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500 Gigs

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Warning – self indulgence alert!

Earlier this month I saw Pulp in Sheffield, which according to the little intro video before they came on stage, was their 532nd gig! Rather selfishly, I was more interested in the fact it was my 500th!

What started with a couple of failed attempts (see below) & has taken in some of the biggest names in music, it felt quite fitting that I celebrated this with Richard Hawley & Pulp (two artists I adore) in their hometown.

You may ask how do I know this is my 500th and the answer is that I am an absolute loser who keeps a spreadsheet of details for all concerts I’ve attended! However, this has meant that I have a log of every gig (with supports!) which is a great record to have & is great to look back on.

A few stats;

First – Bon Jovi (9th July 1996) with Skunk Anansie, Ricky Ross & a local band called Alone supporting. As I have mentioned on this site previously, I should have seen Nirvana (27th March 1994) but it was postponed for Cobains overdose in Rome & then ultimately cancelled for the obvious!
I spent years moping & trying to get tickets for other shows, but being aged 11 & not able to drive – getting into Manchester wasn’t possible! Luckily (for me & him as it turns out), just around the time of my 13th birthday, my older cousin split with his girlfriend so had a spare ticket for this & this was my present sorted. I am still very grateful he took me as i’m sure dealing with a nobby 13 year old when you are in your 20s is not ideal. Also furthered by the fact that I was peppering him with questions about when he saw Oasis at the same venue!

Most – The National (19) followed by James (15) & Puressence (11). Not likely to see The National agai whilst then continue pumping out shite albums (although this years effort is better than the previous 2!)

Disappointing – Belle & Sebastian (29th January 2006) at the Ritz in Manchester. It was the first date of a tour & they were very poor. Stuart Murdoch told off one of the band (over the microphone) as she moved on the stage whilst he was talking between songs & it made me think he was a nobber. Something that has been a bit of a hurdle when listening to them since. He was the most unlikeable person I had ever seen on stage until I saw Ray Davies (27th June 2010) & he has held the crown since!

Favourite – A few jump to mind. Ryan Adams (23rd November 2002) was incredible & you could have heard a pin drop whilst he was on. Duke Special (20th February 2007) was a riotously fun evening & ended with him doing the encore stood on the bar. The National (10th July 2007) at the Sugarmill in Stoke was the first gig I went to after the smoking ban came into effect & the venue stank! Smoke really hd some of those odours! When they toured Alligator & Boxer they were truly one of the most exciting bands around.

Worst – The Cranberries (13th December 1999). A half full Manchester Apollo with shouts of ‘turn that fucking bass down’ between songs. Sound was awful and they clearly didn’t want to be there. After a few songs the audience agreed.

Surprising – Tom Jones (28th June 2009). What a voice! Only really appreciated when heard live!

Favourite Venue – Hop & Grape Manchester (or Academy 3 as it is now known….. it’s not though, its the Hop & Grape, with the Main Debating Hall downstairs!)

Least Favourite Venue – Hyde Park. Why bother having gigs there! It’s too quiet & all about stupid VIP sections etc.

Biggest Achievement – Getting tickets for me & my Dad to see Leonard Cohen at Manchester Opera House (17th June 2008) & being on the 3rd row. It was magical.

Best year – 2007 – 50 gigs in total

I’m pretty chuffed to look back & see that within the 500 I have seen Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Beyonce, Blondie, Blue, Bob Dylan. Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Foo Fighters (not quite Nirvana but ho-hum), Green Day, Iron Maiden, Joe Strummer, Kylie, Leonard Cohen, Madonna, Metallica, Morrissey, Muse, New Order, Nick Cave, Oasis, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller, Pet Shop Boys, PJ Harvey, Prince, Pulp, REM, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Take That, The Pogues, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, The Specials, Tony Bennett, U2.

As per the original warning, apologies for the self indulgence. However, I thought this is the only place that may appreciate this.

6

Comments

  1. On my sheet I do have some gaps & googling has not helped me resolve. If anyone knows who these mystery supports were, then please let me know. It would be eternally appreciated!

    The Cranberries Apollo Manchester Monday 13th December 1999
    ?????

    Shane MacGowan & The Popes Olympia Dublin Friday 6th September 2002
    ?????

    Daniel Bedingfield Academy Manchester Saturday 29th March 2003
    ?????

    The Saw Doctors Parr Hall Warrington Thursday 17th April 2003
    ?????

    Duke Special The Deaf Institute Manchester Sunday 25th January 2009
    Also supported by Dan Michealson & The Coastguards, but there was a 2nd support & I don’t know who!
    ?????

    The Slow Show Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen London Friday 20th September 2013
    Also supported by Ruu Campbell, but there was a 2nd support & I don’t know who!
    ?????

    • Dunno if it helps, but I did the sound twice for The Slow Show in 2012. First time the support was Blue Rose Code, the second supports were Ruu Campbell and Stefan Melbourne.

        • If memory serves, he’s from Manchester. I think the last time I did sound for him was 5 or so years ago*, he performed as a duo with his fiance (Chloe?) rebranded as We Were Strangers.

          Why do I remember this rubbish?

          (*) Edith: October 2017

          • Haha, I am the same. Ask me what I had for tea last night & I will struggle. Ask me which exact seat I sat in for The Coral at Manc Apollo in 2003 (D12), who supported (Hokum Clones) & what track they finished on (Migraine) & I’m your man! (I have just verified all of these without consulting the sheet!)

            Thank you so much for filling in this gap, I really appreciate it 🙂 My sheet now has this added with a note to credit your good self

    • Top gig going @seanioio.

      Saw Duke Special in 2009 in Derby and Thomas Truax supported, but I think you’d remember him.

      I also saw him in 2007 at The Bodega (probably still called The Social back then) in Nottingham a couple of days after you saw him. He also did the encore stood (well stooped) on the bar, as was Chip Bailey.

      Looking forward to seeing him again later in the year. He’d be top of my most seen list. I’ve seen him at least a dozen times.

      • The first few times I saw DS was just him & Chip Bailey, they were an excellent live act. I seem to remember it was a guy on acoustic prior to Dan Michaelson that time, but the name was not on the set times lists that were up that night so i always assumed it was someone local

        I am seeing him again this year too (Manchester Deaf Institute) & cannot wait, it has been a good few years!

  4. A big round of applause from me! I sometimes wish I had made more of an effort to keep track of these kinds of things, as I always forget where I’ve been and who I’ve seen.

    My best ever gig, as I’ve maybe mentioned on here before, was probably the Beta Band in 1998 (at G2 I think, in Glasgow). It was just a surprisingly wonderful and heartwarming, communal experience, and their reason for existing suddenly made more sense than it had done with their recorded output so far (two of the three EPs I believe). If not best then certainly most pleasantly surprising.

    My most disappointing was Grandmaster Flash at Glasgow Arches in about 2003 or something like that. I didn’t know what to expect (some magical turntable wizardry of some kind), but he honestly just played a few records from start to finish (no scratching or mixing whatsoever) interspersed with some loooong spoken monologues about how great he was. A weird and frustrating gig.

  5. Congratulations! Setlist.fm tells me I am close to 400, but loss of ticket stubs over a 40 year period means I probably am way over 500.

    1st Echo and the Bunnymen Liverpool University 1980 – Brilliant
    Last The Smile Ottawa Bluesfest 2023 (LeBreton Flats, last week) – sensational!
    Best – Bruce Springsteen and the E St Band – Bingley Hall, Stafford 1981

  6. I also keep a list which is becoming handier as I get older. Current gig list stands at 1063. I’m sketchy on the dates of the earliest ones, which were at Belfast Festival in 1968 courtesy of my Mum who worked in the Ticket Office. At separate gigs I saw Jake Thackeray, Larry Adler, Oscar Peterson Trio, and Ewan McColl & Peggy Seeger supported by Boys of the Lough. I also attended a Free Concert for Peace, held at Shaw’s Bridge Bellfast on 2nd August 1969 headlined by, if memory serves, chart-toppers Marmalade. The first gig that I know I booked myself and paid out of my own pocket, and where I definitely know the date, was Jethro Tull at Belfast Ulster Hall on 3rd Dec 1969. There were 2 support acts. Savoy Brown and the Terry Reid Trio with Pete Solley on keys / bass pedals

    The database is useful at times like this for churning out stats. I was about to turn 17 at the end of the 60s and gigs were in short supply in Belfast which explains my total of 10 gigs in the 1960’s. In the 70’s, half of which was spent in England and included my University years I racked up 116. In the 80’s with 2 young children I managed 20 in the whole decade, and 117 in the 90’s. But once the kids were old enough to look after themselves I moved up a gear and clocked up 268 in the 2000’s and exactly 400 in the 2010’s. I’m at an age now where I don’t much care for standing at gigs but I’ve still done 25 this year so far. One interesting aspect of this is that Mrs Black who is not a massive music fan has attended 615 of these with me. She was probably averaging 25 a year in the 2010 whilst working with colleagues who never went to any gigs ever. My fave venue has been Bury Met where I’ve attended 214 with the first being Bert Jansch in Sep 1993. Here’s to many more I say!!

    • Hat duly doffed for that Mr Black. Superb numbers!

      I am ashamed to say that despite growing up a few miles away (Rossendale) I have only seen two gigs at Bury Met (Ciatlin Cary & Thad Cockrell – 20th April 2006 / Ralph McTell – 24th April 2007) although I was hugely impressed with it. To remedy this I have just signed up for the mailing list & have seen a few upcoming I am tempted by.

  7. I know that the list of artists that I’ve seen live is probably quite paltry compared with some Afterworders, but I still count myself very luck to have seen some fantastic artists in concert. This list includes:
    Genesis, Bob Seger, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Graham Parker & the Rumour, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, John Cooper Clarke, Squeeze, The Police, Joe Jackson, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, XTC, Yachts, Specials, Madness, the Selecter, Dexys Midnight Runners, The Beat, UB40, The Only Ones, Mink Deville, Gang of Four, Steel Pulse, the Au Pairs, U2, The Fall, Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Joan Armatrading, Aswad, A Certain Ratio, The Jam, Jonathan Richman, Elton John, Doll By Doll, The Chameleons, Echo & the Bunnymen, New Order, John Martyn, Orange Juice, Fun Boy Three, Big Country, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Prefab Sprout, Van Morrison, Tom Verlaine, The Redskins, Dr. Feelgood, The Associates, The Smiths, The Chameleons, The Style Council, Bruce Springsteen, Madness, Everything But the Girl, Gil Scott-Heron, The Go-Betweens, The Waterboys, The Robert Cray Band, Billy Bragg, The Pogues, Bhundu Boys, Michelle Shocked, Richard Thompson, Dick Gaughan, Tom Waits, Bobby Womack, Pere Ubu, Nanci Griffith, Ry Cooder, Lyle Lovett, k.d. lang, Prince, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracey Chapman, Youssou N’dour, Randy Newman, Four Brothers, 10,000 Maniacs, The Triffids, Lou Reed, Miracle Legion, Salif Keïta, The Stone Roses, The Neville Brothers, They Might Be Giants, Burning Spear, Baaba Maal, The House of Love, Paul Simon, John Hiatt, Keith Jarrett, Neil Young, Tori Amos, Divine Comedy, Jeff Buckley, Nick Lowe, Penguin Café Orchestra, Ali Farka Touré, R.E.M., Radiohead, Blur, Jackie Leven, Oasis, Patti Smith, Vic Chesnutt, Beth Orton, Kate Rusby, Steve Earle, Suzanne Vega, Ron Sexsmith, Emmylou Harris, Morrissey, Portishead, Massive Attack, Elliott Smith, Terry Callier, The Hilliard Ensemble, Nick Cave, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, Martin Simpson, Cowboy Junkies, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Lambchop, Solomon Burke, Lucinda Williams, Kraftwerk, Magnetic Fields, Ray Davies, Jackson Browne, James Yorkston, Lhasa, Tinariwen, Toumani Diabaté, Anouar Brahem, Esbjörn Svensson Trio, Lloyd Cole, M. Ward, Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, Joanna Newsom, Alasdair Roberts, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Feist, Orchestra Baobab, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Stevie Wonder, Leonard Cohen, Aimee Mann, Laurie Anderson, The Unthanks, Vashti Bunyan, Mulatu Astatke, Mary Gauthier, Teenage Fanclub, Bill Frisell, Philip Glass, P.J. Harvey, Fleet Foxes, Paul McCartney, Todd Rundgren, Michael Kiwanuka, Sly and Robbie, First Aid Kit, David Byrne, Wayne Shorter, Bryan Ferry, The Necks, Abdullah Ibrahim, John Prine, Jan Garbarek, Nils Frahm, Anouar Brahem, Kamasi Washington, Agnes Obel, Big Thief, and Jason Isbell.

    Perhaps I should pick out some favourites (and some stinkers) in a future post!

      • Whoops, unfortunate typing error. I did in fact mean Blur & have unfortunately never seen those cheeky Essex scamps (who Russell Brand auditioned for) but will defend All Rise to the hilt as it is a great slice of Pop

        I can admit here to seeing A1, Atomic Kitten, Richard Blackwood, Point Break Bryan McFadden & Madasun Avenue (2nd December 2000) at a Smash Hits tour.
        As per the OP, I was very grateful to my cousin for taking me to that first gig & I tried to pay this forward my taking my younger sister (who was 14 at the time) to this. She acted very coolly until your man from Westlife came on stage art which point she leapt forward about 15 rows screaming! haha

  11. 500 gigs, that’s nowt to brag about even I probably can top that. However compared to the gig going of @SteveT we are but hills compared to his Everest. This year alone and it’s only July @SteveT had attended an average of 4 gigs a day so go figure. 😎🤣🥸😂😎

    • I don’t know how many gigs i have attended but suspect it easily tops 500. First gigs were in I think 1970 or 71 latest. I saw Deep Purple and Free in quick succession.
      From the following year I was seeing at least one gig per month. I started earning a wage in 1973 and that increased to 2-3 gigs per month and I maintained this level until about 1982 when I got married to my first wife who curtailed much of this gig going and restricted it to about 6-7 per annum. Resumed in earnest again in 1995 after the dragon had been slayed.

      Top 3 best gigs
      David Byrne Utopia tour Birmingham Symphony Hall
      Leonard Cohen – Birmingham NEC
      Bruce Springsteen – Crystal Palace (The Rising Tour)
      Bubbling under – Steve Gibbons Band – Birmingham Odeon – Just joyous

      Worst gigs:
      Michelle Shocked – The `Musician Leicester Spent half the gig rambling political shit
      (Shame because I saw her supporting Billy Bragg years before and she was brilliant)
      The Proclaimers – This year at Birmingham Symphony Hall – absolutely dreadful
      Hatfield and the North – Brum Town Hall 1970’s – persuaded mates to reluctantly join me.Their reluctance was entirely justified.

      Most unusual gig happening – Caravan on their Blind Dog of St.Dunstans tour – drummer was feeling sick and they placed a bucked next to him so that he could throw up into.
      Biggest surprise: Alabama 3 – acoustic, SXSW. First time I heard them – they blew me away and was hooked.
      Most Exhilerating : Was not Was – Shepherds Bush empire

  12. Blimey, well impressed with the diligence in maintaining those lists. I collected my stubs for a while, but house moves and divorces put an end to that, and can’t remember the last time I even saw a physical ticket. Do seeing bands at festivals count as individual attendances, I wonder?

  13. I have applied the one festival day = one gig rule for all of mine. (So Glastonbury would be Fri = one gig, Sat = one gig etc.)

    I also have a strict 5 song minimum rule too. Happening upon the last 3 songs of someone at a festival is not counted, I have to have intended to see someone & seen a decent chunk of the set.

    This same rule also means I have never counted instore gigs or a lot of sets I saw when working for a streaming company years ago. Had i included these I would need to add 44 on

    Here is my list of these;

    Tom McRae
    Josh Ritter
    Little Man Tate
    Liam Frost & The Slowdown Family
    James
    The Strokes
    Seasick Steve
    Wild Beasts
    Staff Benda Bilili
    The Burns Unit
    Charlie Haden Quartet
    Micky Dolenz & Peter Tork (The Monkees)
    Crystal Fighters
    Robin Thicke
    AlunaGeorge
    The Strypes
    Eliza Doolittle
    Emiliana Torrini
    Frantic Sunday
    Beatrice Eli
    John Newman
    Once – The cast of the musical ‘Once’
    Phosphorescent
    Movits!
    Freefall
    Laura Welsh
    Joel Compass
    Billy Bragg
    Kylie Minogue
    Clean Bandit
    Rodrigo Y Gabriela
    Slash & Myles Kennedy
    Hozier
    The Teddybears
    Ibeyi
    Coasts
    Nothing But Thieves
    Laura Doggett
    Meghan Trainor
    Joey Bada$$
    Imagine Dragons
    James Bay
    Gaz Coombes
    All Time Low
    Kygo
    SOAK
    Wolf Alice
    Honne
    Gavin James
    The Last Shadow Puppets
    LÃ¥psley
    The Strumbellas
    Kasabian
    Elbow

    nb, Tribute Acts do not count in the list

  14. Here’s my first/best/worst list from my Rediscovering a 50 year old vinyl collection thread on Noel Bridgeman from about a year ago

    MY BEST

    The Beach Boys – Wembley Stadium, London (June 21, 1975)

    Memories? Elton John unveiling Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by bravely playing the whole thing live to an audience who knew none of the songs… Joe Walsh hopping out of a guitar case and effectively into the Eagles. Ultimately, the day was so hot and sunny it could only ever belong to the Beach Boys who came on around 5.30pm and just blew everyone else off the stage.

    HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

    Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Manchester Apollo (last Thurs in May, 1981)

    Three hours and change in front of around 2,500 people. Unforgettable show. One of the reasons I remember the date so well is because I got offered tickets for the replay of the Spurs vs. Man City FA Cup Final – the match where Villa scored the incredible goal. Had no hesitation in opting to see B instead and have never regretted my choice. Saw BS and the ESB again at the considerably bigger Birmingham NEC about three weeks later. The two subsequent occasions I’ve seen him have been at ever bigger ginormodomes – first the 02 in, I think, 2008 and six years ago at Croke Park on The River Tour. Great both times but the first show is the memory I will always cherish most.

    Neil Young, Hammersmith Odeon (late March 1976)

    Wrote about this in an earlier 50 years post. Anyone with a surfeit of time on their hands and an insufficiency of better things to do are warmly welcome to check said post out.

    Van Morrison, The Dominion Theatre, London (Spring 1982)

    IIRC was around the time Beautiful Vision came out. Had seen him before at Knebworth in 1974 (not long before the release of Veedon Fleece – still my fave VM album) and in London and Manchester when he did his Wavelength tour (lousy both times). At the Dominion he was just superb. Seen him twice since my return to Ireland. The first time was at the Olympia with Ian Rankin when he was promoting his book of lyrics, Lit Up Inside. An autographed copy of said tome now resides with the sound engineers notes for the evening on the bookshelf in my home office. The Q and A and reading bits out of the way, Van and a very small band then did about an hour and a half of mainly deep cuts – most of them to do with Ireland. Saw him again in Cork a year later and he got Brian Kennedy’s cousin to phone in his performance for him. Hope he’s better when I see him in Limerick at the end of this month.

    Leonard Cohen, Manchester NEC Arena, last Sunday in November, 2008

    Missed the first leg of his tour and despite being severely jet lagged from a flight from Hong Kong the previous day, Mrs. J and I high-tailed it up to Manchester to catch this show. Loved every minute. Wish I could say the same for Manchester which had changed beyond all recognition from when I used to live there 25 years before. When I suggested to the taxi driver that he take Belle and I out to Levenshulme where I lived for much of my time there, he looked at me as if I was mad and gently advised me to steer well clear.
    Number of classics LC could have played but didn’t would have made for a great gig on their own. Despite doing the same set (and the same jokes) for pretty much a solid year, LC had the knack of making you think it was all for the first time. So glad I saw this.

    Pink Floyd, Coventry Locarno, (Jan or Feb 1972)

    It was the third or fourth time they’d played Dark Side of The Moon and they were on at the same venue on the same night as Chuck Berry who recorded most of the London Sessions (including the execrable My Ding A Ling) there. Remember he over-ran by a long, long time and me and my mates almost froze to death waiting outside for the PF show which eventually started well past midnight. HP Saucecraft of this parish was also in attendance at the same show. Saw them again at Birmingham Hippodrome on the 74 tour when they were also terrific.

    David Bromberg Band, El Mocambo Toronto (Sept 75)

    Knew absolutely nothing about DB or his band and was absolutely gob-smacked by how amazingly versatile they were. Blues, jazz, country, gospel…you name it, these guys could play it with considerable aplomb. So impressed, I went back the next night and subsequently bought nearly all of Mr. B’s albums (including How Late’ll Ya Play Til which has most of the live set I saw) and the recent and still very eclectic Use Me. Having taken several decades off to make violins, DB now makes music again and occasionally calls up his compadres and reconvenes the old gang.

    The Who, Charlton Football Ground (May 74)

    With Lindisfarne, Bad Company (first ever live appearance), Lou Reed, Maggie Bell and Humble Pie on the same bill for UK£2.50, it was my first ever festival (albeit a one-day one). My abiding memory of the day is Lou Reed, an iron cross dyed into his bleached blond skinhead hair casually caught a bike chain some idiot (not me) thew at him from the crowd. Anyone here there who can confirm this isn’t a false memory on my part? Pete T has always said he didn’t feel the Who weren’t that great (check out the footage on YT and make up your own mind). Ultimately, it was the only time I ever got to see them and so they narrowly shade the only other serious contenders for my top 10 which would have been Led Zep at Coventry Locarno in late Nov or early Dec 71 (just before Led Zep IV came out. Memorable moment of the Zep gig was when Jimmy Page dropped his violin bow) or Joy Division at the Factory in Manchester in April 1980 (their last ever Manchester gig).

    The Sex Pistols, Penthouse Club, Scarborough, August 1977

    In the summer of our second year at Uni, a bunch of us spent our summer hols in a house we’d rented for our third year. One of the guys came from Scarborough and told us a mystery band would be playing the town’s Penthouse Nightclub at the same time as the SPOTS tour was on the road. As the resort was but a short hop from Hull where I was at Uni, we went up and saw the Pistols on what were one of their few cancellation-free post-Grundy live gigs. Interestingly, I later learned that the Pistols’ roadie, ‘Roadent’, was a guy from Coventry called Stephen Connolly whom I used to know vaguely from a city pub called the Golden Cross. HPS recently advised me in a PM that he was another loyal member of said hostelry’s far from select regular customer base.

    THE WORST

    Joe Pass, Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts (Feb or March 1990)

    Just fucking appalling. The Ben Turpin/Meher Baba lookalike jazzmeister had obviously had a major falling out with the organizers of that year’s HK Arts Festival. The steam issuing from his ears indicating he was fresh from the contretemps, Mr. Pass-ed-Caring strode onto stage at the dot of 8:00pm. He was, he announced curtly, contacted to play for precisely 35 minutes and that was exactly what we would be getting. He proceeded into a half-hearted rendition of a cut from Virtuoso. Once the song was finished, the grumpy guitarist advised his soon-to-be former fans that he only had 30 more minutes to go before lazily playing his next cover. Between song interaction with the audience limited to speaking clock type announcements of how much time remained, Pass half-heartedly performed some ten or so songs and marched off stage without so much as a goodnight. In 50 years of gig going, I have never seen a more graceless or less professional performance and have never played one of the man’s records again.

  15. And here’s a fairly detailed if far from complete list of bands I’ve seen that I kept meaning to finish but never quite got around to.

    A
    Ace
    Allman Bros
    Laurie Anderson
    Pete Atkin 3 x
    Pete Atkin and Clive James x 2
    Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express
    Average White Band

    B

    Bad Company
    The Band
    Beach Boys x 2
    Black Oak Arkansas
    Black Sabbath
    Blind Boys of Alabama
    Blue Oyster Cult (Saw from the side of the stage. My ears were ringing for three days. Loudest band I think I have ever seen)
    Graham Bond’s Magick
    David Bromberg Band x 3
    David Bowie x 2
    Brinkley Schwarz
    Ian Brown
    Jack Bruce and Carla Bley
    Tim Buckley
    Buzzcocks

    C

    Captain Beefheart x 2
    Carlene Carter
    Eric Clapton x 2 (one of them the infamous “Enoch” concert at Birmingham Odeon in the long, hot summer of 1976)
    The Clash
    Cockney Rebel
    Leonard Cohen
    Coldplay
    Ornette Coleman
    Ry Cooder
    John Cooper Clarke x 3
    Cooper Temple Clause
    Elvis Costello x 3
    Crosby and Nash
    CSN&Y
    Crowded House
    Crusaders
    Culture

    D

    Damned
    Miles Davis
    De Dannan w Mary Black x 4 (In Bahrain in the mid-80s – My brief career as a roadie – I worked the lights!)
    Dead Boys
    Deaf School
    Doobie Bros
    Dr John
    Dubliners (the original line up with Luke Kelly)
    Ian Dury
    Bob Dylan x 3

    E

    ELO
    Eagles
    Steve Earle

    F

    Marianne Faithful
    Fanny
    Flaming Lips
    Flying Burrito Bros (Not the GP version, the Byron Berline line up who toured UK colleges in – I think – Spring 72 or 73)
    Robert Fripp’s League of Gentlemen
    Fuery Bros and Davy Arthur
    Fumble

    G

    Peter Gabriel
    The Gadd Gang
    Genesis x 5 (Probably saw them more times than any other band in the 70s – how did I forget them first time around?)
    Gary Glitter x 2 (Sadly neither of them the memorable night when an audience member flobbed into the appalling Glitter’s hand when he stuck it out for the audience during Do You Want to Touch…)
    Greeenslade x 4
    Sid Griffin (solo in a bar in HK – only about 30 people there – a lovely evening)

    H

    Emmylou Harris (Birmingham Odeon on the Luxury Liner tour in – I think – May 75. Apparently Guy Clark was support on that tour, but have no recollection of seeing him so maybe I was in the bar)
    Hawkwind
    Richard Hawley
    Steve Hillage x 2
    Robyn Hitchcock x 1
    Alan Holdsworth Band
    Hoodoo Gurus
    Human League x 3
    Humble Pie

    I

    Incredible String Band (No Ruinous Feud-era – so long after they were past their prime. Aware of their Scientology recruiting meet and greet sessions after gigs, me and my mates refrained from getting stuff autographed after the show)

    J

    Jethro Tull x 2
    Elton John x 2 (Once at Wembley stadium and once with Ray Cooper at Manchester Apollo in the late 70s/early 80s)
    Joy Division (at Manchester’s Russell/Factory Club in April 1981 – one of the very last concerts they ever did)

    K

    Chaka Khan
    King Crimson
    Leo Kottke
    Kraftwerk

    L

    KD Lang
    Led Zep x 3
    Lynnrd Skynrrd

    M

    Don McClean
    Ellen McElwayne
    Ralph McTell
    Mahavishnu Orchestra x 2
    Man
    Laura Marling
    John Martyn x 2
    George Melly with John Chilton’s Feetwarmers
    The Meters
    Joni Mitchell
    Christy Moore
    Van Morrison x 6
    Mud

    N

    Michael Nesmith x 2
    Randy Newman

    O

    Mike Oldfield – only concert I’ve ever had a backstage pass to – my then GF knew his second guitarist, Phil Beer (pretty sure she ended up marrying him)
    Only Ones x 2

    Ps and Qs

    Papa John Creach Band
    Graham Parker and the Rumour x 2
    Joe Pass – worst concert I ever saw – he’d had a falling out with the promoters and spent the contractual minimum of 30 minutes doing can’t be bothered versions of his classics and looking at his watch at the end of every number
    Pet Shop Boys
    Pogues x 2
    Iggy Pop
    Duffy Power
    Prince
    Procol Harum x 2

    Suzi Quatro

  16. Right then. After all these Points of Order, let’s get down to the main business of the day.
    As far as renumbering from the 1957 arrangements was concerned, most locomotives retained the last two digits of their number, though some classes were renumbered without reference to their previous numbers. This was usually where sub-classes had already been or were in the process of being created (for example classes 45 and 47, in which some members were being fitted with electric train heating equipment, and 86, subject to various modifications, mainly to the suspension). The other exception was if the first locomotive of a class had carried a number ending in “00” under the 1957 arrangements, because TOPS could not handle numbers ending in “00”.
    Discuss

  18. I started compiling a list of those I could remember (helped by looking at what was in my music library) and by the time I’d got to the end of the “A”s decided not to bother any more.

    Miles Davis (electric)
    Weather Report
    Bonzo Dog Band
    The Who
    Cream
    King Crimson (original and Islands lineups)
    Emerson Lake & Palmer
    Kevin Ayers & The Whole World
    Family
    Blossom Toes
    Genesis (pre and post Hackett/Collins lineups)
    Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come
    Pretty Things
    Rolling Stones
    Anna Meredith
    Richard Thompson
    Linda Thompson
    Fairport Convention (Sandy and possibly pre-Sandy lineups)
    Jefferson Airplane
    Soft Machine (around Third time)
    Matching Mole
    Stray
    Osibisa
    East Of Eden
    Gnidrolog

    etc.

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