Author: jimmyc1968

Gigs from Abroad Part 19 – Nuremberg and Bamburg

In 2019 the annual lads trip gravitated over to Nuremberg, a city which is the second largest in Bavaria. It is encompassed on three sides by a huge forest and the other by a vegetation area with the quaint name ‘garlic land’. It had the honour of having the first steam-hauled railway in Germany in 1835 linking it with the nearby city of Furth under the auspices of the Bavarian Ludwig Railway, the route is covered today by the U1 Subway.

Nuremberg vista. Image Credit TripSavvy

There is a dark side to Nuremberg’s past as due to its geographical links to the Holy Roman Empire it was utilised as the location for the huge Nazi party conventions which became known as the Nuremberg rallies, the first taking place in 1927. On 2 January 1945 it was carpet bombed by the allies where ninety percent of the city was destroyed in an hour and was then recaptured in April 1945 after an intense ground troops battle. It was therefore the natural location for the Nuremberg trials that took place immediately after the war in the Palace of Justice which somehow had survived undamaged during the bombing.

The city rose again from the ashes and thankfully there remains many remnants of the walls and towers, and of course there is the obligatory castle! It also contains a bonny and evocative old town area where I recall us finding an excellent bar at the top of a steep incline, and I took a liking to the city itself. Famous Nurnberg alumni include the acclaimed actress Sandra Bullock who was educated in the city via a German mother and American military father who was stationed there.  

Also on that list would be musician Kevin Coyne who had an interesting life commencing from being born in Derby in 1944. Between 1965 and 1968 he spent three years as a psychiatric nurse at the renowned mental institution Whittingham Hospital in my hometown of Preston. Alongside this he was developing musical aspirations in the folk-blues domain and his first band Siren was signed to John Peel’s Dandelion Records label in 1969.

He also had the unusual accolade of appearing at an alternative festival in protest against the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm. He once turned down a meeting with Elektra Records to discuss the possibility of replacing Jim Morrison in the Doors. He was pals with Virgin label mates John Lydon and the Mekons and one of his bands contained Zoot Money, subsequently the musical director of the 1987 TV series Tutti Frutti featuring Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson. The other band member was Andy Summers, latterly of the Police.  

Kevin Coyne Razorblade picture. Image Credit rootsvinylguide.com

In 1985, after a nervous breakdown and ongoing alcohol issues he relocated to Nuremberg, where having finally ditched the demon drink, he continued to maintain a prolific recording and touring schedule alongside furthering his books and painting outputs.

His enigmatic approach could be exemplified by the album cover for his 1977 release of ‘In Living Black and White’. On the front cover he is seen smiling and artistically bowing to an invisible audience whilst the back is the same photo from the rear where you can see he is holding tightly an open straight razor. He lived there until his death in 2004. The reason I have catalogued his extended story is that at the end of the day despite opportunities he is the tale of another aspiring underground artist, who could be a mirror of many others who have peppered the musical historical landscape without any meaningful recognition over the decades.

Nuremberg is also the start point for a unique annual music event called the Techno Train Nurnberg. The high-speed rave train leaves the city with DJ’s, punters and high-quality sound systems on board and then travels non-stop for seven hours through Bavaria until it lands in Munich, where an after party takes place. Most definitely not my cup of Yorkshire, but it certainly quantifies as a novel event.  

A common theme on the lad’s sojourns is to always include a day trip and, on this occasion, we undertook a 40 minute train journey over to Bamberg. The old town there contains 2400 timber houses situated in the old town and that has been badged as an UNESCO world heritage site since 1993. The most famous ‘local’ resident would be Willy Messerschmitt, the aircraft designer who had some planes named after him and their most famous band in my view would be the turn of the decade punk band Go Faster Nuns.

Go Faster Nuns. Image Credit youtube.com

Bamberg also had a lot of character, and we had a good sally around and traversed up another steep hill, this time without any reward as the bar we were scouring for was subject to seasonal hours and as a result not open. Back in the town, we visited a bar called Bamberg Mercator Di Sappori and witnessed a local band called Endlich Samstag

Manchester Venues 145 to 146

The National Football Museum was conceived in the 1990’s and subsequently opened its doors in 2001. Its location was Preston North End’s Deepdale stadium and was home to many artefacts which evolved into the Football Heritage collection. I could not think of a more justifiable host as in my view Preston is the home of football as they were one of the twelve founding members of the league in 1888. In that initial season they won the FA Cup and the league without losing a game and as a result were then forever tagged as the ‘Invincibles’.   

The original ‘Invincibles’. Image Credit These Football Times.

In the women’s game the first and most famous team was the Dick Kerr Ladies who were a factory team in Preston formed in 1917. In 1920 they defeated an illustrious French team 2-0 in front of a 25,000 crowd, a historic first international women’s football game. On Boxing Day 1920 they played a charity match against St Helens Ladies who they beat 4-0 at Goodison Park with 53,000 spectators packed in, a world record for a women’s club match that lasted for a further 98 years.

The following year the FA disgracefully banned women from using fields and stadiums controlled by FA-affiliated clubs and the ban stayed in place for an astounding 50 years until 1971. Dick Kerr Ladies stayed in existence until 1965, and they had a remarkable record of winning 682 of the 755 games they played. If I was a filmmaker that sounds like a movie script I would be interested in!

Despite being popular the museum closed in Preston in 2010 and relocated to the Urbis building in Manchester. It was caused by a combination of local council ineptitude but also ‘big city’ pressure that caused the move, and for that second reason alone I begin to chunner when I walk past the museum and have never attended there since it was moved from its spiritual home!

As I unpack my imaginary soapbox and place it back in the metaphorical cupboard, I shall move away from the Urbis building to the Cathedral Gardens that lie adjacent to it. This area was a car park back in the day and the green open space now in place was only developed after the damage caused by the IRA bomb in 1996. It is situated nearby to the flagship Mark and Spencer’s store which at the stage of its opening was the largest in the world. 

Manchester Cathedral Gardens. Image Credit Pinterest.

During the spring and summer months they have sporadic food and music events and currently have a Christmas ice skating rink in place there. One such gathering took place within the auspices of the Manchester International Festival in July 2021 as we were just beginning to drag ourselves out of the Covid pandemic period. As a result of the increased checks still in place at that stage, we were in a long queue on entry and then were escorted to a table. The stewards perhaps unwittingly placed us with a fine viewpoint of Manchester Cathedral Gardens Stage 1, but there were no complaints from myself as my 16-month drought of witnessing a live band was about to reach a denouement.    

The weather thankfully was set fair and behaving itself. There was the obligatory app available to download and link up with the surrounding vendors, thus cold beers and pizzas were summarily ordered. The first band we saw were the Goa Express from Burnley who contain in their ranks the Clarke brothers. Last year they released their self-titled debut album, and I have heard them many times played on 6 music. They provided a pleasing slab of fuzzy garage rock, reminiscent somewhat of Nine Black Alps.  

The Goa Express. Image Credit brightonandhovenews.org

At that point we spotted Tris and her pals (unfortunately not a band!) who were ensconced on a nearby table and via text messaging we surreptitiously manipulated a ‘chance’ meeting to have a quick parlay and a catch up. The other act to play was a local DJ crossover act called Chips with Everything (not half rice, half chips!) who have been part of the leftfield circuit for over two decades.

If we then swivelled and faced in the opposite direction, we had a slightly more obstructed view of Manchester Cathedral Gardens Stage 2 where we saw Porij (a deliberate mispronunciation of Porridge) play. They are a four-piece art-pop Manchester act who met initially at the Royal Northern College of Music a couple of years earlier. They have since garnered Coldplay support slots and then released their debut album ‘Teething’ in April 2024.