Last night I went to see the UK Subs (old punk band) in Wolverhampton, the last time I saw them live was back in 1982 at the old Birmingham Digbeth – a gap of 32 years!! As far as I am aware they have never split up and have continued to tour regularly over the years – not really sure why I never went back before now. This got me thinking can anyone beat a gap of 32 years between first seeing a band/artist live, and then going back to see them again?
I could beat it myself if I went to see Gary Numan who is also still touring, I saw him in 1979 but never went back (even though he was great).
Also, the UK Subs lead singer Charlie Harper is now 70 years of age and still punk rocking out with the best of them – Respect!!
hubert rawlinson says
Not a band as such, but I saw Bill Kirchen earlier this year, I last saw him at the Reading Festival in 1973.
Even with my dodgy maths that’s 42 years (actually 41 and a half years)
Iggypop says
Steve Harley last year at The Sage, previously saw him in 1976, and about a fortnight ago I saw Graham Parker (also at The Sage ) 36 years after I saw him on the Squeezing Out Sparks tour at Newcastle City Hall.
ganglesprocket says
First band I saw was Metallica in 1987. Never seen them again. All I need to do is wait…
Tiggerlion says
I saw Roxy Music for the third time in 1976 and the fourth in 2005. They did split up for most of those 39 years, so I’m sure if they count.
retropath2 says
Emmylou in 1976 and 2014
Graham Parker & the Rumour in 1978 and 2014
Peter Gabriel in 1978 and 2014
Eric Clapton in 1978 and next monday.
Sewer Robot says
*fingers crossed*
Mousey says
Can’t beat 52 years but I saw Steve Winwood with Traffic in 1973 and supporting Steely Dan in maybe 2009.
And it’s one of my huge regrets in life that I didn’t see Steely Dan in 73, or maybe it was 74, when they played in the UK. I’d been going to gigs and concerts just about every night and was just exhausted. I wasn’t a huge fan back then, in fact only knew the singles, but fast forward a couple of years and I became the total Dan tragic which I still am. Have seen them twice in Sydney in recent years and when I see they’re touring again (as I think they are now, or soon) I’m tempted to splurge the frequent flyer points and pop over to LA or whatever.
SteveT says
Steely Dan is a nearly one for me. I had tickets to see them in I guess 1974/5 at the Birmingham Hippodrome but as I approached the venue I saw fans walking in the opposite direction. The gig had been cancelled because Donald Fagen had laryngitis. I eventually got to see them in about 2008. Worth the wait.
In response to the post though the only one I recall is Caravan in 1975 and again in 2013.
goldblackman says
I’m well beat. Strange how some bands can be enjoyed but not revisited for decades, but others (I know I do/have) we will routinely go to see each and every time they come round with diminishing returns… One thing that has been breaking the mould for me in this though is the incredibly high ticket prices…. Will be missing Paul McCartney and U2 for the first time in decades….
UK Subs were £14 on the night (£12 if brought in advance!!) maybe that’s why I went back?
ivylander says
The timing of this post is very odd. In 1972, I went to see a band called Stories, curious about them because they were the new project of Michael Brown, the man behind one of the best bands of the Sixties, the Left Banke. They were terrific, but short-lived. Not long after Brown (inevitably) bailed on them, they had their one massive US hit, a cover of Hot Chocolate’s ‘Brother Louie’ under the aegis of their singer, a middling Rod Stewart copyist named Ian Lloyd. Fast forward to last night – a friend and I went to see what was in essence a Left Banke tribute band, except with one original member (a burnt-out hull of a human, sadly) singing backup for a very sharp band playing very complex songs. The backup band on this evening? A pickup band version of none other than Ian Lloyd’s Stories. So, I guess that makes 43 years. By the way, they were dire. Spinal Tap without the laughs.
thecheshirecat says
Can’t quite match these, but my first proper gig was Rush at Manchester Apollo in 1979. You sent off for the tickets by post and I was gobsmacked to receive front row seats by return. I have been a happy Rush listener, on and off, all that time, yet somehow it took until 2007 for me to see them again. Inevitably, they were in the Manchester Enormodome by then.
Black Type says
The example that immediately springs to mind is Kate Bush – but that gap was kind of enforced.
duco01 says
I saw David Byrne with Talking Heads in 1980, and then had to wait a bit before seeing him agin with St. Vincent in 2013. Both tip-top gigs, of course.
James Blast says
Mott the Hoople – 40 years.
Deviant808 says
Best I can manage is having seen The Primitives a few times around 87/88, and then not again until they reformed and came to Leicester in 2012.
Looking at the first few bands I saw and are still going, then the theoretical best I could do would to see OMD again for the first time since the “Crush” tour in 1985. I could beat that by a year if Talk Talk reformed and toured, but I can’t see that happening any time soon.
Deviant808 says
That’s a bit of a coincidence. The Facebook “things that happened on this day in previous years” function just reminded that was today in 2012 that I saw The Primitives.