Welcome to my blog. I live, knit, crochet, spin and craft near the Northumbrian Coast (but not too near – the waves won't be splashing my yarn!).There's a story in every stitch, every grain of sand, every blade of grass. I thought I'd blog about it…
It’s an age since I posted a gig review, but this is a 2 gig week and Tuesday was an absolute cracker at Whitley Bay Playhouse. This is a modern little theatre and has pretty good accessibility as you’d expect from a newish building. The only other time I’ve been there was for an excellent amateur production of Legally Blonde: The Musical a few years back. I’d been able to book a wheelchair space and companion ticket in Row D of the stalls. There is a wider space between rows C and D to make access easier. We were a bit late in setting off and struggled to find parking so we reached out seats seconds before support act Blancmange came on stage. Tonight I was with my bestie from college days, A, who has travelled up from Sheffield to stay for a few days.
I saw Blancmange back in the 80s at The Limit Club in Sheffield, a low ceilinged basement venue with a sticky floor and sweat condensing on the walls. It was a bit rough but got some of the coolest bands.
Blancmange consist of original frontman Neil Arthur on vocals with various session musicians on keys/electronics since the death of fellow founding member Stephen Luscombe in 2025. Currently this role is filled by Finlay Shakespeare.
They may not have had as many hits as some of the other 80’s synth pop bands but there was some good stuff there. Neil Arthur got the crowd going from the get go, with the superfans in the front rows quickly on their feet and dancing (not so great for those of us on wheels in Row D)
He kept it going for an enthusiastic audience, with a set including Blind Vision, Feel Me (I love that hypnotically repetitive baseline), an excellent singalong cover of Depeche Mode’s I Just Can’t Get Enough and biggest hit, Living on the Ceiling. At one point the crowd was singing along so loud that he held the mic stand aloft towards them.
All delivered with Arthur’s deadpan Lancashire wit – he hails from Darwin, a place I know well from when I lived in nearby Blackburn. He ended with the words “We’re Blancmange and you’r not!” It was a great start to the night.
During the interval in the bar I bumped into H – a regular at local 80’s gigs that I first met at ABC last year – I think she gave me the head’s up about tonight’s gig in the first place. We’ve now exchanged contact details so we can keep each other posted about upcoming gigs.
Tom Bailey was founding member and lead singer of The Thompson Twins.
The band’s other members changed over time, but most of the hits were recorded by a trio consisting of Bailey with Allanah Currie and Joe Leeway. These days Tom is joined on stage by Charlotte Raven on keys/cello…
…Paulina Szczepaniak on drums …
…and Meelie Traill on bass/keys.
And they perform all those TT hits, including those you’ve forgotten about, Kicking off with ‘In the Name of Love’ one of my favourites and the perfect start to get everyone up and dancing. The set continued with ‘Sci-fi’, ‘You raise me up’, Shooting Star’ and ‘We are Detective” had definitely forgotten about that one.
On with more, including’LayYour Hands on Me’ and a great cover of Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’. At one point a huge red balloon was thrown into the audience and kept in the air for a while but then a woman sat behind me popped it. The look of utter shock on her face was priceless!
The hits continued on with ‘Doctor Doctor’ and ‘Love on Your Side’, ending with the beautiful,’Hold Me Now’
I had a bit of a moment there – it’s such a beautiful song and I remembered Kevin buying me the 12 inch single and a single red rose one Valentine’s Day.
The crowd loved it, singing their hearts out…as did I! A great night, two fantastic bands and a whole load of 80’s nostalgia.
The gigs continue. This was one of several pairs of tickets I’d got for Kevin for his Birthday. Of course these are the best gifts because I ‘d get to go too, but I would always look for things that he was into, even if they were’t my thing at all, and I’d always try to keep an open mind.
The Glasshouse, is the former Sage Building, the magnificent curved structure on the South Bank of the River Tyne at Gateshead (known locally as The Slug!) . I understand that the name change is down to a change in sponsorship arrangements as a new arena is being built. It is a light airy place, with two large performance spaces and also assorted practice rooms and studios hidden away in its interior along with bars, a cafe and a brasserie, a shop. A huge range of musical activities take place there from workshops, choirs and musical groups of all kinds as well as an extensive programme of concerts, featuring classical and popular music of every genre.
As you would expect from a modern purpose build music venue, the facilities for customers with disabilities are pretty good. Once your details on their system you don’t need to provide further proof or details of your requirements again (presumably they will check at some point to comply with data protection regulations). Tickets can be booked on line or by phone – I prefer to phone them so I can ask for more detail on the accessibility of the seats available. . They can also issue a free companion ticket if needed and these are all posted out at a small extra charge (or collected before the event from the Box Office).
I was accompanied by my friend Vera for this one. I’m lucky to have lots of lovely friends – of course the more they love the music the better, so when Vera said she liked Jethro Tull she was the perfect person to go with. We went a little early so we could get an accessible car parking space and also allow extra travelling time as the Tyne Bridge is undergoing extensive renovation and the road traffic is restricted. All went well and we had time for something to eat before the performance. We had excellent seats in one of the boxes on Level One. I was able to drive straight in , transfer to a seat and then our lovely steward moved my scooter to a safe place very nearby.
I wasn’t at all sure what to expect here. I’d been listening to Jethro Tull and the only tune I recognised was Living in the Past. I also had vague recollections of an old episode of Top of the Pops, featuring a wild-eyed, wild-haired, bearded man playing a flute, while standing on one leg, pixie style, and just about managing to keep his balance. Not much to go on really.
Shortly before the band came on stage, a disembodied voice, a recording of Ian Anderson, made an announcement that cameras and mobile phones would not be permitted until the encore, and a signal would be given at that point. Reasons for this were, that mobiles are annoying to the audience, distracting to him and the band (especially when he was trying to remember the words) but also that people do not need to watch everything through the screen of their device – its so much better just watching and enjoying without. He has a point – I’m sure I’ve had a moan about this myself on the blog before now. Having said that I always take photos to post on here and occasionally (though sparingly) take an odd video, though only short clips. Anyway I totally respect what he said and as a law-abiding citizen I dutifully put my phone away until after the show.
This was the Seven Decades Tour (because Jethro Tull’s career spans seven decades obviously! This was a carefully curated setlist showcasing the range of music (folk rock, prog rock, metal , blues etc) recorded over the band’s lifetime, not necessarily the greatest hits (no sign of Living in the Past for example). I’ve also heard it said that the setlist was partly chosen to accommodate Anderson’s voice, which is not what it was.
They opened with a track from way back, off the This Was album (MySunday Feeling) with the first of some amazing videos showing on the backdrop. This one comprised clips of a much younger Anderson performing, meanwhile on stage, the current lineup played the same song live, perfectly synchronised with the visuals. The videos gave a real sense of narrative to the songs, especially Heavy Horses and Aqualung (including some stunning portrait photographs of homeless men).
Seven decades in the business generates lots of anecdotes, so there are stories in between songs like the one about how We Used to Know inspired the Eagles’ Hotel California (as guitar player, Jack Clark demonstrated to perfection as it was played.)
Ian Anderson may be the only original member of Jethro Tull on stage tonight, but his band are all excellent musicians….
David Goodier – bass
John O’Hara – keyboards
Scott Hammond – drums
Jack Clark – guitar (and the most recent recruit)
The show was in two acts, with an interval in between. Of course those of us who are permanently wired to our mobile devices would switch on again at this point, but there was a gentle reminder before the music recommenced as the disembodied head of Ian Anderson with a pair of binoculars came up on the screen. We were being watched for unauthorised camera/phone use!
Then it was back to the music. If there’s one unique thing I’ll take away from this gig, something that will stick in my mind as being quintessentially Jethro Tull it would have to be Anderson’s flute playing. It was spectacular, sounded amazing (often played on one leg with no apparent balance issues, in his late 70s – impressive! ) I believe Anderson was self taught, choosing the instrument as it was something different – even more impressive. True, I can’t think of any popular flautists apart from James Galway and Lizzo, but Ian Anderson gets my vote!
I used to listen to a lot of folk music and I love that the Jethro Tull classics tell stories in that tradition, with a lot of social comment that is as valid now as when those songs were written, whether that relates to homelessness, (Aqualung), indifference to the death and destruction of war (Mrs Tibbets) or the mechanisation of agriculture (Heavy Horses).
All too soon the sign flashed up allowing the cameras – it was time for the encore (Locomotive Breath). Of course having been deprived of the opportunity all evening, out came the phones, even though this was an older and very appreciative audience filming their souvenir videos. After seven decades this could be `”last chance to see”, though I hope it’s not. A well deserved standing ovation followed.
Leaving the Glasshouse took a while. My scooter was retrieved quickly but unfortunately there was only one of the two lifts working and the staff were clearing the upper floors before it stopped to let those of us on Level 1 use it. It was all pretty good natured with those who could do so using the stairs to leave the lift clear for those of us who needed it most. After that we were able to leave, load up the scooter and drive off pretty quickly. I think most of the traffic had dispersed by the time I got out the lift, and of course I had Vera’s excellent company on the way home.
So thank you dear Kevin for sharing your birthday present with me. You continue to enrich my musical education and encourage me to open my mind and listen to music outside my usual sphere. It would have been so easy to give those tickets away but I’m so glad I didn’t. Your Legacy Tour continues, with more gigs to come.
Stitches by the Sea 