So where did my gig journey start I hear you ask? Back in the mists of time, 15th December 1983 to be precise Jimmy attended his first gig. I was 15 years old, 9 stone dripping wet, constant bouts of tonsillitis, John McEnroe haircut, all in all a bit of a catch!
It was a very cold Thursday night when myself and Tony Miller trogged down to Withytrees to pick up the bus for the 20 mile ride to Lancaster. We met Paul Hutton and his mates who lived near Lancaster. The bus took an age to arrive at the University campus.
Lancaster University as a gig venue was an enigma as due to its the sizeable capacity of the Great Hall (1350) and its accessible location from the M6, it attracted a remarkably high calibre of artists between 1969 and 1985. The attached article relates to a book written by the promoter Barry Lucas whose roster included the Who, T Rex, Queen, Roxy Music and the Ramones amongst others and tells the tale of just missing out on the Rolling Stones gracing the stage.
The university has expanded exponentially since my visit and my brother in law Phil who is currently employed there tells me there are now three distinct campuses.
We landed early and caught up with the others in attendance and begin to queue up and as if by magic out of one of the student’s windows came the familiar intro of ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ at high volume – you may recognise the tune!
When the doors opened like innocent young fools we scarpered straight to the front and stayed there for the duration of the gig. I have no real recollection of the layout of the venue due to our static location.
Now, everyone recalls their first gig however the first band could easily be the support of the band you have come to see, in our case this was Raid the North who my review at the time cuttingly but not very eloquently declared them as ‘Heavy Metal crap’.
A time later, Slade arrived on stage and were louder and infinitely better than expected. I realised instantly I had found my vocation in life. The place seemed to become rather busier and my scrawny frame was literally pinned against the stage due to what was another fabulous discovery – ‘the moshpit’! This is an area of the crowd that I have frequented as a regular occurrence at many subsequent gigs. Their bombastic presence and performance left me equally elated and drained by the end.
We stumbled into the night and caught the last bus home and then regaled the colourful tale to our school friends the next day – my gig journey had started in style!
Now, it is your turn and I want to hear about your first gigs – comments very welcome
Merry Christmas to you all and I will post my next update in 2020.
Space @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall, I’m guessing 1997/98, age 14/15 with my best mate Lucy… She wasn’t so keen as a bit of a metalhead but I loved it! Scousers belting out the female of the species which inspired this mini-feminist independent pain in the ass to many more gigs in many places over many more years! Bootleg band shirt from outside the venue too… And for a few years afterwards my mum always had to pick us up (haha Radiohead in a big top in Warrington was a classic mum-collection, living as we did near Ludlow, Shropshire at the time…!) Have a great Christmas and see you in the new year!
Quality review thanks Ellie
My first gig was The Chris Barber Jazz Band at the grand theatre in Blackpool. Top quality. I only realised many years later that he played with the late great Lonnie Donnegan. My second gig was 5 star at the Preston Guild Hall, then Nik Kershaw and for one song only The Smiths before some hooligan threw something at Morrissey causing the gig to be cancelled. They split up the year afterwards so never had a chance to see them live.
I wasn’t there myself but I know many who were at that aborted Smiths gig I believe it was a 50p coin that was the weapon of choice!
I have long thought my first gig was Iron Maiden supported by Anthrax, it was the latter I really wanted to see with my best mate Sid being the big Maiden fan. I was 16 coming up on 17, fledgling hair growth (what some may call a mullet – please don’t judge), denim jacket adorned with patches (thanks Mum), excitement raging and tickets in hand off we went on the coach trip from Blackpool to Birmingham, pick up outside C&A on Bank Hey st I recall and then stops in Preston and Wigan.
The coach was scary enough, plenty of older heads on board and raucous drinking songs. Cannot recall much about the venue other than seeing speaker stacks the size of a bus! I think we had standing tickets, but have no recollection of near death mosh pit moments. Anthrax played a blinder, the internet recalls a set list I’m afraid I cannot, though reads like a killer set!
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/anthrax/1990/nec-arena-birmingham-england-2bd728a2.html
All I really recall of Maiden was Bruce Dickinson encouraging us to buy Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter after Xmas as Maiden had a plan to get a number 1 single some gubbins about how there were enough people seeing them on the two nights in Birmingham to get to number one in the post Xmas sales lull if we all bought the single, we all cheered the idea of metal being number 1 in the pop charts and not only did I buy it (on CD single natch) but it made number 1 too. Some marketing ploy for a poor song, that’s not revisionism I thought so at the time too.
Anyhow, all this is fine but my actual first gig was not this one, see I knew I’d seen Queensryche around that time and a little googling revealed the flaws in my memory. Turns out the internet claims Queensryche played at the Manchester Apollo on the 11 November 1990 a month or so before I saw Maiden/Anthrax. As you’ve already covered the venue Jimmy I shall add little, other than I recall my surprise to be sat in the stalls, in rows of theatre seats for my first gig. Queensryche had just released Empire and this tour they were playing songs from that album first but the big draw was that they were ending the set by playing their concept album Operation Mindcrime in full live, something they had not done previously. Safe to say I loved that record and couldn’t wait to see and hear it. If you’d met me around then you would have heard the leaking sounds from my always-on-walkman of Operation Mindcrime, an album I wore the tape out on. My overriding memory of the gig is feeling the bass, the vibration of my entire chest when Eddie Jackson plucked a string or Scott Rockenfield hit one of his enormous double kick drums. Again it was the coach trip from C&A, I think Sid was in tow for this one too, I seem to recall we bought the tickets for both of the above gigs around the same time, which might be why I confused them chronologically in my memory, Queensryche being my pick and Maiden his.
Anyhoo waffled on enough, thanks for the Blog Jimmy, really enjoying it, Off to Listen to I am the Law now 🙂
Top review Dave and I am sure a young Mullet headed Bloom would have cut quite a figure!
Was also at the smiths gig and lost a quid coin….anyone found it???😂😂
First gig : 10cc Preston guild hall 1983….Just a few months prior to yours Jimmy lad !
Thanks Rick and as discussed the other night please see Damascus review in Clouds blog. Keep the first gig reviews coming everybody!