Tuesday 2 June 2015

Gig memories

Scott, over at the excellent Spools Paradise, recently wrote a thought-provoking post about first, last and favourite gigs.  My first 'proper' one was in January 1978 when I saw Siouxsie & The Banshees at my local venue at the other end of town.  I've written about this before here so I won't repeat myself but it started me thinking specifically about how lucky I was to be going to gigs at the tender age of 14.  It was never accompanied by adults, just two or three friends the same age.  Our parents had no qualms about letting us go to these events, where we drank pints of cider, smoked and flirted with boys... we could've been doing just the same at a disco, I guess, but we had no interest in those.  It was live bands we wanted to see, not DJs, and punk we wanted to hear, not Boney M - and we were incredibly fortunate to have a safe and easy little venue in our home town which provided both on a regular basis.  The bloke on the door, who was a dead ringer for Dave Vanian at the time, never asked us our age.

That night at the Banshees, my close friend met her husband-to-be.  And not long after that, I first saw the man whom I later married, playing guitar up on the stage there.  Not that we spoke for a while, I thought he was too old (!) and he had a girlfriend.  But it was where we first hung out.

A few weeks after the Banshees' gig, Generation X were booked to play.  I was so excited, I could hardly believe it.  I spent about an hour drawing big hooks around my eyes with a kohl pencil and filling them in with garish colours, quite a work of art, just for Derwood.  And I was then so disappointed on turning up that evening to find that they'd cancelled.  Derwood had broken his arm or something.  The Jolt played in their place and I didn't think that much of them.  Not long after, Wayne County & The Electric Chairs came to town, opened by Levi and the Rockats.  We were all given Eddie & Sheena badges as we filed in; I wore mine with such pride.

One time none of my friends could make it but the headline band were The Automatics and I was keen to go, so I just went on my own.  Would a 14-year old girl be allowed to go to a gig unaccompanied now?  I don't know.  To be fair, my parents came down later that evening to see the local jazz combo who were playing in the adjacent bar, so they weren't far away.  At the end of the Automatics' set I waited alone in the foyer for them.  A big punk bloke who wasn't one of the usual crowd stopped when he saw me and asked, very nonchalantly,  "Do you want a fuck?"

Local groups played every Tuesday too.  The Newtown Neurotics were like the house band.  I must've flung myself around to their version of Blitzkrieg Bop more times than I can remember.  It's Colin Masters/Dredd's funeral tomorrow... a sad day.  But let's dwell on the good stuff - they were an important band to many and they certainly were in my formative years - decent blokes too.

In fact, the whole place was incredibly important, and I have to wonder if I'd be who I am today without it.

Here's a photo from those days.  I'm afraid I can't remember how I came to be in possession of it so I can't credit the photographer, but if it's MM and you're reading this, then thank you - and I hope it's ok to include it here!



I believe it was taken shortly before my 16th birthday.

In fond memory of AS too, pictured left.

32 comments:

  1. This is a really lovely piece C, inspired (like many of my own thoughts for the past few days) by Scott's recent, marvelous post.

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    1. Thank TS, yes Scott's post, and all the brilliant comments on it too, certainly inspired these thoughts... happy memories.

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  2. First gigs and many of those early gigging experiences are never forgotten, whilst later ones just become a blur or even actually forgotten. It's funny to think how young we were when we started going to such things. I was 13 and had to get a bus into town and back out again afterwards and no one batted an eyelid. It's not as if my parents were the types who didn't care but it just felt safer then. From about the age of 14 I'd even walk home through the city after a concert, which took about an hour or so. Different times and they felt good.

    Lovely post, C. It seems you were blessed with some great early musical experiences.

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    1. That's so true - yes, all those early experiences are lodged very firmly in place in our minds, later ones less so. I can still get the feelings back when I think about them, the anticipation, the buzz.
      Brilliant to think of you being just 13 and going out to gigs like that, it did feel safer. In fact, generally speaking, there was more likely to be trouble and harrassment at the disco in town than there ever was at these gigs.

      I do feel very blessed! I didn't appreciate how much so at the time, but I really do in hindsight.

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    2. Of course, there would have been NO WAY I'd have let my kids go out at that age to those kind of places. Different times.

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  3. You had a very different and much more interesting life as a 14 year old than I did. Really loved this one, C.

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    1. Different time, different setting, different people - but I'm sure not more interesting! I'm glad you enjoyed hearing about it though, Brian - thank you.

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    2. Same here. There were no all ages shows for me either. By the time I could've theoretically gone...we were living in this tiny little town up north that didn't even get bar bands coming through.

      I want to believe that you ran that hootchie off with a knife when the time came...I want to believe it don't tell me different. :) You look like you could pull it off in that picture. I love it.

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    3. Shame. Maybe it was different over here and in slightly earlier times... there was no such thing as an all-ages show as far as I know, so you just had to get in to the normal 'adult' ones. We were supposed to be over 18, we bought alcohol at the bar wthout difficulty, nobody asked for ID, nobody questioned the fact they'd probably seen us around town in our school uniforms during the week, nobody cared. It was just very relaxed... easy. Plus, in those days (oh god I sound so old) you never got anyone from a different generation at these gigs... certainly no parents ligging with their offspring... no family groups... anyone over 30 would have seemed bloody ancient!

      That bloke was a prick.


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  4. Impressive - I feel like Brian that I was a late developer

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    1. I think it was mostly down to the location, CC! My friends and I weren't allowed to travel to London to gigs (nor anywhere much outside of our small town) and our parents were probably far happier that we went to this little venue rather than to dodgy discos and certainly not down the pub... we were young but we were safe and we weren't far away... so all in all it just worked out well!

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  5. Thank you C for your kind words about the blog. I had no idea when I posted it on Saturday night that it was going to get so many comments. I went to my first gig at 16 and looking back now it seemed to be a much more innocent time. It may not have been but it certainly seemed that way. Love today's post, especially the description of you drawing the hooks around your eyes for Derwood, it is just so evocative of going to gigs at that age. Also the bit about whether you would be the person you are today without your local venue is so spot on. Music is such a huge part of our lives and the bands and venues that I grew up with certainly played an important part in who I am today.

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    1. Thank you too for the inspiration Scott and kind words also. It's lovely to read about everyone's varied experiences. It's hard to imagine our lives without those experiences, isn't it? They shape us... but they're also a reflection of who we were becoming in the first place... and so much of it comes down to music. As you say, a huge part of our lives.

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  6. Here's one of my guilty secrets...

    My first ever "gig" was ... Alvin Stardust at Central Hall Chatham in 1974. Yes right at the height of his "coo, coo I just want you" fame.
    This was a present from my Mum becaused I'd passed my 11plus! LOL. I went with Linda the daughter of my god parents - who was a year or two older than me. So I was 11 her 13. We were in about row 4 with older "women" (they were probably only 16-18 but I was 11 remember) throwing their underwear at him! I think my mother wasn't sure I should have gone when she read about that debauthery in the local paper. I have a recollection of him all in black leather - the quiff in place - duck walking across the stage with (I think) a brown sunburst ES345.... always about the guitars.

    However mould was set - a couple of years later regularly attending Whitesnake, UFO, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath etc at Hammersmith Odeon or the occasionally Iron Maiden or Budgie gig in Chatham was happening with me my old brother and a circle of like minded mates. Still best gig of my life was when at 15 I went to see Led Zep at Knebworth on 4th Aug 1979.

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    1. I am quite jealous you saw Alvin Stardust at the height of his fame, I bet it was great show.

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    2. I'm quite jealous too, it's a great story... mind you, in 1974 and I was around the same age as you the guy gave me the creeps big time.

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  7. Wonderful pic and post, loved the Neurotics and sad to hear about Colin. As for first gigs where I grew up they would have all been local bands although none the worse for that (well...apart from a couple of proggy 'sixth form' bands when I was 14). If it helps then I saw my fifteen year old off to a gig sixty miles away the other week, and my daughter's first solo gig was Motorhead at 14. You can still do it (and gigs are soooo much safer than a disco I agree, and have scars to prove it), the times haven't changed so much as most parents' perception of risk I fear.

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    1. Thank you! I'd like to think times haven't changed that much, and if I had sons or daughters I'd be encouraging them to do just the same as I did... Oh I wonder!
      I love the thought of going to see Motorhead at 14 - your daughter is cool. But then so is her dad!

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  8. This post is a wonderful example of what blogging is all about. Lovely subject, great writing and picture, inspired by another well written post elsewhere. Love it.
    Swiss Adam

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    1. Well thank you so much SA. I really appreciate that. It's just brilliant to share all this stuff and I'm grateful.

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  9. I'm not sure if any of SATB, Newton Neurotics, The Damned etc ever made it as far north as Dundee at the time you#re writing about. But I do know I would never have gone to see them then, it was Iron Maiden, UFO (who were terrible) and dear-lord-forgive-me-for-I-did-sin Genesis in 1978.

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    1. Still, you were seeing live bands even if it was through dry ice. We'll forgive you.

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  10. I'm afraid it was the Bay City Rollers when I was 14 in our local club, I had been dragged by my friends much against my will! After which it was Friars Aylesbury for whatever was on, though I did see the Police supporting Cherry Vanilla in a local pub.It wasn't until I was at college I went to things like the Be Stiff tour and did the Anti Nazi League march.
    Strangely enough neither of my daughters have ever shown the faintest interest in seeing live bands or going to festivals even when I've suggested it....it's all about cosplay events now.

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    1. The Rollers, well! No doubt the envy of many (even if not us!)
      And the Police supporting Cherry Vanilla in a pub really slots it into a particular time, brilliant! (Same too for the Be Stiff tour and ANL...) Great to have been there.
      Strange about your daughters' lack of interest there...or perhaps not... as I often wonder if we'd had kids if they'd have naturally been (and wanted to do) the opposite to their parents?

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  11. I like it too when you write stuff like this, C. You're really good at it. It's heartfelt.
    You don't actually mention the name of the venue you were going to in those days. Was it The Triad? It's very unlikely but does it still exist? If not, then what is that venue nowadays? Flats? A retail unit?
    I'm interested in stuff like this. Punk history. I met a guy in Exmouth a couple of weeks ago and whilst talking to him it somehow emerged that he used to go to a club called Barbarella's. A once-famous Punk venue as you might well know? He must have thought I was weird cos I asked him endless questions about it and of the bands he saw there. What made it odd, however, was that his favourite band of all time is Queen who he said he's seen 17 times! And he was proud of the fact! Not ashamed of it at all! He even had a tattoo of Freddie Mercury on his arm. I made my excuses and left after he showed me it as I was obviously in the presence of a psychomaniac. But I digress.
    The first gig I ever went to was The Clash and from that moment my life was ruined. Actually, you triggered a memory writing about the Banshees because I went to see them when I was still at school too. It was one of my first gigs and after they'd played me and my friend were hanging around still in the venue looking for dropped badges on the floor when a bouncer came up to us and said if we paid him some money he'd let us go backstage and that the singer (Siouxsie) would be there and we'd be able to fuck her. And we were only really young and we were a bit confused. We thought no, that can't be true? Surely that's not what happens after a gig? We were so innocent! Green as carrots. Needless to say, we fled from the venue as quick as we could. I'd forgotten all about that incident until reading your post.
    Strange but hilarious days.

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    1. Ah, lovely comment, thanks John. Yes it was The Triad, or simply Triad as most of us knew it. I was back there a couple of years ago with the same two friends I used to frequent the place with, we just drove down and had a mosey around (as we don't live in the town any more) and so many memories were triggered. The buildings (which were old maltings) still exist and don't look that different, but are used by retail and businesses as far as we could tell.
      I love this punk history too, especially when it's on a local kind of level - not London-based - how it felt at the time, what mattered to us at such a young age, why we got into it, why it felt good, etc. I could go on about it easily, particularly from the point of view of a girl, and outwardly a shy, rather awkward bookish girl at that. It was just what I needed, just what I wanted, it fitted. Maybe for another post. Or - if anyone wants to put a book together! (Any takers?!) Your anecdote about the Banshees gig is brilliant - and sums up so well the kind of silly stuff that is said and the naivete of our responses, perfect! I mean, that bloke I mention, I know he just said that because he kind of thought that's what 'punks' (inverted commas deliberate) should say, he probably spat a lot too... you know the kind!
      Your guy in Exmouth does sound a strange one. Was he punk from the first kind of wave (in which I count 1978/79 even though late compared to the origins, I think we were a bit behind in the sticks... as opposed to a lot of what followed)? Weird about the Queen thing.. but then again those punk days did attract a lot of misfits... I remember we embraced some varied characters down at Triad, they didn't have to be punk, they were just NOT in the mainstream.... that was all.

      Ah... strange but hilarious as you say!




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  12. Great post and it got me thinking. The first (non-pub) gig I went to was Ultravox in 1981 (or 1980 maybe - it was a long time ago) at the Cornwall Coliseum, St Austel - Eddie & Sunshine supporting as I recall. Best gig? Oh that's tricky. There's been so many since then. The Manics playing the Junction in Cambridge in '92? Julian Cope draped over his yggdrasil mike stand? First time seeing the Ramones? My Life Story at the Koko? Grandaddy's last gig? I'll go with the Cocteau Twins at the Royal festival Hall in 1984. I travelled up on national express from deepest Cornwall to see them and it's still the furthest I've travelled to see one gig. Fun times. Simon

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    1. Hi Simon and many thanks. What an interesting and enviable selection of gigs here... excellent! Eddie & Sunshine? Blimey, there's a blast from the past. I had forgotten that name completely until now. I admire your dedication in coming all the way from Cornwall, it can't have been easy. The Ramones would be one of my favourites too, I think, but only saw them once and perhaps that's why. I envy you the Cocteau Twins...

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  13. Sorry to read here about Colin Masters. Didn't know that. "Kick Out The Tories" was one of the first singles I bought (as unlikely as that sounds). Hadn't heard it for years but was DJing at the Lovely Eggs album launch gig last month on election night so took it with me and played it early doors. Sounded great still. I'm sure he would have approved.

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  14. Hi C. The pic was taken in June or July 79. It was taken by Neil's Brother and I am just to the left - out of photo.
    On the thoughts of first gigs - my first real gig was 999 and The Tools a the Marquee in September 77 quickly followed by Dead Fingers Talk at the Rochester Castle, then the Chelmsford Punk Festival. The Triad was a great place for all us young local punks every week - always a great atmosphere and friendly - great days

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    1. Hi! Thanks for the info on the photo. I couldn't remember its origins or much else about it but I love it for the familiar faces and it brings back so many good memories.
      You were quick off the mark with gigs in '77!
      I'm so grateful to Triad for the fact that I could see so many good bands when they came there, as I couldn't go out of town! Us young punks had a nice thing going there, didn't we.

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