Tag: Public Image Ltd

Preston Venue 31 – 53 Degrees Main Hall

I have previously covered the Club venue and in this week’s blog I am going to concentrate on the 53 Degrees Main Hall. The venue’s opening in 2005 spelt the death knell to Preston Mill as a gig going concern as there was patently not room in Preston for two such singular locations.

The main hall comprised of a capacity of 1500 and had a sizeable bar facing you on entrance. There was a large, raised area before steps dropping down into a sizeable pit in front of the stage. In their time, they attracted some decent acts here but overall, I always felt it was a golden opportunity missed where they could potentially have attracted better acts, maybe that slightly biased perception gleans from certain fave bands that I thought would have great to see in that setting!

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53 Degrees Venue. Image Credit 53degrees.net

My first visit there was on 20/05/05 when I went to see Supergrass. They were in good form as they had a commendable back catalogue and played my two cherished tracks of theirs, namely ‘Caught by the Fuzz’ and ‘Late in the Day’. Our group was stood off to the right-hand side of the stage where it felt very draughty, but reasons for that became evident as I had an unpleasant bout of man-flu for about 10 days after. The lurgy nearly denied me the opportunity to watch PNE playing West Ham in the Championship play off final (I wish it had!)

Now I have never warmed at all to Blur, talented musicians, and all that, but for whatever reason their music grates on me. Whilst up in Scotland for Hogmanay we were listening to John Peels festive 50 and they featured a couple of half decent tracks from the bands lead guitarist Graham Coxon. This led to an attendance at one of his gigs in October 2006. Most of his set was based on his Ramones influenced latest album ‘Love Travels at Illegal Speeds’. He had his moments and with the shortness of the tracks swiftly whipped through more than 20 songs.

A couple of years later I saw my standout gig there when the Subways were in town. They had so much energy with lead singer Billy Lunn a whirling dervish on stage and his then girlfriend Charlotte Cooper a perfect ally to his antics. It was arguably one of the most joyous moshpits I have ever encountered when they played ‘Oh Yeah’ off their terrific debut album ‘Young for Eternity’. You could never fault these kids for effort! They were supported by Enjoy Destroy.

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The Subways in full flight mode. Image Credit buzzbands.la

In October 2010 a group of us headed into town to watch Half Man Half Biscuit, only to discover the gig had been cancelled at the last minute. It was rearranged for six weeks later on a Friday evening clashing with a North End game. We left the match early resulting in missing the first couple of songs of their set. They were very enjoyable, and they have such a devoted following that it always results in a cracking atmosphere.

In 2011, we went to see John Lydon’s combo, Public Image Ltd. I was far from an expert knowledge on their output but appreciated their intelligent songcraft which stood up well in a live environment.

When I was young whippersnapper at the tender age of 14, I went through a short Adam Ant phase and 30 years hence I was persuaded to go and see him again and this was my final gig there.

The place was packed to the rafters and access to the front area was tricky. There was an eejit and bully from my youth in residence who was blocking the accessway who I navigated past but who then somewhat predictably nudged me down the steps, but I maintained my footing and more importantly didn’t spill a drop of my beer! He was and obviously remains someone just not worth bothering with in any format! The gig was also a bit of a limp affair capping off a forgettable night.

Wickerman Festivals 6 and 7

Wickerman Festival 6 took place in July 2007 with the usual suspects in attendance. The bill that year obviously contained the ever-present Dangleberries. The ska influence was well represented with Scottish band Big Hand providing a rousing energetic set and legends The Beat were in attendance led admirably by Rankin Roger and Junior Rankin.

Cider Spiders provided a New York inspired set in the vein of the Strokes and The Law were representing the fair city of Dundee. Neck was a Celtic punk band from the London suburb of Holloway and in the same ballpark were the Peatbog Fairies. John Langan from Glasgow played as a solo artist before he went onto to form the John Langan Band. Also, on the bill were Modus, The Targets and Xcerts from Aberdeen.    

The electronic element was covered with Somerset’s Eat Static and dance legends The Orb. Reggae collective Easy Star All Stars were on the bill who interestingly once recorded their interpretation of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ amusingly titled ‘Dub Side of the Moon’!  

Former Public Image Ltd bassist Jah Wobble and his English Roots Band also played alongside Hayseed Dixie from Nashville whose name is a linguistic tangent on AC/DC’s name and their first album was titled ‘A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC’ who unfortunately despite all that back story were pretty limp live. Huey Morgan and his Fun Lovin Criminals also provided an energetic set.

The Wickerman has over the years had a lot of old punk bands playing, many of them are very frayed and have seen better days, thus when a band who can still kill it on stage arrives, you take serious notice. One that met that criterion was Edinburgh’s the Rezillos who were absolutely superb with their prime single ‘Top of the Pops’ being the highlight.

I recall at this particular festival we all imbibed too much on the Friday and things became a tad hazy resulting in a tidy hangover the next day which slightly tarnished the Proclaimers headline set as they were in stellar form with ‘Cap in Hand’, ‘500 Miles’ and ‘Letter to America’ being rapturously received. The Proclaimer boys had digs at the Selkirk Arms, located 10 steps from Dewhurst Towers! 

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Wickerman Main Stage. Image Credit BBC.

The festival site was about 8 miles down a winding dark country road from the Towers located halfway between Kirkcudbright and Dalbeattie. There was shortage of local taxi firms which necessitated us having an uneasy alliance with Allens Taxis run by the larger-than-life character Mr Allen who we utilised for all the 14 Wickers we attended.  

He could at times be an obstinate chap. One time we were in a full minibus returning from the site and he received a call requesting a taxi and much to our chagrin he shamefully told the customer he was unavailable as he was in Lockerbie which was a mere 50 miles away!

Wickerman 7 saw KT Tunstall in town, there was some funk from the Cuban Brothers and the Kazoo Funk Orchestra and also Dodgy who were ‘Staying out for the summer’! Also, on the bill were Twisted Nerve, Colin Storrie, Rodan, Robin Cairns, Underground Heroes, AKA Ska, Parka, Underling and Beecake.

Annie Nightingale performed a DJ set and Lancashire Hotpots provided some light relief, and ‘Indie Disco’ was fun to hear. The Manc legends the Fall played on the main stage and rolled out my fave track ‘Mr Pharmacist’.   

Additionally, on the roster were Orphan Boy, De Salvo, Bass Syndicate, Peaking Goddess Collective and The Ads.

There was a decent set from Edinburgh’s Broken Records and some rousing punk from the old stalwarts Sham 69. The highlight of this particular weekend was the last act who played after the Wickerman burning on the Saturday night. This was namely Gary Numan who I though beforehand would be a tad one-dimensional, but he was terrific and created a real cacophony on the main stage post-midnight for all the ‘Numanoids’ in attendance!

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Gary Numan. Image Credit ukfestivalguides.com