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…
Earlier this year I was on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours consumer programme.. There was a feature on live music and how there was a trend towards “residencies”. No tour, several nights at Wembley, maybe a couple more at Manchester arena and somewhere else if you are lucky. If you live in the north east corner of England like me, that involves travelling long distances (don’t get me started about using trains if you are disabled), hotel stays, food, drink (and huge ticket prices: let’s not forget the Oasis dynamic pricing debacle). Coldplay said they were being green and reducing the tour carbon footprint. but I’d really like to know about the the environmental impact of large numbers of fans travelling the length of the country, with associated fossil fuel emissions, junk food consumption etc etc etc. and if this was taken into account. Show me the maths!
I’m used to travelling to Newcastle and, on occasion a bit further, to see the 80’s bands I love (and in my own small way these days, contributing to their pension plans!). What an absolute delight it was to discover that China Crisis were appearing at my local arts venue, just 10 minutes away from where I live. Did I go? Well, it would be rude not to.
Alnwick Playhouse had a major refurbishment a few years ago and it now houses a library, cafe, exhibition space, as well as a nice auditorium. I have very happy memories of drama and musical productions staged there that involved my children when they were in high school. There is parking nearby (behind the Playhouse), ramped access to the front of the building, a lift to other floors and level access to accessible seating, to either wheelchair spaces or seats to transfer into (which would require a walking aid, scooter etc to be left in the corridor immediately outside the hall to avoid blocking access) – staff were really helpful too, both front of house and at the box office. Full details of accessibility can be found here.
So here I was, with the friends who gave me the heads-up about the gig, sat on the front row – basically on the stage. From our vantage point at stage level this was always going to be the most intimate of gigs. It felt like being in someone’s living room – for the band, it was pointed out later, it felt more like a lecture theatre. and (sadly) only around half full.
Back in the eighties when bands like Duran Duran and Culture Club ruled the charts and the headlines, China Crisis were denied the massive success of some of their contemporaries. They wove together complex rhythms and harmonies with often political lyrics: a much softer approach than the aggressive political punk music that was around at the time, but it has given them a timeless quality. No wonder, when they cite the Beatles and Steely Dan as influences from further back, later working in close collaboration with Steely Dan’s Walter Becker.
China Crisis original band members Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon are now joined by Jack Hymers on keys and Eric Animan on sax. Daly commands the stage and takes on the role of MC for the evening.
He’s a great raconteur, talking us through the set with anecdotes from childhood days in Kirkby, Merseyside, where he and Eddie grew up, both children of large families, meeting as schoolboys, arriving in London aged 19, and becoming an established part of the music scene. Eddie Lundon’s guitar playing is heartfelt. He inhabits the music and shares vocals with Daly .
Together they bring beautiful harmonies, wistful chords that would stand alone but with Hymers adding the layers of keys and drum tracks they create perfect pop songs, embellished with Animan’s sax solos “that would get a standing ovation at Ronnie Scott’s”.
The new boys have some cool kit too. Jack Hymer’s expanding rack of keyboards and electronic wizardry includes what looks to be a bit of a balancing act – but it’s kept together with velcro. Jack knows his stuff.
As well as that gorgeous saxophone, Eric Animan plays what appears to be entire woodwind and brass sections combined in a single instrument that resembles a giant silver banana. It even has a bagpipes setting .(more of that later). I’m fascinated.
They open with The Souls Awakening and Here Comes A Raincloud. “What were we thinking? It’s Friday night!” quips Daly (not the cheeriest of songs) . We are reassured that the hits will be played, that there will be an interval to recharge our glasses and even a chance to get up and dance for two or even three songs if we have the energy for that.
Daly is hilariously funny – it’s not just a monologue of name-dropping (ok there’s some of that). There’s some great banter with the audience too. He requests the house light to be turned up a bit so he can see us. It turns out that he’s brought the family to Alnwick on holiday in the past and knows and loves the area, but hates the pronunciation – the silent “L” in Alnwick (which always catches visitors out. To be fair that’s one of easier ones. I wonder if he’s been to nearby Eshottheugh – that’s more tricky!)
The second half opens with African and White, their breakthrough track, followed by Arizona Sky. (a favourite of mine – we get to join in with that one). Best Kept Secret, Black Man Ray, the beautiful Wishful Thinking, King in a Catholic Style (I think we are up and dancing at this point).
The banter with the audience continues. Daly spots a man in the audience with a passing resemblance to Midge Ure. (turning red with embarrassment as the audience peers to see if it’s really him). It’s all good natured though. Daly wonders if China Crisis could have had a Christmas No 1 if they’d added bagpipes and a marching band to one of their songs. It this point Eric finds the bagpipe setting on the orchestral banana – and yes, it really does sound like bagpipes! (NB Midge -the real one, and his band Ultravox were responsible for iconic 80’s song Vienna, denied the coveted Christmas No 1 spot by Paul McCartney’s Mull of Kintyre – with bagpipes a plenty. It was considered a travesty at the time)
The audience may not be huge, but it’s appreciative… and we are all invited to join the band in the pub over the road, where coincidentally it’s karaoke night. Also to say hello if seen in Barter Books the following morning (for a planned bacon butty before travelling). The set finishes with Tragedy and Mystery, then the ethereal Christian.
An encore is demanded (we are all having such a great night and want more). It seemed in doubt for a while and the Front of House staff looked confused, But then CC were back on stage to play Sweet Delight. Daly explained how this was a love song he wrote for his wife and he dedicated it to all the women in the audience (because men mess things up with bombs and violence and the world would be a better place if women ran things). It was beautiful and Daly connected with the audience in a way I’d never seen done before. As he sang Sweet Delight, he indicated and acknowledged in turn every woman in the audience. It wasn’t creepy, it was respectful and rather lovely…
Although the Stitches by the Sea blog has evolved quite a bit since it began, these days it has two main strands: my crafty makes and classes and also the gigs I go to and review. This is one of those rare posts that involves both!
My most recent make was the Festival Fever Blanket: a crochet-a-long project from Eleanora Tully of Coastal Crochet. Eleanora’s blankets are amazing – extremely imaginative and colourful, Her patterns are well-written and there are video tutorials available to help with the complicated bits. There’s so much detail that you never get bored.
Fitting in with the festival theme, the design includes tents…
…bunting…
…and even musical notes….
…all finished off with a funky bobble edging.
It was great fun to make and I absolutely love it.
Of course I had to take it to a music festival, so it came with me to Darlington last month for the Rewind 80’s Festival (read about the music here and other aspects of the event here)
My lovely friend Angela came with me – here she is modelling the blanket. That’s The Farm on stage in the background.
I wonder which festivals that blanket will visit next summer?
When you see that there’s a chance to see some of your favourite 80’s music and you are long overdue getting together with a group of friends that might enjoy the event there’s nothing like combining the two. Every summer, South Tyneside Council stage a series of free Sunday afternoon concerts in Bents Park, South Shields. They are promoted as family friendly events, and you can bring your own food and drink, which is a refreshing change when so many open air gigs and festivals and indoor venues don’t allow alcohol in and you are held to ransom by extortionate bar prices. The Bents Park gigs have been going for years now and often host some decent acts of all kinds so there’s something for everyone. Summer ’24 also saw a Jason Donovan gig. I saw Haircut one Hundred, supported by Carol Dekker (ex T’Pau), Sonia (smiley Scouse songstress) and a rather good local 80’s tribute band, who I’m ashamed to say I forget the name of.
Ticketing was so easy. You can pay a small amount to get in 30 minutes earlier and bag a better spot for your deck chair. I think there are better toilets too. I decided to do this and also get a companion ticket. I wanted to make sure I got a spot in the wheelchair/accessible area. I rang up and they didn’t even require proof of disability (obviously this was a free gig and I was just getting the early access).
I managed to park with my blue badge just across the road from the park entrance and scooted across. When I get together with my former work colleagues R, J and A we always have such fun. J brought another friend and a daughter too. A treated us all to flowers garlands to get into the festival vibe and we all brought copious amounts of picnic food and drink.
The accessible area was just a designated compound with a chain round, chairs, stewarded and with a disabled portal. There was no platform but the stage was high enough to see reasonable well even if people were standing in front of (and there was the obligatory big screen).
First up, Sonia.She was chatty and quite endearing really, with anecdotes in between the Stock, Aitken and Waterman Hit Factory songs, including her greatest hit “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” and UK Eurovision entry “Better the Devil You Know” (not to be confused with Kylies’s song with the same title~~).
I’m not a huge fan of tribute bands to be honest – they are such a mixed bag and often you really don’t know what you are going to get. If the real band is still touring and can bring the goods I’d far rather see them. I have to to say that the band we saw, who played a range of 80’s covers rather than copying one specific band, were excellent.
Carol Dekker was on next. Who could forget her amazing voice when she fronted `T’Pau and belted out “China in Your Hands”and “Heart and Soul”. I’m happy to report that she still sounds great and we got the old hits and new stiff too.
Top of the bill: Haircut One Hundred, fronted by Nick Hayward were the last act of the afternoon. I saw them a couple of years back for the first time in 40 years or so and had forgotten what great musicians they are, with very distinctive rhythm guitar sound, and a driving beat delivering the well-crafted pop songs from their breakout album Pelican West. I still maintain that “Favourite Shirts” is the best dance track of its day. We got all this and new stuff too including the rather nice “The Unloving Plum”.Marvellous.
Bravo to South Tyneside Council for delivering such a quality event – despite the lack of alcohol restrictions the event was virtually devoid of trouble – it really did maintain a happy family-friendly vibe. We did spot one incident that was almost as entertaining as the music. A couple , probably in their 70s had dressed to impress and run with the festival atmosphere. He wore a bejewelled peaked cap and a rainbow feather boa, She was in bright pink sequinned miniskirt and jacket with matching feathered head dress and cowboy boots. They were drinking heavily. After a while they decided to move much nearer the stage. In their drunken state the pair of them could barely stand and tripped over people and flattened deckchairs as they went. A couple of security staff stepped in to stop them and got a load of verbal abuse at which point the colourful couple were escorted from the park. They were spotted by one of our party travelling home on the Metro train, much subdued after their earlier antics!
What a fun afternoon!
Squeeze
City Hall, Newcastle 13 October 2024
I may be writing this from memory, but this was probably my favourite gig of’24.
I love a seated gig at the City Hall. The designated accessible seats are right at the front, so , as long as the PA system isn’t so huge that it will impeded the view at the end of the row, you are in the best place, even better than the viewing platform used at standing only gigs. I phone to order tickets and I’m registered on their system for disability access and entitlement to a companion ticket. The box office staff are always lovely.
Everything went perfectly this evening. I drove in with my lovely friend A and got parked nearby. We walked/scooted towards the City Hall and one of the Show Sec Stewards immediately approached us and directed us to the side entrance, radioing ahead for his colleagues to open the door where we quickly passed through the security and ticket check and were shown to our seats. They also provide a drinks waiter service for this in the accessible seats which is brilliant – essential here when the bar is downstairs but would be a welcome addition in many other venues too.. There’s a radar key controlled accessible toilet in the foyer with a steward nearby to unlock if you don’t have your own radar key. In the past I’ve also got free earplugs from the box office at a painfully loud gig – they really do think of just about everything .
Tonight’s support was Badly Drawn Boy -understated but good .
I’ll reserve most of my praise for Squeeze though. I saw them a couple of years back and they were great then – tonight even better if anything. This was their 50th anniversary tour.
I believe that the difference between a really good pop song and a really great one is the lyrics. Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford deliver both words and music impeccably.
The whole band just look like they are having the best time and they have the audience eating out of their hands, singing every word of every song. Who could forget the wit of “Up the Junction” and its tale of young love, parenthood and breakup. Don’t we all “wish we had a motorboat to pose around the harbour”? Tilbrook’s soulful bluesy vocals on “Coffee in Bed” sound as good as ever.
And yes, I was sat eye contactingly close to the band. I am impressed that my pal, A, knows all the words to the rapid-fire chorus of “Hourglass”. The two women sat next to us politely ask a steward if they can get up and dance. Chris Difford invites everyone to join them. It’s party time at the City Hall . What a night!
Pretenders
The Glasshouse, Gateshead, 17October 2024
It’s not easy to get to the Glasshouse (formerly the Sage), Gateshead. Current lane closures on the Tyne Bridge slow down the rush hour traffic and the one way system is impossible to navigate- I want to get there early to grab an accessible parking space close to the venue entrance. Tonight I am accompanied by my lovely friend S. There are plenty of food and drink options for early arrivals.
Ticketing is straightforward. I phone the box office to book accessible ticket and companion ticket. I’m registered on their system. Tonight we are in one of the boxes on the next level up from the concourse.
I can’t say I enjoyed the support – some rather indulgent heavy rock with more cliches than Spinal Tap and instantly forgettable.
I find to my annoyance that my phone has run out of battery and not charged up in the car, but it turns out there is a total ban on photos and videos. Stewards with “Strictly no photography ” placards walk around and enforce this, shining a torch on offenders. Annoying as some of the cameras can be (especially when thrust in front of your face) and sad as it is that some prefer to capture a “memory” – never to be watched again, this was positively draconian. So no photos of this gig!
Sad to say that Pretenders were slightly underwhelming. Chrissy Hyde sounds and looks the same as ever and seems to have recovered from the injury that postponed this gig. Her band were slick and polished, but there was something missing. It just seemed a little cold. and I was still a bit baffled by the “no pics” rule. There are other ways of limiting it (with self deprecating humour from Ian Anderson at a Jethro Tull gig this year). Is Ms Hynde developing some diva-ish vanity? She also broke with the tried and tested formula of performing a load of hits and a few tasters from a new album. We got a few of the old favourites but not many – lots of less obvious tracks and new stuff. Not a crowd pleasing set.
Soo….not the best of this year’s gigs to travel south of the river (Tyne) for, but at least I was in the excellent company of S.
I find myself terribly behind with blogging and haven’t posted since last November. I thought it was time to collect my notes and photos together and and write up the rest of last year’s gigs. To recap, K and I went to see Echo and the Bunnymen and Hawkwind before K’s untimely death in April, then the Interzone Event and Jethro Tull after that. Some I wrote up but never got round to publishing, but I always took photos. This is a LONG post!
The Feeling: The Venue, Newcastle University Students Union, 10th May 2024
I love the Feeling. Beautifully crafted pop songs. Daughter likes them too., and my brother, who got to know them way back when they were the resident band in his favourite French ski resort bar.
Some months ago the venue for this gig changed, moving from NX (formerly the Academy) to The Venue at Newcastle University Students Union. I have been there before, for a very different sort of event. Kevin was a proud graduate of Newcastle University and got involved in lots of extracurricular student activities, including selling the student newspaper: The Courier. We attended a dinner celebrating 75 years of The Courier. Guest speakers included former courier reporters now successful journalists on national papers. It was a lovely event and held in the same Venue. Situated in a student union basement with a low ceiling it does have more of a club feeling that most concert venues (though more spacious than say The Limit in Sheffield, which was one of my favourite student hangouts back in the day)
When I booked my ticket, plus guest list place for companion and accessible viewing space for this it was for NX but the venue for this changed to The Venue (confusingly simple name for the multi-event space at Newcastle University’s Students Union- fortunately I checked because though the ticket was still valid – my access requirements had not been transferred. After a couple of attempts I was able to contact someone at The Venue who confirmed this, and sorted out what I needed once I had sent proof of disability/access number.
We were given directions to go down the ramp at the side of the Students Union to Luthers Bar (named after Martin Luther King, who famously visited the University in 1967 and received an honorary doctorate) . It’s actually run by pub chain Wetherspoons. You need to go down the ramp to the level below the main entrance as Luthers is actually over two levels. Once you work out that you should not be on the terrace at the back of the building and get down to Level -1 it’s a little bit more straightforward as there were event staff who knew what to do, unlike the bar staff. I showed the ticket and gave my name to staff on the door and daughter and I were given wristbands and directions to the area reserved for disabled customers aside of stage, There was a barrier and a steward to restrict access to wristband holders. I have to admit that this had quite a cool VIP access feel to it and the view was ok – obviously the band are going to perform towards front stage , not side, but if you can get past that it was fine. And unrestricted views of some of the technical aspects of the gig, more of which later.
I don’t know why I haven’t heard of Callum Beattie, tonight’s support. His “Boris Song” went viral during/after the COVID epidemic – a scathing comic song about the then UK PM. He’s a Scottish singer songwriter (from Musselburgh, near Edinburgh) and he’s really active on social media.
The songs are great – can’t say I’ve had an ear worm from a support act original song before EVER! What’s not to like? He was even in the bar after the gig meeting fans – I had to go and find out when he’d be playing in Newcastle again. Mission accomplished. – appearing at the Cluny in November 24.
Callum played a great set… he’s even done a charity recording. Great songs. When he said that he didn’t have the physique to take off his t-shirt and throw it into the crowd, I thought Peter Hook should take note – read the review I wrote for that one and you’ll see what I mean.
As we get back to our little private viewing area (I think my brother, who is with his wife and some friends, is a tiny bit jealous) the excitement in the crowd is palpable. There are some real fans at the front of the stage. Then the band come right past us as they go on stage.
This was a greatest hits tour and the set list a real crowd pleaser. All the hits, some of the new album, a cover version (Video Killed the Radio Star – I defy you to NOT sing along to that) . It was all there, AND the side project. Front man Dan Gillespie wrote the musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, a hit in the West End and now a movie – who can forget the scene when Jamie’s mother (played by the excellent Sarah Lancashire) sings an ode to her son, My Boy – I cried. It’s just beautiful. So we got the title song from the show too.
I said earlier that the band perform to the front – true, apart from the slow ballad Rosé. The piano was wheeled on sideways – Dan was facing us for that one.
This lot are great musicians – and they sing – the Feeling harmonies are just gorgeous.
In our little side stage enclave we had a perfect view of the fifth band member – the very hard working guitar tech. He had his work cut out for him I counted an obscene number of guitars on the rack and the same number of cases lined up next to the stage – this unsung hero looks like he loves his work, he was moving and singing along all the time.
In summary, a great singalong gig from some fantastic musicians and The Venue (once the access requirement details were supplied) looked after me reasonably well too.
Our journey home involved a detour to find a spot away from light pollution. As The Feeling played, one of the best ever Aurora Borealis displays ever seen in our part of the UK was lighting up the skies. It seemed that everyone else was doing the same – every lay-by , every farm gateway was occupied by vehicles, but eventually we joined another car in a field entrance. and as our eyes accustomed to the dark, faintly glowing bands of green, pink and purple appeared. These looked even more spectacular through the nighttime settings of a phone. What a night
Elbow: Glasgow Hydro, 11 May 2024
This was one that K and I had really been looking forward to. Elbow are so good live. I changed our hotel room booking from a double to a twin and my friend Val joined me. After a leisurely drive to Glasgow via Falkirk, where we stopped for coffee and cake at a delightful Italian coffee shop. we reached the hotel, one of many in that part of Glasgow surrounding the Hydro and Conference Centre.
Access was totally trouble free at this gig. Ticketing for the accessible area, including a companion ticket was all automatically done through the Ticketmaster app – I’m registered with them. This involved sending a copy of my proof of disability. Registration lasts 3 years and is free of charge. The Hydro is a short walk (or in my case scoot) over a footbridge across the river Clyde from our Premier Inn.. Large signs directed us to the entrance for accessible seating area. As you would expect at a large arena that regularly presents massive shows, the whole event was well staffed by professional event stewards who kept everything running smoothly, from bag security checks on arrival to being directed to our seats. We even got some great Thai fast food at one of the concourse concessions – all the restaurants round and about were rammed.
Our places on the viewing platform were great – central with great unimpeded views and next to the mixing desks – K would have loved that – he was always interested in the technical aspects of staging a gig.
This was the first gig of the tour, though that had not been the original plan. The tour was supposed to open at the new Co-op Arena in Manchester, with Elbow to be the first act to appear there , on their own turf. However, technical problems with the building delayed open so Glasgow saw them first!
The support were…forgettable, but Elbow where as good as ever. The indomitable Guy Garvey is one of the best front men in the business and his gravelly heartfelt vocals deliver poetic lyrics like no other, all backed up by great musicians – friends from schooldays, there’s a real bond there.
He belted out songs old and new, including my favourites, Mirrorball (for which a giant mirrorball descended from the ceiling) and Magnificent.
As you’d expect, the light show was great as befits a stadium-sized gig .
Naturally they ended the encore with One Day Like this. Fabulous!
As the happy fans filtered out of the building and dispersed to the surrounding hotels and bars. As we made our way past the Conference Centre, V photographed the coloured building lights and posted the pics on our friends’ Whatsapp Group, captioned “We hit lucky and caught the northern lights on the way to the gig!”
This part of Glasgow certainly looks wonderful at night.
Back at the hotel we had lots of wine before we finally got some sleep, consequently missing our complimentary breakfast! At least we found somewhere that sold bacon sandwiches on the way home!
Human League, Heaven 17, Peter Hook and the Light, Altered Images: Herrington Park, 12 July 2024
I have A LOT to say about access arrangements for this one. First of all getting a ticket with platform access, forward parking and a companion ticket involved several unanswered emails, downloading a ticketsales app that I’d never heard of before and forking out an additional £15 for a Nimbus Access Card which at the time didn’t operate for any other venue or event type Id ever go to.
There are several similar schemes – in principle they are a good idea – send your proof of disability and access needs once, with payment, and you get a photo id card bearing symbols representing each of your access needs. This would be great if there was one universal scheme, but there are several, with variable costs to join and many venues operate their own.
All this went right down to the wire and I had to collect my tickets at the gate. I was attending with my friend K, who shares my love of 80’s pop. The disabled parking seemed a bit haphazard, but I drove as close to the gate as I could and got the all terrain scooter out – this was an open air gig on a rather rutted field with a central stage and food and drink concessions around the edge. We joined the queue only to find that everything was delayed so we had to wait half an hour or so before things began to move – not great as we were expecting to go straight through – I was fine sat on my scooter but I was concerned for K who was recovering from some very serious health issues.
Finally we were funnelled though various gates and queues with tiny signage, totally unreadable at a distance, ended up in the wrong place and were escorted by a steward to the appropriate place to pick up tickets. I was handed a large envelope which also contained a forward parking pass. A bit late for that!
Finally we got in and found our places on the accessible viewing platform and the field filled up. The people watching at such things is always great – the thing we noticed was how groups of people had acquired matching cowboy hats to keep together and see each other at a glance.
Altered Images came on, with lead singer Clare Grogan in a pink satin ballgown looking great as ever – she must be about my age but looks much better preserved – whatever she’s on I want some! …and she’s such an engaging performer, warm and funny, with the talent to shrink a big venue into something more intimate.
Her vocals are as good as ever and the setlist hasn’t changed much in recent years apart from adding some recent album tracks: all those hits from their heyday are there, Happy Birthday, Dead Pop Stars, I could be Happy and the sublime Don’t Talk to Me About Love. I’ve heard it before but was glad they still included a brilliant cover of the Ting Tings’ That’s not my name. That’s my favourite kind of support act!
Our next act was Peter Hook and the Light. I’m glad to say that he was in much better form than he was in Newcastle earlier this year at the InterZone Event (though not quite as good as a show at BoilerShop a while back). There were all the old New Order songs we know and love.
Next on: Heaven 17. I was curious about them appearing together with Human League. Historically Human League was part of the 80’s Sheffield electro-pop movement . Martin Ware and Ian Craig Marsh recruited vocalist Phil Oakey – those early hits included Being Boiled and Empire State Human (I am instantly transported to the disco dance floor at Sheffield Student’s Union, c1981). There was a falling out, Ware and Craig Marsh left to form Heaven 17 with Glenn Gregory as lead vocals. Oakey’s Human League went on adding vocals from teenagers Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Tully, spotted by Oakey in a local nightclub. The iconic Dare album was a huge commercial success (when I think of my 80’s music collection I think of that one). Every wannabe popstar loves that story about those two young women getting permission to be out of school for the band’s tv performance on Top of The Pops!
Back to H17. I just love their songs. (We Don’t Need That) Fascist Groove Thing has lyrics as applicable today as they were then, not to mention being a cracking dance track, as are Penthouse and Pavement, Temptation and the rest (…and I’m back on that dance floor in Sheffield again!) .
Glenn Gregory is an excellent front man, funny, charismatic with a great voice – he’s wearing well (sorry to harp on about the age thing but there’s nothing sadder than trying to recapture the gigging experiences of your youth and finding that the artistes are so bad that they really should retire!)
Martin Ware is looking rather older, prompting some “Son” and “Dad” banter between songs. When K went to the bar she overheard a priceless comment from a punter” Isn’t it lovely that he performs with his Dad” . We had a good laugh about that one.
Then on to Human League.
Oakey comes over a bit of a diva – it’s the frequent costume changes…but the songs still sound great and we all know all the words.
And they did Being Boiled, which I’ve previously seen performed by H17. It all seemed very amicable after that schism back in 1980.
I just wish they didn’t do Electric Dreams as their encore. They had so many better songs.
Seeing live music has now changed for me. Just a few days after the last gig we went to (Hawkwind) my husband, Kevin died following a massive heart attack. We met through our love of live music over 40 years ago and as my mobility has deteriorated somewhat, he also became my carer/essential companion when we went to see a band. With tickets already booked for the rest of the year, and no doubt, other gigs to be booked along the way, I hope to continue. Kevin would have wanted me to.
We had tickets booked for the Interzone Event , which took place just a few days after Kevin’s death. It was a hard decision, but I ended up going with my daughter. It’s taken a while, but I’m now ready to write about it.
With so many bands on the bill it would have been a long night on top of little sleep so we compromised and arrived later, just as Theatre of Hate’s set was ending.
I’ve spoken of Newcastle City Hall’s facilities for disabled customers at a standing gig previously (Echo and the Bunnymen), and as usual the viewing platform was situated at the back of the stalls, affecting the acoustics slightly but high enough to give a reasonable view and well-stewarded. Sadly, there was no sign of lovely Alec, our designated bar waiter, so it was just as well I had daughter with me for the bar run, especially since I had considered going to this gig alone. The accessible viewing platform was fairly empty, but I hope this doesn’t mean that the additional bar service has stopped for good.
First on for us was The Farm (the evening had kicked off with ex Inspiral Carpets frontman, Tom Hingley and the Kar-pets, before Theatre of Hate). A great set, including a personal favourite Stepping Stone. – I had the 7″ single of The Monkees version of that one back in the day. Then there were the big hits: Groovy Train and of course finishing with All Together Now, such a great anthem.
NERD ALERT: it’s a great anthem that shares its chords with Ralph McTell’s Streets of London and Maroon 5’s Memories, among others, and all owe that chord sequence to Pachelbel’s Canon in D, thought to have been written at the end of the 17th Century. Pete Waterman (who used the same sequence when he co-wrote/co-produced Kylie Minogue’s I Should be so Lucky) once described the Canon in D as “almost the godfather of pop music”.
The anthem played on….The crowd were absolutely loving it and singing their hearts out. Audience participation at its best. You can read about the band’s experience of their trip to play Newcastle on their blog here.
Next up was the Wedding Present. Now I have to confess that I went to this gig knowing absolutely nothing about this band, and I’m not sure why. They were prolific in the number of tracks they released. I really loved their set though. I always think that if a band can make a venue seem smaller, then they have really communicated with their audience and that’s what happened here.
These days only frontman David Gadge remains of the original lineup, but the band around him were great. In a male dominated industry, female musicians are noticeable – they have to be the best to make it and Rachael Wood is a cracking guitarist, playing alongside Paul Blackburn (Bass) and Vincenzo Lammi (drums).
Standouts for me were Kennedy and, as a tribute to the late, great Steve Harley, a cover of Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile).
Then it was time for Peter Hook and the Light. I was really looking forward to this and booked the tickets on the strength of Hooky’s brilliant gig last year at The Boilershop, but I was disappointed.
To be fair, the set was beset with technical problems and during most of it an unfortunate member of the crew was frantically unplugging and replugging in leads trying to rectify the issue. Whereas I loved that last gig, which included all the New Order hits (even more than I remembered), this one omitted all my favourites (I really love Temptation but it was not included)
Obviously distracted by the Gremlins in the equipment, Hooky neither introduced his band or deigned to play an encore. At one point a scuffle broke out near the front. Cue ShowSec staff running to deal with it and a couple of punters being ejected. It was no longer the feel good experience we’d had singing along to The Farm earlier.
With no encore, and a full five minutes before stated finish time, it was over. Hooky removed his t-shirt and threw it into the crowd (some things are better left not done) and that was it. Everyone was left just hanging. As we departed, the atmosphere was not great. There was an uncomfortable edge to it and none of that euphoria I love, when everyone is still singing the encore as they disperse into the night. It was just a disappointed crowd heading home.
We were back to the City Hall last night. This one was for K. Hawkwind aren’t my sort of thing at all, but he’s seen them a number of times over the years.
Unlike the last gig we went to at the venue, this one was seated. I suppose you shouldn’t rub it in, but as Hawkwind have been around since the late 60s, their audience are not exactly in the first flush of youth so it’s debatable whether many of them could comfortably stand through an entire set.
As usual the excellent stewards from ShowSec are well briefed on supporting disabled customers and as soon as I rock up on my scooter we are escorted to the level entrance at the side of the building on College Street, where my name is quickly checked off the list, bag searched and ticket scanned and we are escorted to our seats – the designated area is right at the front left of the stalls – the view is good, but it is very close to the speakers. More on that later.
I opt to transfer to my seat as the scooter is quite high and I don’t want to block the view of anyone behind. As one of the stewards checks over the radio about the best place to park my scooter, he refers to me as a “young lady” – it’s been a while. Maybe that expensive face cream I bought a while back is working better than I thought. Mind you, looking around I could see that for the most part, I’m right about the audience, which is…mature.
As when on the viewing platform for standing gigs, there is a drinks ordering service for disabled customers, operated by the lovely Alec.
Looking up at the stage I can see some weird statue-like figures painted either side of a central screen, that make it look like the set of an Indiana Jones tomb set. There are also banners with representations of some past albums (at least that’s what K told me)
It’s time for the support. I do love it when the first sound hits you straight in the chest and you can feel your sternum and diaphragm vibrating with the bass. After a short while my concerns about seats so near to the speakers had become real. My ears were actually hurting slightly. Now I remember being told many year ago , “If it’s too loud, you’re too old”. Maybe that’s true! As for the band, all except lead guitarist were…vintage.
This is not my sort of stuff at all but I do remember a cracking classic rock drum solo at the end of their set. Oddly, the band didn’t introduce themselves so I’ve still no clue who they were.
In the break, I decided to be kind to my ears – ear protector plugs are available in the box office, so I went and got some.
K went to stretch his legs. I’d reminded him to take some more paracetamol as he’s had a touch of flu and was feeling lousy earlier in the day. ” I don’t want to be seen popping pills here” he said. “Look around,” I replied. “Most of the people here are likely to be taking joint supplements, statins. or other prescription drugs. When he got back he agreed that I had a point as the queue for the toilets was longer than the queue for the bar.
Hawkwind came on to cheers from the fans and on came the lasers , all five of them- a pretty spectacular show really. They’d have looked better with more smoke but the air conditioning limits that – still looked great. And the banners and backdrop sides began to glow as the UV lights came on. Meanwhile a series of animations played on the central screen.
Hawkwind had just released a new album that day (Stories of Time and Space) so this tour was to promote that. Their set was a mixture of tracks from this and old favourites. You won’t hear them playing two of their greatest hits though. Apparently the band hated Silver Machine, and Motorhead became more associated with the band of the same name when it was formed by former Hawkwind bassist, the late Lemmy.
Hawkwind have had numerous changes of personnel throughout their long career and only Dave Brock remains, reading lyrics and poems in between songs (didn’t get that bit at all really) and doing the vocals, though not on all songs – lead guitarist Magnus Martin did a lot of that.
Interestingly they weren’t as loud as the support act, so I didn’t really need those earplugs! And I learnt a new term: space noodling. The weird spaceship sounds from the keyboards that begin some of the tracks.
The obligatory encore and we were done. I couldn’t comment really but K said Hawkwind were as good as they’ve ever been. The playing was tight and he really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the lasers. The things we do for love!
It’s been a while since I wrote a review – as usual it’s from my viewpoint as a disabled fan, which is not always the experience you’d like it to be.
This was the first standing only concert I’d been to at Newcastle City Hall. There is a registration system for disabled customers – once you have sent them details of your requirements and proof of disability, you can book an accessible seat and a companion ticket, ie two tickets. If it’s a standing gig they send you one ticket – which confused me until I phoned them. The other thing to remember is that if tickets go on sale at 10 am, the box office at City Hall doesn’t open until 12 noon!
The accessible entrance is on College Street (one of the side doors) but it’s not clearly marked – knock hard and they open it for you, check your ticket and stamp your hand, then escort you to your seat – in this case the accessible platform – a good solid structure at the back of the stalls with plenty of very helpful stewards and a reserved spot with your name on. I was able to drive my little folding scooter straight into the space. There was even a member of staff to take your bar orders – all great so far!
The place was filling up fast – looked like a sellout.
Erica Nockalls was the support act. She’s a confident performer with strong, soaring vocals .
It was a bit of a revelation when she brought out the violin – turns out she’s classically trained, has played with the Wonder Stuff, the Proclaimers and more. The set was engaging, but dark….a cut above the average support act.
There’s a great atmosphere on the platform tonight. There’s space enough for three of us on wheels with our companions and seats behind for ambulant disabled. I’m aware that my scooter seat is quite high and I don’t want to block anyone’s view so I give K’s seat to the woman behind- he never sits anyway. I have a long chat about accessibility at concerts with someone else on the platform – he’s a musician, loves going to gigs and has some horror stories about the total lack of thought that has gone into some of the disabled facilities he’s come across in the past – things are getting better, but are still a long way from perfect.
They’ve certainly tried at the City Hall, but there is one flaw: the position of the platform. It’s at the back of the stalls underneath the balcony, so the chatter from the audience is magnified and is very distracting when you just want to listen to the band (I despair at why people do this almost as much as when they watch the gig through their mobiles).
The House Manager comes over to check all is well on the platform – he’s been working there for years – it turns out that several of us on the platform saw our first gig at the City Hall (mine was The Tourists, forerunner of the Eurythmics, back in the 80s). He was telling us that the venue is celebrating its centenary in a couple of years – it’s been through a lot, closed for a while and then underwent a big refurbishment some years back, which has created a flexible space with both seated and standing events possible.
In the interval I went to find the accessible toilet, which is situated in the foyer, Radar Key operated. One of the lovely stewards on the platform helped me as I appeared to have left my own Radar Key in another handbag! It’s not a bad facility, spacious enough, though could do with a mirror. As I was reversing my scooter out, someone held the door open for me – I looked up and it turned out it was Erica, the support act, who was standing there next to the merch stall – so we had a brief chat – she was lovely!
The atmosphere was building. It was time for Echo & The Bunnymen. A projection of bare trees created a sombre look to the stage as the band came on stage, the perfect backdrop to the brooding silhouette of Ian McCulloch, who remained unlit for most of the performance.
We’ve seen a lot of 80s artists over the last couple of years – some have changed a lot over time, but McCulloch’s voice sounds as good as ever (and he still has a full head of hair). There’s something menacing about those songs: the minor chords, the jangling guitar, the dark lyrics, but I love it!
They played two sets. In the interval we are really glad of the platform bar assistant as everyone in the place is replenishing their drinks. The band return to the stage and McCulloch’s control of the crowd is powerful – the smallest gesture sets everyone up to sing or clap along.
He’s a man of few words and the one time he said more than a sentence between songs, it was drowned out by the chatter (damn those platform acoustics). We already heard Bring on the Dancing Horses at the end of set one, but the rest of the hits come thick and fast now. The Cutter, Seven Seas, the hauntingly beautiful Killing Moon, and to end, Lips Like Sugar.
Echo and the Bunnymen never figured heavily in my record collection at the time but those are classics, with a dark edge to most that set them apart. Somehow that has stood the test of time.
Spurred on by a recent spate of gigs, we went to another on Saturday, at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle. it’s a venue we’d not been to before. It is a Grade II listed building, dating from the 1820’s and was the world’s first locomotive works, Robert Stephenson & Company, famous for the pioneering locomotive, the Rocket. It was restored as an entertainment/function venue in 2016: a large space with a standing capacity of 1000.
The only drawback with the venue is that there is little or no nearby parking. I used my scooter and we parked in the Stephenson Quarter Car Park (a multi-storey -with no free disabled parking). I’d previously contacted the venue and booked a place on the wheelchair platform. Apart from the step off the kerb by the entrance the access into the venue was level (a little bumpy by the door but no steps). There was great professional stewarding and the staff member responsible for the platform was excellent – she really looked after us.
Peter Hook was the bass player with Joy Division, which reformed as New Order following the death of lead singer, Ian Curtis. He now performs with his band, The Light.
Hooky developed a very individual style of playing the melody high up on his bass, leaving to bass line to keyboard or guitar.
This was K’s choice (I always found Joy Division a bit depressing) but I really enjoyed the gig – three sets and an encore over about two and a half hours, including all the Joy Division and New Order hits, including Love Will Tear Us Apart, Atmosphere, Blue Monday and Temptation.
There was a great atmosphere too with lots of singing going on in the audience.
We haven’t got any other bands to see until July now…..unless something else comes up!
This was on a completely different scale to what we saw last month at The Cluny, which is tiny with a capacity of only 300. The Arena accommodates over 11,000 people. It was a completely different experience, with a massive stage in a very tall space which gives plenty of scope for some pretty spectacular staging.
Simple Minds formed in Glasgow in 1977 and gained popularity in the 80s with hits including “Promised You a Miracle”, “Alive and Kicking”, “Glittering Prizes”, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and the atmospheric “Belfast Child”.
Only front man Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill remain of the original line up, but they have recruited some great musicians – standout performer for me was dynamic drummer Cherisse Otei.
Add state-of-the-art light lighting effects and an adoring audience, eager to sing along to those 80’s anthems and we had the whole package. Even K (who is known to be critical if the sound engineer is not up to the mark) couldn’t fault the mix. Jim Kerr’s vocals are as powerful as ever and he really held the crowd for what was a very long show – well over 2 hours, divided into two sets, with a short break in between.
We had a great night. No more gigs now until July for us…unless something else grabs my attention!
In Part 1 I explained how I bought 4 pairs of gig tickets for K’s birthday and it just happened that they were all this month. We’ve already enjoyed 80s pop from Altered Images and punk from Buzzcocks. Read on to find out who we saw next…..
Gig number 3 was Gong. Psychedelic Rock is not a genre that I know anything about, but K has several Gong albums and raves about them, so when I found out that they were playing at The Cluny this had to go on the birthday list. I have to say I wasn’t keen. I even went as far as asking if any friends or their partners wanted to go with K instead of me but there were no takers.
K would describe Gong as more of a collective than a band, with many changes of personnel since they began in 1967 and no original members. Current frontman is Kavus Torabi. Legend has it that he was suggested by Gong founder Daevid Allen. shortly before his death in 2015. Torabi is quite charismatic, joined on stage by some pretty decent musicians on guitar, bass, drums and jazzy sax. All this with some in-your-face lighting and in front of an animated backdrop, with abstract images, morphing florals and characters from a mythology that accompanied the albums (pixies riding around in flying teapots no less!)
With all that going on the whole show was a bit of a hippy trippy assault on the senses. I certainly found it interesting, but can’t say I remember a single song or felt at all moved. Glad I went though. It was an experience!
The fourth and final gig of our Month of Music was A Flock of Seagulls. If you are more a fan of movies than music, then you’ll know that scene in La La Land when Mia is at a pool party and sees Seb playing in an Eighties cover band. She requests that they play “I Ran”. That was a Flock of Seagulls song, their biggest hit.
Only Vocals/Keyboard player Mike Score remains of the original line up, and in the last 40 years he’s gone from the craziest haircut ever to no hair at all! That electro-pop sound still works, both the hits (“Wishing”, “Telecommunication”, as well as “I Ran”) and the less well-known tunes.
Score has assembled some skilled musicians to join the Flock’s current incarnation – it was a great gig and took us straight back to the Eighties!
Our month of music is now at an end and it’s been a blast, with four very different gigs, all very enjoyable and all experienced at a lovely intimate venue, The Cluny, in Newcastle’s Ouseburn. We’ve had such a great time that I’ve booked tickets for four more gigs later in the year!
Stitches by the Sea 