The Fall - Venue, Victoria 1983 Tom Waits - Dominion 1985 Prince - O2 2007 Victoria Williams - Dingwalls 1995 The Undertones - (somewhere in) Portsmouth 1980 The Jesus & Mary Chain - Ambulance Station, New Cross 1984 Dexy's Midnight Runners - Dominion 1985 Robert Forster - Subterranea 1990ish Primal Scream - ICA 1986
The best gigs I've been to have had nothing to do with any top or popular bands.
When I lived in Holland while on exchange in 1993, I saw a gig in Groenegen in a tiny venue. Pavement supported by stereolab. The place had about 200 capacity, the noise was intense. Brilliant.
There's a few on here that make me very jealous (and some horrors).
Mine would be Johnny Thunders (of the New York Dolls) doing an acoustic set in glasgow, just before he died and Hanoi Rocks at the Taviasta in Finland
Metallica in Edinburgh Playhouse in the early 80s n the Ride the Lightning tour
Poges (with Shane)/Manics at Clapham Grand (sometime in the early 90s.
To be fair these pale next to some of the rest of your highlights. I'd have loved to have seen The Kinks, The Jam and the Clash particularly.
In no order, I seen loads of great gigs over the years - here are some of my faves:
U2 at Milton Keynes Bowl Bloc Party in Chicago Echo & The Bunnymen at The Lyceum Soft Cell 1982 (can't remember venue) Big Country Hammersmith Palais 1983 Stone Roses at Brixton Academy '95 Beastie Boys & Run DMC at Brixton Academy
The Stranglers about the time of La Folie at the Rainbow with the seats out, they really let rip. Those were the days when every item of clothing in the entire hall was Black, it probably looked like an undertakers convention to outsiders.
I saw The Damned loads of times, they veered wildly between storming and atrocious, they did 3 nights at The Marquee about '83 and I got into the last one and they were the absolute business. They still found time to lob a mike in the crowd so everyone could sing "Scabies is a wanker". You don't get that at Radiohead gigs do yer...
When Elvis Costello got back with the Attractions at the Albert Hall was a real treat as well. I think every few years he says sod the classical collaborations, I wanna make a noise again - which he did.
[cite]Posted By: Henry Irving[/cite]U2 at the Marquee before the first LP. May have been first gig in London.
I though their first London gig was at the Half Moon in Herne Hill. Just remember: "This is not a rebel song......"
Can't remember as i saw u2 at the rock garden and then at the half moon or was it the other way round?
Saw Stray Cats at the Half moon, what a great venue and some great bands.
Also The Clash and the Vice creams at Aylesbury on the saturday followed by
The Damned,The Nipple Erectors and The Ruts at the Hemel Hemstead Pier Pavillion on the sunday.
Too young to have seen The Jam, but Weller @ Newcastle City Hall in '94, Phoenix Festival '95, also in a small club in Prague later that year. He and his band were on fire at that time.
Manics @ Brighton Centre last year, and on the past present future tour a couple of years back
Doves @ Glastonbury when they headlined 'the other stage' in last night in the rain (2004?)... stunning
Porcupine Tree @ London Astoria 2003
Oasis @ Knebworth '96 - More for the atmosphere, and the whole bill of bands etc, as they were going thru the motions really. Prodigy were incredible
Very jealous of you older boys who saw The Who at The Valley *seethes*!
[quote][cite]Posted By: Alex Wright[/cite][quote][cite]Posted By: Henry Irving[/cite]U2 at the Marquee before the first LP. May have been first gig in London.[/quote]I though their first London gig was at the Half Moon in Herne Hill. Just remember: "This is not a rebel song......"[/quote]
I was told their first London gig was in a pub which is now All Bar One in Islington, just over the road from the Angel tube station, but whatever.
Looking back at this thread the common theme is the great gigs that people saw in relatively small venues. Sadly great bands don't play places like that anymore.
Not sure on U2. Most likely I'm wrong as first London gig at The Marquee seems unlikely.
Forgot Aztec Camera at the LSC in early 90s. I'd never heard of them but they were a breath of fresh air in a time when punk/new wave music was either poor clash copyists and tedious art students in long coats being even more depressing than Joy Division and with less talent.
Lindisfarne at the Lewisham Odeon in about 1972. Supported by an up & coming young band called Genesis. Peter Gabriel was just magnificent that night. This was my first ever gig.
Genesis at Knebworth in 1978. Just totally awesome.
Barclay James Harvest at the Royal Festival Hall in 1975, with a full orchestra backing them. "There's a Mockingbird singing songs just for you and me..........."
Ronnie Dawson at the Rockabilly rave in 2003, we knew it was going to be his last gig in Europe, and the last time we would see him (he had throat cancer), so it was very emotional, but he absolutely rocked the place.
Oasis - Festival do Sul, Alentejo - mate got us all areas passes, watched the whole gig from the side of the stage, awesome.
James - Brixton Academy 1998 - another mate, who couldn't make it, gave us his tickets. not a huge fan of the band at 8PM, by 11PM totally converted.
Metors - Hope and Anchor, Islington 1980 - one of their very early gigs. I let Paul Slattery in front of me to allow him to take the "Psychobilly KId" photo of Fenech that appeared on the cover of "Sounds".
Rochee and the Sarnos - Isle of Wight weekender 1984. Crowd didn't know what to make of them to start with, by the end they were going crazy.
Sex Pistols - Crystal Palace (sorry) sports centre, 2002. Brilliant gig, simple as.
Janis Martin - Clay Pidgeon, Northolt cica 1988. Came on stage looking like someone in a glamourous gran competition, kicked off her shoes, and tore the place up.
[cite]Posted By: Red_Pete[/cite]in about 1972. Supported by an up & coming young band called Genesis.
You lucky bugger! To have that as a first gig!
I was chatting to someone who was at that Knebworth Genesis gig the other day as I downloaded a bootleg of it. He also said it was fantastic.
I just love the way Punk had been hailed as killing off all these prog 'dinasours', and they're playing loads of 10 minute plus songs about hermaphrodites and dissolving rodents to 100,000 people at Knebworth in '78!!
1. Queen at Wembley Stadium, 1986 2. Original line up of Black Sabbath, Birmingham NEC, 1999 3. Iron Maiden at Reading, 2005 4. Motorhead at the Astoria, 1999 5. Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds at the O2, 2007 6. Judas Priest, Brixton Academy, 2001 7. Iron Maiden at Earls Court, 2000 8. AC/DC, Wembley Arena, 2000 9. Saxon at the Shephereds Bush Empire, St Georges Day this year. 10. Dio at the Astoria playing 'Holy Diver' in full, 2005
Nirvana 3rd on the bill to Godflesh and L7 at the Astoria circa 1990 (just after Bleach came out). There were about 20 people left for the headliners!!!
Teenage Fanclub - Glastonbury 1992 (got a free football booted into the crowd).
Terence Higgins Trust Benefit 1991 Kilburn National - Pop Will Eat Itself, Mega City 4, Neds Atomic Dustbin, Snuff & Wat Tyler - 6 hours of mayhem
New Model Army (played as Raw Melody Men) The Venue 1990ish
Mudhoney The Venue 1990ish
Calexico Somerset House 2006
Oranger (Upstairs at the Bettsy Trotwood in Farringdon) 2004 or 2005
Brian Jonestown Massacre - Koko 2006 - Superb comeback.
Etc etc etc
Early 1990 was a great gig time. You used to get fancy tickets with the band logo on - still have a shoe box stuffed full of them.
Comments
Kinks at Town and Country Club (back stage and at party after)
Pogues paddys Day around 87 (Elvis Costello with em)
Pink Floyyd somewhere !
Maximo Park @ Shepherds Bush May 07
Maccabees @ Buffalo Bar. Secret gig and absolutely rammed. I took photos at this one too.
Tom Waits - Dominion 1985
Prince - O2 2007
Victoria Williams - Dingwalls 1995
The Undertones - (somewhere in) Portsmouth 1980
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Ambulance Station, New Cross 1984
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Dominion 1985
Robert Forster - Subterranea 1990ish
Primal Scream - ICA 1986
Hmmm...looks like the '80s was my era
The Clash, the Jam and Buzzcocks on the same bill at the Rainbow in '77
The Jam at the Marquee as the support band in '76. Blew me away they were so good.
The Specials at Lewisham Odeon
The Who at the Valley in '76 Didn't go in '74
U2 at the Marquee before the first LP. May have been first gig in London. Were very good even though I didn't like their music much then or now.
Saw the Stones at Knebworth and Earls Court but have never liked big venues
When I lived in Holland while on exchange in 1993, I saw a gig in Groenegen in a tiny venue. Pavement supported by stereolab. The place had about 200 capacity, the noise was intense. Brilliant.
Mine would be Johnny Thunders (of the New York Dolls) doing an acoustic set in glasgow, just before he died and Hanoi Rocks at the Taviasta in Finland
Metallica in Edinburgh Playhouse in the early 80s n the Ride the Lightning tour
Poges (with Shane)/Manics at Clapham Grand (sometime in the early 90s.
To be fair these pale next to some of the rest of your highlights. I'd have loved to have seen The Kinks, The Jam and the Clash particularly.
*tips hat*
U2 at Milton Keynes Bowl
Bloc Party in Chicago
Echo & The Bunnymen at The Lyceum
Soft Cell 1982 (can't remember venue)
Big Country Hammersmith Palais 1983
Stone Roses at Brixton Academy '95
Beastie Boys & Run DMC at Brixton Academy
The Stranglers about the time of La Folie at the Rainbow with the seats out, they really let rip. Those were the days when every item of clothing in the entire hall was Black, it probably looked like an undertakers convention to outsiders.
I saw The Damned loads of times, they veered wildly between storming and atrocious, they did 3 nights at The Marquee about '83 and I got into the last one and they were the absolute business. They still found time to lob a mike in the crowd so everyone could sing "Scabies is a wanker". You don't get that at Radiohead gigs do yer...
When Elvis Costello got back with the Attractions at the Albert Hall was a real treat as well. I think every few years he says sod the classical collaborations, I wanna make a noise again - which he did.
Can't remember as i saw u2 at the rock garden and then at the half moon or was it the other way round?
Saw Stray Cats at the Half moon, what a great venue and some great bands.
Also The Clash and the Vice creams at Aylesbury on the saturday followed by
The Damned,The Nipple Erectors and The Ruts at the Hemel Hemstead Pier Pavillion on the sunday.
Manics @ Brighton Centre last year, and on the past present future tour a couple of years back
Doves @ Glastonbury when they headlined 'the other stage' in last night in the rain (2004?)... stunning
Porcupine Tree @ London Astoria 2003
Oasis @ Knebworth '96 - More for the atmosphere, and the whole bill of bands etc, as they were going thru the motions really. Prodigy were incredible
Very jealous of you older boys who saw The Who at The Valley *seethes*!
Yipee!
Queen - Wembley 1986
I was told their first London gig was in a pub which is now All Bar One in Islington, just over the road from the Angel tube station, but whatever.
Looking back at this thread the common theme is the great gigs that people saw in relatively small venues. Sadly great bands don't play places like that anymore.
Gig held in the local university, and must have held 2000 tops. Half of the crowd were brits, with Cornershop supporting. Fantastic night.
Forgot Aztec Camera at the LSC in early 90s. I'd never heard of them but they were a breath of fresh air in a time when punk/new wave music was either poor clash copyists and tedious art students in long coats being even more depressing than Joy Division and with less talent.
Genesis at Knebworth in 1978. Just totally awesome.
Barclay James Harvest at the Royal Festival Hall in 1975, with a full orchestra backing them. "There's a Mockingbird singing songs just for you and me..........."
Ronnie Dawson at the Rockabilly rave in 2003, we knew it was going to be his last gig in Europe, and the last time we would see him (he had throat cancer), so it was very emotional, but he absolutely rocked the place.
Oasis - Festival do Sul, Alentejo - mate got us all areas passes, watched the whole gig from the side of the stage, awesome.
James - Brixton Academy 1998 - another mate, who couldn't make it, gave us his tickets. not a huge fan of the band at 8PM, by 11PM totally converted.
Metors - Hope and Anchor, Islington 1980 - one of their very early gigs. I let Paul Slattery in front of me to allow him to take the "Psychobilly KId" photo of Fenech that appeared on the cover of "Sounds".
Rochee and the Sarnos - Isle of Wight weekender 1984. Crowd didn't know what to make of them to start with, by the end they were going crazy.
Sex Pistols - Crystal Palace (sorry) sports centre, 2002. Brilliant gig, simple as.
Janis Martin - Clay Pidgeon, Northolt cica 1988. Came on stage looking like someone in a glamourous gran competition, kicked off her shoes, and tore the place up.
For U2 anoraks only but not sure which Marquee date I saw.
You lucky bugger! To have that as a first gig!
I was chatting to someone who was at that Knebworth Genesis gig the other day as I downloaded a bootleg of it. He also said it was fantastic.
I just love the way Punk had been hailed as killing off all these prog 'dinasours', and they're playing loads of 10 minute plus songs about hermaphrodites and dissolving rodents to 100,000 people at Knebworth in '78!!
1. Queen at Wembley Stadium, 1986
2. Original line up of Black Sabbath, Birmingham NEC, 1999
3. Iron Maiden at Reading, 2005
4. Motorhead at the Astoria, 1999
5. Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds at the O2, 2007
6. Judas Priest, Brixton Academy, 2001
7. Iron Maiden at Earls Court, 2000
8. AC/DC, Wembley Arena, 2000
9. Saxon at the Shephereds Bush Empire, St Georges Day this year.
10. Dio at the Astoria playing 'Holy Diver' in full, 2005
Nirvana 3rd on the bill to Godflesh and L7 at the Astoria circa 1990 (just after Bleach came out). There were about 20 people left for the headliners!!!
Teenage Fanclub - Glastonbury 1992 (got a free football booted into the crowd).
Terence Higgins Trust Benefit 1991 Kilburn National - Pop Will Eat Itself, Mega City 4, Neds Atomic Dustbin, Snuff & Wat Tyler - 6 hours of mayhem
New Model Army (played as Raw Melody Men) The Venue 1990ish
Mudhoney The Venue 1990ish
Calexico Somerset House 2006
Oranger (Upstairs at the Bettsy Trotwood in Farringdon) 2004 or 2005
Brian Jonestown Massacre - Koko 2006 - Superb comeback.
Etc etc etc
Early 1990 was a great gig time. You used to get fancy tickets with the band logo on - still have a shoe box stuffed full of them.