I was born in 1956, and being a young music fan living in Bromley/Sundridge Park in the sixties and early seventies meant that I was aware of exotic and, for me, out of reach gigs 'happening' in the area. Chistlehurst caves was one venue where Hendrix, The Stones and Pink Floyd played, but I wasn't allowed to go, being too young (and the Cave gigs were know for illicit substances being abused).
Left Bromley in about 71/72 for the delights of the army base in Didcot. So this is all about the pre punk era.
Finally my mum ralented and gave me and my next door neighbour Stephen Coombes a lift to see the following gig in the wilds of Croydon:
25th April 1969 Pentangle, Fairfield Halls, Croydon
And after the gig she was waiting outside to give us a lift home. Thanks mum! But I guess we were only 13.
Then there was:
1970 Traffic & If, Fairfield Halls, Croydon, again, a lift from mum.
If were jazz rockers. Traffic was Stevie Windwood's band of course.
We might have gone to this one on the bus, I can't remember:
Jan 10th 1971 Uriah Heep & Groundhogs, New Theatre, Bromley
I just remember my ears rang for about two weeks afterwards, and the PA was a massive stack of Orange cabinets.
Did any Lifers get to the Chistlehurst Caves? Or to any other interesting gigs in that period?
My first two 'gigs' were:
Russ Conway at the army base in Cyprus. I told my dad he was smoking too much. Russ Conway overheard me and said somethinglike, "Cor, too right!" I was only 4 or 5.
And the family went to Billy Smart's circus when I was about 7, and the Barron Knights played in between the clowns and the tightrope walkers. Not sure where the circus was, I'm guessing somewhere near Bromley though.
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The Saxon Tavern?
The Black Bull, Lewisham was good for local bands.
The Clash at Lewisham Odeon were superb.
As you mention Croydon, I saw The Jam at Croydon Greyhound, great gig.
Most of the gigs I saw in those days tended to be in Central London, Camden, North London - there was a real dearth of venues in SE London.
Labi Siffre - Lewisham Odeon
Plenty of Ben Sherman's, Crombies, and two tone suits at the DD gig!
I notice they were still touring until 2015.
Brinsley Swartz at the Harrow Inn Abbey Wood 1972
Van der Graf Generator at Bromley College 1973
Embarrassingly perhaps, my mum Gladys Seed used to play Ride a White Swan on Jimmy's piano (I bought the sheet music), and I would sing. Aaaagh!
The first proper band I saw live was Atomic Rooster, with Vincent Crane on Hammond organ, in the Great Hall of St Dunstan's College in Catford. This was about 1970; I was a young teenage pupil and was deeply impressed. For the end-of-term gig the following year, the school hosted Sutherland Brothers & Quiver, with the excellent Willie Wilson on drums.
I soon gravitated to the Greyhound in Croydon for prog bands such as Caravan and Camel; Sunday nights there gave me a musical education. I drummed on this stage twice in the mid-1970s, in a band supporting Canned Heat and The Pink Fairies. Our band was paid £5!
The archives show that Cream played the Bromley Court Hotel – sadly, before my time. Heavy rock was a staple of the Black Prince in Bexley, a rambling roadhouse and now a hotel; I recall enjoying Trapeze, with bassist Glenn Hughes, who later joined Deep Purple. Up in town, the old Marquee in Wardour Street was my favoured venue for packed intimacy.
My pal remembers seeing Fleetwood Mac play the Fellowship Inn, a pub next to Bellingham station, in the late-60s!
I met Ferry in 2012 and he told me he was really into cycling in his youth, which surprised me for some reason. He was in a cycling club up north. Doesn't tie up with his glam image I guess.
As a little story Brockley County School (my old shitheap of a grammar school) on Hilly Fields would have a yearly gig to raise money for the old peoples Christmas party that we used to have.
Anyway one year we had The Herd booked to support The Coloured Rasins. Anyway the booking was some time in advance and Lo and Behold before the gig the Herd suddenly had a big hit with 'From the Underworld' with Peter Frampton on vocals, and they were massive seemingly overnight. However this was quite a regular happening in those days where overnight sensations had to honour their previous commitments, so we had The Herd in the packed school hall (now part of Prendergast) playing a gig to school students along with South London stalwarts The Coloured Rasins.
As an extra I believe Frampton wrote 'Show me the way' which is a song featured in the great book (and film) High Fidelity written by Arsenal fan Nick Hornby.
I recall the sound was very poor and I didn't really rate the band or the venue at the time!!
A few months later I heard Virginia Plain and soon changed my mind
Woolwich: Henry Cow... great gig but didn't go down well with most of the audience who'd expected a rock band
Greenwich Borough Hall: Man, Groundhogs, Soft Machine... all within a few weeks in magic Autumn of 74.
I remember posters for a whole load of other great bands (Black Widow, Steamhammer, East of Eden) that I didn't manage to see.
Saw them again at the Roundhouse about a year later, along with Man and Hawkwind.
Remember seeing the Amen corner at the Greenwich theatre, after the bend me shape me hit in 68. While in the 6th form at Bloomfield the place was the Woolwich poly and went to most of the gigs, including The Strawbs, Wild Turkey, a Jethro Tull breakaway, and I am pretty sure Edgar Broughton. Locally in Bexley the Black prince, Rory Gallagher, Uriah Heep, and the Groundhogs at The Harrow Inn
When I had the money at art college, The Marquee, The Lyceum in London. Greyhound and Fairfield halls across the road. The Greyhound used to have gig's in the lunchtime, and remember Roxy music playing there.Think half the art college went to that gig.
Probably was a golden age, as the music press was stuffed with gigs every day of the week,in Melody Maker, and Sounds. Used to spend Wednesday lunchtime, planning out the gigs for that week. Festivals most weekends of the summer. The free concerts in Hyde park, were particularly good, First time I saw Pink Floyd.