SEASIDE
RENDEZVOUS
We love good
news here at Riffs so we're really chuffed to bring
you some - but it's tinged with bad news too, so we'll
mention that first!
 If
you were looking foward to seeing
We Are Champion in the
next few weeks then, unless you snapped up tickets
toot suite, you are going to be mightily disappointed
as their next three gigs (Gateshead, Doncaster [well,
ya might have], and Stockton) have all sold out. Soz,
but y'know what they say
'He who hesitates is lost'.
Paul from the band told me: 'We do feel sorry for
fans who have been unable to get tickets. It's been a bit of a
whirlwind really, we have had some amazing gigs;
selling out the majority of them. And getting to
play some huge venues inc Leeds and Newcastle O2
Academies.'
 The
first bit of good news for disappointed fans is We Are Champion have just added three new dates in April -
Hartlepool, South Shields and Ashington. And I suspect
the lads are going to be on full
rockin' form as they will no doubt be still buzzing
from having secured a really prestigious gig - no less
than being asked to appear at the
Official Queen Fan Club Convention down
in Mablethorpe. Paul continued: 'We are thrilled -
not to mention deeply honoured - to have been asked
to perform at probably the pinacle of Queen tribute band gigs. We would never have believed when we
started this band just over a year ago that we would
be so heartily accepted by the Queenie community.'
Paul went on to say: 'This is the biggest event of
the Queen Fans calendar where fans from all over the globe come
to party to all things Queen. We have our sights on
loads
of big festivals over this summer so can't wait to
grow this thing even bigger.'
The event takes place at Haven Golden Sands Holiday
Park in Mablethorpe first weekend in October.
-------------------------------------------------------
“These
guys do the nasty blues like the devil hisself
was hurting"
Tommy Hartlepool
does it again. That guy is the forefront of Bluesy
Rock in the North-East with his hand-picked quality
bands. I'm in the middle of designing some boxed ads
for his up and coming gigs and, obviously, try and
get a feel for the band before doing the ad - and
it's so difficult to stay detached when the bands he
books - some from other continents! - are so damn
good. Personally, my DNA is Metal, Rock and Punk,
but quality music is quality music. [Reminds me of
long ago when Val and I used to go out to see bands
for a live review and pics, and if we were on the
way to a Blues gig she would often say "is it
Rocky Blues or Blues you slit your wrists to?"].
Thankfully the 'Blues you slit your wrists to' gigs
were few and far between and I know her fave venue
now would be Tommy's Hartlepool Supporters Club
where the Blues is 'grimy, lean, mean and
soulful' which brings me neatly to the
description of . . . wait for it . . . Crow Black Chicken.
I've snatched this from their website, but give it a
read and then tell me you're not tempted. All I've
got to say is their two main influences are Skynyrd and Zeppelin: [enough
for me]
This power trio combine elements of folk and hard
rock with the blues rock of bands such as Gov’t
mule, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin. The band
was formed in 2009 in Cork city when lead singer
Christy O’Hanlon met the former rhythm section of
Clonmel Punk Rock outfit Aural Ammunition, Stephen
McGrath ( Bass ) and Gev Barrett ( Drums ). The
band immediately jelled and went on to perform on
the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2011. The
band released their first raw blues rock and roll
album in 2012 which was produced by Producer
Philip Magee ( Kodaline, Aslan, The Blizzards ).
The bands second album Rumble Shake was released
in 2014 and debuted at number 12 in the Irish
album charts. Recorded in Westland Studios Dublin,
this album was a more roots and blues affair than
the first record, heavily influenced by the bands
work with Texan Americana singer Ray Wylie Hubbard
and legendary Austin Producer the late George
Reiff. In 2015 the band went on to release their
first live album entitled Deep South which was
voted top 5 live albums of 2015 by Classic Rock
Blues. In 2016 Crow Black Chicken opened for ZZ
Top at the Marquee in Cork which brought them face
to face with the Texan compatriots whom they often
drew so many comparisons to. Always determined to
create a sound all of their own the band continues
to tour all over Europe and have since released a
4th studio album Pariah Brothers in 2017.
“These guys do
the nasty blues like the devil hisself was
hurting and rock like they’ll skate come
judgement day” Ray
Wylie Hubbard
They're on at
Hartlepool's Smallcrafts
Association on April 10. Tickets £12/14. 07535
979658 or ents24 website.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Most
peeps send stuff into Riffs
exactly as I request it - usually just boring old
plain text - but that's perfect cos then I can
import it into any software. Now and then though,
not that often, I get something that tickles my
fancy and I got this jpg today. Totally unusable
for the Musicians page of course, but you gotta
appreciate the work that's gone into it. And
doesn't it beggar the question: if someone is
going to this much trouble to make a poster then
their attention to detail is indeed admirable. So,
if you don't spend nights dreaming of Bonham,
Peart, Moon et al then best give this opportunity
a miss . . .
----------------------------------------------------------------
Not
sure what has happened to Ronnington publicity
machine but it's only thanks to Patrick from UK/DC
and Obsession
that we were forwarded the poster for this year's
Ronnington Charity Fundraiser 2020 . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIBUTE TO RUSH THIS FRIDAY
News
just in . . . [sound of tele typesetting machines
clattering away in background] The Force’s
gig this Friday (21) at The Voyager, South
Shields, we have just been reliably
informed, will be slightly different from the
usual Force setlist.
As
a tribute to Neil
Peart and Rush, the first half will
be all Rush numbers – the second half Classic
Rock. An absolute mega-treat for all Rush fans.
Expect class, expect perfection, expect a
phenomenal gig.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
Shepherds
Rest Alnwick are
looking for a
band that can
play 22nd Feb
... it's for
Border Crew
MCC birthday
party... we
have been
dropped in it
last minute...
looking for
rock... punk
etc. Contact
Dave
Smith..07736116156
Or email
stevecolly@hotmail.co.uk
NOW SORTED
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 Magnesia
Bank's mega-weekend, Stevestock,
was a great success thanks to all who worked
tirelessly behind the scenes and the magnificent
North Shields peeps who packed out the venue
upstairs and down.
A very healthy £2,600 was made and this all goes
to help McMillan Cancer.
A heartfelt thanks to absolutely everyone
involved.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Another review from
way back, we have the date but not the year. Probs
around 2008 methinks.
------------------------------------------------------------------
 A sell out gig last
Friday evening at Boldon Community Association was
appreciated by a capacity audience who were really
into the "Mercury &
May" experience. Their next gig is
at Primrose Community Association on Saturday 15th
Feb - ticket sales are flying! (£5 from venue NE32
5QY / 01914249977).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 Riffs is very sad to hear of
the passing of a much-loved and respected
North-East musician - Ron Owens.
Val has fond memories of him and band when she
booked them to play at a pub she was running in
West Auckland many moons ago.
"He was such a lovely guy - well they all were
- no airs and graces for someone with so much
musical talent. Humble and kind. The thought of
him gone brings tears to my eyes."
--------------------------------------------------------
DARLO'S LITTLE SECRET
Just
found an absolute gem of a book/vinyl
record/dc comic/dvd/cd/cassette call-it-what-you-want
shop. A real little secret, just on the outskirts
of Darlington town centre in an old terrace. If I
said it had a million books you'd think I was
exaggerating. I went in looking for the writings
of Shel Silverstein (him of Dr. Hook
fame - he wrote Sylvia's Mother, Freakin' at the
Freakers Ball, Cover of the Rolling Stone etc, and
A Boy Named Sue) and I was staring at a room
absolutely jam-packed full of books and thinking
how many he had and the guy (who has been
collecting his whole life) told me this was just
the horror and sci-fi section; other genres were
in other rooms! Thousands upon thousands in every
room - and there were many rooms. And that is just
upstairs. Down in the basement (down a rickety and
well passed its use by date staircase) is another
treasure trove of books, magazines, cassette
tapes, cds, dvds, Marvel and DC comics, vinyl
records (he's got some rare punk singles too) -
and God knows what else. It's on Victoria Road,
200yds down from the train station, and 20 yards
from the Royal Mail Sorting Office. DL1 5JQ. I'm
actually surprised he has a phone but try 07946
505 886, but you need to get in there and have a
good old rummage - but take a flask of coffee and
some sandwiches!! Oh, and the sad thing is,
because he isn't getting enough money to cover
rent and rates he may soon be moving - probs to
Leeds. And if you plan to visit (Thu Fri Sat only)
- and I really urge you to; for free 2 hour
parking, then go past the book shop (with it on
your left) take the first right and then first
left.
---------------------------------------------------------------
CROOKFEST
2020 ON SATURDAY 9th MAY
 Crookfest
2020 will be the
festival's 10th birthday and to celebrate we have a
cracking something for everyone line-up across 3
stages: the Rock Bands playing this year are... Queen -We Are Champion, Guns or
Roses, Bon Jovi Forever, Deep Purple in Rock,
Little Devil, Fossil, Punk Pop Disaster, Nixon UK
and a collective of local Crook rock musicians headed
by Circa69 singer/guitarist Kieran
Johnson. We also have
Indie-Pop-Punk-Ska covered including UK's number one
Kasabian tribute - Kazabian
plus from Dumfries and Galloway, a band well known on
the Scottish festival circuit
The Dangleberries - a 10 piece bagpipes
'n all band playing pop/rock classics! Last year's Big
Tent headline band Revolver
return to headline the Scooter Tent playing top Indie
classics, plus on the same Stage we have punk band The Suspect Device
plus 80s classics from The
Breakfast Club, Beyond Madness and Beyond Blonde. Also in
the mix we also have Oasis/Jam
and The Heretics.
It's a full day of live music, bars and food outlets
from noon till 11pm, all for only £15 a ticket / £25
on the day at the gate if not sold out. PLEASE NOTE
the festival as a rule has always been on the 1st May
Bank Holiday Sunday; however, the Government has moved
this year's bank holiday Monday to the following
Friday for VE day, so we have moved the fest to
Saturday 9th May. All the festival and ticket info can
be found at www.crookfest.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
GIROSCOPE ROCK 4 EMILY
  After a
blistering review on Riffs from our resident
reviewer - The Seaham Silverback - of
astounding new band Giroscope (right), ["I'd
walk barefoot over broken glass to see them again"
was one of his quotes] we are pleased to announce
that the lads not only turn out some brilliant toons
but have hearts the size of Rainbow's
band members' list. Along with Michael Lavery from Groovetrain, they
are giving of their time and talents totally and
completely FREE to play at a fundraising event at
Gateshead Rugby Club on Friday April 3. At only £4
to see a sensational band, a great compere and
acoustic support, and to help a brave young lady
with Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy, you'd need a heart
of stone to not support this event. But enough from
me, this is an extract from an email from her father
Ian with some background to the event:
 "My daughter Emily is a disabled
athlete who competes nationally for Gateshead
Harriers and hopes to compete for Team GB at a
future Paralympic Games. Emily has Cerebral Palsy
and epilepsy.
We are holding a fundraising evening to raise funds
for travel and accommodation costs as well as entry
fees to national competitions for the forthcoming
outdoor and indoor season for 2019/20.
In 2018 Emily competed at the CPISRA WORLD GAMES in
Barcelona coming home as a 5 time world champion.
Later that year Emily was invited to become part of
the British Athletics Paralympic development squad
with the intention of producing Para athletes for
Paris 2024.
We have the fantastic GIROSCOPE playing as our band
for the evening. Tickets are available from the
Rugby Club bar or directly from me Ian on
07711415820. This event is a ticket event but any
unsold tickets will be sold on the door. .Please
take a look at Emily’s website www.emilystewart-t38.com"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
STEVESTOCK WEEKEND 2020
in aid of Macmillan Cancer
Support
FRIDAY 31st
Ground Floor and FREE:
7 SINS 10.15 / ELENBAK 8.40 / MONKS IN AN EGGCUP
7.15 / BRANDON PROCTOR 6.30
First Floor £5 door (strictly limited
capacity):
THE BREAKFAST CLUB 11.00 / RIGID DIGITS 9.25 /
THIS MACHINE 7.55
SATURDAY 1st
Ground Floor and FREE:
FM 10.15 / TINY AFRO 8.40 / LOU ROSS BAND 7.15
First
Floor £5 door (strictly limited capacity):
LITTLE DEVIL midnight / DIAMOND DOGS 11.00 / DEEP
PURPLE IN ROCK 9.25 / TIN SOLDIERS 7.55
SUNDAY 2nd
Ground
Floor and FREE:
NUTOPIANS
7.15 / THE WHODLUMS 5.30 / DEJA VU 3.45
First
Floor £5 door (strictly limited capacity):
THE FORCE
8.00 / BIG TED 6.30 / VINTAGE EDITION 4.30
Please note that ALL
tickets have now been sold, but £5 door is
available - first come first served.
------------------------------------------------------------------
GOODBYE TO BB's MARGE
 The
highly-respected landlady of the Bell and
Bucket in North Shields bids a farwell to
bands and punters alike this weekend (17, 18, 19)
when she goes out with a bang - well, hopefully
not literally - as three excellent bands intend to
raise the roof in honour of this much talked about
lady. Riffs has had no personal contact with Marge but, by all
accounts, she is much admired and treats the bands
with the respect they deserve. A
rare flower indeed. Norman
Force
says about her "a lovely landlady who will be
a big miss").
Her three last gigs are ROCK
SOLID on the 17th, FM on the 18th,
and STICKY
FINGERS on the 19th.
Please go along and make Marge's last three gigs
ones she will never forget. Pictures welcome . . .
Also, we have just heard (cheers Norm) that no
less than Tony Liddle
is to be the new vocalist for FM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERCURY
AND MAY - THE ULTIMATE QUEEN TRIBUTE
Queen fans
must feel like all their Christmas and birthdays have
come at once at the moment. Not only two excellent
Queen tributes gracing our venues, but now an act that
highlights the incredible vocal talents of Freddie Mercury and
the outstanding guitar playing of Brian May.
The gig, Mercury & May live at
Boldon Community Association, New Road, Boldon
Colliery NE35 9DS is on Friday January 31st and the
performance commences at 8.30pm. Tickets are just £5
and the venue contact is 0191 5368085.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DIABLO - Happy
New Year Everyone!
2019 saw some great gigs
for Diablo with
fab crowds culminating with a cracking headlining slot
at Tynedale’s annual Music and Beer Festival in
Corbridge. The big success of the year, without
doubt, was the new album “Screaming Out” (still
available) which eclipsed sales and triumphs of all
previous Diablo recordings – so nearly achieving a hit
record! Rave reviews kept pouring in such as Andy
Jennings at GigItNorthEast; Harvey Smith of The
Bastards of Eclectic Music Taste; Crack magazine
Newcastle among many, and the track “I’m Unknown”
became BBC2 Music North East Introducing Show’s Record
of The Week in January. Tracks “Screaming Out” and
“Crawl” have been played on local Nova Radio and “I’m
Unknown” played at Gateshead FC International
Stadium’s PA! Diablo’s original songs have been played
on social media and YouTube over 77,000 times and
those are just the plays we’ve managed to track! And
with streaming the new album there have been literally
thousands of plays and downloads. Thank you EVERYONE
for supporting the album and us, for so long – we
love you all. And Davy has just announced that the
next album has already been written and is slated for
2021 release. Onwards & Upwards through 2020 –
Diablo’s 16th year of continued success!
Dave Drums Diablo xxx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blackhall Community Centre is to
host an AC/DC
show featuring Livewire, with
support from local lads Sticky Fingers. It's
on Saturday February 22nd and tickets are £15,
from ents24, seetickets or from the venue itself.
Doors 6.30 and you'll be fully Rocked out by 11.30. By
all accounts Livewire
put on a fantastic show; but with the outrageous
guitar of Phil Martin, I think if there is a band that
can give Livewire
a run for their money then it's the Stickies. Be prepared
for a battle of the guitars!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILTHY RICH AND STARZ
I think it was only this year (still in 2019 - oh
yeah) that Starz took the North-East music
scene by storm [well, okay that might be a slight
exaggeration, but certainly a breath of fresh
Rockin' air at the very least] and  no
other three guys looked more as though they belonged
together than guitarist
Kenny, drummer Mark
and singer/guitarist Kiko.
So, to hear that they had pulled in a dedicated
singer and formed a second band did crease my brow a
tad (although that
could be just age).
But as Kenny explained: "American Girl is now
finished and we wanted to replace that band - when
we heard singer Rich
Myers (hence Filthy
Rich, yeah?) audition we just went
'WOW' as he is such a powerful vocalist."
Kenny told Riffs exclusively: "Filthy Rich will
be doing one set of the American
Girl songs that Rich wants
to do and one set of all new Rock
cover songs that we think people will love and
will be different to the usual covers."
I can recommend Starz
unreservedly as all three members have their own
charisma, style and musical skills; and if you're
gonna add a dedicated frontman to the mix and gig
as Filthy Rich
then 'scuse me while I kiss the sky! Kenny
continued: "We start gigging as Filthy Rich in
February and have gigs booked for the whole of
2020 but not as many as we'd like because Starz has
taken off and is soooooo busy."
A website for the band is under construction and
we will announce it as soon as it is up and
running.
---------------------------------------------------------------
FM at The Turf in Consett
today (Boxing Day) 4pm. Unless my memory serves me
incorrectly, you're in for a heavy dose of AC/DC and Zeppelin. And
personally, I can't think of many things that
would do it for me at this time of year. Get along
and RAWK.
-----------------------------------------------------------
PB
update: Firefox is being a bit of an arse with
connecting. However, Google Chrome connects
without a problem. Weird, but that's how it is.
I download all my albums from PB without a
problem; I've paid for them in vinyl, then paid
again on DAT, then again on CD, I'm buggered if
I'm gonna pay again for mp3 files!
--------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Dirty Dogz Phil
with some bad news - the trial run gig a the Cluny
this Sunday 22nd is now OFF due to flu. Needless to
say, Phil is gutted, but hopes to re-arrange the gig
for February. Any news concerning the gig and we
guarantee to be the first to let you
know............
------------------------------------------------------------
Apologies
to the few peeps who have emailed to say the
current PB address is not working. More and more
ISPs are blocking it, but the address that is
currently showing (top right, under page links) is
fully working as of Wednesday 18th. I will try and
keep it up to date. Appreciate you letting me
know.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Three Tuns in
Gateshead is now booking for January and February
2020. Anyone interested text me (Paul)
07940715824. ALL
SORTED NOW...............
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The below article we
originally put together a few weeks ago and things
have come together nicely and Phil has now not only
a got a date for the gig, but also has sold over
fifty tickets for this Rockin' event. Phil is
understandably cagey concerning the event and
explains: "Me
and the boys have booked a trial run at The Cluny
on Sunday 22nd December, but this is to get a
taster for next year." The gig is £10 a ticket
(in excess of fifty sold to date) and kicks off at
6pm and runs till 9. Expect a night of
surprises.....................
DIRTY
DOGZ PHIL PROPOSES A NIGHT OF
'PANACHE, POWER,
PRECISION AND PASSION'
 And talking of 'no-nonsense', Riffs
is excited at an email from
Phil from Dirty
Dogz fame who, after the demise of
aforesaid band, has been pining for some quality,
down-to-earth Rock done by mature, experienced
musicians - or in his own words 'A tasty selection of highly regarded and
seasoned pros' (I'm hearing
people standing and clapping at the back . . .) and
with the adage 'if you want something doing properly
do it yourself' resounding around his thinking
organ, Phil has decided to do just that.
Putting
his money where his mouth is, Phil is arranging a
'little' soiree where he expects to showcase some
incredible Rock talent. He
told me: 'There’s still some
cracking nights to be had out there I’m sure
but, as most bands are finding, it's often hard
chuffin work playing to 2 men, a whippet and a
crazy couple in the corner who are adamant they
want a bit of Britney! However, the frustration
and disappointment seems to have wained a tad
over the noted period of inactivity and I am
dipping my arthritic toes (some may say
foolishly) into the local, unpredictable
rock'n'roll waters again.'
Still in its early stages,
Phil is wanting to gauge support before he goes full
tilt. He continued: 'Looking for definite feedback
from real fans of live music who like nothing more
than to immerse themselves in a night of quality
sounds delivered with panache, power, precision and
passion'. Expectations are high and Phil hopes
the setlist to include
'interpretations/improvisations of classic rock,
blues and psychedelia from Hendrix, Zeppelin, Cream,
Stones, Beatles, Free, Neil Young, Peter Green, Bob
Dylan...plus the odd original and a few surprises.'
Phil has emphasised that this will happen only
with enough prior interest. He welcomes texts on 07803 640235. I have promised Phil,
Riffs' full involvement and when anything happens -
we wanna know!
LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
-----------------------------------------------
The Schooner in Gateshead is
looking for bands for Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Call Paul 07940 715824
-----------------------------------------------
The Schooner in
Gateshead is looking for a band or artist to play
This Saturday 7th December.
0191 477 7404. NOW SORTED NOW
SORTED NOW SORTED
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A
heads up............
Hearing little birdies talking
about The Black Horse in Monkseaton stopping bands
as the manager is close to leaving.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BUFFALO
FOUR SECRET NO LONGER
It seems only a brief five minutes ago that
I popped along to Bishop Auckland's Bay Horse to catch
the excellent Four
Letter Word (review way, way down this very page). I
also remember drummer Andy
- not only for his steady and rhythmic playing - but
also for the fact that I never got a picture of him!
And I can well understand his disappointment when
everyone in the band gets a photo - but not him. Even
more so, considering he was doing the band a favour,
standing in for their regular drummer. Andy plays in Buffalo
Four who go down
extremely well in the
Blacksmiths in Gosforth but, he
explained: "we have played there quite a few times
and had some great nights with many compliments but
apart from that venue we are unknown around
Newcastle." It seems that Four
Letter Word did quite well from Riffs mensh and Andy
goes on to say: "they got a rave review and plenty
of interest and some gigs from your article so
thought we [Buffalo Four] are maybe due some
attention. We have been going for 6 years and play
to some pretty appreciative audiences but we are
almost a secret in some places." Whoops, think I
may have blown your secret Andy. Buffalo Four are at
the Blacksmiths
this Friday (6th).
Pic linked
to the band playing 'I Won't Back Down'.
Metallica? AC/DC?
C'mon lads, practice what you wear!!
------------------------------------------------------------
Air4ce
at Cluny 2, Newcastle, 21st January 2020
Celebrating the life and
music of Ginger Baker,
featuring some of the north east's finest musicians
- PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS...music from Ginger's work
with Cream, Blind Faith,
Graham Bond, Airforce, Billy Preston,
and more.
Tickets (£8adv): click on poster.
And more information as it is announced here -https://www.facebook.com/Air4ce2020/
Apparently the first words that St. Peter
said to Ginger, upon his arrival, were "look, I
don't want any trouble".
--------------------------------------------------------------
Those Queen tribute
guys did it again - this time at Darlington's
Hopetown & Whessoe Club on Saturday 23rd
of this month when they wowed a packed house
with Queen
and Freddie's
record-breaking and memorable songs covering
over forty years. Qween's next gig is
this Friday (29th) at Newcastle's Heaton Buffs
but unfortunately there will be a lot of
dissatisfied punters as the gig is strictly a
private function so, unless you hold that
special ticket, no entry. But keep your eye on
Riffs Listings page as the lads will be
playing in 2020.
If you just can't wait that long then We Are Champion,
who do a superb tribute to Queen, have
several gigs running up to Christmas. Also, on
Sunday December 1 with a start time of 6pm at
the Isabella in Blyth you can catch a Freddie Mercury
tribute. Spoilt for choice!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHOT
DOWN IN FLAMES
"Interesting
idea, the tips for the band idea…..but here’s where
my cynicism kicks in;
We have to be careful of the law of unintended
consequence, it’s only a kick in the arse from there
to playing for tips only, or used as an excuse not
to pay a band or reduce their fee. Who would do such
a thing I hear you say? Well there are plenty of
reasons why a struggling venue may take that
approach even before you factor in any exploitative
reasons.
Yes it would sort some wheat from the chaff,
but overall the standard would diminish because who
would layout all that cash on gear without a fair
chance of paid gigs?
But that dismisses the nous of even the most
cynical of band bookers, theres not many that book
bad bands, safe bands perhaps, and safe isn’t what
brings in the punters, it may well entertain the
ones already there however?"
Alan Fizzyfish
------------------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Patrick
from the excellent Obsession
and UK/DC
that the Market Tavern in
Chester-le-Street has ceased all bands
for the forseeable future.
------------------------------------------------------------------
 What marvellous
peeps there are out at Usworth and Washington.
Some of those fine punters piled into The
Gardeners Club recently for Help for Heroes
night when FOXX
and Jay J Stevens
waived their fee to make the night one to
remember. Altogether the Club managed to make
a very healthy £1400.
Michelle from the club told Riffs: "I
had a lot of support ftom those who
attended, also a big thankyou for
those local businesses who donated
prizes for our raffle in aid of Help
For Heroes." The generosity of all those
involved will make such a difference for our
brave men and women.
And thanks to Michelle from Usworth and
Washington Gardeners Club for letting
Riffs know.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HAD A
GOOD NIGHT? - THEN FILL MY BOX
 Well,
our articles on dwindling punters for live
gigs have been read by many, many people. The
majority of whom do seem to agree that it is
something that is happening now, and that it
is affecting venues and bands alike. The only
thing that is thin on the ground is solutions.
I have heard one (from soneone who wishes
anonymity), and as I have heard nothing better
I will mention it here: A DONATION BOX ON THE
BAR.
If you have had a great night at your local,
seen a brilliant band playing stuff you like
and recognise and the band have totally given
their all, what do you do at the end of the
night? Well, you just go home. And what if you
haven't had that good a night, the band have
been mediocre, stared at their feet all night
and left you wanting? Well, you just go home.
Now that seems rather unfair, the landlord
doesn't know if you have had a good night or a
bad one; that poor barmaid who has been
smiling all night and serving all and sundry
doesn't know, and the band who have lost at
least a stone amongst them and played their
collective kahunas off just see you leaving at
the end of the night and have no idea if you
loved them or hated them. SO - pop a few quid
in the box on the bar. To be shared out
equally between the band and the venue. One of
the best night's ever? Bung a fiver/tenner in
the pot and shout to the landlord "they were
crackin' - I'll see that band again any time!"
Now, to me, that seems feasible, but I am
neither in a band, nor run a venue, so what do
YOU think? Will it work - is it an A side, or
just a terrible demo that won't make it onto
the album?
riffsonline@gmail.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
An
online station are taking music from signed/unsigned
bands to be played for free.
No
pop, just rock etc. no adverts.
http://www.marlab.dk
Thanks to Tony (former drummer with Cue) for
this info.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A late booking for these outrageous funsters.
Friday night (22nd) at The Isabella in Blyth.
Totally free entry and a wild night is guaranteed.
Get along and let your Fez down!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have a straggler. By his own admission, the
writer of the following article does not read the
News page much, which does explain a lot. I know
the Gig Listings is the most viewed page
on Riffs but a lot of stuff on this page does tie
in to the gigs so perhaps a glance now and then
may prove beneficial. Any road up, here is
Richie's thoughts on our main topic . . .
"I
humped gear for a club band in the 70s then a pub
band for 12 years after that, booked bands for 8
years for 3 pubs until quite recently
but never for financial gain, still help out now and
then when asked, so know a little bit about the
music scene and how it works...
I have been watching bands since the 70s
when clubs in my area that put bands on - solos and
comedians, albeit on dedicated nights for each -
used to be packed out but, one by one, they ended up
dying a slow death, partly i think due to the loss
of heavy industry. Pits, ship building and the like
was to blame for some of it as shift workers could
go out on a Thursday night and a Sunday night with
Friday and Saturday nights taking care of them
selves, if that makes sense, these people worked
hard and went to clubs for nights out religiously
and were not frightened to spend their money,
and not forgetting the earlier closing times where
people on permanent days could go out, go home, bite
to eat and be up for work no problem; we were all a
lot younger then, yes there is Nissan and all of the
knock on factories in my area but I am talking about
a different age group here.
While talking about age I see some of the same
people from that era at pubs now watching bands and,
like myself, they are in there 60s with some older,
one club is still going, but not as busy as it used
to be with another two going down the sports club
route and using private functions to survive. In a
way what happened to clubs is the same as what is
happening to pubs now, there got to be too many,
also while for a long time they were a cheap night
out, it got to be no longer the case with cover
charges going up and all the add ons; bingo,
raffles, various draws, it got where every other
week there seemed to be something else. All of a
sudden some pubs discovered a niche to host live
music and were the better option cost-wise, you even
ended up seeing some of the same musicians as many
were happy to leave the club scene to gig the pubs.
The pubs saw an opportunity for making money by
putting bands on after the club scene had died off,
and while a lot were not designed to host live
bands, they had to go with what they had got,
most got really good turnouts and were well
supported, but over the years more and more pubs
jumped on the bandwagon (no pun intended) and it
watered the attendances down; where you once had a
couple of venues you ended up with 5 or 6 and all
within a small catchment area, people would go to
where they thought they would have the better night.
I think a similar thing happened in South Shields,
for landlords they need decent turnouts on every gig
night or it is no longer viable and becomes a
struggle, also pub owners need to listen to the
regulars as to what music they like, as all too
often a pub will get taken over and book the wrong
type of band, punk and acoustic is not going to go
down well if people want rock music while, like
myself, a lot of people still use Riffs and other
music guides to find out what is on at venues, I
think an up-to-date website is a must in this day
and age. It is no good to anyone if a pub has a page
and they do not keep it up to date as advertising
plays an important part in letting people know who
is playing and when; I think a few pubs are guilty
of poor advertising,
I could mention a couple I know of where i never
could find out who was playing, no good at all, they
need to put it out there. I think with out doubt
monthly pay plays a big part in sometimes having a
lower turn out, the amount of times I hear people
mention their funds are low the week before being
paid, whereas back in the day when people were paid
weekly they always seemed to manage money better and
were able to go out, even the holiday period takes a
toll on attendances, as does the run up to Christmas
when money gets tighter. Quite often I have heard or
read that the smoking ban has made a big difference,
I myself think it has been very minimal; I think
people have just accepted they have to go out side
to smoke. I do not personally know anyone that has
stopped going to gigs because of the ban.
Back to age and this has been mentioned various
times on a music forum, there just does not seem to
be many younger people attending gigs these days,
certainly not the venues I go to, with the bulk of
the audience being made up of 40s, 50s and 60s,
unlike in my day where we were in our late teens. I
have no idea the reason why. I might add that I go
to watch predominately rock bands, maybe the old
classics just do not appeal to the younger
generation any more.
I must say that the northeast circuit is blessed
with so many great bands and quality musicians; most
of the time you are spoilt for choice. Referring to
the 5 or 6 pubs in a small catchment area I have
already mentioned, the pub with the more fancied
band will get the better turnout with the others
getting just enough people to break even if they are
lucky. Every venue will have their group of regulars
but these days they are looking at getting people to
travel which we often do to Sunderland, Chester,
Shields, ect, 3 or 4 sharing a taxi works out
cheaper than the bus fare.
There seems to be a never ending supply of pubs that
venture in to putting live music on only to find out
that it is a hard slog with many giving up within a
short period of time and not realising they need to
be prepared to lose money early on until word gets
out about their venue. I think the reality is that
we will be left with the most well known of venues
and those that are prepared to stick it out through
this rough period."
Richie, Washington
-------------------------------------------------------------------
AS YE SOW,
SO SHALL YE REAP
Well, you gotta laugh, haven't you! This just
dropped into Riffs inbox and I just thought it was
so relevant. Then again, I bet nearly all bands
and venues have similar stories (I've thought it
prudent to edit) . . .
"The
guy who books bands in the ----------- has 26 gigs
to fill so he books 12 or 13 bands to fill them
giving each one 2 gigs a year regardless as to
whether they died on their collective arses on the
1st show or not. We have reached the point where
we’re getting the second time round for the dregs
and I’m not going to go and watch a band that were
shite 6 months ago in the vain hope they’ve
improved. The fact that neither the band nor the
club have bothered to contact your good self, or
even to put it on their FB page illustrates their
commitment to their craft. The next scheduled band
in the --------- is the ---------- and I know it’ll
be packed. At that time I'll be in Belfast. During
previous visits I/we have tried to find a venue in
that city playing Rock and it appears there either
ain’t any or they don’t advertise on the web.
Imagine a place like Belfast and no live Rock on a
regular basis? And we complain about the dearth of
decent music!!!!".
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it was fantastic to
have such a brilliant response - and so many
views from bands and venues across the
North-East on what they thought was the reasons
for reduction in audience numbers. It was
eye-opening to see so many different and
interesting viewpoints. And Alan from
Fizzyfish, after reading every
single one with interest, now gives his views on
just who has hit the nail on the head. But are
we any closer to rectifying the problem?
"Since I wrote
that last piece I have had some conversations,
and some of the points raised by the other
writers make you think as well.
Our most recent gig
is a little case study, when I first started
regular gigging, relatively recently in 2003,
this place was one of the better venues on the
scene, I knew the pub from my youth and
actually went to see another band play there
as I was auditioning for them a week later.
When I
joined Fizzyfish
it was somewhere they
hadn’t played so I negotiated a gig there and
we became favourites - and the venue was one
of our favourites, building a relationship
with the audience and staff.
After
Fizzyfish split in 2010 we returned in a
different guise a few months later, but we
lost so much momentum that even with the boost
of changing our name back to Fizzyfish
we found so many venues
had changed, the stability had gone from the
scene. The venue I was talking about now had a
“manager” in but seemed more invested in food
than bands; his attitude was hostile and his
partner was one of those who knew the price of
everything and the value of nothing. They
destroyed the pub and within months it had
closed, had another false start then closed
again and after a lengthy period has opened
again.
The new owner is doing everything right,
it’s a nicer environment, he’s keen and
supportive, but crucially, that little
community had moved on, they had to find
different things to do. The last few years
have seen the venue go from weekly gigs, to
fortnightly gigs and 2020 will see one gig on
the last Saturday of each month, and I fully
support his approach.
Putting bands on was costing him too
much, the crowds came back initially, but for
all the reasons mentioned before and a few
more, the audience is a shadow of its former
self! Lost momentum in this game is a killer,
it’s taken us best part of a decade to get
back to the level of gigs and breadth of
geographical coverage we once had, were a
better band, but that only counts for so much
these days despite our fee being the same as
it was 15 years ago!
I don’t
think any of us have all the answers, Mike
from After Midnight
raises a valid point and
one we try to avoid, the too high a volume
mistake, it means significant investment in
quality gear, yet we still get the occasional
can you turn it down/up requests (usually to
turn it up!).
It’s been the same with our lights, we
have had to cut them down as people were
complaining about being blinded and most
venues don’t allow smoke machines anymore so
you have to get creative whilst still putting
on a show.
I don’t
blame the tribute acts moving up the tree and
Paul from We are Champion (genius) just highlighted my
point, a tribute to a good band with true
mainstream appeal. But I know lads in less
mainstream tributes who play less often and
sometimes they are going nationwide, some even
into Europe to sustain the interest.
Smoulty
and I generally agree on
stuff still, and I also agree with Dave from FM,
his points about over
saturation. We have
three venues who have us back 3 times a year,
we make sure each return is as different as we
can manage within what the punters will
accept, but there are so many places that will
not even answer any communication with us at
all! Closed shops or closed minds.
We generally want one venue in each town,
unless two venues will support us doing our
different sets, the Rollercoaster, which
is our crowd pleaser all over the place set
and the Seabass’tard which is our harder
uglier rock set, it’s a lot of work. But some
venues distrust that we can make that approach
work, they seem to be risk averse, they want
defined bands doing what they say on the tin,
safety.
We are open to do more clubs in the
future. The ones that have
turned their backs on the agencies and
excessive Bingo are now opening up a new
avenue, we found it logistically difficult to
be able to arrive at a club at the times they
prescribed in the past, but now some are more
flexible and we are as well, let’s see how
that pans out!"
Alan, Fizzyfish
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Just become aware of a venue in Sunderland - Angels Place
- and as was my wont did a quick google search
just to get a 'feel', and was rather impressed; a
biker's gaff with a great Rock atmosphere and on
their Facebook page recently hosted Deep Purple In Rock.
That video alone was enough to whet my appetite.
Took me back to the good 'ol Seventies at Middlesbrough Rock Garden.
If only someone would invent a time machine, that
would be the time I'd zip back to........
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Here we go, last one. It's
been a lot of hard work for me, but I hope it's
made a difference. And if it hasn't, at least
I've tried. If we all do one, may even be very
small, thing, then at least we've done more than
the next guy who has done sod all.........I have
extreme respect and admiration not only for the
bands who bust a gut getting organised and
traipsing to the venue, setting up, belting out
quality Rock (or whatever, but it should be
Rock, really) and then at the end, stripping
down their gear, and going home, but also to the
venues who sometimes take a punt on a band and
ending up crossing their fingers that the gig
isn't marred by, well, any number of things that
can go wrong. I have no musical talent
whatsoever, and would worry myself into an early
grave if I was to host bands on a weekly basis -
so I do what I can from this computer. Humungous
respect goes out to you all. Really.
Only one more 'Disappearing Audiences' article to
go, which I am working on right now. So if you
have something to say then now is the time - and
by 'now' I don't mean sometime next week, or even
in the next day or two or 'yeah, okay I'll
probably type something out this weekend' -
NO. I mean, like, today, in the next hour or two!
It doesn't take that long to type something out so
let people know your views. Anonymous is fine, as
long as you are honest. And it's no good saying
'Well, there's no point cos I agree with a lot
of what's been said'. How does anyone know
that unless you say so?!!!! Like I say, last one
today. That's it. Finito. Fin. Koniec. Tapitra.
Galas. Ende.
I
always, but always have on some belting Rock when
I'm working on Riffs, and as I am now (11am
Friday) half way through what will probably be the
penultimate article on Disappearing Audiences,
this track came on. I just remember being so
disappointed when mega bands 'throw away' a
classic track when at a live gig. Like 'this is
xxxxx xxxxxx' and then it's done and over in
a few minutes. UFO Doctor Doctor and Nazareth
Bad Bad Boy come to mind. Waste of a good
opportunity.
Now,
THIS is an intro...
(Oh, and it really
should go without saying - but PLAY IT
LOUD!!!!!!!!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Point of View is No More Or
Less Valid Than Anyone Else's
Well,
I've got to say I've been knocked out by the
eye-opening response concerning the demise of
punters coming out to enjoy live music. From
agents, bands, venues - you name them - they have
been concise, honest, eloquent. And it just goes
to prove that people DO care. Okay, there was some
that haven't bothered; but that happens in every
walk of life. If nothing else - and I sincerely
hope there has been considerably more - it has
given everyone involved the opportunity to see
'the other side' of life in the live music world.
I have been enlightened; and I'm sure I'm not the
only one. It highlights the fact that your point
of view is no more or less valid than anyone
else's.
Probably just one more article to go, hopefully
get that done today..........
------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
With all this talk of the
problems of punter numbers, band prices, low turnouts
etc, I was brought slap bang back to earth when I was
made aware of the problems of a member of local lads Ghostband. It
turns out the reason that they have been off the road
for quite a while was the necessity for Brian
Vasey to undergo a quadruple heart bypass,
with other complications that necessitated quite a
long layoff ("It was a rough time
for him and he says the recovery was far worse than
the op as they had to take a vein from his leg to
use in his heart and it was his leg that hurt the
most"). The good news is that he is on
the long, slow, gradual road to recovery and is
itching to get back on the road. But as guitarist Baz
pointed out: "since April Chris (drums) and myself
have either been depping in other bands, separately
or together, and ones we had dep guitarsts for we
never knew if they were going ahead, so other than a
last minute Facebook ad, we thought it better not to
advertise our gigs only to have to pull them. But
since his op Brian has now bounced back and I now
feel safer in advertising our gigs once more."
The three gigs booked for December are: Sat 7 Old
Ship, Newbiggin; Sat 14 Acklam Steels Club,
Middlesbrough; Fri 27 Lambton Arms, Chester Le
Street. I'm sure we all wish Brian well and for him to
be fully recovered and fighting for the Old Ship on
the 7th.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just this minute heard
of a late gig by
The Alcatraz House Band for this Friday
(November 1st) at Steels Club in Sunderland.
Haven't heard of AHB gigging for a very long time so
they may just be testing the water so to speak.
Let's hope this gig is the first of many as they
were a very proficient band. Anyway, quick look
in Riffs achives and here is Val's review of the
band from way way back if anyone is interested .
. .
Oh
- and a slap around the chops for both Jenn and
Steels Club as it was neither of them that we heard
it from - and here we are discussing disappearing
audiences!!
----------------------------------------------------------
TREAT THE BAND WELL OR PAY THE PRICE
Time for a bit ramble - well, it has been a while
- and I am part way through article number four
and it always takes longer than I imagine. Feeling
my brain going porridgey I need a break so, with
reference to the mention of some venues totally
ignoring the band for the evening and not giving
the band a welcome or whatever, I feel I must
mention the time Riffs'
Val ran a pub in West Auckland. It
wasn't for very long (less than a year I think),
but circumstances dictated that that was the way
things would be for a short time. She had her
licence, name above the door and whatever. She had
a live gig night once a week and would have loved
to have heavy Rock bands but her punters preferred
more laid back music; Whitesnake,
Bon Jovi (aaarggh), poppy type
stuff - with maybe a little Rock thrown in. Anyway
she would always make a point of welcoming the
band, each one, by name. Telling them that they
were an integral part of the evening and anything
at all they wanted, or had any problems, they were
to contact her, and only her, and she would sort
it.Don't bother anywone else, come straight to
her. She never charged the band for drinks, but
heaven help any of the band's hangers on trying to
get a freebie! (She could be quite formidable when
she wanted to be - and sometimes when she
didn't!). They were not charged for crisps, bar
snacks etc. She had in her mind what she needed to
break even, and a figure which would be great to
achieve for a modest profit from the evening. On
some occasions this figure was exceeded and she
gave half to the band as a big thank you. She told
me that the look on the guys' faces was pure
astonishment that someone would actually give them
MORE than they asked for. Needless to say she
didn't need to do much searching for bands as the
word spread how well (and fairly) the bands were
treated. Course a Riffs review usually
followed for every band that appeared there. I
remember more than one band said they would come
and play (Val
did do her homeword by the way - she wouldn't book
crap) and just take whatever Val decided to pay
them!! I bet that doesn't happen that often. And
yes, she made sure they got a fair price. Many
bands also played longer (well past finish time)
to a vibrant and appreciative crowd and she would
always make sure they got extra. When she took
over the pub it was, how should I put it, slightly
below what you would expect. Within just a few
weeks the clientele improved and it became a
decent pub. I remember one time a couple of Hell's
Angel types (over 6ft tall, about 3ft across the
shoulders, sleeveless denim jacket, tattoos, bald
- you get the image) started squaring up to one
another. Val was straight over to them, pulled her
top down and said: "I could knock both of you
out with these (Val was about a 38FF by
the way), so stop your messing and
enjoy the night. Or I'll kick you both out!".
They stood there nonplussed and I think they
forgot they were fighting and just went
shellshocked back to the bar. And yes, I have seen
her throw many a drunk guy clean out of the pub,
not one of them lifted a finger to her. But
anyway, back to how to treat bands. The way Val treated the
bands, to me, should be the norm, and I was really
surprised to hear that some bands are treated so
badly. It doesn't make sense to diss a band - they
have mates in other bands and if they are
impressed, the venue will benefit by getting a
good reputation. It was not that long ago that a
new band was struggling to get gigs and asked me
here at Riffs how they would go about getting
noticed in the region - they wanted me to do them
a boxed ad. I said that would be a waste of money.
No one is going to book a band just cos they took
out an advert. I told them what I would do if I
was a competent musician and wanted to get
noticed: I would ring up
Paul Tuns and tell him I had a
great band, and what I played, then say I will
play for expenses just to get a gig - even a
support slot. I would then email Nige at Riffs
(which is me by the way, in case you're losing the
will to live) and say come along for some quality
Rock, and also send in a blurb about the band
accompanied by some wild and quirky pics. I would
then ring around local landlords asking them to
come along. Blitz social media with some pics of
my band looking wild, happy and raucous (who wants
to see a 'boring' band). And just hope that Paul Tuns loves us
and mentions us to his mates (and of course gives
us a return booking at a reasonable price). yeah,
well I said most of this and never heard from them
again. Anyway, back to article number four, or is
it five........and why is my coffee stone cold?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Really pleased to hear from Paul Tuns regarding
Disappearing Audiences, and his contribution will
be in the top spot in the next article to be
uploaded today (Wednesday).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
And here's the third - probably one more to go if
no more emails come in . . .
Just
uploaded the second of 'Disappearing Audiences'
articles (probably couple more to come as Riffs
readers have been marvellous at giving their
opinions and views on disappearing audiences [not
in a supernatural way you understand]). Brilliant
stuff and an absolute banquet for thought.
--------------------------------------------------------
I
just gotta say I've had some brilliant replies to
my request for insights into the dwindling crowds
at live gigs. Well, here we are, Saturday (it is
Saturday isn't it?!) and I still don't have
anything ready regarding the upcoming article (now
articles) on aforesaid subject. It's not that I'm
lazy (although that may go some way) but I have
had some frighteningly incisive, not to say
interesting and long-winded (but totally relevant)
replies. So much so that one article just will not
encompass them all. My original idea was to edit
them down to bite-size chunks (bullet points if
you will) but . . . well, I found that a bit like
trying to edit Stairway to Heaven or Rock Bottom
down to three minutes. You could - but you'd need
to hide away in a dark place for a long time so
no-one would know who you are. So, yes, I'm
working on it, so bear with me......
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riffs
is gathering info on your views as to what may be
the cause of dwindling crowds for live music gigs
around the North-East - and what, if anything, can
be done about it. We have some great venues,
caring landlords/owners and a plethora (that means
lots) of top quality
(I mean like fuckin' awesome)
bands - so why so few punters? If you wish to have
your say then just email me here:
riffsonline@gmail.com. You can even
remain anonymous if you wish (but make it clear in
your email).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
APATHY
RULES! - WHATEVER
Just
this very minute (well, coupla days now) heard
from an extremely well-known and well-respected
North-East pub landlord who has put his heart and
soul into live music for many years, that he is
close to calling it a day with live bands. Over
the past few years his gig crowds have steadly
dwindled to a point now that it is hardly feasible
to host live music. Considering the quality of
musicianship and wide range of excellent bands on
offer in our area, this is a total disgrace.
Regular readers will have noticed that Riffs (and
bands and venues) have mentioned the lack of live
music support on many occasions of late but it is
now becoming a frightening reality that venues
will have to react to. The annoying thing is, the
answer is unbelievably simple - fuck
the box and get out and watch a band!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADRENALINE-FUELLED HEAVY ROCK
 I think that any band who openly
welcomes a review must be reasonably sure they are
musically and visually capable.
Riffs never expects perfection, indeed, so glad we
haven't found it 'cos life would then be filled with
anti-climaxes. So it was nice to hear from Graham
from Adrenaline
who boast a night of 'Heavy Rock and Classic Rock' -
my musical taste buds are a-rockin' already.
The gig is on November 9th, Saturday, at
Darlington's Quakerhouse.
Now all I need to do is try and remember where I
have heard the name Graham Forrester from.... An
enlightening email will surely be heading my
way.......
Oh, and in case you
need a taster of what Adrenaline
offer. Look no further than HERE.
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's
many amongst us who just can't get enough AC/DC
from the good ol' early days of Bon Scott.
Well, your lust for Rock and Metal at its best
can be well-satiated tonight (Friday 11th) at
Gateshead's Three Tuns when UK/DC
take to the stage for a blistering Rock set
that I can assure you is dynamite. You have been duly notified.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Whoops. Thought I had mentioned this but
apparently not. The Times Inn, Dalton le
Dale, has shut its doors. On its Facebook
page, it says 'for good', but I don't think the
staff and punters would see much good in it! I
think they may mean 'permanently' or
'indefinitely'.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
VICTIM OF
CHANGES
 Without
question, Rob
Halford is one
of Heavy Metal’s all-time great vocalists – as heard
through his highly influential and groundbreaking work
with Judas Priest. But age must do strange things to people,
as he is about to release an all-new album entitled
‘Celestial’ - full of 'Christmas' songs.
‘Celestial’ sees Halford joined by a supporting cast
of those very close to him – his brother (Nigel) on
drums, his nephew on bass (Alex, son of Priest bassist
Ian Hill), has sister (Sue) on bells, and twin guitar
tandem of Robert Jones and Jon Blakey.
'Donner and Blitzen,' and 'Protected by the Light,' as
well as reworkings of such holiday standards as 'God
Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,' 'Joy to the World,' and
'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,' sit alongside other
offerings. 'Donner and Blitzen’ gets the snowball
rolling for Celestial – a song full of
excitement, love and hope,” says Rob. “You
can hear and feel the power of Christmas time –
energy roarin’ with rockin’ reindeers haulin’!”
Of course you can Mr Halford. Now where's my copy
of Sad Wings of Destiny . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Gonna
give a shout to Heart
Shaped Stone who, up until today,
I thought was a band but, apparently - well not
apparently - because she has told me she isn't a
band, she is solo, and she ought to know.
I'm giving a shout for two reasons. 1) she's
taken out an advert in Riffs, which helps me pay
the exorbitant prices for web hosting and domain
name; and 2) she was the lead singer in
two Rock bands - '99
Clicks', and 'Fallen Angel'.
[I could squeeze in a 3) by saying she
was very polite - you'd be surprised how many
people aren't!].
As she told Riffs quite candidly: "Everything
I play is totally live, no tracks or gizmos, I
strive to play well known cover songs that
people like to hear on a night out and very
often finish up with the audience singing
along as the night goes on, mainly great
singalong songs from the 80s and 90s from
bands such as 3 Non
Blondes, Oasis, Allanis Morrisette,
Beautiful South, Fleetwood Mac, KT
Tunstall, Blondie, Cranberries,
plus some older, earlier and more modern songs
too to please a wider range of audience."
She has a great following in her home town of
North Shields but travels all over the
North-East for gigs. She is no stranger to the
weird and wonderful venues we have here in the
North-East and has hosted buskers nights and
mulitplayer live music gigs since 2017, now
pushing her solo career.
I'll admit, unless she dives into the odd Priest or Motorhead track
("that really isn't going to happen, Nige")
she may leave me a bit by the wayside but, as my
niece told me "There's more to life than
Heavy Rock". Errrmmmm, sorry Hazel, nope,
you've lost me.
But I appreciate there is room for everyone in
our thriving music arena and Heart Shaped Stone
certainly have the background and
professionalism to say "I'm here now, just
leave everything to me". And that, surely,
is what a lot of landlords are dying to hear.
(second only to "there's hundreds of people
queued outside for tonight's gig!")
There is a Facebook page showreel:
https://www.facebook.com/heartshapedmusic/videos/3191461814229734/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ginger Baker, one
of the co-founders of Cream,
has died at the age of 80.
Baker
is best known for co-founding Cream with Eric
Claption and Jack Bruce in 1966. He
suffered various health problems in the later years
of his life, telling Rolling Stone in 2013 that
performing “exhausted” him. The
candid interview also saw Baker reveal that he
suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) from smoking. In February 2016, he
was forced to cancel a tour with Air Force after
being diagnosed with “serious heart problems”. He is
thought to have undergone open heart surgery in June
of that year.
-------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL DATELINE
OCTOBER 7 . . . INTERNATIONAL DATELINE OCTOBER 7
. . . INTE
 Direct
from Riffs International Overseas Reporter (you
better believe it!) comes some AC/DC news; recently
opened in Prahran, Melbourne (that's way over in
Australia, by the way) is 'Angus
and Bon' Steakhouse. Which,
co-incidentally or not, is just around the corner
from the Station Hotel where the band played one of
their first Melbourne gigs back in 1975. Our
intrepid Ozzie reported dutifully snapped this pic
of the Angus and Bon plaque and I have requested
that she wears her 'AC/DC founded 1974' t-shirt in
front of the aforementioned establishment while
taking a photo of herself (I think the hip amongst
us call it a 'selfie') - but of course this all
depends on the weather as I was unable to afford the
very fastest pigeon. But a big thanks to Franki who, by her
own admisssion ended up in Melbourne after missing
the Hollywood plane. Don't worry, I told her, relax.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
Another
thousand words, this time from Qween,
also with a sellout concert on a recent Friday at
Hedworth Hall:
Checkout their radio interview here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
The
Bay Horse in Bishop Auckland (on a recent Friday).
. .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Heard
from Maddog - Chairman of the Tyne Wolves - that the Duke of
Cumberland in Gateshead reopened
fairly recently and is planning live gigs. The
management intends to have regular band nights but
The Tyne Wolves have got in quick with two gigs
there already planned: Red Revival on 28th of
this month, and Three
Odd Shoes on Oct 4. Start time is 8pm
and there will be a charity bucket for welcome
contributions.
Val and myself have
many happy memories of the Duke, with Thompa
vying with Paul Tuns for the most gracious
host
in the North East. He
set the bar extremely high, let's just hope the
present management are even half as good.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The
gig arranged for Darlington's Forum for 24th of
this month has been put back to next year and this
new gig featuring The Tom Atkinson
Band and the legendary Russ Tippins Band
now takes its place:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heard from Dave from
the Graham
Henderson Experience that their gig
tonight (Friday) at the Ox and Plough in Washington
is off. The venue is closed and boarded so I guess
that means no live gigs there for a
while............but we'll let you know if anything
changes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Better
late than never - tonight's
gig (Fri) at the now iconic Three Tuns in
Gateshead is Heavy Metal USURPER. Tried my best
to get a pic of the band but no luck. But there
are some vids on Youtube taken at Trillans. I
mention tonight's gig as it is now getting so damn
difficult to get to see some Metal bands - and
even more so if they play their own compositions;
so good on Usurper. Check out their vids and if
you are in the Gateshead area then why not pop
along and give these guys some support? master of
the wreck baptism of
fire
And good on Paul Tuns for giving these
lads an airing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIBUTE
BAND BREAKS PUB ATTENDANCE RECORD
 By all accounts Darlo Blues day on
Sunday was a rip-roaring success and, although we
would have liked to hear from several bands
concerning their gig on the day, at least we've
been contacted by The
Paul Rodgers Story who, apparently,
broke an attendance record at a Darlington pub! We
hear that there was, wait for it, 110 (that's one
hundred and ten) people watching just the band's
sound check at Hoskins Bar in the town
centre. And when the band kicked off, there had
been an unbelievable 553 people in the venue. The
previous record was 350. The band, needless to
say, fed off the crowd and went down an absolute
storm. The Paul Rodgers Story have a new website
up and running www.paulrodgersstory.com
(I've told them about the Riffs reviews links not
working) and also I can link to a video taken on
the night of the band playing 'Fire and Water'.
Just click here.
(above
pic was taken at Darlington Forum earlier this
year)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Has anyone a cure for
Fizzyfish? Those adaptable funsters
are at it again - raising money for charity. I can't
put it much better than singer Alan so I'll quote
directly from his email:
"This one's been
drawn together really quickly, Sunday 29th
Sept at the old B&M store on Harbour Walk,
Hartlepool, TS24 0YA. We're helping out the
Personal Trainers at The Gym Group in Hartlepool
in an event to raise funds for Andy’s Man Club,
set up to help people with mental health issues in
remembrance of Adam Rutherford, a young lad who
sadly took his own life. The event is free, but
obviously we would welcome any donations on the
day to the cause, there's 3 live music acts; Red Sky,
the acoustic duo span off the band Skyran, the
wonderful Jades
a 4-part
glamourous harmony group, and to end the afternoon
there’s the ugly buggers that are us, Fizzyfish,
with a power hour to end the day with a bang. The
event runs from noon until around 4pm, there’s
plenty of other stuff going on for those who like
to physically exert themselves - and those who
like to watch them try. Everyones doing their bit
for nowt, from the organisers, Hart
tool hire, PA company Soundwaves, Van Hire
company and Hartlepool Council;
they have all been a great help, all funds raised
go straight to the cause."
There's nothing more I can add to enhance the event,
except a plea for local people to go along, have a
crackin' day out and try and pop a few pennies in
the collecting buckets. Anyone who's organised an
event knows just how much hard work - not to mention
sweat and sleepless nights - goes into it, so to tot
it all up at the end of the day to realise a
financial reward for Andy's Man Club would
put smiles on so many faces . . .
And well done Fizzyfish
- Riffs will always have room for you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIRTY
DOGZ PHIL PROPOSES A NIGHT OF
'PANACHE, POWER,
PRECISION AND PASSION'
And talking of 'no-nonsense', Riffs is
excited at an email from Phil
from Dirty Dogz
fame who, after the demise of aforesaid band, has been
pining for some quality, down-to-earth Rock done by
mature, experienced musicians - or in his own words 'A tasty selection of highly regarded and
seasoned pros' (I'm hearing
people standing and clapping at the back . . .) and
with the adage 'if you want something doing properly
do it yourself' resounding around his thinking organ,
Phil has decided to do just that.
Putting
his money where his mouth is, Phil is arranging a
'little' soiree where he expects to showcase some
incredible Rock talent. He told me: 'There’s
still some cracking nights to be had out there I’m
sure but, as most bands are finding, it's often
hard chuffin work playing to 2 men, a whippet and
a crazy couple in the corner who are adamant they
want a bit of Britney! However, the frustration
and disappointment seems to have wained a tad over
the noted period of inactivity and I am dipping my
arthritic toes (some may say foolishly) into the
local, unpredictable rock'n'roll waters again.'
At the moment he
has got his main band together: Joe
Hope-Bass/Vox (“The Boy”), Ray Johns-Hammond
(“The Man”), Sid White-Drums
(“The Business”), Phil
Caisley-Gtr/Vox (“The Dreamer”) but
Phil promises some 'special guests' not to mention
support band(s).
Still in its early stages,
Phil is wanting to gauge support before he goes full
tilt. He continued: 'Looking for definite feedback
from real fans of live music who like nothing more
than to immerse themselves in a night of quality
sounds delivered with panache, power, precision and
passion'. Expectations are high and Phil hopes
the setlist to include
'interpretations/improvisations of classic rock,
blues and psychedelia from Hendrix, Zeppelin, Cream,
Stones, Beatles, Free, Neil Young, Peter Green, Bob
Dylan...plus the odd original and a few surprises.'
Phil has emphasised that this will happen only
with enough prior interest. He welcomes texts on 07803 640235. I have promised Phil,
Riffs' full involvement and when anything happens -
we wanna know!
LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADS
DOWN NO-NONSENSE BOOGIE
Nipped out to catch Ma Kelly's Boys
last Sunday (15th Sep) at Crook Hotel,
co-incidentally about the same time as John Coghlan's Quo
were playing in Darlington as part of the annual
Blues Festival. Again, Ma Kelly's Boys are
seasoned musicians who have done their homework
and noticeably love playing Quo's early stuff.
Lots on offer, including 'Railroad', 'Roll Over
Lay Down', 'Mystery Song' and many of the expected
Quo classics - the sound was ballsy, meaty and
perfectly balanced. Lead guitarist's feigned move
to turn down the volume elicited angry shouts from
the crowd. Think so too. Quo fans will not feel
short-changed here.
  
-------------------------------------------
My faith in
humanity has been partially restored - well, I say
humanity; I mean the Rock-going public of the
North-East. How? Well, I have just received (and
now put together) a review of UK/DC at Glendale Club from
last Friday (13th), and it was packed. Chocka.
Heaving. And don't take my word for it, The Seaham
Silverback was there, sent in his review with
pictures of said crowd. Magnifico.
------------------------------------------------------
 Received
a link to the new offering from our local lads Millennium.
Coming in at around an ear-battering six minutes
this Heavy Rock onslaught - A
New World - is a taster for
the full album coming out this month. Seems
there's fewer and fewer Rock and Metal heads left,
but for the Metal minority this little ditty
should satisfy. Paul from the band told me: 'It's
tough for all bands but especially those that
peddle their own stuff. Hopefully we'll travel a
wider road soon.' We wait with baited
breath. Give it a listen, crank your speakers to
11, sit back, and enjoy . . .A NEW WORLD
----------------------------------------------------
Just been
sent a link to a great video by the NE STREET BAND. Check it out here
--------------------------------------------
Three Tuns in Gateshead need
band for this Sat (14th). Contact Paul asap
07940715824 (and let me know if you get the gig
and I'll post it on the Listings page). NOW
SORTED,. FREDDIE PURVIS GOT THE GIG.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After typing
the below para something came to me that Colin
Smoult said to me many, many moons ago when he was
in Shovelmouth. He told me how much it
means when, after a gig, if just one person comes
over and says to the band how much they had
enjoyed the gig. That, he said, made all the hard
work so worthwhile.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Can you
hear us at the back?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
While
writing the review for Obsession yesterday (Sat) I
twigged that the brilliant lead guitarist John Footitt was
in a band called Riot, way back. So, after a
search through Riffs' archives I found a review
for Riot done
at (you might guess) The Three Tuns, by
Val. Again, not sure what year - but I know
someone will help out. Here is the review. Plus a
couple of pics of John belting out some toons
including some Bon J . . .aaah, where's the sick
bucket?!!!
..............................................................................
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Less than a week to
go until the Ruf Blues
Caravan 2019
take to the stage at Hartlepool Supporters
Club on Saturday 14th.
A lot of people may panic
thinking they now do not have
time to arrange tickets for the
gig - but panic not, as Tommy is
allowing pay on door to this
event if all tickerts are not
sold.
If you want to check
availability just give him a quick email on
thomas.wormald2@ntlworld.com.
And he may even hold them on
the door for you, I know
not, but if you ask very
nicely he just may.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Blistered Molly that their charity Ball at Hexham
Mart has been cancelled. It was listed for later
this month but it is now not to be. Mike from
the band told Riffs "I'm not suprised really,
at £50 a ticket!" And I bet he was looking
forward to that drum solo too. Such is life.
Mike is slightly miffed as the band turned down
a couple of bookings for that night so is now
trying to fill that slot; it's Saturday
September 28; contact
Mike on 07711 006943.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOOD OLD-FASHIONED LOVER BOY
 And
I thought Sunday was a day of rest!!
No sooner had I finished putting together last night's
review of The Codgers by the Seaham Silverback,
than in pops an email from Rob of
Qween who had another successful gig
on Friday (30th Aug) at The Grand in Newcastle.
And he very kindly sent me in a couple of pics taken
at that fine establishment.
I also hear that the band even did a meet and greet
after the show for their many fans demanding a chat.
Nice one guys.
Their next gig is at Hedworth Hall South Shields on
Friday 27th Sep and tickets are just £6 from the venue
or Qween's Facebook page.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I
notice that The Codgers
are playing Houghton Sports and Social Club
tonight (Sat) and there's just a chance that the
Seaham Silverback may be out and about too. Now I'd
hate for anyone to put two and two together . .
. but I've sorted through Riffs archives and
dusted off some old pics I took of the young lads
when they were Old Codger in 2007. So,
without further ado:
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can agree wholeheartedly with The
Seaham Silverback's review of Starz
a few weeks ago. I caught them last
night (Thursday 29th Aug) at
Osbournes in Yarm to get pics of
them on stage and was mega-impressed
by this versatile power trio. An
object lesson in how to - seemingly
effortlessly - entertain a crowd
with an ultra-tight sound by
seasoned and talented musicians and
still have a laugh with the punters.
To be able to play a bikers gig one
night and a wine bar the next will
give Starz an enviable edge.
Tony from St. Peter's Club
in Newcastle told me: "These lads
are great. I have had them twice
this year and intend to book them
again for 2020."
I
kidnapped
guitarist Kenny
between sets:
"There is no
other place
like the
North-East,"
he pointed out,
"every weekend
there are
numerous local
bands on offer
to go and see
- not many
people realise
this is
special to the
area."
Although he
still wouldn't
be drawn on
whether hardened
rockers Black
Rose would
be publicising
their upcoming
album with some
local gigs.
I have updated
the Silverback's
review with some
pics but have
not changed any
of his text.
Starz are
still mid
mini-tour and I
unashamedly urge
you to go see.
Kiko, Mark and
Kenny's
repertoire is
all-encompassing
and I truly
can't see anyone
being
disappointed. http:www.starzrock.co.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIZZYFISH
HAVE DARLINGTON IN THEIR SIGHTS
  By
jove they're at it again!
Fizzy by name and fizzy by nature.
Only this time, the band who put the E in
Entertainment plan to bring a bit of life to
Darlington. They are playing for nopence, not a
penny, not a threepenny bit, not a tanner, not a
florin so as to help Family Help in Darlington,
which specialises in domestic abuse support for
women and women with children fleeing domestic
abuse. They provide safe temporary accommodation for
those that need it, in a purpose built refuge with 8
units.
Alan told Riffs: "We are honoured to be
supporting the refuge and will be offering a night
of entertainment for the princely sum of £6 a
ticket. We will be going full on Rollercoaster set
for this one, so nothing esoteric, just a great
night of great tunes!"
It's on Friday, October 18. Tickets are available
direct from the venue, The Forum Music Centre,
Borough Road, Darlington, 01325 363135. All profits
will go direct to the refuge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well,
some balls are held for charity and some for fancy
dress, but the ball that's held in aid of
Tynedale Hospice is the ball that
Blistered Molly likes
best. Yep, the band has been asked to play at the
Hats and Glad Rags Ball in
the Function Suite at Hexham Mart. Drummer Mike
from the band tells me they are all looking
forward to introducing the crowd to some Classic
Rock and I note that within their repertoire they
include some Free, Zep,
AC/DC, Lizzy and . . . Sabbath. Hmmm,
best keep clear of War Pigs methinks and probs go
for Paranoid. Even Zep
may be a push. "Well," said Mike
confidently, "we'll suss out the crowd and see
what we can get away with. The name  of the game,
though, is to entertain. And we have no worries
on that score." With such a positive
attitude the band may just make some converts.
Singer Ashleigh is a big
Zep fan so hopes are high for some
blistering Rock. The event has been put together
by Patricia Barnes of Hats and Glad Rags in Hexham
and Gofton Wagyu and takes place on Saturday
September 28th. It all kicks off at 7pm and you'll
get chucked out around midnight.
Not a cheap night mind, coming in at £50. But hey,
it is for charity and hospices up and down the
country rely on public donations to survive. And
if you had a loved one spending time in a hospice
you would wish the best for them wouldn't you? If
you do wish to treat yourself and partner then
call 01434 606 444 or e-mail
fundraising@tynedalehospice.com. Mike did say Blistered Molly
intend to make it a night to remember. I think
when
Mike announces: "Hey everybody, this
is our twenty-minute version of Moby Dick."
That should do the trick.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Had a
little jaunt last night (Fri 23rd) to Bishop Auckland
to see Four Letter
Word do their
stuff at the Bay Horse. Review and pics sorted
for your delectation. The
Seaham Silverback has just submitted to
Riffs his review of The Whole
Hog at The
Glendale and this is now finished and both
reviews are here to view.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WELL - THEY
HAVEN'T KILLED KENNY
Well, would you credit it? Riffs was opining the
lack of music news today and into our lap popped
this little gem concerning not only a great Metal
band, but also we spy the ruggedly Rock looks of
guitarist Kenny Nicholson who is no stranger to
Riffs News pages. [And as this info didn't come from
Kenny we officially slap him around the face with a
wet lettuce].
He is now part of Millennium,
a Billingham-based Heavy Metal band who are due to
release their fourth full-length studio album A
New World on October 25th, 2019 through Pure
Steel Records.
Vocalist Mark Duffy commented: “We try to keep
some of our New Wave Of British Heavy Metal roots,
but we also try a bit of variation with songs like
‘Obsolete’ and ‘Assassin’ that have a more
straight ahead heavy metal feel to them." The
band who played on the album consisted of:
Mark Duffy (vocals, Toranaga)
Will Philpot (guitar, Serpents Kiss)
Louis Astbury (guitar)
Paul Simpson (bass)
Darren Moore (drums)
We say 'consisted' as Louis Astbury has been
replaced by Kenny, and drummer Darren Moore by Nigel
Waterfall-Brown.
I, for one, will be keeping my eye open for a
possible local gig - well, there's bound to be one
pub that has the balls to unleash some Heavy Metal
thunder. Isn't there?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Further to the mensh for the
upcoming Red Revival gig at Leam Lane, thought some
readers may be interested in their take
on Whole Lotta Rosie. The lead singer's
voice is quite powerful - you could say
she's got it aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall. Check
out the video here,
taken on the 18th of this month at the Smile
Festival.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Bearing in mind I have been a lilfe-long UFO fan, I was
looking forward to the Pete
Way Band at Trillians on Monday just
gone. But decided to give it a miss.
I'll say nothing more, just point you to this
Youtube video recorded recently - here. Too
bad, too sad.
----------------------------------------------------------
TYNE WOLVES INITIATE RED REVIVAL
Now,
this one's a month away but I'm rather intrigued
with this. Maddog
and the Tyne Wolves
not only show their worth by putting on some
regular Rock/Grunge/Metal offerings at the
Deuchars Arms up there in Leam Lane but has Riffs
mucho respect as he makes sure proceeds go to a
cause close to his heart - the Kayaks charity.
News enough you may agree but I've just heard from
him of his gig on Sep 15 for: Red
Revival. Now I know if I said they have a
female singer a lot of you will immediately
discount the band or subconciously think less off
them - I hold my hands up there. But then think of
Warlock, think
of Benatar. Roxette
even? And what about Harry?
No - not Dirty, Debbie!
Check out this song (click on image) and
see what you think. Massive potential to be a
rockin' combo there. And let's face it; if Maddog
says to them 'I want you Rockin' tonight'.
Would you argue?
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just one day to
go and we get info on tomorrow's (SAT 17th) Burning
Rock Festival at
Stanley. I've added the info to the Listings page but
here's a rundown of who's on:
2pm no ordinary Angel; 3pm me mes; 4pm dog in a
box; 5pm rigid digits; 6pm ballbreakers; 7pm riverrain; 8pm lock n load.
Only a fiver and pay at gate. That's it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Gotta
give a big shout to Four Letter Word who are
braving Darlington's apathetic Rock scene to be
part of the Britannia's Britfest event in aid of
St. Theresa's Hospice this Saturday (17th).
Much kudos to Michael and the lads for giving of
their time for such a worthwhile cause, who are
hoping to take to the stage around 5. It's from 2
to 9pm and other bands on the menu are East Coast Mainline; The
Mechanical Capybara and String Edition.
I gotta say, know nothing much about the Britannia
except it's seemed to have always been there,
overseeing many changes to Darlo including the
demise of Handcrafts from directly over the road,
the building of the A68/St. Cuthbert's Way
roundabout directly outside the pub, not to
mention the massive ugly DWP building that it
faces.
And they do their bit for the wild birds by always
maintaining a fresh supply of num nums via their
Britannia tree (not much escapes Riffs' eagle
eye!!). So with that attention to detail it's
probs a pub worth visiting.
As with Maddog's afternoon gig up there in Leam
Lane, we wish for good weather to enhance the
event.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Having a look at Riffs
Listings it's nice to see that Paul Tuns' panic at
getting his August's gigs sorted is now history
and he can look forward to some crackin' bands -
culminating in the astounding coup of securing Skinny Molly; featuring Lynryd Skynyrd's Mike Estes (as
this is the ONLY north-east gig [apart from
Stormin' biker rally the night before] you get to
this gig or you've missed the band for well over a
year). Zooming forward to this Friday (16th) he
has the ever-popular FM. Have dug out
a couple of pics which - according to the photo
info. - I took in 2013. AC/DC,
Hendrix and many others get an
outing with this quality band and - from what I
can remember - a stunning lead guitarist.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Must give a shout out to David from High Howdon Social Club which
was host to an Abba
tribute last weekend. Between you and me he would be
happy for them to sneak in 'Thunderstruck'. Well, you
never know - the last song the
Pistols played at their gig at
Midddlesbrough Rock Garden in the Seventies was
'Teenage Kicks' - and who'da thought that? So fingers
crossed for ya mate. On the off chance they do, be
sure to let Riffs know!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Isn't
it nice - or do I mean 'rare' - when people keep their
word? And so it is that Rob from Qween Sold Out (Soz -
I mean Qween) sent in some pics - or should I say 'pic'
- of his gig last night Saturday 9th at Newcastle
Village Hotel.
Although I was expecting more than one, at least it's
nice to have an image of the evening. I must apologise
for the size though (unfortunately not the first time
I've had to say that) but this is exactly as supplied.
Beggars can't be choosers, so I thank Rob and fingers
crossed his full houses continue.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS MACHINE
CREATES WHEELS OF STEEL
Nice to hear from This Machine who, I
have been reliably informed (cos they told me), have
been having some rather pleasing responses regarding
their cover versions. Saxon
commented
'very cool' when talkin' 'bout Wheels of
Steel - praise indeed. Also,
their version of the Dead Daisies Long
Way To Go  got a 'like' on
the Daisies' Facebook page. Not bad going for Norman, Tony, Sequel, Paul
and The Hamster of Doom (aka
Gazza) who I know have been on the circuit long enough
to hone their musicianship to deserve such eminent
acolades. I just hope this mensh doesn't embarrass the
lads - no? Well, if that doesn't, then the following
photos just may; taken ten years ago when myself and
Val interviewed the band at The Three Tuns in
Gateshead.
We were all much older then - we're younger
than that now...
 
This Machine playing
Wheels of Steel at The Frigate, Marske- here
This Machine
playing Long Way To Go at The Penny Gill - here
---------------------------------------------------------------....................................
New
Plough Dipton Music festival confirmed
for Sunday 25th August
from 1.15pm through to 10.15pm
Music all day with 6
live acts from solos to full bands as below:
Scott
Kiers solo
North Road duo
Mitch Laddie band
Jen Stevens Little Moth duo
Ash Humble solo
Sofi-stication band
And no reason not to pop along as it's completely,
totally FREE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
HSC BACK ON THE CIRCUIT
 
Just a heads up for any sharp eyed readers -
especially around the Hartlepool area - who have
noticed that Hartlepool Supporters Club has
been missing from our Gig Listings the last few
months. Well, just heard from Tommy there and they
have had a break from bands but are now back to
firing on all six. Their gigs are, of course, now on
our Listings and you would do well to check out that
fine establishment, which has hosted some really
rare out-of-town bands. Highlight for this month just
has to be The Feelgood Band. I think you will be a
tad impressed. Check 'em out here
--------------------------------------------------------------
QWEEN SOLD OUT
Just heard that the Qween gig (that's a Queen
tribute for those of you have just got up or are or
well hungover) this Friday 9th at Newcastle is now
completely SOLD OUT. That's three gigs in a row for Qween that have
sold out. Wonder if they'll be tempted to rename the
band 'Qween Sold Out'
. . .!!
Rob
from the band has promised to send in some pics
so I'll pop the best on the this page as soon as
I get them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey Molly,
how you so skinny?"
 Bands come and go, venues come and
go, but Gateshead's Three Tuns has been
one of the most reputable and long-established
venues for North-East live gigs for as long as I
can remember [many of you will be thinking 'well,
that's about a fortnight then'] - indeed, just
look at our old reviews and quite a few feature
the Tuns, so it's quite fitting that Paul from
that Rockin' gaff has the honour to be the ONLY
North-East pub to host Lynyrd
Skynyrd's Mike
Estes and his band Skinny Molly. The
band rate the Tuns gig so highly [it states on the
 Skinny Molly website
that The Three Tuns is one of their favourite
places to play] that not only did they plead with
Paul to have a gig there [I totally imagine] but I
understand they are having a warm-up the night
before when they headline Stormin' The Castle
Bikers Rally at Bishop Auckland. Those bikers
appreciate a bit of the ol' Southern hospitality
and will no doubt get the Mollies all fired up for
a night of propa Rockin' boogie for the Tuns
crowd. Just a shame they don't play Freebird
anymore as they reckon it's just not called for at
any of their gigs..............yeah,
right!! - they wouldn't dare not play
Freebird!!!! Skinny Molly
also play the best of Lynyrd
Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot
and The Outlaws. The Tuns gig is Saturday 31st August
and tickets are a tenner. And, although we all
know the Tuns is like a massive football arena
once you get inside . . . Paul must make it known
that when the tickets are gone - they're gone. No
door entry wiithout a ticket. No squeezing in the
odd punter. And apparently there's quite a few
odd punters in Gateshead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul at the Tuns in now all
sorted. All dates filled and up on the Listings
page... he's appreciative of all bands who
enquired and is full for August - unless someone
pulls out!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, just dug
out another Riffs
review from way back, by dear ol' Val - and again, no
idea when this was penned. Val mentioned it was the
week after the 26th. Ah, right, so that's cleared that
up........
-------------------------------------------------
C'mon
bands - Riffs is updated many times daily and when we
say Paul needs bands for The Three Tuns in Gateshead
for this month then we are talking now;
we will let you know when the slots have been filled -
but they haven't been yet. He still has three dates to
fill
This Saturday 10th August
Next Friday 16th August
Next Saturday 17th August. So give him a call
07940
715824. WHEN?
NOW!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
AC/DC
GB AT THE PENNY GILL
 Hello
everybody peeps. Well, just  got back from The
Penny Gill in Spennymoor where I
nipped along to try out a new camera -
always felt a bit of a wally lugging my
large DSLR about, so invested in new
technology. Was really pleased with the
results; will need some tweaking but I
thought I'd post a few pics from its very
first use. I'm contemplating undertaking
band reviews - just like the old days
(but, unfortunately without Val) if there
is a demand; and of course a review is no
good without pics to illustrate. Anyway,
this is from last night's gig (Sun Aug
4th) at The Penny Gill of
AC/DC GB . . .
I recorded them playing 'High Voltage' and that
is now on Youtube - https://youtu.be/V-0BzWOjMDk.
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've started experimenting
with linking bands names in the Listing page to
Youtube videos of themselves - to help readers get
an idea of what to expect at a gig. At the moment
I've picked a few at random but, if any band wants
a link to a particular video then please let me
know and I will initiate that. I'm not sure what
will happen though when that gig comes and goes; I
guess you will need to re-send the link for me to
keep it up to date............ I'll see how it
goes........
---------------------------------------------------------------------
COME
ON AND TOUCH ME
The keen-eyed amongst you may have noticed how
many Starz
gigs there are now in August and
September. Well, it just happens their popularity
seems to know no bounds. I remember guitarist
Kenny telling me earlier this year that they went
out of their way to pick a set list that was
recognisable but yet well away from the
'done-to-death' covers. Well, that has paid off in
spades [what's the builders' motto - measure twice
and cut once]. Kenny explained to Riffs: 'Starz has gone down
really well everywhere; one landlord told us that
we were the first band he'd listened to for months
cos normally he switches off when he's serving
behind the bar because he's sick of hearing the
same old songs, he couldnt wait to get us back!' Not
only that but Kenny is in The
Paul Rodgers Story who had no choice
but to reform after constant requests and, by all
accounts, played a blinder recently at Darlington's
Forum (and yes a re-booking ensued). And, if all
that isn't impressive enough, his other band, the
heavy Black
Rose is on the verge of
releasing a new album. Kenny went on: 'Black Rose are almost finished
recording a new album which is a lot heavier than
anything we have done in the past, it should
surprise a few people!'
Couldn't be too heavy for me Kenny - or too
loud! Click pic to hear
'Cure For Your Disease' by Black Rose.
I wouldn't be surprised if Kenny makes himself
available on a regular basis, surrounded by
railings, for bands who want to just get close and
touch him . . . or just stare in awe . . .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Tuns all sorted for
weekend - they have Romeo's Pistol
for this Friday and Prism
for Saturday. Two bands quick off the mark - mind
you, neither have been in touch with Riffs. We got the
confirmation from Paul Tuns. Y'know, ya try to
give bands publicity . . .
Paul is still short for some dates late August
so give him a call 07940 715824.
THREE TUNS NEEDS BAND FOR FRIDAY now sorted
Paul Tuns is well on his way to filing his listing
for gigs in August but finds himself with a space
for THIS FRIDAY 2ND (Three Tuns in Gateshead)- so
get in there quick: call or text
07940 715824. And when you have
secured your gig, email me here at Riffs and I will
add it to the Listings page - and if you are very
polite I will give your band a mensh here on the
News page!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 If
I'm anything, I'm a man of my word; September's
listings is now live and the first entry is for Friday 13th at The Glendale,
Hall Lane, Houghton le Spring DH5 8DA for a gig
by UK/DC
playing tracks by the legendary Bon Scott.
Angus from that band played with AC/DC GB
recently and went down a storm at Steels
Club in Sunderland, so a lot is riding on
the Glendale gig.
Will they - can they - surpass the Steels Club
gig?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can I make a clarification concerning the AC/DC GB review
below. The Angus on the night of the gig review
was from UK/DC, and he was standing in on that
night at Steels
Club and it is his band - UK/DC who is
appearing at Glendale Club on Friday
September 13th. UK/DC
play the Bon Scott
era songs, so that's the first five AC/DC albums; and
some would argue undoubtedly the best. But let's
not get into that. I should be getting September's
list up soon on the Listings page and I will make
sure that that will be the first gig entered into
it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BANDS SOUGHT
FOR GATESHEAD GIGS
Looks like landlord Paul Tuns
is having a reet rough August suffering numerous
cancellations! He has put an urgent shout out for
bands for the following dates for his two pubs in
Gateshead - no specific style has been mentioned
so just give him a ring . . . call or text 07940 715824
SCHOONER
Sat 17th, Fri 23rd
THREE TUNS
Fri 2, Sat 3, Sat 10, Fri 16, Sat 17, Sat 24, Fri
30.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The band's website: https://www.acdcgb.co.uk/
For a taste of the band: https://youtu.be/QRCIfpYXSC8
---------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
WE'LL
HAVE NONE OF YER DEVIL MUSIC
AROUND THESE 'ERE PARTS
Well, ya just gotta
feel sorry for those Junkyard Dogz, all set for
their debut gig at Ye Old Cross in Ryton
Village recently - but just days away from
their much-anticipated gig and they are told it's
off. Who says they can't go ahead? Environmental
Health, that's who. Apparently the pub wants to
start up live music nights but have been shot down
in flames before they've even got going. Paul from
the band told me: 'I wouldn't mind but they
haven't even heard us!'
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorting
through Riffs archives (well, when you wake at 5am
you need something to fill in the time!) I noticed
another little gem that warrants an airing, so
without further ado here's Rough Justice
from July 2008 at the Princess Alice in
Middlesbrough . . .penned by yours truly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ONE
VISION
By all accounts Queen tribute
Qween knocked
'em dead at Birtley Buffs Club recently. Every single
ticket had been sold and the place was, as you can
well imagine, rammed to the rafters. Rob from the band
told Riffs: 'It was a great responsive
audience who really appreciated our live show
experience - Billy West, our lead singer, does
"Freddie" proud at every gig and sings all Queen
songs in copy key!' No doubt all the musos
reading this will know exactly what 'copy key' is.
Moving on: Rob has been elated at the response his
band has been getting since its inception and playing
to capacity crowds looks like the norm for this
quality ensemble. Their next gig is at Hebburn
Iona Social Club on Friday 12th July tickets
from the club (£6)-.
Did anyone video the
band at the gig that Riffs could link to?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twister at the
Academy: https://youtu.be/sh3AEUpWyFQ
Rock Solid: https://youtu.be/U8eBOJAF8_0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW THESE TOWNS
THEY ALL KNOW OUR NAME
Riffs
is forever hearing of venues closing and bands
splitting so how heartened are we to tell of a band
actually reforming?!! Yes, it's true. A big welcome
back to . . .
THE PAUL RODGERS STORY. It seems only five minutes ago that the
lads (well, I say 'lads' but the pedigree of these
mature guys is there for all to see/hear) were not
only belting out the most memorable tracks from Free, Bad Co., Queen
etc but they included Paul
Rodgers' foray into solo work too.
Not to mention Hendrix.
Gaining an envious reputation for reliablility and
quality musicianship throughout the North-East, it
was a blow to many when the band called it a day.
Guitarist Kenny told me: 'Since the band split up
we've had people asking us on a regular basis
what happend to the band and the enjoyment they
got from our gigs. A chance meeting between a
couple of us led to our reform, so by
popular demand we are back.'
Kenny continued: 'Because all the members are busy with
other bands we can only fit in a very few
gigs.'
Very few indeed, you'll be lucky to catch the band
once a month - but a trek worth taking.
Needless to say Riffs shows The Paul Rodgers Story
gigs on our Listings page but this is the current
list up to Christmas (Oh heavens - it's still June
and we've mentioned Christmas!!!!).
Thurs 4th July - The
Forum, Darlington cc
Sat 3rd Aug - Richmond
Live Festival (on stage at 4pm)
cc
Sun 15th Sept -
Rhythm & Blues Festival, Darlington (Hoskins
Bar at 6pm)
Thurs 28th Nov -
Trillians, Newcastle
Fri 20th Dec - Cleveland
Bay, Eaglescliffe
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
HARTLEPOOL
CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF
WISHBONE ASH
 Another
short notice gig just come to
Riffs attention is this Sunday (23rd)
at Hartlepool Supporters Club [5pm £4.00];
The venue is celebrating the 50-year anniversay of
the great Wishbone Ash.
Performed by The Flying Vs, Jeff
from the band told Riffs: 'It's one of a
series of gigs we will perform this year. We will be
joined by Dave Barnes from The
Test Pilots as our Ted Turner. Having
opened up for Wishbone Ash
and their fans in 2014 at Chesterfield Winding
Wheel, 2016 at The Grand Clitheroe and 2018 at The Y
Theatre Leicester, we're looking forward to playing
tracks from the early years Wishbone
Ash, Pilgrimage, Argus, Wishbone IV, New
England, and Strange Affair.'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Just found out about this all-dayer today - two
days before the event! Looks like their publicity
dept. is away on holiday . . . Anyway, thanks to American Girl
for keeping Riffs in the loop. Noticed there are
no band times on the poster but one time we do
know is that American Girl are due at 4.45pm. (and
they've missed an 'S' from Assassin!)
------------------------------------------------------------
Following on from
the unbelievable response I got from the last
two recent 'who is this band' pics. And I say
'unbelievable' because no-one - yes no-one -
emailed me! But am I saddened? [Well, yeah, just
a tad] but am I disheartened? [Well . . .] but
not to be deterred here is two more 'who the
fuck is this?' pics.................. any
ideas anyone? Anyone . . .?
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
https://youtu.be/jhUhw_J5ItE
------------------------------------------------------------------
True
to my word I've dug out these two pics of a young
band pictured at The Grand in Bishop Auckland
(possibly) way back when - so if anyone
knows who the band is, or when I took them (or why
I never labelled them properly) we can then put a
name to the band...
----------------------------------------------------------------
https://youtu.be/DkWRCv5HDjk
------------------------------------------------------------------
YES,
WE TAKE OUR OWN PHOTOS - ALWAYS HAVE
In
reply to a recent email we received: ALL photos
that accompany Riffs reviews (and indeed reviews
by The Seaham Silverback) are taken at the actual
gig - without exception. The reviews by myself and
Val all contained photographs that I took of the
band on that particular night. We do not snaffle
pics from other websites, Facebook or whatever to
enhance the review. If I ever use a photo in this
column (not the column on the right) for
illustrative purposes I always mensh that I nicked
it from somewhere else (other than if it was sent
directly to Riffs by the band/venue themselves).
Myself and Val always prided ourselves on
reviewing, photographing and writing the whole gig
ourselves. In fact, typing this has just reminded
me that I have scores (maybe hundreds) of
photographs that are unnamed and I may post some
on this column soon. Shame to have them gathering
dust.... I am trying to persuade Mr Silverback to
get armed with a camera so as to illustrate his
reviews with some exciting pics... I am working on
his review of
The 3 Colonels from last night
right now and should have it uploaded within a
couple of hours....
---------------------------------------------------------
Mucho gracias to Alan W from The Grand
in Bishop Auckland who recognised the single as 'Watcha Doin' To Me' by The Reds. Just
one more to go . . . this catchy little punk ditty
from the Seventies has bewildered me . . . does
anyone know who it is?
--------------------------------------------------------
HELP - I NEED SOMEBODY
Can anyone help me identify this
single . . . ?
------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it's that
time again - a look though Riffs' archives and see
what gems we have hidden away. How about a review of
Freeway from August 2008? You got it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a brief mensh for an upcoming gig at the Cluny 2
in Newcastle for 26th June when the Tom
Atkinson Band will be performing
there. Over a year since the lads performed at the
Cluny but they are all fired up for this upcoming gig.
Tom Atkinson - Guitar/Vocs; Paul Gowland -
Sax/Keys (Strictly Smokin’
Big Band); Stu Dawson - Bass (RJ Thompson, Preach Alaska);
Jeff Armstrong - Drums (Flakes,
Russ Tippins Band) include some
original music in their set along with covers of Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra,
King Crimson etc. Tickets are a fiver
and available from http://www.thecluny.com
I
did try to get a pic from Tom but, even though it
would paint a thousand words, words are all I have ('to
take your heart away').
..............................................................
BACK IN BUFFS
It's always
nice when something works out and
goes to plan - cos in life it most
often bastard well doesn't (what, me -
bitter?). So it was great to get an email from Robert from Heaton
Buffs concerning the BOSS gig from last
week. Not only was it a
virtual sell-out - just five
tickets left unsold [how's
that for honesty? He could
have quite easily told me it
was a sell-out] - but the lads
went down the proverbial
storm. I remember searching
Youtube for a video of the
band to highlight the gig
but found zilch (punk
band from the 70s I think)
but we can make up for it
now because kind ol'
Robert has sent me a link
to the very opening of the
band's set filmed live as
it happenerd
at the Buffs!
So
without further ado here is
BOSS just
seventeen years since
their last visit
at the Buffs - c'mon
lads let someone
else get a look in .
. .
------------------------------------------------------------
Bit of sadness for me last week -
lost a friend, a good supporter of
Rock. Introduced me to Rammstein
and Airbourne.
He was a great lover of German
lesser-known bands and I used to meet up
with him at Newcastle Arena,
or the Academy. A regular at
live pub gigs in
Redcar and was
a regular
at Dr. Browns in
Middlesbrough. Great
guy. He was given
the all clear for cancer
a few years ago and then
it
came back suddenly
just weeks ago with a
vengeance. Anyway Gaz,
here's Rammstein
for you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Listening to Rock on
internet radio today (which supports
the
age-old
question 'Why djs?')
and
on came Suzie Smiled
by Tygers of
Pan Tang and something
stirred deep inside
me, some distant memory of
reviewing that band many
moons ago.
A quick search of
Riffs archives and -
bingo! found it.
So, for your delectation
. . . (and yet again, I
mentioned the date [February
2], but not
the year, so if anyone
can help
out?....)
Wanna hear
what you missed? Suzie
Smiled
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to my throat
virus causing voice loss, my band Steeler can’t
play gig at Redcar Rugby Club tonight Sat 25-May -
Classic Rock covers band or similar is needed.
Contact Pete 07775922523.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Riffs has
just been informed that the gig at Heaton Buffs
this weekend - which we have down as
Boss (and I thought
was a Springsteen tribute) - is in fact a
rather special reunion of a band from the 90s.
As Robert from the club told Riffs: 'They were a
big deal on the club scene back in the 90s &
early 00s. They are doing a few one-off
shows with the original band line up; and of course
they are 100% live! We
have already sold 200 tickets, with only 50 left.'
Apparently, back in 2002, Boss did an outstanding
sell-out gig there and Robert is keen to duplicate
that success.
Check them out - and if
you fancy the gig - you've missed it!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
With
regards to the Riffs review of Phil Caisley's Dirty Dogs
featured below, Dave from the band has
been in touch to shed some light on exactly
when the gig took place and some info on what
has become of the band . . .
'The date of the review was the 12th February
2010. The Dirty Dogz
were in existence from 2009 until 2013 doing the north
east pub scene and the last gig was at Doctor Browns
in Middlesbrough on the 2nd November of that
year. Phil, in my opinion, is a great rock
singer and it was a good band although we were
certainly very punchy and could test the old ear drums
for volume. Keith John Dean on bass was replaced
by Ian Raine (played with DeeeXpus,
infinity, and lately, The Rising and
many others). The other guys are either not in
bands or between bands whereas I am working with my
brother in the ‘Graham
Henderson experience’.
To remind yourself of what we were like – here is a
link to a Youtube clip of us at the rock 4 All.
https://youtu.be/1LD2ouDwIKU
with keith on bass.
And here is a clip of my current band - (with
Ian Raine on Bass, now replaced by Duncan Sams).
https://youtu.be/u5ghYHhQvI4
Dave'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Another Riffs rave from the grave is featured below.
I know
it's from Feb 12th but Val never mentioned
which year! Possibly 2008. If
anyone has any better suggestions please
let me know . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want it, here it is, come
and get it
Here at Riffs I
love to give publicity to live Rock bands - even more so if it
happens to be their first gig. Can imagine
it's quite a traumatic event and a lot
rides on that debut gig. But I am
saddened, I must say, that although publicity at Riffs is entirely
free and I really don't expect anything back,
that this
offer is not taken up more readily.
On a couple of
recent occasions upon
hearing of an approaching
first gig I have asked for
more info - a little blurb
about the band and hopefully
a pic or two - and I hear
nothing. Zilch. Zero. Nought.
Nil. Zippo. I'm
not losing out, but I
suspect that the band
and indeed the venue
would benefit from a tad
of extra publicity . . .
just saying.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I'M ONLY HERE FOR THE BEER
 Saturday
11th May was Houghton annual beer festival, a
charity event organised by the round table running
for several decades now. I’ve been going along for
the last 5 years or so; nice venue in Houghton
Colliery Welfare club and a decent afternoon out
with mates. However, every year there’s what is
loosely described as “live music” and without
exception it is awful. Last year we offered to pay
the organisers whatever they’d paid the “singer” to
get him off (they declined). There’s usually about a
dozen of us, all guys I know from various venues
where we go to see bands who have varied tastes from
blues to thrash metal to country, we all agreed this
year’s offering was, once again, abysmal. The band
was advertised as “an experienced function band”
doing stuff from Adele, Ed
Sheeran, Kings of Leon, Elvis, Buddy Holly Michael
Buble and Pharrell
Williams; half the stuff wasn’t
recognisable until half way through the song, the
instruments were out of tune and the singer couldn’t
carry a tune in a bucket. If the organisers read
this, get artists who can sing and/or play; Russ Tippins or Tempest would bring
people in, you’re close to driving people away.
Now, it
was a charity event and the band may have agreed
to play for free in which case they were worth the
money. Do I name and shame them? Houghton
Beer Festival 2019 afternoon session, will bring
up an answer, but the hope is that the organisers
will read this and either not bother with live
music on afternoons OR book someone who will
attract punters, not alienate them.
The
Seaham Silverback
--------------------------------------------------
The NE Street Band,
playing iconic songs from Bruce
Springsteen and The E Street Band
debuted at The Old Fox in Felling just
recently and we have added a link to some footage
here (only phone footage).
The band's website: https://www.nestreetband.co.uk
They are at the Amphitheatre in South Shields on
Thursday 6th June, 7pm-9pm for an evening of Bruce
Springsteen sounds, as part of the Summer Festival.
---------------------------------------------------------------
THE
PRIESTS OF THE TEMPLE OF ROCK
Bank holiday Monday gigs are a
gamble for venues, if it’s been a nice day and the
punters have been in the garden all day having a few
drinks, they tend to stay there, it’s also a school
night so folk tend to think better of going out.
However, The Force are one of those bands I’d walk barefoot
over broken glass to go and see regardless, they set a
standard that other bands in the North East aspire to
reach and Monday 6th May was no exception. An early
start gave an opportunity for those at work the
following day to get their 8 hours kip and it meant
the gear was pretty much in and checked by the time
the audience started coming in. There was a decent
turn out, but I was expecting the place to be rammed –
punters eh?
The
band opened with a couple of their own tracks before
setting off in a set that featured Rush quite
extensively with songs from Rainbow,
AC/DC, UFO, Montrose, Metallica, Scorpions and Thin Lizzy. It
would be wrong to try and pick out tracks that were
better than the others, because I didn’t hear a bum
note all evening and the sound was absolutely spot
on from the word go. The twin lead guitars in Thin
Lizzy’s “Emerald” were flawless, the guy I was sat
next to turned to look at me at the end of the track
and we were both thinking the same thing. Phil sat
down for “Bad Motor Scooter” with his Strat over his
knee and a bottleneck, first time I’ve seen him do
this, and it was excellent.
I’m
always staggered by the sheer professionalism of The
Force, I doubt there can be a Rock fan between the
Tees and the Tweed who hasn’t heard these guys, but
if you fall into that small number, get out and see
them, you’ll thank me.
The Seaham Silverback.
----------------------------------------------------
 SWEETS FOR MY SWEET . . .
The Sugar Bs
18-year reunion gig on march 30 at the Park Inn,
Hartlepool raised £700, split equally between Alice
House Hospice in Hartlepool and The Great North Air
Ambulance Service.
Details
can be found on Facebook here.
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Big Jug in Durham have ceased all live bands as of
now.
..........................................................................
New Plough Dipton have their annual
music festival on Sunday May 5 starting from 1.30pm
with finish 10pm; latest line up is as follows.
Details here
..........................................................................
LIGHTS, SMOKE, AND ROCK 'N' ROLL
I’ve been following Rock
Solid for over ten years now and
always look forward to every show, the gig in Houghton
Glendale was a welcome spot; right on the
doorstep. I saw them about January and since then
they’ve invested in a completely new LED lighting rig
with fancy rotating spots etc. On a night when the
condensation was running down the walls, the lack of a
few KW of heat from PAR cans was welcome for all
concerned. The Solids have used smoke machines for
years but they must have put new batteries in the
current model - the stage was like a war zone all
night. Our musical tastes are as varied as we are but
the Solid’s set-list dovetails in with my
predilections perfectly, kicking off with a couple of
Priest tracks then
running through AC/DC, Saxon,
Maiden, Purple, Rainbow, Ozzy and Rush - what’s not to
like?
One
of the reasons Rock Solid are so well received
has got to be their interaction with their audiences,
the guys always have time for a few words both on and
off the stage. Last night’s gig was their first in the
Glendale for 8 years (apparently) and there’s another
one in the pipeline for December this year, the room
was full and the club was selling beer like it was
going out of fashion. The crowd loved them and the
band gave every impression they were having a good
time. Events like this keep the Rock scene in the
North East vibrant, everyone’s coming away from the
night happy. Long live Rock`n` Roll!
The Seaham Silverback
On a personal
note, myself (Nige) and Val have always rated Rock
Solid as one of the best rock acts in the North-East
music scene but, alas, have not had the pleasure in
quite a few years, so it really pleased me to read the
Silverback's review to know not only that the lads are
still going strong after so many moons, but also that
they actually seem to be improving. But as Val has
said on numerous occasions: 'When
you've got it, you've got it'.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can't beat quality pie
 The Three Tuns
Gateshead hosts its 14th
International Pie Festival between
2nd May and 6th May.
Over 2000 pies, 100 varieties
including Veggie and Vegan options all served with
creamy mash, mushy peas and special house gravy £3.50.
Live music from Prism Pink
Floyd, The Grumpies, Wham Bam Thank You Mam,
The Russ Tippins Trio and The Beetles.
--------------------------------------------
'Probably
one of the most entertaining
nights I’d had this year'
It was grab-a-granny night down
in Houghton
Sports & Social on 20th
April with a 60s tribute band called FAB gracing the stage (No,
I’d never heard of them either). It had been a
scorching day so the wife and I headed down there
early to re-hydrate ourselves and the car park was
filling rapidly. Walking through the doors at 7.30 we
got one of the last tables available, clearly some
people knew something we didn’t. Bearing in mind we’re
both over 60, our presence lowered the average age of
the crowd which rather put me off, but I was thirsty
and I’d paid my entrance money, so sod it – we stayed.
The band gave a nod to the appearance of the bands of
the 60s era with suits, and even ties in the first
set, the Hofner violin bass a salute to Paul McCartney and the
numerous Beatles
tracks scattered through the set. Now the band weren’t
the best musicians or singers I’ve heard (but I’ve
heard a LOT worse) but they grabbed the crowd by the
scruff of the neck and shook them all night long. Any
empty space was filled with folk on their feet and
dancing almost from the off, tracks from The Beatles, Roy Orbison, The
Searchers, Swinging Blue Jeans, The Hollies and
Gerry and the Pacemakers
with the obligatory Ferry across the Mersey. It was
probably one of the most entertaining nights I’d had
this year.
If you’re looking for a band to span a big age group
or just for a fun party, I can’t recommend these guys
highly enough. [PS, my photos turned out crap. I
nicked this shot from the band’s Facebook page, I
can’t credit the photographer by name, so please
excuse the liberty].
The Seaham Silverback
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CROOKFEST
2019 - MAY 5
 Crookfest is a annual may bank holiday rock music
festival held in the County Durham market town of
Crook with a variety rock styles performed by
cover/tribute bands across 3 stages inside large
marquees. The event takes place on Sunday 5th May 2019 in
the Millfield ground home of Crook Town AFC from noon
untill 11pm along with food and beer stalls a-plenty.
www.crookfest.co.uk
Rock Bands... Coda a Tribute to Led
Zeppelin, AC/DC-GB, Mane
Attraction, Circa69, Tubesnake, Edenthorn.
Punk Reggae
Ska... The Marley
Experience, The Sex Pistols Experience, Skapones,
Panic Report, The Me Mes, The Anarchists.
Indie Mod
80-90s... Revolver, ZEN, The
Baggy Mondays, Deeper Season, The Thieves,
Collaborators.
--------------------------------------------
Tempest in
Houghton
I must confess I’ve never been a big fan of artists
who use backing tracks - with the exception of
Russ Tippins -
they all seemed to lack the spontaneity of a full
line up. So when some friends recommended I go see a
duet called Tempest
featuring a guy on guitar with backing tracks and a
lass on vocals I was hesitant to say the least. I
couldn’t have been more wrong; Kaz & Ritchie are
2 of the nicest people you could want to meet and
deliver a widely varied set that has never failed to
impress.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Just
heard, courtesy of Alan Fizzyfish, that the Ship
Inn, Richmond has closed - whether temp or
permanent is unknown - so any bands with a
gig there will need to look elsewhere.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Glendale
Rock nights are going down really well, the place
was packed and there was a good friendly atmosphere
in the place. I’d guess there was 80-ish in, punters
were coming in late and leaving as there were no
more seats, so the solution is going to be get there
early if you intend to go to a gig there. I’ve been
following Lock n Load
for a couple of years, I first saw them at beer
festival since when the line-up has gone through a
couple of changes. Dave, the current singer was
originally on drums and they had a girl on vocals
with legs up to her armpits, I’ve got to say she was
easier on the eye than Dave, but Dave’s vocals suit
the current set list down to a tee.
 Kicking
off with “Tie your mother down” they ran through
tracks from Whitesnake,
AC/DC, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top and Zeppelin in the
first set alone. Journey’s
“Separate ways” was always going to stretch the old
vocal chords and we’ve all heard it murdered on
numerous occasions but the band pulled it off like
it was another day in the office.
Now I’m regularly accused of being proper OCD
about the sound, balance and levels but I couldn’t
find fault with any of that from the word go, I was
much impressed with the guitar sound in particular
that captured Brian May’s tone for the opening Queen number, to Billy Gibbons choppy
fuzz, Bryan Adams
jangly intro on “Run to you” and Gary Moore’s
mournful sustain on “Still got the blues”. All from
1 guitar. Respect.
The band are a mix of ages, so some of the set
was written before they were born; now as an aging
rocker I applaud this tribute to the music I love,
but feel slightly sad that little of any musical
value seems to have risen to the top for young bands
to play. The second set picked up where the first
had finished with a bit of
Bon Jovi then the band threw in
“Nellie the elephant” to a rapturous greeting before
some more Whitesnake, AC/DC, Billy Idol and G&R
before finishing the night with “The Hunter” –
always gonna go down well in Houghton. A cracking
night all round, the band were happy, everybody I
spoke to had a great time and the club sold lots of
beer. Next up “The Force” on 29th of this month.
The Seaham SIlverback
----------------------------------------------------------------
 Steve Hutchinson
from South Shields has recently re-joined CLASSIC CLAPTON on
keyboards & backing vocals.
He was a member of Animals
2 for 6 years during the 1990s
alongside original members Hilton Valentine &
John Steel.
Currently he performs with heritage band Animals 3 and
also UK Legends.
He previously played with Classic Clapton from
2003 - 2005.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like there is yet
another change of management and booking agent at
The Maggie Bank and all bands booked
by the previous team are once again cancelled. If
bands think they are playing there they should get
in touch with the pub to clarify the situation.
---------------------------------------------------------------
I
AIN'T AFRAID OF NO GHOSTS
That
little birdie that told Riffs what a crackin'
gig awaited anyone partaking of ghostly
goings-on at the Glendale last Friday has, we
are cock-a-hoop to say, put his money where his
mouth is [or should we say 'beak']. He not only
popped in to said establishment with some mates
but was good enough to write a quick appraisal
of the gig and sent it in to Riffs. So, without
further ado . . .
'Last
Friday we went to see The Ghost Band at Houghton Glendale WMC.
For me this was a much anticipated gig, I’d
seen them at Philadelphia beer festival last
year playing a brief set and I was much
impressed by their choice of Blues/Rock and
the level of musicianship. Last night built on
that first impression as the band ran through
tracks from
Hendrix, Gary Moore, Jeff Healey, Tom
Petty, John Mayall and Free among
others. The guys I’d brought with me hadn’t
seen the band before and were captivated by
the whole show. In fact the entire evening
should have been videoed and distributed to
all bands in the region; 3 guys who aren’t
exactly in the first flush of youth had all
their gear brought in, connected and checked
in 20 minutes.
The sound check took literally 5 – 10
minutes and was spot on throughout the night. A
far cry from other bands I’ve seen recently who
spent 75 minutes on a sound check and the sound
was shite when they’d done, it took the “sound
engineer” all the first set to get it somewhere
near, even walking around with an iPad. What’s
the point of all those hours of practice if you
sound like you’re playing inside a spin dryer?
I’m sure we’ve all sat through 45 minutes of
fretboard masturbation turned up to 11. Watch
the Ghost Band and see how it’s done.
Climbing
off my high horse, I can recommend the Ghost
Band to anyone who appreciates good music played
well with the minimum distraction and gobshitery
between numbers.'
The
Seaham Silverback.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Stormy
Phil that the Ship Inn at Benton is
now closed.
-------------------------------------------------------------
NURSES TO
WALK THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
 As
someone who has seen first-hand the absolutely
wonderful and caring work our beloved Nurses
do (and the amount of piss that Hunt Jeremy
takes) I have no hesitation in giving a big
shout out to the Valentines Night gig at
The Alexandra in
Grangetown,
Sunderland.
The palliative care nurses working in St
Benedicts Hospice in Sunderland are
walking the Great Wall of China - yes, they
are going to walk along the Great Wall of
China!!) to raise funds for St Benedicts
Hospice Charity.
Tickets are £6 available from The Alex, the
Hospice or just turn up on
the night and splash cash on the door. Please pop along and help
these wonderful people - oh, nearly forgot -
there's a jam-packed evening of live music
too!!!
The Wolcott Band
Exit Left
Joanne Wallace
Steve Ayther
----------------------------------------------------------------
GHOSTS
AT THE GLENDALE
A little birdie tells Riffs what a cracking little venue Glendale
Social Club in Houghton le Spring is, and
what a great night it should be this Friday when
The Ghost Band take to the stage. Birdie Dave goes
on to say: 'The
club have bands on every 2nd & 4th Friday
of the month. Normally no cover charge, cheap
beer and a nice clean club with loads of free
parking. It’s on the bus route too for those
who use public transport although I’m not sure
what time the local buses stop running. I’m just an interested punter
and have nothing to do with the club, but I
like to encourage and support anyone who is
prepared to get stuck in.'
----------------------------------------------------------------
CONSPIRACY
TO ROCK
 If you like your rock of the
hard and heavy variety check out Conspiracy Theory; a
new band making inroads into the north east
rock and metal scene. If you’re a bit
tired of seeing too many rock bands playing
the same old stuff, CT’s intention is to
do the songs that no-one else does. And that
doesn’t mean obscure material you’ve
never heard of, if you’re into rock and metal
you’ll know everything they do. From Rainbow to Dio, Whitesnake
to Purple, Maiden
to Priest, Uriah Heep
to Rush
or the guitar greats such as Schenker or Moore, you
won’t forget them in a hurry. With stellar
musicianship from highly experienced players
having cut their teeth in bands such as PowerAge, Ministry of
Rock, Black Rose and On The Rocks
you’re bound to have a night to remember. You
can catch them at Trillians, Newcastle
on Friday 22nd February, The Penny
Gill, Spennymoor Sunday 3rd March,
Acklam Steelies Club, Middlesbrough
Saturday 9th March or the Big Jug,
Durham on Friday 15th March.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOYS IN ACTION . . .
 One of the most enjoyable
things I like to do is to announce the birth
of a new band, and if they are a Rock band
with pedigree then space on Riffs is a must.
So without further ado let me announce . . .
STARZ,
who are a new rock covers band and include three of
the north east's top musicians who have decided to
play some songs that were a little different from
'the usual stuff'. The band features members from
bands such as Pistoleros,
Bryan Adams Experience, Black Rose (not
the TL one), The
Paul Rodgers Story, Stoneheart, American Girl
to name a few and are all well known throughout the
north east for putting on a great show. The set list
includes classic and modern punk rock (Sex Pistols/Green Day
etc), glam rock (T Rex /
Bowie etc), heavy rock (Motley Crue / Marilyn Manson
etc) soft rock (Van Halen /
The Cult etc) pop (Dead or Alive / Kinks
etc) plus plenty of great songs for those that want
to dance and some surprises including rock versions
of songs by Gary Numan
and the Bee Gees.
The band start gigging this month and you can
check them out here -
Sunday 13th - Vigilant Inn, South
Shields (7pm)
Saturday 19th - Holey Molies,
Skelton, Teesside
Sunday 20th - Times Inn, Seaham
Thursday 31st - Osbournes, Yarm
The full list of all Starz
gigs are on Riffs Gig Listings page, but for more
info about the band go to http:www.starzrock.co.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Riding On The Crest Of
The New Wave fitted no-one better than Lene Lovich
who this year is celebrating the 40th
anniversary of ‘Stateless’, her debut album,
featuring cult hit 'Lucky
Number' by touring the UK in March 2019 and
is set to appear at Newcastle Riverside on the 8th
of March. The song was originally a 'b' side to 'I
Think We're Alone Now' but was reissued as an 'a'
side by Stiff in '79. Before joining Stiff Records (The
Damned, Devo, Ian Dury, etc), her early work
included performing in cabaret clubs as a London
go-go dancer, voice-over work recording screams
for Hammer Film Productions, and being the
lyricist for French disco artist Marc Cerrone
(including penning the sci-fi dance hit
‘Supernature’). Riffs has no further details
regarding the gig as yet.....
Now let's see if I can still fit into my old
'If It Ain't Stiff . . .' t-shirt....
|
CELEBRATING ROCK AND METAL:
Factoid: Queen
holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running rock
group fan club. All other clubs have bit the dust.
This week in .
. .
1970 - Billed
as David
Bowie's New Electric Band
(so new they haven't got a
name yet), played at the
Basildon Arts Lab experimental
music club at the Basildon
Arts Centre in Essex. Also on
the bill were High
Tide, Overson
and Iron
Butterfly.
1970 - In an interview with
the New Musical Express, Fleetwood
Mac's Peter Green
talked about his plans to give
all his money away. The
following year Green
confronted his accountant with
a gun after he sent him an
unwanted royalty check. The
guitarist went to jail briefly
before being transferred to an
asylum and was committed to a
mental hospital in 1973. He
re-launched his career in the
90s.
1970 - Led
Zeppelin played
a gig in Copenhagen as The Nobs
after Eva Von Zeppelin a
relative of the airship
designer threatened to sue if
the family name was used in
Denmark.
1985 - David
Byron, singer
with Uriah
Heep died from
an epileptic fit and liver
disease aged 38. Byron was the
original singer of the band
between 1969 and 1976 and
gained a reputation with his
operatic vocals and harmonies
as one of the world's best
rock vocalists and frontmen.
2005 - Chris
Curtis, drummer
with The
Searchers died
aged 63 after a long illness.
The searchers scored the 1964
No.1 single 'Needles And
Pins'.
2008 - Drummer Buddy
Miles, who
played with Jimi
Hendrix in his
last regular group, Band of
Gypsys, died
aged 60 at his home in Austin,
Texas after struggling with a
long-term illness. Born George
Allen Miles in Omaha,
Nebraska, Buddy's nickname was
a tribute to his idol, jazz
drummer
Buddy Rich.
Rich also played with The
Delfonics, The Ink Spots,
Wilson Pickett, Electric
Flag, Stevie Wonder, David
Bowie, Muddy Waters
and Barry
White. In the
1980s, he achieved a certain
amount of notoriety in the US
as the vocalist on the
celebrated claymation
California Raisins
commercials.
1967 - Pink
Floyd continued
working on their debut album The
Piper At The Gates Of Dawn at
Abbey Road Studios, London. With
the exception of two
group-composed instrumentals and
one Roger Waters song, the album
was written entirely by Syd Barrett.
1968 - 25 year old Frankie
Lymon, lead
singer of
The Teenagers,
died of a heroin overdose in his
grandmother's New York home.
Lymon was on leave from a
Georgia Army post at the time
and was scheduled to record for
Roulette Records the next day.
He first hit the national charts
in 1956 when he was just 13 with
'Why Do Fools Fall in Love'.
1971 - Five months after her
death, Janis
Joplin started a
nine-week run at No.1 on the US
album chart with her second and
final solo studio album Pearl.
Joplin sang on all tracks except
'Buried Alive in the Blues',
which remained a Full Tilt
Boogie instrumental because she
died before adding her vocals.
1972 - Led
Zeppelin appeared
at Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney in
Australia, over 25,000 fans
attending the show. Jimmy Page
appeared clean shaven having
shaved off the beard he had
grown since the summer of 1970.
2019 - English drummer Doug
Sandom died one
day after his 89th birthday. He
was the original drummer for The Who.
No recordings with Sandom
playing with the band were ever
released.
1965 -
Jimmy Page released
a solo single called 'She Just
Satisfies' in the UK. Page played
all the instruments on it except
for the drums, and produced the
track, as well as singing lead
vocals.
1969 - Peter
Sarstedt started a
four week run at No.1 on the
singles chart with 'Where Do You
Go To My Lovely?' Some say the
song was written about the Italian
star Sophia Loren, but Peter
Sarstedt has stated he wrote the
song about a girl he fell madly in
love with in Vienna in 1965, who
later died in a hotel fire.
1979 - During a court case between
the Sex
Pistols and their
manager Malcolm
McLaren it was
revealed that only £30,000 was
left of the £800,000 the band had
earned.
1997 - American songwriter Ben Raleigh
died in a fire in his kitchen
after setting fire to his bathrobe
while cooking. He co-wrote 'Scooby
Doo Where Are You' and 'Tell Laura
I Love Her.'
2014 - Tim
Lambesis, the
singer for US metal band As I Lay
Dying, pleaded
guilty to attempting to hire an
undercover agent to murder his
estranged wife. He was arrested in
May 2013 after prosecutors said he
met a sheriff's deputy posing as a
hit man, called Red, and handed
over $1,000 (£600) along with his
wife's address and front door
security code.
2019 - English drummer Andy
Anderson died of
cancer aged 68. He is best known
for his work with The Cure
playing on the singles ‘Love Cats’
and ‘The Caterpillar’. He also
worked with many other artists
including Steve
Hillage, Edwyn Collins, Mike
Oldfield, The Gun Club
and Peter
Gabriel.
1957 -
Buddy Holly recorded
a new version of 'That'll Be The
Day', at Norman Petty Recording
Studio in Clovis, New Mexico. The
title being taken from a phrase used
by John Wayne in the film 'The
Searchers.'
1972 - Led
Zeppelin appeared in
front of over 25,000 fans at the
Western Springs Stadium, Auckland,
New Zealand, the group's first ever
gig in New Zealand (and the largest
crowd ever to attend a concert on
the island). A special train was
chartered from Wellington to bring
fans to the concert. News reviews
the next day reported the band could
be heard over five miles from the
Stadium.
1977 - The
Jam signed to Polydor
Records UK for £6,000. They went on
to have 18 consecutive Top 40
singles, from their debut in 1977 to
their break-up in December 1982,
including four No.1 hits. As of
2007, 'That's Entertainment' and
'Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?'
remained the best-selling import
singles of all time in the UK.
1989 - Simple
Minds were at No.1 on
the singles chart with 'Belfast
Child.' At 6 minutes 39 seconds it
became the second-longest running
No.1 after The
Beatles ‘Hey Jude’.
2011 -
Susan 'Suze' Rotolo
died from lung cancer. She was the
one time girlfriend of Bob Dylan,
and the inspiration of some of his
early songs. Susan appeared in one
of the decade's signature images,
walking with Dylan arm-in-arm for
the cover photo of his breakthrough
album Freewheelin Bob Dylan.
2019 - British publicist and talent
manager Kenneth
Pitt died age 96. He
managed the career of musicians
including David
Bowie in the late
1960s (Pitt managed Bowie at the
time of his first hit, ‘Space
Oddity’ in 1969), and was
responsible for publicising American
musicians and bands touring the UK,
including Frank
Sinatra, Duke Ellington
and Jerry
Lee Lewis.
1963 - The
Rolling Stones started
a Sunday night residency at The
Station Hotel, Richmond, Surrey. The
Stones were paid £24 for the gig and
played on the first night to a total
of 66 people. £24 from 1963 would be
worth £392, adjusted for inflation.
1975 - Led
Zeppelin released their
sixth album Physical Graffiti.
Recording sessions had been disrupted
when bassist and keyboard player John
Paul Jones had proposed quitting the
band. The group decided on a double
album so they could feature songs left
over from their previous albums Led
Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV and
Houses Of The Holy.
1982 - The
Police won best British
group at the first annual Brit Awards
held in London, Adam
And The Ants won best
album for 'Kings Of The Wild
Frontier', Cliff
Richard won British
Male Solo Artist, Randy Crawford
won British Female Solo Artist,
British Breakthrough Act went to The Human League,
British Producer was Martin Rushent
and Outstanding Contribution went to John Lennon.
Week Commencing
February 17
1940 - Woody
Guthrie wrote the lyrics
to 'This Land Is Your Land' in his room
at the Hanover House Hotel in New York
City. The song was brought back to life
in the 1960s, when several artists of
the new folk movement, including Bob Dylan, The
Kingston Trio, Trini Lopez, Jay and
the Americans, and The New Christy
Minstrels all recorded
versions, inspired by its political
message.
1972 - After nearly five years of
marriage, Priscilla
Presley moved out of Elvis Presley's
California home and into a two bedroom
apartment near the Pacific Ocean. Their
divorce would be finalized on October 9,
1973, with Priscilla being awarded an
outright cash payment of $725,000 as
well as spousal support, child support,
5% of Elvis' new publishing companies
and half the income from the sale of
their Beverly Hills home.
1974 - 'Rebel Rebel' by David Bowie
entered the chart, the single reached
No.5 the following month. Originally
written for an aborted Ziggy Stardust
musical in late 1973, 'Rebel Rebel' was
Bowie's last single in the glam rock
style that had been his trademark. It
was also his first hit since 1969 not to
feature lead guitarist Mick Ronson;
Bowie himself played guitar on this
track.
1974 - Suzi
Quatro was at No.1 on the
singles chart with 'Devil Gate Drive',
the singers second No.1 and fourth No.1
for the songs writers Chinn &
Chapman.
1980 - U2
appeared at The Moonlight Club, at The
Railway Hotel in London, tickets cost
£2.
2003 - Norah
Jones cleaned up at the
45th Grammy Awards, held at Madison
Square Garden, New York. The singer,
songwriter won, Album of the year and
Record of the year, with 'Don't Know
Why.' Song of the year, Best new artist
and Best female pop vocal for 'Don't
Know Why'. Other winners included Best
male pop vocal, John
Mayer, 'Our Body Is A
Wonderland'. Best male rock vocal, Bruce Springsteen,
'The Rising', Best female rock vocal, Sheryl Crow,
'Steve McQueen', Best rock performance
by group, Coldplay
'In My Place', Best rap album, Eminem,
'The Eminem Show'.
1970 - Appearing at The Roundhouse Spring
Festival in Camden, David
Bowie and the Hype (their
first live performance of the new band),
along with Bachdenkel,
Groundhog and Caravan.
1975 - Scottish group The Average White
Band went to No.1 on the US
singles chart with 'Pick Up The Pieces',
the bands album AWB also went to No.1 on
the US chart.
1975 - Steve
Harley and Cockney Rebel
had their only No.1 single with 'Make Me
Smile (Come Up And See Me)'. Singer Steve
Harley said the lyrics were vindictively
directed at the former band members, whom
he felt had abandoned him.
1978 - The
Police appeared in a
Wrigley's Chewing Gum commercial for US
TV, the band dyed their hair blonde for
the appearance.
1981 - One Hit Wonder Joe Dolce
was at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Shaddap You Face,' famously keeping the
legendary
Ultravox song, Vienna, off
the No.1 slot. 'Shaddap You Face' was
Number 1 in 11 countries with over 35
different foreign language cover versions,
selling over 4 million copies.
1987 - Andy
Warhol, pop artist and
producer died after a gall bladder
operation. The founder of the Pop Art
movement, produced and managed the Velvet Underground,
designed the 1967 Velvet Underground And
Nico 'peeled banana' album cover and The Rolling Stones
Sticky Fingers album cover.
1989 - A category for Heavy Metal was
included at the Grammy Awards for the
first time. Metallica
performed on stage, but the award went to
Jethro Tull.
Many audience members booed. Meanwhile, Bobby McFerrin
won Record Of The Year and Song Of The
Year for 'Don't Worry, Be Happy', Tracy Chapman
is named Best New Artist and Tina Turner
won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for
'Tina Live in Europe'.
1992 - The NME printed their writers all
time best debut albums; at No.1, Patti Smith,
'Horses', No.2, Joy
Division, 'Unknown
Pleasures', No.3, MC5,
'Kick Out The Jams, No.4, The Jesus and Mary
Chain, 'Psychocandy' and
No.5, Television,
'Marquee Moon'.
2004 - The Sex
Pistols 'Anarchy in the UK'
was named the most influential record of
the 1970s in a poll compiled by Q
magazine. Queen's
'Bohemian Rhapsody' was voted into second
place and Donna
Summer's 'I Feel Love' was
third, T Rex
'Get It On' was fourth and Special AKA
'Gangsters' came fifth.
2012 - American singer, songwriter,
guitarist Billy
Strange died aged 81. As a
session musician with the famed Wrecking
Crew, he appeared on hit songs for Elvis Presley,
including 'A Little Less Conversation', Nancy and Frank
Sinatra's 'Somethin'
Stupid', played guitar on numerous Beach Boys
hits, including 'Sloop John B' and the Pet
Sounds album and worked with The Ventures, Willie
Nelson, The Everly Brothers, Wanda
Jackson, Randy Newman, and
Nat King Cole,
among others.
1961 - The Beatles
played three gigs in one day. The first was
a lunchtime show at The Cavern Club, then at
night they appeared at the Casanova Club,
Liverpool and then at Litherland Town Hall,
Liverpool.
1964 - New York band The
Echoes recruited a new young
unknown piano player named Billy Joel.
1964 - Three classic British singles were
released today (Friday), The Rolling Stones
'Not Fade Away' (reached No.3), The Hollies
'Just One Look' (No.2), and Billy J Kramer's
'Little Children' (No.1).
1967 - Pink Floyd
started their first sessions at the EMI
Studios, St. John's Wood, London on their
debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn,
working on the song 'Matilda Mother'. While
Pink Floyd were recording their album with
former Beatles
engineer Norman Smith, The Beatles
themselves were working in the studio next
door, recording 'Fixing A Hole' for their
Sgt. Pepper album. Micky
Dolenz from The Monkees
attended the mixing session during the day.
1972 - Led
Zeppelin released 'Rock And
Roll / Four Sticks' as a 7 inch single in
the US, peaking at No.47 on the chart. The
song was written as a spontaneous jam
session whilst the band were trying to
finish 'Four Sticks'. Drummer John Bonham
played the introduction to Little Richard's
'You Keep A-Knockin' and Page added a guitar
riff; with the tapes rolling the basic song
was finished fifteen minutes later.
1976 - Florence
Ballard of The Supremes
died of cardiac arrest, aged 32. Ballard had
left The Supremes in 1967, lost an $8
million (£4.7 million) lawsuit against
Motown Records and was living on welfare
when she died.
1986 - Metallica
released their third album, the highly
influential album, Master of Puppets,
considered by many in the metal community to
be the best metal album of all time. This
was the last Metallica album with bassist Cliff Burton
who was killed when the group's tour bus
over-turned in southern Sweden while touring
to promote the album.
2004 - Mud
singer Les Gray
died aged 57 of a heart attack whilst
fighting throat cancer (1974 No.1 single
'Tiger Feet' plus 14 other UK Top 40
singles').
2008 - A US music aficionado sold his
collection of more than three million vinyl
albums, singles and compact discs to an eBay
buyer from Ireland for just over $3 million.
An eBay spokeswoman said the sale was one of
the highest ever for the online auction
site.
2012 - Five members of the Russian feminist
punk rock group Pussy
Riot staged a performance on
the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ
the Savior where their actions were stopped
by church security officials. By that
evening they had turned the performance into
a music video entitled "Punk Prayer - Mother
of God, Chase Putin Away!" The women said
their protest was directed at the Orthodox
Church leader's support for Putin during his
election campaign. The following month three
of the group members were arrested and
charged with hooliganism and were held in
custody until their trial began in late July
when the three members were convicted of
"hooliganism motivated by religious hatred",
and each was sentenced to two years
imprisonment.
2014 - A statue of a weeping Kurt Cobain
was unveiled in Aberdeen, Washington - the
hometown of the late Nirvana
frontman. The statue, which
sees Cobain crying a single tear, is
situated in the Aberdeen Museum of History.
Kurt Cobain Day would now be celebrated
annually in the city of Aberdeen. On the
day, Mayor Bill Simpson recently read a
proclamation which stated: "Aberdeen
residents may justifiably take pride in
the role our community played in the life
of Kurt Cobain and the international
recognition our community has gained from
its connections with Kurt Cobain and his
artistic achievements."
2014 - A crew member working on a biopic
about Gregg Allman
died after being hit by a train during
filming. Police in south Georgia said the
woman was struck after the crew for Midnight
Rider placed a bed on the railway tracks in
Doctortown. Wayne County Sheriff John Carter
said several other people had been injured,
two of them seriously.
2019 -
American musician
Peter Tork
died age 77. He was
diagnosed with a rare
form of tongue cancer
in 2009. The
Monkees
were brought together
for an American sitcom
TV series in 1966.
Best known as the
keyboardist and bass
guitarist, they had
the 1967 No.1 single
'I'm A Believer' plus
other hits including
'Last Train to
Clarksville',
'Pleasant Valley
Sunday', and 'Daydream
Believer'.
1959 - 16 year old Jimi
Hendrix
made his stage debut
when he played a show at
the Temple De Hirsch
Sinai synagogue in
Seattle.
1980 -
AC/DC
singer Bon
Scott was
pronounced dead on
arrival at a London
hospital after a heavy
night's drinking. Scott
was found in the
passenger seat of a
friend's parked car. The
official coroner's
report stated that he
had "drunk himself to
death", after
suffocating on his own
vomit.
2003 - 100 people died
after pyrotechnics
ignited a club during a
gig by Great
White in
West Warwick, Rhode
Island. Great White
guitarist Ty
Longley
was also killed in the
accident. Two brothers
who owned the club were
charged, along with the
former tour manager with
involuntary
manslaughter. Foam
soundproofing material
at the edge of the stage
set alight and the blaze
spread quickly in the
one-storey wooden
building as fans all
tried to escape through
the same exit. Great
White began
a tour in July 2003 to
raise money for the
survivors and families
of victims.
2008 - A 1976 Rolling
Stones album
bought for £2 at a car
boot sale sold for
£4,000 at an auction.
The 'Black and Blue' LP
was signed by John
Lennon, Yoko Ono,
Paul and Linda
McCartney
and George
Harrison
as well as members of
the Rolling Stones. The
seller obtained the
album after haggling the
cost down from £3.
1964 - A British company
shipped ½ ton of
Beatle wigs
to the US. An American
reporter later asked John
Lennon, "How do you
feel about teenagers
imitating you with
Beatle wigs?" John
replied "They're not
imitating us because we
don't wear Beatle wigs."
1972 - Led
Zeppelin
appeared at the Memorial
Drive, Adelaide in
Australia. A local paper
who reviewed the show
printed: Singer Robin
Plant (sic) overcame
an 'Australian bug' in
his throat and broke
into his own in 'Black
Dog' and 'Stairway To
The Stars' (sic).
1977 - Manfred
Mann's Earth Band
scored a No.1 single in
the US with their version
of the Bruce
Springsteen
song 'Blinded By The
Light.' The track was the
first single from
Springsteen's 1973 debut
album Greetings from
Asbury Park N.J. The Earth
Band's version features
several changed lyrics.
The most prominent change
is in the chorus, where
Springsteen's "cut loose
like a deuce" is replaced
with "revved up like a
deuce."
1982 - Ozzy
Osbourne
was arrested in San
Antonio, Texas for
urinating on the cenotaph
at the Alamo, which honors
the Alamo defenders.
Osbourne was wearing a
dress at the time of his
arrest (due to his wife
Sharon hiding all his
clothes so he couldn't go
outside). Osbourne was
banned from ever playing
in San Antonio, Texas
again (a ban which was
lifted in 1992).
1995 - Motley
Crue drummer
Tommy
Lee married
Baywatch actress Pamela
Anderson on
a Cancun beach, Mexico,
the bride wore a white
bikini. Anderson and Lee
who married only four days
after meeting had
videotaped their sexual
activities while on
vacation which was later
stolen and released on the
Internet. After suing the
video company who released
the tape, the Lees entered
into a confidential
settlement agreement. The
couple divorced in 1998.
2004 - Johnny
Cash's
family blocked an attempt
by advertisers to use his
hit song 'Ring of Fire' to
promote haemorrhoid-relief
products. The idea is said
to have been backed by
Merle Kilgore, who
co-wrote the song with
Cash's wife, June Carter
Cash. Cash's daughter
Rosanne said the family
"would never allow the
song to be demeaned like
that."
2015 - Iron
Maiden
frontman Bruce
Dickinson
was being treated for
cancer after a small
cancerous tumour was found
at the back of his tongue.
1965 -
The Kinks
were at No.1 on the singles
chart with 'Tired Of Waiting
For You', the group's second
No.1. According to Ray
Davies, the music for 'Tired
of Waiting for You' was
written on the train to the
recording studio and the
words were written at a
coffee shop during a break
in the session.
1969 - Three thousand
uninvited guests showed up
to see Lulu
and The
Bee Gees Maurice
Gibb get
married at St. James'
Church, Gerrard's Cross.
Brother Barry was the best
man.
1972 - On their first
Australian tour, Led
Zeppelin
rescheduled to the following
night their concert at the
Memorial Drive, Adelaide,
after heavy rain left the
stage and equipment unsafe.
Zeppelin had brought to
Adelaide the largest PA
system seen in Australia to
produce what was expected to
be the loudest rock show
ever heard.
1990 - Freddie
Mercury made
his final public appearance
on stage when he joined the
rest of Queen
to collect the Brit Award
for Outstanding Contribution
to Music, held at the
Dominion Theatre, London.
2000 - An American court
ordered the release of FBI
files relating to John
Lennon's
interests and activities
including his support for
the Irish Republican cause
and the Workers
Revolutionary Party. The
British Government told the
US that it wanted the files
to remain secret. MI5 also
had files on Lennon, which
they had passed on the FBI
during the 70s.
1966 - Nancy
Sinatra was at
No.1 on the singles chart with
'These Boots Are Made For
Walking', Frank's eldest
daughters first No.1. Written
by Lee
Hazlewood,
Sinatra's recording of the
song was made with the help of
Los Angeles session musicians
known as the Wrecking Crew.
1975 - AC/DC
released their
debut album 'High Voltage'.
The album featured a cover of
'Baby, Please Don't Go' (Oz
pressing) a blues song first
recorded by Big Joe Williams
and 'She's Got Balls' which
was written about singer Bon Scott's
ex-wife Irene - the first
AC/DC song for which he wrote
lyrics.
1978 - Kate
Bush released
her debut studio album The
Kick Inside which contained
her number one hit, 'Wuthering
Heights' (marking the first
time a female
singer-songwriter topped the
charts with a self-penned
song). Bush was just 19 years
old and had written some of
the songs when she was only
13.
1979 - Blondie
scored their first No.1 album
when 'Parallel Lines' started
a four-week run at the top of
the charts, featuring the
singles 'Heart Of Glass',
'Hanging On The Telephone' and
'Sunday Girl.'
1989 - David
Coverdale
married actress Tawny Kitaen
(known for her provocative
appearances in Whitesnake's
music videos 'Here I Go Again,
'Is This Love' and 'Still of
the Night'). The couple
divorced in 1991.
2005 - A 1965 Fender
Stratocaster guitar belonging
to Jimi
Hendrix sold
for £100,000 at an auction in
London. Other Hendrix items
sold included a poem written
two weeks after his appearance
at the Monterey Pop Festival
which went for £10,000 and the
first
Jimi Hendrix Experience's
single 'Hey Joe', signed by
all the band sold for £2,000.
2014 - American musician and
sound engineer Bob
Casale, best
known as a guitarist and
keyboardist in the New Wave
band Devo,
died of heart failure in Los
Angeles, California. He
engineered the first solo
album for Police
guitarist Andy Summers.
Week
Commencing February 10
1972 - Led
Zeppelin made
their Australian live debut when
they kicked off a six-date tour
at the Subiaco Oval, Perth.
Police battled with over 500
fans who rammed locked gates
trying to get into the concert.
Over 4,000 fans stood outside
the venue without tickets and
local residents jammed police
phone lines to complain about
the noise.
1974 - Bob
Dylan started a
four week run at No.1 on the US
album chart with Planet Waves,
his first US No.1. The album was
originally set to be titled
Ceremonies Of The Horsemen, a
reference to the song 'Love
Minus Zero / No Limit', from the
1965 album 'Bringing It All Back
Home'. When Dylan decided to
change the title at the last
minute, the release was delayed
for two weeks.
1974 - Winners in the music
weekly Disc Readers Awards Poll;
Top UK group went to Slade,
Top musician Roy Wood,
David Bowie won
UK and World male singer, Top
single with 'Jean Genie' and
album with 'Aladdin Sane', Top
female singer was Lynsey De
Paul and
Brightest hope was David
Essex.
1982 - The
Jam were at No.1
on the singles chart with 'A
Town Called Malice', &
'Precious', their third No.1
spent three weeks at the top of
the chart.
2004 - Singer Doris Troy
died. She had been a session
singer with Dionne
Warwick, sang on Pink Floyd's
The Dark Side of the Moon and
released an album on The
Beatles Apple
label. She had also had a 1964
No.37 single with 'Whatcha Gonna
Do About It' and a 1963 US No.
10 hit 'Just One Look'. She sang
back-up for many acts including
The
Rolling Stones
(‘You Can't Always Get What You
Want’), Carly
Simon's ('You're
So Vain'), and George
Harrison (‘My
Sweet Lord’).
2005 - Yusuf
Islam, formerly Cat Stevens
was awarded substantial damages
from The Sunday Times and The
Sun, after they had printed
articles alleging he was
involved in terrorism. Both
newspapers apologized to the 56
year old musician for the "false
and highly defamatory
allegations." The papers also
paid his legal bills and pledged
not to repeat the allegations.
The money awarded was given to
Tsunami relief projects.
1968 -
John and Cynthia Lennon,
along with
George and Patti Harrison,
flew to India to study meditation
with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Paul
and Ringo joined them a few days
later, but Starr would become
bored and leave on March 1st,
comparing the experience to be
like a 'Butlins holiday camp.'
Much of the Beatles' The White
Album was written during their
stay.
1977 -
Glen Matlock was
fired as bass player from the Sex Pistols,
being replaced by Sid Vicious.
Matlock rejoined in the 90s when
the Pistols reformed.
1991 - Kelly Emberg the
ex-girlfriend of Rod Stewart
filed a $25 million (£14.7
million) palimony suit in Los
Angeles. The couple lived together
from 1985 to 1990. Stewart later
said: "Instead of getting
married again, I'm going to find
a woman I don't like and just
give her a house."
2008 - A flat once rented by The Beatles
in London went up for sale for
£1.75m. The band shared the
three-bedroom top floor property
in Green Street, Mayfair in the
autumn of 1963. A publicity photo
of the Fab Four peering over a
banister, used as the cover for
the December 1963 edition of The
Beatles Book, was taken at the top
of the property's communal
stairwell.
1968 -
Manfred Mann were at
No.1 on the singles chart with their
version of the Bob Dylan
song 'The Mighty Quinn'. Dylan
recorded the song in 1967 during the
Basement Tapes sessions, but did not
release a version for another three
years.
1970 - The
Who appeared at Leeds
University. The show was recorded
for the bands forthcoming 'Live At
Leeds' album. Since its initial
reception, Live at Leeds has been
cited by several music critics as
the best live rock recording of all
time. The University of Leeds
refectory has now been named a
national landmark in the UK,
commemorated with a blue plaque.
1984 - Elton
John married
recording engineer Renate Blauer in
Sydney, Australia. Rod Stewart
and Olivia
Newton-John were
among the guests. The couple stayed
together for four years, although
John later admitted he knew he was
homosexual before the marriage.
1986 -
Frank Zappa appeared
on an episode of the television
series Miami Vice. Zappa portrayed a
crime boss named 'Mr. Frankie.'
1989 - English keyboardist Vincent Crane
died from a deliberate overdose of
Anadin tablets aged 45. He was a
member of
The Crazy world of Arthur Brown,
who had the 1968 No.1 single 'Fire',
and Atomic
Rooster (with
drummer
Carl Palmer later of
Emerson,
Lake & Palmer).
Atomic Rooster enjoyed success in
1971 with two hit singles, ‘Tomorrow
Night’ and ‘Devil's Answer’.
2002 - English drummer and singer Mick Tucker
with glam rock band Sweet
died of leukaemia aged 54. Sweet had
the 1973 No.1 single 'Blockbuster',
plus 14 other UK Top 40 singles. He
was a founding member of the band Sweetshop
- shortened to "The Sweet" in 1968.
2004 - Dave
Holland, former
drummer with Judas
Priest, was jailed
for eight years for indecent assault
and the attempted rape of a 17-year
old boy. The youth, who had learning
difficulties, had been taking drum
lessons from Holland.
2005 - Kerrang! magazine announced
the results of its readers’ poll for
the best British rock albums ever.
The Top 10 were: No.1, Black Sabbath;
No.2, Iron
Maiden’s Number Of
The Beast.
Sex Pistols’ Never
Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex
Pistols; No. 4, Led Zeppelin IV;
No.5, Black
Sabbath’s Paranoid;
No.6, Muse’s
Absolution; No.7, The Clash's
London Calling; No.8, Queen’s
Sheer Heart Attack; No.9, Iron Maiden
and No.10, Manic
Street Preachers’ The
Holy Bible.
2010 - American
singer-songwriter-musician Doug Fieger
died after a long battle with
cancer. He was the rhythm guitarist
and lead vocalist of The Knack,
and co-wrote 'My Sharona', the
biggest hit song of 1979 in the USA,
and was Capitol Records' fastest
gold status debut single since the Beatles'
'I Want to Hold Your Hand' in 1964.
When Fieger was 25, he met
17-year-old Sharona Alperin, who he
wrote the song for, as well as later
becoming Fieger's girlfriend for the
next four years.
1967 - 15 police officers raided
Redlands the West Sussex home of Rolling Stone
Keith Richards during a
weekend party. The police, who were
armed with a warrant issued under the
dangerous drugs act, took away various
substances for forensic tests. George
and Pattie Harrison had been at the
house, but it was said that the police
waited for them to leave before they
raided the house in order not to bust
the holder of an MBE.
1969 - '(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice'
by Amen
Corner was at No.1 on
the singles chart, the group's only UK
No.1. The song was first offered to The Tremeloes
as a potential single, who rejected
it.
1970 - John
Lennon performed
'Instant Karma!' on Top Of The Pops,
becoming the first Beatle to have
appeared on the show since 1966.
Lennon wrote, recorded, and mixed his
new single all in one day. It ranks as
one of the fastest-released songs in
pop music history. Lennon later
stated, "I wrote it for breakfast,
recorded it for lunch, and we're
putting it out for dinner."
1977 - The
Police recorded
their first single, 'Fall Out' for
£150 at Pathway Studios, London.
1977 - Blondie,
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
and the
Ramones all appeared at
the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles,
California.
2003 - Former Doors
drummer John
Densmore took out legal
action against The Doors keyboard
player Ray
Manzarek and guitarist
Robby Krieger
for breach of contract,
trademark infringement and unfair
competition. The band had reformed
with Ex-Cult
singer Ian
Astbury and former Police
drummer
Stewart Copeland.
Densmore said "It shouldn't be
called The Doors if it's someone
other than Jim Morrison singing."
2005 - The Class 47 locomotive 47828
was named after Clash
frontman Joe
Strummer at a ceremony
in Bristol. The diesel engine, owned
by Cotswold Rail, was named after the
singer/guitarist who died, aged 50, in
2002.
2014 - It was reported that Rock
music overtook pop in UK album sales
during 2013, winning a bigger share of
the market for the first time in five
years. Rod
Stewart's Time was the
best-selling album to be classified as
rock by the Official Charts Company,
followed by Arctic
Monkeys and Bastille.
In total rock accounted for 33.8% of
album sales, compared with 31% for
pop, said industry body the BPI.
However, pop records still held the
lead in single sales.
2015 - Welsh singer Steve Strange
(born Steven Harrington) lead singer
of Eighties pop band Visage,
died aged 55 following a heart attack
in hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
His band formed in 1979 (with Rusty
Egan and Midge Ure from Rich Kids,
Billy Currie from
Ultravox, and Barry
Adamson, John McGeoch and Dave Formula
from Magazine),
and their breakthrough single, 'Fade
To Grey', peaked at No.8 in 1981.
Strange appeared in the video for David Bowie's
No.1 hit ‘Ashes to Ashes’.
1963 - In less than ten hours, The Beatles
record ten new songs for their first
album plus four other tracks which would
be the next two singles. John Lennon's
vocal on The
Isley Brothers 'Twist
& Shout' was recorded in one take to
complete the album.
1973 - A local charity raised over £500
selling bedsheets and pillowcases used
by The Rolling
Stones after a show at
Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New
Zealand.
1985 - The
Police won Outstanding
Contribution to British music at the
fourth annual Brit Awards held in
London. Other winners included Prince
for best International Act and Best
Soundtrack for Purple Rain, British
Single was Frankie
Goes To Hollywood
'Relax', British Video was Duran Duran
for 'Wild Boys', British Comedy
Recording Neil
'Hole In My Shoe', British Album went to
Sade
for 'Diamond Life', British Male Solo
Artist was won by Paul
Young, British Female
Solo Artist, Alison
Moyet and Best British
Group went to Wham!
1992 - Motley
Crue fired their singer
Vince Neil
when he turned up for rehearsals,
claiming that he had lost his passion
for the band and was now more involved
with racing cars.
2014 - Queen
made chart history by becoming the first
act to sell six million copies of an
individual album. Their first Greatest
Hits collection, which includes the hits
'We Will Rock You' and 'Bohemian
Rhapsody' had extended its lead after
being Britain's highest-selling album
for several years. The Official Charts
Company said one in three British
families now owned a copy of the 1981
compilation.
1942 - 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' by Glenn Miller and his
Orchestra became the first
recording to be awarded a Gold record. It
was actually just a master copy of the
disc sprayed with gold lacquer by RCA as a
publicity stunt. The actual award
recognized today as a Gold Record would
not be initiated for another sixteen years
when the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) borrowed the idea and
trademarked the Gold Record. The first
Gold single was awarded to Perry Como
in 1958 for 'Catch A Falling Star' and the
first Gold album was given to Gordon McRae
for the soundtrack to 'Oklahoma'.
1967 - The
Beatles recorded the
orchestral build-up for the middle and end
of 'A Day in the Life'. At the Beatles'
request, the orchestra members arrived in
full evening dress along with novelty
items. One violinist wore a red clown's
nose, while another, a fake gorilla's paw
on his bow hand. Others were wearing funny
hats and other assorted novelties. The
recording was filmed for a possible 'Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'
television special which was ultimately
abandoned. Mick
Jagger, Keith Richards, Mike Nesmith
from The Monkees
and Donovan
also attended the session.
1971 - American singer-songwriter Carole King
released her second studio album Tapestry.
It is one of the best-selling albums of
all time, with over 25 million copies sold
worldwide. The lead single from the album
'It's Too Late'/'I Feel the Earth Move'
spent five weeks at No.1 on the chart. The
cover photograph was taken at King's
Laurel Canyon home. It shows her sitting
in a window frame, holding a tapestry she
hand-stitched herself, with her cat
Telemachus at her feet.
1972 - David
Bowie appeared at the
Tolworth Toby Jug, London, on the opening
date of his Ziggy Stardust tour playing to
around 60 people in the room. The
character of Ziggy was initially inspired
by British rock 'n' roll singer Vince Taylor.
The Ziggy Stardust tour played a total of
182 dates.
1974 - Record producer Phil Spector was
injured in a car crash. He needed
extensive plastic surgery that
dramatically altered his looks. Details of
how the accident happened were kept
secret.
1977 - The Clash
started recording their debut album at CBS
studios in London. The album was recorded
over three weekend sessions at CBS Studio
3 in February 1977. By the third of these
sessions the album was recorded and mixed
to completion, with the tapes being
delivered to CBS at the start of March. It
cost just £4000 to produce.
2002 - American folk singer Dave Van Ronk
died aged 65. An important figure in the
American folk music revival and New York
City's Greenwich Village scene in the
Sixties, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of
MacDougal Street". Bob
Dylan recorded Van Ronk's
arrangement of the traditional song ‘House
of the Rising Sun’ on his first album,
which The
Animals turned into a No.1
single in 1964, helping inaugurate the
folk-rock movement.
Week Commencing February 3
1964 - The Beatles
made their US live debut on CBS-TV's 'The Ed
Sullivan Show'; they performed five songs
including their current No.1 'I Want To Hold
Your Hand'. Never before had so many viewers
tuned-in to a live television program, which
with 73 million viewers, was three-fourths
of the total adult audience in the United
States.The show had received over 50,000
applications for the 728 seats in the TV
studio.
1968 - Hal Cone
former manager of The
Monkees and Head of Jones
Records was found guilty of theft, forgery,
receiving stolen property and conspiracy.
1972 - Paul
McCartney's Wings played the
first night of a College tour in Nottingham.
The group arrived unannounced asking social
secretaries if they would like them to
perform that evening. The band's intended
first stop on the tour, Ashby-de-la-Zouch,
refused to allow them to play so they drove
on to Nottingham. Admission was 40p, Pub
rock band Brinsley
Schwarz was the opening act
for the tour.
1981 - American singer and musician Bill Haley
who became known as the first Rock 'n' Roll
star, was found dead, fully clothed on his
bed at his home in Harlingen, Texas from a
heart attack, aged 55. He scored the 1955 UK
& US No.1 single 'Rock Around the Clock'
as well as 'See You Later, Alligator’,
‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’, ‘Rocket 88’,
‘Skinny Minnie’, and ‘Razzle Dazzle’. Haley
was blinded in his left eye as a child due
to a botched operation and later adopted his
distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract
attention from his blind eye.
1982 - George
Harrison presented UNICEF
with a cheque for $9 million (£5.3 million),
ten years after the fundraising The Concert
For Bangladesh.
1987 - Winners at this years Brit awards
held in London included Peter Gabriel
who won British Male Solo Artist, Kate Bush
won British Female Solo Artist, Best British
Group went to Five
Star, British Album was Dire Straits
'Brothers In Arms', British Breakthrough Act
was The
Housemartins, International
Solo Artist went to Paul
Simon. The
Bangles won Best
International Group, Best British Video went
to Peter Gabriel
for 'Sledgehammer' and Best British Single
was The Pet Shop
Boys for 'West End Girls'.
1997 - Scottish singer Brian Connolly
with the Seventies Glam rock group Sweet died
of kidney and liver failure aged 51.
Connolly replaced Ian
Gillan (later of Deep Purple
and Black Sabbath)
in Wainwright's
Gentlemen who became Sweetshop
and then shortened to
Sweet. The group scored 15
top 40 hits including the 1973 No.1 hit
‘Blockbuster’.
2009 - Led
Zeppelin singer Robert Plant
took home five prizes for his collaboration
with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss at
this year's Grammy Awards held in Los
Angeles. The duo won album of the year for
Raising Sand and record of the year for
‘Please Read The Letter.’ Coldplay
(who won song of the year for ‘Viva La
Vida’) Adele,
Duffy, Radiohead and Peter Gabriel were
among other acts to be honoured.
1959 - New Orleans
blues guitarist Guitar Slim
died of pneumonia aged 32. Born
Eddie Jones, he is best known for
the million-selling song ‘The Things
That I Used to Do’. Slim had a major
impact on rock and roll and
experimented with distorted
overtones on the electric guitar a
full decade before Jimi Hendrix.
He became known for his wild stage
act and had an assistant who
followed him around the audience
with up to 350 feet of cord between
his guitar and his amplifier, and
occasionally rode on his assistant's
shoulders or even took his guitar
outside the club - bringing traffic
to a stop.
1963 - The first Beatles
single 'Please Please Me' was
released in the US on the Vee Jay
label. Capitol Records, EMI's United
States label, were offered the right
to release the single in the US, but
turned it down. Dick Biondi, a disc
jockey on WLS in Chicago and a
friend of Vee-Jay executive Ewart
Abner, played the song on the radio
from February 1963, thus becoming
the first DJ to play a Beatles
record in the United States.
1969 - The
Who recorded 'Pinball
Wizard' at Morgan Studios, London.
The song is one of the band's most
famous live songs, being played at
almost every Who concert since its
debut live performance on 2 May
1969. The track, which featured on
their 1969 rock opera album Tommy,
was released as a single in 1969 and
reached No. 4 in the charts.
1970 - Led
Zeppelin scored their
first No.1 album with Led Zeppelin
II. Released in November 1969, and
featuring the track 'Whole Lotta
Love', it went on to stay on the
chart for 136 weeks. Also reaching
No. 1 in the US, the RIAA in the US
has now certified it as having sold
over 12 million copies in the US
alone.
1973 - The
Stooges released
their third studio album Raw Power.
The album gained a cult following in
the years following its release and,
like its predecessor (1970s Fun
House), is generally considered an
influential forerunner of punk rock.
Kurt Cobain
said on numerous times that Raw
Power was his favorite album of all
time.
2000 - English guitarist and singer
Dave
Peverett died from
kidney cancer aged 56. He had been a
member of the English blues rock
band Savoy
Brown and Foghat
who had the Seventies hit singles
'My Babe', and 'Slow Ride'.
2004 -
Queen's single 'We
Will Rock You' topped a poll of
music fans to find the greatest rock
anthem of all time. The 1977 song
beat the band's classic 'Bohemian
Rhapsody' into second place in a
survey of 1,000 people carried out
for the UCI cinema chain. The poll
was carried out to mark the release
of new Jack Black comedy 'School of
Rock.'
2013 - Music venues and fans
criticised "heartless" touts and
agencies selling tickets for
guitarist
Wilko Johnson's
farewell tour at inflated prices.
The former
Dr Feelgood guitarist
was suffering from terminal cancer
and was playing a series of farewell
dates in February and March.
Originally tickets sold for £20, but
were now being offered online for
£225.
1971 - Led
Zeppelin announced a
small club tour which would see the
group playing Universities and small
venues with ticket prices at 12
shillings (60p). Zeppelin manager
Peter Grant said 'We decided to do
the clubs and forget about the bread
and the big concert halls'.
1982 - Kraftwerk
were at No.1 on the singles chart with
'The Model / Computer Love', the first
German act to score a UK No.1 single.
The single spent 21 weeks on the
chart.
1990 - Billy
Idol suffered serious
injuries when he failed to pull up at
a stop sign and crashed from his
Harley-Davidson motorbike into a car.
1996 - Former Jam
members Bruce
Foxton and Rick Buckler
reached a high court settlement with Paul Weller
after suing him for more than
£100,000, after claiming they were
owed royalties and group assets.
1998 - American singer and guitarist Carl Wilson
from The
Beach Boys died aged 51
after a long battle with lung cancer
(Wilson was diagnosed with brain and
lung cancer in early 1997). He sang
lead vocal on 'God Only Knows', 'Good
Vibrations,' and 'I Can Hear Music.'
Wilson also sang backing vocals on Elton John's
'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me.'
2001 - Guitarist Don Felder
was fired from the
Eagles. He would later
launch a $50 million law suit against
drummer Don
Henley and guitarist Glen Frey,
alleging wrongful termination and
breach of implied-in-fact contract.
Henley and Frey then countersued
Felder for breach of contract,
alleging that Felder had written and
attempted to sell the rights to a
"tell-all" book. Both parties settled
out-of-court for an undisclosed
amount.
2014 - Nirvana's
'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was named as
the greatest song of all time by NME.
'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was one of
the last songs written for Nirvana's
breakthrough album, 'Nevermind', which
was released in 1991. The rest of the
top five tracks were: 5: 'Last Nite',
The Strokes,
4: 'How Soon Is Now?', The Smiths,
3: 'I Feel Love', Donna Summer,
2: 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', Joy Division.
1962 - The
Beatles filmed part of
the promo clip for 'Penny Lane' around
the Royal Theatre, Stratford, and
walking up and down Angel Lane in
London. Together with the video for
'Strawberry Fields Forever', this was
one of the first examples of what later
became known as a music video.
1971 - Black
Sabbath started
recording what would be their third
album, 'Master Of Reality' at Island
Studios in London. Released in July of
this year, it is sometimes noted as the
first stoner rock album. Guitarist Tony
Iommi decided to down tune his guitar
down three semi-tones and Geezer Butler
also down tuned his bass guitar to match
Iommi. The result was a noticeably
'darker' sound that almost two decades
later would prove hugely influential on
at least three of the biggest grunge
acts, namely
Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden
and Nirvana.
1972 - T Rex
were at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Telegram Sam', the group's third No.1
which was taken from their album The
Slider. The song is also known for
bringing the term "main man" into
popular culture.
1998 - American guitarist Tim Kelly
from Slaughter
was involved in a fatal car accident
while traveling on Highway 96 in
Arizona. Kelly's vehicle was hit head on
when an 18 wheeler crossed the middle
line. Kelly released four studio albums
with Slaughter
and two live albums.
2006 - The
Rolling Stones played
three songs during the half-time show of
The Super Bowl in Detroit. After the
event, the Stones expressed their
displeasure over having Mick Jagger's
microphone turned down during the song
"Start Me Up". The line "you make a dead
man come" was cut short and a barnyard
reference to "cocks" in the new song
"Rough Justice" also disappeared.
2015 - INXS
guitarist Tim
Farriss said he may never
play the guitar properly again after
severing his finger in a boating
accident. Farriss caught his left hand
while operating a winch on his boat in
Sydney, severing his ring finger. He had
undergone surgery twice to try to
reattach the finger but had been left
with permanent hand damage.
2016 - A new species of black tarantula
that lives near Folsom Prison,
California, was named after Johnny Cash.
Aphonopelma johnnycashi was among 14 new
tarantula species from the southern US
which were described by biologists in
the journal ZooKeys.
1965 - The
Righteous Brothers were at
No.1 on the singles chart with the Phil
Spector song 'You've Lost That Lovin'
Feelin'. Also a US No.1 at the same time.
In 1999 the PRS announced that it was the
most played song of the 20th Century.
1977 - Fleetwood
Mac released Rumours. The
songs 'Go Your Own Way', 'Don't Stop',
'Dreams', and 'You Make Loving Fun' were
released as singles. Rumours is Fleetwood
Mac's most successful release; along with
winning the Grammy Award for Album of the
Year in 1978, the record has sold over 45
million copies worldwide, making it one of
the best-selling albums of all time.
1982 - Scottish singer Alex Harvey
died of a heart attack while waiting to
take a ferry back to shore after
performing a concert with his new band,
the Electric
Cowboys. In an ambulance on
the way to the hospital, he suffered a
second heart attack, this one fatal. It
occurred on the day before his 47th
birthday, in Zeebrugen, Belgium. Formed Alex Harvey Big Soul
Band in 1959 and then mid
1960s band Tear
Gas. Had the 1975 No.7
single with
Sensational Alex Harvey Band 'Delilah'
and 1973 album 'Next'.
1996 - Former Milli-Vanilli
member Rob
Pilatus was hospitalised
after a man hit him over the head with a
baseball bat in Hollywood, California.
Pilatus was attempting to steal the man's
car at the time of the attack.
2007 - A Razorlight's
gig in Lyon was halted mid-set because of
an altercation between singer Johnny
Borrell and bassist Carl Dalemo. The pair
exchanged insults before they came to
blows onstage. Borrell then stormed off
leaving the French crowd amazed and unsure
about what was going on.
2009 - Robert
Plant said he felt Led Zeppelin couldn't
reunite for a full tour because the band
feels incomplete without drummer John Bonham.
In an interview on Absolute Radio Plant
stated 'The reason that it stopped was
because we were incomplete, and we've
been incomplete now for 29 years,'
he said. He admitted: 'I think the
thing about it is really, is that to
visit old ground, it's a very incredibly
delicate thing to do, and the
disappointment that could be there once
you commit to that and the comparisons
to something that was basically fired by
youth and a different kind of exuberance
to now, it's very hard to go back and
meet that head on and do it justice'.
2013 - Reg
Presley lead singer with
the Sixties band The
Troggs, died aged 71. Hit
singles, included 'Wild Thing', 'I Can't
Control Myself' and the No.1 'With a Girl
Like You'. He also wrote the song 'Love Is
All Around', which featured in the film
Four Weddings and a Funeral and was a No.1
hit for Wet Wet Wet in 1994. Presley used
his royalties from that cover to fund
research subjects such as alien
spacecraft, lost civilisations, alchemy,
and crop circles, and outlined his
findings in the book Wild Things They
Don't Tell Us, published in October 2002.
2017 - Black Sabbath - the band credited
with inventing heavy metal music - played
their last concert. The two-hour gig at
the NEC Arena in their home city of
Birmingham saw the rock veterans play 15
songs ending with their first hit,
'Paranoid'. Ticker tape and balloons fell
as singer Ozzy Osbourne, 68, thanked fans
for nearly five decades of support.
Sabbath's The End Tour began in the US in
January last year and took in 81 dates
across the world.
1959 - 22 year old
Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper
and Ritchie Valens,
aged 17, died in a crash shortly after
take-off from Clear Lake, Iowa, the pilot of
the single-engined Beechcraft Bonanza plane
was also killed. Holly hired the plane after
heating problems developed on his tour bus.
All three were travelling to Fargo, North
Dakota, for the next show on their Winter
Dance Party Tour which Holly had set -
covering 24 cities in three weeks, to make
money after the break-up of his band, The Crickets,
last year.
1967 - Producer Joe
Meek shot his landlady Violet
Shenton and then shot himself at his flat in
London, Meek produced The
Tornadoes hit 'Telstar', the
first No.1 in the US by a British group.
1968 - One Hit Wonders The Lemon Pipers
went to No.7 on the singles chart with
'Green Tambourine'. The song has been
credited as being one of the first bubblegum
pop chart-toppers.
1970 - Led
Zeppelin II was in the Top 20
on both the UK & US album charts after
peaking at No.1. The album went on to spend
138 weeks on the UK chart. The album is now
recognised by writers and music critics as
one of the greatest and most influential
rock albums ever recorded.
1979 - Blondie
had their first of five No.1 singles, with
'Heart Of Glass', taken from the band's
third studio album, Parallel Lines. 'Heart
of Glass' was originally recorded in 1975
under the name 'Once I Had a Love.'
1992 - On their first Europe tour Pearl Jam
played at The Esplanade Club in Southend, to
just 300 people, the band's first ever UK
show.
1999 - Tony
Hadley,
singer with Spandau
Ballet,
told a High Court in
London of his "desperate"
financial situation after
his solo career failed.
Hadley and band members Steve
Norman and
drummer John
Keeble were
suing Spandau Ballet
songwriter Gary
Kemp for
hundreds of thousands of
pounds of allegedly unpaid
publishing royalties.
Hadley earned £120,000 a
year during the band's
heyday in the early 1980s,
but the court heard that
when he fell on hard times
he was forced to sell his
home to pay off a £50,000
overdraft in 1993.
2007 - Wayne
Fontana was
arrested at his home in
Glossop, Derbyshire, and
charged with arson with
intent to endanger life.
The 61 year-old, who was
already set to appear in
court in March on traffic
offenses, was accused of
pouring gasoline over a
bailiff's car and setting
it on fire. The following
November, he was sentenced
to 11 months in jail, but
was allowed to walk free
from court immediately
after already serving the
equivalent of his term
while held under the
Mental Health Act.
2010 - AC/DC
singer
Brian Johnson,
joined a growing group of
critics of Bob
Geldof and
U2
singer Bono
over their very public
charity work, saying they
should stop lecturing
audiences about charity
work and instead do their
good deeds in private.
Johnson said "When I
was a working man I
didn't want to go to a
concert for some bastard
to talk down to me that
I should be thinking of
some kid in Africa. I'm
sorry mate, do it
yourself, spend some of
your own money and get
it done. It just makes
me angry."
1967 - The
Jimi Hendrix Experience
appeared at the Blue Pad
Club in Darlington, County
Durham, which was part of
the Imperial Hotel Complex
on Grange Road. The show was
advertised as "Don't miss
this man who is Dylan,
Clapton, and James Brown
all in one". After the
show, as the roadies were
loading up a van, one of
Hendrix's Fender guitars was
stolen.
1973 - Keith
Emerson of Emerson
Lake and Palmer injured
his hands when his piano
rigged to explode as a
stunt, detonated prematurely
during a concert in San
Francisco.
1979 - Sex
Pistols
bassist
Sid Vicious
died of a heroin overdose in
New York City. There had
been a party to celebrate
Vicious' release on $50,000
bail pending his trial for
the murder of his former
girlfriend, Nancy Spungen,
the previous October. Party
guests said that Vicious had
taken heroin at midnight. An
autopsy confirmed that
Vicious died from an
accumulation of fluid in the
lungs that was consistent
with heroin overdose. A
syringe, spoon and heroin
residue were discovered near
the body.
2001 - Bad
Manners
singer Buster
Bloodvessel
was told he was 'too fat' to
survive an urgently needed
operation. Buster collapsed
on stage during a show in
Italy but Doctors felt that
his huge 30 stone frame
might not make it through
surgery. Among their
early incarnations were
known as Stoop
Solo and the Sheet
Starchers.
2004 - TV network CBS
apologised for its broadcast
of the American Super Bowl
after Janet
Jackson was
left exposed when Justin
Timberlake
ripped her top. The pair had
been performing a raunchy
half-time duet when one of
Jackson's breasts was
exposed as Timberlake pulled
at her top. CBS quickly cut
away from the scene but was
still flooded with calls
from angry viewers about the
half-time entertainment,
produced by MTV. Timberlake
insisted it had been an
accident saying "I am
sorry that anyone was
offended by the wardrobe
malfunction during the
half-time performance of
the Super Bowl."
Week
Commencing January 27
1967 -
The Beatles
spent a second day at Knole
Park, Sevenoaks, to complete
filming for the 'Strawberry
Fields Forever' promotional
video. The film was shot in
colour for the benefit of the
US market, since UK television
was still broadcasting only in
black and white. Taking time
out from filming John Lennon
bought a 1843 poster from an
antiques shop in Surrey which
provided him with most the
lyrics for The Beatles song
'Being For The Benefit Of Mr
Kite'.
1969 - Led
Zeppelin played
the first of two nights at The
Fillmore East, New York City
during the band's first North
American tour. Porter's
Popular Preachers
opened the night, then
Zeppelin took the stage. It is
alleged that Zeppelin's show
was so powerful and got such
an enthusiastic response that
headliners Iron
Butterfly
refused to follow them.
2007 -
Jim Morrison was
enlisted to help fight global
warming more than 35 years
after his death. 'Woman in the
Window', a previously
unreleased poem written and
recorded by The Doors frontman
shortly before he died in 1971
was being set to music and
used to publicise the Global
Cool campaign.
2017 - English singer,
bassist, and songwriter John
Wetton died in
his sleep at his home in
Bournemouth, from colon
cancer. He rose to fame with
bands Mogul
Thrash, Family, King
Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah
Heep and Wishbone
Ash. After his
period with King
Crimson, Wetton
formed UK,
and later he was the frontman
and principal songwriter of
the supergroup Asia.
Their biggest hit, 'Heat of
the Moment', reached No. 4 in
the US in 1982.
1964 - The
Searchers were
at No.1 on the singles chart
with the Sonny
Bono song
'Needles And Pins'. The group's
second No.1 had originally been
recorded by
Jackie DeShannon.
1969 - The
Beatles with Billy
Preston played
their lunchtime rooftop gig on
top of the Apple building on
Savile Row, London. Lasting for
just over 40 minutes it was the
last time The Beatles performed
live. The played ‘Get Back’,
‘Don’t Let Me Down’, ‘I’ve Got A
Feeling’, ‘The One After 909’
and ‘Dig A Pony’. Traffic was
brought to a standstill as
crowds of people gathered below
and watched from windows in
nearby buildings. John Lennon
ended the performance by saying
“I’d like to say thank
you on behalf of the group and
ourselves and I hope we passed
the audition.”
1970 - Edison
Lighthouse were
at No.1 on the singles
chart with 'Love Grows (Where My
Rosemary Goes).' The group's
only Top 40 hit spent five weeks
at the top of the charts. In
February 1970, Tony Burrows
became the first (and still the
only) person to appear on Top Of
The Pops fronting three
different acts in one show: Edison
Lighthouse (who
were number one that week), White
Plains, and Brotherhood
of Man.
1976 - Music weekly Sounds
readers Poll Winners included;
best album 'A Night At The
Opera', by
Queen, best
single 'Bohemian Rhapsody', by Queen,
best band went to Queen,
musician Mike
Oldfield, female
singer Maddy
Prior, new band Rainbow,
bore of the year The Bay
City Rollers.
1988 - During a court case
involving Holly
Johnson and ZTT
Records it was revealed that Frankie
Goes To Hollywood had
not played on their hits 'Relax'
and 'Two Tribes'. The court was
told that top session musicians
were used to make the records.
1990 - Unhappy with the re-issue
of the bands early single 'Sally
Cinnaman' The
Stone Roses
trashed their former record
company Revolver FM's offices
and threw paint over cars. The
band were arrested and charged
with criminal damage.
2013 - Mick
Jagger was named
the most stylish rock star of
all time by lifestyle website
Complex. Jagger lead their top
50 list ahead of Prince,
David Bowie, Kurt Cobain,
Sid Vicious and Keith
Richards. Complex
stated “Even today, he wears
silk scarves and suits with
more rakish appeal than most
men – and he’s pushing 70.”
1964 - The
Beatles spent the
day at Pathe Marconi Studios in
Paris, France, The Beatles' only
studio recording session for EMI
held outside the UK. They recorded
new vocals for ‘She Loves You’, ‘I
Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘Can't
Buy Me Love’, after EMI's West
German branch persuaded Brian
Epstein that they would be unable
to sell large quantities of
records in Germany unless they
were recorded in the German
language. A translator coached
John, Paul, and George, although
their familiarity with the German
language from their Hamburg days
made things much easier.
1969 -
Fleetwood Mac had
their only No.1 single with the
instrumental 'Albatross' which was
composed by guitarist Peter Green.
'Albatross' is the only Fleetwood
Mac composition with the
distinction of having inspired a Beatles
song, 'Sun King' from 1969's Abbey
Road.
1972 - The triple album The
Concert For Bangladesh went to
No.1 on the album chart. Organised
by George
Harrison to raise
funds for the people caught up in
the war and famine from the area.
The set featured Bob Dylan,
Ringo Starr, Billy Preston,
Eric Clapton, Ravi Shankar
and members from Badfinger.
1979 - 16-year-old Brenda Spencer
killed two people and wounded nine
others when she fired from her
house across the street onto the
entrance of San Diego's Grover
Cleveland Elementary School.
Spencer fired the shot's from a
.22-caliber rifle her father had
given her for Christmas. When
asked why she did it, she answered
'I don't like Mondays.' The Boomtown
Rats went on to
write and record a song based on
the event.
1965 - The
Who made their first
appearance on Ready Steady Go! To
project the desired image, the
hand-picked audience consisted only
of teens dressed in the current Mod
fashion.
1977 Pink
Floyd's tenth studio
album Animals entered the charts at
No.2. The sleeve concept was that of
Roger Waters, who lived at the time
near Clapham Common, and regularly
drove past Battersea Power Station.
A view of the imposing but disused
former power station building was
chosen for the cover image, complete
with massive inflatable pig
suspended between two of the towers.
1978 - The Fleetwood
Mac album Rumours
went to No.1 on the album chart. The
groups eleventh studio album went on
to sell over 45 million copies
world-wide and spent over 440 weeks
on the chart. The songs 'Go Your Own
Way', 'Dreams', 'Don't Stop', and
'You Make Loving Fun' were released
as singles.
1983 - Rock & Roll singer Billy Fury
died of heart failure aged 42. An
early British rock and roll (and
film) star, he equalled the Beatles'
record of 24 hits in the Sixties,
and spent 332 weeks on the chart -
without a chart-topping single or
album. His We Want Billy (released
in 1963, with The
Tornados) was one of
the first live albums in British
rock history. Fury later played rock
'n' roller "Stormy Tempest" in the
film That'll Be The Day alongside David Essex
and Ringo
Starr.
1984 - Backstage after a Motley Crue show
in Buffalo, New York, Tommy Lee
found out that his girlfriend has
posed for the current issue of
Penthouse magazine without his
knowledge, after a fan passed
comment on the pictures. Tommy
punched the fan unconscious with one
hit. Motleys manager Doug Thaler
later convinced the fan not to press
any charges.
2004 - Elvis
Presley fans
expressed their anger at plans to
cut up a rare tape of the singer's
early songs and sell the snippets at
auction. The tape, which featured a
recording made by Presley during the
early 1950s, was now too fragile to
play. US firm Master Tape Collection
said the tape would be cut into
two-inch snippets and sold for £270
each.
2005 - Drummer and singer songwriter
Jim Capaldi
died of stomach cancer aged 60. He
co-founded
Traffic with Steve Winwood
who had the 1967 No.2 single 'Hole
In My Shoe'. Capaldi also had the
solo 1975 No.4 single 'Love Hurts'.
Capaldi also worked with Jimi Hendrix,
Eric Clapton and George Harrison.
2009 - Lynyrd
Skynyrd keyboard
player
Billy Powell died at
the age of 56 of a suspected heart
attack in Florida. Powell called
police saying he was having trouble
breathing and emergency services
tried to resuscitate him, but he was
pronounced dead an hour later.
Powell had missed a doctor's
appointment on the day before his
death; the appointment was for a
checkup on his heart. He played
piano on Kid Rock's 'All Summer
Long' (which sampled the Lynyrd Skynyrd
song 'Sweet Home Alabama').
2016 - American guitarist, singer
and songwriter Paul Kantner
died in San Francisco at the age of
74 due to multiple organ failure and
septic shock after he suffered a
heart attack days earlier. He was
known for co-founding Jefferson
Airplane, the leading
psychedelic rock band of the
counterculture era, and its more
commercial spin-off band Jefferson
Starship. With Jefferson
Airplane, Kantner was
among the performers at the Monterey
Jazz Festival in 1966 and the
Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and
the Woodstock Festival in 1969.
1962 - The
Beatles appeared at
Aintree Institute in Aintree,
Liverpool. The group had played here
many times before but this was their
last performance at the venue. Brian
Epstein became infuriated when the
promoter paid The Beatles' fee (£15
pounds) with handfuls of loose change.
Epstein took this as an insult to the
group, and made sure that The Beatles
never played for that promoter (Brian
Kelly) again.
1970 - John
Lennon wrote, recorded
and mixed his new single 'Instant
Karma!' all in one day. It ranks as
one of the fastest-released songs in
pop music history, recorded at
London's Abbey Road Studios and
arriving in stores only ten days
later.
1977 - The
Clash signed to CBS
Records for £100,000.
1996 - Babylon
Zoo started a five-week
run at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Spaceman', the fastest selling single
by a debut artist in the UK (420,000
copies in 6 days). The song was used
for a Levi Jeans TV commercial. The
single also went to Number 1 in
twenty-three other countries.
2006 - American singer, songwriter,
and record producer Gene McFadden,
best known as half of the Philly soul
team McFadden
& Whitehead, died
of cancer at the age of 56. The duo,
who were discovered by Otis Redding
who acted as their manager, had the
1979 hit 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now',
which sold more than 8 million copies
and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Week Commencing
January 20
1968 - Pink
Floyd played their first
gig without Syd
Barrett at Southampton
University. They were supported by Tyrannosaurus Rex
(later to be renamed T Rex)
featuring Marc
Bolan and percussionist Steve Peregrine
Took.
1973 - Sweet
were at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Blockbuster'. The glam rockers only
No.1 of 15 Top 40 hits.
1974 - Ringo
Starr went to No.3 on the
singles chart with his version of the Johnny Burnette
1960 hit 'Your Sixteen'.
1975 - The BBC 'Omnibus' documentary
'Cracked Actor' a film about David Bowie
was shown on TV. Filmed in 1974 when
Bowie was was a cocaine addict, the
documentary has become notorious for
showing Bowie's fragile mental state
during this period.
1989 - American soul singer Donnie Elbert
died of a stroke aged 52. In 1955 he
formed a doo-wop group, the Vibraharps
making his recording debut on their
single ‘Walk Beside Me’ but it wasn’t
until the Seventies when he had major
success with the solo hit 1972 No.11
single 'I Can't Help Myself', Sugar Pie
Honey Bunch', as well as the hits 'Where
Did Our Love Go?' and 'A Little Piece of
Leather'.
1991 - Queen
had their second No.1 with 'Innuendo'.
At 6 minutes 30 seconds, it exceeded
their epic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by 35
seconds and became the third longest
No.1 song of all time, behind The Beatles
'Hey Jude' and Simple
Minds 'Belfast Child'
(subsequently the 9 minutes 38 seconds
'All Around The World' by Oasis
took over the top slot and demoted
Innuendo to fourth place). For
'Innuendo's' flamenco guitar solo, Brian
May was joined by Yes
guitarist Steve
Howe.
1969 - Pink
Floyd appeared at the
Sixty Nine Club, Royal York Hotel, Ryde,
Isle of Wight. Support band was The Cherokees,
who had had a minor hit single in 1964
with Seven Golden Daffodils produced by
Mickie Most. They later changed their name
to New York
Public Library.
1975 - The last Sunbury Rock Festival in
Victoria, Australia was held. The
promoters, who had made heavy losses, paid
only Deep
Purple. AC/DC were
scheduled to play after Deep Purple but a
fight started on stage between road crews
after Purple's set when they began packing
up the lights and PA and denied AC/DC use
of them, who then left the festival site
without playing.
1978 - After changing their name from Warsaw
(inspired by the song Warszawa on David Bowie's
Low album), Joy
Division made their live
debut when they played at Pips Disco in
Manchester.
1986 - Norwegian group A-Ha were
at No.1 in the with 'The Sun Always Shines
On TV,' becoming the first ever-Norwegian
act to score a UK No.1 hit single.
1986 - US manager Albert
Grossman died of a heart
attack while flying on Concorde from New
York to London. He managed Bob Dylan
(between 1962 and 1970), Peter, Paul and
Mary, The Band, Janis Joplin
and Todd
Rundgren. Grossman built
the Bearsville Recording Studio near
Woodstock in 1969 and in 1970 he founded
Bearsville Records.
1992 - The inaugural Big Day Out festival
took place at the Hordern Pavilion in
Sydney. Acts appearing included Nirvana, Beasts of
Bourbon, Box The Jesuits, Celibate
Rifles, Cosmic Psychos, The Clouds,
Club Hoy, Died Pretty, Falling Joys,
The Hard Ons with Henry Rollins
Hellmen, Massappeal, The Meanies,
Smudge, Sound Unlimited Posse, Ratcat,
The Village Idiots, Violent Femmes
and Yothu Yindi.
2011 - A former Miss Canada finalist
became the first person in the world to
graduate with a Masters degree in The Beatles.
Canadian singer Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy,
53, was one of the first students to sign
up for the course on the Fab Four when it
launched at Liverpool Hope University in
March 2009. The ground-breaking course
looked at the studio sound and composition
of The Beatles and how Liverpool helped to
shape their music as well as examining the
significance of the music of the band and
their impact on Western culture.
1953 - Eddie Fisher
was at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Outside Is Heaven'. The American singer and
entertainer divorced his first wife, Debbie
Reynolds to marry his best friend's widow,
Elizabeth Taylor, which gave him too much
unwelcome publicity at the time. Eddie is
father of actress Carrie Fisher who died in
2016.
1958 - The Quarry
Men performed at The Cavern
Club in Liverpool - this was the band's only
performance at the club. It was three years
later when they appeared again at the Cavern
but under their new name The Beatles.
1967 - Pink Floyd
spent the second of three days
recording the Syd
Barrett songs 'Arnold Layne'
and 'Candy And A Current Bun' at Sound
Techniques Studios, Chelsea. 'Candy And A
Current Bun' was first known as 'Let's Roll
Another One' and contained the line 'I'm
high - Don't try to spoil my fun', but it
was decided that Syd Barrett should rewrite
it without the drug references.
1970 - James
Sheppard, the lead singer
from the Heartbeats
and Shep and the
Limelites, was found murdered
in his car on the Long Island Expressway.
The US singer had been beaten and robbed.
The Limelites reached No.2 in the US in 1961
with 'Daddy's Home'.
1970 - Led
Zeppelin appeared at Leeds
University. It was at this show when
Zeppelin had a meeting with fine arts
lecturer Zacron to discuss their ideas for
the album sleeve of the band's next album,
Led Zeppelin III. Zacron, born Richard Drew,
had studied at Kingston College of Art with
members of the Yardbirds.
1999 - The
Offspring went to No.1 on the
singles chart with 'Pretty Fly, For A White
Guy'. Taken from their fifth studio album
Americana the single was a No.1 hit in ten
other countries.
2017 - American drummer Butch Trucks
from The Allman
Brothers Band died of a
self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at the age of 69, in West Palm Beach,
Florida. He played in various groups
before forming the
31st of February while
at Florida State University in the mid
1960s. He joined the Allman Brothers
Band in 1969. Their 1971 live release,
At Fillmore East, represented an
artistic and commercial breakthrough.
2018 - English singer and songwriter Mark E. Smith
from Manchester post-punk band The Fall
died aged 60 after a long illness with
lung and kidney cancer. Smith formed
the Fall in 1976 and was the only
constant member of the band. He was
known for his tempestuous relationship
with his bandmates, and frequently
fired them – there have been 66
different members over the years.
1965 - 'Downtown' made Petula Clark
the first UK female singer to have a
No.1 on the US singles chart since Vera
Lynn in 1952. The song was also a No.2
hit in the UK. Recorded in three takes
(with the second take ultimately chosen
as the completed track), session players
in the studio recording included Jimmy Page.
1967 - Pink
Floyd spent the first of
three days recording the Syd Barrett
songs Arnold Layne and Candy And A
Current Bun at Sound Techniques Studios,
Chelsea. According to Roger Waters,
Arnold Layne was based on a real person
- a transvestite whose primary pastime
was stealing women's clothes and
undergarments from washing lines in
Cambridge.
1971 - George
Harrison became the first
solo Beatle to have a No.1 when ' 'My
Sweet Lord' went to the top of the
single charts. The song from his 'All
Things Must Pass' album stayed at No.1
for five weeks. The track returned to
the top of the charts in 2002, following
his death.
1978 - American musician and songwriter
Terry Kath,
best known as the original guitarist,
and founding members of the rock band Chicago
accidentally shot himself dead. After a
party at roadie and band technician Don
Johnson's home in Woodland Hills, Los
Angeles, California, Kath picked up a
semiautomatic 9mm pistol and, leaning
back in a chair, said to Johnson "Don't
worry about it ... look, the clip is
not even in it." To satisfy
Johnson's concerns, Kath showed the
empty magazine to Johnson. Kath then
replaced the magazine in the gun, put
the gun to his temple and pulled the
trigger. Apparently unbeknownst to Kath,
however, there was still one round in
the chamber, and he died instantly from
the gunshot.
1990 - Allen
Collins guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd
died of pneumonia after being ill for
several months. Collins who was one of
the founding members also co-wrote most
of the band's songs (including Free
Bird), with late frontman Ronnie Van Zant.
He survived a plane crash in 1977 that
killed two other band members. Collins
was behind the wheel in a car accident
in 1986 that killed his girlfriend and
left him paralyzed from the waist down.
He later pleaded no contest to vehicular
manslaughter as well as driving under
the influence of alcohol.
2016 - Scottish musician Jimmy Bain
died aged 68 while in his cabin on Def Leppard's
"Hysteria on the High Seas" cruise. The
cause of death was determined to be lung
cancer. Bain was best known for playing
bass guitar in the bands Rainbow
and Dio,
he also worked with Thin Lizzy
frontman Phil
Lynott, co-writing on his
solo albums as well as Ian Hunter, Gary
Moore and John Cale.
2017 - African-American soul and R&B
singer, songwriter and record producer Bobby Freeman died
of natural causes aged 76. He scored the
1958 No.5 single 'Do You Want To Dance'.
The song has been covered (as 'Do You
Wanna Dance') by Del
Shannon, The Beach Boys, Johnny
Rivers, Bette Midler, John Lennon,
Cliff Richard, Marc Bolan &
T.Rex, the Mamas & The Papas
and the
Ramones.
1959 - Alone with an acoustic guitar and
tape recorder in his New York City
apartment, Buddy
Holly made his last
recordings, including ‘Peggy Sue Got
Married’, ‘Crying, Waiting, Hoping’,
‘That's What They Say’, ‘What To Do’,
‘Learning The Game’ and ‘That Makes It
Tough’. The recordings would be overdubbed
posthumously and were later released by
Coral Records.
1967 - The
Monkees performed live for
the very first time at The Cow Palace, San
Francisco to a sell-out crowd.
1969 - The
Beatles moved from
Twickenham Film Studios to Apple studios
in London to start recording the "Get
Back" LP. Billy Preston was brought into
the sessions (John, Paul, and George knew
Preston from 1962, when he was a member of
Little Richard's
backing group). The Beatles were
determined to record the album "live",
flaws and all.
1970 - Steel
Mill (featuring Bruce Springsteen)
opened for The
Elvin Bishop Band at The
Matrix in San Francisco, California. Steel
Mill were paid only $5 for the gig, The
Elvin Bishop Band received $90 as
headliner.
1972 - David
Bowie 'came out' as
bisexual during an interview in Melody
Maker.
1994 - American musician Rhett Forrester
was shot and killed at a Northwest Atlanta
intersection after he refused to give up
his vehicle in an attempted carjacking, he
was 37 years old. He was best known as the
lead singer for New York-based band Riot
from 1981 until 1984.
2002 - English keyboardist Peter Bardens died
from lung cancer aged 57. He was a founder
member of the progressive rock group Camel and
during his career Bardens also worked
alongside Rod
Stewart, Mick Fleetwood and
Van Morrison,
and recorded solo albums.
2017 - English bass guitar player Pete Overend Watts
and founding member of the 1970s rock band
Mott the Hoople
died from throat cancer aged 69. Watts
helped start the
Buddies with guitarist Mick Ralphs,
a band that evolved into Mott the Hoople
after periods in which it was known as the Doc Thomas Group,
the Shakedown Sound, then Silence.
They became Mott the Hoople after Ian Hunter
joined in 1969. Watts continued with Dale Griffin, Morgan
Fisher and Ray Major
in the Mott successor
British Lions. He later
became a record producer, producing albums
for artists including Hanoi Rocks and
Dumb Blondes.
2017 - German drummer
Jaki Liebezeit died of
pneumonia aged 78. He was best known as a
founding member of the experimental rock
band Can
who were hailed as pioneers of the German
krautrock scene. He also worked with Jah Wobble, Depeche
Mode and Brian Eno.
1965 - American disc-jockey Alan Freed
died at the age of 42 from uraemia and
cirrhosis brought on by alcoholism. Freed called himself
the "father of rock and roll", appeared in the movies such
as Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Rock. His
career was destroyed by the payola scandal that hit the
broadcasting industry in the early 1960s.
1967 - The Monkees TV
show was shown for the first time in the UK. The series
followed the adventures of four young men trying to make a
name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. They went on
to sell more than 75 million records worldwide and had
international hits, including 'Last Train to Clarksville',
'Pleasant Valley Sunday', 'Daydream Believer', and 'I'm a
Believer'.
1968 - One Hit Wonders John Fred
and the Playboy Band started a run at No.3 on the singles chart with 'Judy In Disguise (With
Glasses)'. The
song was
inspired by The Beatles 'Lucy In The Sky'.
1969 - Led Zeppelin appeared at the Wheaton Youth
Center,
Wheaton,
during their
first North
American tour.
Some reports
suggest that
only 55 fans
attended this
show (if so,
this would
make it the
smallest
audience they
ever played
to). This show
was on a
Monday and the
night of
Richard
Nixon's
inauguration.
Zeppelin were
paid $250 to
appear.
1972 - On the
first date of
a UK tour at
The Dome,
Brighton, Pink Floyd attempted to premiere their new
album The Dark
Side of The
Moon but due
to technical
problems this
was abandoned
after a
performance of
the track
'Money'.
1988 -
The Beatles
were inducted
into the Rock
and Roll Hall
of Fame. George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Yoko,
Sean
and Julian
Lennon
all attend. Paul McCartney did not attend, sending
instead a
letter stating
that
continuing
business
differences
with the other
ex-Beatles was
the reason for
his absence.
1999 - Bill
Albaugh
drummer from
the Sixties
psychedelic
group The
Lemon Pipers
died aged 53.
The Lemon
Pipers scored
the 1967 US
No.1 single
'Green
Tambourine'.
The song has
been credited
as being the
first
bubblegum pop
chart-topper.
2000 - English
bassist Ray Jones from The
Dakotas
died. They had
the 1964 No.1
single 'Little
Children' as Billy J Kramer and The Dakotas. In
addition to
backing
Kramer, the
group itself
is best known
for their
instrumental
single ‘The
Cruel Sea’,
that reached
No.18 in the
charts in July
1963.
Week commencing January 13
1967 - Pink Floyd and Marmalade
played at The
Marquee Club,
London.
Marmalade went
on to score a
No.1 hit with
their version
of The
Beatles'
Ob-La-Di,
Ob-La-Da in
1968.
1967 - The Monkees were at No.1 on the singles
with 'I'm A
Believer', the
group's only
No.1. The
song, composed
by Neil
Diamond,
had 1,051,280
advance
orders, and
went gold
within two
days of
release. It is
one of fewer
than forty
all-time
singles to
have sold more
than 10
million
physical
copies
worldwide.
1980 - The Pretenders scored their first No.1 hit
with their
third single
'Brass In
Pocket'. The
bands
self-titled
debut album
started a
four-week run
at No.1 on the
chart also on
this day.
Singer
Chrissie Hynde
got the idea
for the song's
title when,
during an
after-show
dinner, she
overheard
someone
enquiring if
anyone had "Picked
up dry
cleaning? Any
brass in
pocket?"
1988 - Bon Jovi and Mötley
Crüe
manager Doc McGhee pleaded guilty to importing
more than
40,000lb of
marijuana into
the US from
Colombia via a
shrimp boat.
McGhee
received a
five-year
suspended
prison
sentence, a
fine of
$15,000, and
was ordered to
set up an
anti-drugs
foundation.
1998 -
American
singer,
songwriter Carl Perkins died aged 65 from throat
cancer. He
wrote the
classic rock n
roll song
'Blue Suede
Shoes', the
first record
on the Sun
label to sell
a million
copies. His
songs were
recorded by Elvis Presley, The Beatles Jimi Hendrix
and
Johnny
Cash.
Paul McCartney
claimed that "if
there were no
Carl Perkins,
there would be
no Beatles."
2012 -
Jamaican
singer,
songwriter and
record
producer Winston Riley died aged 68. He had been
shot in the
head at his
home in
Kingston.
After being in
a coma since
the shooting,
he died on 19
January. He
formed the
band The
Techniques
in 1962.
Riley's own
song, ‘Double
Barrel’,
performed by Dave and Ansell Collins under his own
production,
was one of the
first
international
reggae hits,
reaching No.1
in the Dutch
and UK Singles
Chart.
2019 -
Scottish
drummer Ted McKenna died aged 68 of a hemorrhage
during a
routine
operation for
a hernia. He
worked with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Rory Gallagher, The
Michael
Schenker Group
and toured
with
Ian Gillan
for a short
period in
1990.
1960 - Johnny
Preston
started a run at
No.1 on the
singles chart
with 'Running
Bear'. Written
by J.P.
Richardson
(The Big
Bopper),
the tune
originally
entered the
chart in October
1959, then
quickly
vanished, but
re-entered in
November and
slowly climbed
to the top.
1964 - The
Beatles
made their US
chart debut when
'I Want To Hold
Your Hand'
entered the
chart at No.45
just ten days
after its
release, making
it the
fastest-breaking
and the fastest
selling single
in Capitol
Records history.
It went on to
spend seven
weeks at the
No.1 position.
1967 - The
Jimi Hendrix
Experience recorded
an appearance on
Top Of The Pops
performing a
live version of
"Hey Joe". They
also played a
show at the
Seven and a Half
Club in Mayfair,
London during
the evening.
1974 - Former
members from Free (Paul Rodgers & Simon Kirke), Mott The
Hoople (Mick
Ralphs),
and King
Crimson (Boz
Burrell)
formed Bad
Company.
The band went on
to score a No.1
album with their
debut release.
2000 - Spencer
Goodman
was executed by
lethal injection
in Huntsville,
Texas. Goodman
was convicted of
kidnapping and
murdering the
wife of
ZZ Top
manager Bill
Ham
in 1991. Ham was
present for the
execution.
2007 - Islington
Green School in
North London was
fighting plans
to turn it into
an academy. The
school, which
found fame when
some of its
pupils sang on Pink Floyd's hit 'Another Brick In The
Wall (Part 2)'
wrote a new
version of the
song to sing
outside
Islington Town
Hall as part of
their protest.
They hoped
lyrics such as 'We
don't need no
business
control'
and 'Hey
bankers leave
our kids
alone' could
persuade
authorities to
reject the
proposal.
2010 - Canadian
folk singer Kate McGarrigle died of cancer at home in
Montreal at the
age of 63. Once
married to folk
singer Loudon
Wainwright lll,
Kate was the
mother of
singers Rufus
and Martha
Wainwright. She
rose to
prominence with
sister Anna when
they recorded
together in the
1970s. Other
artists who
covered the
pair's songs
included
Emmylou
Harris, Elvis
Costello,
Billy Bragg,
Kirsty MacColl
and Judy
Collins.
2015 - American
session drummer
Dallas
Taylor
died of
complications
from viral
pneumonia and
kidney disease,
aged 66. He is
best known as
the drummer on Crosby, Stills and Nash's debut album,
Crosby, Stills
& Nash
(1969) and their
follow-up with Neil Young, Déjà Vu (1970) as well as
appearing on Stephen Stills' eponymous first solo album
in 1970. Taylor
was the drummer
for Stills'
group Manassas
in 1972 and
1973. In 1970,
Dallas sat in
with The
Doors
accompanying John Densmore on drums. Jim
Morrison
acknowledges him
on The Doors
Live in New York
album.
2016 - The
Eagles
guitarist Glenn Frey died at the age of 67 in New
York City from
complications
arising from
rheumatoid
arthritis,
colitis and
pneumonia. Frey
co-founded the
Eagles in 1971
with Don Henley,
Bernie Leadon
and Randy
Meisner. After
the breakup of
the Eagles in
1980, Frey
embarked on a
successful solo
career and went
on to score the
Top 40 hits 'The
One You Love',
'Smuggler's
Blues', 'The
Heat Is On', and
'You Belong to
the City'.
1966 - NBC-TV in
the US bought The
Monkees
series, placing it
on their 1966
autumn schedule.
The series
centered on the
adventures of The
Monkees, a
struggling rock
band from Los
Angeles,
California and
introduced a
number of
innovative
new-wave film
techniques to
television.
1967 - 40-year-old
David
Mason
recorded the
piccolo trumpet
solo for The
Beatles
'Penny Lane' at
Abbey Road Studios
in London. He was
paid £27 and 10
shillings for his
performance. In
August, 1987, the
trumpet he used
was sold at a
Sotheby's auction
for £10,846.
1967 - The
Jimi Hendrix
Experience
recorded a session
for Radio
Luxembourg's Ready
Steady Radio. The
band ran up a bar
bill of £2 and 5
shillings, which
they were unable
to pay.
1978 - Scottish
rock band Simple
Minds
made their live
debut at The
Satellite Club,
Glasgow.
1981 - Motley
Crue
formed when bass
guitarist Nikki
Sixx left the band
London
and began
rehearsing with
drummer Tommy Lee
and vocalist,
guitarist Greg
Leon (who later
left). Sixx and
Lee then added
guitarist Bob
"Mick Mars" Deal.
Vince Neil
accepted an offer
to join (after
turning them down)
in April of this
year.
1987 - Kate
Bush
started a two-week
run at No.1 on the
album chart with
The Whole Story'.
The compilation
album was Bush's
third number one
album as well as
her best selling
release.
1996 -
David Bowie
Tom Donahue,
The Jefferson
Airplane,
Gladys Knight
And The Pips,
Little Willie
John, Pink
Floyd, Pete
Seeger, The
Shirelles
and The
Velvet
Underground
were all inducted
into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame.
2003 - A long-lost
recording
featuring John Lennon and Mick Jagger was set to
spark a bidding
war at a London
auction. The
acetate record was
recorded in 1974
with Jagger
singing the blues
song 'Too Many
Cooks'. The
track features
guitarists
Danny
Kortchmar
and Jesse
Ed Davis,
keyboardist
Al Kooper,
bassist Jack
Bruce,
drummer Jim
Keltner
and, on backing
vocals,
singer-songwriter
Harry
Nilsson.
Neither Lennon
nor Bill
Wyman,
who was present at
the session,
appear on the
track. The track
had never been
released because
the two artists
were both signed
to different
record companies.
2016 - English
drummer Dale
Griffin died
aged 67. He was a
founder member of
Mott the
Hoople
best known for
classic tracks
'Roll Away The
Stone' and 'All
The Young Dudes'.
The band, who made
eight albums
during their
five-and-a-half
year existence,
reformed to mark
their 40th
anniversary in
2009 - but Griffin
was too ill to
take part. Griffin
also produced
numerous BBC
John Peel
sessions from 1981
to 1994 including
the first
professional
recording session
for Pulp
in 1981.
1964 - The
Beatles played
two shows at the
Olympia Theatre,
Paris, France, the
first of an 18-night
engagement. This
first show was
attended mostly by
Paris' 'top society'
members (all dressed
in formal evening
attire). The French
press had little
good to say about
The Beatles in the
next day's papers,
but The Beatles
didn't care because
they'd just received
news that their
single 'I Want to
Hold Your Hand' had
hit No.1 in the US,
selling 10,000
copies an hour in
New York City alone.
1973 - Bruce
Springsteen
appeared at
Villanova
University,
Philadelphia, to an
audience of 25
people. Due to a
strike at the time
by Villanova's
school newspaper The
Villanovan, this
concert went
unadvertised, so
this is probably the
smallest crowd Bruce
and The E Street
Band have ever
played in front of.
1982 - Bucks
Fizz
were at No.1 on the
singles chart with
their second No.1
'Land Of Make
Believe'. The lyrics
to the song were
written by ex-King
Crimson
member Peter
Sinfield.
1985 - 1985, David
Bowie's
schizophrenic
half-brother Terry
Burnes
killed himself aged
47 after laying down
on the railway lines
at Coulsdon South
station, London. He
was killed instantly
by a passing train.
Bowie refers to his
half-brother in the
line ‘a crack in
the sky and a hand
pointing down at
me’ in his
song ‘Oh, You Pretty
Things’.
1987 - TV presenter
Jools Holland was
suspended from
Channel 4's The Tube
for 6 weeks, after
using the phrase
'groovy fuckers'
during a live
trailer broadcast in
children's hour.
1992 - Eric
Clapton
recorded his
unplugged session
for MTV. The set
which included his
current hit single
'Tears in Heaven'
and a reworked
acoustic version of
'Layla', earned six
Grammy Awards for
the album including
Record of the Year.
2000 - It was
reported that
Mick Jagger
had lost the chance
of a knighthood
because of his
errant ways, Prime
Minister Tony Blair
having doubts about
the message it would
give about family
values. This
decision was changed
and on 12 December
2003, Mick Jagger
was made a Knight
Bachelor by The
Prince of Wales for
services to music,
as Sir Michael
Jagger.
2007 - Bob
Dylan
and his brother
bought Aultmore
House a mansion in
the Scottish
Cairngorms National
Park, near
Nethybridge,
Invernesshire.
2013 - It was
announced that Joe
Strummer
was to have a city
square named after
him in Spain
following a Facebook
campaign. More than
2,000 residents of
Granada, where The
Clash frontman
became a frequent
visitor, signed a
petition calling for
him to be honoured.
City hall officials
agreed to the
proposals and a
square in the area
was set to be
renamed 'Plaza de
Joe Strummer'.
2019 - American
musician Lorna
Doom
died of cancer age
61. She was the bass
guitarist for the
punk rock band the
Germs.
Their music was
influential to many
later punk rock
acts. Germs
guitarist Pat Smear
went on to achieve
greater fame
performing with Nirvana
and Foo
Fighters.
1967 - The
Rolling Stones
were forced to change
the lyrics of 'Let’s
Spend The Night
Together' to Let’s
Spend Some Time
Together when
appearing on the US TV
The Ed Sullivan Show,
after the producers
objected to the
content of the lyrics.
Jagger ostentatiously
rolled his eyes at the
TV camera while
singing the changed
lyrics, resulting in
host Ed Sullivan
announcing that The
Rolling Stones would
be banned from
performing on his show
ever again.
1969 - George
Harrison
had a five-hour
meeting with John,
Paul and Ringo where
he made it clear that
he was fully prepared
to quit The
Beatles
permanently. Harrison
wasn't happy with
plans for live
performances and the
current Let It Be film
project.
1971 -
David Bowie
released 'Holy Holy'
as a single which
failed to chart. A
more frantic version
of the song was
recorded in 1971 for
The Rise And Fall Of
Ziggy Stardust And The
Spiders From Mars but
was dropped from the
album but subsequently
appeared as the B-side
to 'Diamond Dogs' in
1974.
1976 - Pink
Floyd’s
Wish You Were here was
on the album chart.
The album's packaging,
designed by Storm
Thorgerson, featured
an opaque black sleeve
inside which was
hidden the album
artwork. Thorgerson
had noted that, in the
US, Roxy
Music's
Country Life was sold
in an opaque green
cellophane sleeve -
censoring the cover
image - and he adopted
the idea, concealing
the artwork for Wish
You Were Here in a
dark-coloured
shrink-wrap (making
the album art
'absent').
1992 - Bass guitarist
Dee
Murray
died after suffering a
stroke aged 45. He is
best known as a member
of Elton
John's
band. He first
appeared with Elton on
the 1970 album
Tumbleweed Connection
and the milestone
albums Goodbye Yellow
Brick Road and Captain
Fantastic and the
Brown Dirt Cowboy.
Murray and drummer
Nigel Olsson were also
members of the Spencer
Davis Group
in 1969 and during the
Eighties Murray
continued working as a
session musician.
2002 - 1980s Pop
legend Adam
Ant was
admitted to a mental
ward 24 hours after
being charged by
police with pulling a
gun on staff in a
London pub.
2016 - Nineteen of David
Bowie's
albums entered the
album charts in the
wake of his death. His
new album, Blackstar,
reached No.1, and in
the top 40, Nothing
Has Changed - The Very
Best Of was at No.5,
The Best Of 1969 /
1974 was at No.11,
Hunky Dory, No.14, The
Rise and Fall of Ziggy
Stardust, No.17, Best
of Bowie, No.18,
Aladdin Sane, No.23,
The Next Day, No.25,
Low No.31 and Diamond
Dogs, No. 37. Thirteen
Bowie tracks also
entered the top 100,
led by 'Heroes' at
No.12. Also his songs
were streamed more
than 19 million times
on services such as
Apple Music and
Spotify.
1967 - Over 25,000
people attend The Human
Be-In-A Gathering Of The
Tribes at San
Francisco's Golden Gate
Park. The event was a
forerunner of major
outdoor rock concerts
and featured
The Grateful Dead,
Jefferson Airplane,
Quicksilver
Messenger Service
and Big
Brother And The
Holding Company.
1977 - David
Bowie
released his eleventh
studio album Low, the
first of three
collaborations with Brian
Eno
termed the "Berlin
Trilogy". The track
'Sound and Vision' was
released as a single and
used by the BBC on
trailers at the time,
providing much needed
exposure as Bowie opted
to do nothing to promote
the single himself, and
helped the song reach
No.3 on the charts.
1978 - The
Sex Pistols
played their last show
at the Winterland
Ballroom in San
Francisco where Johnny
Rotten yelled to the
crowd at the outset,
“Ever get the feeling
you’ve been cheated.”
It was the last time the
band played with bassist
Sid Vicious.
2005 - A $100,000
(£58,823) statue
honouring the late punk
guitarist Johnny
Ramone
was unveiled by his
widow Linda at the
Hollywood Forever
Cemetery. Johnny died
from prostate cancer in
September 2004 at the
age of 55. Hundreds
turned out for the
ceremony, including Tommy
Ramone
the only surviving band
member. Dee
Dee Ramone
died of a drugs overdose
in 2002 and Joey
died in 2001 of
lymphatic cancer.
2012 - English drummer,
producer, journalist,
music educator, and
broadcaster
Robbie France
died aged 52. Born in
Sheffield, France moved
to Australia where he
formed the jazz-fusion
group
Carnival.
He also worked with
Stevie Wright of the Easybeats,
Marty
Rhone, Tim Gaze,
and other major
Australian artists as
well as Skunk
Anansie
and Diamond
Head. He
amassed over 1,000
television, radio and
advertising credits,
including eight
documentaries and four
film scores, including
Band on the Run, one of
the most successful
surfing films ever made.
Week
Commencing January 6 . . .
1965 - The first day of
recording sessions for Bob
Dylan's
Bringing It All Back Home
album were held at Studio
A, Columbia Recording
Studios in New York City.
Dylan recorded
Subterranean Homesick
Blues and 'It's All Over
Now, Baby Blue'.
1967 - Paul
McCartney
and Ringo
Starr both
went to the Bag O'Nails
Club, London, to see the Jimi
Hendrix Experience.
1973 - Eric
Clapton
made his stage comeback at
the Rainbow Theatre,
London, with Pete
Townsend, Ronnie Wood,
Stevie Winwood, Rebop,
Jim Capaldi
and support from The
Average White Band.
The night's two shows were
recorded for the 'Rainbow
Concert' album. Pete
Townshend from The
Who had
organised the concert to
help Clapton kick his
heroin addiction.
1978 - With a budget of
only £1,500 borrowed from
Stewart
Copeland's
brother Miles Copeland
III,
The Police started
recording their debut
album at Surrey Sound
Studios, Surrey, with
producer Nigel Gray. The
album 'Outlandos d'Amour'
which was released in
November of this year
featured the hits 'So
Lonely', 'Roxanne' and
'Can't Stand Losing You'.
1984 - BBC Radio 1
announced a ban on 'Relax'
by Frankie
Goes To Hollywood,
after DJ Mike Read called
it 'obscene', a BBC TV ban
also followed. The song
went on to become No.1 and
spent a total of 48 weeks
on the chart. It has been
revealed since that the
band never actually played
on the record - it was
completed by session
musicians.
1986 - Sex
Pistols
members John
Lydon, Steve Jones
and
Paul Cook,
as well as the mother of Sid
Vicious,
sued former manager Malcom
McClaren
for £1 million. They later
settled out of court.
2003 - Who
guitarist Pete
Townshend was
arrested on suspicion of
child porn offences.
Police officers impounded
seven computers from his
£15 million home in
Richmond, Surrey.
2016 - The
Rolling Stones
first manager, Giorgio
Gomelsky,
passed away at the age of
82. He owned the Crawdaddy
Club in London where The
Rolling Stones were the
house band. After he was
replaced by Andrew Loog
Oldham in May, 1963,
Gomelsky went on to manage
The
Yardbirds, Julie
Driscoll and Brian
Auger before
moving to New York in 1978
and opening The Green Door
nightclub.
2017 - Magic
Alex
(Alexis Mardas) a Greek
electronics engineer died
aged 74. He is best known
for his close association
with the
Beatles.
His nickname was given to
him by John
Lennon when
he was involved with the
group between 1965 and
1969, during which time he
became head of Apple
Electronics. Mardas often
said that the Abbey Road
studio was "no good", much
to producer George
Martin's annoyance. He
allegedly said that he
could build a 72-track
tape machine and was then
given the job of designing
the new Apple Studio in
Savile Row, London. His
schemes lost Apple at
least £300,000 (£3 million
in 2017).
1969 - Led
Zeppelin's
debut album was released.
Recorded at Olympic Studios
in Barnes, London, the album
took only 36 hours of studio
time to complete at a cost
of just £1,782, most of the
tracks being recorded 'live'
in the studio with very few
overdubs. The album spent a
total of 71 weeks on the
chart.
1977 - The
Police had
their first rehearsal, held
at drummer's Stewart
Copeland's London flat, with
Henri Padovani on guitar.
1983 - Swedish percussionist
with Traffic,
Reebop Kwaku Baah
died from a brain
haemorrhage in Stockholm,
Sweden. Also worked with Eric
Clapton, Steve Winwood,
Ginger Baker's Air
Force, Can
and The
Rolling Stones.
1993 - Van
Morrison failed
to turn up at the Rock And
Roll Hall Of Fame induction
dinner, making him the first
living inductee not to
attend.
2003 - Singer-songwriter Maurice
Gibb from The Bee
Gees died
aged 53 in Miami Hospital,
Florida following a heart
attack during abdominal
surgery. The Bee Gees
released over 20 albums and
had the 1979 world-wide No.1
album 'Spirits Having
Flown'. Gibb was married to
the Scottish singer Lulu
from 1969 to 1973. In 2002,
Maurice was made a Commander
of the British Empire (CBE),
along with his brothers.
2013 - The 1974 Rolls-Royce
Silver Shadow used by Freddie
Mercury until
his death in November 1991,
sold at auction for £74,000
to a Russian businessman.
The 62,000-mile classic
Rolls-Royce which had a
guide price of just
£9,000-£11,000 featured grey
leather, wood trim, electric
windows, automatic gearbox,
a car phone and radio
cassette player and a
6.75-litre V8 engine. It was
sold as part of the Coys
auction at Autosport
International.
2017 - Richard
Carpenter
said he was owed at least
$2m (£1.6m) in royalties for
the hits he recorded in The
Carpenters.
He claimed Universal Music
had only paid the band a
"minuscule fraction" of the
money they were owed from
downloads on sites such as
iTunes and Amazon. The
musician was suing for
compensation, according to
legal documents filed in Los
Angeles.
1958 - The release date for
the
Elvis Presley
single 'Jailhouse Rock' was
put back a week after Decca
Records pressing plant in the
UK were unable to meet the
advance orders of 250,000
copies. Some of the characters
named in the song are real
people. Shifty Henry was a
well-known LA musician, not a
criminal. The Purple Gang was
a real mob. "Sad Sack" was a
U.S. Army nickname in World
War II for a loser.
1967 - The
Jimi Hendrix Experience
recorded 'Purple Haze' at De
Lane Lea studios in London.
Hendrix later stated 'The
Purple Haze,' was about a
dream he had and that he was
walking under the sea." In
concert, Hendrix sometimes
substituted lyrics for comic
effect; "'scuse me while I
kiss the sky" was rendered
"'scuse me while I kiss this
guy" (while gesturing towards
his drummer Mitch Mitchell).
1975 - The Alan Freeman BBC
Radio 1 show broadcast a Pink
Floyd show
recorded at the Empire Pool,
Wembley, on 16th Nov 1974. The
band had played four nights at
Wembley on their The Dark Side
of The Moon tour and tapes
from these shows have been
remixed.
1975 - Led
Zeppelin played
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