Preston Venue 26 – 53 Degrees Club Part 2

I recall one particular gig at Preston 53 Degrees Club where I was endeavouring to read the set times which were located behind a white line at the side of the stage. This generated an increasingly fraught exchange with an over-officious bouncer who insisted I ask him to have a look as I could not possibly cross the white line. I felt like that mischievous character in Monsters Inc!

In early 2008 I saw another band with a big reputation namely the Courteeners. They were formed in the Manchester area with the lead singer and songwriter Liam Fray being a previous Salford University alumnus. They were three months shy of releasing their gold selling debut again ‘St Jude’. They regretfully didn’t cut it for me as despite some good moments they fell into the ‘lad rock’ category.

October 2008 saw my next visit to see Dirty Pretty Things. They had formed after the breakup of the London band the Libertines and featured Carl Barat and the drummer Gary Powell from said band and had also recruited Didz Hammond from Cooper Temple Clause. They had announced they were going to split 2 days before the gig so we as a result we caught them on their final tour.   

In February 2009 the infamous John Cooper Clarke was in town which coincidentally was mine and my good pal John Dewhurst’s 100th gig together. He was good fun and was cognisant of the location as he humorously embellished his act with anti-Blackpool gags!

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John Cooper Clarke. Image Credit The Daily Telegraph.

Eighteen months later I saw Ash, who I have seen numerous times, but this was the first time in Preston. They had built up a commendable back catalogue by that point and they were very enjoyable.        

Later that year I saw the old timers Wedding Present, a mere 22 years since I had first seen them. They as ever ploughed their C86 sounds to good effect.

There followed a three-year gap before I saw the punk stalwarts Ruts DC who unlike many of their counterparts still hold their relevance. They formed initially in London Town in 1977 and produce a reggae-influenced punk sound. They were originally titled as the Ruts before adding DC to their moniker.

They were in good form and their two mainstay hits ‘Babylon’s Burning’ and ‘In a Rut’ went down a storm. They were supported by Burnley’s Not Sensibles.

 

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Ruts DC on stage. Image Credit Sunderland Echo.

A big local gig occurred on 19/10/13 when my mate Jez Catlow’s band Deadwood Dog performed their first headline gig there. I know it was a big moment for Preston’s finest bouzouki infused punk rock band and they were in tip top form. They were supported by their erstwhile supporter, the singer Dan Donnelly from Belfast who has performed as a live musician for Joy Zipper, the Levellers and Wonderstuff.  I saw them there again the following year supported by Matt Gallagher.  

In mid-2014 I saw Wolf Alice for the second time having witnessed a gobsmackingly good performance from them at the Deaf Institute the year before. They were still good value with their star quality evident but overall not quite as sharp that night, but it is somewhat tricky firing yourself up in front of a half full inactive audience on a cold Tuesday night in Preston!

Completing a full circle from their inaugural performance in 2005 The Subways made a return to the club venue in 2015. They produced their usual energetic performance. 

When the main venue downstairs closed in 2015, they continued to have sporadic performances upstairs which included my final visit on 21/04/17 to see Electric Six. They were as ever good clean fun but not in the same league as their astonishingly good performance when I saw them for the first time at the old University venue in 2003.

    

Third T in the Park Festival

My third and final visit to T in the Park was in the summer of 2001. It was the usual crew of Uncle George, John Dewhurst, Gill and I with the addition of a new name in the ranks as one of Gill’s younger sisters Justine made her virgin festival appearance.

We encountered a dramatic start to the weekend’s proceedings as I had a tyre blowout on the M6 near Lancaster necessitating the always challenging spare tyre change on the hard shoulder.

I have always been a big tennis fan, and this 2001 event was in the days when Tim Henman was burdening the British responsibility, a few years before Andy Murray broke the glass ceiling in terms of historic achievements. Thus, we were listening to his Wimbledon semi-final against Goran Ivanisevic in the car and he was in control of the match on the journey up before a cruel and sustained rain delay.

We were back in residence at the tranquil Glenfarg Hotel which was a welcome sight after a long drive. We caught Top of the Pops on TV presented by Gail Porter with what I believe was The Strokes debut performance, their track of choice was ‘New York City Cops’. I had seen a stellar sold-out show by them 16 days earlier at Manchester Hop and Grape.

After dinner, we foolishly decamped to the hotel back bar and started sampling the local single malt which had repercussions the following day! Due to the hotel being full on the first night the ladies were staying in an annex about 10 minutes’ walk away, so we escorted them over there, swaying all the way!

The weather for the weekend was a tad iffy, but obviously no patch on the monsoon apocalypse of the previous year. On the Saturday we headed into Perth for couple of liveners before heading to the site in a cab. The route from the cab drop to the entrance took us past a rather fragrant battery chicken farm.

In the King Tuts Tent I witnessed the gentle sounds of Kurt Wagner’s Lambchop. On the main stage we saw ‘Mr Wobbly Head’ David Gray and a decent headlining set from the Stereophonics. In the NME tent I caught My Vitriol.

The highlight of the day for me though were the Proclaimers though everyone disrespectfully disowned me, and I attended on my own though they patently missed a treat. The tent was packed to the rafters, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The audience camaraderie was wholly evident exemplified by the fact that when I needed a comfort break, I managed to sneak in and out mid set under the canvas assisted by some generous fellow punters. If I had to return to the main entrance, I would not have gained re-entry!  

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The Proclaimers with David Tennent. Image Credit BBC.

On arrival back at the hotel, I discovered the Henman match had progressed, but further rain delays meant it remained unfinished.

The following day we decided to travel directly from the hotel and prior to lunch saw on a back-room bar portable TV Henman finally lose his 3-day epic battle.  Another plucky British defeat, we have sporting pedigree in that particular pursuit! That said, I am posting this blog on the day of  England playing Italy in the Euro Football final, so hopefully we can lay that curse to bed this evening.  

A gentle lunch and a few sherbets proceeded the taxi ride. Most of my time that day was spent in the NME Stage Tent witnessing Cosmic Rough Riders, Goldfinger, Ash and the headliners JJ72. My favourite act of the day there was a sparkling set from Grandaddy who played a crunchier set than when I had seen them a year earlier.

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Grandaddy. Image Credit nme.com

I caught portions of Toploader and Texas on the main stage. The other highlight was a terrifically noisy set from the laconic Scottish miserabilists Arab Strap.

We then encountered some taxi trauma when initially it did not turn up as scheduled until I gave them a rollicking and the taxi eventually surfaced to take us home and provide an ending to my T in the Park trilogy!  

On an unrelated point I attended my first gig yesterday post pandemic at the Manchester International Festival after a unprecedented break of 487 days and hopefully we can all attend more in the coming months.