NEWS JUST IN . . . Rising Sun in Crawcrook
has been taken over and cancelled all bands,
------------------------------------------------------------
Just
heard that The Market Tavern in Chester le
Street has cancelled all bands. Dave from
Rockers FM
tells us: 'I have received a
text from the management of the Market Tavern in
Chester le street that the new company no longer
will have bands on. We were booked to play there
this Friday so presumably all bands forthwith
will receive the same message. Cheers
Dave'
---------------------------------------------------------------
ROCK AND METAL OVERLOAD AT
HARTLEPOOL
 I
know only too well the lack of heavy Rock and Metal
bands that play at the clubs - and often you have to
suffer bingo between the bands - yes, believe it!!
So how cockahoop are we here at Riffs to be able to
shout about a Heavy Metal and Rock gig at
Hartlepool Supporters Club coming up Saturday
Sep 16. It features heavier than hell tribute
BLAKK
SABBATH, supporting
Newcastle-based RIFF RAFF.
A nice big stage - just gagging at the bit to hold
up those Marshall stacks. And what an intro do Blakk
Sabbath have!!!
The lads know how to tease and that long intro just
shows how much thought these lads have put into
their live show. Just check out this youtube video:
HERE.
Tickets
are just £8 / £10 available from ents24 (soz, but
you'll need to pay that dreaded 'booking fee'!!)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Apparently the Fizzyfish review from way back has stirred up some
great memories for many. Alan from the band got in
touch with Riffs to tell us that although the
exuberance and vitality for live gigs is still as
powerful as ever there has, however, been a few
changes to the band. I'll let Alan explain: 'We
also have a new bassist, Tony Gardiner, a
nice clean 30 year old from Stockton, he also
teaches bass, is grade 8 qualified and plays Jazz,
MU member and has even frequented the pit in musical
theatre productions…. but when pushed into a large
corner (he is very tall) spilled his guts and
admitted he loves rock and metal and had previously
played with the original Prog Metal band Tangent and covers band The
Hunter.
His first gig with us is at Josephs in Sunderland
August 25th and we are
confident he will help us pursue our touring of all
the region’s best venues.'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Now it's those whacky
Fizzyfish
lads who gets the Riffs spotlight. Courtesy of Colin
Smoult, this review is from 2006...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As
Lenny from Tubesnake said "looks
like it's gonna be a pretty decent
event." Tickets £5 from the venue or the Tubesnake
lads (also Tubesnake on Facebook). It's £6 on the
door. And if you don't mind paying another pound
then you can buy them online here: https://stanleyevents.nutickets.com/brock
------------------------------------------------------------
It’s
All In The Name!
 After many years, line ups
and gigs, NE/DC are evolving! After working hard
to establish themselves as one of the best
tributes to the legendary AC/DC in their
home area, the band have decided to re-brand
themselves as AC/DC
GB and find more gigs around the
country, as well as still playing their regular
haunts in the North East. The decision came after
consulting with various promoters, venues and
fans, who all agreed the “GB” logo gave the lads
more potential to break into new areas in the
tribute market. Rest assured, the musicianship and
performance will still be of the highest standard,
and the show will be greatly enhanced where the
venue size allows! The guys would like to thank
everyone who has loyally supported them as NE/DC,
and hope to see you all again very soon as AC/DC
GB! Check them out at www.acdcgb.co.uk,
or on FB.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not
to be put off by the poor support of the Glaxo Club
gig, those Borderland
guys have arranged another charity gig, it's on Saturday 13th October at Rainton
Meadows Arena Houghton Le Spring DH4 5PH. Fundraiser
for the Chris Snaith Fund (for Brain Cancer Research).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
More News just in . . . Not sure what is
happending at The Royal in Stanley as some bookings seem
still to be valid; best bet if you have a gig booked
there to check it is still on.
News just in . . . The Royal in
Stanley has changed hands and all current bookings
are off. No news as yet on whether the new owners will
be continuing the gig nights. Thanks to Alan
Fizzyfish for this info.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHAME ON THE NIGHT,
SHAME ON YOU
We regretfully have
to report that the Borderland
gig at Glaxo Club in Barnard Castle has had to
be cancelled due to poor ticket sales. This gig was
arranged to support those fearless North East Air
Ambulance guys who not only save lives multiple times
a week, but also risk their own. Borderland were quite
prepared to give of their time and energy totally for
free to support this worthwhile cause but, apparently,
the great people of Barnard Castle and surrounding
areas just don't feel the same. Don't know about you,
but here at Riffs we're hanging our heads in
shame..........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY IS THE NEW
MONDAY
Hard-working Ray, who sorts out the bands for The Red Lion in Norton,
Stockton-on-Tees, has been doing some
extra sorting of late as they are moving their band
nights from Monday to Thursday nights starting with DVD on August
2nd. Ray reckons he has contacted all the bands he needs
to but . . . just in case, and of course, to
let all the punters know . . . it's now Thursdays at the
Red Lion, and not Mondays..................
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Paul Murdy who
tells Riffs he has taken over the Masons Arms in Blyth.
Apparently the booking 'diary' was less than useful
and, apart from bands he has been able to contact, any
other supposed bookings are no longer valid. So, if
you had a gig booked - or would like a gig at The
Masons Arms - then get in touch with Paul and he will
do his best to accommodate. Paul can be contacted on
Facebook 'murdy murdy'.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
GRUMPIES STILL
BELTING OUT
THOSE MUCH-LOVED CLASSICS
Nice to hear from those Grumpy lads who got such a kick
out of reading Val's review of a gig of theirs from way
back.
Still going strong, John pointed out that although
Graeme has now left the band, his boots have been filled
by John's son Liam who, at a mere 18, has "stepped up
to the mark and is doing a fine job".
Another band that never seems to have a bad night.
[Oh, and we notice that on the review we spelt Graeme
wrong (Graham). I do, at this very moment, have knife
poised ready to remove my little finger . . .]
[jpic from when the Grumpies graced the Stormin'
the Castle stage]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
RUSS TIPPINS / BIG
RIVER
HEAD THE WHEATSHEAF WHOPPA
 Local lads
Big River have
organised an all day Charity Event to raise funds and
awareness for Prostate Cancer UK.
One
of the Big River guys told Riffs: 'This is an
event we are organising because Alan, our lead singer,
was struck with the disease and had to have his
prostate removed, so this lies really close to his
heart. He was very lucky as he was diagnosed early but
some men are not that fortunate.'
We
are hoping for good tickets sales. Tickets have now been
released and can be bought here:
It's
at the Wheatsheaf in Durham Road, Birtley from noon
until 11pm and there will be so much going on that Riffs
pages are just not big enough to list them all!! There
are some great raffle prizes on offer, one of which is a
Cassidy electric guitar which has been given
specifically for an exclusive online raffle only. Look
at the top of the page; this is the link for that one: https://www.facebook.com/bigriveruk/
The legend that is Russ
Tippins, humble as always, points out
that he is, actually, not headlining, and hopes to be on
about 7. More importantly, he told Riffs "Really
looking forward to playing this fest. Big River are
sheer class and Alan personally asked me to be a part
of it. Bring it on"
And if you are thinking 'hmmm, not sure whether
to pop along to that one' can Riffs just list all
the performers (not to mention all the behind-the-scenes
peeps) who are giving of their time free of charge:
Lucy Upton
Dan Symmington
Peter Jameson
The Kingtones Duo
Dirt Monkey
Phil Sculthorpe
Russ Tippins
The Blarney Brothers
Lee Symons
Rebel Events
Big River
Nudge
And we must mention again Big River who have
managed to organise the whole kit and caboodle; many
sleepless nights included, I suspect lads?!
---------------------------------------------------------------
Now it's the Grumpy Old Men's turn
for our look back in time to 2008 when the band played
their usual blistering set, this time at Gateshead's
Three Tuns. Nice to see that a venue that was going so
strong and had such a good reputation ten years ago,
is not only going stronger than ever, but still holds
the acolade of being on many bands' list of the
place to play in the region. Mind you, same goes for
The Grumpies - still rockin' our venues around the
region with quality Rock classics.
------------------------------------------------------------
Gotta give a mega shout
out for those Borderland
guys who, we have noticed, are doing another gig for
charity - this time for the life-saving Great North Air Ambulance
- and y'know that means co-ordinating the gear,
getting it picked up and transported to the venue,
setting it all up, soundchecking, making
pleasantries with the staff who probably don't know
or don't care who they are, then after the gig the
guys strip down all their gear, pack it back into
the van and drive home - at God knows what ungodly
hour - and shall we tell you how much the lads get
for this - eh? D'ywanna know? Sod all. Not a bean,
zilchymundo. Nowt. But - they get something money
just can't buy - the respect of Riffs (and hopefully
a lot of you guys out there). So, Borderland,
apologies if we have embarrassed you but when some
bands grumble at how little they are getting paid
it's great to know there are lads like yourselves
willing to go that extra mile..............
Glaxo Club -
Barnard Castle, DL12 8DT Sat July 21
Contact Glaxo for tickets (we think
- still awaiting further info)
--------------------------------------------
Seems
to be a lot of apathy at the moment concerning
live gigs - we hear very little from bands - hence
we are re-visiting Riffs reviews from yesteryear.
But the publicity is here if bands want it. Tell
us why you're looking forward to a particular gig;
tell us why Bongo Bill on drums is nervous about
this gig; why Throaty the singer is wondering if
his voice will hold out till the last song; why
you turn down certain gigs but play others; what
pubs have you always wanted to play but never had
the chance.... the list is endless, but let us
know, and get your name on our News page. Whip up
some interest in your gigs for f*cks
sake!!................ But until you do, here's
another of Val's reviews from 2008, this one of
the brilliant Damage
Control...
--------------------------------------------------
An
update on Tubesnake,
as we recently highlighted Val's review of the
band in 2008 at the Pemberton Arms. One of the
few bands from way back when that are actually
still gigging today (gotta be doing something
right!). Val imparted some info that she gleaned
from frontman Len that they have, indeed, left
the 'funk' behind and also guitarist Tom. After
seven years Martin Craggs replaced Tom, and the
band has been gigging consistently for four
years with Martin on lead guitar. Len also adds
that they are 'still a tight unit and love
the gigs still.' I think that loving
gigging may be the secret to their success. Any
band that plays on 'auto' - hey, you know who
you are!! - can be sussed out by the audience in
minutes, and the fact that the Tubesters are
still rockin' our local gaffs proves just what
Len said. And may I copy a snippet from Val's
review:
'a band that is practically a north-east
tradition'. There's only a handful of
bands that you just know you're
gonna have a good night with - and Tubesnake is one of
them.
---------------------------------------------------------
The
Three Tuns in Gateshead are needing a band
for this Saturday 7th July. Anyone interested
please contact Paul on 07940715825 asap.
--------------------------------------------------------
YOUR CHANCE TO
PLAY ALONGSIDE RUSS TIPPINS
 The
all new Three Tuns Sheriff Hill BUSKERS kicked
off Wednesday 4th July hosted each week by none other
than RUSS TIPPINS.
Individuals, duos or full bands can play on the stage
where we have a full back line and in house PA.
Russ will also welcome
musicians or singers at all levels to join him on
stage. All welcome.
----------------------------------------------------------
Just
heard that Dr Browns in
Middlesbrough has cancelled all
live bands for the rest of the year. Apparently
the new tenants have not voiced any interest in
live bands so, to not mess about the already
booked bands, all live gigs have been stopped.
Thanks to Norm Force for this info.
------------------------------------------------------------
Local
Rockers Tubesnake
grace our Index page this time and we re-create
Val's review of the band from 2008 at the
Pemberton Arms . . .
-----------------------------------------------------------
The
pics on the Index page, and the following review,
are from when youngsters Razor
Sharp did a double header
with Remedy
back in 2008....(and after such a blistering gig,
whatever happened to Razor Sharp?)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINER SOUGHT
FOR SATURDAY GIG
"We are organising a charity night in aid of
Prostate Cancer UK, on Saturday 15 September. The venue
is The Wheafsheaf, Birtley, County Durham.
The pub is hoping to have a marquee and hot
food on as it is an all day event.
We have all of the bands and performers
lined up be are missing the all important headlining
band to play the event out from 10-11pm. PA and backline
are supplied and we hope to feed the performers also.
You would be giving your time FREE OF CHARGE...
PEOPLE WHO KNOW, KNOW
Well, hello everybody
peeps, have we got a treat for you. If you are
into some original t-shirts and are embarrassed at
the ones that say "I love AC/DC (or whatever)"
then you will go ape-shit over what Bathroom Wall t-shirts
have designed. And, we can speak as we find cos
I have bought many of these over the years and
they are not only spot-on quality but are generous
in length (Val has just chipped in to say that
makes such a dfference to her...). My faves:  "Rosies
- where the girls ain't exactly pretty, and they
ain't exactly small", also: a picture of the
building in New York that was used for the cover
on Physical Graffiti, with just "St. Mark's
Place, New York". Satisfyingly subtle.
Brilliant; also a misty silhouette of Bon. And
there's so many more - Motorhead,
Lizzy, Ramones, Zep, Sabbath,
the list is exhausting. Click on their logo and
take a look. Oh, they also have a special offer
where if you spend £20 you get a fiver off. Use
code 'FIVER' when you check out. And it's free
postage when you buy 4 shirts or more. If you're
anything like me you fill your basket with such
great designs - then wonder how the hell you are
going to wear them all!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Usually
get a great response from our readers (even both of
them sometimes) but surprised that not one person
has emailed regarding our request to hear from
someone at the Bullet
gig at Newton Aycliffe back in 2008. So, either
everyone was high and can't remember; everyone has
long since died; everyone has now got Alzheimer's;
no-one reads Riffs. Well, if it's the latter why am
I wasting my time?!!! Answers on a postcard to . . .
Whoa, just thought of the most obvious explanation;
no-one was there! It was a ploy by the Turbinia to
trick me and Val into thinking the place was heaving
by filling the venue with holograms..... Just knew
the answer would come to me..........
--------------------------------------------------------
COWBOY BLUES
FROM THE LEAM LANE DELTA
Hello from Gateshead based
Outlaw Country band The Loft
Boys. This is our new promo video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c69BMzDe268)
to support the launch of our new album: "Cowboy Blues From The Leam Lane
Delta'. We are launching the album with a live
set at The Schooner, South Shore Road, Gateshead
NE8 3AF, on Friday 6th July 2018 playing outdoors (weather
permitting) between 7pm and 9pm.
------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
We must mention that Frankies Cafe are doing
another gig for the `Daft As A Brush’ Charity on
Friday 7th September at the Lancastrian
Suite, Fed Brewery, in Dunston. More details nearer
the time....
---------------------------------------------------------
It's
The Dusty Tools
turn this time, pics on our Index page and here is the
review from - again, we think - about 2008.
--------------------------------------------
Sadly maddog music is closing
down.Clearance bargains sale this
Friday 22nd , Sat 23rd, SUNDAY 24th , Monday
25th.
Open to sensible
offers on great gear .Acoustic Guitars,Electric
Guitars, Amps , Cases ,Gig bags. - 39 West Row,
Stockton-On-Tees,
TS18 1BN Tel: 01642
673383
---------------------------------------------------------
Looks like the Masons Arms in Blyth has
shut. According to its Facebook page it is 'closed
until further notice'...
----------------------------------------------------------
Well, this time it's Bullet's turn to have their review on
show - the only problem is Val, in her infinite
wisdom, forgot to add the year to her review and
we have only the 16th of December. We think it may
be about ten years ago but not really sure, If you
were there then give us a shout....
---------------------------------------------------------
The superb Mississippi
Sheiks grace our
Index page at the moment, and we attach our full
review of their gig at the Lord Nelson in Stockton
on Tees back in 2008....
---------------------------------------------------
We are proud to host pics of Vendetta on our index page and here is
Riffs review from way back, at the Three Tuns
in Gateshead...
--------------------------------------------------
To coincide with the index
page pictures of
Alcatraz House Band at Houghton Buffs ten years ago,
we include Val's review from the gig....
-----------------------------------------------------
THREE TUNS
KEBAB FESTIVAL LAST WEEKEND
 Friday 25th to Sunday
27th May was
the Three Tuns, Sheriffs Hill, Gateshead, 8th Annual
Kebab Festival. A mind
boggling 12 different kebabs to choose from, served
on fresh warm kurdish naans with fresh salad and
lots of sauces. Great real ales and real ciders and
a superb live music line up; Friday 25th
1977
Saturday 26th Beyond
Blonde
Sunday 27th Ska-Toons.
Gorgeous kebabs to stuff your face
plus Punk, New Wave and Ska - it doesn't get
much better than this!! too
late - you missed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------
With the
Doyle boys featured on
our Index page, we had an email asking if we still had
the interview from 'way back' that Val did. Well, we
had a looksee and lo and behold we found it! From Feb
16, 2008. So, for your delectation, here it is;
---------------------------------------
Here
is a slice of Hartlepool’s one and only punky power
pop group DisGuise from 1977 with a song
inspired by seeing The Rezillos at
Middlesbrough Rock Garden. This recording is by the
mk2 line-up in which Jimmy McKenna on bass/vocal and
Peter Scott on guitar/vocals are joined by Newcastle’s
John Miller on drums, and was recorded by Steve
Thompson at Impulse Studios, Wallsend in January 1979.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUxnuQ6B--Q&feature=youtu.be
-----------------------------------------
Interesting
feedback from a highly-respected North-East
guy who
books bands for venues - if you're a band and someone leaves
you a message to get back to him,
it may just be a good idea to do so. Apparently,
many bands lose the chance of a gig cos they
just
don't bother to return his call. Go
figure...
--------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
THE RED LION, MOORCOCK AND BOOKING BANDS...
Just heard from Ray, late of The Red
Lion in Norton, Stockton, just to clarify some
points as there has been some ch..ch...ch...changes to
what we said originally; Ray is likely to be seen in
the Moorcock in Peterlee on Friday nights -
for no better reason than it's a bloody good night
there. Ian from the Moorcock is still booking the
bands for that venue, so no sweat any band that has a
gig there, there is NO changes there. Secondly,
although Ray is leaving the Red Lion, he may still be
booking bands for the new tenants cos, well basically,
he's bloody good at it, so why wouldn't he?!! Hope
that clears things up and for those who suspect that
Riffs got it wrong originally - just how very dare
you?!! You know we never make misteaks.
-------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------
COME ON PEEPS, PLAY THE GAME
It takes some doing keeping
everything up to date here at Riffs and we
do our very best and we know that a lot of you
appreciate it. BUT, we are getting a growing number
of bands/venues changing their gigs once added and
uploaded and not letting us know. This does no-one
any favours - in fact it harms your venue, your gig
and our reputation - and that, as they say 'boils
our piss'. If you are down for playing a venue on a
certain date and then it is cancelled (for whatever
reason) then LET US KNOW. Do not wait for the
replacement band to inform us - because then,
in effect, we have TWO bands down for playing the
same venue on the same date. When this happens we
used to show both bands, but we decided that was not
helpful at all so now we show neither. Checking your
gig listing helps but it's surprising how many
bands/venues just don't bother. Riffs strives to be
as accurate as humanly possible but if we have a
query concerning a gig listing then I'm afraid we
have no option but to ignore that listing. We'd
rather not host it than to mislead our readers.
Not so long ago, Lara, from American Girl was
messed about by various venues one apocalyptical
weekend and had a string of alterations, amendments
and cancellations and apologised profusely to Riffs
for messing us about. As we said to Lara and we say
to you: 'You never mess us about by
letting us know, no matter how many times, of
alterations. You only mess us about when you
don't'.
----------------------------------------------------
'IN 1968 FOUR YOUNG MEN AGREED TO MEET UP FOR A
JAM SESSION . . .'
 The
saying, 'Doesn't time fly by as you get older'
really does seem to ring true for many of us and
particularly when looking back to 50 years.
Some news making the headlines in 1968: Martin
Luther King was assassinated on 4th April 1968.
London bridge was sold to the US for £1million on
the 18th April 1968 and The Beatles set up their own
record label in Abbey Road Studios.
Whilst only 6 miles away from The Beatles coming and
goings, unannounced, on Friday 19th April 1968
at a pub in Battersea in a small corner of London,
four young men had arranged to meet for a jam
session, the names of those individuals; Andy Fraser, Bass player (15years
of age), Paul
Kossoff, Guitarist
(17) Paul
Rodgers Vocalist and Simon Kirke Drummer (both 18).
After a blistering evening of playing blues, they
decided there and then to form a band and soon after
settled on the name FREE. And by November 1968 they
had recorded their first album: 'Tons of
Sobs'.
They went on to become one of the biggest-selling
British blues rock groups; by the time the band
split in 1973, they had sold more than 20 million
albums and had played more than 700 arena and
festival concerts. Their most famous song "All Right
Now" topped a 2010 online fan poll by UK radio
station Planet Rock for the "Greatest Rock single".
Rolling Stone has referred to the band as "British
hard rock pioneers".The magazine ranked Rodgers
No. 55 in its list of the "100 Greatest Singers
of All Time", while Kossoff was ranked No. 51
in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All
Time".
Bill Flynn has been organising 'The Annual Free
Convention' since 1986 which is a live music
event honouring his heroes. 'Thirty two years
ago it was impossible to find a Free tribute band'
explained Bill. Since that first event Bill has seen
a gradual rise in bands playing Free's music, and
these days he is inundated with requests to play at
the annual event; 'There is nothing quite like
the atmosphere of a Free Convention where
both musicians and fans share an evening of such
affection for the band's music' said Bill.
Recent Highlights have seen original member Simon
Kirke playing at the 2014 Convention and
particularly poignantly for Bill was Andy Fraser
who came in 2013 to play in the North East for
the first time in 38 years, this turned out to be
a record attendance for any Free Convention
and as a result many fans got their one and only
chance to meet and see their hero up close. Sadly
Andy passed away in 2015.
This year's show is being held at Wallsend Memorial
Hall on Saturday 14th April (doors open 6pm) and
will feature 4 live bands. Bill explained: 'This
year will be extra special as a very fine band is
making the long and arduous journey from Japan
specially to play the 'Tons of Sobs' album in its
entirety'. - which to Bill's knowledge has
never been attempted before in a live setting.
Bill is in contact with the surviving members of Free; namely Simon Kirke
and Paul Rodgers and they regularly support
the event with merchandise to help with a charity
raffle and both have gone on record to thank Bill
for his loyal support over so many years.
Tickets are available priced £20 directly from Bill
and he can be contacted on 01282 868352 /07948
017380 or email freeconvention@aol.com.
Riffs would like to remind our
very generous readers that not only is this an
intimate evening soaking up an atmosphere of Free
music and vibes - but Bill is, as always, donating
all profits to The Northern Brainwave Appeal.
So make an effort to creep along and listen to
some songs of yesterday.....
-----------------------------------------------------------
Well,
the 28th has come and gone and not one support band
for Soulville
at the Golden Fleece has come forward! I don't know;
some bands just don't want publicity..so we'll
hand over to someone who needs and deserves it -
over to you Bill....
------------------------------------------------------------
WE DOFF OUR HATS TO YOU
Apparently, some bads just
don't like publicity! Local guys Soulville
are headlining an evening of music to raise
badly-needed funds for cystic fibrosis [Wednesday
28th at The Golden Fleece in Silksworth] - but the
support acts remain elusive. We raise our musical
hats to all bands who give so freely of their time
and skills to support charities so please - let us
know who you are and you can have our heartfelt
appreciation . . .
----------------------------------------------
THE NORTON LION ROARS NO MORE
Bit of sad news
concerning the Red Lion in
Norton. They are one of the few (if
the only) pubs that put on midweek gigs but, sadly,
the tenancy is being taken over on the 16th of April
and the new tenant is ceasing all live bands. So the
last three gigs in April will be
Monday April
.2nd....THE PHAT TYRTLES.
April
..9th....AUDIO SOULS.
April..16th..GRAHAM
RUSSELL HUNTER.
Ray,
from the Lion, is moving to The Moorcock in Peterlee
and Riffs understand he may be arranging their
Friday nights live gigs. It is interesting to note
what Ray had to say about booking midweek bands:
'I'm sure if the bands of today halved their fee
for Monday to Thursday gigs instead of saying "we
never go out for less than £250" (because they
have never done a midweek gig), then a few pub
managers would give it a go. I tell them midweeks
are different to weekend gigs, people come out to
sit and listen to bands during the week, and the
pubs don't get full like weekends are, but they
don't seem to take it in.'
So, after 20 years at the Lion, Ray is shutting up
shop. Our own rock legend Russ
Tippins got one of his very first
gigs twenty years ago at the Lion - from Ray's
daughter who had just took over the venue.
I think pub landlords/owners/tenants are like car
mechanics - when you find a good, fair and honest
one you stick by them like glue. Riffs wishes Ray
all the luck in the world at the Moorcock, and will
always give him our full and continued support.
-----------------------------------------------
How chuffed is Riffs that an owner of
one of the most popular and prestigious pubs in the
North-East has responded to our article on how a new
band goes about getting a gig. So we hand over the
next few paragraphs to Paul Smith from The Three
Tuns in Gateshead . . .
I read with
interest the article on how to get a gig and I have to
say the editor pretty much nails it for me.
The
truth is very simple, there are few pubs providing live
music who have great crowds irrespective of which band
is on. Speaking from The Tuns we are more or
less guaranteed a good night with 10/12 bands that I
know of. Another 15/20 will get us a crowd of between 40
and 60 every time and make the night worthwhile
financially.
I
can think of no unknown covers band that has ever in my
16 years of putting on live music filled my room. In
fact on the odd occasion I take a risk, I'm persuaded by
friends or colleagues, or I'm in desperate need to cover
a late cancellation it's invariably, inevitably almost a
tiny crowd.
This
is not a reflection on our promotion or the band's
appeal or professionalism it's simply that with so much
live music to choose from the dwindling audience will
not give us the benefit of the doubt preferring instead
to go see Blue Diamond
at The Fox or Russ Tippins
at The Schooner or The Emerald
Thieves at The Stone Trough, all within
a mile and a half radius and I understand them
entirely.
It's
the proverbial chicken and egg for new bands and venues
alike but there are ways - as Riffs
hints at - that can get our attention.
From
my perspective I'm not interested in Demo CDs or YouTube
footage or the guitarist's CV. These things have zero
impact for me but for what it's worth here is how to
guarantee your band an opportunity to join our regular
twice a year rota of quality local bands.
I'm
not trying to pick fights so any musician feeling hard
done to reading this ought to understand that it's just
my view, my experience and talking about one pub.
1..
Be a tribute to a band that have a wide appeal but are
not duplicated by lots of other local bands. Within the
last two weeks I've booked a Rush
Tribute at £600, a Dire
Straits tribute from Newcastle who I've
not seen on a cash guarantee plus 100% of the door fee
and a Marillion
tribute on a similar deal because I know my customers
and others will support these shows.
2..Like
Riffs speculates
below, I would indeed be swayed by an offer to play a
show on a Thursday night, Sunday evening for a reduced
fee or expenses plus door take if appropriate to see
whether :
A)
People would come along and
B)
whether the band had something unique that I felt I
could sell to our audience for a weekend or
C)
the obvious is where a band can guarantee to get a new
crowd into my room in the manner of a La Villa Strangiato or Skinny Molly who are
just so good you can't ignore the opportunity or a band
made up of locals playing their first gig who will bring
friends and family to fill the place (it happens).
We
have lots of festivals, celebrations, events at The
Tuns like our Pie Festival weekend or
St Patrick's Day or Halloween
or too many others to mention. I'd love to hear from any
new band wanting to come along and entertain us perhaps
earlier in the evening before the main band when you'd
play to a large enthusiastic crowd but you'd have to be
prepared to take a more speculative approach to payment
as I simply wouldn't pay £300 to a new band [to me] to
play at 6pm.
I've
heard all the arguments a million times about how over
worked and under paid musicians are but that's not the
point this time. Nige is asking how do new bands get
gigs and I'm more than happy to pass on what works for
me.
No
offence meant to anyone at all.
Paul.
SO HOW
DO YOU GET A GIG?
I was prompted to write this article after
contact from a very reputable venue owner who, when
contacted by bands wanting a gig, requested a demo of
their material, and a list of gigs they had done, and
also a list of gigs booked for the future. He said that,
more often than not, he never heard from the band again.
Now,
this puts me in mind of Zeppelin in their
early days. We all know they must have had masses of
potential and played bloody well, but as they were
unknown they never rang up a venue out of the blue,
asking for a gig and expecting payment. No - they,
invariably, played for free. All over the place. And, as
they were understandably brilliant, it was not long
before venues were ringing them.
It
seems to me that three things are paramount in getting a
gig: 1, the venue needs to make a profit from the night.
2; the band needs to make a profit from the night. 3;
the punters need to be kept happy.
So, it
seems to me that everyone is on the same side - so
what's going wrong?
If I
was in a band and I was truly convinced we were amazing
I would get in touch with this venue owner (preferably a
face to face visit - at least show you are sincere), and
explain that we were new, we thought we were good and we
thought we would eventually pull in a lot of punters.
But we realised that HE could not take us at face value.
So, I would put it to him that we played for our
expenses - obviously give him a rough figure of what
that would be - so we wouldn't actually lose money on
the gig. I would hope (forever the optimist I) that this
would be acceptable and that, if he made oodles from the
night he would be fair enough to share some of those
oodles with the band. Also, if we were good, we would
gladly take a further booking at the venue for a full
fee. I am also presuming, by the way, that the band
members behave properly and respectfuly at all times.
Call me old school, but you are never, just never, going
to get a repeat gig if any member of the band shows
himself (or herself) to be an arse!! And, also a bit of
respect for the band from the venue staff may not go
amiss, too. (I well remember when Val ran a pub that
she went out of her way to make sure the band for the
night was welcomed, shown where everything was,
offered a drink and told that any query they had they
were to come to her immediately and it would be
sorted. To me, this is quite obvious but so many bands
complained to her they were virtually ignored when
arriving at the majority of venues. Come on, if you
have invited a band to play at your venue and you are
going to pay them, you are going to get a helluva lot
more from the band if they are happy and appreciated -
yes?).
Call me naive, but why wouldn't this work? Answers on a
postcard..............
no, seriously,
we welcome
feedback............
OBY REMEMBERS . .
.
(all as supplied with no editing or corrections - and all
pics supplied by Oby)
 Jan
1996 started with Sticky
fingers at the heaton
buffs (great band ),,, then with Alligators at ,
Alexandria,,,,,, Kings Head at Allendale
.,,Swarland again ,,,Grindon Broadway on wednesday 24th
for willie Newton`s farewell party b4
he moved to Australia ! He
was lead guitarist in Howard Bakers, BBFaith
...wonder how he is doing now
`...Did Thornhill club at Stockton
with Razzle ...meanwhile
Big Brother,
and Alexanders Palace
.were going down well in Newcastle
..Feb,,,was down at Barnsley. with FM,,, at
Wath and West club ..then Shieldfield club
.....Did the heaton buffs with Crossroads ..at
last ... they play on a BIG
stage ! End of Feb worked
with The Force
at Porters S/S....March had some
interesting club bands doing the
`rounds` Guns &
Oatcakes ...New Jersey....Deek the Juice
(wor lass`s fav band )....Steve Graham band ....Strongheart
....Grand Slam ...The Strand
..and the Medicine band
...Also worked for the `bikers`
at 81 club in S/land most Saturday nights
.. The
Alligators were the
first band on.......`..April and
May..worked with The
Force at Pelaw Broadway and
Stanley Civic Centre (live recordings
) got me name on the credits !!
July ,,did Europa Lodge with the Animals 11....High
Pit club ...Haltwhistle W.M.C,,,and Belle
View ..with the Force......
 Slippery
Dick were playing the
81club at Murton St ...August with
Benwell Floyd and then Terry Slesser
plus Graham Russell
also the 81 club ..Dec was busy with
various bands ,,Wallsend Companions club
with benwell floyd
..Sticky Fingers did a
private party at Newcastlle Station
Hotel ,,,Steels club with Big
Brother ..At the `Arts Centre `
in the toon with
Sticky fingers,,and the usual
Xmas party gigs at the
Buffs,with Deek the
Juice..Alexanders Palace....Bon Geordie
,,,and Steve Graham band
..finishing up with Erik
and the vikings at 81 club
........97 started with a very good band
at the Royal Archer ,,Jesmond
...called Nobody1s Fool
 who
,,did all their own material ..,,,Feb,
with Stone the Crows
at the buffs,,Stanley Civic Centre with the Force & Disregard ,,,,awsome
``....and the`Sticky`s
at 81 club ...
March,,,Strongheart at
the buffs..Wow !! Steels club with Powerage ......Then
Whitelease club S/s with Matt Vynal and the
decorators (honestly !)
,,,,Trillians with powerband Powerage ,,,, finishing
up at the buffs with F.M
for 2 nights !,,,Rest of the year .all over
,,including Beamish Mary.....Ivy
Leaf...Maltby progeressive club,,, 81 club with the Force ,,,Rocktop ,
Usher Moor..Navy club Blackhall,,Cross keys
Barnsley ....Civic hall Stanley
,,,Loftus,,Scarbro.pavillion Vaults ..etc...Other great
bands i saw during this year were ,,,Grand Slam ,,,Whizzkid...The
Piggies,,,Hit the Deck ,,,Kleen sheet
,,,The Boyz,,,Renegade ..up
next 1998 ....
(Pics from top: Nighthawks gig list; The Force, Rob Tunbull
and band)
 1994 and Animals 11
rehearsing for their new
tour ! ... meanwhile ,,,
in Jan`,,,did the Pheasant with Crossroads
......Seaton Carew and H/pool
supporters with Nighthawks
,,,and hollyhill social club
in G/heed with Powerage
..Feb...Feb Nighthawks
were playing Parkers ..Stanley /Barmston W/ton
..Westerhope Comrades / station hotel
W/bay .. and Powerage
did Parkers . Stanley ..So
..from Jan 94 till June 95 the animals11,,,were
touring all ower .,, but ,,,coming
back to england to play as Alligators ...
including .. Bergan .Norway...(3 nights in March
) then in June with the
Troggs ( Reg Pressley)
as supporting band ..they did
,,Leisure Centre .Mansfield
...Chesterfield ....Brentwood ,,,the Powerhouse in
london ..The Dome ..Doncaster..and in july
...Chatham and Hastings also with the Troggs
in support ..Went down to Scunthorpe
with Animals 11
at the Redburn club .. sold
lots of t.shirts !followed by
Ritz ballroon at Leeds..October
saw the Animals
at Colchester ..Norwich ,,Butlin`s Bogner
Regis Ronnie Scotts in london ,b4 travelling to
denmark for a 6day tour ..then
holland for 7gigs...then Scotland at
Bannockburn for 2 nights ...Then finally
on march 2nd /3rd a working trip
trip to Dubai ....allreet for
some !!! Meanwhile back yem
..worked with Big
Clocks / Crossroads/ Powerage /Barking Billy
and King Snakes ....Scandalous Batchelors /Cuban
Eels /Lemon / Sticky fingers
..brilliant band ...Brendon
Healey ...Jackson at the
Alexandria ...Six
of the best ,,,After midnight ..Fastbuck
..and ALLIGATORS when
they were not `on the road
`..that takes us up to the end
of 94,,,with ,  one
or 2 notible exceptions in
between ...In March did trillians
with Powerage
,,which was `jam packed `..also
Kings Head Stanley (again ,
sold out ) another great
`rocking night` was Harveys at
Stockton and Queen Vic S/shields also
with the ac/dc band ...Went to
see Bryan adams
at Gates head Stadium in july .. In
December ,the ANIMALS
did the Pheasant and Park hotel with Crossroads in
support ../////// 95 saw a
couple of `new bands hitting
the clubs` Eye to
eye...The boys///and McKenzie ..Unsung
Heroes...Big Brother
to name 5,,,In March did The
Moathoos in Wallsend with
Animals for 2 nights
(Barclays bank do`.).....Ashington
central /Shotton colliery and Haltwhistle
club with Powerage
,,,and Crossroads
plus Beggers Banquet at
the Pheasant ..June 1st with Sticky fingers
and later Nissan Sports lounge ...then South
Gosforth club .July back withAnimals at lots
of clubs /pubs...inc,,Grand Hotel
..Toll bar / Maggy` bank...Parkers//
Cellar club S/S//
Seahorse at blyth ....etc ...all the way
to December ///
------------------------------------------------------------
RUSS
SAVES THE DAY FOR THE LION
 #
Late change at the Red Lion in
Norton this coming Monday (12th) when anybody
expecting the
Picaroons on one hand may be
disappointed,
but on the other may be rather elated as
they are being replaced by our own
legend that is
Russ Tippins.
Apparently the Picaroons are "not
ready" for their gig at the Red Lion
and, even though
booked for over six months have only
just let Raymond know,
so he has had to rather urgently
find a replacement. He told Riffs:
'It was rather annoying to be let
down so late in the day;
building up regular
clientele to see good
quality acts is not an overnight job,
but thankfully my old mate
Russ was available and
agreed to do the gig. Whether he is
belting out Rock
classics or strumming
away acoustically
he always pulls
in the crowds.'
GOV. TO CRACK DOWN ON
BOOKING FEES
Watching the News
today it seems we're getting there - little by little.
Riffs has always baulked at unfair 'booking fees' and
any excuse to add more fees to a ticket, but it seems
the Government is now cracking down and they reckon
that, within 12 months, the price the ticket is
advertised for should be the price you pay. No doubt,
though, the ticket sellers will still find a way to add
fees - but we have ourselves to blame a lot of the
time. Even in our own Listings there is a choice
of getting the ticket direct from the venue - or going
through an entertainment site for the same ticket and
paying a booking fee. Just don't give your heard-earned
to the company - go direct to the venue. Derrr.....
'Well, it's one
louder, isn't it?'
 And
talking of Hartlepool Supporters Club; a cracker
of a gig coming up on Saturday 10th when you can expect
not only a reliably rockin' set from headliners The Russ Tippins Electric Band but
also a very special one-off performance from This One Goes Up To Eleven.
Aaron from the band told Riffs; 'Yeah a reunion gig.
After a 3 year hiatus, the band are getting back
together for a one-off gig in Hartlepool supporting
the mighty Russ Tippins Electric Band! And we are
delighted that the incredible Ian Halford will
be joining us on drums. Tickets available from the
promoter Thomas Alan Wormald. Excited? Just a bit!!!
Road trip anyone?' Needless to say the lads are
focused on a truly memorable performance as they will
need to be on full throttle to have even a vestige of a
chance to steal the limelight from Mr Tippins and co.!!
(tickets are available £8, and feel free to turn up
on the night but be expected to part with a
still-acceptable tenner).
The Big River lads wish to apologise as, due
to unforeseen circumstances, and illness, Big River
Trio have had to cancell their show at Hartlepool
Supporters Club on Sunday 4th March.
We are getting in
cancellations due to the bad weather and mark the gigs
on the Listings page as such as soon as we get the info
so make sure you check - right up to the last few
minutes - before you set off. And if in any doubt - RING
THE VENUE.
-------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
OBY REMEMBERS . .
.
(all as supplied with no editing
or corrections - and all pics supplied by Oby)
 So..in
july ,,,93,,,just got back from
Cyprus hols ` straight back with
`mans music` at
Castle Farm tennis club ,again
...stanley Central .. The Pheasnt
N/sheilds ,, then an `all nighter
` at Millfield Aerodrome ,,,In August
did a `double bill ` with Powerage
at the heaton buffs ..brilliant ! On
monday 23rd Aug ,,,started rehearsals
at the pheasant ..with the `Gators`
who were preparing to form Animals 11..tribute
... next night played, same venue ...with
Crossroads
as support....Did the Beamish Mary (no
place) Heaton buffs and Benidictine
social club Cramlington ...and the ~animals
were going down well ...End
of Aug did Colne R@B festival .Lancashire
..with Jools Holland
..my old mate ..Alvin
Lee,, and the
Hamsters ... Sept was with
a few different bands ,,, Hartepool
Belle View with F.M.
and heaton buffs ...High pit with Powerage
,,,Pheasant with the `Gators, and Nighhawks ...Also
Pheasant ..
 October
the Park Hotel did a tribute
to the Anmals .plus Alive
and Kicking ...Next night
at the Mayfair with Powerage
(ac.dc) Alexandra Ballroom Sland
.with Nighhawks
and the Big
clocks ,,sat 9th ...Westerhope
Comrades with Powerage
,,while Six of
the best did heaton buffs
Sat and Sun .. Battle Hill club with
Trevor Sewell
( where is he now?)
Sat 16th Belle View with Gary Witton
and Messanger
, and back in H/pool the next
night at United supporters club with Nighthawks
..End of Oct..doon Bogner
Regis with the
Alligators ..November was
busy ..Mayfair again ,,with The Force
and  Powerage
,,the pheasant with the last
appearance of the Nighhawks
...shame! ..Dunston Fed
breweries with Big Ray
,,,and Slippery dick
...really !! Travellers Rest Whickam
with Powerage
......Hamburg for 2 days with alligators (7th /8th
)..... Mayfair ,,,with Alligators and
my old marra Brendon
Healy ...Trillians with Bad Influence
.. Heaton Buffs with
powerage .to finish
of october , doon at Belle
view H/pool with Nighhawks
(reformed ) and Mean
Mr Mustard .. Cold december
we travelled up to the `Dug Out`` in
Greenock Glasgow ..and then to the
G/head leisure Centre to see 6 of thr best
,,,Did the Pelaw Social Xmas party for
British Telecom ..then onto the corner
house . Heaton with Bad
influence ..The annual Xmas
party was mega with
The Junco partners ,,,Jan
94 saw the
Animals 11 were `playing all over
Europe ...Wil list gigs next ....
(pics, from top: Lemon, Powerage,
Quebec)
 In
July 92 was at the Park hotel with Mc callum
( wonder what he is doing now )
meanwhile back in sunderland Steels club ,
it was Davy
Ditchburn`s last gig with Talisman ,,,Six of the best
were rocking the clubs ,as were Big
Brother ...August saw us
back at the Moathouse with Bessie and his
buckets .plus Crossroads,
an excellent `up and coming `
band from Tynemouth... October saw the Alligators
doing a charity show at the
Park hotel with Steve
Gibbons band and the moat brothers
.. then did the Harrogate Moat
house Hotel .(private party) stayed
overnight .. followed by the  Nissan sports
club // December was busy ..The Royal
York Hotel, Redcar ,,it was the M/boro
Poly students Xmas bash ..(literally ) ..then
M/boro town hall supporting Dr Feelgood
,,Sands club W/bay ...Pelaw club ..Xmas
party for British .Telecom ,,,,Newcastle
Poly for..Scottish/Newcastle breweries ball` ,,Heaton
buffs . plus Crossroads,,,and
last one of the year ,,,Park
hotel with `Bessie`
.....93 January ,, the gators
were in the recording .studios....
Then in April did a
private wedding do up at Bamburgh ,,the
Moat house in Wallsend next with Crossroads
...and again in May with support Bessie and the
buckets ! plus Crossroads
...brilliant neets` Also did
Castle farm tennis club ,,  (again
in july )June ..were at battle Hill club (well
named ) South gosforth ...River Wear
club (still there ?) then Ashington
Central where they all talk funny
!!! ..Its only a few miles up
north of the toon ,,but ye
cannot understand them ...!
pit yackkers !
Also in June supported the Commitments
at the Mayfair ..Went to Leeds
Irish Centre and supported Paul Jones blues band.
Then Peterlee R&B
festival with Alvin
Lee plus the Hamsters.next
day....travelled up to Newland
farm in Belford ....
(pics, from top: Dance Class, Geordie,
Brian Johnson)
 April
91 ..was up in Glasgow to
see AC/DC
with Hylton ..and back stage
passes..
At south Gosforth club saw Double Trouble (ex Jynx)
and Dougie small..then
the Gators
did `swaziland ` club again , before
doing a show at Jesmond lawn
tennis club .cracking neet !
followed by the Coatham Bowl
..Redcar...In July got a  gig
at Riverside in Newcastle , after being on the
telly```` t.t.t.v. ` Northern Life ..
(going back in time now) Saw
Gary Whittons
beer money (band ) at Blackhall
Navy club ....whatever happened to
Gary? Then the
BIGGEEEE.!!!...Travelled down to Donnington
..Monsters of rock with Hylton Valentine @
Johnnas brother ,..but had to detour to
a swish nottingham hotel to pick
up wa tickets and back stage
passes which Johnna had left
us in reception Ac/Dc
headlined this show and it
was awsome ...woora day..i will never
forget !
 Other
notable club bands doing the rounds were Tattood tears (ex
babysitter) Shooting
party..Riff Raff..7 to midnight ..Legacy..
Saw Riff raff
at the Fed breweries ..very good ... and F.M who
are still going now ..great rock
stuff!..((over the` KILLS` and
far away).....End of October
went to see Bryan
Adams at whitley
bay ice rink ..the night after did
Park hotel with after
Midnight (tribute
to Free)
In November worked
with Salamander Joe and Cairo at
newcastle Irish club ..then
the Moat house hotel  with
support ..The Buffs Xmas
extravaganza was with Talisman and Alligators...
1992,,,did some good gigs with the Gators,,,,Porters
S/Shields ...Irish centre Toon...Riverside
..for the pelaw bikers,,Nissan Social
club ,,good night ...The old Assembly
rooms in Newcastle ..Croft sports and
social club .. Belle View h/pool with Talisman
,,,Mayfair...
 Moat
house with Bessie
and the Zinc buckets
.(..really enjoyed these lads)
Also saw the `Big
Clocks ` at the Borough in
S/land ,,
At the end of June Alligators got
a gig down Scarboro ,,remember stopping
at a b@B guest house just
outside the railway station ..the
next day We set up at the Mere
social club for the miners
convention ...It was  hillarious
!! the smoke machine `jammed
` on stage , and half the
club was covered in smoke ,,a
quick dash down to unplug the
machine ,,but ,Scargill and the , miners all
thought it was part of the act
! happy days `` next day off
to Harvey`s wine bar at
darlington followed by Mount Pleasant in
G/head ,,and Gosforth and Coxlodge
...Not coxlodge and Gosforth
...!!! another story ! `
cont,,,
That `Young farmers gig was amazing ...we
had bailes of compacted straw
for the stage , and generators
for the power ,,what a brilliant
night ..right in the middle of Haltwhistle
hills .. then it was Houghton Le Skerne
Darlington ..one of my favourite clubs...
.D,R,S,M Darlington rolling
steel mills... was a good gig followed by
another in ~Darlo` Cockerton band
S.C with Rudie
West ... Then
at the beginning of July at
Guidepost club Debbie anounced
she was leaving the band to go
solo !!! and by end
of Sept did the last gig at
Farringdon club S/land ...!! Meanwhile, the Alligators (left) ...Robert
and hylton valentine (below
right) were
emerging ...the very first gig was
at Silkswoth club ..and i know
you `were there` cos it was packed
to rafters `!!! A brilliant
blues band had hit the clubs ...(not
forgetting all the pub gigs )
Rose Inn .Wallsend ..Dun Cow (New York
N/Shields) High point Cullercoats..Beamish
Mary No Place..Corner House ..Heaton
.The Vic W/bay..Butlers bar in the
tooon ! Sloans wine bar
..3mile Inn..Gosforth ..not forgetting te
Pheasant N/Shields ..a great gig for
many up and coming bands ...
The first 3gigs for the ` gators were
Percy main club,,then Heaton
buffs.then  Steels S/land ..... the
washington Whitehouse on sat night
and sunday morning ! We did
all the popular clubs and in december ,,the
Newcastle Playhouse..followed by the
`Crypt` at Boro town hall . Thenup to
Alnwick Northumberland Hall ..plus xmas
party time with After midnight at Percy Main
club .......Buffs xmas do` was Talisman and Pirahna bros (below left)
..always a sell oot!In 91` I wonder
how many bands did this gig
? It was a tiny club in
Swarland near Alnwick...but,, you never
find it easily ..tucked away amongst a
forest ,,had some excellent night` s in
there ...with `Smokey`
!! local guy ...
 Did
the Park hotel..Tynemouth .. (with
lots of bands) then Shieldfield
club,,,which is not a club
anymore.....Heaton Meadowfield (my local) and the
Alletsa Ballroom ...no not for dancing
!!....In Feb did Whitehoos club Sat
neet and sunday morning again... and
Whitley bay residents club.... In
March Did Newcastle University students party
...It was an all nighter with champagne
breakfast at 5am! ...May, saw the Fish
Quay festival at North sheilds with
the Alligators ..Alive
and kicking ..After Midnight and
Joe Brown
..wonderful enterrtainment ...must have
seen YOU THERE!!
Once again , i want to thank Nige`
,,for printing all these great memories and
stories of my life on the road
with some of the best bands
..that never achieved stardom ... You
look on t.v now and see all
these (c) rap posers..girl/boy bands all miming
..and all the rubbish in the charts
! sorry ..rant over ...
 In
1989 i was working with Centrefold
pictured ....Did some memorable shows plus
support ..the likes of Bob Ritchie.. Al Meechie
3times.... ( where are they now ? ) On the
25th Jan we all helped in a charity
show at Forest Hall club for
Danny..taxi driver and friend
who died in North Shields
...bands included 3D,,,Talisman
..Messanger and Little Mo
..Alot of money was raised
for Dannys widow ,,,and a brilliant
night was had by all
,,were you there ? In March Centrefold got
part time resideny in Zoots Newcastle
every Friday , sometimes
Saturday..until end of april ,,including one gig
at Zoots felling ..Some interesting
`new` bands were doing the rounds inc`
Vancouver..The Action
..Twylight Zone ,,Mainstreet,,Invision
,,Playboys...Officers
Club..Boogyhoppers....Buster..New Invision
..Anthill Mob ...,,,,,,,.In May
Paul Defty (drummer) left Centrefold...but
not b4 we had an interesting gig at
Acklington Prison !!!! No ..not for
the inmates ...but the warders ,,,! A new
lineup in June saw the new drummer ,
and Peter Harrison join the band ,,,and
first gig was at Victoria Park
.It was a red hot July and
we did 20 gigs! In August we did Rosyth (H,M.S
cochrane..lion club) Edinburgh ...for
2nights ...Also Crimdon Dene clubhouse al day
..September we did Strangs riding school
(ponderosa) at Washington ..Is it
still there ?...In oct..i did 3 clubs
i had never done b4 !!! the No1
Amalgamated club in Boro,,,Mardi
Gras..Darlington...and M/boro buffs ...Also in
November we did a great show for the
Officers Mess 8thsignal regiment . at Catterick
Camp ..but ...in the second set
..there was a bomb scare ,,and we were
all evacuated from the camp , leaving
all the gear !!...Went back the next
day to pick up ...then straight to the
Ivy Leaf ...its a hell of a hump into
the club! December was very busy
...including ....Cheers...old East end club s/land
...(still there ?) Catterick
camp again at Gazza barracks (no
bomb scare)...I,C,I. Wilton works private
party ...Pennywell with Perfect
match and Bobby
Knoxall ...The Heaton
Buffs Xmas party was with Talisman and Prism ...
1990.....Saw Alibi,,,
with Alan roadhouse
and Dogg (ex
Cirkus)
...than it was back up to Scotland at
Hellenburgh navel base .Glasgow and
Heaton Buffs with Bob Ritchie Charity
do` Other notable shows were at Cleater Moor in
Whitehaven ...Pegswood S,C ,,for footballers do....` and
Chesters farm` reet oot in the wllds
!!!!...It was for the young farmers.
1987 started badly ..Idle Hands
broke up ! Then Jynx came along
,,,Dave and Carol
from ~Eshington ```..a formidable duo with a
great band behind them ,thay got plenty of
work Ncle .Gateshead.S/land
Hartlepool...Durham and Darlington ..Then in
March good news....Hands Down
were hitting the road after rehearsing at
Campbells (freezer) club in Jarrow
..i remember it was perishing
in there...memorable early gig was
at Thomas wilson club g/head with Powerhouse and
Pirahnas
..Meanwhile ..Cirkus ..Becket / Talisman
..Six of the best After
midnight .. were getting plenty of
work .. In April I went up
to Kinloss and Lossiemouth in the
wilds` of scotland with Jynx...did
2 `officers mess ` gigs..We
were supposed to be supporting the Batchelors...but
all the airmen came to see the band
...We all stayed on camp ..had
lots of excellent food and
drink Next  day
we were dashing down Early to
Billingham cons` club for the next
gig ! Early June Jynx
were in the recording studio
...thats when yet another new
music show started up in the
t.t.t.v. studios ...It was ...
ROXY ..It `ran` until April
88..with notable groups like Chris Rea...Ultravox...Echo
and the bunnymen...The
Cure..Hew@Cry..Def Leppard...Wet wet wet ..Squeez/
House Martins ..Steve Winwood Bryan Adams...
( see me picture with Bryan in the `last
instalment `)......
TPau and carol
Decker ...Brian Ferry ..Joe Cocker ..Climey
Fisher ..Stranglers..Billy
Ocean..Belinda Carlisle .and ,,.Vanessa Paradis
she was gorgeous ! Meanwhile
when all that was going
on new club ...bands were appearing on the
scene remember these ? French Curves
,,.Yankee rose.... Playboys....Miarage ...
Tony Liddle and the Law.....(did
some shows with Tony ) and Quebec...also
worked with these guys ...In December i
got a call from Carol
Johnson{Johnna`s ex wife) invited me to a
party at their `swish` house oposite the
corner house pub in heaton
...but ,,there was no beer
!! just champagne !
..This was after we all went
to to the city hall to see Shake the Tree`(ex
jogging waiters),,,who
she was managing `...They were
supposed to be supporting Wet wet wet ...but
they got held up in London
after doing `top of the pops`
and they were fogbound ...Anyway the
band went on and entertained
all the `teeny boppers` and their
parents ..it was a good night
...Then i was down in Blackburn with Quebec...another
goodun `The Heaton buffs had Talisman and the Pirahnas on
for their annual xmas party ..
 The begining of
88 saw Whitesnake
at city hall ...awsome !..then in Feb..Quebec
split up ..Got called up for
`rent a roadie ` to work at the Mayfair
in the toon ..working with the Cross....(Roger
Taylor .Queen ) plus Ya ya
supporting ... what a brilliant
voice this guy has ..and he
playing 2 different drum kits ....March
saw Ac/dc
doon at Wembley with Hylton Valentine and
Johnna`s brother backstage ,,got
some great pics of Angus a nd
theboys` ,,but they were all
drinking tea....! NO BOOZE allowed
on tour ! Angus said to me `there
is a baby`s bath full of ice
over there` ...roll ya sleeves
up dip both hands in and
what ever you bring out ,ye gotta
drink ,,,,bottle of Jack
Daniels and a can of lager ,,,happy days
,,...Saw Wishbone
Ash at Mayfair...wow ...
....In April did a gig with Jynx at the
newcastle Boat Club ,,right on the Quayside
..dont know if its still there
,,but had a brillnight In May South
Gosforth stopped the rock bands on Tuesday
nights ,,very sad ~ In
May `The
Magnificent Bimbo Brothers
were `born` ) Ex hands
,,,one of the first gigs was upstairs
at Co-op Rainbow rooms in the toon
,,they went down a storm`
I always remember the night
we done Peterlee Labour club ,,Peter
was singing that classic
,,dancing in the dark , by
springsteen , when one of my pyrotechnics
set fire to my backdrops when
he was singing ``cant start a fire
``.. hahahah ...July saw the
bands back on `Gossy club` by
public demand ..And in Sept..Peter
Harrison left the `bimbos ` after the
Ryton social club!....Come October .
had a spell with `Mind
over Matter`..while Caffrey Bros
were in red nose studios Shieldfield
..then in November was with
Centrefold ..and the
brilliant Debbie
...In dec...we did 22gigs including Allenbrook
army barracks ,Thirsk ,,but i still
got to see Talisman
and the Amazing
squibs at the buffs
xmas party ...more to follow from
89..
In Jan 84.` Geordie
were playing the White
Swan down Billingham ..great night
`s...,and the Junco
partners were doing
`rock at the heaton buffs`
..Also saw Lone
Wolf and Arizona
at `the Swan` in feb ..Hylton Valentine
formed Brown Jack..which
turned into Byker
`which played at Wallsend Labour
club and R.A.F.A, club ..Hartlepool ..In April Idle Hands were
formed .they were brilliant ! Also
, the same month . i was
off to Paris with B.B.Faith
for 6days . played in a huge
football stadium with 5 other bands
,all from Europe ...Back home
i was with Pauline
Gillan band (Ian Gillan`s sister) } at
Middleton club At M/boro ..also atS/s Legion ...
 Then
back to the ~swan ` with Geordie and Black Rose
..Meanwhile Alan Roadhouse exCIrkus..
joined `Harlequin`
resident band at Westerhope club..And
...At the R,A,F,A club Hartepool The Shine`
(Ex Saigon ?)
went doon a `storm` ..In October the `Force` and Idle hands
were getting plenty exposure ...It
was another sell out showow at
the Mead` with the `faith and chubby`
!!At the start of 85 Hellsinki rocked
the Pheasant pub doon, Preston Grange ,
North Shields...this was to be a great
venue for loads of bands ,, Saw the Groundhogs and Bombay at
Newbottle club ...did a `fashion
show ``yes ,,,at Seaham Hall
..,,,,Back at t.t.t.v. one day
we had a long flat loader wagon
with Rebel Run
playing live out side the studios
,,trying to get `noticed` by the `Tube
`
In June ,, Me and Mr Mo ,, the Flakes and Punishment of Luxury
..played Tiffany`s ...remember it well ..Idle hands
did the Washington Whitehoos with Tramp and Swank plus Bobby Knoxall
,,were you there?....In Sept the french band
(B.Zadar) we
met in Paris, supported B,B.Faith
at Brandon club ..Also in this year we
had Geordie Aid
at the Mayfair.
 By
the end of 85
B,B,Faiith played
their last gig at Ivy Leaf
club S/land ...then along came `Asleep at the wheel
` great name for a band ,,did
some good shows with these
guys ...what they doing now ? ,,,,,
December saw the Razzamatz christmas party
at t,t,t,v, studios ,,, with Phil
Lynott...Roy wood...Jenifer Rush
..Kim Wild,,John Parr,,Fergal Sharkey,,,
and then it was back to Idle Hands,,,, at
Usworth and district....Coatsworth G/head
...Washington white hoos /Thornley
...Newton Aycliff and Hetton
b4 Xmas ..January 1986 started
great ...went to Playhouse in Edinburgh.to
see AC/DC
with Hylton Valentine
and Johnna `s brother ...it
was muckin fagic! ....In early
Feb did Beechwood and Easterhouse
club Darlington...with the `hands`,,,There
were lots of north east bands
appearing down here at the time ..and ,,
if they recall beers/lager were 40p
a PINT.... unbelievable !!!
did the Swan Billingham with Powerhouse..and
got lock in at birtley Rex club
with the Pirahna
Bros ....Saw Ronnie
James Dio on the Tube
..In April a new show came
about at t.t.t.v. called TX45,,,,it
featured lots of local talent
,,including Well
well well ...Zoot and the
roots..Flaming Musolinis...my
old friend Pauline
Gillan ,,Death wish  and
the Edge
,,,May saw a new Iveco truck
for the `hands`
loadsa room ...and on 28th May ..Cirkus were
back on the road ...first 2 gigs
were Coatsworth and forest Hall clubs
..Did Walker social club with Talisman on the
Sunday morning and then went to downhill
club in the afternoon ! hell
of a place Dooonhill` the little kids
from the estate used to say
...```look after ya van Mr.` for
50pence...We used to say `nar
,,we got a big dog in the back
..Kids reply ..```Aye . but
does it like fire` !!!
ye gotta laugh !!!
In June/July Razzamataz
was back in the studio `s with Midge
Ure..Taxas..INXS...BAngles..Jim Diamond ..Dr
and the medics...Steve Harley ......End
of July did Dryburn Hospital with Rhythm Method
...lots of nice nurses ..then
following day (friday)did Steels club
...Saturday with Talisman
at Usworth ...Sept at theMayfair
N/cle saw Mad
Jacks travelling circus..747,,,Foxy
..Villa Latina , Wallop
,and the Pirahna
Bros.... In oct saw
that `fateful` ZZtop
sham on the Tube special ! ...but
,we also had `live bands `
on in December with
John Bon Jovie,,Suzie Quatro Heaven 17
..It Bites ,,,etc...Doctor Feelgood..the
Blues burglars,,and After Midnight did
Tiffany`s ...Got tickets for the
City Hall to see `Chubby` ,,and the Xmas
party at the buffs were Talisman
and Pirahnas..brilliant
...
 pic: Oby and Bryan
Adams
Before i go any
further ..i just want to mention,,the
reason i wanted Nige` , (and its
thanks to him ..who put all this
stuff up on the `news page) `...was to
leave some kind of documented history
of what was happening in the social
club/pub scene back in early
80`s........When ` i peg it ` .( not
for awhile yet i hope
)..wor lass is gonna chuck
all my Diaries`.band posters ,
pictures , parafinaylia in the bin..!!!
So... Who remembers all these
bands from nearly 40yrs ago ???
In March 1980..Chris
Cool band formed , and
were an instant hit in the clubs
, what a great singer , ..The Pirahna Bros
, from Blyth ..Showbiz
kids .Once bitten (Ex Tyson)..747
Ex Goldie ...Dance
Class,,who were awsome ...The News,,Geordie
, with Rob turnbull replacing Johnna ,
who joined
AC/DC///Rhamm ...In 82 ,,Armagedon and Davy Ditchburn
..Baby sitter , from
Teesside........Micky Hutton joined the King Crabs .....
Howard Baker formed Blueprint
!...In October this year Roy
`Chubby Brown ` did my `house
warming party,,` worra hoot !!
Also saw Armageddon
,Dance Class ..John Miles,, Eric Burdon..
and Johnna at the Heaton Buffe
Xmas show ...Blueprint
..then became B.B Faith
..The Caffrey Bros started
doing the clubs ..and Raven
made it big doon London .......In
83,,Paul . the original singer from Cirkus , joined Easy Touch ..
while The Toy
Dolls (Olga) stormed the
Shieldfield club I remember B.B .Faith
did a gig at Murton Victoria club ( and in June
84) ,,and all the hells angels wanted them
to do a show in S/land ..after the gig
... we found our selves in the
middle of a long street of
terraced houses..and some one had
knocked 2 or 3houses
into ONE ! Well.. the sun
was coming up when we packed the
wagon to go home ! great times ...and
,,there was not a pick of
botha ! Did a show at the Grey
Hen in s/shields with with Next
...and the Crabs
...dont know what happened
to those lads ,,,,or ,,even these
bands which you will all
have heard of ....The
Business,,Black Rose ...B.15,,,,Legend
....Teaser....Slinky ...the Cast....French
Curves ,,,Digital Dog...Boxer
...Shanghai...E.S.P... Powerhouse ...23 Skidu..Rythm
Sticks ....Becket..Rocky ....Cruella de
Ville Mad Jacks travelling circus
etc etc ...About this time
there were rumours that Pete Barclay
was gonna join the
Caffrey Bros?.....I put the `Faith` on
the heaton meadowfield for the Xmas party
with chubby brown
... charged 50p for the tickets ,
plus pie `n` peas ...Tickets were
always sold b4 they were printed
... you could do a lot for 50p
in thise days !!....more to follow ..
 
Fancy a `rocking ` holiday
in the sun in October? ...Why dont you
e,mail Cyprus Rocks ` and see
if you can get yourselves a gig
right on the beach in sunny Cyprus ..We
witnessed some incredible tribute
bands .. including Ac/Dc at theyr very best
.the Who .. Led Zepplin Deep purple etc ..
Click onto Cyprus Rocks , or the
facebook page ..See if you can get
the band on an unforgetable
trip ..its mega ,,,,,good
luck,,,,,, Oby
MORE FROM OBY . . .
''While working with
Cirkus.. got a great job at
T.T.TV. on City road
...I thought i was made for
life ...I had the pleasure of
seeing some brilliant pro` bands and
artists on television ..(.and i saw
many `up and coming new local
bands that were `doing the
rounds`)
Who remembers Alright Now? ..it was
the first of some great programmes
for well known pro` groups who
were playing live in the
studios ...including Rory
Gallager .Dr Feelgood ...long
before Robert Kane
from the Animals
joined ...Saw the
Tourists ...Squeez..Nick Lowe... Mike
Oldfield..etc...that was
in 1980....Then in 81
Razzamataz exploded onto your t.v.
..We had Kim
Wild .Elton John Bad
Manners...Stu Copeland ..Toyah ..Stray
cats..Kate Bush..Kiki Dee...Gary
Newman The Shadows
,,,I remember in April of
this year i booked Roy
Chubby brown for the
club bar one friday night ..It
was a sell out ..He did a 2hour show
..well. the tears were rolling down our
faces laughing..Even Cathy Secker
who was the contimuity anouncer
was there on her break
...Roy and i became very
good friends ,,even had him for
my new house `warming party
` he stole the show ..He
used to ring me up from
Teeside , where he lived and would
ask me ..do you know where Morpeth
Comrades / Ashington Central / and other clubs
up north were ..Yes i
said...O.k i will pick you up
at the Tyne Tunnel.
i have pie and peas suppers
/strippers private shows to do
...had some brilliant nights
with him ...sold loads of
t.shirts,cassettes etc at half time ......
In Jan 82 Razz returned ..and we had Depeche Mode /Haircut
100/Godley and Creme .Boomtown
Rats..ABC..Toyah...Phil Lynott/ John Sykes..A
flock of seagulls... and
more ,,,Then we had the
BIGGEE! ..In
November Tyne Tees Tele
..produced the TUBE LIVE` on friday
nights for channel 4
..Met some real supa stars `
on this show the
tickets to get in were
like GOLD...! Opened up with The Jam.(.Toy Dolls...
Remember them ?)Sting
and Pete
Townshend . Duran Duran ,,Simple
minds ..Robert Palmer ..Robert Plant
..Twisted Sister..Blancmange ..U.2
..Dance Class ( brilliant
band ...after the show they
performed at Henderson Hall College ,,,we
`blagged our way in ` showing
our t.t.tv passes ) then next
up were Pat
Benatar / Thin lizzy.
Paul Young
.Madness..Eurythmics ...`In
november 83 Tube returned with ,,ZZ TOP...this
was one off special ...I got
all of Idle
Hands in for this one
..Me and Peter Harrison
were amazed when we noticed
they were `Miming !!!! bloody
disgrace ,,! Then it was up to R.E,M ..Style Council
...Pretenders ...Echo and the Bunnymen
/Judas Priest..The alarm ..Sade
(who tyne tees discovered !) Thompson twins
..Siouxsie`...Gary Moore ..Big Country
..China crisis ,,Howard Jones /
Ultravox ..The Cure / Joe jackson
Big country
..UB40
...Motorhead (Toooo loud..
everyone had cotton wool in
the lugs ) Tom
Robinson band ..Stranglers ..Toy dolls
(again) ..Water
boys....Frankie goes to Hollywood ....this
band went down to the
Quayside after the show and
tried to get on the Tuxedo
Princess..( floating nightclub) The
bouncers threw them oot ...then
they were then called `Frankie
goes to gateshead ,and got
beat up `.........Clit
Pilchard ...Meatloaf..Bangles ...Bryan Adams
was brilliant ..they were on
tour with T.pau at the
time , and Carol Decker
actually took me and
Bryans pic ( 2nd picture ) in the
dressing room ..Met Bryan again on
tour in Limassol . Cyprus in
2013 ...other notable
bands on the Tube were .
Chris Rea ..Dead
or alive ...Robert Palmer
Level 42 ...Tom Waites
..INXS...Ronnie James Dio ,,Jon Bon
Jovie ...It Bites ...All
of who SANG LIVE!!''
|
This week in . .
.
1964, US singer
Johnny
Burnette
was killed in
a boating
accident on
Clear Lake
California,
aged 30. His
unlit boat was
struck by an
unaware cabin
cruiser, the
impact threw
him off the
boat and he
drowned.
Burnette
scored the
1961 US No.8
& UK No.3
single 'You're
Sixteen'.
1965, Sonny
& Cher started
a three week
run at No.1 on
the US singles
chart with 'I
Got You Babe'.
Sonny Bono is
said to have
been inspired
to write the
song to
capitalize on
the popularity
of the term
"babe," as
heard in Bob
Dylan's 'It
Ain't Me
Babe'.
1967, All UK
offshore
pirate radio
stations were
closed down
when the
marine
broadcasting
act came into
force. Radio Caroline continued to broadcast
until March
68.
1970, The
first day of
the three day
UK Yorkshire
Folk, Blues
& Jazz
Festival at
Krumlin,
Yorkshire took
place
featuring Atomic Rooster, Pink Floyd (who didn't
appear after
being fog
bound at Paris
Airport), The Kinks, Elton John, Mungo Jerry, Yes, Alan Price,
Georgie Fame,
Juicy Lucy,
Pretty Things
and The
Groundhogs.
Weekend
tickets, £3.
1988, Lead
singer, poet
and frontman
of Hawkwind
Robert
Calvert died
of a heart
attack. He was
a member of
Hawkwind from
1972-1979
during which
time he
co-wrote their
hit single
'Silver
Machine' and
directed their
Space Ritual
Tour.
1988,
Guitarist Roy Buchanan died after hanging himself
with his own
shirt in
Fairfax County
Adult
Detention
Center having
been arrested
for
drunkenness.
Buchanan
released over
15 solo
albums;
Jeff Beck
dedicated the
song 'Cause
We've Ended As
Lovers' to
Buchanan in
1975 on his
Blow by Blow
album.
2002, Dave
Williams lead
singer of US
heavy rock
band
Drowning Pool
was found dead
on the band's
tour bus
during Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest tour in Manassas,
Virginia. The
autopsy
concluded that
he suffered
from a form of
heart disease.
The bands
debut album,
Sinner, had
sold over 1
million copies
in the US
since its
release in
June 2001.
Week
commencing August
6
. . .
Week
commencing
July 30 . . .Week
commencing
July 30 . . .1959,
Four members
of The Platters were arrested after a gig in Cincinnati after being
found with
four 19 year
old women (3
of them
white), in
various stages
of undress.
The scandal
resulted in
radio stations
across the US
removing
Platters
records from
their
playlists.
1963, The
100th edition
of 'Thank Your
Lucky Stars'
was aired on
TV, with Cliff Richard, The Shadows, The Searchers, Brian
Poole and the
Tremeloes,
Billy J.
Kramer and the
Dakotas
and Alma
Cogan.
1963,
Acker Bilk,
Chris Barber,
Ronnie Ross,
Cyril Davies,
Long John
Baldry and
The
Rolling Stones
all appeared
at the third
Richmond Jazz
Festival held
over two days
in Richmond. A
weekend ticket
cost 20
shillings.
1969, During a
North American
tour,
Led Zeppelin
appeared at
the San Diego
Sports Arena.
Jethro
Tull were
the support
act.
2007, Anthony Wilson the music mogul behind some
of
Manchester's
most
successful
bands died
aged 57 after
suffering from
kidney cancer.
The TV
presenter and
entrepreneur
founded
Factory
Records, the
label behind New Order and the Happy
Mondays.
He was also
famous for
setting up the
Hacienda
nightclub in
Manchester.
1963, The Beatles
arrived in
Jersey in the
Channel Islands,
where they spent
the day
go-carting and
relaxing by the
pool at The
Revere Hotel
before playing
the first of
four nights at
the Springfield
Ballroom. Some
fans had found
out where they
were staying,
but they were
happy to chat
and be
photographed
with them.
1964, Rod
Stewart
made his TV
debut on 'The
Beat Room' as a
member of The
Hoochie Coochie
Men.
1965, Decca
records released
the Small
Faces
debut single
'Whatcha Gonna
Do About It.' It
peaked at No.14
on the UK chart.
1970, Steppenwolf,
Janis Joplin,
Paul Simon,
Poco
and
Johnny Winter
all appeared at
the Concert For
Peace at New
York's Shea
Stadium. The
concert date
coincided with
the 25th
anniversary of
dropping an
atomic bomb on
Hiroshima,
Japan.
1977, The
Police
appeared at The
Red Cow,
Hammersmith Road
in London,
admission was
60p.
1983,
Avant-garde
musician and
former backing
singer with David Bowie, Klaus Nomi, died at the age
of 39 of Aids in
New York City
aged 38. Nomi
was one of the
first
celebrities to
contract AIDS.
2007, Marilyn
Manson
was being sued
by a former band
member who said
he was owed $20m
(£9.8m) in
shared profits.
Stephen Bier,
who played
keyboards under
the stage name
Madonna Wayne
Gacy, claimed he
was not paid
properly over a
period of almost
two decades. In
legal papers
filed in Los
Angeles, Bier
claimed Manson
falsely told him
the band was not
making much
money and used
band money to
buy a $2m
(£980,000) home
and collect Nazi
memorabilia,
including coat
hangers used by
Adolf Hitler.
Week
commencing
July 30
. . .
1968,
The two day
Newport Pop
Festival took
place in Costa
Mesa, California
with Alice
Cooper, Canned
Heat, Chambers
Brothers,
Charles Lloyd
Quartet,
Country Joe
and the Fish,
Electric Flag,
James Cotton
Blues Band,
Paul
Butterfield
Blues Band,
Sonny &
Cher,
Steppenwolf
and Tiny
Tim.
Over 100,000 fans
attended the
festival.
2006, Arthur
Lee,
singer and
guitarist of the
influential 1960s
band Love,
died in Memphis at
the age of 61
following a battle
with acute myeloid
leukaemia. He
called himself the
"first black
hippie" and formed
Love in Los
Angeles in 1965.
Best known for the
critically revered
1967 album,
'Forever Changes.'
2002, After an
absence of 37
years, Bob
Dylan
returned to the
Newport Folk
Festival (now
known as the Apple
and Eve Newport
Folk Festival)
where he performed
a 2 hour show of
19 songs, wearing
a false beard and
a wig. Songs
played included:
Subterranean
Homesick Blues,
'Desolation Row',
'Positively 4th
Street', 'The
Wicked Messenger',
'Like A Rolling
Stone' and 'Mr.
Tambourine Man'.
2015, Former AC/DC
drummer Phil Rudd
pleaded not guilty
to breaching the
conditions of his
current home
detention by
drinking alcohol.
Rudd had been
under house
detention since
being sentenced
for drug
possession and
making threats to
kill in July of
this year. The
61-year-old could
face further
sanctions,
including jail
time, if the judge
decided he did
violate his
conditions.
1965, During a UK
tour, The
Rolling Stones
appeared at the
London Palladium
supported by The
Walker Brothers,
The Fourmost,
Steampacket
featuring Rod
Stewart
and Sugar
Pie Desanto
with The
Shevelles.
1969, The three day
US Atlantic City Pop
Festival took place
at the Atlantic City
race track with B.B.
King, Janis
Joplin, Santana,
Three Dog Night,
Dr John, Procol
Harum, Arthur
Brown, Iron
Butterfly,
Creedence
Clearwater
Revival, Little
Richard, Tim
Buckley, The
Byrds, Jefferson
Airplane, The
Mothers Of
Invention
and
Canned Heat.
Joni Mitchell
started to cry and
ran off stage in the
middle of her third
song because the
crowd was not paying
attention to her
performance.
1971, The Concert
For Bangladesh
organised by George
Harrison to aid
victims of famine
and war in
Bangladesh took
place at New York's
Madison Square
Garden. Featuring Bob
Dylan, Ringo
Starr, Billy
Preston, Eric
Clapton, Ravi
Shankar and
members from Badfinger.
Harrison had to
shell out his own
money to maintain
the fund after legal
problems froze all
proceeds. The triple
album release (the
second in a row by
Harrison), hit No.1
in the UK and No.2
in the US and
received the Grammy
Award for Album of
the Year.
2000, AC/DC
kicked off their 140
date Stiff Upper
World Lip Tour at
the Van Andel Arena,
Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
Week
commencing
July 23
. . .
1976,
Bruce
Springsteen
sued his manager Mike
Appel for fraud and
breach of trust. The
case dragged on for
over a year, halting
Springsteen's career.
An out of court
settlement was reached
the following year.
2001, Leon Wilkeson
bass player with Lynyrd
Skynyrd
was found dead in a
hotel room in Florida
aged 49. Skynyrd
scored the 1974 US No.
8 single, 'Sweet Home
Alabama' and the 1982
UK No.21 single
'Freebird'. Member of
the Rossington-Collins
Band.
1965, Dressed in Carnaby
Street threads, the ever
changing Bob
Dylan
plugged in for his
headlining set backed by
the Butterfield Blues
Band at The Newport Folk
Festival in Newport,
Rhode Island. Folk music
‘purists’ tried to boo
him off the stage, while
the rest of the audience
gave him an enthusiastic
response. It is usually
said that the reason for
the crowd's hostile
reception was Dylan's
'abandoning' of the folk
orthodoxy, or poor sound
quality on the night (or
a combination of the
two).
1969, The Seattle Pop
Festival took place at
the Gold Creek Park,
Woodinville, Washington.
Acts who appeared over
three days included Chuck
Berry, Tim Buckley,
The Byrds, Chicago
Transit Authority,
Albert Collins, Bo
Diddley, The Doors,
The Flock, The
Flying Burrito
Brothers, Guess Who,
It's A Beautiful
Day, Led Zeppelin,
Santana, Spirit, Ten
Years After, Ike
& Tina Turner,
Vanilla Fudge, Alice
Cooper
and The
Youngbloods.
1980, AC/DC
released their sixth
internationally released
studio album Back In
Black, the first AC/DC
album recorded without
former lead singer Bon
Scott who
died on 19 February 1980
at the age of 33. The
album has sold an
estimated 49 million
copies worldwide to
date, making it the
second highest-selling
album of all time, and
the best-selling hard
rock or heavy metal
album.
2003, Erik Braunn from
American psychedelic
rock band
Iron Butterfly
died of cardiac failure
at the age of 52. Braunn
was just 16 years old
when he joined Iron
Butterfly who had the
1968 US No.14 single
'In-A- Gadda-Da-Vida’.
Suspicion also surrounds
the bass player who was
reported to be working
on instant communication
and whose car was found
at the base of a cliff -
officially it was
'suicide'.
1977, Led
Zeppelin
drummer John
Bonham was
charged with assault after
a concert at the Oakland
Coliseum in California.
Bonham and band manager
Peter Grant had the help
of their bodyguard in
roughing up a security
employee at the venue.
After pleading guilty to
misdemeanors, the accused
settle out of court for
two million dollars. The
tour would eventually be
cancelled after Robert
Plant's son died a few
days later.
1979, Keyboard player with
The
Grateful Dead
Keith Godchaux died after
being involved in a car
accident aged 32. He
co-wrote songs with Lowell
George (of Little
Feat) and
was a member of The
New Riders of the
Purple Sage.
1994, The International
Astronomical Union named
an asteroid orbiting
between Mars and Jupiter
after Frank
Zappa who
had died the previous
December.
1995, Two R.E.M.
fans died at
Dublin's Slane Castle gig,
one drowned in the River
Boyne and the other was
allegedly pushed from a
bridge.
1996, Rob Collins,
keyboard player with The
Charlatans
died in a car crash, aged
29. Collins had been
recording keyboard parts
for the Charlatans 5th
album ‘Tellin' Stories’ at
a studio in Wales. An
investigation into the
accident showed that
Collins had consumed a
sizable amount of alcohol
and was not wearing a
seatbelt. He died from
head injuries on the
roadside shortly after the
accident having been
thrown through the
windscreen.
2009, On the afternoon of
tonight's concert at First
Energy Park, Lakewood, New
Jersey, Bob
Dylan was
picked up by a young
policewoman who had been
alerted of a man who was
'acting suspiciously'. The
police officer drove up to
Dylan, who was wearing a
blue jacket, and asked him
his name, but she did not
recognise him. When he was
unable to produce any
identification, Dylan was
driven to his hotel where
staff were able to vouch
for him. The incident
happened when Dylan
decided to go for a walk
in the afternoon while on
tour with Willie
Nelson who
were due to perform at the
local baseball stadium
with John
Mellencamp.
Week
commencing
July 16
. . .
1967, Pink
Floyd
appeared at The Beach
Ballroom, Aberdeen. The
venue is home to one of
Scotland's finest dance
floors - famous for its
bounce - which floats on
fixed steel springs. During
the 1960s The
Beatles (in
1963), Small
Faces and Cream
all appeared at the Beach.
1973, David
Bowie
released the single 'Life On
Mars', which peaked at No.3
on the chart. The track
which was first released in
1971 on the album Hunky
Dory, features guest piano
work by Yes
keyboardist Rick Wakeman.
The line "Look at those
cavemen go" is a reference
to the song "Alley Oop," a
one-off hit in 1960 for
American doo-wop band The
Hollywood Argyles.
2005, Founder member and
singer with The
Chi-lites,
Eugene Record died of
cancer. Had the 1972 US No.1
single 'Oh Girl' and 1972 UK
No.3 single 'Have You Seen
Her.' He also released three
solo albums.
2015, New research found
that a person's taste in
music may offer insight into
the way in which they think.
A study found empathetic
people preferred more
mellow, low-energy music,
while those who were
"systemisers" - people who
seeked to analyse patterns
in the world enjoyed punk,
heavy metal and more complex
music overall. Researchers
at Cambridge University,
England had recruited 4,000
participants and put them
through a series of
different tests.
1963, Jan
and Dean
started a two week run at No.1
on the US singles chart with
'Surf City', written by The
Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, with
the Beach Boys on backing
vocals. The single peaked at
No.26.
1968, Cream
started a four-week run at
No.1 on the US album chart
with 'Wheels Of Fire'. The
double album which consisted
of a studio and a live record
reached No.3 in the United
Kingdom.
1968, Jane
Asher announced
on the national British TV
show, Dee Time, that her
engagement to Paul
McCartney was
off. Paul reportedly was
watching at a friend's home
and was surprised by the news.
She was said to have inspired
many of McCartney's songs,
such as 'All My Loving', 'And
I Love Her', and 'We Can Work
It Out'. Jane went on to have
a career in films and
television as well as becoming
a successful author and
business woman.
1986, The film based on the
life of Sex Pistols bassist, Sid
Vicious, 'Sid
And Nancy' premiered in
London.
2008, John
Lydon denied
claims by Kele Okereke from
Bloc Party that he was
racially abused and attacked
by a member of the Sex
Pistols'
entourage at a music festival
in Barcelona. Okereke claimed
he had been attacked by
several men after approaching
Lydon backstage at the
Summercase festival. He said
the 'unprovoked' attack left
him with a split lip and
bruises. Lydon said: ‘I
feel very sorry for a man
that needs to lie about what
was a perfect evening.’
015, American country
musician, songwriter and
record producer Wayne
Carson died at
the age of 72 after suffering
congestive heart failure. He
co-wrote 'Always on My Mind'
(a hit for Elvis Presley,
Willie Nelson and others),
'The Letter' (recorded by The
Box Tops, Joe Cocker and Leon
Russell), and 'Soul Deep'.
2017, Linkin
Park lead
singer Chester Bennington died
aged 41. His body was found at
a private home, Bennington
apparently hanged himself. The
singer was said to be close to
Soundgarden
vocalist Chris Cornell, who
took his own life in May of
this year. Formed in 1996,
Linkin Park had sold more than
70 million albums worldwide
and won two Grammy Awards.
1959, Billie
Holiday died in a
New York City hospital from
cirrhosis of the liver after
years of alcohol abuse, aged 43.
(While under arrest for heroin
possession, with Police officers
stationed at the door to her
room.) In the final years of her
life, she had been progressively
swindled out of her earnings,
and she died with $0.70 in the
bank.
1965, King Records released
'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' by
James
Brown, which went
on to sell over 2 million copies
and receive the Grammy Award for
best Rhythm & Blues
Recording. 'Papa's Got a Brand
New Bag' is considered seminal
in the emergence of funk music
as a distinct style.
1972, A bomb exploded under The
Rolling Stones
equipment van in Montreal,
believed to be the work of
French separatists. Angry fans
rioted throwing bottles and
rocks after 3,000 tickets for
the show turned out to be fake.
1979, Gary
Moore left Thin Lizzy,
during a US tour and was
replaced by ex Slick
& Rich
Kids guitarist Midge Ure.
1996, Chas
Chandler died
aged just 57 at Newcastle
General Hospital, where he was
undergoing tests related to an
aortic aneurysm. He had been the
bass player with The
Animals and
manager of Slade, Nick
Drake and Jimi
Hendrix.
1999, Kevin Wilkinson, drummer
with Howard
Jones hung
himself at home aged 41. He had
also worked with China
Crisis, Holly and the
Italians, Squeeze and
The
Waterboys.
2011, Bruce
Springsteen made
a surprise appearance at a
tribute to Clarence Clemons at
the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park,
N.J. The boss played a 45 minute
set to an intimate crowd of 400.
Clemons, who died on June 18th
of this year, was a prominent
member of Bruce Springsteen's E
Street Band, playing the tenor
saxophone with him since 1971.
Springsteen and Clemons had
first met at the Wonder Bar in
Asbury Park.
1966, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and
Eric Clapton formed Cream
the three piece group only lasted
2 years, leaving behind some
classic recordings including
‘Sunshine of Your Love,’ ‘Badge,’
‘Strange Brew,’ and ‘White Room.’
1967,
Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen,
Judy Collins, Janis Ian, David
Blue, Mike Settle, Tom Paxton
and Eric
Andersen all
appeared at the Newport Folk
Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.
1981, US singer-songwriter Harry Chapin,
who had success in the 70s with
'Taxi’, ‘W-O-L-D’ and a No. 1
‘Cat’s In The Cradle’, was killed
aged 38 suffering a cardiac arrest
while driving on a New York
expressway. His car was hit from
behind by a tractor-trailer,
causing the gas tank to explode.
1993, The first of the three day
Phoenix festival in England
started, featuring Sonic Youth,
Faith No More, The Black
Crowes, Julian Cope, Pop Will
Eat Itself, Radiohead, Living
Colour, Manic Street
Preachers, Pulp,
tickets £49.
2014, Blues guitarist Johnny Winter
died at the age of 70 in Zurich,
just days after playing at the
Lovely Days Festival in Austria.
Winter, who was instantly
recognisable by his long white
hair, worked with some of the
greatest bluesmen, producing
several albums for his childhood
hero Muddy
Waters - with whom
he won a number of Grammys.
Week
commencing
July 9 . . .
1958,
The
Quarrymen, featuring
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison, John "Duff" Lowe on piano
and Colin Hanton on drums, recorded
a vanity disc at a small studio in
an electronics shop owned by a man
named Percy Phillips. The band
recorded 'That'll Be The Day' and
'In Spite Of Danger' in one take
each. With the names of the tunes
and the song's writers hand written
on the label, each band member was
to keep the 10-inch 78 rpm disc for
a week before passing it on. Both
recordings eventually ended up on
Anthology 1.
1973, A drunk driver killed Clarence
White of The
Byrds while he was
loading equipment after a gig in
Palmdale, California. White joined
The Byrds in 1968, after the group
had recorded 'Mr. Tambourine Man,'
'Turn! Turn! Turn!' and 'Eight Miles
High'.
1973, During a concert at the John
Wayne Theatre in Hollywood,
California,
Phil Everly smashed
his guitar and stormed of stage, Don
finished the set by himself and
announced that The Everly
Brothers had split.
This was the last that the duo
performed together for nearly ten
years.
1982, The movie premier for Pink Floyd's
The Wall was held at The Empire,
Leicester Square, London. The film
which centres around a confined
rocker named Floyd "Pink" Pinkerton
earned $22 million in its first year
and won two British Academy Awards.
2006,
Primal Scream singer
Bobby Gillespie had his nose broken
when he was attacked in a hotel bar
in Madrid in Spain. The singer had
to postpone a Top Of The Pops
recording due to the injuries.
2015, Arthur Cave, the 15-year-old
son of musician
Nick Cave, died after
a fall from a cliff in Brighton,
Sussex
1963, The
Rolling Stones played
their first ever gig outside London
when they appeared at The Alcove Club,
Middlesbrough, Cleveland, supporting
The Hollies.
1964, The
Animals went to No.1 on
the UK singles chart with 'The House
Of The Rising Sun.' Recorded in one
take, this was the first UK No.1 to
have a playing time of more than four
minutes.
1968, Black
Sabbath played their
first gig at a small backstreet Blues
club in Birmingham.
1969, Over 100 US radio stations
banned The
Beatles new single 'The
Balled Of John and Yoko' due to the
line 'Christ, you know it ain't easy',
calling it offensive.
1970, Three
Dog Night started a
two-week run at No.1 in the US with
their version of the Randy Newman song
'Mama Told Me Not To Come', which was
also a No.3 hit in the UK. The song was
first covered by Eric
Burdon on his first solo
album in 1966 and gave Tom Jones &
Stereophonics a No.4 hit on the UK
Singles Chart in 2000.
1977, Tonight saw the opening night of a
new punk venue, The Vortex Club, on
Wardour Street, London with Siouxise, Adam And
The Ants, The Slits and Sham 69.
1996, Jonathan Melvoin keyboard player
with the Smashing
Pumpkins died from a drug
overdose in New York City aged 34.
Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy
Chamberlin who was with Melvoin tried
but failed to revive him after
Chamberlin was allegedly advised by 911
operators to put Melvoin's head in the
shower. Several songs were inspired by his death,
including Sarah McLachlan's hit single 'Angel.' He was the
brother of Susannah and Wendy Melvoin of Prince and the
Revolution. Melvoin had also been a member of The Dickies.
2002, The funeral of The Who's
bass player John Entwistle took place at a church in The
Cotswolds. More than 200 mourners filed into the 12th
century church of St Edward in Stow-on-the-wold.
2014, Producer and drummer Tommy Ramone
(Thomas Erdelyi), from the influential
punk rock band the Ramones, died aged 65
following unsuccessful treatment for
bile duct cancer. He was the last
surviving original member of the Ramones
before his death. Erdelyi was also an
assistant engineer for the production of
the Jimi
Hendrix album Band of
Gypsys.
Week
commencing
July 2 . . .
1980,
Led Zeppelin
played their last-ever concert with
drummer John Bonham when they appeared
at Eissporthalle, West Berlin at the end
of a European tour. The set included:
'Black Dog', 'The Rain Song', 'Hot Dog',
'All My Love', 'Trampled Under Foot',
'Since I’ve Been Loving You', 'Kashmir',
'Stairway To Heaven' and 'Rock And
Roll'. They finished the show with a
17-minute version of 'Whole Lotta Love'.
2003, Darkness
released their debut studio album
Permission To Land which topped the UK
chart for four weeks. Five singles were
released from the album including ‘I
Believe in a Thing Called Love’, the
most successful, reaching No.2 on the UK
Singles Chart. The band won three BRIT
Awards in 2004 in response to the album,
Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best
Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards
in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best
British Band.
2005, Members of The
Hollies asked High Court
judge to jail one of their founder
members claiming bass player Eric
Haydock had flouted a court order made
in 1998 not to play under their name.
Haydock formed the group in Manchester,
England in the early 1960’s with Allan
Clarke and Graham Nash (who left in
1966). Haydock was working in a group
calling itself
Eric Haydock's Hollies.
2006, Syd
Barrett died from
complications arising from diabetes aged
60. The singer, songwriter, guitarist
was one of the founding members of Pink
Floyd, active as a rock musician
for only about seven years before he
went into seclusion. He joined Pink
Floyd in 1965 but left three years later
after one album. Barrett released two
solo albums before going into
self-imposed seclusion lasting more than
thirty years, with his mental
deterioration blamed on drugs.
1964, The
Beatles film A Hard Day's
Night premiered at The Pavilion in London.
Filmed during the height of Beatlemania,
and written by Alun Owen, the film was
made in the style of a mockumentary,
describing a couple of days in the lives
of the group.
1967, Pink Floyd
made their first appearance on Top Of The
Pops to promote their new single 'See
Emily Play'. A badly damaged home video
recording recovered by the British Film
Institute of this show was given a public
screening in London on 9th January 2010 at
an event called "Missing Believed Wiped"
devoted to recovered TV shows. It was the
first time any footage was seen of the
performance since its original broadcast.
1968,
Woburn Music Festival, Woburn Abbey, took
place. A two-day affair featuring Donovan, Fleetwood
Mac, Pentangle, The Jimi Hendrix
Experience, Alexis Korner, Family, Taste,
Tim Rose, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers,
Duster Bennett and Tyrannosaurus Rex,
two-day tickets were priced at £2.
1973, Queen released
their debut single 'Keep Yourself Alive'.
The track didn't make the charts.
2003, Skip Battin bassist and songwriter
with The Byrds
died of complications from Alzheimer's
disease (1965 US & UK No.1 single 'Mr
Tambourine Man'). Also played with New Riders Of The
Purple Sage and The Flying Burrito
Brothers.
1958, The Everly
Brothers held the UK No.1
position with 'All I Have To Do Is Dream.'
The Duo's first No.1 single was recorded in
just two takes and features Chet Atkins on
guitar. The song was written by the husband
and wife songwriting team Felice and
Boudleaux Bryant.
1969, Janis Joplin,
Led Zeppelin, Johnny Winter, Delaney and
Bonnie, Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Canned Heat, Joe Cocker, Blood Sweat
& Tears, Chuck Berry, Spirit,
Chicago and Paul Butterfield
all appeared at the two-day Atlanta Pop
Festival, Byron, Georgia.
1973, Slade
drummer Don Powell was badly injured in a
car crash in which his girlfriend was
killed.
1974, Despite the fact that they have the
No.4 song in the US with 'Rikki Don't Lose
That Number' and a current Platinum album
with Pretzel Logic, Steely
Dan's Walter Becker and
Donald Fagan play their final gig together
in Santa Monica, California. They would not
tour again for the next eighteen years.
1976, The Clash
made their live debut supporting the Sex Pistols
at the Black Swan, Sheffield.
1990, Paul Stanley from KISS
sustained neck and back injuries when he was
involved in a car crash in New Jersey.
2012, Bonhams of London
announced that Freddie
Mercury's black and
white harlequin stage costume had sold for
£22,500 at their Entertainment Memorabilia
sale. The harlequin costume was one of
Freddie’s most recognisable stage designs,
which he wore at a number of high-profile
concerts in the 1970s. Also a pair of
Freddie’s ballet pumps exceeded the pre-sale
estimate of £1,500 - 2,000, selling for
£4,000 to an overseas internet bidder.
Freddie had worn the white leather ballet
shoes during Queen's legendary Hyde Park
performance in 1976.
1967, A private party was held at the
Speakeasy Club in London, for The Monkees.
Guests included: John Lennon, George Harrison,
Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield, Eric
Clapton, Lulu and all the members from Manfred
Mann, The Who and Procol Harum.
1969, Brian Jones drowned while under the
influence of drugs and alcohol after taking a
midnight swim in his pool, aged 27. His body
was found at the bottom of the pool by his
Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner's
report stated "Death by misadventure", and
noted his liver and heart were heavily
enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Jones was
one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones
and in the early 60s used the name "Elmo
Lewis."
1971, American singer, songwriter and poet,
Jim Morrison of The
Doors was found dead in a
bathtub in Paris, France, the cause of death
was given as a heart attack. He co-wrote some
of the group's biggest hits, including ‘Light
My Fire’, ‘Love Me Two Times’, and ‘Love Her
Madly.’ On the 25th anniversary of his death
an estimated 15,000 fans gathered at Pere
Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France to pay
their respects.
1975,
Lead singer from Three
Dog Night, Chuck Negron,
was arrested at his Louisville hotel room on
the opening night of the bands tour and
charged with possession of cocaine.
1982, After a record breaking jump from No.33
on the UK singles charts,
The Damned's guitarist Captain
Sensible started a two week run at No.1 with
his version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein
song 'Happy Talk' from the 1949 musical South
Pacific.
2012, KISS
announced that they were set to release a
guitar size book containing unseen photographs
from their 40-year career. The limited edition
called Monster would have a $4,299 price tag
and at 3 feet tall, 2.5 feet wide, was
reported to be the largest music book ever
published.
1969, Thunderclap
Newman started a three week run
at No.1 on the singles chart with the Pete
Townshend produced track 'Something In The Air.'
Featured on the soundtrack for the movie, 'The
Magic Christian'. The single featured guitarist
Jimmy McCulloch who went on to work with Wings.
1969, Bassist Noel
Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell
quit The Jimi Hendrix
Experience after completing the
three-day Denver Pop Festival. Hendrix and
drummer Mitch Mitchell would later team with
bassist Billy Cox to form the short-lived Gypsy Sun and Rainbows,
who played at the Woodstock Festival.
1971, Queen
appeared at Surrey College. This was the group's
first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury,
Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.
1980, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart from The Grateful Dead
were arrested on suspicion of starting a riot at
the San Diego Sports Arena after they tried to
interfere in a drugs bust.
1982, Nicky Headon of The
Clash was remanded on bail,
charged with stealing a bus stop worth £30 from
London's' Fulham Road.
1991, Axl Rose caused a riot to break out during
a Guns N' Roses
gig after leaping into the crowd to remove a
camera from a fan at the Riverpoint
Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights. Over 50 people
were injured and 15 fans were arrested.
2008, The gravestone of former Joy Division
frontman Ian Curtis was stolen. Cheshire Police
said his memorial stone was taken from where he
is buried in Macclesfield Cemetery. Officers
were appealing for anyone with information on
its whereabouts, detectives said the stone, had
the inscription ‘Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80’ and the
words ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.
Week
commencing
June 25 . . .
1956,
Elvis Presley
appeared on NBC-TVs 'The Steve Allen
Show' and performed 'Hound Dog', to a
live Hound Dog. US TV critic John
Crosby panned Elvis' performance,
calling him an 'unspeakable,
untalented and vulgar young
entertainer.'
1969, John
Lennon Yoko Ono and
family were involved in a car accident
in Golspie, Scotland. Both John and
Yoko needed hospital treatment. Lennon
later had the car crushed into a cube
and exhibited it on his lawn at
Tittenhurst Park.
1972, Slade
were at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Take Me Bak 'Ome', the group's second
No.1. The song was produced by the
bands manager Chas Chandler.
1973, Slade
and The
Sensational Alex Harvey Band
appeared at Earl's Court London,
tickets cost £1.00-£2.00. Special
'Slade' trains were running form
Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham and
Manchester to take fans to the show.
1975, 10cc
were at No.1 on the UK singles chart
with 'I'm Not In Love'. The
instrumental break featured the
repeated spoken phrase: "Be quiet, big
boys don't cry...", which was spoken
by Kathy Warren, the receptionist at
Strawberry Studios, Stockport, where
the band recorded the track.
1981, Rushton
Moreve, bassist with Steppenwolf,
was killed in motorcycle accident in
Santa Barbara, California, aged 32. He
co-wrote their hit 'Magic Carpet Ride'
with lead singer John Kay; Steppenwolf
also had the 1968 US No.2 single 'Born
To Be Wild'. Moreve left the band in
late 1968 when he refused to fly back
to California at that time, fearing it
would sink into the Pacific Ocean
after an imminent earthquake.
1995, DJ
Wolfman Jack died of a
heart attack. He was the master of
ceremonies for the rock 'n' roll
generation of the '60s on radio, and
later on television during the '70s.
2008, Whitesnake
guitarist Mel
Galley died at the age
of 60 from cancer of the oesophagus.
Galley also played with Trapeze, Glenn
Hughes, Cozy Powell and
the Blue
Jays.
2013, Boston
guitarist Tom
Scholz was ordered to
pay $132,000 in court fees to the
Boston Herald after he unsuccessfully
sued the newspaper. The Herald had
suggested that Scholz was responsible
for the 2007 suicide of Boston lead
singer Brad
Delp, but a Superior
Court judge ruled that the paper could
not be held liable for defaming Scholz
because it's impossible to know what
caused Delp to kill himself.
1966, The
Beatles played the first
of three concerts at the Nippon Budokan
Hall, Japan. The concert was filmed with
The Beatles wearing black suits. The
following day's first performance was
also filmed; with The Beatles wearing
white suits. There was a strict police
presence with 3,000 police observing
each concert played in front of 10,000
fans.
1973, Slade
were at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Skweeze Me Pleeze Me', the group's
fifth No.1 and second single to enter
the chart at No.1.
1976, Stuart
Goddard (Adam Ant),
placed the following ad in the
classified section of the Melody Maker,
'Beat on a bass, with the B-Sides.' Andy
Warren answered the ad and the pair went
on to form Adam
and The Ants.
1978, United Artists released The Buzzcocks
single 'Love You More', at 1 minute 29
seconds it was the second shortest
single ever released. Maurice Williams
and the Zodiacs 1960 hit
'Stay' was the shortest hit at one
minute 28 seconds.
1979, Tubeway
Army started a four-week
run at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Are 'Friends' Electric'. The song by Gary Numan
was the first
electronic/synthesizer-based record to
become a hit in the post-punk era.
2000, Eight men were trampled to death
during Pearl
Jam's performance at The
Roskilde festival, near Copenhagen.
Police said the victims had all slipped
or fallen in the mud in front of the
stage.
2004, Kinks
founder member Dave
Davies was left paralysed
on the right-hand side of his body after
suffering a stroke. The 57-year-old
guitarist and brother of fellow Kinks
star Ray Davies had been promoting his
solo material when he collapsed.
1969, Fleetwood
Mac, Led Zeppelin, The Nice, John
Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Ten Years
After, Taste, The Liverpool Scene and
Chicken Shack all
appeared at The Bath Festival of Blues in
England, with DJ John Peel. Tickets cost
18/6. The festival proved very popular,
selling out all 30,000 tickets in the
first week, surprising both the townsfolk
and the promoters. The only major problem
occurred when the Nice's use of bagpipers
caused the stage to collapse.
1975, The Eagles
started a five-week run at No.1 on the US
album chart with their fourth studio album
'One Of These Nights'. The album which
became their breakthrough album released
three US Top 10 singles, 'Lyin' Eyes'
(which won a Grammy), 'Take It To The
Limit' and the title track.
1975,
American singer songwriter Tim Buckley
completed the last show of a tour in
Dallas, Texas, playing to a sold-out crowd
of 1,800 people. This was Buckley's last
ever show, he died the following day of a
heroin and morphine overdose aged 28.
2007, Benno Goldewijk, from Holland, and
Spaniard Alfredo Pecina Matias were killed
and two other men were injured during an
accident dismantling the stage after a Rolling Stones
concert in Madrid. Three of the workers
fell 10m (33ft) from a metal structure and
landed on a fourth. The Stones were
currently on the European leg of their A
Bigger Bang world tour.
1965, The Byrds
went to No.1 on the US singles chart with
their version of Bob
Dylan's 'Mr Tambourine Man'.
Only Roger McGuinn from the band played on
the song, the drummer Hal Blaine who played
on the track also played on 'Bridge Over
Troubled Water'.
1972, During sessions at Olympic Studios,
London, David Bowie
recorded 'John, I'm Only Dancing', with Mick
Ronson on lead guitar and Lou Reed on rhythm
guitar. The track, which was released and
became a hit single in the UK in September
of this year, was not released in America,
being judged too risqué by RCA Records. The
original video directed by Mick Rock,
featuring androgynous dancers from Lindsay
Kemp's mime troupe, was banned by Top Of The
Pops.
1974, Cher
divorced Sonny Bono after 10 years of
marriage. Four days later, Cher married
guitarist Gregg
Allman, the couple split 10
days after that, got back together and split
again. They did stay married for three
years, producing Elijah Blue Allman.
1977, Elvis
Presley made his last ever
live stage appearance when he appeared at
the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
Presley would die less than two months
later. The last two songs he performed were
‘Hurt’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’
Before the show Elvis was presented with a
plaque commemorating the 2 billionth record
to come out of RCA’s pressing plant.
Week
commencing
June 18 . . .
1965,
The Yardbirds appeared
at The City Hall, Salisbury, admission 10
shillings.
1973, 10cc
were at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Rubber
Bullets', the first of three UK No.1's for the
band (who also had a No.1 as Hotlegs).
1975, During his 'Welcome To My Nightmare'
tour in Vancouver, Canada, Alice Cooper fell
from the stage and broke six ribs.
2004, Bob Dylan
was awarded an honorary degree by the
University of St. Andrews Scotland's oldest
University and made a "Doctor of Music."
2010, 62-year-old Gregg
Allman underwent a successful
liver transplant operation at the Mayo Clinic
in Jacksonville, Florida. Allman had begun a
series of treatments for Hepatitis C, but
chronic damage of his liver led doctors to
recommend a transplant. In a statement to the
press, Allman said "I changed my ways years
ago, but we can't turn back time. Every day
is a gift."
2016, American bluegrass artist Ralph Stanley
who was known for his distinctive singing and
banjo playing, died aged 89. With his brother
Carter, he helped popularise the bluegrass
genre. Stanley won new fans when his work
featured in the Coen brothers film O Brother,
Where Art Thou?
1966, Reg Calvert,
manager of The
Fortunes, Screaming Lord Sutch
and the owner of offshore pirate radio station Radio City was
shot dead by business rival William Smedley
during a confrontation. Smedley was the owner of
pirate station Radio Caroline and was later
cleared of the murder.
1966, After a North American tour The Rolling Stones
sued 14 hotels over a booking ban in New York,
claiming that the ban was violating civil rights
laws.
1968, Pink Floyd played
two shows in one day: the first at the
Commemoration Ball, Balliol College, Oxford, and
then at Middle Earth Club, Covent Garden,
London. The club was notable for several drug
raids by the police, during which underage
revellers were arrested; on one occasion a
machine called the 'Trip Machine' was dismantled
and taken away by the police.
1972, The first Stonehenge Free
Festival was held at Stonehenge, culminating on
the summer solstice. Staged between 1972 and
1984, acts who have appeared include Hawkwind, Gong,
Doctor and the Medics, Flux of Pink Indians,
Buster Blood Vessel, Crass, Selector, Dexys
Midnight Runners, Thompson Twins, The
Raincoats, Amazulu, Wishbone Ash, Man,
Benjamin Zephaniah, The Enid, Roy Harper,
Jimmy Page, Ted Chippington, Zorch
and Ozric Tentacles.
1975, Guitarist Ritchie
Blackmore quit Deep Purple to
form his own group Rainbow.
The group went through many line-up changes (no shit!) with, Ronnie
James Dio, Graham Bonnet, Cozy Powell, Roger
Glover, and Doogie White all being members.
1979, Angus
MacLise, Velvet Underground's
first drummer died of tuberculosis aged 34. He
quit the band in 1965.
1980, French police arrested all members of The Stranglers
after a concert at Nice University for allegedly
starting a riot.
1969, The first of a three day Festival in
Newport, California, featured Ike And Tina Turner, Marvin
Gaye, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Byrds,
The Rascals, Steppenwolf, The Jimi Hendrix
Experience, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, Eric
Burdon and Love.
A three day ticket cost $15 (£8.80). Hendrix
received $125,000 for his appearance, at the time
it was the highest fee ever paid to a rock act for
a single appearance.
1974, Van Morrison, The
Allman Brothers Band, The Mahavishnu
Orchestra, Tim Buckley, The Sensational Alex
Harvey Band and The Doobie Brothers
all appeared at Knebworth Park, Stevenage. A
special PA system was used for the event, claiming
to be the best ever for an outside show, weighing
12 tons and needing five technicians.
1998, Baddiel,
Skinner & Lightning Seeds
went to No.1 on the singles chart with
'Three Lions '98' released for the
football World Cup 98. (Although the
'Lions' are, actually, leopards - but as
Baddiel pointed out 'leopards doesn't
scan').
2016, Lawyers for Led
Zeppelin asked a judge to
throw out a case accusing the band of
stealing the riff for 'Stairway To
Heaven'. Singer Robert Plant, guitarist
Jimmy Page and Warner Music argued that
the claimants had failed to make their
case after three days of testimony. The
band were accused of basing Stairway on
the 1968 Spirit song, Taurus.
1965, The Who,
Solomon Burke, Zoot Money, Cliff
Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, John
Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Spencer Davis
Group, Marianne Faithful, Long John
Baldry, The Birds
(featuring a young Ronnie
Wood), Dave Witting
and the Ray
Martin Group all appeared
at Uxbridge Blues Festival. Tickets cost
from 7/6 to 10/6.
1965, The Four
Tops went to No.1 on the US
singles chart with 'I Can't Help Myself'.
Lead singer Levi Stubbs had not been
satisfied with the recording session and
was promised that he could do it again the
following day, but no other session ever
took place. The track that became a hit
was just the second take of the song.
1973, Edgar Winter's
US No.1 hit 'Frankenstein' was awarded a
Gold record. Winter named the song because
of how many cuts and patches were
contained in the original studio tape.
1974, The
Delinquents, a band
featuring Mick
Jones (later of The Clash)
made their debut at the Students union
bar, Queen Elizabeth College, Kensington.
2012, The former chief financial officer
for Pearl Jam
was charged with 33 counts of theft for
allegedly stealing at least $380,000 from
the Seattle band's management company.
According to the King County Prosecuting
Attorney's Office, Rickey Goodrich
allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of
dollars over the course of several years,
spending the money on lavish family
vacations, spa treatments, life insurance
and pricey California wines.
2016, Artists including Taylor Swift, Maroon
5, Pearl Jam, U2 and Sir Paul McCartney
called for online copyright laws to be
reformed. More than 180 artists signed an
open letter criticising the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). They
claimed the law benefits companies that
"exploit music for their financial
enrichment", but not artists.
1948, Columbia Records started the first
mass production of the 33-RPM long player.
The new format could contain a maximum of 23
minutes of music per side versus the three
minutes that could be squeezed on to a 78
RPM disc.
1977, Fleetwood
Mac went to No.1 on the US
singles chart with 'Dreams', the group's
first and only US No.1, was also a No.24 in
the UK. Stevie Nicks has stated she wrote
the song at the Record Plant studio in
Sausalito, California, in about 10 minutes.
1977, Johnny Rotten
and Paul Cook
of the Sex Pistols
were stabbed and beaten when they were
attacked in a car park outside a London pub.
They objected to the Pistols'
anti-monarchist song 'God Save the Queen'.
The next day, another member of the Pistols,
Paul Cook, was beaten by a gang armed with
iron pipes.
1988, 'Doctorin' The Tardis' by The Timelords
was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The
Timelords were Scottish duo Bill Drummond
and Jimmy Cauty, who formed KLF. The
song was a mash-up of the Doctor Who theme
music, Gary
Glitter's 'Rock and Roll
(Part Two)' with sections from
'Blockbuster!' by Sweet.
Week
commencing
June 11 . . .
1954,
Guitarist Danny
Cedrone died following a freak
accident; 10 days after he had recorded the
lead guitar break on 'Rock Around the Clock'
with Bill Haley and
His Comets. Session player
Cedrone was paid $21 for his work on the
session, as at that time Haley chose not to
hire a full-time guitarist for his group. He
died of a broken neck after falling down a
staircase.
1972, The Rolling
Stones album Exile On Main
Street started a four-week run at the top of
the US charts. The double album, regularly
regarded as one of the band's best, features
Rocks Off, Rip This Joint, Happy and Tumbling
Dice.
1976, Ian Dury played
his last gig with
Kilburn and the High Roads
before starting his solo career. The show at
The Assembly Hall, Walthamstow also had The Sex Pistols
and The Stranglers
on the bill.
1976, Blondie
released their debut single 'X Offender'.
Written by Gary Valentine and Debbie Harry,
the title of the song was originally 'Sex
Offender', written about an 18-year-old boy
being arrested for having sex with his younger
girlfriend. Debbie Harry changed the lyrics so
that the song was about a prostitute being
attracted to the police officer that had
arrested her. Private Stock, the band’s label
insisted that the single be changed to 'X
Offender' because they were nervous about the
original title.
1977, After Jimmy
Helms pulled out of a gig at
Shoreditch College, the members of the social
committee decided to call upon famous local, Elton John who
lived up the road and ask if he would perform.
Elton did the gig for two bottles of wine.
1987, Florida real estate agent Vittoria
Holman sued Motley
Crue and their concert promoter
for hearing loss allegedly incurred at a
concert in December 1985. Holman and her
daughter had front row seats less than 10 feet
(3 metres) from the speakers. The case was
settled out of court with the band's insurance
company paying Holman over $30,000. (£18,200).
2008, Welsh singer Duffy's
single Mercy was named song of the year at the
Mojo magazine awards held in London. Best
breakthrough act went to The Last Shadow Puppets
- the side project of Arctic
Monkeys singer Alex Turner.
Other acts honoured at the reader-voted Mojo
Honours included Led
Zeppelin, Paul Weller, the Sex
Pistols and Genesis. Ska
band the Specials
were welcomed into the Mojo Hall of Fame and
former Creedence
Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty
won the inspiration award for his contribution
to rock music.
1969, During a short 5 date UK tour Led Zeppelin
appeared at The Free Trade Hall, Manchester,
supported by Blodwyn
Pig and The
Liverpool Scene. The flyer for
the tour stated: 'Come & take off, levitate
with the Led Zeppelin album'.
1977, The Sex Pistols
held a party on a boat as it sailed down The
River Thames in London. The Pistols performed
'Anarchy In The UK' outside The Houses Of
Parliament resulting in members from the party
being arrested when the boat docked later that
day.
1989, Nirvana's
debut album 'Bleach' was released in the
US. The title for the album came from a
poster 'Bleach Your Works' urging drug
users to bleach their needles. Kurt
Cobain claimed that most of the lyrics
on the album were written the night
before recording while he was feeling
"pissed off", and that he did not regard
them highly.
2016, Led
Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page
denied stealing the riff to 'Stairway To
Heaven' when he took the stand at a
copyright trial in the US. The band were
accused of lifting the opening guitar
line from 'Taurus', a 1968 track by the
band Spirit.
Page testified that he had never heard
the song until people started posting
comparisons online a few years ago. Page
admitted to owning several Spirit
albums, but only remembered buying two
of them, neither of which contained
Taurus. Under questioning, he conceded
that he did own a copy of the band's
self-titled debut, on which the track
appears, but could not recall how it
came to be part of his collection.
1961, Patsy
Cline was seriously injured
in a car accident. During her two month
hospital stay, her song "I Fall to Pieces"
gave the singer her first Country No.1 and
also became a huge country-pop crossover
hit.
1964, Touring Australia The Beatles
arrived in Melbourne and were greeted at
the airport by over 5,000 fans. Another
20,000 fans lined the route from the
airport to the hotel, army and navy units
were brought in to help control the
crowds, cars were crushed, hundreds of
girls fainted and over 50 people were
admitted to hospital with broken bones.
1964, The Manish
Boys (featuring David Bowie)
auditioned for the UK television talent
show Opportunity Knocks.
1986, Three fans died during an Ozzy Osbourne
gig at Long Beach Arena, California after
falling from a balcony.
1989, Pete De
Freitas drummer with Echo And The Bunnymen
was killed at the age of 27 when his
motorbike collided with a car.
1995,
Irish guitarist Rory
Gallagher died after
a chest infection set in following a liver
transplant. Had been a member of Taste
before going solo, sold over 30m albums
worldwide. Voted Melody Maker's Top
Musician of the Year in 1972, auditioned
for The Rolling
Stones following the
departure of Mick Taylor. Gallagher made
his final performance on 10 January 1995
in the Netherlands.
2000, American pianist and session
musician Paul
Griffin died aged 62. He
recorded with hundreds of musicians from
the 1950s to the 1990s. Griffin worked
with Bob Dylan,
Steely Dan, Don McLean, the Isley
Brothers, Van Morrison, The Shirelles
and Dionne
Warwick. He is best known
for playing on the Bob Dylan albums
Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde and
Steely Dan's Aja.
2007, Bob Dylan
won Spain's Prince of Asturias Arts Award,
one of the country's most prestigious
honours. Jury chairman Jose Llado called
Dylan a 'living legend of popular
music and the guiding star of a
generation that dreamed of changing the
world'. Previous winners of the
annual prize include US film-maker Woody Allen.
2016, Irish rock guitarist Henry McCullough
died after never fully recovering from a
severe heart attack he had suffered four
years earlier. He recorded with Paul McCartney and
Wings, featuring on the hit
James Bond theme, 'Live and Let Die' and
'My Love', the solo which he made up on
the spot in front of a live orchestra. He
was also a member of Spooky Tooth
and The Grease
Band.
Week
commencing
June 4 . . .
1967,
Procol Harum
were at No.1 on the singles chart with 'A
Whiter Shade Of Pale' the group's only No.1.
In 2004 the song was named the most played
record of the past 70 years. More than 900
recorded versions by other artists are
known.
1970, Deep Purple
had their van and equipment impounded by
East German police while on an European
tour, after mistakenly driving too close to
the border.
1974, David Bowie
started a four-week run at the top of the UK
charts with his third No.1 album 'Diamond
Dogs'. The cover art features Bowie as a
striking half-man, half-dog grotesque
painted by Belgian artist Guy Peellaert. It
was controversial as the full painting
clearly showed the hybrid's genitalia. Very
few copies of this original cover made their
way into circulation at the time of the
album's release.
1989, At a Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior's
press conference, vegetarian Chrissie Hynde claimed
that she once firebombed a McDonalds
restaurant. The following day a McDonalds in
Milton Keynes was firebombed and Hynde was
threatened with legal action.
2003, Led Zeppelin
were at No.1 on the US album chart with
their triple live album How The West Was
Won, the band's seventh US No.1 album. The
performances were from the band's 1972 tour
of the United States, recorded at the LA
Forum on 25 June 1972 and Long Beach Arena
on 27 June 1972.
2008, Rolling Stone magazine published a
list of the Top 50 guitar songs of all time.
No.5 was 'Brown Sugar' by The Rolling Stones,
No.4 , ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks,
No.3, ‘Crossroads’, by
Cream, No.2 ‘Purple Haze’, by Jimi Hendrix
and No.1 ‘Johnny B Goode’, Chuck Berry.
1964, During their first ever US tour The Rolling Stones
were booed off stage at a gig in San Antonio,
Texas. Some performing monkeys who had been
the act on before the Stones were brought back
on stage for another performance.
1969, British supergroup
Blind Faith, featuring Eric
Clapton, Ginger Baker, Rick Grech and Steve
Winwood made their live debut at a free
concert in London's Hyde Park. Their only
album release provoked controversy because the
cover featured a topless pubescent girl
holding a silver space ship which some
perceived as a phallic symbol. The US record
company issued it with an alternative cover
which showed a photograph of the band. Rumours
about the girl's relationship to the band
fuelled the controversy; among them were that
she was a groupie kept as a slave by the band
members.
1977, Led Zeppelin
played the first of six sold out nights at
Madison Square Garden, in New York City during
their 11th and final North American tour.
Playing a 3 hour set, tickets cost $8.50 -
$10.50.
2007, The funeral of guitarist and singer Bo Diddley
took place in Gainesville, Florida. Many in
attendance chanted "Hey Bo Diddley" shortly
after family members had passed by his coffin
as a gospel band played Bo Diddley's music. At
the service, they presented a floral tribute
in form of his trademark square guitar.
2010, Former
Stereophonics drummer and BBC
Radio Wales presenter Stuart
Cable was found dead at him
home near Aberdare in Wales aged 40. His new
band Killing for
Company had been due to appear
at the Download rock festival at Donington
Park in a few days. Cable had also been
presenting a Rock show on BBC Radio Wales.
2012, Bob Welch (centre on pic), an early
member of Fleetwood
Mac who enjoyed a successful
solo career with hits such as 'Ebony Eyes,'
was found dead after an apparent suicide at
home in Nashville. He was 66. Police said
Welch's body was found by his wife Wendy with
a single gunshot wound to the chest, and he
had left a suicide note. Welch was part of
Fleetwood Mac in their early years from 1971
to 1974 and worked on such albums as Future
Games and Bare Trees. A recovering alcoholic,
apparently Welch had recently learnt that
problems with his legs meant he would probably
not walk again.
2015, Sir Elton John
lost his cool during a performance at
Gloucester's Kingsholm Stadium after he
likened a steward to Hitler as she tried to
stop crowds from surging forward during a gig.
In an expletive-laden rant, John went on to
say it was "not China" and he picked out a
female steward, telling her: "You put a
uniform on and you think you're Hitler -
well you're not."
1965, The Rolling
Stones released the single '(I
Can't Get No) Satisfaction' in the US, which
went on to give the band their first No.1. In
the UK (where it was released in August 1966),
the song initially played only on pirate radio
stations because its lyrics were considered too
sexually suggestive.
1966, Roy Orbison's
first wife, Claudette, was killed when a truck
pulled out of a side road and collided with the
motorbike that she and her husband were riding
on in Gallatin, Texas, she was 25.
1970, Syd Barrett
played his first gig since leaving Pink Floyd at
the Extravaganza 70, at London's Olympia Hall,
backed by a band that included his old friend
Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Barrett baffled
the audience (and his musicians) when he
abruptly took off his guitar during the fourth
number and walked off stage.
1986, A&R man Dick Rowe died of diabetes.
Rowe became famous for not signing The Beatles to
Decca records and made the classic quote 'Nobody
cares about guitar group's anymore.' He
did however sign The
Rolling Stones to Decca.
Week
commencing May
28 . . .
1964,
During a photo session, Ringo Starr
was taken ill suffering from tonsillitis
and pharyngitis, days before a world tour
was about to start. After a last-minute
phone call from George Martin, session
drummer Jimmy Nichol rushed over to EMI
Studios, where he and The Beatles
ran through six songs from their tour
repertoire in a quick rehearsal. Nichol
replaced Ringo and became a Beatle for
eleven days.
1967, The Doors
'Light My Fire' was released in the US,
where it went on to be No.1 on the singles
chart two months later. When The Doors
were booked to appear on The Ed Sullivan
Show they were asked to change the line
"girl, we couldn't get much higher", as
the sponsors were uncomfortable with the
possible reference to drug-taking. The
band agreed to do so, and did a rehearsal
using the amended lyrics; however, during
the live performance, lead singer Jim
Morrison sang the original lyric, after
which they were informed they would never
appear on the Ed Sullivan show again.
1968, Valerie Solanas shot Andy Warhol and
art critic and curator Mario Amaya
at Warhol's studio in New York City.
Solanas had been to see Warhol after
asking for the return of a script which
had apparently, been misplaced. Warhol was
seriously wounded in the attack and barely
survived.
1970, The Kinks
Ray Davies was forced to
make a 6,000 mile round trip from New York
to London to record one word in a song.
Davies had to change the word 'Coca- Cola'
to 'Cherry Cola' on the bands forthcoming
single 'Lola' due to an advertising ban at
BBC Radio.
1970, Deep
Purple released their
fourth studio album 'Deep Purple In Rock'.
This was the first album to feature the
classic Mk II lineup of - Ritchie
Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon
Lord and Ian Paice.
1983,
US session drummer Jim Gordon
murdered his mother by pounding her head
with a hammer. A diagnosed schizophrenic,
it was not until his trial in 1984 that he
was properly diagnosed. Due to the fact
that his attorney was unable to use the
insanity defense, Gordon was sentenced to
sixteen years-to-life in prison in 1984. A
Grammy Award winner for co-writing Layla
with Eric
Clapton, Gordon worked with
The Beach Boys,
John Lennon, George Harrison Frank
Zappa and many other
artists.
2016, English folk musician and
singer-songwriter Dave
Swarbrick died aged 75. His
work for the group Fairport
Convention from 1969 has
been credited with leading them to produce
their seminal album Liege & Lief
(1969) which initiated the electric folk
movement.
1974, Bernadette Whelan a 14 year-old David Cassidy
fan died of heart failure four days after
attending a UK concert of his. Over 1,000
other fans had to be given first aid during
the singers White City Stadium show.
1980, Carl Radle bass player with Derek and the Dominoes
died of kidney failure aged 38. Also worked
with Gary Lewis & the Playboys, George
Harrison, Joe Cocker, Dave Mason &
Delaney and Bonnie.
1987, David Bowie
kicked off his 87-date Glass Spider world
tour at the Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam,
Holland. The tour's set, described at the
time as "the largest touring set ever," was
designed to look like a giant spider. It was
60 feet (18.3m) high, 64 feet (19.5m) wide
and included giant vacuumed tube legs that
were lit from the inside with 20,000'
(6,096m) of color-changing lights. A single
set took 43 trucks to move.
1996, Alan Whitaker from Penzance appeared
on the UK TV quiz show Mastermind, his
specialist subject being the Sex Pistols.
He won a place in the semi-final of the show
answering all but one of the 18 questions
correctly.
2003, Record producer Mickie Most
died aged 64. Member of The Most Brothers
during late 50s, and Mickie Most and the
Playboys, produced hits for The Animals, Hermans
Hermits, Donovan, Kim Wilde, Lulu
and Jeff Beck.
Most ran his own record label RAK in the
1970s, having hits with Hot Chocolate, Suzi
Quatro and Mud.
2007, A leaked copy of the new White Stripes
album 'Icky Thump' was played completely on
Chicago's radio station Q101-WKQX. Jack
White personally called the US radio station
from Spain, where he was touring, to voice
his displeasure.
2009, Mick Jagger
offered to buy an ice cream van but was
turned down by its owner - who'd promised
his daughter he would drive her to her
wedding in it. Guiseppe Della Camera had
spent ten years restoring the rusting van to
perfection after he spotted it on a farm -
being used as a chicken shed. The
restoration was such a success Sir Mick
offered to buy the vehicle when he saw it at
a show on Wandsworth Common. Camera said,
'Jagger told me he'd really fallen in love
with my van and asked me if I would
consider selling it. I was stunned when he
offered me £100,000'.
2009, Ozzy
Osbourne was suing the band's
guitarist Tony
Iommi over royalty payments.
The 60-year-old had accused Iommi of falsely
claiming to have sole rights to the band's
name which has cost him royalties from
merchandise sales. Osbourne was seeking
unspecified damages, lost profits and a
declaration he is a half-owner of the
trademark. Iommi claims Osbourne legally
relinquished rights to the band's name in
the 1980s. Osbourne said he believed all
four original members of the band should
share Black Sabbath's name equally.
2015, Jeremy Brown, guitarist for Scott Weiland and the
Wildabouts, died of unknown
causes at the age of 34. Brown began playing
with the Stone
Temple Pilots as singer in
2008.
1942, Bing Crosby
recorded the Irving Berlin song 'White
Christmas'. Crosby recorded the song with the
John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby
Singers in just 18 minutes. According to the
Guinness Book of World Records, the version
sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single
of all time, with estimated sales in excess of
50 million copies worldwide.
1965, The Beach Boys
started a two week run at No.1 on the US
singles chart with 'Help Me Rhonda', the
group's second US No.1. The recording session
was interrupted by the Wilson brothers'
drunken father, Murry, who arrived at the
studio to criticize the Boys enthusiasm. The
recording reel continued to record the
confrontation, which still circulates among
fans.
1967, The Move,
Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink
Floyd, Zoot Money, Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band
all appeared at the Tulip Bulb Auction Hall in
Spalding, Lincoln. Pink
Floyd were only a support band
and played in a corner of the shed with a
white sheet behind them with the coloured oil
shining onto it. Tickets cost £1. The poster
advertising the show promised a 'Knockout
Atmosphere'.
1969, Crosby, Stills
& Nash released their
self-titled debut on Atlantic Records label.
It spawned two Top 40 hits: 'Marrakesh
Express' and 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes'.
1977, Manchester band Warsaw
(later to become Joy
Division) made their live debut
supporting The
Buzzcocks at The Electric
Circus, Manchester.
1991, After just completing the recording of
the 'Nevermind' album, Nirvana
played a last-minute show at the Jabberjaw in
Los Angeles. In the audience was Iggy Pop, Dave Grohl's
girlfriend and L7 bassist Jennifer Finch who
brought along her best friend Courtney Love.
1992, Concerned that some pupils were overly
identifying with Freddie
Mercury, the sacred heart
School in Clifton New Jersey decided not to
sing the Queen
song 'We Are The Champions', at their
Graduation Ceremony.
1997,
Singer songwriter Jeff
Buckley disappeared after
talking a swim in the Mississippi River, his
body was found on 4th June 1997 after being
spotted by a passenger on a tourist riverboat.
1999, Skeletal remains were found by
photographers looking for old car wrecks to
shoot at the bottom of Decker Canyon near
Malibu, California. Based on forensic evidence
the remains were Philip
Kramer former bassist with rock
group Iron Butterfly,
who had disappeared on his way home from work
on February 12, 1995. His death was ruled as a
probable suicide.
2010, Sabrosa Park (at the small town of
Sabrosa, north of Portugal) was renamed B.B. King Park
in honor of King and the free concert he had
played before 20,000 people.
Week
commencing May
21 . . .
1963,
The album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was
released by Columbia in the USA. Establishing Bob Dylan as a
leader in the singer-songwriter genre and a
supposed spokesman for the youth-orientated
protest movement, it reached No.22 in the US
charts and No.1 in the UK charts. The
Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan showcased Dylan's
songwriting talent for the first time and
propelled him to national and international
fame.
1977, The Sex Pistols
single 'God Save The Queen' was released in the
UK. Banned by TV and radio, high street shops
and pressing plant workers refused to handle the
record. It sold 200,000 copies in one week and
peaked at No.2 on the UK charts behind Rod
Stewart's 'I Don't Want to Talk About It'. There
have been persistent rumours that it was
actually the biggest-selling single in the UK at
the time, and the British Phonographic Industry
conspired to keep it off the No.1 slot.
1990, The Stone Roses
played at Spike Island, Widnes, Cheshire, to a
capacity crowd of 30,000. The event, considered
a failure at the time due to sound problems and
bad organisation, has become legendary over the
years as a "Woodstock for the baggy generation."
2010, Dozens of AC/DC
fans needed treatment after complaining of
burning eyes during a concert on the runway of
Wels Airport, Wels, Austria. Around 150 fans had
to be treated. Doctors found that the fans
showed allergic reactions to bark mulch spread
at the venue - the runway of Wels Airport, to
avoid the soil getting too muddy after hours of
massive rainfall.
1963, US blues guitarist and singer Elmore James died
of a heart attack aged 45. James wrote 'Shake Your
Money Maker', which was covered by Fleetwood Mac in
1968. Known as "The King of the Slide Guitar",
James influenced Jimi
Hendrix, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan
and Keith Richards.
1970, Peter Green
played his last gig with
Fleetwood Mac when they appeared at
the Bath Festival, Somerset.
1991, Founder member of The Byrds Gene Clark
died of a heart attack aged 49. Wrote The Byrds
hits 'I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better', and 'Eight
Miles High', member of McGuinn,
Clark and Hillman and solo.
1958, Jerry
Lee Lewis arrived at
London's Heathrow Airport to begin his first
British tour, along with his new bride, 14 year
old third cousin, Myra. Although advised not to
mention it, Lewis answered all questions about
his private life. The public's shock over Lewis'
marriage marks the start of a controversy
leading to his British tour being cancelled
after just 3 of the scheduled 37 performances.
1968, Gary Puckett and
the Union Gap were at No.1 on the
UK singles chart with 'Young Girl.' The song
which was about under-age sex, was the acts only
No.1.
1991, Wil Sinnott from
The Shamen drowned while swimming
off the coast of La Gomera when he was pulled
under by strong currents. The Shamen were in
Tenerife filming a video for their new single
'Move Any Mountain.'
2004, Morrissey
appeared at the M.E.N. arena Manchester, on his
45th birthday. It was Morrissey's return to his
home city Manchester after an absence of 12
years and the 18,000 tickets sold out in only 90
minutes. During the set Morrissey performed five Smiths songs.
2011, Four dead dogs in 'sealed containers' were
found in the Tennessee home of former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent
during an investigation that led to his arrest
on charges of assaulting his wife. Vincent, a
member of Kiss from 1982 to 1984, was released
after posting $10,000 bond after his arrest by
the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department.
1955, Born on this day (Tuesday),
Mary Black, Irish singer,
songwriter, who has released over
12 solo albums. For a number of
years, What Hi-Fi? magazine
considered Black's voice to be so
pure that it was used as an
audiophile benchmark for comparing
the sound quality of different
high fidelity systems.
1967, Jimi
Hendrix signed with
Reprise Records on the US Warner
Brothers label. They released the
guitarist's albums Are You
Experienced? Axis: Bold as Love and
Electric Ladyland.
1970,
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
released the protest single Ohio,
written and composed by Neil Young
in reaction to the Kent State
shootings of May 4, 1970, when
unarmed college students were shot
by the Ohio National Guard. The
guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a
period of 13 seconds, killing four
students and wounding nine others,
one of whom suffered permanent
paralysis.
1972, The Doors, Pink
Floyd, The Faces, Family, Curved
Air, Atomic Rooster, The
Kinks, Rory Gallagher, Uriah
Heep, Country Joe McDonald,
Buddy Miles, Status Quo,
Brinsley Schwarz, Spencer Davis,
The Strawbs and Humble Pie all
appeared at the 2nd British Rock
Meeting, Insel Grun, Germersheim,
West Germany. The festival was due
to take place in Mannheim, West
Germany, but after protests from the
locals, the concert actually took
place in nearby Germersheim.
1974, Two would-be concert promoters
were arrested by police in America
on fraud charges in connection with
selling mail order tickets for a
forthcoming Elten
John show. (Elten
with an E and not an O). Police took
away over $12,000 in cheques.
1980, A thief brook into Electric
Lady Studios in New York City, the
recording studio built by Jimi Hendrix
and stole five Hendrix gold records
for the albums ‘Are You
Experienced’’, ‘Axis: Bold as Love’,
‘Cry of Love’, ‘Rainbow Bridge’ and
Live at Monterey.
1980, Joe
Strummer of The Clash
was arrested at a much-troubled gig
in Hamburg, Germany, after smashing
his guitar over the head of a member
of the audience; he was released
after an alcohol test proved
negative.
2013,
Trevor Bolder, the
bassist in David
Bowie's legendary
1970s backing band Spiders From
Mars, died from
cancer at the age of 62. Bolder
appeared on the studio albums Hunky
Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from
Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973),
and Pin Ups (1973). He joined Uriah Heep
in 1976, replacing John Wetton.
2015, Black
Sabbath received a
lifetime achievement prize at the
Ivor Novello songwriting awards.
Guitarist Tony Iommi picked up the
trophy, confirming the heavy metal
band would embark on their "final
tour" next year. Ed Sheeran
was named songwriter of the year,
and Annie
Lennox was awarded
the fellowship of the British
Society of Songwriters, Composers
and Authors (Basca) - the society's
highest honour.
Week
commencing May
14 . . .
1966,
During his 1966 world tour, Bob Dylan
and Robbie Robertson from
The Band
were filmed singing several songs in a
hotel room in Glasgow, the footage
turning up in the film Eat The
Document. The film was originally
commissioned for the ABC television
series Stage '66, but after Dylan
edited the film himself ABC rejected
it as 'incomprehensible for a
mainstream audience'.
1967, Pink
Floyd started recording
their forthcoming single 'See Emily
Play' at Sound Techniques Studios,
Chelsea. Syd Barrett was inspired to
write See Emily Play, by the ‘looning
about’ of the early Pink Floyd fan
Emily Young (who is now a renowned
sculptor). Guitarist David Gilmour,
playing gigs in France with his own
band in that period, visited Floyd in
the studio during a trip to London.
1968, The first Miami Pop event took
place with an estimated 100,000 people
attending the concert, which was
promoted by Richard O'Barry &
Michael Lang (later famous as the
promoter of Woodstock). Bands featured
at the festival included Steppenwolf, The
Jimi Hendrix Experience, The
Mothers of Invention, Blue Cheer,
Chuck Berry, The Blues Image,
Pacific Gas and Electric, Three
Dog Night and the Crazy World of
Arthur Brown.
1980, Joy
Division singer and
guitarist Ian Curtis
hanged himself in the kitchen of his
house in Macclesfield, at the age of
23. Curtis had the Iggy Pop
album 'The Idiot', playing on his
stereo and left a note that said,
'At this very moment, I wish I were
dead. I just can't cope anymore.'
Joy Division released the critically
acclaimed debut album Unknown
Pleasures in 1979, and recorded their
follow-up 'Closer' in 1980.
2004, Clint Warwick the original bass
player with The
Moody Blues died from
liver disease at the age of 63. Clint
left the band in 1966 after playing on
their only number one hit, 'Go Now'.
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