Tag: Motley Crue

Gigs From Abroad Part 27 – Greece Part 1

The country of Greece is located in Southeast Europe and is bordered by four other countries and four different seas. It has a long illustrious history, and it is regularly cited as the birthplace of Western civilisation which incorporates eclectic elements such as philosophy, science, theatre and mathematics.  

It also has the accolade of creating the original Olympic Games, the first iteration taking place in 776 BC which then ran until AD 393, with some fantastically named contestants, one that caught my eye was Herodorus of Megara who was a ten-time trumpet champion!  The modern version was initially held in Athens in 1896, and they subsequently also hosted the event in 2004.

Herodotus of Magara in a post-Olympics black and white photo shoot. Image Credit parthenon-greekjewelry.blogspot.com

In the 4th century Greece partook in a considerable amount of pilfering by conquering much of the ancient world. They had many wars and strife in the 20th century before democracy finally took hold in 1974. They adopted the Euro in 2001 but then had a bruising debt crisis for around a decade commencing in 2008. Tourism is their main income source, and they have been recorded as the ninth most visited country in the world.

 There is a staggering proliferation of islands which number between 1200 and 6000 dependent on how you quantify your size classification. In fact, because there are so many they are organised into clusters, with seven different colour coding’s. I wonder how many people can lay claim to having visited them all. It is estimated that there are between 166 and 227 that are currently inhabited.

The one with the largest area is Crete with a population of 625k, with the second one on the list being Euboea (or Evvia), which I had never actually heard of. The latter apparently resides only 60m from the mainland over the Euripus Strait. A decent swimmer could easily cover that distance, but my 10 metre badge might result in me needing a rescue! The smallest populated island is Gavdos with a grand total of 142 punters, as a result I am sure there are no secrets on that island.

Greek music dates to way back when with mixed gender choruses performing for entertainment and spiritual reasons with archaic instruments such as the double-reed aulos (similar to a flute) which coincidentally has been recently digitally recreated as part of the wonderful sounding Lost Sounds Orchestra. There was also a twelve string instrument called a lyre or kithara, which could perhaps be lazily described as the first guitar, if so, I am eternally grateful to whoever invented it!  

A Lyre instrument. Image Credit ar.inspiredpencil.com

There have been many famous Greeks including the actors Telly Savalas and Jennifer Aniston, King Constantine II who won an Olympic sailing gold in 1960 and poet Homer (not from the Simpsons) who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey which are renowned in ancient Greek literature.

On the musical front there is Marina Diamandis, lead singer of Marina and the Diamonds, Tommy Lee of Motley Crue, Dimitri Minakakis from Dillinger Escape Plan, the Foals lead singer Yannis Philippakis and Alex Kapranos who fronts Franz Ferdinand.

Gill and I’s first foray abroad was on a budget trip to Paris and the journey each way was twelve hours in total involving three trains and a hovercraft. On the next sojourn in 1990 we sensibly decided to fly and headed off to Corfu and stayed in a resort in the far north called Kassiopi. The commute involved a vertigo inducing coach transfer around the sheer drop hairpin roads, leading to my assertion that those drivers are so accomplished!

Marina Diamandis. Image Credit upload.wikimedia.org

When I first started in my current job on 28 July 1986 (my fortieth anniversary is rapidly approaching) my initial timesheet was signed off by a manager called Vera Egan. Now a couple of years later Vera relocated to live abroad, but I wasn’t aware where she had emigrated to. That question was answered when I went to report a small accommodation issue at the agent’s office near the harbour, and there was none other than Vera behind the desk!   

I recall us visiting the UNESCO world heritage list Corfu town which was a bonny atmospheric place. I am sure we must have seen some live acts whilst we there, but I have nothing recorded in my annals, thus any will be in the unquantifiable Jimmy ‘lost gigs’ list. In those days the only music I can recall being provided was through the headphones of a portable tape deck and whilst lounging in a secluded cove, my ‘burning’ memory of the song that was playing was Eternal Flame by the Bangles.  

Preston Venue 60 The Ferret – Part 3

If you walk to the back of the Preston Ferret there is a well utilised beer garden, where you can seek some quiet solace and grab some air in the gaps between bands. In a spot just before you head outside there was for a spell the traditional cramped pub pool table.

The Ferret beer garden. Image Credit visitpreston.com

In November 2012 after seeing an underwhelming Eddie and the Hot Rods gig at the Continental I witnessed Bobbie Peru for whom the driving force is Bert Genovese. He originated from Connecticut but is now based in Manchester. Next on the list was False Flag who supported Piatcions. The main band were from Domodossola in Italy and originally named Thee Piatcions, they provided some enjoyable psych infused shoegaze but sadly only ever produced one single EP.

In March 2013 I attended my mate Jez Catlow’s 50th birthday shindig where he played sets from his three bands in Strettles next door. During breaks in those sets we wandered the 20 yards to the Ferret and saw local bands The Escobars and Binary. The same month after a Nine Black Alps gig at Preston Blitz I witnessed the bruising punk of Beard of Wolves, a two-piece from Wolverhampton who wore pig masks on stage. They memorably described their sound ‘as getting beaten by a meth addled Scarlet Johansen’ and unsurprisingly imploded for ever in 2014.

Beard of Wolves. Image Credit thrashhits.com

In May 2013 I saw Dave Clark and the Stones who proceeded Orphan Boy from Grimsby. The latter combo split in 2015 but reformed in 2022 and seem to be still active on the gig circuit. The following week I saw again The Chapman Family alongside Rook and the Ravens who feature the Fay brothers in their lineup. Also on that bill were Brassic and The Laze who evolved from a sludge outfit called Doom Cow. For a three-year period, The Laze had their own Valhalla club night at Liverpool Zanzibar’s club and their sound was heavily influenced by Frank Zappa.In August 2013, I saw the Escobars for a second time alongside the Locals.

A couple of months later I saw Deadwood Dog’s first headline set across the road at 53 Degrees. After the Dog’s show I sallied over to the Ferret and continued the canine theme by catching the scuzzy grunge sounds of Cat Called Dog. They must surely or at least subconsciously derive their name from Cat Deeley’s character Cat the Dog from SMTV Live which used to salve my hangover on Saturday mornings in the late 1990’s!

My first appearance of 2014 involved local combo The Kausters who were supported by Local Girls. Also on the bill was Matthew Cogley who performed solo but also doubled as the guitarist and singer with Chorley band Failsafe. His band once appeared on an episode in the third series of the successful Inbetweeners TV series and appeared at the famous South by Southwest festival in 2010. There is however a desperately sad postscript in that he subsequently died whilst on a trip to Belfast on New Years Day 2015 at the tender age of 30.

Later that month I saw the quirky four-piece Hello Bamboo. Soon after I saw an absolute belter of a show when Massive Wagons who are a rock band from Lancaster hit the stage. They reminded me of the Darkness in a good way and were terrific fun and incited a febrile audience reaction. Since that gig they have had a steady but exponential rise with support slots with Status Quo and Ugly Kid Joe prior to two individual headline tours and a top ten UK position with their ‘House of Noise’ album released during the pandemic.

Massive Wagons. Image Credit planetradio.co.uk

Next up was some soulful folk from Bill Orrick followed by some reggae rock crossover vibes from Conscious Collective. In November 2014 it was Moon and the Beams with their self-described slightly-delic rock who supported Mothertongue who provided some prog rock sounds. The final show of 2014 was a four-piece from Leeds called Clay who revolved around the nucleus of the Harvey brothers. The main band that night was Avalanche Party who provided some gritty garage punk and they hailed from the windswept ‘Wuthering Heights’ North Yorkshire moors. 

After my first exposure to the delightful Lovely Eggs at the Continental in March 2015 we decamped to the Ferret to catch some ska punk with Honour Roots and some prog with Jagwar. Next up was Nikki and the Styx (not the Motley Crue bassist) who supported local glam rockers Dragstrip Junkies whose members had the evocative names of Adam Wired, Johnny Rocker and Paul Wasted. A double bill followed with Monster as Humans, who reminded me of Aerogramme, preceding Midas Fall. The main band being a Scottish female duo who had gothic tones.