaps, and safe isn’t what
brings in the punters, it may well entertain the
ones already there however?"
Alan Fizzyfish
------------------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Patrick
from the excellent Obsession
and UK/DC
that the Market Tavern in
Chester-le-Street has ceased all bands
for the forseeable future.
------------------------------------------------------------------
 What marvellous
peeps there are out at Usworth and Washington.
Some of those fine punters piled into The
Gardeners Club recently for Help for Heroes
night when FOXX
and Jay J Stevens
waived their fee to make the night one to
remember. Altogether the Club managed to make
a very healthy £1400.
Michelle from the club told Riffs: "I
had a lot of support ftom those who
attended, also a big thankyou for
those local businesses who donated
prizes for our raffle in aid of Help
For Heroes." The generosity of all those
involved will make such a difference for our
brave men and women.
And thanks to Michelle from Usworth and
Washington Gardeners Club for letting
Riffs know.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HAD A
GOOD NIGHT? - THEN FILL MY BOX
 Well,
our articles on dwindling punters for live
gigs have been read by many, many people. The
majority of whom do seem to agree that it is
something that is happening now, and that it
is affecting venues and bands alike. The only
thing that is thin on the ground is solutions.
I have heard one (from soneone who wishes
anonymity), and as I have heard nothing better
I will mention it here: A DONATION BOX ON THE
BAR.
If you have had a great night at your local,
seen a brilliant band playing stuff you like
and recognise and the band have totally given
their all, what do you do at the end of the
night? Well, you just go home. And what if you
haven't had that good a night, the band have
been mediocre, stared at their feet all night
and left you wanting? Well, you just go home.
Now that seems rather unfair, the landlord
doesn't know if you have had a good night or a
bad one; that poor barmaid who has been
smiling all night and serving all and sundry
doesn't know, and the band who have lost at
least a stone amongst them and played their
collective kahunas off just see you leaving at
the end of the night and have no idea if you
loved them or hated them. SO - pop a few quid
in the box on the bar. To be shared out
equally between the band and the venue. One of
the best night's ever? Bung a fiver/tenner in
the pot and shout to the landlord "they were
crackin' - I'll see that band again any time!"
Now, to me, that seems feasible, but I am
neither in a band, nor run a venue, so what do
YOU think? Will it work - is it an A side, or
just a terrible demo that won't make it onto
the album?
riffsonline@gmail.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
An
online station are taking music from signed/unsigned
bands to be played for free.
No
pop, just rock etc. no adverts.
http://www.marlab.dk
Thanks to Tony (former drummer with Cue) for
this info.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A late booking for these outrageous funsters.
Friday night (22nd) at The Isabella in Blyth.
Totally free entry and a wild night is guaranteed.
Get along and let your Fez down!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have a straggler. By his own admission, the
writer of the following article does not read the
News page much, which does explain a lot. I know
the Gig Listings is the most viewed page
on Riffs but a lot of stuff on this page does tie
in to the gigs so perhaps a glance now and then
may prove beneficial. Any road up, here is
Richie's thoughts on our main topic . . .
"I
humped gear for a club band in the 70s then a pub
band for 12 years after that, booked bands for 8
years for 3 pubs until quite recently
but never for financial gain, still help out now and
then when asked, so know a little bit about the
music scene and how it works...
I have been watching bands since the 70s
when clubs in my area that put bands on - solos and
comedians, albeit on dedicated nights for each -
used to be packed out but, one by one, they ended up
dying a slow death, partly i think due to the loss
of heavy industry. Pits, ship building and the like
was to blame for some of it as shift workers could
go out on a Thursday night and a Sunday night with
Friday and Saturday nights taking care of them
selves, if that makes sense, these people worked
hard and went to clubs for nights out religiously
and were not frightened to spend their money,
and not forgetting the earlier closing times where
people on permanent days could go out, go home, bite
to eat and be up for work no problem; we were all a
lot younger then, yes there is Nissan and all of the
knock on factories in my area but I am talking about
a different age group here.
While talking about age I see some of the same
people from that era at pubs now watching bands and,
like myself, they are in there 60s with some older,
one club is still going, but not as busy as it used
to be with another two going down the sports club
route and using private functions to survive. In a
way what happened to clubs is the same as what is
happening to pubs now, there got to be too many,
also while for a long time they were a cheap night
out, it got to be no longer the case with cover
charges going up and all the add ons; bingo,
raffles, various draws, it got where every other
week there seemed to be something else. All of a
sudden some pubs discovered a niche to host live
music and were the better option cost-wise, you even
ended up seeing some of the same musicians as many
were happy to leave the club scene to gig the pubs.
The pubs saw an opportunity for making money by
putting bands on after the club scene had died off,
and while a lot were not designed to host live
bands, they had to go with what they had got,
most got really good turnouts and were well
supported, but over the years more and more pubs
jumped on the bandwagon (no pun intended) and it
watered the attendances down; where you once had a
couple of venues you ended up with 5 or 6 and all
within a small catchment area, people would go to
where they thought they would have the better night.
I think a similar thing happened in South Shields,
for landlords they need decent turnouts on every gig
night or it is no longer viable and becomes a
struggle, also pub owners need to listen to the
regulars as to what music they like, as all too
often a pub will get taken over and book the wrong
type of band, punk and acoustic is not going to go
down well if people want rock music while, like
myself, a lot of people still use Riffs and other
music guides to find out what is on at venues, I
think an up-to-date website is a must in this day
and age. It is no good to anyone if a pub has a page
and they do not keep it up to date as advertising
plays an important part in letting people know who
is playing and when; I think a few pubs are guilty
of poor advertising,
I could mention a couple I know of where i never
could find out who was playing, no good at all, they
need to put it out there. I think with out doubt
monthly pay plays a big part in sometimes having a
lower turn out, the amount of times I hear people
mention their funds are low the week before being
paid, whereas back in the day when people were paid
weekly they always seemed to manage money better and
were able to go out, even the holiday period takes a
toll on attendances, as does the run up to Christmas
when money gets tighter. Quite often I have heard or
read that the smoking ban has made a big difference,
I myself think it has been very minimal; I think
people have just accepted they have to go out side
to smoke. I do not personally know anyone that has
stopped going to gigs because of the ban.
Back to age and this has been mentioned various
times on a music forum, there just does not seem to
be many younger people attending gigs these days,
certainly not the venues I go to, with the bulk of
the audience being made up of 40s, 50s and 60s,
unlike in my day where we were in our late teens. I
have no idea the reason why. I might add that I go
to watch predominately rock bands, maybe the old
classics just do not appeal to the younger
generation any more.
I must say that the northeast circuit is blessed
with so many great bands and quality musicians; most
of the time you are spoilt for choice. Referring to
the 5 or 6 pubs in a small catchment area I have
already mentioned, the pub with the more fancied
band will get the better turnout with the others
getting just enough people to break even if they are
lucky. Every venue will have their group of regulars
but these days they are looking at getting people to
travel which we often do to Sunderland, Chester,
Shields, ect, 3 or 4 sharing a taxi works out
cheaper than the bus fare.
There seems to be a never ending supply of pubs that
venture in to putting live music on only to find out
that it is a hard slog with many giving up within a
short period of time and not realising they need to
be prepared to lose money early on until word gets
out about their venue. I think the reality is that
we will be left with the most well known of venues
and those that are prepared to stick it out through
this rough period."
Richie, Washington
-------------------------------------------------------------------
AS YE SOW,
SO SHALL YE REAP
Well, you gotta laugh, haven't you! This just
dropped into Riffs inbox and I just thought it was
so relevant. Then again, I bet nearly all bands
and venues have similar stories (I've thought it
prudent to edit) . . .
"The
guy who books bands in the ----------- has 26 gigs
to fill so he books 12 or 13 bands to fill them
giving each one 2 gigs a year regardless as to
whether they died on their collective arses on the
1st show or not. We have reached the point where
we’re getting the second time round for the dregs
and I’m not going to go and watch a band that were
shite 6 months ago in the vain hope they’ve
improved. The fact that neither the band nor the
club have bothered to contact your good self, or
even to put it on their FB page illustrates their
commitment to their craft. The next scheduled band
in the --------- is the ---------- and I know it’ll
be packed. At that time I'll be in Belfast. During
previous visits I/we have tried to find a venue in
that city playing Rock and it appears there either
ain’t any or they don’t advertise on the web.
Imagine a place like Belfast and no live Rock on a
regular basis? And we complain about the dearth of
decent music!!!!".
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it was fantastic to
have such a brilliant response - and so many
views from bands and venues across the
North-East on what they thought was the reasons
for reduction in audience numbers. It was
eye-opening to see so many different and
interesting viewpoints. And Alan from
Fizzyfish, after reading every
single one with interest, now gives his views on
just who has hit the nail on the head. But are
we any closer to rectifying the problem?
"Since I wrote
that last piece I have had some conversations,
and some of the points raised by the other
writers make you think as well.
Our most recent gig
is a little case study, when I first started
regular gigging, relatively recently in 2003,
this place was one of the better venues on the
scene, I knew the pub from my youth and
actually went to see another band play there
as I was auditioning for them a week later.
When I
joined Fizzyfish
it was somewhere they
hadn’t played so I negotiated a gig there and
we became favourites - and the venue was one
of our favourites, building a relationship
with the audience and staff.
After
Fizzyfish split in 2010 we returned in a
different guise a few months later, but we
lost so much momentum that even with the boost
of changing our name back to Fizzyfish
we found so many venues
had changed, the stability had gone from the
scene. The venue I was talking about now had a
“manager” in but seemed more invested in food
than bands; his attitude was hostile and his
partner was one of those who knew the price of
everything and the value of nothing. They
destroyed the pub and within months it had
closed, had another false start then closed
again and after a lengthy period has opened
again.
The new owner is doing everything right,
it’s a nicer environment, he’s keen and
supportive, but crucially, that little
community had moved on, they had to find
different things to do. The last few years
have seen the venue go from weekly gigs, to
fortnightly gigs and 2020 will see one gig on
the last Saturday of each month, and I fully
support his approach.
Putting bands on was costing him too
much, the crowds came back initially, but for
all the reasons mentioned before and a few
more, the audience is a shadow of its former
self! Lost momentum in this game is a killer,
it’s taken us best part of a decade to get
back to the level of gigs and breadth of
geographical coverage we once had, were a
better band, but that only counts for so much
these days despite our fee being the same as
it was 15 years ago!
I don’t
think any of us have all the answers, Mike
from After Midnight
raises a valid point and
one we try to avoid, the too high a volume
mistake, it means significant investment in
quality gear, yet we still get the occasional
can you turn it down/up requests (usually to
turn it up!).
It’s been the same with our lights, we
have had to cut them down as people were
complaining about being blinded and most
venues don’t allow smoke machines anymore so
you have to get creative whilst still putting
on a show.
I don’t
blame the tribute acts moving up the tree and
Paul from We are Champion (genius) just highlighted my
point, a tribute to a good band with true
mainstream appeal. But I know lads in less
mainstream tributes who play less often and
sometimes they are going nationwide, some even
into Europe to sustain the interest.
Smoulty
and I generally agree on
stuff still, and I also agree with Dave from FM,
his points about over
saturation. We have
three venues who have us back 3 times a year,
we make sure each return is as different as we
can manage within what the punters will
accept, but there are so many places that will
not even answer any communication with us at
all! Closed shops or closed minds.
We generally want one venue in each town,
unless two venues will support us doing our
different sets, the Rollercoaster, which
is our crowd pleaser all over the place set
and the Seabass’tard which is our harder
uglier rock set, it’s a lot of work. But some
venues distrust that we can make that approach
work, they seem to be risk averse, they want
defined bands doing what they say on the tin,
safety.
We are open to do more clubs in the
future. The ones that have
turned their backs on the agencies and
excessive Bingo are now opening up a new
avenue, we found it logistically difficult to
be able to arrive at a club at the times they
prescribed in the past, but now some are more
flexible and we are as well, let’s see how
that pans out!"
Alan, Fizzyfish
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Just become aware of a venue in Sunderland - Angels Place
- and as was my wont did a quick google search
just to get a 'feel', and was rather impressed; a
biker's gaff with a great Rock atmosphere and on
their Facebook page recently hosted Deep Purple In Rock.
That video alone was enough to whet my appetite.
Took me back to the good 'ol Seventies at Middlesbrough Rock Garden.
If only someone would invent a time machine, that
would be the time I'd zip back to........
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Here we go, last one. It's
been a lot of hard work for me, but I hope it's
made a difference. And if it hasn't, at least
I've tried. If we all do one, may even be very
small, thing, then at least we've done more than
the next guy who has done sod all.........I have
extreme respect and admiration not only for the
bands who bust a gut getting organised and
traipsing to the venue, setting up, belting out
quality Rock (or whatever, but it should be
Rock, really) and then at the end, stripping
down their gear, and going home, but also to the
venues who sometimes take a punt on a band and
ending up crossing their fingers that the gig
isn't marred by, well, any number of things that
can go wrong. I have no musical talent
whatsoever, and would worry myself into an early
grave if I was to host bands on a weekly basis -
so I do what I can from this computer. Humungous
respect goes out to you all. Really.
Only one more 'Disappearing Audiences' article to
go, which I am working on right now. So if you
have something to say then now is the time - and
by 'now' I don't mean sometime next week, or even
in the next day or two or 'yeah, okay I'll
probably type something out this weekend' -
NO. I mean, like, today, in the next hour or two!
It doesn't take that long to type something out so
let people know your views. Anonymous is fine, as
long as you are honest. And it's no good saying
'Well, there's no point cos I agree with a lot
of what's been said'. How does anyone know
that unless you say so?!!!! Like I say, last one
today. That's it. Finito. Fin. Koniec. Tapitra.
Galas. Ende.
I
always, but always have on some belting Rock when
I'm working on Riffs, and as I am now (11am
Friday) half way through what will probably be the
penultimate article on Disappearing Audiences,
this track came on. I just remember being so
disappointed when mega bands 'throw away' a
classic track when at a live gig. Like 'this is
xxxxx xxxxxx' and then it's done and over in
a few minutes. UFO Doctor Doctor and Nazareth
Bad Bad Boy come to mind. Waste of a good
opportunity.
Now,
THIS is an intro...
(Oh, and it really
should go without saying - but PLAY IT
LOUD!!!!!!!!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Point of View is No More Or
Less Valid Than Anyone Else's
Well,
I've got to say I've been knocked out by the
eye-opening response concerning the demise of
punters coming out to enjoy live music. From
agents, bands, venues - you name them - they have
been concise, honest, eloquent. And it just goes
to prove that people DO care. Okay, there was some
that haven't bothered; but that happens in every
walk of life. If nothing else - and I sincerely
hope there has been considerably more - it has
given everyone involved the opportunity to see
'the other side' of life in the live music world.
I have been enlightened; and I'm sure I'm not the
only one. It highlights the fact that your point
of view is no more or less valid than anyone
else's.
Probably just one more article to go, hopefully
get that done today..........
------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
With all this talk of the
problems of punter numbers, band prices, low turnouts
etc, I was brought slap bang back to earth when I was
made aware of the problems of a member of local lads Ghostband. It
turns out the reason that they have been off the road
for quite a while was the necessity for Brian
Vasey to undergo a quadruple heart bypass,
with other complications that necessitated quite a
long layoff ("It was a rough time
for him and he says the recovery was far worse than
the op as they had to take a vein from his leg to
use in his heart and it was his leg that hurt the
most"). The good news is that he is on
the long, slow, gradual road to recovery and is
itching to get back on the road. But as guitarist Baz
pointed out: "since April Chris (drums) and myself
have either been depping in other bands, separately
or together, and ones we had dep guitarsts for we
never knew if they were going ahead, so other than a
last minute Facebook ad, we thought it better not to
advertise our gigs only to have to pull them. But
since his op Brian has now bounced back and I now
feel safer in advertising our gigs once more."
The three gigs booked for December are: Sat 7 Old
Ship, Newbiggin; Sat 14 Acklam Steels Club,
Middlesbrough; Fri 27 Lambton Arms, Chester Le
Street. I'm sure we all wish Brian well and for him to
be fully recovered and fighting for the Old Ship on
the 7th.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just this minute heard
of a late gig by
The Alcatraz House Band for this Friday
(November 1st) at Steels Club in Sunderland.
Haven't heard of AHB gigging for a very long time so
they may just be testing the water so to speak.
Let's hope this gig is the first of many as they
were a very proficient band. Anyway, quick look
in Riffs achives and here is Val's review of the
band from way way back if anyone is interested .
. .
Oh
- and a slap around the chops for both Jenn and
Steels Club as it was neither of them that we heard
it from - and here we are discussing disappearing
audiences!!
----------------------------------------------------------
TREAT THE BAND WELL OR PAY THE PRICE
Time for a bit ramble - well, it has been a while
- and I am part way through article number four
and it always takes longer than I imagine. Feeling
my brain going porridgey I need a break so, with
reference to the mention of some venues totally
ignoring the band for the evening and not giving
the band a welcome or whatever, I feel I must
mention the time Riffs'
Val ran a pub in West Auckland. It
wasn't for very long (less than a year I think),
but circumstances dictated that that was the way
things would be for a short time. She had her
licence, name above the door and whatever. She had
a live gig night once a week and would have loved
to have heavy Rock bands but her punters preferred
more laid back music; Whitesnake,
Bon Jovi (aaarggh), poppy type
stuff - with maybe a little Rock thrown in. Anyway
she would always make a point of welcoming the
band, each one, by name. Telling them that they
were an integral part of the evening and anything
at all they wanted, or had any problems, they were
to contact her, and only her, and she would sort
it.Don't bother anywone else, come straight to
her. She never charged the band for drinks, but
heaven help any of the band's hangers on trying to
get a freebie! (She could be quite formidable when
she wanted to be - and sometimes when she
didn't!). They were not charged for crisps, bar
snacks etc. She had in her mind what she needed to
break even, and a figure which would be great to
achieve for a modest profit from the evening. On
some occasions this figure was exceeded and she
gave half to the band as a big thank you. She told
me that the look on the guys' faces was pure
astonishment that someone would actually give them
MORE than they asked for. Needless to say she
didn't need to do much searching for bands as the
word spread how well (and fairly) the bands were
treated. Course a Riffs review usually
followed for every band that appeared there. I
remember more than one band said they would come
and play (Val
did do her homeword by the way - she wouldn't book
crap) and just take whatever Val decided to pay
them!! I bet that doesn't happen that often. And
yes, she made sure they got a fair price. Many
bands also played longer (well past finish time)
to a vibrant and appreciative crowd and she would
always make sure they got extra. When she took
over the pub it was, how should I put it, slightly
below what you would expect. Within just a few
weeks the clientele improved and it became a
decent pub. I remember one time a couple of Hell's
Angel types (over 6ft tall, about 3ft across the
shoulders, sleeveless denim jacket, tattoos, bald
- you get the image) started squaring up to one
another. Val was straight over to them, pulled her
top down and said: "I could knock both of you
out with these (Val was about a 38FF by
the way), so stop your messing and
enjoy the night. Or I'll kick you both out!".
They stood there nonplussed and I think they
forgot they were fighting and just went
shellshocked back to the bar. And yes, I have seen
her throw many a drunk guy clean out of the pub,
not one of them lifted a finger to her. But
anyway, back to how to treat bands. The way Val treated the
bands, to me, should be the norm, and I was really
surprised to hear that some bands are treated so
badly. It doesn't make sense to diss a band - they
have mates in other bands and if they are
impressed, the venue will benefit by getting a
good reputation. It was not that long ago that a
new band was struggling to get gigs and asked me
here at Riffs how they would go about getting
noticed in the region - they wanted me to do them
a boxed ad. I said that would be a waste of money.
No one is going to book a band just cos they took
out an advert. I told them what I would do if I
was a competent musician and wanted to get
noticed: I would ring up
Paul Tuns and tell him I had a
great band, and what I played, then say I will
play for expenses just to get a gig - even a
support slot. I would then email Nige at Riffs
(which is me by the way, in case you're losing the
will to live) and say come along for some quality
Rock, and also send in a blurb about the band
accompanied by some wild and quirky pics. I would
then ring around local landlords asking them to
come along. Blitz social media with some pics of
my band looking wild, happy and raucous (who wants
to see a 'boring' band). And just hope that Paul Tuns loves us
and mentions us to his mates (and of course gives
us a return booking at a reasonable price). yeah,
well I said most of this and never heard from them
again. Anyway, back to article number four, or is
it five........and why is my coffee stone cold?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Really pleased to hear from Paul Tuns regarding
Disappearing Audiences, and his contribution will
be in the top spot in the next article to be
uploaded today (Wednesday).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
And here's the third - probably one more to go if
no more emails come in . . .
Just
uploaded the second of 'Disappearing Audiences'
articles (probably couple more to come as Riffs
readers have been marvellous at giving their
opinions and views on disappearing audiences [not
in a supernatural way you understand]). Brilliant
stuff and an absolute banquet for thought.
--------------------------------------------------------
I
just gotta say I've had some brilliant replies to
my request for insights into the dwindling crowds
at live gigs. Well, here we are, Saturday (it is
Saturday isn't it?!) and I still don't have
anything ready regarding the upcoming article (now
articles) on aforesaid subject. It's not that I'm
lazy (although that may go some way) but I have
had some frighteningly incisive, not to say
interesting and long-winded (but totally relevant)
replies. So much so that one article just will not
encompass them all. My original idea was to edit
them down to bite-size chunks (bullet points if
you will) but . . . well, I found that a bit like
trying to edit Stairway to Heaven or Rock Bottom
down to three minutes. You could - but you'd need
to hide away in a dark place for a long time so
no-one would know who you are. So, yes, I'm
working on it, so bear with me......
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riffs
is gathering info on your views as to what may be
the cause of dwindling crowds for live music gigs
around the North-East - and what, if anything, can
be done about it. We have some great venues,
caring landlords/owners and a plethora (that means
lots) of top quality
(I mean like fuckin' awesome)
bands - so why so few punters? If you wish to have
your say then just email me here:
riffsonline@gmail.com. You can even
remain anonymous if you wish (but make it clear in
your email).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
APATHY
RULES! - WHATEVER
Just
this very minute (well, coupla days now) heard
from an extremely well-known and well-respected
North-East pub landlord who has put his heart and
soul into live music for many years, that he is
close to calling it a day with live bands. Over
the past few years his gig crowds have steadly
dwindled to a point now that it is hardly feasible
to host live music. Considering the quality of
musicianship and wide range of excellent bands on
offer in our area, this is a total disgrace.
Regular readers will have noticed that Riffs (and
bands and venues) have mentioned the lack of live
music support on many occasions of late but it is
now becoming a frightening reality that venues
will have to react to. The annoying thing is, the
answer is unbelievably simple - fuck
the box and get out and watch a band!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADRENALINE-FUELLED HEAVY ROCK
 I think that any band who openly
welcomes a review must be reasonably sure they are
musically and visually capable.
Riffs never expects perfection, indeed, so glad we
haven't found it 'cos life would then be filled with
anti-climaxes. So it was nice to hear from Graham
from Adrenaline
who boast a night of 'Heavy Rock and Classic Rock' -
my musical taste buds are a-rockin' already.
The gig is on November 9th, Saturday, at
Darlington's Quakerhouse.
Now all I need to do is try and remember where I
have heard the name Graham Forrester from.... An
enlightening email will surely be heading my
way.......
Oh, and in case you
need a taster of what Adrenaline
offer. Look no further than HERE.
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's
many amongst us who just can't get enough AC/DC
from the good ol' early days of Bon Scott.
Well, your lust for Rock and Metal at its best
can be well-satiated tonight (Friday 11th) at
Gateshead's Three Tuns when UK/DC
take to the stage for a blistering Rock set
that I can assure you is dynamite. You have been duly notified.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Whoops. Thought I had mentioned this but
apparently not. The Times Inn, Dalton le
Dale, has shut its doors. On its Facebook
page, it says 'for good', but I don't think the
staff and punters would see much good in it! I
think they may mean 'permanently' or
'indefinitely'.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
VICTIM OF
CHANGES
 Without
question, Rob
Halford is one
of Heavy Metal’s all-time great vocalists – as heard
through his highly influential and groundbreaking work
with Judas Priest. But age must do strange things to people,
as he is about to release an all-new album entitled
‘Celestial’ - full of 'Christmas' songs.
‘Celestial’ sees Halford joined by a supporting cast
of those very close to him – his brother (Nigel) on
drums, his nephew on bass (Alex, son of Priest bassist
Ian Hill), has sister (Sue) on bells, and twin guitar
tandem of Robert Jones and Jon Blakey.
'Donner and Blitzen,' and 'Protected by the Light,' as
well as reworkings of such holiday standards as 'God
Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,' 'Joy to the World,' and
'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,' sit alongside other
offerings. 'Donner and Blitzen’ gets the snowball
rolling for Celestial – a song full of
excitement, love and hope,” says Rob. “You
can hear and feel the power of Christmas time –
energy roarin’ with rockin’ reindeers haulin’!”
Of course you can Mr Halford. Now where's my copy
of Sad Wings of Destiny . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Gonna
give a shout to Heart
Shaped Stone who, up until today,
I thought was a band but, apparently - well not
apparently - because she has told me she isn't a
band, she is solo, and she ought to know.
I'm giving a shout for two reasons. 1) she's
taken out an advert in Riffs, which helps me pay
the exorbitant prices for web hosting and domain
name; and 2) she was the lead singer in
two Rock bands - '99
Clicks', and 'Fallen Angel'.
[I could squeeze in a 3) by saying she
was very polite - you'd be surprised how many
people aren't!].
As she told Riffs quite candidly: "Everything
I play is totally live, no tracks or gizmos, I
strive to play well known cover songs that
people like to hear on a night out and very
often finish up with the audience singing
along as the night goes on, mainly great
singalong songs from the 80s and 90s from
bands such as 3 Non
Blondes, Oasis, Allanis Morrisette,
Beautiful South, Fleetwood Mac, KT
Tunstall, Blondie, Cranberries,
plus some older, earlier and more modern songs
too to please a wider range of audience."
She has a great following in her home town of
North Shields but travels all over the
North-East for gigs. She is no stranger to the
weird and wonderful venues we have here in the
North-East and has hosted buskers nights and
mulitplayer live music gigs since 2017, now
pushing her solo career.
I'll admit, unless she dives into the odd Priest or Motorhead track
("that really isn't going to happen, Nige")
she may leave me a bit by the wayside but, as my
niece told me "There's more to life than
Heavy Rock". Errrmmmm, sorry Hazel, nope,
you've lost me.
But I appreciate there is room for everyone in
our thriving music arena and Heart Shaped Stone
certainly have the background and
professionalism to say "I'm here now, just
leave everything to me". And that, surely,
is what a lot of landlords are dying to hear.
(second only to "there's hundreds of people
queued outside for tonight's gig!")
There is a Facebook page showreel:
https://www.facebook.com/heartshapedmusic/videos/3191461814229734/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ginger Baker, one
of the co-founders of Cream,
has died at the age of 80.
Baker
is best known for co-founding Cream with Eric
Claption and Jack Bruce in 1966. He
suffered various health problems in the later years
of his life, telling Rolling Stone in 2013 that
performing “exhausted” him. The
candid interview also saw Baker reveal that he
suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) from smoking. In February 2016, he
was forced to cancel a tour with Air Force after
being diagnosed with “serious heart problems”. He is
thought to have undergone open heart surgery in June
of that year.
-------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL DATELINE
OCTOBER 7 . . . INTERNATIONAL DATELINE OCTOBER 7
. . . INTE
 Direct
from Riffs International Overseas Reporter (you
better believe it!) comes some AC/DC news; recently
opened in Prahran, Melbourne (that's way over in
Australia, by the way) is 'Angus
and Bon' Steakhouse. Which,
co-incidentally or not, is just around the corner
from the Station Hotel where the band played one of
their first Melbourne gigs back in 1975. Our
intrepid Ozzie reported dutifully snapped this pic
of the Angus and Bon plaque and I have requested
that she wears her 'AC/DC founded 1974' t-shirt in
front of the aforementioned establishment while
taking a photo of herself (I think the hip amongst
us call it a 'selfie') - but of course this all
depends on the weather as I was unable to afford the
very fastest pigeon. But a big thanks to Franki who, by her
own admisssion ended up in Melbourne after missing
the Hollywood plane. Don't worry, I told her, relax.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
Another
thousand words, this time from Qween,
also with a sellout concert on a recent Friday at
Hedworth Hall:
Checkout their radio interview here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
The
Bay Horse in Bishop Auckland (on a recent Friday).
. .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Heard
from Maddog - Chairman of the Tyne Wolves - that the Duke of
Cumberland in Gateshead reopened
fairly recently and is planning live gigs. The
management intends to have regular band nights but
The Tyne Wolves have got in quick with two gigs
there already planned: Red Revival on 28th of
this month, and Three
Odd Shoes on Oct 4. Start time is 8pm
and there will be a charity bucket for welcome
contributions.
Val and myself have
many happy memories of the Duke, with Thompa
vying with Paul Tuns for the most gracious
host
in the North East. He
set the bar extremely high, let's just hope the
present management are even half as good.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The
gig arranged for Darlington's Forum for 24th of
this month has been put back to next year and this
new gig featuring The Tom Atkinson
Band and the legendary Russ Tippins Band
now takes its place:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heard from Dave from
the Graham
Henderson Experience that their gig
tonight (Friday) at the Ox and Plough in Washington
is off. The venue is closed and boarded so I guess
that means no live gigs there for a
while............but we'll let you know if anything
changes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Better
late than never - tonight's
gig (Fri) at the now iconic Three Tuns in
Gateshead is Heavy Metal USURPER. Tried my best
to get a pic of the band but no luck. But there
are some vids on Youtube taken at Trillans. I
mention tonight's gig as it is now getting so damn
difficult to get to see some Metal bands - and
even more so if they play their own compositions;
so good on Usurper. Check out their vids and if
you are in the Gateshead area then why not pop
along and give these guys some support? master of
the wreck baptism of
fire
And good on Paul Tuns for giving these
lads an airing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIBUTE
BAND BREAKS PUB ATTENDANCE RECORD
 By all accounts Darlo Blues day on
Sunday was a rip-roaring success and, although we
would have liked to hear from several bands
concerning their gig on the day, at least we've
been contacted by The
Paul Rodgers Story who, apparently,
broke an attendance record at a Darlington pub! We
hear that there was, wait for it, 110 (that's one
hundred and ten) people watching just the band's
sound check at Hoskins Bar in the town
centre. And when the band kicked off, there had
been an unbelievable 553 people in the venue. The
previous record was 350. The band, needless to
say, fed off the crowd and went down an absolute
storm. The Paul Rodgers Story have a new website
up and running www.paulrodgersstory.com
(I've told them about the Riffs reviews links not
working) and also I can link to a video taken on
the night of the band playing 'Fire and Water'.
Just click here.
(above
pic was taken at Darlington Forum earlier this
year)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Has anyone a cure for
Fizzyfish? Those adaptable funsters
are at it again - raising money for charity. I can't
put it much better than singer Alan so I'll quote
directly from his email:
"This one's been
drawn together really quickly, Sunday 29th
Sept at the old B&M store on Harbour Walk,
Hartlepool, TS24 0YA. We're helping out the
Personal Trainers at The Gym Group in Hartlepool
in an event to raise funds for Andy’s Man Club,
set up to help people with mental health issues in
remembrance of Adam Rutherford, a young lad who
sadly took his own life. The event is free, but
obviously we would welcome any donations on the
day to the cause, there's 3 live music acts; Red Sky,
the acoustic duo span off the band Skyran, the
wonderful Jades
a 4-part
glamourous harmony group, and to end the afternoon
there’s the ugly buggers that are us, Fizzyfish,
with a power hour to end the day with a bang. The
event runs from noon until around 4pm, there’s
plenty of other stuff going on for those who like
to physically exert themselves - and those who
like to watch them try. Everyones doing their bit
for nowt, from the organisers, Hart
tool hire, PA company Soundwaves, Van Hire
company and Hartlepool Council;
they have all been a great help, all funds raised
go straight to the cause."
There's nothing more I can add to enhance the event,
except a plea for local people to go along, have a
crackin' day out and try and pop a few pennies in
the collecting buckets. Anyone who's organised an
event knows just how much hard work - not to mention
sweat and sleepless nights - goes into it, so to tot
it all up at the end of the day to realise a
financial reward for Andy's Man Club would
put smiles on so many faces . . .
And well done Fizzyfish
- Riffs will always have room for you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIRTY
DOGZ PHIL PROPOSES A NIGHT OF
'PANACHE, POWER,
PRECISION AND PASSION'
And talking of 'no-nonsense', Riffs is
excited at an email from Phil
from Dirty Dogz
fame who, after the demise of aforesaid band, has been
pining for some quality, down-to-earth Rock done by
mature, experienced musicians - or in his own words 'A tasty selection of highly regarded and
seasoned pros' (I'm hearing
people standing and clapping at the back . . .) and
with the adage 'if you want something doing properly
do it yourself' resounding around his thinking organ,
Phil has decided to do just that.
Putting
his money where his mouth is, Phil is arranging a
'little' soiree where he expects to showcase some
incredible Rock talent. He told me: 'There’s
still some cracking nights to be had out there I’m
sure but, as most bands are finding, it's often
hard chuffin work playing to 2 men, a whippet and
a crazy couple in the corner who are adamant they
want a bit of Britney! However, the frustration
and disappointment seems to have wained a tad over
the noted period of inactivity and I am dipping my
arthritic toes (some may say foolishly) into the
local, unpredictable rock'n'roll waters again.'
At the moment he
has got his main band together: Joe
Hope-Bass/Vox (“The Boy”), Ray Johns-Hammond
(“The Man”), Sid White-Drums
(“The Business”), Phil
Caisley-Gtr/Vox (“The Dreamer”) but
Phil promises some 'special guests' not to mention
support band(s).
Still in its early stages,
Phil is wanting to gauge support before he goes full
tilt. He continued: 'Looking for definite feedback
from real fans of live music who like nothing more
than to immerse themselves in a night of quality
sounds delivered with panache, power, precision and
passion'. Expectations are high and Phil hopes
the setlist to include
'interpretations/improvisations of classic rock,
blues and psychedelia from Hendrix, Zeppelin, Cream,
Stones, Beatles, Free, Neil Young, Peter Green, Bob
Dylan...plus the odd original and a few surprises.'
Phil has emphasised that this will happen only
with enough prior interest. He welcomes texts on 07803 640235. I have promised Phil,
Riffs' full involvement and when anything happens -
we wanna know!
LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADS
DOWN NO-NONSENSE BOOGIE
Nipped out to catch Ma Kelly's Boys
last Sunday (15th Sep) at Crook Hotel,
co-incidentally about the same time as John Coghlan's Quo
were playing in Darlington as part of the annual
Blues Festival. Again, Ma Kelly's Boys are
seasoned musicians who have done their homework
and noticeably love playing Quo's early stuff.
Lots on offer, including 'Railroad', 'Roll Over
Lay Down', 'Mystery Song' and many of the expected
Quo classics - the sound was ballsy, meaty and
perfectly balanced. Lead guitarist's feigned move
to turn down the volume elicited angry shouts from
the crowd. Think so too. Quo fans will not feel
short-changed here.
  
-------------------------------------------
My faith in
humanity has been partially restored - well, I say
humanity; I mean the Rock-going public of the
North-East. How? Well, I have just received (and
now put together) a review of UK/DC at Glendale Club from
last Friday (13th), and it was packed. Chocka.
Heaving. And don't take my word for it, The Seaham
Silverback was there, sent in his review with
pictures of said crowd. Magnifico.
------------------------------------------------------
 Received
a link to the new offering from our local lads Millennium.
Coming in at around an ear-battering six minutes
this Heavy Rock onslaught - A
New World - is a taster for
the full album coming out this month. Seems
there's fewer and fewer Rock and Metal heads left,
but for the Metal minority this little ditty
should satisfy. Paul from the band told me: 'It's
tough for all bands but especially those that
peddle their own stuff. Hopefully we'll travel a
wider road soon.' We wait with baited
breath. Give it a listen, crank your speakers to
11, sit back, and enjoy . . .A NEW WORLD
----------------------------------------------------
Just been
sent a link to a great video by the NE STREET BAND. Check it out here
--------------------------------------------
Three Tuns in Gateshead need
band for this Sat (14th). Contact Paul asap
07940715824 (and let me know if you get the gig
and I'll post it on the Listings page). NOW
SORTED,. FREDDIE PURVIS GOT THE GIG.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After typing
the below para something came to me that Colin
Smoult said to me many, many moons ago when he was
in Shovelmouth. He told me how much it
means when, after a gig, if just one person comes
over and says to the band how much they had
enjoyed the gig. That, he said, made all the hard
work so worthwhile.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Can you
hear us at the back?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
While
writing the review for Obsession yesterday (Sat) I
twigged that the brilliant lead guitarist John Footitt was
in a band called Riot, way back. So, after a
search through Riffs' archives I found a review
for Riot done
at (you might guess) The Three Tuns, by
Val. Again, not sure what year - but I know
someone will help out. Here is the review. Plus a
couple of pics of John belting out some toons
including some Bon J . . .aaah, where's the sick
bucket?!!!
..............................................................................
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Less than a week to
go until the Ruf Blues
Caravan 2019
take to the stage at Hartlepool Supporters
Club on Saturday 14th.
A lot of people may panic
thinking they now do not have
time to arrange tickets for the
gig - but panic not, as Tommy is
allowing pay on door to this
event if all tickerts are not
sold.
If you want to check
availability just give him a quick email on
thomas.wormald2@ntlworld.com.
And he may even hold them on
the door for you, I know
not, but if you ask very
nicely he just may.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Blistered Molly that their charity Ball at Hexham
Mart has been cancelled. It was listed for later
this month but it is now not to be. Mike from
the band told Riffs "I'm not suprised really,
at £50 a ticket!" And I bet he was looking
forward to that drum solo too. Such is life.
Mike is slightly miffed as the band turned down
a couple of bookings for that night so is now
trying to fill that slot; it's Saturday
September 28; contact
Mike on 07711 006943.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOOD OLD-FASHIONED LOVER BOY
 And
I thought Sunday was a day of rest!!
No sooner had I finished putting together last night's
review of The Codgers by the Seaham Silverback,
than in pops an email from Rob of
Qween who had another successful gig
on Friday (30th Aug) at The Grand in Newcastle.
And he very kindly sent me in a couple of pics taken
at that fine establishment.
I also hear that the band even did a meet and greet
after the show for their many fans demanding a chat.
Nice one guys.
Their next gig is at Hedworth Hall South Shields on
Friday 27th Sep and tickets are just £6 from the venue
or Qween's Facebook page.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I
notice that The Codgers
are playing Houghton Sports and Social Club
tonight (Sat) and there's just a chance that the
Seaham Silverback may be out and about too. Now I'd
hate for anyone to put two and two together . .
. but I've sorted through Riffs archives and
dusted off some old pics I took of the young lads
when they were Old Codger in 2007. So,
without further ado:
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can agree wholeheartedly with The
Seaham Silverback's review of Starz
a few weeks ago. I caught them last
night (Thursday 29th Aug) at
Osbournes in Yarm to get pics of
them on stage and was mega-impressed
by this versatile power trio. An
object lesson in how to - seemingly
effortlessly - entertain a crowd
with an ultra-tight sound by
seasoned and talented musicians and
still have a laugh with the punters.
To be able to play a bikers gig one
night and a wine bar the next will
give Starz an enviable edge.
Tony from St. Peter's Club
in Newcastle told me: "These lads
are great. I have had them twice
this year and intend to book them
again for 2020."
I
kidnapped
guitarist Kenny
between sets:
"There is no
other place
like the
North-East,"
he pointed out,
"every weekend
there are
numerous local
bands on offer
to go and see
- not many
people realise
this is
special to the
area."
Although he
still wouldn't
be drawn on
whether hardened
rockers Black
Rose would
be publicising
their upcoming
album with some
local gigs.
I have updated
the Silverback's
review with some
pics but have
not changed any
of his text.
Starz are
still mid
mini-tour and I
unashamedly urge
you to go see.
Kiko, Mark and
Kenny's
repertoire is
all-encompassing
and I truly
can't see anyone
being
disappointed. http:www.starzrock.co.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIZZYFISH
HAVE DARLINGTON IN THEIR SIGHTS
  By
jove they're at it again!
Fizzy by name and fizzy by nature.
Only this time, the band who put the E in
Entertainment plan to bring a bit of life to
Darlington. They are playing for nopence, not a
penny, not a threepenny bit, not a tanner, not a
florin so as to help Family Help in Darlington,
which specialises in domestic abuse support for
women and women with children fleeing domestic
abuse. They provide safe temporary accommodation for
those that need it, in a purpose built refuge with 8
units.
Alan told Riffs: "We are honoured to be
supporting the refuge and will be offering a night
of entertainment for the princely sum of £6 a
ticket. We will be going full on Rollercoaster set
for this one, so nothing esoteric, just a great
night of great tunes!"
It's on Friday, October 18. Tickets are available
direct from the venue, The Forum Music Centre,
Borough Road, Darlington, 01325 363135. All profits
will go direct to the refuge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well,
some balls are held for charity and some for fancy
dress, but the ball that's held in aid of
Tynedale Hospice is the ball that
Blistered Molly likes
best. Yep, the band has been asked to play at the
Hats and Glad Rags Ball in
the Function Suite at Hexham Mart. Drummer Mike
from the band tells me they are all looking
forward to introducing the crowd to some Classic
Rock and I note that within their repertoire they
include some Free, Zep,
AC/DC, Lizzy and . . . Sabbath. Hmmm,
best keep clear of War Pigs methinks and probs go
for Paranoid. Even Zep
may be a push. "Well," said Mike
confidently, "we'll suss out the crowd and see
what we can get away with. The name  of the game,
though, is to entertain. And we have no worries
on that score." With such a positive
attitude the band may just make some converts.
Singer Ashleigh is a big
Zep fan so hopes are high for some
blistering Rock. The event has been put together
by Patricia Barnes of Hats and Glad Rags in Hexham
and Gofton Wagyu and takes place on Saturday
September 28th. It all kicks off at 7pm and you'll
get chucked out around midnight.
Not a cheap night mind, coming in at £50. But hey,
it is for charity and hospices up and down the
country rely on public donations to survive. And
if you had a loved one spending time in a hospice
you would wish the best for them wouldn't you? If
you do wish to treat yourself and partner then
call 01434 606 444 or e-mail
fundraising@tynedalehospice.com. Mike did say Blistered Molly
intend to make it a night to remember. I think
when
Mike announces: "Hey everybody, this
is our twenty-minute version of Moby Dick."
That should do the trick.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Had a
little jaunt last night (Fri 23rd) to Bishop Auckland
to see Four Letter
Word do their
stuff at the Bay Horse. Review and pics sorted
for your delectation. The
Seaham Silverback has just submitted to
Riffs his review of The Whole
Hog at The
Glendale and this is now finished and both
reviews are here to view.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WELL - THEY
HAVEN'T KILLED KENNY
Well, would you credit it? Riffs was opining the
lack of music news today and into our lap popped
this little gem concerning not only a great Metal
band, but also we spy the ruggedly Rock looks of
guitarist Kenny Nicholson who is no stranger to
Riffs News pages. [And as this info didn't come from
Kenny we officially slap him around the face with a
wet lettuce].
He is now part of Millennium,
a Billingham-based Heavy Metal band who are due to
release their fourth full-length studio album A
New World on October 25th, 2019 through Pure
Steel Records.
Vocalist Mark Duffy commented: “We try to keep
some of our New Wave Of British Heavy Metal roots,
but we also try a bit of variation with songs like
‘Obsolete’ and ‘Assassin’ that have a more
straight ahead heavy metal feel to them." The
band who played on the album consisted of:
Mark Duffy (vocals, Toranaga)
Will Philpot (guitar, Serpents Kiss)
Louis Astbury (guitar)
Paul Simpson (bass)
Darren Moore (drums)
We say 'consisted' as Louis Astbury has been
replaced by Kenny, and drummer Darren Moore by Nigel
Waterfall-Brown.
I, for one, will be keeping my eye open for a
possible local gig - well, there's bound to be one
pub that has the balls to unleash some Heavy Metal
thunder. Isn't there?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Further to the mensh for the
upcoming Red Revival gig at Leam Lane, thought some
readers may be interested in their take
on Whole Lotta Rosie. The lead singer's
voice is quite powerful - you could say
she's got it aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall. Check
out the video here,
taken on the 18th of this month at the Smile
Festival.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Bearing in mind I have been a lilfe-long UFO fan, I was
looking forward to the Pete
Way Band at Trillians on Monday just
gone. But decided to give it a miss.
I'll say nothing more, just point you to this
Youtube video recorded recently - here. Too
bad, too sad.
----------------------------------------------------------
TYNE WOLVES INITIATE RED REVIVAL
Now,
this one's a month away but I'm rather intrigued
with this. Maddog
and the Tyne Wolves
not only show their worth by putting on some
regular Rock/Grunge/Metal offerings at the
Deuchars Arms up there in Leam Lane but has Riffs
mucho respect as he makes sure proceeds go to a
cause close to his heart - the Kayaks charity.
News enough you may agree but I've just heard from
him of his gig on Sep 15 for: Red
Revival. Now I know if I said they have a
female singer a lot of you will immediately
discount the band or subconciously think less off
them - I hold my hands up there. But then think of
Warlock, think
of Benatar. Roxette
even? And what about Harry?
No - not Dirty, Debbie!
Check out this song (click on image) and
see what you think. Massive potential to be a
rockin' combo there. And let's face it; if Maddog
says to them 'I want you Rockin' tonight'.
Would you argue?
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just one day to
go and we get info on tomorrow's (SAT 17th) Burning
Rock Festival at
Stanley. I've added the info to the Listings page but
here's a rundown of who's on:
2pm no ordinary Angel; 3pm me mes; 4pm dog in a
box; 5pm rigid digits; 6pm ballbreakers; 7pm riverrain; 8pm lock n load.
Only a fiver and pay at gate. That's it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Gotta
give a big shout to Four Letter Word who are
braving Darlington's apathetic Rock scene to be
part of the Britannia's Britfest event in aid of
St. Theresa's Hospice this Saturday (17th).
Much kudos to Michael and the lads for giving of
their time for such a worthwhile cause, who are
hoping to take to the stage around 5. It's from 2
to 9pm and other bands on the menu are East Coast Mainline; The
Mechanical Capybara and String Edition.
I gotta say, know nothing much about the Britannia
except it's seemed to have always been there,
overseeing many changes to Darlo including the
demise of Handcrafts from directly over the road,
the building of the A68/St. Cuthbert's Way
roundabout directly outside the pub, not to
mention the massive ugly DWP building that it
faces.
And they do their bit for the wild birds by always
maintaining a fresh supply of num nums via their
Britannia tree (not much escapes Riffs' eagle
eye!!). So with that attention to detail it's
probs a pub worth visiting.
As with Maddog's afternoon gig up there in Leam
Lane, we wish for good weather to enhance the
event.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Having a look at Riffs
Listings it's nice to see that Paul Tuns' panic at
getting his August's gigs sorted is now history
and he can look forward to some crackin' bands -
culminating in the astounding coup of securing Skinny Molly; featuring Lynryd Skynyrd's Mike Estes (as
this is the ONLY north-east gig [apart from
Stormin' biker rally the night before] you get to
this gig or you've missed the band for well over a
year). Zooming forward to this Friday (16th) he
has the ever-popular FM. Have dug out
a couple of pics which - according to the photo
info. - I took in 2013. AC/DC,
Hendrix and many others get an
outing with this quality band and - from what I
can remember - a stunning lead guitarist.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Must give a shout out to David from High Howdon Social Club which
was host to an Abba
tribute last weekend. Between you and me he would be
happy for them to sneak in 'Thunderstruck'. Well, you
never know - the last song the
Pistols played at their gig at
Midddlesbrough Rock Garden in the Seventies was
'Teenage Kicks' - and who'da thought that? So fingers
crossed for ya mate. On the off chance they do, be
sure to let Riffs know!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Isn't
it nice - or do I mean 'rare' - when people keep their
word? And so it is that Rob from Qween Sold Out (Soz -
I mean Qween) sent in some pics - or should I say 'pic'
- of his gig last night Saturday 9th at Newcastle
Village Hotel.
Although I was expecting more than one, at least it's
nice to have an image of the evening. I must apologise
for the size though (unfortunately not the first time
I've had to say that) but this is exactly as supplied.
Beggars can't be choosers, so I thank Rob and fingers
crossed his full houses continue.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS MACHINE
CREATES WHEELS OF STEEL
Nice to hear from This Machine who, I
have been reliably informed (cos they told me), have
been having some rather pleasing responses regarding
their cover versions. Saxon
commented
'very cool' when talkin' 'bout Wheels of
Steel - praise indeed. Also,
their version of the Dead Daisies Long
Way To Go  got a 'like' on
the Daisies' Facebook page. Not bad going for Norman, Tony, Sequel, Paul
and The Hamster of Doom (aka
Gazza) who I know have been on the circuit long enough
to hone their musicianship to deserve such eminent
acolades. I just hope this mensh doesn't embarrass the
lads - no? Well, if that doesn't, then the following
photos just may; taken ten years ago when myself and
Val interviewed the band at The Three Tuns in
Gateshead.
We were all much older then - we're younger
than that now...
 
This Machine playing
Wheels of Steel at The Frigate, Marske- here
This Machine
playing Long Way To Go at The Penny Gill - here
---------------------------------------------------------------....................................
New
Plough Dipton Music festival confirmed
for Sunday 25th August
from 1.15pm through to 10.15pm
Music all day with 6
live acts from solos to full bands as below:
Scott
Kiers solo
North Road duo
Mitch Laddie band
Jen Stevens Little Moth duo
Ash Humble solo
Sofi-stication band
And no reason not to pop along as it's completely,
totally FREE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
HSC BACK ON THE CIRCUIT
 
Just a heads up for any sharp eyed readers -
especially around the Hartlepool area - who have
noticed that Hartlepool Supporters Club has
been missing from our Gig Listings the last few
months. Well, just heard from Tommy there and they
have had a break from bands but are now back to
firing on all six. Their gigs are, of course, now on
our Listings and you would do well to check out that
fine establishment, which has hosted some really
rare out-of-town bands. Highlight for this month just
has to be The Feelgood Band. I think you will be a
tad impressed. Check 'em out here
--------------------------------------------------------------
QWEEN SOLD OUT
Just heard that the Qween gig (that's a Queen
tribute for those of you have just got up or are or
well hungover) this Friday 9th at Newcastle is now
completely SOLD OUT. That's three gigs in a row for Qween that have
sold out. Wonder if they'll be tempted to rename the
band 'Qween Sold Out'
. . .!!
Rob
from the band has promised to send in some pics
so I'll pop the best on the this page as soon as
I get them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey Molly,
how you so skinny?"
 Bands come and go, venues come and
go, but Gateshead's Three Tuns has been
one of the most reputable and long-established
venues for North-East live gigs for as long as I
can remember [many of you will be thinking 'well,
that's about a fortnight then'] - indeed, just
look at our old reviews and quite a few feature
the Tuns, so it's quite fitting that Paul from
that Rockin' gaff has the honour to be the ONLY
North-East pub to host Lynyrd
Skynyrd's Mike
Estes and his band Skinny Molly. The
band rate the Tuns gig so highly [it states on the
 Skinny Molly website
that The Three Tuns is one of their favourite
places to play] that not only did they plead with
Paul to have a gig there [I totally imagine] but I
understand they are having a warm-up the night
before when they headline Stormin' The Castle
Bikers Rally at Bishop Auckland. Those bikers
appreciate a bit of the ol' Southern hospitality
and will no doubt get the Mollies all fired up for
a night of propa Rockin' boogie for the Tuns
crowd. Just a shame they don't play Freebird
anymore as they reckon it's just not called for at
any of their gigs..............yeah,
right!! - they wouldn't dare not play
Freebird!!!! Skinny Molly
also play the best of Lynyrd
Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot
and The Outlaws. The Tuns gig is Saturday 31st August
and tickets are a tenner. And, although we all
know the Tuns is like a massive football arena
once you get inside . . . Paul must make it known
that when the tickets are gone - they're gone. No
door entry wiithout a ticket. No squeezing in the
odd punter. And apparently there's quite a few
odd punters in Gateshead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul at the Tuns in now all
sorted. All dates filled and up on the Listings
page... he's appreciative of all bands who
enquired and is full for August - unless someone
pulls out!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, just dug
out another Riffs
review from way back, by dear ol' Val - and again, no
idea when this was penned. Val mentioned it was the
week after the 26th. Ah, right, so that's cleared that
up........
-------------------------------------------------
C'mon
bands - Riffs is updated many times daily and when we
say Paul needs bands for The Three Tuns in Gateshead
for this month then we are talking now;
we will let you know when the slots have been filled -
but they haven't been yet. He still has three dates to
fill
This Saturday 10th August
Next Friday 16th August
Next Saturday 17th August. So give him a call
07940
715824. WHEN?
NOW!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
AC/DC
GB AT THE PENNY GILL
 Hello
everybody peeps. Well, just  got back from The
Penny Gill in Spennymoor where I
nipped along to try out a new camera -
always felt a bit of a wally lugging my
large DSLR about, so invested in new
technology. Was really pleased with the
results; will need some tweaking but I
thought I'd post a few pics from its very
first use. I'm contemplating undertaking
band reviews - just like the old days
(but, unfortunately without Val) if there
is a demand; and of course a review is no
good without pics to illustrate. Anyway,
this is from last night's gig (Sun Aug
4th) at The Penny Gill of
AC/DC GB . . .
I recorded them playing 'High Voltage' and that
is now on Youtube - https://youtu.be/V-0BzWOjMDk.
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've started experimenting
with linking bands names in the Listing page to
Youtube videos of themselves - to help readers get
an idea of what to expect at a gig. At the moment
I've picked a few at random but, if any band wants
a link to a particular video then please let me
know and I will initiate that. I'm not sure what
will happen though when that gig comes and goes; I
guess you will need to re-send the link for me to
keep it up to date............ I'll see how it
goes........
---------------------------------------------------------------------
COME
ON AND TOUCH ME
The keen-eyed amongst you may have noticed how
many Starz
gigs there are now in August and
September. Well, it just happens their popularity
seems to know no bounds. I remember guitarist
Kenny telling me earlier this year that they went
out of their way to pick a set list that was
recognisable but yet well away from the
'done-to-death' covers. Well, that has paid off in
spades [what's the builders' motto - measure twice
and cut once]. Kenny explained to Riffs: 'Starz has gone down
really well everywhere; one landlord told us that
we were the first band he'd listened to for months
cos normally he switches off when he's serving
behind the bar because he's sick of hearing the
same old songs, he couldnt wait to get us back!' Not
only that but Kenny is in The
Paul Rodgers Story who had no choice
but to reform after constant requests and, by all
accounts, played a blinder recently at Darlington's
Forum (and yes a re-booking ensued). And, if all
that isn't impressive enough, his other band, the
heavy Black
Rose is on the verge of
releasing a new album. Kenny went on: 'Black Rose are almost finished
recording a new album which is a lot heavier than
anything we have done in the past, it should
surprise a few people!'
Couldn't be too heavy for me Kenny - or too
loud! Click pic to hear
'Cure For Your Disease' by Black Rose.
I wouldn't be surprised if Kenny makes himself
available on a regular basis, surrounded by
railings, for bands who want to just get close and
touch him . . . or just stare in awe . . .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Tuns all sorted for
weekend - they have Romeo's Pistol
for this Friday and Prism
for Saturday. Two bands quick off the mark - mind
you, neither have been in touch with Riffs. We got the
confirmation from Paul Tuns. Y'know, ya try to
give bands publicity . . .
Paul is still short for some dates late August
so give him a call 07940 715824.
THREE TUNS NEEDS BAND FOR FRIDAY now sorted
Paul Tuns is well on his way to filing his listing
for gigs in August but finds himself with a space
for THIS FRIDAY 2ND (Three Tuns in Gateshead)- so
get in there quick: call or text
07940 715824. And when you have
secured your gig, email me here at Riffs and I will
add it to the Listings page - and if you are very
polite I will give your band a mensh here on the
News page!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 If
I'm anything, I'm a man of my word; September's
listings is now live and the first entry is for Friday 13th at The Glendale,
Hall Lane, Houghton le Spring DH5 8DA for a gig
by UK/DC
playing tracks by the legendary Bon Scott.
Angus from that band played with AC/DC GB
recently and went down a storm at Steels
Club in Sunderland, so a lot is riding on
the Glendale gig.
Will they - can they - surpass the Steels Club
gig?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can I make a clarification concerning the AC/DC GB review
below. The Angus on the night of the gig review
was from UK/DC, and he was standing in on that
night at Steels
Club and it is his band - UK/DC who is
appearing at Glendale Club on Friday
September 13th. UK/DC
play the Bon Scott
era songs, so that's the first five AC/DC albums; and
some would argue undoubtedly the best. But let's
not get into that. I should be getting September's
list up soon on the Listings page and I will make
sure that that will be the first gig entered into
it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BANDS SOUGHT
FOR GATESHEAD GIGS
Looks like landlord Paul Tuns
is having a reet rough August suffering numerous
cancellations! He has put an urgent shout out for
bands for the following dates for his two pubs in
Gateshead - no specific style has been mentioned
so just give him a ring . . . call or text 07940 715824
SCHOONER
Sat 17th, Fri 23rd
THREE TUNS
Fri 2, Sat 3, Sat 10, Fri 16, Sat 17, Sat 24, Fri
30.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The band's website: https://www.acdcgb.co.uk/
For a taste of the band: https://youtu.be/QRCIfpYXSC8
---------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
WE'LL
HAVE NONE OF YER DEVIL MUSIC
AROUND THESE 'ERE PARTS
Well, ya just gotta
feel sorry for those Junkyard Dogz, all set for
their debut gig at Ye Old Cross in Ryton
Village recently - but just days away from
their much-anticipated gig and they are told it's
off. Who says they can't go ahead? Environmental
Health, that's who. Apparently the pub wants to
start up live music nights but have been shot down
in flames before they've even got going. Paul from
the band told me: 'I wouldn't mind but they
haven't even heard us!'
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorting
through Riffs archives (well, when you wake at 5am
you need something to fill in the time!) I noticed
another little gem that warrants an airing, so
without further ado here's Rough Justice
from July 2008 at the Princess Alice in
Middlesbrough . . .penned by yours truly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ONE
VISION
By all accounts Queen tribute
Qween knocked
'em dead at Birtley Buffs Club recently. Every single
ticket had been sold and the place was, as you can
well imagine, rammed to the rafters. Rob from the band
told Riffs: 'It was a great responsive
audience who really appreciated our live show
experience - Billy West, our lead singer, does
"Freddie" proud at every gig and sings all Queen
songs in copy key!' No doubt all the musos
reading this will know exactly what 'copy key' is.
Moving on: Rob has been elated at the response his
band has been getting since its inception and playing
to capacity crowds looks like the norm for this
quality ensemble. Their next gig is at Hebburn
Iona Social Club on Friday 12th July tickets
from the club (£6)-.
Did anyone video the
band at the gig that Riffs could link to?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twister at the
Academy: https://youtu.be/sh3AEUpWyFQ
Rock Solid: https://youtu.be/U8eBOJAF8_0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW THESE TOWNS
THEY ALL KNOW OUR NAME
Riffs
is forever hearing of venues closing and bands
splitting so how heartened are we to tell of a band
actually reforming?!! Yes, it's true. A big welcome
back to . . .
THE PAUL RODGERS STORY. It seems only five minutes ago that the
lads (well, I say 'lads' but the pedigree of these
mature guys is there for all to see/hear) were not
only belting out the most memorable tracks from Free, Bad Co., Queen
etc but they included Paul
Rodgers' foray into solo work too.
Not to mention Hendrix.
Gaining an envious reputation for reliablility and
quality musicianship throughout the North-East, it
was a blow to many when the band called it a day.
Guitarist Kenny told me: 'Since the band split up
we've had people asking us on a regular basis
what happend to the band and the enjoyment they
got from our gigs. A chance meeting between a
couple of us led to our reform, so by
popular demand we are back.'
Kenny continued: 'Because all the members are busy with
other bands we can only fit in a very few
gigs.'
Very few indeed, you'll be lucky to catch the band
once a month - but a trek worth taking.
Needless to say Riffs shows The Paul Rodgers Story
gigs on our Listings page but this is the current
list up to Christmas (Oh heavens - it's still June
and we've mentioned Christmas!!!!).
Thurs 4th July - The
Forum, Darlington cc
Sat 3rd Aug - Richmond
Live Festival (on stage at 4pm)
cc
Sun 15th Sept -
Rhythm & Blues Festival, Darlington (Hoskins
Bar at 6pm)
Thurs 28th Nov -
Trillians, Newcastle
Fri 20th Dec - Cleveland
Bay, Eaglescliffe
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
HARTLEPOOL
CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF
WISHBONE ASH
 Another
short notice gig just come to
Riffs attention is this Sunday (23rd)
at Hartlepool Supporters Club [5pm £4.00];
The venue is celebrating the 50-year anniversay of
the great Wishbone Ash.
Performed by The Flying Vs, Jeff
from the band told Riffs: 'It's one of a
series of gigs we will perform this year. We will be
joined by Dave Barnes from The
Test Pilots as our Ted Turner. Having
opened up for Wishbone Ash
and their fans in 2014 at Chesterfield Winding
Wheel, 2016 at The Grand Clitheroe and 2018 at The Y
Theatre Leicester, we're looking forward to playing
tracks from the early years Wishbone
Ash, Pilgrimage, Argus, Wishbone IV, New
England, and Strange Affair.'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Just found out about this all-dayer today - two
days before the event! Looks like their publicity
dept. is away on holiday . . . Anyway, thanks to American Girl
for keeping Riffs in the loop. Noticed there are
no band times on the poster but one time we do
know is that American Girl are due at 4.45pm. (and
they've missed an 'S' from Assassin!)
------------------------------------------------------------
Following on from
the unbelievable response I got from the last
two recent 'who is this band' pics. And I say
'unbelievable' because no-one - yes no-one -
emailed me! But am I saddened? [Well, yeah, just
a tad] but am I disheartened? [Well . . .] but
not to be deterred here is two more 'who the
fuck is this?' pics.................. any
ideas anyone? Anyone . . .?
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
https://youtu.be/jhUhw_J5ItE
------------------------------------------------------------------
True
to my word I've dug out these two pics of a young
band pictured at The Grand in Bishop Auckland
(possibly) way back when - so if anyone
knows who the band is, or when I took them (or why
I never labelled them properly) we can then put a
name to the band...
----------------------------------------------------------------
https://youtu.be/DkWRCv5HDjk
------------------------------------------------------------------
YES,
WE TAKE OUR OWN PHOTOS - ALWAYS HAVE
In
reply to a recent email we received: ALL photos
that accompany Riffs reviews (and indeed reviews
by The Seaham Silverback) are taken at the actual
gig - without exception. The reviews by myself and
Val all contained photographs that I took of the
band on that particular night. We do not snaffle
pics from other websites, Facebook or whatever to
enhance the review. If I ever use a photo in this
column (not the column on the right) for
illustrative purposes I always mensh that I nicked
it from somewhere else (other than if it was sent
directly to Riffs by the band/venue themselves).
Myself and Val always prided ourselves on
reviewing, photographing and writing the whole gig
ourselves. In fact, typing this has just reminded
me that I have scores (maybe hundreds) of
photographs that are unnamed and I may post some
on this column soon. Shame to have them gathering
dust.... I am trying to persuade Mr Silverback to
get armed with a camera so as to illustrate his
reviews with some exciting pics... I am working on
his review of
The 3 Colonels from last night
right now and should have it uploaded within a
couple of hours....
---------------------------------------------------------
Mucho gracias to Alan W from The Grand
in Bishop Auckland who recognised the single as 'Watcha Doin' To Me' by The Reds. Just
one more to go . . . this catchy little punk ditty
from the Seventies has bewildered me . . . does
anyone know who it is?
--------------------------------------------------------
HELP - I NEED SOMEBODY
Can anyone help me identify this
single . . . ?
------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it's that
time again - a look though Riffs' archives and see
what gems we have hidden away. How about a review of
Freeway from August 2008? You got it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a brief mensh for an upcoming gig at the Cluny 2
in Newcastle for 26th June when the Tom
Atkinson Band will be performing
there. Over a year since the lads performed at the
Cluny but they are all fired up for this upcoming gig.
Tom Atkinson - Guitar/Vocs; Paul Gowland -
Sax/Keys (Strictly Smokin’
Big Band); Stu Dawson - Bass (RJ Thompson, Preach Alaska);
Jeff Armstrong - Drums (Flakes,
Russ Tippins Band) include some
original music in their set along with covers of Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra,
King Crimson etc. Tickets are a fiver
and available from http://www.thecluny.com
I
did try to get a pic from Tom but, even though it
would paint a thousand words, words are all I have ('to
take your heart away').
..............................................................
BACK IN BUFFS
It's always
nice when something works out and
goes to plan - cos in life it most
often bastard well doesn't (what, me -
bitter?). So it was great to get an email from Robert from Heaton
Buffs concerning the BOSS gig from last
week. Not only was it a
virtual sell-out - just five
tickets left unsold [how's
that for honesty? He could
have quite easily told me it
was a sell-out] - but the lads
went down the proverbial
storm. I remember searching
Youtube for a video of the
band to highlight the gig
but found zilch (punk
band from the 70s I think)
but we can make up for it
now because kind ol'
Robert has sent me a link
to the very opening of the
band's set filmed live as
it happenerd
at the Buffs!
So
without further ado here is
BOSS just
seventeen years since
their last visit
at the Buffs - c'mon
lads let someone
else get a look in .
. .
------------------------------------------------------------
Bit of sadness for me last week -
lost a friend, a good supporter of
Rock. Introduced me to Rammstein
and Airbourne.
He was a great lover of German
lesser-known bands and I used to meet up
with him at Newcastle Arena,
or the Academy. A regular at
live pub gigs in
Redcar and was
a regular
at Dr. Browns in
Middlesbrough. Great
guy. He was given
the all clear for cancer
a few years ago and then
it
came back suddenly
just weeks ago with a
vengeance. Anyway Gaz,
here's Rammstein
for you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Listening to Rock on
internet radio today (which supports
the
age-old
question 'Why djs?')
and
on came Suzie Smiled
by Tygers of
Pan Tang and something
stirred deep inside
me, some distant memory of
reviewing that band many
moons ago.
A quick search of
Riffs archives and -
bingo! found it.
So, for your delectation
. . . (and yet again, I
mentioned the date [February
2], but not
the year, so if anyone
can help
out?....)
Wanna hear
what you missed? Suzie
Smiled
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to my throat
virus causing voice loss, my band Steeler can’t
play gig at Redcar Rugby Club tonight Sat 25-May -
Classic Rock covers band or similar is needed.
Contact Pete 07775922523.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Riffs has
just been informed that the gig at Heaton Buffs
this weekend - which we have down as
Boss (and I thought
was a Springsteen tribute) - is in fact a
rather special reunion of a band from the 90s.
As Robert from the club told Riffs: 'They were a
big deal on the club scene back in the 90s &
early 00s. They are doing a few one-off
shows with the original band line up; and of course
they are 100% live! We
have already sold 200 tickets, with only 50 left.'
Apparently, back in 2002, Boss did an outstanding
sell-out gig there and Robert is keen to duplicate
that success.
Check them out - and if
you fancy the gig - you've missed it!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
With
regards to the Riffs review of Phil Caisley's Dirty Dogs
featured below, Dave from the band has
been in touch to shed some light on exactly
when the gig took place and some info on what
has become of the band . . .
'The date of the review was the 12th February
2010. The Dirty Dogz
were in existence from 2009 until 2013 doing the north
east pub scene and the last gig was at Doctor Browns
in Middlesbrough on the 2nd November of that
year. Phil, in my opinion, is a great rock
singer and it was a good band although we were
certainly very punchy and could test the old ear drums
for volume. Keith John Dean on bass was replaced
by Ian Raine (played with DeeeXpus,
infinity, and lately, The Rising and
many others). The other guys are either not in
bands or between bands whereas I am working with my
brother in the ‘Graham
Henderson experience’.
To remind yourself of what we were like – here is a
link to a Youtube clip of us at the rock 4 All.
https://youtu.be/1LD2ouDwIKU
with keith on bass.
And here is a clip of my current band - (with
Ian Raine on Bass, now replaced by Duncan Sams).
https://youtu.be/u5ghYHhQvI4
Dave'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Another Riffs rave from the grave is featured below.
I know
it's from Feb 12th but Val never mentioned
which year! Possibly 2008. If
anyone has any better suggestions please
let me know . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want it, here it is, come
and get it
Here at Riffs I
love to give publicity to live Rock bands - even more so if it
happens to be their first gig. Can imagine
it's quite a traumatic event and a lot
rides on that debut gig. But I am
saddened, I must say, that although publicity at Riffs is entirely
free and I really don't expect anything back,
that this
offer is not taken up more readily.
On a couple of
recent occasions upon
hearing of an approaching
first gig I have asked for
more info - a little blurb
about the band and hopefully
a pic or two - and I hear
nothing. Zilch. Zero. Nought.
Nil. Zippo. I'm
not losing out, but I
suspect that the band
and indeed the venue
would benefit from a tad
of extra publicity . . .
just saying.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I'M ONLY HERE FOR THE BEER
 Saturday
11th May was Houghton annual beer festival, a
charity event organised by the round table running
for several decades now. I’ve been going along for
the last 5 years or so; nice venue in Houghton
Colliery Welfare club and a decent afternoon out
with mates. However, every year there’s what is
loosely described as “live music” and without
exception it is awful. Last year we offered to pay
the organisers whatever they’d paid the “singer” to
get him off (they declined). There’s usually about a
dozen of us, all guys I know from various venues
where we go to see bands who have varied tastes from
blues to thrash metal to country, we all agreed this
year’s offering was, once again, abysmal. The band
was advertised as “an experienced function band”
doing stuff from Adele, Ed
Sheeran, Kings of Leon, Elvis, Buddy Holly Michael
Buble and Pharrell
Williams; half the stuff wasn’t
recognisable until half way through the song, the
instruments were out of tune and the singer couldn’t
carry a tune in a bucket. If the organisers read
this, get artists who can sing and/or play; Russ Tippins or Tempest would bring
people in, you’re close to driving people away.
Now, it
was a charity event and the band may have agreed
to play for free in which case they were worth the
money. Do I name and shame them? Houghton
Beer Festival 2019 afternoon session, will bring
up an answer, but the hope is that the organisers
will read this and either not bother with live
music on afternoons OR book someone who will
attract punters, not alienate them.
The
Seaham Silverback
--------------------------------------------------
The NE Street Band,
playing iconic songs from Bruce
Springsteen and The E Street Band
debuted at The Old Fox in Felling just
recently and we have added a link to some footage
here (only phone footage).
The band's website: https://www.nestreetband.co.uk
They are at the Amphitheatre in South Shields on
Thursday 6th June, 7pm-9pm for an evening of Bruce
Springsteen sounds, as part of the Summer Festival.
---------------------------------------------------------------
THE
PRIESTS OF THE TEMPLE OF ROCK
Bank holiday Monday gigs are a
gamble for venues, if it’s been a nice day and the
punters have been in the garden all day having a few
drinks, they tend to stay there, it’s also a school
night so folk tend to think better of going out.
However, The Force are one of those bands I’d walk barefoot
over broken glass to go and see regardless, they set a
standard that other bands in the North East aspire to
reach and Monday 6th May was no exception. An early
start gave an opportunity for those at work the
following day to get their 8 hours kip and it meant
the gear was pretty much in and checked by the time
the audience started coming in. There was a decent
turn out, but I was expecting the place to be rammed –
punters eh?
The
band opened with a couple of their own tracks before
setting off in a set that featured Rush quite
extensively with songs from Rainbow,
AC/DC, UFO, Montrose, Metallica, Scorpions and Thin Lizzy. It
would be wrong to try and pick out tracks that were
better than the others, because I didn’t hear a bum
note all evening and the sound was absolutely spot
on from the word go. The twin lead guitars in Thin
Lizzy’s “Emerald” were flawless, the guy I was sat
next to turned to look at me at the end of the track
and we were both thinking the same thing. Phil sat
down for “Bad Motor Scooter” with his Strat over his
knee and a bottleneck, first time I’ve seen him do
this, and it was excellent.
I’m
always staggered by the sheer professionalism of The
Force, I doubt there can be a Rock fan between the
Tees and the Tweed who hasn’t heard these guys, but
if you fall into that small number, get out and see
them, you’ll thank me.
The Seaham Silverback.
----------------------------------------------------
 SWEETS FOR MY SWEET . . .
The Sugar Bs
18-year reunion gig on march 30 at the Park Inn,
Hartlepool raised £700, split equally between Alice
House Hospice in Hartlepool and The Great North Air
Ambulance Service.
Details
can be found on Facebook here.
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Big Jug in Durham have ceased all live bands as of
now.
..........................................................................
New Plough Dipton have their annual
music festival on Sunday May 5 starting from 1.30pm
with finish 10pm; latest line up is as follows.
Details here
..........................................................................
LIGHTS, SMOKE, AND ROCK 'N' ROLL
I’ve been following Rock
Solid for over ten years now and
always look forward to every show, the gig in Houghton
Glendale was a welcome spot; right on the
doorstep. I saw them about January and since then
they’ve invested in a completely new LED lighting rig
with fancy rotating spots etc. On a night when the
condensation was running down the walls, the lack of a
few KW of heat from PAR cans was welcome for all
concerned. The Solids have used smoke machines for
years but they must have put new batteries in the
current model - the stage was like a war zone all
night. Our musical tastes are as varied as we are but
the Solid’s set-list dovetails in with my
predilections perfectly, kicking off with a couple of
Priest tracks then
running through AC/DC, Saxon,
Maiden, Purple, Rainbow, Ozzy and Rush - what’s not to
like?
One
of the reasons Rock Solid are so well received
has got to be their interaction with their audiences,
the guys always have time for a few words both on and
off the stage. Last night’s gig was their first in the
Glendale for 8 years (apparently) and there’s another
one in the pipeline for December this year, the room
was full and the club was selling beer like it was
going out of fashion. The crowd loved them and the
band gave every impression they were having a good
time. Events like this keep the Rock scene in the
North East vibrant, everyone’s coming away from the
night happy. Long live Rock`n` Roll!
The Seaham Silverback
On a personal
note, myself (Nige) and Val have always rated Rock
Solid as one of the best rock acts in the North-East
music scene but, alas, have not had the pleasure in
quite a few years, so it really pleased me to read the
Silverback's review to know not only that the lads are
still going strong after so many moons, but also that
they actually seem to be improving. But as Val has
said on numerous occasions: 'When
you've got it, you've got it'.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can't beat quality pie
 The Three Tuns
Gateshead hosts its 14th
International Pie Festival between
2nd May and 6th May.
Over 2000 pies, 100 varieties
including Veggie and Vegan options all served with
creamy mash, mushy peas and special house gravy £3.50.
Live music from Prism Pink
Floyd, The Grumpies, Wham Bam Thank You Mam,
The Russ Tippins Trio and The Beetles.
--------------------------------------------
'Probably
one of the most entertaining
nights I’d had this year'
It was grab-a-granny night down
in Houghton
Sports & Social on 20th
April with a 60s tribute band called FAB gracing the stage (No,
I’d never heard of them either). It had been a
scorching day so the wife and I headed down there
early to re-hydrate ourselves and the car park was
filling rapidly. Walking through the doors at 7.30 we
got one of the last tables available, clearly some
people knew something we didn’t. Bearing in mind we’re
both over 60, our presence lowered the average age of
the crowd which rather put me off, but I was thirsty
and I’d paid my entrance money, so sod it – we stayed.
The band gave a nod to the appearance of the bands of
the 60s era with suits, and even ties in the first
set, the Hofner violin bass a salute to Paul McCartney and the
numerous Beatles
tracks scattered through the set. Now the band weren’t
the best musicians or singers I’ve heard (but I’ve
heard a LOT worse) but they grabbed the crowd by the
scruff of the neck and shook them all night long. Any
empty space was filled with folk on their feet and
dancing almost from the off, tracks from The Beatles, Roy Orbison, The
Searchers, Swinging Blue Jeans, The Hollies and
Gerry and the Pacemakers
with the obligatory Ferry across the Mersey. It was
probably one of the most entertaining nights I’d had
this year.
If you’re looking for a band to span a big age group
or just for a fun party, I can’t recommend these guys
highly enough. [PS, my photos turned out crap. I
nicked this shot from the band’s Facebook page, I
can’t credit the photographer by name, so please
excuse the liberty].
The Seaham Silverback
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CROOKFEST
2019 - MAY 5
 Crookfest is a annual may bank holiday rock music
festival held in the County Durham market town of
Crook with a variety rock styles performed by
cover/tribute bands across 3 stages inside large
marquees. The event takes place on Sunday 5th May 2019 in
the Millfield ground home of Crook Town AFC from noon
untill 11pm along with food and beer stalls a-plenty.
www.crookfest.co.uk
Rock Bands... Coda a Tribute to Led
Zeppelin, AC/DC-GB, Mane
Attraction, Circa69, Tubesnake, Edenthorn.
Punk Reggae
Ska... The Marley
Experience, The Sex Pistols Experience, Skapones,
Panic Report, The Me Mes, The Anarchists.
Indie Mod
80-90s... Revolver, ZEN, The
Baggy Mondays, Deeper Season, The Thieves,
Collaborators.
--------------------------------------------
Tempest in
Houghton
I must confess I’ve never been a big fan of artists
who use backing tracks - with the exception of
Russ Tippins -
they all seemed to lack the spontaneity of a full
line up. So when some friends recommended I go see a
duet called Tempest
featuring a guy on guitar with backing tracks and a
lass on vocals I was hesitant to say the least. I
couldn’t have been more wrong; Kaz & Ritchie are
2 of the nicest people you could want to meet and
deliver a widely varied set that has never failed to
impress.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Just
heard, courtesy of Alan Fizzyfish, that the Ship
Inn, Richmond has closed - whether temp or
permanent is unknown - so any bands with a
gig there will need to look elsewhere.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Glendale
Rock nights are going down really well, the place
was packed and there was a good friendly atmosphere
in the place. I’d guess there was 80-ish in, punters
were coming in late and leaving as there were no
more seats, so the solution is going to be get there
early if you intend to go to a gig there. I’ve been
following Lock n Load
for a couple of years, I first saw them at beer
festival since when the line-up has gone through a
couple of changes. Dave, the current singer was
originally on drums and they had a girl on vocals
with legs up to her armpits, I’ve got to say she was
easier on the eye than Dave, but Dave’s vocals suit
the current set list down to a tee.
 Kicking
off with “Tie your mother down” they ran through
tracks from Whitesnake,
AC/DC, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top and Zeppelin in the
first set alone. Journey’s
“Separate ways” was always going to stretch the old
vocal chords and we’ve all heard it murdered on
numerous occasions but the band pulled it off like
it was another day in the office.
Now I’m regularly accused of being proper OCD
about the sound, balance and levels but I couldn’t
find fault with any of that from the word go, I was
much impressed with the guitar sound in particular
that captured Brian May’s tone for the opening Queen number, to Billy Gibbons choppy
fuzz, Bryan Adams
jangly intro on “Run to you” and Gary Moore’s
mournful sustain on “Still got the blues”. All from
1 guitar. Respect.
The band are a mix of ages, so some of the set
was written before they were born; now as an aging
rocker I applaud this tribute to the music I love,
but feel slightly sad that little of any musical
value seems to have risen to the top for young bands
to play. The second set picked up where the first
had finished with a bit of
Bon Jovi then the band threw in
“Nellie the elephant” to a rapturous greeting before
some more Whitesnake, AC/DC, Billy Idol and G&R
before finishing the night with “The Hunter” –
always gonna go down well in Houghton. A cracking
night all round, the band were happy, everybody I
spoke to had a great time and the club sold lots of
beer. Next up “The Force” on 29th of this month.
The Seaham SIlverback
----------------------------------------------------------------
 Steve Hutchinson
from South Shields has recently re-joined CLASSIC CLAPTON on
keyboards & backing vocals.
He was a member of Animals
2 for 6 years during the 1990s
alongside original members Hilton Valentine &
John Steel.
Currently he performs with heritage band Animals 3 and
also UK Legends.
He previously played with Classic Clapton from
2003 - 2005.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like there is yet
another change of management and booking agent at
The Maggie Bank and all bands booked
by the previous team are once again cancelled. If
bands think they are playing there they should get
in touch with the pub to clarify the situation.
---------------------------------------------------------------
I
AIN'T AFRAID OF NO GHOSTS
That
little birdie that told Riffs what a crackin'
gig awaited anyone partaking of ghostly
goings-on at the Glendale last Friday has, we
are cock-a-hoop to say, put his money where his
mouth is [or should we say 'beak']. He not only
popped in to said establishment with some mates
but was good enough to write a quick appraisal
of the gig and sent it in to Riffs. So, without
further ado . . .
'Last
Friday we went to see The Ghost Band at Houghton Glendale WMC.
For me this was a much anticipated gig, I’d
seen them at Philadelphia beer festival last
year playing a brief set and I was much
impressed by their choice of Blues/Rock and
the level of musicianship. Last night built on
that first impression as the band ran through
tracks from
Hendrix, Gary Moore, Jeff Healey, Tom
Petty, John Mayall and Free among
others. The guys I’d brought with me hadn’t
seen the band before and were captivated by
the whole show. In fact the entire evening
should have been videoed and distributed to
all bands in the region; 3 guys who aren’t
exactly in the first flush of youth had all
their gear brought in, connected and checked
in 20 minutes.
The sound check took literally 5 – 10
minutes and was spot on throughout the night. A
far cry from other bands I’ve seen recently who
spent 75 minutes on a sound check and the sound
was shite when they’d done, it took the “sound
engineer” all the first set to get it somewhere
near, even walking around with an iPad. What’s
the point of all those hours of practice if you
sound like you’re playing inside a spin dryer?
I’m sure we’ve all sat through 45 minutes of
fretboard masturbation turned up to 11. Watch
the Ghost Band and see how it’s done.
Climbing
off my high horse, I can recommend the Ghost
Band to anyone who appreciates good music played
well with the minimum distraction and gobshitery
between numbers.'
The
Seaham Silverback.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Stormy
Phil that the Ship Inn at Benton is
now closed.
-------------------------------------------------------------
NURSES TO
WALK THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
 As
someone who has seen first-hand the absolutely
wonderful and caring work our beloved Nurses
do (and the amount of piss that Hunt Jeremy
takes) I have no hesitation in giving a big
shout out to the Valentines Night gig at
The Alexandra in
Grangetown,
Sunderland.
The palliative care nurses working in St
Benedicts Hospice in Sunderland are
walking the Great Wall of China - yes, they
are going to walk along the Great Wall of
China!!) to raise funds for St Benedicts
Hospice Charity.
Tickets are £6 available from The Alex, the
Hospice or just turn up on
the night and splash cash on the door. Please pop along and help
these wonderful people - oh, nearly forgot -
there's a jam-packed evening of live music
too!!!
The Wolcott Band
Exit Left
Joanne Wallace
Steve Ayther
----------------------------------------------------------------
GHOSTS
AT THE GLENDALE
A little birdie tells Riffs what a cracking little venue Glendale
Social Club in Houghton le Spring is, and
what a great night it should be this Friday when
The Ghost Band take to the stage. Birdie Dave goes
on to say: 'The
club have bands on every 2nd & 4th Friday
of the month. Normally no cover charge, cheap
beer and a nice clean club with loads of free
parking. It’s on the bus route too for those
who use public transport although I’m not sure
what time the local buses stop running. I’m just an interested punter
and have nothing to do with the club, but I
like to encourage and support anyone who is
prepared to get stuck in.'
----------------------------------------------------------------
CONSPIRACY
TO ROCK
 If you like your rock of the
hard and heavy variety check out Conspiracy Theory; a
new band making inroads into the north east
rock and metal scene. If you’re a bit
tired of seeing too many rock bands playing
the same old stuff, CT’s intention is to
do the songs that no-one else does. And that
doesn’t mean obscure material you’ve
never heard of, if you’re into rock and metal
you’ll know everything they do. From Rainbow to Dio, Whitesnake
to Purple, Maiden
to Priest, Uriah Heep
to Rush
or the guitar greats such as Schenker or Moore, you
won’t forget them in a hurry. With stellar
musicianship from highly experienced players
having cut their teeth in bands such as PowerAge, Ministry of
Rock, Black Rose and On The Rocks
you’re bound to have a night to remember. You
can catch them at Trillians, Newcastle
on Friday 22nd February, The Penny
Gill, Spennymoor Sunday 3rd March,
Acklam Steelies Club, Middlesbrough
Saturday 9th March or the Big Jug,
Durham on Friday 15th March.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOYS IN ACTION . . .
 One of the most enjoyable
things I like to do is to announce the birth
of a new band, and if they are a Rock band
with pedigree then space on Riffs is a must.
So without further ado let me announce . . .
STARZ,
who are a new rock covers band and include three of
the north east's top musicians who have decided to
play some songs that were a little different from
'the usual stuff'. The band features members from
bands such as Pistoleros,
Bryan Adams Experience, Black Rose (not
the TL one), The
Paul Rodgers Story, Stoneheart, American Girl
to name a few and are all well known throughout the
north east for putting on a great show. The set list
includes classic and modern punk rock (Sex Pistols/Green Day
etc), glam rock (T Rex /
Bowie etc), heavy rock (Motley Crue / Marilyn Manson
etc) soft rock (Van Halen /
The Cult etc) pop (Dead or Alive / Kinks
etc) plus plenty of great songs for those that want
to dance and some surprises including rock versions
of songs by Gary Numan
and the Bee Gees.
The band start gigging this month and you can
check them out here -
Sunday 13th - Vigilant Inn, South
Shields (7pm)
Saturday 19th - Holey Molies,
Skelton, Teesside
Sunday 20th - Times Inn, Seaham
Thursday 31st - Osbournes, Yarm
The full list of all Starz
gigs are on Riffs Gig Listings page, but for more
info about the band go to http:www.starzrock.co.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Riding On The Crest Of
The New Wave fitted no-one better than Lene Lovich
who this year is celebrating the 40th
anniversary of ‘Stateless’, her debut album,
featuring cult hit 'Lucky
Number' by touring the UK in March 2019 and
is set to appear at Newcastle Riverside on the 8th
of March. The song was originally a 'b' side to 'I
Think We're Alone Now' but was reissued as an 'a'
side by Stiff in '79. Before joining Stiff Records (The
Damned, Devo, Ian Dury, etc), her early work
included performing in cabaret clubs as a London
go-go dancer, voice-over work recording screams
for Hammer Film Productions, and being the
lyricist for French disco artist Marc Cerrone
(including penning the sci-fi dance hit
‘Supernature’). Riffs has no further details
regarding the gig as yet.....
Now let's see if I can still fit into my old
'If It Ain't Stiff . . .' t-shirt....
|
CELEBRATING ROCK AND METAL:
Factoid: The producer recording “Sweet Child O’
Mine” with Guns n’ Roses had no idea how to finish the
song, resulting in the iconic repetition of “Where
do we go now?”
This week in .
. .
1966
- NBC-TV in the US
bought The
Monkees
series, placing it
on their 1966
autumn schedule.
The series
centered on the
adventures of The
Monkees, a
struggling rock
band from Los
Angeles,
California and
introduced a
number of
innovative
new-wave film
techniques to
television.
1967 - 40-year-old
David
Mason
recorded the
piccolo trumpet
solo for The
Beatles
'Penny Lane' at
Abbey Road Studios
in London. He was
paid £27 and 10
shillings for his
performance. In
August, 1987, the
trumpet he used
was sold at a
Sotheby's auction
for £10,846.
1967 - The
Jimi Hendrix
Experience
recorded a session
for Radio
Luxembourg's Ready
Steady Radio. The
band ran up a bar
bill of £2 and 5
shillings, which
they were unable
to pay.
1978 - Scottish
rock band Simple
Minds
made their live
debut at The
Satellite Club,
Glasgow.
1981 - Motley
Crue
formed when bass
guitarist Nikki
Sixx left the band
London
and began
rehearsing with
drummer Tommy Lee
and vocalist,
guitarist Greg
Leon (who later
left). Sixx and
Lee then added
guitarist Bob
"Mick Mars" Deal.
Vince Neil
accepted an offer
to join (after
turning them down)
in April of this
year.
1987 - Kate
Bush
started a two-week
run at No.1 on the
album chart with
The Whole Story'.
The compilation
album was Bush's
third number one
album as well as
her best selling
release.
1996 -
David Bowie
Tom Donahue,
The Jefferson
Airplane,
Gladys Knight
And The Pips,
Little Willie
John, Pink
Floyd, Pete
Seeger, The
Shirelles
and The
Velvet
Underground
were all inducted
into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame.
2003 - A long-lost
recording
featuring John Lennon and Mick Jagger was set to
spark a bidding
war at a London
auction. The
acetate record was
recorded in 1974
with Jagger
singing the blues
song 'Too Many
Cooks'. The
track features
guitarists
Danny
Kortchmar
and Jesse
Ed Davis,
keyboardist
Al Kooper,
bassist Jack
Bruce,
drummer Jim
Keltner
and, on backing
vocals,
singer-songwriter
Harry
Nilsson.
Neither Lennon
nor Bill
Wyman,
who was present at
the session,
appear on the
track. The track
had never been
released because
the two artists
were both signed
to different
record companies.
2016 - English
drummer Dale
Griffin died
aged 67. He was a
founder member of
Mott the
Hoople
best known for
classic tracks
'Roll Away The
Stone' and 'All
The Young Dudes'.
The band, who made
eight albums
during their
five-and-a-half
year existence,
reformed to mark
their 40th
anniversary in
2009 - but Griffin
was too ill to
take part. Griffin
also produced
numerous BBC
John Peel
sessions from 1981
to 1994 including
the first
professional
recording session
for Pulp
in 1981.
1964 - The
Beatles played
two shows at the
Olympia Theatre,
Paris, France, the
first of an 18-night
engagement. This
first show was
attended mostly by
Paris' 'top society'
members (all dressed
in formal evening
attire). The French
press had little
good to say about
The Beatles in the
next day's papers,
but The Beatles
didn't care because
they'd just received
news that their
single 'I Want to
Hold Your Hand' had
hit No.1 in the US,
selling 10,000
copies an hour in
New York City alone.
1973 - Bruce
Springsteen
appeared at
Villanova
University,
Philadelphia, to an
audience of 25
people. Due to a
strike at the time
by Villanova's
school newspaper The
Villanovan, this
concert went
unadvertised, so
this is probably the
smallest crowd Bruce
and The E Street
Band have ever
played in front of.
1982 - Bucks
Fizz
were at No.1 on the
singles chart with
their second No.1
'Land Of Make
Believe'. The lyrics
to the song were
written by ex-King
Crimson
member Peter
Sinfield.
1985 - 1985, David
Bowie's
schizophrenic
half-brother Terry
Burnes
killed himself aged
47 after laying down
on the railway lines
at Coulsdon South
station, London. He
was killed instantly
by a passing train.
Bowie refers to his
half-brother in the
line ‘a crack in
the sky and a hand
pointing down at
me’ in his
song ‘Oh, You Pretty
Things’.
1987 - TV presenter
Jools Holland was
suspended from
Channel 4's The Tube
for 6 weeks, after
using the phrase
'groovy fuckers'
during a live
trailer broadcast in
children's hour.
1992 - Eric
Clapton
recorded his
unplugged session
for MTV. The set
which included his
current hit single
'Tears in Heaven'
and a reworked
acoustic version of
'Layla', earned six
Grammy Awards for
the album including
Record of the Year.
2000 - It was
reported that
Mick Jagger
had lost the chance
of a knighthood
because of his
errant ways, Prime
Minister Tony Blair
having doubts about
the message it would
give about family
values. This
decision was changed
and on 12 December
2003, Mick Jagger
was made a Knight
Bachelor by The
Prince of Wales for
services to music,
as Sir Michael
Jagger.
2007 - Bob
Dylan
and his brother
bought Aultmore
House a mansion in
the Scottish
Cairngorms National
Park, near
Nethybridge,
Invernesshire.
2013 - It was
announced that Joe
Strummer
was to have a city
square named after
him in Spain
following a Facebook
campaign. More than
2,000 residents of
Granada, where The
Clash frontman
became a frequent
visitor, signed a
petition calling for
him to be honoured.
City hall officials
agreed to the
proposals and a
square in the area
was set to be
renamed 'Plaza de
Joe Strummer'.
2019 - American
musician Lorna
Doom
died of cancer age
61. She was the bass
guitarist for the
punk rock band the
Germs.
Their music was
influential to many
later punk rock
acts. Germs
guitarist Pat Smear
went on to achieve
greater fame
performing with Nirvana
and Foo
Fighters.
1967 - The
Rolling Stones
were forced to change
the lyrics of 'Let’s
Spend The Night
Together' to Let’s
Spend Some Time
Together when
appearing on the US TV
The Ed Sullivan Show,
after the producers
objected to the
content of the lyrics.
Jagger ostentatiously
rolled his eyes at the
TV camera while
singing the changed
lyrics, resulting in
host Ed Sullivan
announcing that The
Rolling Stones would
be banned from
performing on his show
ever again.
1969 - George
Harrison
had a five-hour
meeting with John,
Paul and Ringo where
he made it clear that
he was fully prepared
to quit The
Beatles
permanently. Harrison
wasn't happy with
plans for live
performances and the
current Let It Be film
project.
1971 -
David Bowie
released 'Holy Holy'
as a single which
failed to chart. A
more frantic version
of the song was
recorded in 1971 for
The Rise And Fall Of
Ziggy Stardust And The
Spiders From Mars but
was dropped from the
album but subsequently
appeared as the B-side
to 'Diamond Dogs' in
1974.
1976 - Pink
Floyd’s
Wish You Were here was
on the album chart.
The album's packaging,
designed by Storm
Thorgerson, featured
an opaque black sleeve
inside which was
hidden the album
artwork. Thorgerson
had noted that, in the
US, Roxy
Music's
Country Life was sold
in an opaque green
cellophane sleeve -
censoring the cover
image - and he adopted
the idea, concealing
the artwork for Wish
You Were Here in a
dark-coloured
shrink-wrap (making
the album art
'absent').
1992 - Bass guitarist
Dee
Murray
died after suffering a
stroke aged 45. He is
best known as a member
of Elton
John's
band. He first
appeared with Elton on
the 1970 album
Tumbleweed Connection
and the milestone
albums Goodbye Yellow
Brick Road and Captain
Fantastic and the
Brown Dirt Cowboy.
Murray and drummer
Nigel Olsson were also
members of the Spencer
Davis Group
in 1969 and during the
Eighties Murray
continued working as a
session musician.
2002 - 1980s Pop
legend Adam
Ant was
admitted to a mental
ward 24 hours after
being charged by
police with pulling a
gun on staff in a
London pub.
2016 - Nineteen of David
Bowie's
albums entered the
album charts in the
wake of his death. His
new album, Blackstar,
reached No.1, and in
the top 40, Nothing
Has Changed - The Very
Best Of was at No.5,
The Best Of 1969 /
1974 was at No.11,
Hunky Dory, No.14, The
Rise and Fall of Ziggy
Stardust, No.17, Best
of Bowie, No.18,
Aladdin Sane, No.23,
The Next Day, No.25,
Low No.31 and Diamond
Dogs, No. 37. Thirteen
Bowie tracks also
entered the top 100,
led by 'Heroes' at
No.12. Also his songs
were streamed more
than 19 million times
on services such as
Apple Music and
Spotify.
1967 - Over 25,000
people attend The Human
Be-In-A Gathering Of The
Tribes at San
Francisco's Golden Gate
Park. The event was a
forerunner of major
outdoor rock concerts
and featured
The Grateful Dead,
Jefferson Airplane,
Quicksilver
Messenger Service
and Big
Brother And The
Holding Company.
1977 - David
Bowie
released his eleventh
studio album Low, the
first of three
collaborations with Brian
Eno
termed the "Berlin
Trilogy". The track
'Sound and Vision' was
released as a single and
used by the BBC on
trailers at the time,
providing much needed
exposure as Bowie opted
to do nothing to promote
the single himself, and
helped the song reach
No.3 on the charts.
1978 - The
Sex Pistols
played their last show
at the Winterland
Ballroom in San
Francisco where Johnny
Rotten yelled to the
crowd at the outset,
“Ever get the feeling
you’ve been cheated.”
It was the last time the
band played with bassist
Sid Vicious.
2005 - A $100,000
(£58,823) statue
honouring the late punk
guitarist Johnny
Ramone
was unveiled by his
widow Linda at the
Hollywood Forever
Cemetery. Johnny died
from prostate cancer in
September 2004 at the
age of 55. Hundreds
turned out for the
ceremony, including Tommy
Ramone
the only surviving band
member. Dee
Dee Ramone
died of a drugs overdose
in 2002 and Joey
died in 2001 of
lymphatic cancer.
2012 - English drummer,
producer, journalist,
music educator, and
broadcaster
Robbie France
died aged 52. Born in
Sheffield, France moved
to Australia where he
formed the jazz-fusion
group
Carnival.
He also worked with
Stevie Wright of the Easybeats,
Marty
Rhone, Tim Gaze,
and other major
Australian artists as
well as Skunk
Anansie
and Diamond
Head. He
amassed over 1,000
television, radio and
advertising credits,
including eight
documentaries and four
film scores, including
Band on the Run, one of
the most successful
surfing films ever made.
Week
Commencing January 6
. . .
1965 - The first day of
recording sessions for Bob
Dylan's
Bringing It All Back Home
album were held at Studio
A, Columbia Recording
Studios in New York City.
Dylan recorded
Subterranean Homesick
Blues and 'It's All Over
Now, Baby Blue'.
1967 - Paul
McCartney
and Ringo
Starr both
went to the Bag O'Nails
Club, London, to see the Jimi
Hendrix Experience.
1973 - Eric
Clapton
made his stage comeback at
the Rainbow Theatre,
London, with Pete
Townsend, Ronnie Wood,
Stevie Winwood, Rebop,
Jim Capaldi
and support from The
Average White Band.
The night's two shows were
recorded for the 'Rainbow
Concert' album. Pete
Townshend from The
Who had
organised the concert to
help Clapton kick his
heroin addiction.
1978 - With a budget of
only £1,500 borrowed from
Stewart
Copeland's
brother Miles Copeland
III,
The Police started
recording their debut
album at Surrey Sound
Studios, Surrey, with
producer Nigel Gray. The
album 'Outlandos d'Amour'
which was released in
November of this year
featured the hits 'So
Lonely', 'Roxanne' and
'Can't Stand Losing You'.
1984 - BBC Radio 1
announced a ban on 'Relax'
by Frankie
Goes To Hollywood,
after DJ Mike Read called
it 'obscene', a BBC TV ban
also followed. The song
went on to become No.1 and
spent a total of 48 weeks
on the chart. It has been
revealed since that the
band never actually played
on the record - it was
completed by session
musicians.
1986 - Sex
Pistols
members John
Lydon, Steve Jones
and
Paul Cook,
as well as the mother of Sid
Vicious,
sued former manager Malcom
McClaren
for £1 million. They later
settled out of court.
2003 - Who
guitarist Pete
Townshend was
arrested on suspicion of
child porn offences.
Police officers impounded
seven computers from his
£15 million home in
Richmond, Surrey.
2016 - The
Rolling Stones
first manager, Giorgio
Gomelsky,
passed away at the age of
82. He owned the Crawdaddy
Club in London where The
Rolling Stones were the
house band. After he was
replaced by Andrew Loog
Oldham in May, 1963,
Gomelsky went on to manage
The
Yardbirds, Julie
Driscoll and Brian
Auger before
moving to New York in 1978
and opening The Green Door
nightclub.
2017 - Magic
Alex
(Alexis Mardas) a Greek
electronics engineer died
aged 74. He is best known
for his close association
with the
Beatles.
His nickname was given to
him by John
Lennon when
he was involved with the
group between 1965 and
1969, during which time he
became head of Apple
Electronics. Mardas often
said that the Abbey Road
studio was "no good", much
to producer George
Martin's annoyance. He
allegedly said that he
could build a 72-track
tape machine and was then
given the job of designing
the new Apple Studio in
Savile Row, London. His
schemes lost Apple at
least £300,000 (£3 million
in 2017).
1969 - Led
Zeppelin's
debut album was released.
Recorded at Olympic Studios
in Barnes, London, the album
took only 36 hours of studio
time to complete at a cost
of just £1,782, most of the
tracks being recorded 'live'
in the studio with very few
overdubs. The album spent a
total of 71 weeks on the
chart.
1977 - The
Police had
their first rehearsal, held
at drummer's Stewart
Copeland's London flat, with
Henri Padovani on guitar.
1983 - Swedish percussionist
with Traffic,
Reebop Kwaku Baah
died from a brain
haemorrhage in Stockholm,
Sweden. Also worked with Eric
Clapton, Steve Winwood,
Ginger Baker's Air
Force, Can
and The
Rolling Stones.
1993 - Van
Morrison failed
to turn up at the Rock And
Roll Hall Of Fame induction
dinner, making him the first
living inductee not to
attend.
2003 - Singer-songwriter Maurice
Gibb from The Bee
Gees died
aged 53 in Miami Hospital,
Florida following a heart
attack during abdominal
surgery. The Bee Gees
released over 20 albums and
had the 1979 world-wide No.1
album 'Spirits Having
Flown'. Gibb was married to
the Scottish singer Lulu
from 1969 to 1973. In 2002,
Maurice was made a Commander
of the British Empire (CBE),
along with his brothers.
2013 - The 1974 Rolls-Royce
Silver Shadow used by Freddie
Mercury until
his death in November 1991,
sold at auction for £74,000
to a Russian businessman.
The 62,000-mile classic
Rolls-Royce which had a
guide price of just
£9,000-£11,000 featured grey
leather, wood trim, electric
windows, automatic gearbox,
a car phone and radio
cassette player and a
6.75-litre V8 engine. It was
sold as part of the Coys
auction at Autosport
International.
2017 - Richard
Carpenter
said he was owed at least
$2m (£1.6m) in royalties for
the hits he recorded in The
Carpenters.
He claimed Universal Music
had only paid the band a
"minuscule fraction" of the
money they were owed from
downloads on sites such as
iTunes and Amazon. The
musician was suing for
compensation, according to
legal documents filed in Los
Angeles.
1958 - The release date for
the
Elvis Presley
single 'Jailhouse Rock' was
put back a week after Decca
Records pressing plant in the
UK were unable to meet the
advance orders of 250,000
copies. Some of the characters
named in the song are real
people. Shifty Henry was a
well-known LA musician, not a
criminal. The Purple Gang was
a real mob. "Sad Sack" was a
U.S. Army nickname in World
War II for a loser.
1967 - The
Jimi Hendrix Experience
recorded 'Purple Haze' at De
Lane Lea studios in London.
Hendrix later stated 'The
Purple Haze,' was about a
dream he had and that he was
walking under the sea." In
concert, Hendrix sometimes
substituted lyrics for comic
effect; "'scuse me while I
kiss the sky" was rendered
"'scuse me while I kiss this
guy" (while gesturing towards
his drummer Mitch Mitchell).
1975 - The Alan Freeman BBC
Radio 1 show broadcast a Pink
Floyd show
recorded at the Empire Pool,
Wembley, on 16th Nov 1974. The
band had played four nights at
Wembley on their The Dark Side
of The Moon tour and tapes
from these shows have been
remixed.
1975 - Led
Zeppelin played
their first concert in 18
months when they appeared at
the Ahoy, Rotterdam, Holland,
playing one of two warm-up
shows for their forthcoming
North American tour. The set
list included some new songs:
'Sick Again', 'The Rain Song',
'Kashmir', 'No Quarter' and
'Trampled Under Foot'.
1985 - A Brazilian rock
Festival held in Rio claimed
to be the biggest ever staged.
The festival featured Queen,
Rod Stewart, AC/DC,
Whitesnake, Yes
and Iron
Maiden.
2005 - Former Bread guitarist
and Academy Award-winning
songwriter James
Griffin died at
his home in Nashville at the
age of 61 after suffering from
cancer. Bread had the 1970s
hits 'Make It With You', 'Baby
I'm-a Want You', and
'Everything I Own.'
1953 -
Jo Stafford was
at No.1 on the singles chart
with 'You Belong To Me'.
Originally a singer with Tommy
Dorsey until
1942, she was the first female
to have a No.1 on the singles
Chart.
1981 - John
Lennon's Imagine
started a four-week run at No.1
on the singles chart, 10 years
after it was recorded. Lennon
had two other songs in the Top 5
this week, 'Happy Christmas (War
Is Over') and '(Just Like)
Starting Over.' 'Imagine' was
voted by the viewers of BBC TV
as the best lyrics of all time
in a poll broadcast in Oct 1999.
2003 - A haul of 500 Beatles
tapes known as the 'Get Back
sessions' stolen in the 1970s
were found after police cracked
a major bootleg operation in
London and Amsterdam. Five men
were arrested.
2005 - A woman was suing Gene
Simmons from Kiss
for slander, alleging a
documentary made her out to be a
"sex-addicted nymphomaniac".
Georgeann Walsh Ward, 53, of New
York, said during a VH1
documentary her photo was
flashed up as Simmons talked
about his past sexual
encounters. Ms Walsh Ward had
dated Simmons for three years
when he was a student. In the
documentary, Simmons boasted of
having sex with over 4,600
women.
2013 - Claude
Nobs the founder
and general manager of the
Montreux Jazz Festival died aged
76. During a 1971 Frank
Zappa concert, at
the Montreux Casino the venue
caught fire. Nobs saved several
young people who had hidden in
the casino thinking they would
be sheltered from the flames.
This act earned him a mention
(as Funky Claude in the line
"Funky Claude was running in and
out pulling kids out the
ground") in the Deep Purple
song Smoke on the Water, which
is about the incident.
2016 - Singer, songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist, record
producer, painter, and actor David
Bowie died from
liver cancer at his New York
home two days after releasing
the album Blackstar on his 69th
birthday. His first Top 40
single was the 1969 'Space
Oddity' which became a No.1 in
1975, plus over 50 other Top 40
hits including five No.1s.
During his lifetime, his record
sales, estimated at 140 million
albums worldwide, made him one
of the world's best-selling
music artists.
1955 - Rosemary
Clooney was at No.1
on the singles chart with 'Mambo
Italiano' the singer's second
No.1. The song was banned by all
ABC owned stations in the US
because it "did not reach
standards of good taste".
1963 - Drummer Charlie Watts
joined The
Rolling Stones
after leaving Blues
Incorporated and
his job working as a graphic
designer.
1970 - During a UK tour Led Zeppelin
appeared at The Royal Albert Hall,
London, the night of Jimmy Page's
26th birthday. (John Lennon,
Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck
were all in the audience). The two
and a quarter hour set was
recorded and filmed but shelved
for several decades, eventually
seeing a release on a 2003
official DVD.
1976 - Queen
were at No.1 on the singles chart
with 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. The
single enjoyed a nine week run on
the chart selling more than a
million copies by the end of the
month. It reached No.1 again in
1991 for five weeks following
Mercury's death, eventually
becoming the UK's third best
selling single of all time.
1981 - Terry
Hall and Jerry
Dammers from The Specials
were both fined £400 after being
found guilty of using threatening
words during a gig in Cambridge.
1997 - David
Bowie performed his
50th Birthday Bash concert (the
day after his birthday) at Madison
Square Garden, New York with
guests Frank
Black, Sonic Youth, Robert
Smith of The Cure, Dave Grohl,
Lou Reed, Billy Corgan
and Placebo.
Proceeds from the concert went to
the Save The Children fund.
2016 - Stars paid tribute to Motorhead
frontman Lemmy
at his funeral at Forest Lawn
Memorial Cemetery. Motorhead
drummer Mikkey Dee, Foo Fighters'
Dave Grohl, Slash from Guns N' Roses,
Robert Trujillo and Lars Ulrich
from Metallica,
Judas Priest singer
Rob Halford and Anthrax
frontman Scott Ian all spoke at
the service. Lemmy's bass
guitar was plugged in to a stack
of amplifiers and the volume
turned up, with the congregation
applauding as feedback from the
speakers filled the chapel.
1958 - The
Everly Brothers
kicked off a 17 date North American
tour at the Coliseum in Charlotte,
North Carolina. Also on the bill, Buddy Holly,
The Rays, Royal Teens, Shepherd
Sisters, Paul Anka, Margie
Rayburn and
Danny & The
Juniors.
1979 - Canadian rock band Rush
were named the country's official
Ambassadors Of Music by the Canadian
government.
1991 - Steve
Clark guitarist with
Def Leppard,
was found dead at his Chelsea flat
by his girlfriend, after a night of
heavy alcohol consumption combined
with prescription drugs. The autopsy
revealed he had died from an
overdose of codeine and had Valium,
morphine and a blood alcohol level
three times the legal driving limit.
In 2007 Clark was ranked No.11 on
Classic Rock Magazine's "100 Wildest
Guitar Heroes".
2010 - Jimmy
Page launched a new
set of stamps which featured classic
album covers from the last 40 years
including Coldplay,
Power, Corruption And Lies, New
Order, David Bowie
and Parklife by
Blur.
2016 - David
Bowie released his
twenty-fifth and final studio album
Blackstar, coinciding with his 69th
birthday and two days before his
death. At the 59th Annual Grammy
Awards, the album won awards for
Best Alternative Music Album; Best
Engineered Album; Best Recording
Package, and the title single won
Best Rock Performance, and Best Rock
Song. The album was also awarded the
British Album of the Year award at
the 2017 Brit Awards.
1955 - 'Rock Around the Clock' by Bill Haley and
his Comets entered the
chart for the first time. The original
full title of the song was 'We're
Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight!'
and is often cited as the
biggest-selling vinyl rock and roll
single of all time with sales over
25m.
1970 - Led
Zeppelin kicked off an
8-date tour at Birmingham Town Hall.
The set list included: I Can't Quit
You Baby, Dazed And Confused,
Heartbreaker, Since I've Been Loving
You, Thank You, Moby Dick, How Many
More Times, Whole Lotta Love and
Communication Breakdown.
1971 - Black
Sabbath released
'Paranoid'. The album features the
band's best-known signature songs,
including the title track, 'Iron Man'
and 'War Pigs'. The album was
originally titled War Pigs, but
allegedly the record company changed
it to Paranoid, fearing backlash from
supporters of the ongoing Vietnam War.
1972 - David
Bowie released
'Changes' as a single. The track
peaked at No.49 on the chart. This was
the last song Bowie performed live on
stage before his retirement from live
performances at the end of 2006 when
he joined Alicia
Keys at the Black Ball
fundraiser at New York's Hammersmith
Ballroom.
1980 - Pink
Floyd released 'Another
Brick In The Wall (Part 2)'. The
single peaked at No.1 on both the US
and UK charts, giving Pink Floyd their
first and only No.1 hit single. The
single went to No.1 in many other
countries, including Australia,
Germany and Italy.
1980 - Hugh
Cornwell of The Stranglers
was found guilty of possession of
heroin, cocaine and cannabis. He was
fined £300 and sentenced to three
months in Pentonville prison.
1981 - The
Police played the first
night of a North American tour at The
University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada
during their Zenyatta Mondatta World
Tour.
1958 - Gibson guitars launched it'
'Flying V' electric guitar. Guitarists
who played a Flying V include Albert Collins,
Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan
and Billy
Gibbons from ZZ Top.
1964 - The first night of a 14 date UK
tour 'Group Scene 1964', featuring The Rolling Stones,
The Ronettes, Marty Wilde, The
Swinging Blue Jeans and Dave Berry and The
Cruisers played at the
Granada Theatre, Harrow on The Hill,
Middlesex.
1967 - The Who
played their first gig of this year when
they appeared at Morecambe, Central
Pier. The band played over 200 gigs in
this year, including their first ever US
tour.
1975 - The mayor of Boston cancelled a Led Zeppelin
concert after over 2,000 fans rioted
trying to buy tickets. The fans caused
up to $75,000 damage at Boston Garden.
The gig during the bands North American
tour was rescheduled for Feb 4th.
1975 - Pink
Floyd started sessions
start at Abbey Road Studios London for
their next album Wish You Were Here.
Their ninth studio album was released on
12 September 1975 and features 'Shine On
You Crazy Diamond' a tribute to Syd Barrett
whose mental breakdown had forced him to
leave the group seven years earlier.
1977 - EMI Records dropped The Sex Pistols
giving the band £40,000 to release them
from their contract.
1979 - The
Village People scored
their only No.1 single with 'Y.M.C.A.'
At its peak the single was selling over
150,000 copies a day. In the gay culture
from which the group sprang, the song
was understood as celebrating the YMCA's
reputation as a popular cruising and
hookup spot.
1993 - It was reported that David Bowie
had lost over £2.5 million in unpaid
royalties to an Italian Mafia-linked
bootleg fraud.
Week
Commencing December 30
1961 - The
Beatles played at
Litherland Town Hall, Liverpool. In the
audience are two members from Rory Storm & the
Hurricanes: Johnny Guitar
and Ringo Starr who have just returned
from Hamburg, Germany.
1967 - Pink
Floyd and Eyes of Blue
appeared at The Marquee Club London. Queen
magazine said: "The two guitarists
looked moody, the drummer thrashed
wildly about and the lights kept
flashing. After about twenty minutes it
became very boring and after half an
hour I left."
1968 - Jimi
Hendrix was jailed for one
day in Stockholm, Sweden on drink charges
after going berserk and destroying
everything in his room at the Goteberg
Hotel.
1973 - Bruce
Springsteen released his
debut album 'Greetings from Asbury Park,
N.J.' Recorded in a single week the album
sold only about 25,000 copies in the first
year of its release. Both 'Blinded By The
Light' and 'Spirit In The Night' were
released as singles but neither made a
dent in the charts. Manfred
Mann's Earth Band later
released a version of 'Blinded By The
Light' on their album 'The Roaring
Silence,' which reached No.1 on the US
charts in 1977.
1976 - Former
Beatles roadie Mal Evans
was shot dead by police at his Los Angeles
apartment. His girlfriend called police
when she found Evans upset with a rifle in
his hand; he pointed the gun at the police
who opened fire. Friends later said that
Evans was depressed about his separation
from his wife Lil Evans — who had asked
for a divorce before Christmas.
1980 - David
Bowie appeared on Saturday
Night Live Live from New York City
performing 'The Man Who Sold the World',
'TVC 15' and 'Boys Keep Swinging' with a
specially prepared backing group,
including Blondie's
Jimmy Destri (keyboards) and Klaus Nomi
and Joey Arias (backing vocals).
1991 - Iron
Maiden went to No.1 on the
singles chart with 'Bring Your Daughter To
The Slaughter.' The second single from
their album No Prayer for the Dying,
became the lowest selling No.1 since 1960,
with just over 42,000 copies sold in its
first week. The song was originally
recorded and released by Bruce Dickinson
for the soundtrack to A Nightmare on Elm
Street 5: The Dream Child, but Iron Maiden
bassist Steve Harris liked it so Iron
Maiden re-recorded it.
1998 - American singer, producer, and
politician Sonny
Bono was killed in a skiing
accident at a resort near Lake Tahoe, aged
62. Bono who was one half on Sonny and Cher
scored the 1965 No.1 single 'I Got You
Babe' and had become a US Congressman. The
United States Sonny Bono Copyright Term
Extension Act of 1998, which extended the
term of copyright by 20 years, was named
in honor of Bono when it was passed by
Congress nine months after his death.
1998 - Ken
Forssi bassist with Love died
of brain cancer aged 55. In 1965 he met
Arthur Lee, who then had a band called Grass Roots
and was greatly impressed. Lee hired
Forssi as bassist, and soon officially
formed Love. Love scored the 1968 No.24
album Forever Changes.
2001 - Kirsty
MacColl was laid to rest
at a private funeral ceremony, ahead of a
public memorial to pay tribute to her
life. The singer songwriter was killed in
a boating accident on 18th Dec 2000.
2004 - Kinks
singer Ray
Davies was shot in the leg
while on holiday in New Orleans. The
59-year-old singer-songwriter was shot
when running after two men who stole his
girlfriend's purse at gunpoint. Davies was
admitted to the Medical Centre of
Louisiana but his injuries were not
considered serious. New Orleans police
said one person had been arrested, and
police were still searching for the
second.
2016 - Donald
Fagen, lead singer and
founder of Steely
Dan, was arrested by New
York police and charged with assaulting
his wife at their home. Fagen was accused
of pushing Libby Titus into a marble
window frame, knocking her to the ground,
at their Manhattan apartment.
1967 - The Doors
released their self-titled debut album The
Doors. The album features their breakthrough
single 'Light My Fire' and the lengthy song
'The End' with its Oedipal spoken word
section. The album was recorded at Sunset
Sound Studios in Hollywood, California over
six days and unique packaging of the album
included each band members bio.
1967 - The Jimi
Hendrix Experience played the
first of what would be over 240 gigs in this
year when they appeared at the Bromel Club,
Bromley. (Many of the concerts were two
shows per night).
1970 - Chauffeur Neil Boland was
accidentally killed when The Who's
drummer Keith Moon
ran over him in his Bentley. Moon was trying
to escape from a gang of skinheads after a
fight broke out at a pub in Hatfield. Boland
got out to try to protect the car but left
it in gear. He fell under the car and it
started moving with Moon at the wheel as he
tried to escape the fight. The drummer had
never passed his driving test.
1986 - Irish singer, songwriter and bassist
Phil Lynott of
Thin Lizzy
died of heart failure and pneumonia after
being in a coma for eight days following a
drug overdose. With Thin Lizzy he had the
1973 hit 'Whiskey in the Jar' (their version
of the traditional Irish song) and hits with
‘The Boys Are Back in Town’, ‘Jailbreak’ and
‘Waiting for an Alibi’. The groups 1978
album 'Live and Dangerous' spent 62 weeks on
the chart. Lynott fronted several bands as a
lead vocalist, including Skid Row
alongside Gary
Moore. A life-size bronze
statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry
Street in Dublin Ireland in 2005.
2009 - Led
Zeppelin singer Robert
Plant was voted the Greatest Voice In
Rock by listeners of radio station Planet
Rock. Plant beat Queen's
Freddie Mercury, Free's Paul Rodgers
and Deep Purple's
Ian Gillan to the top spot in
the poll.
2011 - Scottish singer songwriter Gerry Rafferty
died aged 63 after a long illness. Rafferty
had been a member of Stealers
Wheel, who had the 1973 No.8
single 'Stuck In The Middle With You' and
had the solo 1978 single 'Baker Street.'
1969 -
Appearing live on The Lulu
show,
The Jimi Hendrix
Experience
were booked to perform two
songs, 'Voodoo Child' (which
was performed in full), then
Hendrix stopped performing his
new single 'Hey Joe' after a
verse and chorus and instead
launched into a version of the
Cream song 'Sunshine Of Your
Love' as a tribute to the band
who had split a few days
earlier. Hendrix then
proceeded to continuing
jamming, running over their
allocated time slot on the
live show, preventing the
show's host Lulu from closing
the show properly.
1972 - Two weeks of rehearsals
for
Pink Floyd's
The Dark Side of The Moon tour
began at the Bermondsey in
London (the venue was owned by
The
Rolling Stones).
1976 - Bob
Dylan's song,
'Hurricane', peaked at No.33
on the Billboard singles
chart, helping to cause enough
publicity to eventually get
former boxer Rubin 'Hurricane'
Carter released from jail. The
song promoted Carter's
innocence and a movie about
Carter's life, starring Denzel
Washington, was released in
2000.
1981 - David
Bowie made his
final appearance as the
Elephant Man at The Booth
Theatre, Broadway in New York
City.
2002 - Zak
Foley bassist
with British group EMF
died aged 31 of a drug
overdose. EMF had the 1990
world wide hit single
'Unbelievable' which reached
No.3 on the singles chart. The
name EMF is believed to be an
abbreviation of Epsom Mad
Fuckers.
2017 - Vinyl sales topped
three million last year, the
highest UK total in 25 years.
More than 3.2 million records
were sold in 2016, a rise of
53% on the previous year,
according to the BPI, which
represents the music industry.
David
Bowie's
Blackstar was the most popular
album on vinyl, selling more
than double the number of
copies of 2015's
biggest-seller, Adele's
25.
1926 - The first issue of The Melody
Maker went on
sale priced at 3d. The monthly
magazine was for 'all who are
interested in the production of
popular music'. In the first
issue, Dance Band news, a
feature on Ukuleles and how to
read music by sight.
Advertisements in Melody Maker
helped assemble the line-ups of
a number of major bands,
including
The Jimi Hendrix Experience,
Supertramp and The
Stranglers.
1969 -
Led Zeppelin
played the first of four nights
at the Whisky A Go-Go, Los
Angeles during the bands first
North American tour. Support
group was the Alice
Cooper band.
1969 - Filming began at
Twickenham studios of The
Beatles
rehearsing for the 'Let It Be'
album. The project ran into
several problems including George
Harrison walking
out on the group on January
10th.
1980 - US singer Larry
Williams was
found dead from a gunshot wound
to his head in his Los Angeles,
California home aged 45.
Williams had the 1957 US No.5
& UK No. 21 single 'Short
Fat Fannie.' Also known for
'Bony Moronie' and 'Dizzy Miss
Lizzy.' The
Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dr.
Feelgood, Flying Burrito
Brothers, Johnny Winter,
Little Richard, The Who,
Ritchie Valens
and Bill
Haley & His Comets
all covered his songs.
1994 - Meat
Loaf started a
three-week run at No.1 on the
album chart with his sixth
studio album Bat Out Of Hell II
- Back Into Hell. The LP, which
featured the single 'I'd Do
Anything for Love', also topped
the charts in the US and
Australia and has sold more than
14 million copies world-wide.
1997 - Guitarist Randy
California from
US group Spirit
drowned when rescuing his
12-year old son when he was
sucked into a riptide in surf
off Hawaii.
2007 - Cristin
Keleher who once
broke into former Beatle George
Harrison's Hawaii
home was found dead after an
apparent murder-suicide in
California, aged 34. She made
headlines in December 1999 by
entering Harrison's Maui estate
and then cooking herself a
frozen pizza. Police said her
body had been found with that of
a 48-year-old man in a car, both
had gunshot wounds to their
heads.
2009 - According to official US
sales figures AC/DC were the
biggest sellers of 2008 with
over 3.4m sales. To promote the
groups latest album Black Ice,
Columbia Records created "Rock
Again AC/DC Stores" as well as
"Black Ice" trucks which were
dispatched on the streets of New
York and Los Angeles playing
AC/DC music aloud and making
various stops each day to sell
merchandise.
1953 - American singer-songwriter
and musician singer Hank Williams
died of a heart attack aged 29,
brought on by a lethal cocktail of
pills and alcohol. Williams is
regarded as one of the most
important country music artists of
all time.
1962 - The
Beatles auditioned
for Decca Records in West
Hampstead, London. A&R boss at
Decca Dick Rowe turned them down
in what is considered one of the
biggest mistakes in music industry
history. Decca decided to reject
the band, selecting instead Brian Poole
and the Tremeloes.
1967 - The
Doors made their
first live television appearance
lip-synching their first single
'Break on Through' on Shebang,
KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles.
The single peaked No. 126 on the
US chart mainly due to lack of
airplay after censors objected to
the drug use implied by the line
"she gets high", which is repeated
in the middle section of the song.
1969 - Marmalade
were at No.1 on the singles chart
with their version of The Beatles
song 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da', which
features on The White Album.
1977 -
Genesis played the
first of three nights at the
new-look Rainbow Theatre, London,
tickets cost £2.50. The theatre
had been completely renovated at a
cost of £80,000.
1977 -
The Clash played
the opening night at punk's first
real venue, The Roxy Club in
London.
1984 - Alexis
Korner died of lung
cancer aged 55. Know as "the
Founding Father of British Blues",
he was a major force behind the
early 60s R&B scene. Formed Blues
Incorporated;
members at various times included
Jack
Bruce, Ginger Baker, Long John
Baldry, Graham Bond
and Charlie
Watts. Had hits
with CCS,
including a version of Led Zeppelin's
'Whole Lotta Love' which was used
as the theme for Top Of The Pops
for several years. He became a
radio presenter in the Seventies.
1990 - New American radio station
WKRL in Florida played the Led Zeppelin
track 'Stairway To Heaven' for 24
hours, as a prelude to an all
Zeppelin format.
2002 - Eric
Clapton married
25-year old Melia McEnery the
mother of his baby daughter at a
secret ceremony at the 15th
Century St Mary Magdalen Church in
Ripley, Surrey.
2011 - Chuck
Berry cut short a
concert at Congress Theater,
Chicago, Illinois after collapsing
on stage an hour into the show.
Berry slumped over a keyboard and
did not move for a couple of
minutes before being helped off
stage, he returned 15 minutes
later only to be forced off again
almost immediately. The 84
year-old later re-emerged on stage
but told fans he had no strength
to continue performing.
2013 - Ultravox's
1981 hit 'Vienna' was voted the
UK's favourite number two single.
The song topped a poll by BBC
Radio 2 and the Official Charts
Company to find the greatest track
to miss out on the number one
spot. Vienna was held off by
novelty track 'Shaddup You Face'
by Joe
Dolce. 'Fairytale
of New York' by The Pogues
and Kirsty MacColl
was voted into second place. Other
songs to feature included The Beatles
'Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields
Forever', The
Who's 'My
Generation' and Don McLean's
'American Pie'.
1962 - During his first visit to the
UK Bob
Dylan played at the
King And Queen pub in London. Dylan
had arrived in the UK on 17th Dec
after British TV director Philip
Saville had heard Dylan perform in
Greenwich Village, and had invited
him to take part in a BBC television
drama: The Madhouse On Castle
Street.
1963 - The
Kinks made their live
debut when they played at the Lotus
House Restaurant, London. Now
recognised as one of the most
important and influential rock acts
of the era, brothers Ray Davies and
Dave Davies remained members
throughout the group's 32-year run.
1967 - American songwriter and
producer Bert
Berns died of
heart failure aged 38. He wrote many
classic songs including 'Twist And
Shout', 'Hang On Sloopy', ‘Here
Comes the Night’, ‘I Want Candy’,
‘Under the Boardwalk’, ‘Everybody
Needs Somebody to Love’ and 'Brown
Eyed Girl'.
1970 - Paul
McCartney filed a
suit against the rest of The Beatles
to dissolve their partnership.
According to the court documents,
McCartney's main reason for wanting
to legally break up the group
stemmed from the decision taken by
the others to to appoint Rolling Stones
manager Allan Klein as their
manager. McCartney didn't trust
Klein and had wanted his new
in-laws, Lee and John Eastman, to
look after their affairs. The suit
took more than four years of court
hearings, with the group officially
disbanding in January 1975.
1973 - Australian band AC/DC
made their live debut when they
appeared at Chequers Bar in Sydney.
1979 - David
Bowie performed an
acoustic version of 'Space Oddity'
on the 'Kenny Everett New Year's
Show'. .
1999 - The
Manic Street Preachers
performed to 57,000 fans at the
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. The
Guinness Book of Records confirmed
that the concert set a new record as
the biggest indoor show ever staged
in Europe, tickets £30.
2003 - Kevin
MacMichael, guitarist
with Cutting
Crew died of lung
cancer aged 51 (1987 US No.1 &
1986 UK No.4 single 'I Just Died In
Your Arms Tonight'). Also worked
with Robert
Plant and The Rankin
Family.
Week
Commencing December 23
1963 - The
Rolling Stones
performed at Studio 51 in Soho,
London, on the same bill as Jimmy Powell and
the Five Dimensions,
who featured a young Rod Stewart.
The Stones played a regular Sunday
afternoon gig at the club from 4pm
until 6.30pm and were billed as Rhythm
and Blues with The Rolling Stones.
1966 - Pink
Floyd and Soft Machine
appeared at the Blarney Club, London.
1968 - Led
Zeppelin (who were
advertised as Len
Zefflin), appeared at
Gonzaga University Gymnasium, Spokane
on their first North American tour
supporting Vanilla
Fudge.
1969 - Peter
Tork quit The Monkees,
buying himself out of his contract
which left him broke. He went on to
form a group called Release
and played banjo on George Harrison's
soundtrack to the film Wonderwall.
1998 - American rhythm and blues
singer Johnny
Moore who was lead
singer for
The Drifters on their
1960s hit 'Under The Boardwalk', died
at the age of 64. Moore began as lead
singer of the Cleveland based group the Hornets,
before being discovered by the
Drifters. He joined the group as lead
vocalist in New York in 1955, at age
21. Moore also sang lead on the hits
‘Saturday Night At The Movies’, ‘Come
On Over To My Place’ and ‘Up In The
Streets Of Harlem’.
1999 - George
Harrison and his wife
Olivia were attacked when an intruder
broke into their home in
Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Olivia
beat off the attacker with a poker and
heavy lamp. Harrison who was stabbed
in the chest was admitted to hospital
and treated for a collapsed lung and
various minor stab wounds. His wife,
Olivia, was treated for cuts and
bruises she had suffered in the
struggle with the intruder. Police
later arrested Michael Abram from
Liverpool who had nursed an irrational
obsession with The
Beatles.
1999 - In the Queen's Millennium
Honours list, former Slade
singer Noddy
Holder was awarded an
MBE and guitarist Mark Knopfler was
awarded an OBE.
2002 - The funeral of former Clash
singer and guitarist Joe Strummer
took place in London. Strummer had
died of a suspected heart attack on
22nd Dec 2002 aged 50.
2014 - The woman who inspired Pulp's
hit song 'Disco 2000' died shortly
after being appointed an MBE. Deborah
Bone, from Hertfordshire was a
childhood friend of lead singer Jarvis Cocker
in Sheffield. She was diagnosed with
cancer in 2013. The 1995 Britpop hit
contains the lyric: "Your name is
Deborah. Deborah. It never suited
ya."
2016 - Allan
Williams the first
manager of The
Beatles died at the age
of 86. Williams worked with The
Beatles from 1960 to 1961, getting the
band gigs in Britain and Hamburg.
Williams personally drove the van to
take the Beatles to Hamburg in 1960,
which didn't have seats; The Beatles
had to sit on their amplifiers in the
back of the van.
1966 - Working at Abbey Road studios, Paul McCartney
began work on his new song ‘Penny Lane’,
recording six takes of keyboard tracks
and various percussion effects. The
song's title is derived from the name of
a street near John Lennon's house, in
the band's hometown, Liverpool.
McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny
Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area
to catch a bus into the centre of the
city.
1966 - The Jimi
Hendrix Experience made
their debut on Top Of The Pops
performing 'Hey Joe'.
1967 - British guitarist and singer Dave Mason
quit Traffic
after differences of musical opinion.
Mason wrote 'Hole in My Shoe', a
psychedelic pop song that became a hit
in for Traffic in 1967.
1973 - Jim
Croce scored his second
No.1 US single of the year when 'Time In
A Bottle' went to the top of the charts.
Croce was killed in a plane crash on the
way to a concert on September 20th 1973.
1980 - American singer, songwriter Tim Hardin
died of a heroin overdose. Hardin wrote
the songs 'If I Were A Carpenter'
(covered by
Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash
and
June Carter,
The Four Tops, Leon Russell, Small
Faces, Robert Plant and
Bob Seger)
and 'Reason To Believe' (covered by Rod Stewart).
Hardin appeared at Woodstock.
1999 - Three ferrets named Beckham, Posh
Spice and Baby Spice were used to lay
power cables for a rock concert being
held in Greenwich, London, England,
(workers were not allowed to dig up the
turf at the Royal Park). Organizers
found that rods could not push the
cables through the tiny tunnels, which
frequently bend and dog-leg. The ferrets
were eased into tiny nylon harnesses
with wires which where then attached to
a rope, the animals ran into a series of
ducts which were under the stage like
rabbit runs, leading the cables with
them. The ferrets instinctively make for
any hole in the ground and are enticed
to the end of the duct by a slab of
smelly meat. The New Years Eve concert
featured Simply
Red, Eurythmics and Bryan Ferry.
2013 - American guitarist, drummer, and
songwriter Benjamin Curtis died age 35.
He was a founding member of the bands
Secret Machines, School of Seven Bells,
and UFOFU. He was also drummer for the
band Tripping Daisy from 1997 to 1999.
It was announced in late February 2013
that he had been diagnosed with T-cell
lymphoblastic lymphoma.
1963 - The music critics from The Times
named John
Lennon and Paul McCartney
as The Outstanding Composers of 1963. Two
days later, the Sunday Times' music critic
Richard Buckle proclaims the same two
songwriters "the greatest composers since
Beethoven."
1969 - Led
Zeppelin II was at No.1 on
the album charts (the band's first album
to reach No.1 on charts in the UK and the
US), it went on to sell over six million
copies in the US alone. The album's cover
designer David Juniper was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.
1975 - Queen
started a two-week run at No.1 with A
Night At The Opera, the group's first No.1
album.
1975 - The
Faces split became
official. Rod
Stewart had severed all
connections with the group to work as a
solo artist, Ronnie Wood was on permanent
loan to the
Stones, Ronnie Lane went on
to form Slim
Chance and drummer Kenny
Jones joined The
Who.
1978 - American singer, songwriter and
guitarist Chris
Bell from Big Star
was killed after his car crashed into a
telephone pole, he was 27. Bell inspired
the likes of Beck,
R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, Primal
Scream, Wilco, The Posies
and The
Replacements, all of which
have covered his music or name-dropped Big
Star in the press.
1983 - Walter
Scott lead singer of Bob Kuban & The
In-Men, who scored a 1966
US hit with ‘The Cheater’, went missing
this year. On April 10th, 1987, his badly
decomposed, bound body was found floating
face down in a cistern, he’d been shot in
the back. Scott's second wife, Jo Ann
Calceterra, pleaded guilty to hindering
prosecution in his murder and received a
five-year sentence. Her boyfriend (whom
she married in 1986), James H. Williams
Sr. was found guilty of two counts of
capital murder in the deaths of Walter
Scott as well as his previous wife, Sharon
Williams. James Williams received two life
terms.
1965 - While spending Christmas at his
father's home in Cheshire, Paul McCartney
crashed from the moped he was riding and
suffered a five-inch cut to his mouth.
1966 - The Jimi
Hendrix Experience played an
afternoon show at The Uppercut Club, London
(where he was billed as “The American Top
soul Singer - Jimi Hendrix”). Hendrix also
wrote the lyrics to Purple Haze in the
dressing room on the same day.
1967 - BBC Television broadcast The Beatles movie
‘Magical Mystery Tour’ in black and white.
The next day, the British press and the
viewing public pronounce the film an utter
disaster. The negative reaction was so
strong that a US television deal for
broadcasting the movie was cancelled.
1968 - Led
Zeppelin started their first
North American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge
and Spirit
at Denver Auditorium, Colorado, tickets for
this Sunday night gig cost $5.
1970 - George
Harrison started a four week
run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'My
Sweet Lord', making him the first Beatle to
score a No.1 US hit. The song was originally
intended for Billy
Preston.
1976 - The Sex
Pistols recorded 'God Save
The Queen' at Wessex Studios London. The
song was released during Queen Elizabeth
II's Silver Jubilee in 1977. The record's
lyrics, as well as the cover, were
controversial at the time, and both the BBC
and the Independent Broadcasting Authority
refused to play the song. The song reached
No.1 on the NME charts. It is also widely
believed that the BBC erroneously claimed
that Rod Stewart was
No.1 on their own charts so they could get
out of playing God Save the Queen on Top of
The Pops.
1979 - The first night of a series of
concerts were held at The Hammersmith Odeon
in London for the People of Kampuchea,
featuring Queen,
The Clash, The Pretenders, The Who,
Elvis Costello, Wings, and
many more artists. The events which were
organised by Paul McCartney and Kurt
Waldheim were aimed to raise money for the
victims of war-torn Cambodia.
1979 - Pink Floyd’s
The Wall was at No.1 on the album chart.
1981 - AC/DC
started a three-week run at No.1 on the US
album chart with 'For Those About To Rock We
Salute You' the follow-up to their highly
successful album 'Back In Black'. The name
of the album was inspired by a book Angus
Young read, entitled 'For Those About to
Die, We Salute You', about Roman gladiators.
2017 - Jim Burns,
the co-creator of MTV's iconic MTV Unplugged
series, famous for hosting shows by artists
as diverse as Eric
Clapton, Nirvana and Jay-Z died
at the age of 65. He was struck by a taxi
while crossing Fifth Avenue in Manhattan
three days earlier walking with his
seeing-eye dog near his Upper East Side
home.
1954 - Johnny Ace
shot himself dead backstage at
the City Auditorium in Houston,
Texas. The R&B singer was
playing with a revolver during a
break between sets, someone in
the room said "Be careful
with that thing’’ and he
said "It’s OK the gun’s not
loaded, see" and pointed
it at himself with a smile on
his face.
1978 - John
Lydon's new group
Public
Image Ltd played
their first live gig at the
Rainbow Theatre, London.
1998 - Bryan
MacLean,
guitarist with Love,
died of a heart attack aged 62
while having Christmas dinner
with a young fan who was
researching a book about the
band. Love had the 1966 US No.33
single '7 And 7 Is', and the
1968 album Forever Changes.
2006 - James
Brown the
‘Godfather of Soul’, died at the
age of 73 after being diagnosed
with severe pneumonia. Brown
went to his dentist in Atlanta
the previous day who told him
something was wrong, and sent
him to a doctor immediately. His
hits included ‘Papa's Got a
Brand New Bag’, ‘I Got You (I
Feel Good)’, and ‘Get Up (I Feel
Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt.
1’. Brown was married four
times. At the age of 16 was
arrested for theft and served 3
years in prison. In 1988 Brown
was arrested following a
high-speed car chase along the
Georgia-South Carolina state
border.
2009 - Tony
Bellamy
guitarist, pianist and vocalist
for the Native American rock
band Redbone
died of liver failure. Redbone
had the 1971 No.2 single 'The
Witch Queen Of New Orleans' and
the 1974 US No. 4 hit single,
'Come and Get Your Love.'
Redbone are accredited in the NY
Smithsonian as the first Native
American rock/Cajun group to
have a No.1 single in the United
States and internationally.
Bellamy had performed with Dobie Gray,
and was a member of Peter and
the Wolves (a
band from San Francisco that
evolved into the psychedelic
band Moby
Grape).
2016 - George
Michael died at
his home aged 53. Thames Valley
Police said South Central
Ambulance Service attended a
property in Goring in
Oxfordshire at 13:42 GMT. The
singer who launched his career
with Wham!
in the 1980s and later continued
his success as a solo performer,
was said to have "passed away
peacefully at home". Up to the
time of his death, Michael sold
more than 115 million records
worldwide, making him one of the
best-selling music artists of
all time.
1972 - On the second UK leg of his
182 date Ziggy Stardust Tour, David Bowie
played the second of two nights at
the Rainbow Theatre, London. This
tour had the classic Spiders From
Mars line up of
Mick Ronson on guitar, vocals,
Trevor Bolder, bass and Mick
"Woody" Woodmansey on drums.
1977 - The
Sex Pistols played
their last ever UK gig (until
1996), before splitting, at
Ivanhoes in Huddersfield. It was a
charity performance before an
audience of mainly children.
1988 - American glam metal band Poison
started a three-week run at No.1
on the US singles chart with
'Every Rose Has Its Thorn.' (and as every
pedant knows, Roses don't have
thorns)
2016 - Status
Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt
died in hospital in Marbella,
Spain aged 68. He died from a
severe infection after going to
hospital following complications
to a shoulder injury. His
partnership with Francis Rossi
became the core of Status Quo, one
of Britain's most enduring bands.
The band had over 60 chart hits -
more than any other rock band,
including "Pictures of Matchstick
Men" in 1967. In July 1985 the
band opened Live Aid at Wembley
Stadium with "Rockin' All Over the
World".
Week Commencing
December 16
1959 - Chuck
Berry was arrested
after taking 14 year old Janice
Norine (who unbeknown to Berry was
working as a prostitute), across a
state line. He was sentenced to 5
years jail but after racist comments
by the judge Berry was freed.
1966 - ITV (Redifusion) broadcast
Ready, Steady Go! for the last time,
after the Musicians Union enforced a
ban on miming. The special guests
for the farewell show were Mick Jagger,
The Who, Eric Burdon, The
Spencer Davis Group, Donovan
and Dave
Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.
1972 - Former Grand
Funk Railroad manager
Terry Knight arrived during a
concert by the band with a court
order to seize $1m in money or
assets. Police inform the ex manager
that he couldn't take anything until
after the show.
1985 - Judas
Priest fans Raymond
Belknap and James Vance shot
themselves after listening to the
Judas Priest album ‘Stained Class.’
The two had drunk beer, smoked
marijuana and then listened to hours
of the album. Afterwards they took a
shotgun to a nearby school
playground where Belknap shot and
killed himself. Vance then blew away
his jaw, mouth and nose but lived
for more than three years before
dying of effects of the shooting.
2005 - Geezer
Butler, the bass
player with Black
Sabbath offered
£5,000 for any information leading
to the safe return of Toga, the
three-month-old penguin that had
been stolen from a zoo on the Isle
of Wight a few days earlier.
1962 - Acker
Bilk's 'Stranger On The
Shore' finally dropped off the UK
charts after 55 weeks. That record
would stand until 1968 when Engelbert
Humperdinck's 'Release
Me' stayed for 56. The current record
is held by Frank
Sinatra's 'My Way',
which charted for 75 non-consecutive
weeks.
1973 - Elton
John started a two-week
run at No.1 on the album chart with
'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', it also
had a eight week run at No.1 on the US
chart. The album contains the Marilyn Monroe
tribute, 'Candle in the Wind', as well
as three successful singles: 'Bennie
and the Jets', 'Goodbye Yellow Brick
Road', and 'Saturday Night's Alright
for Fighting'.
1987 - Nikki
Sixx from Motley Crue
was pronounced 'dead on arrival' in an
ambulance when his heart stopped
beating for two minutes. Sixx was
given two shots of adrenaline in his
chest to revive him. Fellow band
members were prematurely informed of
his death.
2002 - Former Clash
singer and guitarist Joe Strummer
(John Graham Mellor) died of a
suspected heart attack aged 50. Scored
the 1979 No. 11 single 'London
Calling', 1991 No.1 single 'Should I
Stay Or Should I Go', first released
1982, plus 15 other Top 40 singles.
The Clash's London Calling album was
voted best album of the 1980s by
Rolling Stone magazine. Strummer was
also a member of the The Mescaleros.
2008 - A cassette tape of a "drunk" John Lennon
recording a cover version of a rock
'n' roll song sold at auction in Los
Angeles for $30,000 (£20,200). The
six-minute recording, made in autumn
1973, is of Lennon performing Lloyd Price's
Just Because. "Debauched lyrics"
improvised by "a drunk Lennon" include
"just a little cocaine will set me
right", and, "I wanna take
all them new singers, Carol and the
other one with the nipples, I wanna
take 'em and hold 'em tight."
2010 - The Abbey Road zebra crossing
in north London, made famous after
appearing on a Beatles
album cover was given Grade II listed
status. The crossing, the first of its
kind to be listed, was being
recognised for its "cultural and
historical importance" following
advice from English Heritage. The
Beatles were photographed on Abbey
Road in Ian Macmillan's iconic cover
shot for the 1969 album Abbey Road.
2014 - Joe
Cocker died of lung
cancer in Crawford, Colorado aged 70.
The Sheffield-born singer was known
for his gritty voice, spasmodic body
movement in performance and definitive
versions of popular songs of varying
genre. Cocker had a career lasting
more than 40 years, with hits
including his cover of The Beatles'
'With A Little Help From My Friends',
'You Are So Beautiful' and 'Up Where
We Belong'. He was made an OBE in
2011. In the early Sixties Cocker was
performing as Vance
Arnold. The name was a
combination of Vince Everett, Elvis Presley's
character in Jailhouse Rock (which
Cocker misheard as Vance); and country
singer Eddy
Arnold.
1967 - Buffalo
Springfield appeared at
the Community Concourse, San Diego,
California. The group became a
springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen
Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina.
1968 - During a UK tour Led Zeppelin
appeared at The Civic Hall, Exeter,
supported by The
Empty Vessels, featuring
Martin Turner and Steve Upton who later
formed Wishbone
Ash. Zeppelin were paid
£125 for the gig.
1970 - Elton
John's first US hit,
‘Your Song’ entered the Billboard Hot
100, where it went on to reach number
eight. The
Hollies had been offered
the song and Three
Dog Night had already
recorded a version which was included on
their ‘It Ain't Easy’ album.
1979 - Elvis
Presley's personal
physician, George
Nichopoulos, was charged
with 'illegally and indiscriminately'
prescribing over 12,000 tablets of
uppers, downers, and painkillers for the
star during the 20 months preceding his
untimely death. Although he was
acquitted this time, he was charged
again in 1980 and again in 1992 and was
stripped of his medical license in July
1995.
1991 - Joe
Cole, an American roadie
for Black
Flag and Rollins Band,
was shot and killed in an armed robbery.
Cole and Henry
Rollins had attended a Hole
concert at the Whisky a Go Go and were
returning home after having stopped at
an all-night grocery store when two
armed men – described as black in their
20s – approached them demanding money.
Angry that Rollins and Cole had only $50
between them, the gunmen ordered the two
men to go inside their house for more
cash. Rollins entered at gunpoint.
However, Cole was killed outside after
being shot in the face at close range
while Rollins escaped out the back door
and alerted the police. The murder
remains unsolved. Cole is remembered in
the Sonic
Youth songs ‘JC’ and
‘100%’ on their album Dirty.
1993 - Michael
Clarke drummer with The Byrds
died of liver failure aged 47. Also
worked with the
Flying Burrito Brothers
and Jerry Jeff
Walker. Before his death
Clarke had expressed a wish of alerting
children to the dangers of alcoholism.
Following his wishes, Clarke's
girlfriend Susan Paul started a
foundation in Clarke's name, called the
Campaign for Alcohol-free Kids.
1994 - The
Manic Street Preachers
played the first of three nights at The
Astoria, London, the last shows Richey Edwards
made with the band before disappearing.
Edwards vanished on February 1st 1995
leaving no clues to his whereabouts.
2000 - 10,000
Maniacs guitarist Robert Buck
died of liver failure aged 42. Best know
for ‘Hey Jack Kerouac’, ‘What's The
Matter Here’ and 'Candy Everybody
Wants'.
2006 - Two giant eyeballs donated by Pink Floyd
raised £16,500 for the homeless charity
Crisis. The 6ft-high props, made to
promote the Pulse DVD, were on the
auction site eBay for a week and
attracted 46 bids. Pink Floyd's David
Gilmour, a vice-president of Crisis,
said extra help was needed in the winter
months.
1962 - On their fifth visit to West
Germany The
Beatles played the first
night of a two-week engagement at the
Star-Club, Hamburg. A 13 night run,
playing 3 hours each night. The final
night's performance was recorded and
became known as ‘The Star-Club Tapes’,
released in 1977 against the wishes of the
ex-Beatles themselves.
1966 - Tara
Browne was killed when
driving at high speed in his Lotus Elan
after it collided with a parked lorry in
South Kensington, London. A close friend
of The Rolling
Stones Mick Jagger and Brian Jones,
his death was immortalized in The Beatles
song ‘A Day In The Life’ after John Lennon
read a report on the coroner's verdict
into Browne's death.
1971 - T. Rex
scored their first No.1 album with their
sixth release 'Electric Warrior'. The
album which became the biggest seller of
the year contained two of T. Rex's most
popular songs, 'Get It On' and 'Jeepster.'
1983 - American guitarist Jimmy Nolan
died of a heart attack in Atlanta,
Georgia, aged 47. Known for his
distinctive ‘chicken scratch’ lead guitar
playing, he worked with James Brown
from 1965 until his death.
2013 -
Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins
was sentenced to 35 years in jail for a
string of child sex offences. Watkins, 36,
from Pontypridd, Wales, had pleaded guilty
at Cardiff Crown Court last month to 13
child sex offences.
2015 - A US medical examiner said Stone Temple Pilots
frontman Scott
Weiland died from a toxic
mix of drugs including cocaine, alcohol
and ecstasy. Weiland, who was 48, rose to
fame with the Stone Temple Pilots was
found dead on his tour bus outside a hotel
in Bloomington, Minneapolis, on 3 December
of this year.
1963 - James Carroll at WWDC in Washington,
DC, became the first disc jockey to
broadcast a Beatles
record on American radio. Carroll played 'I
Want To Hold Your Hand', which he had
obtained from his stewardess girlfriend, who
brought the single back from the UK. Due to
listener demand, the song was played daily,
every hour. Since it hadn't been released
yet in the States, Capitol Records initially
considered court action, but instead
released the single earlier than planned.
1968 - The Who
played their Xmas party at the The Marquee
Club London. Also on the bill was a new
group called Yes.
Members 15 shillings, or £1 on the night.
Other acts appearing at the club this month
included Joe
Cocker, Free and Led Zeppelin.
1971 - David Bowie
released his fourth album Hunky Dory, which
was the first to feature all the members of
the band that would become known the
following year as Ziggy Stardust's Spiders
From Mars. Two singles were released from
the album: 'Changes' / 'Andy Warhol' in
January 1972 and 'Life on Mars' which was
released late June 1973. Bowie himself
considered the album to be one of the most
important in his career.
1973 - Slade
were at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Merry Xmas Everybody' their sixth chart
topper. It has been released during every
decade since 1973, and has been covered by
numerous artists. In a 2007 poll, 'Merry
Xmas Everybody' was voted the UK's most
popular Christmas song.
2010 - Captain
Beefheart died aged 69 from
complications from multiple sclerosis. The
American musician, singer-songwriter, artist
and poet born Don Glen Vliet in Glendale,
California recorded 13 studio albums.
2010 - Sir Paul
McCartney performed an
intimate lunchtime gig at the 100 Club on
London's Oxford Street, the historic music
venue threatened with closure. Around 300
fans were treated to a set lasting almost
two hours, in what was McCartney’s smallest
gig in the UK for nearly 10 years. A
campaign to keep the 100 Club open had
attracted support from Primal Scream's Bobby
Gillespie and Sir Mick Jagger.
2015 - A London judge said he was concerned
at how much Liam
Gallagher and his ex-wife
Nicole Appleton were spending in a legal
dispute over how their assets should be
split after it was revealed that the pair
had spent over £800,000 on legal fees. Judge
O'Dwyer decided their money and property
should be divided equally, with each
receiving £5.4m.
(which reminds me of that joke: "What
do you call 500 lawyers at the
bottom of the ocean?"
- "Not enough".)
1966 -
The first Jimi
Hendrix Experience single
'Hey Joe', was released on Polydor
records, the track had been rejected by
the Decca label. It went on to be a No.6
hit in the UK, but failed to chart in
America. Chas Chandler, who was now
managing Hendrix had seen Folk singer Tim Rose
perform the song at the Cafe Wha? in New
York City.
1971 - Frank
Zappa's '200 Motels' film
opened at London's Piccadilly Classic
Cinema. The film which also featured Ringo
Star, covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of
Invention going crazy in
the small town Centerville.
2001 - Scottish guitarist, vocalist, and
songwriter Stuart
Adamson, lead singer of Big Country
was found dead in Hawaii a month after
disappearing from his home. His body was
found in a closet in his room at the Best
Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu. The
43-year musician had fought a long battle
against alcoholism. Adamson had been due
to face drunk-driving charges in March
2002 and had been ordered to attend
Alcoholics Anonymous. Adamson founded
Scottish art-punk band Skids in
1977 and in the 1990s he founded
alternative country rock act The Raphaels.
2005 - The surviving Beatles
and relatives of the band's late members
began legal action against EMI to get
royalties allegedly worth £30m. Paul
McCartney, Ringo Starr and relations of
George Harrison and John Lennon claimed
EMI owed record royalties to their company
Apple Corps.
Week Commencing December
9
1943 - American jazz pianist, organist,
composer, singer, and comedic entertainer Fats Waller
died of pneumonia on a train trip near
Kansas City, Missouri. Waller wrote many
songs including 'Ain't Misbehavin', 'Your
Feet's Too Big' and 'The Reefer Song'. In
1926 Waller was kidnapped at gunpoint in
Chicago and driven to a club owned by
gangster Al Capone. Inside the club he was
ordered to perform at what turned out to be
a surprise birthday party for the gangster.
He enjoyed success touring the UK and
Ireland in the 1930s, appearing on one of
the first BBC television broadcasts on
September 30, 1938.
1977 - The Sex
Pistols were refused entry
into the USA two days before a scheduled NBC
TV appearance. Johnny Rotten because of a
drugs conviction, Paul Cook & Sid
Vicious because of 'moral turpitude' and
Steve Jones because of his criminal record.
1979 - Pink Floyd
started a five week run at No.1
on the singles chart with 'Another Brick In
The Wall (Part 2)' their only UK chart
topper. The song, which was also the final
No.1 single of the 1970s, received a Grammy
nomination for Best Performance by a Rock
Duo or Group, but Floyd lost to Bob Seger's
Against the Wind.
1984 - Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid
entered the chart at No.1 and stayed at the
top for five weeks. It became the biggest
selling UK single of all time with sales
over 3 and a half million. Band Aid was
masterminded by former
Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof,
who had been moved by a TV news story of
famine in Ethiopia. Geldof had the idea of
raising funds with a one-off charity single
featuring the cream of the current pop
world. Duran
Duran, Spandau Ballet, Paul Young,
Culture Club, George Michael, Sting,
Bono, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Francis
Rossi and Rick Parfitt
of Status Quo
and Bananarama
all appeared on the recording.
2010 - Various Pink
Floyd items were sold at an
Entertainment Memorabilia auction by Bonhams
in Knightsbridge London. A demo pressing of
the single 'Point Me To The Sky/Careful With
That Axe Eugene' sold for £720. Pink Floyd
signatures, in various blue marker pens on
four separate pieces of paper mounted and
framed together with a copy of 'Dark Side Of
The Moon' sold for £624.00 and a demo
pressing of the single by Syd Barrett
'Octopus' / 'Golden Hair' from 1969,
misspelt 'Barratt' corrected in ink on
A-side, sold for £300.
1955 - Dickie
Valentine was at No.1 on the
singles chart with 'Christmas Alphabet', the
first Christmas song to reach the No.1
position. It was the first Christmas No.1 that
was actually about Christmas, a trend that
would continue off and on over the next
several decades.
1966 - Jimi Hendrix
made his TV debut on ITV's 'Ready Steady Go!'
(Marc Bolan
was also on the show). The Jimi Hendrix
Experience also recorded 'Foxy Lady' on this
day. The United States version of Are You
Experienced listed the song with a spelling
mistake as 'Foxey Lady' and this is how it is
still known among many North American fans.
1970 - Dave Edmunds
was at No.1 on the singles chart with his
version of the 1955 Smiley Lewis hit 'I Hear
You Knocking.' The Welsh singer, songwriter
and producers only No.1 hit.
2000 - It was announced that after 74 years
the rock weekly Melody
Maker was to close down. The
Christmas edition would be the last one then
it would merge with the NME
creating a more sizeable broad-based magazine.
2001 - American singer, songwriter, and
guitarist Chuck
Schuldiner died of brain
cancer. He founded the pioneering band Death in 1983.
Schuldiner is often referred to as "The
Godfather of death metal". Death's
best-selling album is the 1991 release Human.
2012 - A collection of love letters written by
Mick Jagger
to American singer Marsha Hunt sold at auction
for £187,250. The letters were penned in the
summer of 1969 while The
Rolling Stones frontman was in
Australia. They are believed to be the
inspiration for the band's hit single 'Brown
Sugar'.
1970 - Smokey Robinson
and the Miracles started a run at
No.1 on the singles chart with 'Tears Of A
Clown'. It was the group's 26th Top 40 hit and
first No.1. The song was written by Stevie
Wonder in 1966, and his producer Hank Cosby,
Smokey Robinson wrote the lyrics.
1970 - The Doors
played what would be their last ever live show
with Jim Morrison when they played at the
Warehouse in New Orleans.
2008 - The town where Mick
Jagger and Keith
Richards grew up announced it was
to name streets in a new estate after Rolling Stones
hits. The 13 streets in Dartford, Kent, were to
be given names such as Angie Mews, Babylon
Close, Sympathy Street, Little Red Walk and
Satisfaction Street. Leader of the council,
Jeremy Kite, said he thought Ruby Tuesday Drive
sounded a "fantastic" place to live, but police
were concerned the street signs might be stolen
by fans.
2012 - The Rolling
Stones, The Who, Michael Stipe, Chris
Martin, Bruce Springsteen and Roger Waters
played at Madison Square Garden and raised over
$30m (£18.6m) at a benefit gig in New York for
those affected by superstorm Sandy which had
caused the deaths of 120 people when it hit the
Caribbean and US in October of this year. The
surviving members of
Nirvana, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic,
also joined Sir Paul
McCartney on stage to perform.
1961 - The Beatles
agent Sam Leach attempted to introduce the group
to London agents by promoting a show at The Palais
Ballroom in Aldershot. The show was not advertised
properly and, as a result, only 18 people attended
(local newspaper The Aldershot News failed to
publish the advertisement for the show). However,
the band and friends had their own fun after the
show, including a mock funeral for Paul McCartney.
1966 - Supergroup Cream
released their debut studio album 'Fresh Cream'.
The three piece of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and
Ginger Baker also released their second single 'I
Feel Free' on the same day.
1967 - The Doors
appeared at the New Haven Arena, New Haven,
Connecticut. Before the show a policeman found
singer Jim Morrison making out with an 18 year-old
girl in a backstage shower and after an argument
the policeman sprays mace in Morrison’s face. Once
on stage Morrison tells the story of the backstage
episode and starts taunting the police who drag
him off the stage and arrest him. The crowd riots
leaving the venue in disarray and many are
arrested. Later over 100 protestors gathered at
the police station in demonstration and more
arrests were made.
1992 - George Harrison
was the recipient of the first Century Award,
presented by Tom Petty
at the third Billboard Music Awards in Universal
City, California.
2010 - Eric Clapton
announced he was to sell off part of his extensive
guitar collection to raise money for his
Crossroads rehab Centre in Antigua. Highlights of
the sale would include a guitar Clapton played at
the Cream
reunion shows in 2005, estimated to sell for more
than £13,000. The sale to be held by Bonhams in
New York would also feature a vast collection of
amps and speakers, including a pair of Marshall
speaker cabinets.
Week Commencing December 2
1964 - Beach Boy Brian
Wilson married Marilyn Rovell in L.A.
The couple divorced in 1979. Marilyn and her sister
and cousin were in a group, the
Honeys, who were produced by Brian
Wilson. Marilyn and Brian had two daughters, Carnie
and Wendy, who became members of Wilson Phillips.
1967 - The Beatles
Apple boutique on 94 Baker Street, London, opened
its doors. The store closed seven months later when
it fell foul of council objections over the
psychedelic mural painted on the outside. All the
goods from the shop were given away free to passers
by and to people who had queued throughout the night
for a chance of getting a free item.
1993 - Manic Street
Preachers co-manager Phillip Hall
died from cancer. Hall was a former Record Mirror
journalist and had also worked in PR for Stiff
Records. Represented many acts including The Stone Roses, The Pogues,
James, The Waterboys, The Beautiful South
and Radiohead.
2016 - Greg Lake,
who fronted both King
Crimson and Emerson,
Lake and Palmer, died aged 69 after a
battle with cancer. One of the founding fathers of
progressive rock, the band combined heavy rock riffs
with a classical influence. They scored hit albums
with Pictures at an Exhibition, Trilogy and Brain
Salad Surgery and Lake had his solo hit 'I Believe
in Father Christmas'. Jimi Hendrix considered
joining ELP in their earliest incarnation, and if
this had happened, the band would've been known as
HELP.
2016 - An inquest into the deaths of British band Viola Beach after a
crash in Sweden heard that "none of the young men
suffered". The four-piece group and their manager,
who were aged between 19 and 32, died in the early
hours of 13 February 2016, following a gig in
Stockholm. Their car crashed into a raised section
of a bridge and plummeted into a canal.
1961 - Brian Epstein invited The
Beatles into his office to discuss the
possibility of becoming their manager. John Lennon,
George Harrison and Pete Best arrived late for the 4pm
meeting (they had been drinking at the Grapes pub in
Matthew Street), but Paul McCartney was not with them,
because, as Harrison explained, he had just got up and
was "taking a bath".
1965 - Rolling Stone Keith
Richards was knocked unconscious by an
electric shock on stage at the Memorial Hall In
Sacramento, California, when his guitar made contact
with his microphone.
1965 - The Who
released their debut studio album: My Generation. In
the United States it was released by Decca Records as
'The Who Sings My Generation' in April 1966, with a
different cover and a slightly altered track listing.
In 2003 it was named the second greatest guitar album
of all time by Mojo magazine.
1966 - British act The New
Vaudeville Band started a three-week
run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Winchester
Cathedral'. A No.4 hit in the UK.
1966 - The Monkees
made their live debut at the International Arena,
Honolulu. The massive success of the TV series and its
spin-off records had created intense pressure to mount
a touring version of the group.
1969 - The Rolling Stones
recorded 'Brown Sugar' at Muscle Shoals studios. The
single went on to be a UK & US No.1. The song was
written by Mick Jagger with Marsha Hunt in mind; Hunt
was Jagger's secret girlfriend and mother of his first
child Karis.
1976 - A giant 40ft inflatable pig could be seen
floating above London, after breaking free from its
moorings. The pig, nicknamed Algie, was being
photographed for the forthcoming Pink Floyd Animals
album cover. The Civil Aviation Authority issued a
warning to all pilots that a flying pig was on the
run. The pig eventually crashed into a barn in
Godmersham, Kent, where the farmer complained of his
cows being scared by the incident.
1979 - A concert by The Who
at The Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, turned to
disaster when 11 members of the audience were trampled
to death after a stampede to claim unreserved seats,
another 26 fans were injured. The concert was using
'festival seating' where seats are available on a
first come-first served basis. When the waiting fans
outside the Coliseum heard the band performing a late
sound check, they thought that the concert was
beginning and tried to rush into the still-closed
doors.
1986 - Judas Priest
were sued by two families, alleging that the band were
responsible for their sons forming a suicide pact and
shooting themselves. The parents and their legal team
alleged that a subliminal message of 'do it' had been
included in the Priest song Better By You, Better Than
Me from the Stained Class album and alleged the
command in the song triggered the suicide attempt. The
trial lasted from 16 July to 24 August 1990, when the
suit was dismissed.
2001 - American session guitarist
Grady Martin died aged 72. He was a
member of the legendary Nashville A-Team, playing
guitar on hits ranging from Roy Orbison's ‘Oh, Pretty
Woman’, Marty Robbins' ‘El Paso’ and Loretta Lynn's
‘Coal Miner's Daughter’. During a 50-year career,
Martin backed such names as Elvis
Presley, Buddy Holly, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie,
Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Joan Baez and
J.J. Cale.
2008 - Composer, keyboardist and arranger Derek Wadsworth died
in Oxfordshire. As a musician he worked with Georgie Fame, Alan Price, George
Harrison, Mike Oldfield, Diana Ross, Tom Jones,
Dionne Warwick, Simply Red. Arranger
for David Essex, Dusty
Springfield, Nina Simone, Judy Garland, Kate Bush,
Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, Small Faces, The Rolling
Stones and Manfred
Mann.
2009 - Rolling Stone Ronnie
Wood was arrested in Esher, Surrey on
suspicion of assault, after a passer-by dialled 999 as
a violent argument took place between Wood and his
21-year-old on-off girlfriend Ekaterina Ivanova. He
was later cautioned by police.
Week
Commencing November 25
1957 - Buddy Holly and the
Crickets appeared on 'The Ed Sullivan
Show', performing 'That'll Be The Day' and 'Peggy Sue'.
Sam Cooke was also a guest on the same show performing
'You Send Me'.
1964 - The Who
played the first of 22 consecutive Tuesday night gigs at
The Marquee Club in London, the band were paid £50 for
each gig. The Marquee Club saw the rise of some of the
most important British artists in the 60s such as Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Cream,
Manfred Mann, The Nice, Yes, Pink Floyd, Jethro
Tull, King Crimson and many others who
all appeared at the club.
1967 - The Jimi Hendrix
Experience released their second studio
album Axis: Bold as Love. Hendrix expressed dismay
regarding the album cover art, which depicts him and the
Experience as various forms of Vishnu, incorporating a
painting of them by Roger Law, from a photo-portrait by
Karl Ferris. Hendrix stated that the cover would have
been more appropriate had it highlighted his American
Indian heritage.
1987 - A Kentucky teacher lost her appeal in the US
Supreme Court over her sacking after showing Pink Floyd's film The
Wall to her class. The court decided that the film was
not suitable for minors with its bad language and sexual
content.
2014 - Phil Rudd
the drummer of AC/DC
pleaded not guilty to charges of threatening to kill and
possession of drugs. Rudd was excused from appearing in
New Zealand's Tauranga District Court, with his lawyer
entering his plea. The 60-year-old Australian-born
musician was originally charged with attempting to
procure the murder of two men.
1969 - The Monkees
made what would be their last live appearance for 15 years
when they played at The Oakland Coliseum, California.
1969 - The Rolling Stones played
the final night on a 17 date North American tour at the
International Raceway Festival, West Palm Beach, Florida.
Also appearing, The Moody Blues, Ten Years After, King
Crimson, Janis Joplin, The Band, Steppenwolf and Iron
Butterfly.
1996 - American singer and ukulele player Tiny Tim (Herbert Khaury)
died from a heart attack on stage while playing his hit
‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’ at a club in Minneapolis. On
17 December 1969, he married Victoria Mae Budinger on The
Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a publicity stunt
that attracted over 40 million viewers. They had a
daughter, Tulip Victoria. He performed at the 1970 Isle Of
Wight Festival in front of a crowd of 600,000 people.
2002 - High Court probate records showed that George Harrison left his
fortune of £99m in a trust to his wife Olivia and his son
Dhani, depriving the taxman of £40m. His English mansion
near Henley-on-Thames was said to be worth £15m.
2003 - A block of East 2nd Street in New York City was
officially renamed Joey Ramone Place. It is the block
where Joey once lived with band mate Dee Dee Ramone and is
near the music club CBGB, where the Ramones
played their first gigs. In 2010, it was reported that
"Joey Ramone Place," was New York City's most stolen sign.
As of September 27, the sign has been moved to 20 feet
above ground level.
2006 - The sale of Syd Barrett's
final belongings were sold by Cheffins auctioneers in
Cambridge. The sale of the 77 items raised £119,890. Ten
paintings alone raised over £55,000 and two bicycles over
£10,000. The sale included such things as the armchair he
used to sit in, his home-made bread bin, tools, notebooks
and binders and books. The sale catalogue described
Barrett - who quit Pink Floyd
in 1968 - as a man with a "total disinterest in
materialism."
2015 - Former New Order
bassist Peter Hook was
suing his ex-bandmates for £2.3m. Hook accused Bernard
Sumner and Stephen and Gillian Morris of "pillaging" the
pop group's assets after the three other band members set
up a company to handle the band's income in 2011 without him .
1961 -
Neil Christian and the
Crusaders,
featuring a young Jimmy Page
on guitar, played a concert at
Holloway Women’s Prison in London.
The inmates were all dressed in
washed out yellow, green, blue and
red faded floral print dresses and
wore homemade mascara, using the
charcoal from burnt matches.
1962 -
The Beatles
recorded their first BBC radio
session at the BBC Paris studio on
Regent Street in London. They
played 'Twist and Shout', 'Love Me
Do' and 'P.S. I Love You', the
tracks were aired on the BBC Light
Program 'Talent Spot.'
1970 - George
Harrison released
All Things Must Pass which
includes the hit singles 'My Sweet
Lord' and 'What Is Life', as well
as songs such as 'Isn't It a Pity'
and the title track that had been
turned down for inclusion on
releases by the Beatles.
The triple album would go on to be
certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA,
making it the best selling album
by a solo Beatle.
1981 - The British Phonographic
industry placed advertisements in
the press claiming that 'home
taping was wiping out music'. The Boomtown
Rats, 10cc, Elton John
and Cliff Richard all
backed the campaign.
1997 - A disturbed rock fan
brought the funeral of INXS
singer Michael
Hutchence to a
standstill when he tried to launch
himself from a 20 ft high balcony
with a cord around his neck. He
was removed by police and taken
away to a psychiatric unit.
2005 - Tony
Meehan drummer with The Shadows
died aged 62 from head injuries
sustained in a fall at his London
flat in Maida Vale. Had the 1963
No.1 single 'Foot Tapper' plus 28
other Top 40 singles. Left The
Shadows in 1961 to work as a
session drummer with Joe Meek.
Also had the No.1 hit ‘Diamonds’
with Jet
Harris.
1962 - The
Beatles recorded
their second single ‘Please Please
Me’ in 18 takes and ‘Ask Me Why’ for
the flip side at EMI studios London.
When released in the US on the
Vee-Jay label, the first pressings
featured a typographical error: The
band's name was spelled "The
Beattles".
1968 - Cream
played their farewell concert at
the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Also on the bill were Yes
and Taste.
The concert was filmed and
released as Cream's Farewell
Concert which has often been
criticized for both its mediocre
sound and visual effects: during
Ginger
Baker's
drum solo, he seems to change
clothes at lightning speed due
to careless post-editing.
1973 - The
New York Dolls made
their live UK debut at Biba's
Rainbow Room, London. The American
band who formed in New York in 1971
influenced the look of many new wave
and 1980s-era glam metal groups.
1976 - The
Sex Pistols released
the single 'Anarchy In The UK'.
Originally issued in a plain black
sleeve, the single was the only Sex
Pistols recording released by EMI,
and reached No.38 on the Singles
Chart before EMI dropped the group
on 6 January 1977.
2016 - Punk memorabilia said to be
worth £5m was set on fire in the
middle of the River Thames in
London. Joe Corre, the son of Sex
Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and
fashion designer Dame Vivienne
Westwood, burnt the items on the
40th anniversary of the Sex Pistols
debut single. The 48-year-old told
the crowd that "punk was never
meant to be nostalgic".
1965 - Harrods department store in
London was closed to the public so The Beatles
could do their Christmas shopping in
private.
1966 - The
Jimi Hendrix Experience
made their UK live debut at the Bag
O'Nails Club, London, where they
played using the club's DJ booth. Eric Clapton,
Pete Townshend, The Beatles, Mick
Jagger, Brian Jones, Jeff Beck,
Jimmy Page, The Hollies
and the Small
Faces would all hang
out at the club.
1972 - Chuck
Berry was at No.1 on
the singles chart with 'My Ding
a-Ling', his only UK No.1. The song
was originally recorded by Dave
Bartholomew in 1952. Berry's version
was from a concert recorded at the
Locarno ballroom in Coventry, on 3
February 1972.
1974 - Singer, songwriter Nick Drake
died in his sleep aged 26 of an
overdose of tryptasol an
anti-depressant drug. Drake signed to
Island Records when he was twenty
years old, recorded the classic 1972
album Pink Moon. In 2000, Volkswagen
featured the title track from Pink
Moon in a television advertisement,
and within a month Drake had sold more
records than he had in the previous
thirty years.
1984 - The cream of the British pop
world gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios,
London to record the historic Do They
Know It's Christmas? The single, which
was written by
Bob Geldof and Midge Ure,
featured Paul
Young, Bono, Boy George, Sting
and George
Michael. It went on to
sell over three million copies in the
UK, becoming the bestselling record
ever, and raised over £8 million
worldwide.
1996 - A statue in Montreux,
Switzerland by sculptor Irena Sedlecka
was erected as a tribute to Freddie Mercury.
Standing almost 10 feet (3 metres)
high overlooking Lake Geneva it was
unveiled by Freddie's father and
Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May
and Roger
Taylor also in
attendance.
2000 - A burglar broke into Alice Cooper's
home and made off with over $6000
worth of clothes, shoes and cameras
belonging to the singer's daughter.
The good's were all lifted from
Cooper's house in Paradise Valley,
along with four of the star's gold
discs.
2009 - Brian
May joined Freddie Mercury's
87-year-old mother Jer Bulsara in
Feltham town centre, at a ceremony to
unveil a plaque to the late singer's
memory. They were joined by over 2,000
fans from as far as Japan and
Australia who descended on the Centre,
in Feltham High Street. The plague
reads: “Freddie Mercury - musician,
singer and songwriter” along with the
dates he lived in Feltham, between
1964 and 1968.
Week Commencing
November 18
1965 - Marc
Bolan appeared live on
Five O'Clock Funfair, performing 'The
Wizard'.
1967 - A 16 date package tour played its
7th night at the Sophia Gardens
Pavilion, Cardiff. Featuring The Jimi Hendrix
Experience, Pink Floyd, The Move,
The Nice, The Outer Limits, The Eire
Apparent and Amen Corner,
the entourage performed twice nightly.
In 1974, Pink Floyd returned to the
venue, which has since been demolished,
to be replaced by the 'Really Welsh
Pavilion'.
1975 - Queen
started a nine-week run at No.1 on the
singles chart with Bohemian Rhapsody.
The promotional video that accompanied
the song is generally acknowledged as
being the first pop video and cost only
£5,000 to produce. When the band wanted
to release the single various record
executives suggested to them that, at 5
minutes and 55 seconds, it was too long
and would never be a hit.
1994 - Tommy
Boyce, singer,
songwriter, committed suicide. 1968 US
No. 8 single with Bobby Hart, 'I Wonder
What She's Doing Tonite', also wrote
'Last Train To Clarksville', 'I'm Not
Your Stepping Stone' and 'Scooby- Doo
Where Are You.' Sold over 40m records.
2012 - According to a new list of the
200 rarest records published in Record
Collector magazine, the original acetate
of the pre-Beatles
demo by the
Quarrymen of 'That'll Be
The Day' was worth £200,000. Several
other Beatles records figured in the top
20. Low-numbered copies of The Beatles
The White Album was said to be worth
£7,000, though a copy of a mono White
Album #0000005 sold for £19,201 in 2009.
1965 - Bob Dylan
married Sara Lowndes in a secret ceremony
during a break in his tour. The marriage
took place under an oak tree on a judge's
lawn on Mineola, Long Island, New York.
Sara who is the mother of singer Jakob
Dylan filed for divorce on March 1st 1977.
1968 - The
Beatles double White Album
was released. Featuring 'Ob-La-Di,
Ob-La-Da', 'Dear Prudence', 'Helter
Skelter', 'Blackbird' 'Back In The USSR'
and George Harrison's 'While My Guitar
Gently Weeps'. Priced at £3.13 shillings,
it spent eight weeks as the No.1 album.
1975 - Scottish comedian Billy Connolly
was at No.1 on the singles chart with a
parody of the Tammy Wynette song
D.I.V.O.R.C.E. Connolly's early career as
a singer led to him forming a folk-pop duo
called The
Humblebums in the late 60s,
with future star Gerry
Rafferty.
1990 - Bill
Wyman announced that his
17-month marriage to model Mandy Smith was
over. With the consent of her mother,
Smith had started dating the 47-year-old
Rolling Stones bassist when she was aged
13.
1994 - Pearl Jam
released their third studio album
Vitalogy, which was first released on
vinyl and became the first vinyl album to
appear on the chart since the domination
of the compact disc format. They followed
the release in other formats two weeks
later, whereupon it became the
second-fastest-selling CD in history,
behind only the band's previous release
Vs.
1997 - INXS
singer Michael
Hutchence was found dead in
his hotel suite in Sydney. He was 37.
Hutchence body was found at 11.50am naked
behind the door to his room. He had
apparently hanged himself with his own
belt and the buckle broke away and his
body was found kneeling on the floor and
facing the door. It had been suggested
that his death resulted from an act of
auto eroticism, no forensic or other
evidence to substantiate that suggestion
was found.
2004 - Ozzy
Osbourne struggled with a
burglar who escaped with jewellery worth
about £2m from his Buckinghamshire
mansion. Osbourne told reporters that he
had the masked raider in a headlock as he
tried to stop him. The burglar broke free
and jumped 30 ft from a first floor
window. A large amount of jewellery was
stolen in the raid in which two burglars
were involved.
2005 - A gig by former Stone Roses
frontman Ian
Brown was abandoned after
20 minutes because the floor at the venue
began to sag. 2,000 people were told to
leave Newcastle's Carling Academy, which
had been open only a month. Organisers
said it was simply a safety precaution
after joists under the main dance floor
came out of their springs.
1955 - Carl
Perkins recorded 'Blue Suede
Shoes' at Sun Studios in Memphis. The rock
'n' roll classic became a No.10 hit for
Perkins in 1956, and has been covered by
many acts including Elvis
Presley and John Lennon.
1962 - The Beatles
played gigs at three different venues. First
they performed a lunchtime show at The
Cavern Club, Liverpool, followed by an
85-mile drive to the Midlands, where they
performed at Smethwick Baths Ballroom and
then at the Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich
in Staffordshire.
1964 - The
Supremes became the first all
girl group to have a No.1 single when 'Baby
Love' went to the top of the charts. Written
and produced by Motown's main production
team Holland–Dozier–Holland, it was also the
second of five Supremes songs in a row to go
to No.1 in the United States.
1965 - David Bowie
and the Lower Third appeared
at The Marquee Club, London.
1965 - The Kinks,
The Who, Georgie Fame & The Blue
Fames, The Hollies, Wilson Pickett and
The Golden Apples
Of The Sun all appeared at
the Glad Rag Ball, Empire Pool, London,
tickets 30 shillings.
1976 - Sounds made the
Sex Pistols debut single
'Anarchy In The UK' its single of the week.
1983 - English musician and songwriter Tom Evans
from Badfinger
committed suicide by hanging himself in his
back garden from a willow tree after
arguments concerning royalties for 'Without
You'. Family members said the
singer/songwriter was never able to get over
his former bandmate Pete
Ham's suicide.
1994 - Crosby
Stills & Nash member David Crosby
had a successful liver transplant operation
at Dumont-UCLA in Los Angeles. Crosby's
liver was deteriorated from extensive
alcohol and drug abuse, as well as
hepatitis-C.
2004 - Record producer
Terry Melcher, who was behind
hits by the Byrds,
Ry Cooder and The Beach Boys,
died aged 62 after a long battle with skin
cancer. The son of actress Doris Day, he
co-wrote ‘Kokomo’ for The
Beach Boys, produced 'Mr
Tambourine Man' for the
Byrds, as well as hits for The Mamas & the
Papas.
2012 - Two farmers were found not guilty of
health and safety offences after a giant hay
bale crushed former ELO
cellist Mike
Edwards to death. He was
killed instantly when the 600kg bale rolled
down a field and landed on his van near
Totnes in Devon in September 2010. In March
2011 in Plymouth an inquest jury returned a
verdict of accidental death on Mr Edwards.
2016 - A furious letter from John Lennon
to Paul McCartney
and his wife, Linda, written after The Beatles'
break-up sold for nearly $30,000 (£24,200),
to an anonymous collector in Dallas. In the
two-page typed draft with handwritten notes,
Lennon criticises the couple for their
treatment of him and his wife, Yoko Ono. The
attack is said to be in response to Linda's
criticism of him not publicly announcing his
departure from the band.
1956 - Fats Domino
appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show performing
'Blueberry Hill.' Before the song became a
rock and roll standard it had been recorded by
various artists including Louis Armstrong, The
Glenn Miller Orchestra, Gene Autry
and Jimmy Dorsey.
The version by Fats Domino was ranked No.82 in
Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500
Greatest Songs of All Time.
1965 - Manfred Mann,
The Yardbirds and Paul and Barry Ryan
all appeared at the ABC Cinema,
Stockton-on-Tees.
1970 - Led Zeppelin
III was at No.1 on the UK &
US album charts. The original cover and
interior gatefold art consisted of a surreal
collection of random images. Behind the front
cover was a rotatable laminated card disc,
covered with more images, including photos of
the band members, which showed through holes
in the cover. The distinctive cover was based
on a suggestion of Jimmy Page's that it should
resemble an old-fashioned gardening seed
chart. Designed by Richard Drew aka Zacron,
the sleeve photographs were taken by fellow
Leeds Polytechnic lecturer Martin Salisbury.
1972 - Singer, songwriter Danny Whitten
died of a drug overdose aged 29. He was a
member of Neil
Young's Crazy Horse and writer
of 'I Don't Wanna Talk About It', covered by Rod Stewart, Rita
Coolidge and Everything But The Girl.
The Neil Young song ‘The Needle and the Damage
Done’ was written about Whitten’s heroin use
(before he died of an overdose).
1974 - Genesis
released the double concept album The Lamb
Lies Down on Broadway their sixth studio album
and the last album by the group to feature the
involvement of lead singer Peter Gabriel.
2017 - Australian musician and songwriter Malcolm Young
died age 64. Young was best known as a
co-founder, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist
and songwriter for
AC/DC. Except for a brief
absence in 1988, he was with the band from its
November 1973 beginning until retiring
permanently in 2014. Young was born in 1953 in
Glasgow before his family emigrated to
Australia when he was 10. His family confirmed
he was suffering from dementia in 2014.
Week Commencing November 11
1968 - Led Zeppelin
played their first ever show in the North of
England when they appeared at Manchester College
of Science & Technology. Zeppelin were paid
£225 for the gig.
1968 - The Jimi
Hendrix Experience went to No.1
on the US album chart with their third and final
studio album Electric Ladyland. The double album
included ‘Crosstown Traffic,’ ‘Voodoo Chile’ and
a version of Bob Dylan's ‘All Along the
Watchtower’. Hendrix expressed displeasure and
embarrassment with the "naked lady" cover which
was banned by several record dealers as
"pornographic", while others sold it with the
gatefold cover turned inside out.
1971 - Frank Zappa
appeared on this week's 'Old Grey Whistle Test',
playing live and showing clips from his '200
Motels' film.
1976 - Beach Boy Brian
Wilson gave his first formal
interview for eight years on the 'Old Grey
Whistle Test.'
1987 - Former Clash
drummer Topper Headon
was jailed for 15 months at Maidstone Crown
Court, for supplying heroin to a man who later
died.
1988 - Former Beach
Boys manager Stephen Love was
sentenced to five years probation for embezzling
almost $1m from the group's accounts.
2006 - Queen's
‘Greatest Hits’ album was declared the Best
Selling UK album of all time by The Official UK
Charts Company. The chart which was made up of
sales figures from the last fifty years showed
their Greatest Hits compilation had sold
5,407,587 copies. The
Beatles occupied second place
with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.
1966 - The Doors
officially signed with Elektra Records in a deal
for the band to produce seven albums. The band
also reluctantly agreed to release ‘Break On
Through’ as their first single. The lyric "She
gets high/she gets high/she gets high" was changed
to ‘She gets/she gets/she gets" in order to secure
radio play.
1969 - The Carpenters
released their debut album, Offering (later
re-named as Ticket To Ride) on A&M Records. It
was a commercial failure and produced only one
minor hit single, a ballad version of The Beatles song
'Ticket to Ride'.
1969 - Janis Joplin
was arrested during a gig in Tampa, Florida, after
badmouthing a policeman and using vulgar and
indecent language. Joplin became upset after
police moved into the hall forcing fans to move
back to their seats. As the singer left the stage
she confronted a detective calling him 'a son of a
bitch' and told him she would kick his face in.
She was released on $504 bail.
1980 - Blondie
had their fifth No.1 single and third No.1 of this
year with 'The Tide Is High' a song written by
reggae star John Holt.
1992 - Ozzy Osbourne
announced his retirement from touring after a gig
in California, saying "Who wants to be touring
at 46?"
2007 - Kenneth Donnell from Glasgow paid £83,000
for two tickets to see
Led Zeppelin rehearse and perform
at the O2 arena in London on the 10th December.
Donnell bid for the tickets as part of an auction
for the BBC's Children in Need.
1964 - Decca Records released The
Rolling Stones' 'Little Red Rooster'.
Written by Willie Dixon
(as The Red Rooster), and previously recorded by Howlin’ Wolf and Sam Cooke, the
single was recorded at Chess Studios in Chicago. The
single was a No.1 hit and remains the only time a
blues song has ever topped the UK pop chart.
1968 - Rolling Stone Brian
Jones bought 'Cotchford Farm' in
Sussex. The author AA Milne, who wrote Winnie The
Pooh, had owned the house.
1968 - Hugo Montenegro
was at No.1 in the singles chart with 'The Good The
Bad And The Ugly', the soundtrack from a Clint
Eastwood spaghetti western film. The first
instrumental No.1 since 1963.
1976 - Led Zeppelin
scored their seventh No.1 with the film soundtrack
double album The Song Remains The Same, peaking at
No.2 on the US chart. The tracks were recorded at
Madison Square Garden, New York City in 1973.
1976 - The Melody Maker announced UK dates for the
first major punk tour with
The Sex Pistols and the Ramones
co-headlining along with Talking
Heads, The Vibrators and Chris Spedding. The
14-date tour which was due to start at Newcastle
City Hall on Nov 29th never took place.
1990 - Patricia Boughton filed a lawsuit against Rod Stewart
claiming that a football he kicked into the crowd
during a concert at Pine Knob Music Theatre had
ruptured a tendon in her middle finger. And as a
result the injury had made sex between her and her
husband difficult.
1992 - Ronnie Bond
drummer with The Troggs
died. Scored the 1966 No.2 single 'Wild Thing' and
1966 No.1 ‘With A Girl Like You.’
2016 - Leon Russell
died in Nashville, he was 74. He led Joe Cocker’s band Mad Dogs & Englishmen,
and appeared at George Harrison’s 1971 Concert for
Bangladesh. Many of his songs became hits for
others, among them 'Superstar' (written with Bonnie
Bramlett) for the
Carpenters, 'Delta Lady' for Joe Cocker, and
'This Masquerade' for
George Benson. More than 100 acts
have recorded 'A Song for You,' which Russell said
he wrote in 10 minutes.
1956 - Johnnie Ray
was at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Just Walking In
The Rain.' It stayed at No.1 for seven weeks making it
this years Christmas No.1. Written in 1952 by Johnny
Bragg and Robert Riley, two prisoners at Tennessee
State Prison in Nashville, after a comment made by
Bragg as the pair crossed the courtyard while it was
raining.
1965 - After changing his name from Toby Tyler to Marc Bolan, the future
T. Rex star
performed his first single 'The Wizard' on Ready
Steady Go!
1965 - Velvet Underground
made their live debut when the played at Summit High
School, New Jersey, the band were paid $75 for the
gig.
1966 - Pink Floyd
appeared at the Corn Exchange, Bedford. The set list
for these early Floyd shows included: 'Let's Roll
Another One', 'Gimme A Break', 'Interstellar
Overdrive', 'Astronomy Domine' and 'Stoned Alone'.
'Stoned Alone' was also known as 'I Get Stoned', and
was possibly the first song Syd Barrett wrote for Pink
Floyd.
1968 - Book and record chain WHSmiths refused to
display The Jimi Hendrix
Experience album 'Electric Ladyland'
due to the naked girls featured on the sleeve. The
album was then made available as two albums with
changed artwork after the complaints.
1977 - The Sex Pistols
went to No.1 on the album chart with their debut LP
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. the
group's only No.1 album. The album was met by a hail
of establishment controversy upon its release. The
first problems involved the allegedly 'obscene' name
of the album, resulting in the prosecution of the
manager of the Nottingham Virgin record shop for
having displayed it in a window. More outrage was
sparked by the lyrics of the songs 'God Save the
Queen' and 'Anarchy in the UK.'
1990 - Rolling Stone Ronnie
Wood broke both his legs after his car
crashed on the M4 motorway near Marlborough,
Wiltshire. Wood was trying to wave other cars past his
when he was run over.
2001 - The three living former Beatles
met for the last time at George
Harrison's hotel in New York City for
lunch. Harrison died two weeks later at a friend's
home in Los Angeles on 29 November 2001, aged 58.
2002 - Die-hard Beatles
fans were enraged after Paul
McCartney altered the song writing
credits on his 'Back In The US 2002' album, changing
them to McCartney and Lennon from Lennon and
McCartney.
2003 - American session drummer Tony
Thompson died of cancer aged 48. He was
most famous as the drummer with
The Power Station along with Robert
Palmer, and John Taylor and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran, and Chic, whose single 'Le
Freak' hit No.7 in the UK. He also played on David Bowie's hit
single 'Let's Dance'. Thompson also played drums with
Led Zeppelin
(along with Phil Collins) at Live Aid in 1985.
2004 - The funeral of iconic DJ
John Peel took place at St Edmundsbury
Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds. Pulp's
Jarvis Cocker, Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey and The White Stripes
were among mourners, while Sir
Elton John left a wreath of yellow
roses.
2008 - Mitch Mitchell,
the British drummer with the Jimi
Hendrix Experience was found dead in
his US hotel room aged 61. As a teenager, he starred
in a children's television programme, Jennings and
Derbyshire, and starred in a leading role in the 1960
British film Bottoms Up with Jimmy Edwards. Mitchell
had been working with Georgie
Fame & the Blue Flames when in 1966
he was invited to audition for a new band being formed
to back Jimi Hendrix.
In December 1968, Mitchell played with the Dirty Macs, an
all-star band assembled for The
Rolling Stones 'Rock and Roll Circus'
(with John Lennon, Eric
Clapton and
Keith Richards).
1965 - The final recording session for The Beatles Rubber Soul
album took place, at Abbey Road, London. They needed
three new songs to finish the album so an old song
‘Wait’ was pulled off the shelf and the group recorded
two new songs from start to finish. Paul's ‘You Won't
See Me’ and John's ‘Girl’, the basic tracks for both
songs being completed in two takes. Rubber Soul was
completed, and finished copies of the album were in the
shops by December 3.
1971 - Top Of The Pops celebrated its 400th show. The
chart show was presented by Tony Blackburn with guests Tom Jones, Dana, John Kongos, Cher,
Slade, Cilla Black, The Piglets, Clodagh Rodgers
and The Newbeats.
1972 - The Allman Brothers
Band bass player
Berry Oakley was killed when his
motorcycle hit a bus at the same intersection as former
band member Duane Allman,
who had died a year earlier. Oakley was 24 years old.
1973 - Thirty US radio stations broadcasted a 'live' Mott The Hoople concert.
In reality it was the band recorded in the studio with
the applause dubbed in.
1978 - The Cars
released 'My Best Friend's Girl', the first picture-disc
single commercially available, which went on to be a
No.3 hit.
1983 - Mick Jagger
appeared on the The Tube to defend the video to The Rolling Stones
latest single 'Undercover Of The Night' which had been
banned by the Independent Broadcasting Authority. The
Tube aired the video, minus the scene where Mick was
shot through the head. The single peaked at No.8 on the
chart
1989 - Chris Rea
started a three-week run at No.1 on the album chart with
'The Road To Hell.' The iconic album cover features art
by the English artist, Adrian Chesterman, who was also
responsible for creating cover art for, amongst others,
Motörhead for their
1979 'Bomber' album.
1990 - Ted Albert,
the founder of Albert Productions, died from a heart
attack aged 53. His Australian based company helped
launch the careers of The
Easybeats, John Paul Young, The Angels, Rose
Tattoo and AC/DC.
In recognition of his contribution to the music
industry, the Australasian Performing Right Association
established the annual "Ted Albert Award for Outstanding
Services to Australian Music".
[RIP the brilliant Doc Neeson from The Angels]
1990 - A 21 year-old AC/DC
fan died after being attacked outside the Brendan Byrne
Arena in New Jersey where the band were playing a gig
that night.
2004 - Coldplay fan
Sarah Sainsbury wrote to the band asking for their
autographs so she could sell them to raise funds at her
school charity. Coldplay sent her a triple platinum disc
worth over £4,000.
2011 - The four original band members of Black Sabbath announced
that they were reuniting and recording a new album
followed by a world tour in 2012.
2015 - Phil Taylor better
known as "Philthy Animal" Taylor and drummer with Motörhead
died aged 61. He was in the classic mark IV Motörhead
line-up of Lemmy, Taylor, and Fast Eddie Clarke who
recorded ten studio albums and the live album No Sleep
'til Hammersmith.
Week Commencing November 4
1967 - The Beatles
filmed three promotional films for their new single ‘Hello
Goodbye’ at the Saville Theatre in London. Each of the
three film clips featured different costumes and Beatle
antics. In the first film they wear their Sgt. Pepper
uniforms, for the second The Beatles are wearing everyday
clothes, the third film clip features shots from the first
two films, plus additional shots of The Beatles
(especially John) doing the twist. A Musician's Union ban
on lip-sync broadcasts prevented the film being used on
British television.
1975 - David Bowie
was at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Space Oddity' the
track was first released in 1969 to tie in with the Apollo
11 moon landing. Rick Wakeman
(former keyboard player with Yes)
provided synthesizer backing. Bowie would later revisit
his Major Tom character in the songs 'Ashes to Ashes',
'Hallo Spaceboy' and 'Blackstar'.
1979 - The Eagles went
to No.40 on the singles chart with 'Heartache Tonight'.
1997 - American session guitarist
Tommy Tedesco died of lung cancer aged 67.
Described by "Guitar Player" magazine as the most recorded
guitarist in history recording with The
Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, The Supremes, The
Monkees, The Association, Barbra Streisand, Elvis
Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Sam Cooke, Cher,
and Nancy and Frank Sinatra.
And played on many TV themes including Bonanza, The
Twilight Zone, M*A*S*H and Batman.
2014 - The Rolling Stones
faced a battle to win a £7.9m insurance claim for concerts
they postponed when Mick Jagger's girlfriend died. L'Wren
Scott took her own life in March, prompting the Stones to
postpone a tour of Australia and New Zealand. The group
had taken out a policy to be paid in the event shows were
cancelled due to the death of family members or others,
including Scott. But underwriters said Scott's death may
not be covered by the policy. (wow,
how unusual, an insurance company refusing to pay out).
1955 - The Everly Brothers made their first
studio
recordings
cutting four
tracks in 22
minutes, at
Nashville's
Old Tulane
Hotel studios.
Family friend
Chet Atkins
engineered a
chance for The
Everly
Brothers to
record for
Columbia
Records in
early 1956.
However, their
first and only
single for the
label, 'Keep
A' Lovin' Me',
was a flop,
and they were
quickly
dropped from
Columbia.
1967 - The
first issue of
Rolling Stone
Magazine was
published in
San Francisco.
It featured a
photo of John
Lennon on the
cover, dressed
in army
fatigues while
acting in his
recent film,
How I Won the
War and the
first issue
had a free
roach clip to
hold a
marijuana
joint. The
name of the
magazine was
compiled from
three
significant
sources: the Muddy Waters song, the first rock ‘n’
roll record by
Bob
Dylan
and The
Rolling Stones.
1968 - Led Zeppelin played their first ever
London show
when they
appeared at
The
Roundhouse,
Chalk Farm on
the same bill
as
John Lee
Hooker,
Deviants, John
James and
Tyres. Robert
Plant
married his
girlfriend
Maureen in
London on this
day and held
the reception
at the gig.
1974 -
Bachman Turner
Overdrive went
to No.1 on the
US singles
chart with
'You Ain't
Seen Nothin'
Yet'. Randy
Bachman
stuttered
through the
lyrics of the
demo recording
as a private
joke about his
brother Gary,
who had a
speech
impediment.
The record
company liked
that take
better than
the
non-stammering
version and
released it.
1997 -
Paul Weller was
arrested and
spent the
night in a
French jail
after smashing
up his hotel
room. His
record company
paid £4,000 to
cover the
damage; Weller
was released
the following
day.
2015 -
Scottish
session
drummer Andy White died aged 82. He was
affectionately
christened
"the fifth
Beatle" as he
was best known
for replacing
Ringo Starr on
drums on the The Beatles' first single, ‘Love Me Do’.
White was
featured on
the American
7" single
release of the
song, which
also appeared
on the band's
debut British
album, Please
Please Me. He
also played on
‘P.S. I Love
You’, which
was the B-side
of ‘Love Me
Do’. White
also worked
with Chuck
Berry, Billy
Fury, Herman's
Hermits
and
Tom Jones.
2016 -
David Bowie's
retrospective
show at the
Victoria &
Albert Museum
had enjoyed so
much foot
traffic it was
now officially
the most
successful
touring
exhibition in
the cultural
institution’s
164-year
history.
According to
the V&A
over half a
million people
had visited
'David Bowie
Is' in sites
across the
globe,
including the
312,000
visitors who
saw the
exhibition in
London back in
2013.
1952 - The
first ever pop
chart was
published by
the New
Musical
Express after
staff asked 53
record shops
to divulge
their sales
returns. ‘Here
In My Heart’
by Al Martino
was the first
No.1. The song
stayed at No.1
for nine
weeks.
1968 -
The Who, Joe
Cocker and The
Grease Band,
The
Mindbenders
and The
Crazy World of
Arthur Brown
all appeared
at The
Walthamstow
Granada
Theatre.
1971 -
Led Zeppelin
released their
fourth album.
With no title
printed on the
album, and
generally
referred to as
Four Symbols,
The Fourth
Album or Led
Zeppelin IV it
has gone on to
sell over 37
million copies
worldwide. The
19th century
rustic oil
painting on
the front of
the album was
purchased by
Robert Plant
from an
antique shop
in Reading.
The 20th
century urban
tower block on
the back of
the full
gatefold LP
cover is
Butterfield
Court in Eves
Hill, Dudley.
2008 - AC/DC started a run at No1 on the album
chart with
'Black Ice'
the band's
fifteenth
studio album
and the
second-best
selling album
of 2008. Black
Ice went to
No1 in 29
countries,
including
Australia,
Canada and the
US.
1951 - Frank Sinatra married his second wife
actress Ava
Gardner, the
couple split
up in 1953 and
divorced in
1957. Sinatra
was married
three other
times, to his
first wife
Nancy Barbato,
to the actress
Mia Farrow and
finally to
Barbara Marx,
to whom he was
married at his
death.
1967 - Reg
Dwight (Elton John) and his song writing partner Bernie Taupin signed to DJM publishing,
their
signatures had
to be
witnessed by
their parents
because they
were both
under 21 years
of age. Taupin
answered an
advertisement
for a lyric
writer placed
in the New
Musical
Express, the
pair have
since
collaborated
on over 30
albums.
1975 - A new
world record
was set for
continuous
guitar string
plucking by Steve Anderson who played for 114 hours 17
minutes.
1991 - Rhythm
guitarist Izzy Stradlin quit
Guns N’ Roses
and was
replaced by
guitarist
Gilby Clarke.
Stradlin
citied a
combination of
Axl Rose's
personal
behaviour and
the
difficulties
of being
around Slash,
Matt Sorum,
and Duff
McKagan, due
to his
new-found
sobriety.
2004 -
Elton John
turned the air
blue live on
BBC Radio 1
using the
words;
'fucking',
'wank', and
'tits'. The
singer was a
guest on the
Chris Moyles
breakfast
show.
2014 - Two
wealthy fans
paid $300,000
to eat lasagne
with
Bruce
Springsteen
at his house.
Springsteen
started off
the annual
Stand Up For
Heroes event
by playing an
acoustic set,
then offering
the instrument
to the highest
bidder. When
bidding
reached
$60,000, he
threw in a
guitar lesson,
which someone
offered
$250,000 for.
At this point,
he offered up
a lasagne
dinner at his
house, a ride
around the
block in the
sidecar of his
motorbike and
the shirt off
of his back.
All the money
went to the
Bob Woodruff
Foundation,
which helps
injured
servicemen and
their families
when they
return home.
2014 -
Australian
drummer of AC/DC, Phil Rudd, had a charge of
attempting to
arrange a
murder dropped
in New
Zealand, but
he will still
face charges
of drugs
possession and
making threats
to kill. The
U-turn by
authorities,
announced less
than 24 hours
after Mr Rudd
appeared in
court, was
because of a
lack of
evidence, his
lawyer said.
2016 -
Canadian
singer,
songwriter and
poet
Leonard Cohen
died at the
age of 82 at
his home in
Los Angeles.
Cohen pursued
a career as a
poet and
novelist
during the
1950s and
early 1960s,
and did not
launch a music
career until
1967, at the
age of 33. His
first album,
Songs of
Leonard Cohen
(1967), was
followed by
three more
albums of folk
music: Songs
from a Room
(1969), Songs
of Love and
Hate (1971)
and New Skin
for the Old
Ceremony
(1974).
2017 - Finnish
rock drummer Pentti (Whitey) Glan died of lung
cancer at the
age of 71. He
is best known
for his work
with Alice
Cooper
and
Lou Reed.
He also
appeared in
the movie 'The
Rose' as the
drummer of The
Rose Band.
1964 - During
their first
promotional
visit to the
UK, The
Beach Boys appeared
live on ITV's
'Ready Steady
Go!' which ran
from August
1963 until
December 1966.
1967 - During
a three hour
session Bob Dylan recorded ‘All Along The
Watchtower’
and ‘John
Wesley
Harding’ at
Columbia
Recording
Studios in
Nashville,
Tennessee. The Jimi Hendrix Experience later
recorded their
version of
‘All Along the
Watchtower' on
January 21,
1968, at
Olympic
Studios in
London after
Hendrix had
been given a
tape of
Dylan’s
recording by
publicist
Michael
Goldstein, who
worked for
Dylan’s
manager Albert
Grossman.
1968 - The Monkees' three quarter of a million
dollar feature
film, Head
opened in New
York City.
Instead of
being aimed at
their target
audience of
teeny boppers,
the film
contained a
dark theme
about the
manipulation
of the group
with walk-on
appearances by
inappropriate
guests and
scenes of
Vietnam War
atrocities.
Reviews were
harsh and the
picture was a
box office
disaster.
1970 - Aerosmith performed their first ever gig
when they
played at
Nipmuc
Regional High
School in
Mendon,
Massachusetts.
Sometimes
referred to as
"The Bad Boys
from Boston",
Aerosmith
became the
best-selling
American rock
band of all
time, having
sold more than
150 million
albums
worldwide.
They also hold
the record for
the most gold
and
multi-platinum
albums by an
American
group.
1972 - During
a UK tour, Billy Murcia of The
New York Dolls
died after
choking on his
coffee after
an overdose of
Mandrax. The
influential
American band
formed in 1972
and made just
two albums,
the 1973 'New
York Dolls'
and 1974 'Too
Much Too
Soon'.
1973 - Michael
Martin and
Phil Kaufman
were charged
and fined $300
each for the
theft of a
coffin
containing Gram Parsons body. The court heard that
the two men
were merely
carrying out
Parson's
wishes to be
cremated in
the desert.
2003 - Metallica kicked off their 137-date Madly
in Anger with
the World Tour
at Yoyogi
Taiikukanin
Tokyo, Japan.
The Madly in
Anger with the
World tour was
the
fourth-highest
grossing tour
of 2004,
reaping
$60,500,000 in
ticket sales.
2018 - English
cellist Hugh McDowell died of cancer on aged 65.
McDowell
performed with
the first live
line-up of ELO in 1972 while only 19 years old. He
also worked
with Roy
Wood
in Wizzard.
1966 - The Monkees were at the top of the
Billboard
singles chart
with ‘Last
Train To
Clarksville’,
the group’s
first No. 1.
Bobby Hart who
co-wrote the
song got the
idea for the
lyrics when he
turned on the
radio and
heard the end
of The
Beatles'
'Paperback
Writer'. He
thought Paul
McCartney was
singing "Take
the last
train", and
decided to use
the line when
he found out
McCartney was
actually
singing
'Paperback
Writer'.
1977 - The
manager of the
Virgin record
store in
Nottingham was
arrested for
displaying a
large poster
advertising
the new Sex Pistols album, 'Never Mind The
Bollock's,
Here's The Sex
Pistols'. High
street stores
banned the
album after
police warned
they could be
fined under
the 1898
indecent
advertising
act.
1982 - Channel
4 TVs The Tube
had its first
showing.
Presented by
Paula Yates
and Jools
Holland, the
show featured
The
Jam
and an
interview with
Mick
Jagger.
The first live
act on the
show was local
band Toy
Dolls.
The show ran
until 1987 and
was named
after the
plexiglass
tunnel which
led down into
Studio Five at
Tyne Tees TV,
the place
where all the
stars from the
80s
subsequently
appeared.
1989 - Former
US Army Staff
Sergeant Barry Sadler died at a Veterans
Administration
hospital in
Nashville from
complications
brought on by
an unexplained
gun shot wound
to the head,
suffered 14
months earlier
in Guatemala
City. Sadler
is best
remembered for
his hit 'The
Ballad of the
Green Berets',
which stayed
on top of the
chart for five
weeks in 1966.
He was 49
years old at
time of his
death.
2003 - Bobby Hatfield of The
Righteous
Brothers
was found dead
in hotel room
in Michigan 30
minutes before
he was due on
stage, aged
63. The
autopsy report
from the
Kalamazoo
County Medical
Examiner gave
the opinion
that Hatfield
suffered a
sudden,
unexpected
death due to
acute cocaine
toxicity. The
Righteous
Brothers had
the 1965 No.1
single 'You've
Lost That
Lovin'
Feelin', and
the 1990 No.1
single
'Unchained
Melody' first
released in
1965.
2014 - The
funeral for Jack Bruce was held in London, attended by
Eric
Clapton,
Ginger Baker and
noted
musicians Phil Manzanera, Gary Brooker, Vernon Reid
and
Nitin Sawhney
among others.
Dozens
assembled at
the Golders
Green
Crematorium
paying a last
tribute
singing
"Morning Has
Broken",
"Strawberry
Fields
Forever" and
"Theme for an
Imaginary
Western". The
Scottish-born
bass player
and singer had
died last
month as a
result of
liver disease.
2017 -
American
singer
Robert Knight
died age 72.
He is best
known for the
1967 hit
'Everlasting
Love'. The
song was an
even bigger
hit the
following year
when a version
by Love
Affair
reached No.1,
preventing
Knight's
version from
progressing
further than
No.40.
1967 - Pink Floyd made their US live debut when
they appeared
at the
Winterland
Auditorium,
San Francisco.
Floyd shared
the bill with
local group Big Brother & The Holding Company,
featuring
singer Janis Joplin and singer / songwriter Richie Havens.
1969 - Founder
member of The Ink Spots, Ivory Watson died
aged 60. The
group who
formed in the
early 1930s in
Indianapolis,
had the 1939
US hit ‘If I
Didn't Care’
(featured in
the film The
Shawshank
Redemption),
and ‘The
Gypsy’ which
was their
biggest chart
success,
staying at the
No.1 position
for 13 weeks.
1971 - The Who opened up The Rainbow, Finsbury
Park, London,
appearing on
the first of
three nights.
1977 - The
Last Waltz,
the movie of The Band's final concert premiered in New
York. The
Martin
Scorsese movie
also featured
Joni
Mitchell, Dr
John, Neil
Young, Van
Morrison, Neil
Diamond, Eric
Clapton.
1978 - Crosby Stills Nash & Young were sued
by former bass
player Greg Reeves for over a $1 million claiming
he was owed
from sales of
their album
'Deja Vu'.
1991 - Bobby "Blue" Bland, Booker T. & The MGs, Johnny
Cash, Jimi
Hendrix, The
Isley
Brothers, Sam
& Dave and
The
Yardbirds
were all
elected to the
Rock &
Roll Hall Of
Fame.
Week
Commencing
October 28
1957 - Sun
Records
released
'Great Balls
Of Fire', by Jerry Lee Lewis. The single went on to
sell over five
million copies
worldwide, and
was a No.1 hit
in the UK and
No.2 in the
US.
1964 - During
a Rolling
Stones
North American
tour a 17
year-old
Rolling Stones
fan fell from
the balcony
during a gig
in Cleveland,
Ohio. The
Mayor of Ohio
banned all
future pop
concerts,
saying; "Such
groups do not
add to the
community's
culture or
entertainment."
1973 - David Bowie scored his second No.1 album
when 'Pinups'
started a
five-week run
at the top of
the charts.
The set
contained
Bowie covering
his favourite
60s songs; his
version of The
Mersey's
'Sorrow' made
No.3 on the
singles chart
(first
recorded by
The McCoys in
1965).
1995 - Hootie and the Blowfish reached an out of
court
settlement
with Bob
Dylan
for the
group's
unauthorized
use of Dylan's
lyrics in
their song
'Only Want To
Be With You'.
2002 - Lonnie Donegan died mid-way through a UK
tour and
shortly before
he was due to
perform at a
memorial
concert for George Harrison with
The Rolling
Stones.
He was aged
71. Donegan
who launched
the skiffle
craze in the
UK had the
1959 hit ‘Does
Your Chewing
Gum Lose Its
Flavour’, the
1960 No.1
single 'My Old
Man's A
Dustman',
'Rock Island
Line', plus
over 30 other
Top 40
singles.
1956 - Elvis Presley bought a new Harley Davidson
motorbike and
spent the day
riding round
Memphis on his
new bike with
actress
Natalie Wood.
1968 - George Harrison released his first solo
album,
'Wonderwall
Music' on the
Apple label.
The songs
which were
mostly
Harrison
instrumentals,
featured Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and an
unaccredited
banjo
contribution
by Peter
Tork
of The
Monkees.
2004 - 61-year
old Terry
Knight, the
former manager
of
Grand Funk
Railroad,
was murdered
at his home in
Killeen,
Texas. Knight
was defending
his daughter
during a
domestic
disturbance,
when he was
stabbed by her
boyfriend, 26
year old
Donald Alan
Fair. Knight
began his
music career
by leading a
Michigan band
called Terry Knight and the Pack, who scored a
Billboard top
50 hit with
‘I, Who Have
Nothing’.
2016 - Bap Kennedy, singer, songwriter from
Belfast, died
in Belfast in
hospice care
from
pancreatic and
bowel cancer.
He is noted
for his
collaborations
with Steve
Earle, Van
Morrison,
Shane MacGowan
and Mark
Knopfler,
as well as for
writing the
song
'Moonlight
Kiss' which
was on the
soundtrack for
the film
Serendipity.
Kennedy was
also in the
rock band Energy Orchard.
1963 - Gerry And The Pacemakers were at No.1 on
the singles
chart with
'You'll Never
Walk Alone.'
The group's
third and
final No.1.
1964 - The Supremes started a four week run at
No.1 on the US
singles chart
with 'Baby
Love', the
group's second
of five
consecutive US
No.1's. The
group were
formerly known
as the five
piece group
The Primettes.
1969 - David Bowie appeared at a Halloween night
at the General
Gordon,
Gravesend. The
gig lasted
about 15
minutes, after
Bowie sang
'Space Oddity'
to everyone’s
delight and
then dragged a
stool on
stage, along
with a huge
book. He then
sat and read
poems and was
booed off
stage.
1970 - Led Zeppelin started a four week run at
No.1 on the US
album chart
with Led
Zeppelin III
the bands
second US
chart topper.
1986 - A new
series of
Channel 4's
The Tube
started with Jermaine Stewart, Troublefunk, Bob Geldof and
Frankie
Goes To
Hollywood,
plus Spandau
Ballet
who played
live in the
studio at
Newcastle upon
Tyne.
1986 - Roger Waters went to the high court to
try and stop
David Gilmour
and Nick Mason
from using the
name 'Pink
Floyd',
for future
touring and
recording.
1989 - The
very first MTV
unplugged show
was recorded
in New York,
featuring Squeeze, the program was aired on 26th
Nov 1989.
1990 - DJ Roger Scott died of cancer aged 46. Scott
was one of the
most respected
broadcasters
in the UK,
working on
Capital Radio
for 15 years
and then Radio
1. Working as
a presenter at
the Montreal
station 1470
CFOX, Scott
sang on ‘Give
Peace a
Chance’,
recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their
"Bed-in" for
peace at the
Queen
Elizabeth
Hotel in
Montreal,
Canada.
1990 - During
a gig in
Seattle,
Washington, Billy Idol dumped 600 dead fish in Faith No More's dressing room. They
responded by
walking on
stage, naked,
during Idol's
set.
1996 - Slash announced he was no longer in Guns N' Roses. The guitarist said that Axl
Rose and he
had only been
civil to each
other on two
occasions
since 1994.
1967 - Tyrannosaurus Rex recorded a session for
the Radio 1
'Top Gear'
show, the
first group to
do so without
a recording
contract.
1971 - John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band went
to No.1 on the
album chart
with Imagine.
The album
contained two
tracks
attacking Paul
McCartney,
'How Do You
Sleep' and
'Crippled
Inside.' Early
editions of
the LP
included a
postcard
featuring a
photo of
Lennon holding
a pig, in
mockery of
McCartney's
similar pose
with a sheep
on the cover
of Ram. The
front cover
photo was a
Polaroid taken
by Andy
Warhol.
1978 -
Blondie
released the
single
'Hanging on
the
Telephone', as
the second
single from
the album
Parallel
Lines. Written
by Jack Lee
from US West
Coast power
pop trio The Nerves. The song gave Blondie their
first UK Top
10 hit.
2004 - An
arrest warrant
was issued for Motley Crue singer Vince
Neil
after he
allegedly
knocked a
soundman
unconscious
during a
concert. Neil
was said to
have punched
Michael
Talbert in the
face at
Gilley's
nightclub in
Dallas after
he asked the
soundman for
more volume on
his guitar but
attacked
Talbert as he
adjusted it,
leaving him
unconscious
for 45
seconds.
2007 - Linda Stein, former co-manager of punk
band the
Ramones,
was found
beaten to
death at her
Manhattan
apartment. Mrs
Stein was the
ex-wife of
Seymour Stein,
former
president of
Sire Records,
which was the
launching pad
for the Ramones, Talking Heads and
Madonna.
Mrs Stein had
become one of
New York's
leading estate
agents, her
clients
included Sting and Billy
Joel,
long-time
friend Sir Elton John told the New York Times he
was
"absolutely
shocked and
upset".
Week Commencing October 21
1957 -
The Crickets
started a
three-week run
at No.1 on the
singles chart
with 'That'll
Be The Day'.
It was also a
No.3 hit in
the US where
it went on to
sell over a
million. The
song was
inspired by a
trip to the
movies by
Holly, Jerry
Allison and
Sonny Curtis
in June 1956.
The John Wayne
film The
Searchers was
playing and
Wayne's
frequently-used,
world-weary
catchphrase,
"that'll be
the day"
inspired the
young
musicians.
1964 - 31 year
old Salvatore
Philip Bono
married 18
year old
Cherilyn
Sarkisian La
Piere. For a
time they
performed
together as Caesar and Cleo before changing the name
of their act
to Sonny
and Cher.
Their union
lasted 12
years.
1966 -
The Four Tops
were at No.1
on the singles
chart with
'Reach Out
I'll Be
There.' The
group's only
UK No.1.
1969 - Muddy Waters was seriously injured in a
car crash in
Champagne,
Illinois.
Three people
were killed in
the accident.
1980 - Mark Chapman bought a five-shot .38
special for
$169. A little
over six weeks
later, he
would use the
gun to kill John Lennon outside his New York City
apartment.
1980 - Former
T.
Rex
member
Steve Took
choked to
death on a
cherry stone
after some
magic
mushrooms he
had eaten
numbed all
sensation in
his throat -
he was aged
31. Took was
also a member
of The
Deviants
with Pink
Fairies
members Twink
and Mick
Farren.
1984 - During
a US tour The Grateful Dead allocated a specific
recording area
for fans to
bootleg the
show;
tonight's gig
was in
Berkeley,
California.
2009 - Eric Clapton pulled out of Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
concert in New
York City
after he
underwent an
operation to
remove
gallstones.
His place at
the Madison
Square Garden
gig was taken
by Jeff
Beck.
2013 - Velvet Underground frontman
Lou Reed
died at the
age of 71. An
admitted hard
drinker and
drug user for
many years, he
underwent a
liver
transplant in
Cleveland in
April 2013.
Afterwards he
claimed on his
website to be
'bigger and
stronger' than
ever.
2016 - A
letter
John Lennon
wrote to the
Queen
explaining why
he was
returning his
MBE was found
tucked in a
record sleeve
from a £10 car
boot haul. The
anonymous
owner took the
document to a
valuation day
at The Beatles
Story in
Liverpool and
discovered it
was worth
about £60,000.
Lennon had
returned the
MBE in protest
at Britain's
involvement in
a civil war.
1958 - Bill
Haley and his
Comets
played the first
rock 'n' roll
concert in
Germany. Over
7,000 rock 'n'
roll fans turned
the show into a
riot.
1968 - The two
day San
Francisco Pop
Festival was
held at Alameda
County
Fairgrounds. The Animals, Procol Harum, Iron Butterfly, Jose
Feliciano,
Deep Purple,
Creedence
Clearwater
Revival
and Canned
Heat
all appeared.
1970 - A wake
was held at the
Lion's Share in
San Anselmo,
California to
celebrate the
life of |
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