Tag: live music

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Last of the Summer Gigs: Darlington 24 August 2025, Part 2 – Accessibility and Infrastructure.

Posted on by Jackie B

I already posted a review of August Bank Holiday Sunday’s 80’s gig here. The music was great (we were treated to The Human League, Bananarama, Tony Hadley, The Christians, The Farm, Toyah, Altered Images and Carol Dekker: a great lineup. It’s so good have an 80’s festival in the here North East, and long may that continue. However there were some issues with the way the event was organised where there was room for improvement, including accessibility for disabled fans. I hope that those concerned get to read this (please share) and take it as the constructive criticism it is intended to be, to learn from and make improvements for future events.

Unless otherwise stated, these are my own opinions and observations.

Ticket Purchase

Disabled fans requiring accessible seating and/or an essential companion ticket were advised to purchase tickets from TicketMaster and I did so – they have a good registration system for disabled customers, so proof of disability is given once and is valid for ticket purchases for 3 years.

Booking a parking space

I would be driving to Darlington (which takes about 1 hour 20 minutes) in my adapted vehicle. I worked out that I would need to park at the stadium, being at the edge of town away from Town Centre Car Parks. The event was on grass so I’d need my `all-terrain” scooter: this can be loaded into my own vehicle using a built in electric winch, but is too large and heavy to go on a shuttle bus or regular taxi..

When pre-event information was released it advised that venue parking had to be booked and paid for in advance, including disabled parking. The charge is not ideal, when disabled people may have no other option but to park on site , but more importantly there was no separate priority route to purchase a disabled parking pass, resulting in what seemed to be a bit of a scramble for all the parking, certainly on the link given on the pre-event info email and this quickly sold out. I couldn’t see another way round this. Had I missed something? It was looking increasingly likely that I would not be able to attend at all. I reached out on social media and discovered that I was not the only disabled customer who had missed out on the parking. Others were going to attempt to manage with sticks, though were concerned about whether they’d be ok. My final thought was to contact the promoter, Liz Hobbs Group via the contact page of their website. Give them their due I was soon sent a link to an alternative ticket vendor website (Eventim) and was able to purchase parking at last. Crisis averted, but not an ideal situation. it would have made more sense (to me) to have event tickets and car parking sold on the same site.

Getting into the car park

The day of the event arrived. I picked up my lovely friend A and the journey passed without incident until we were close to the stadium itself as queues of traffic were starting to form. Following the directions automatically sent to my phone when I purchased parking, I inadvertently drive past the entrance to the stadium where I should have been – the directions sent me towards a locked gateway, so I had to do a U-turn into traffic (fortunately slow moving) and eventually found my way back to the correct entrance – I only knew this because other cars were turning in there. I saw no signage for disabled or reserved parking indicating this way in or any stewards outside directing drivers in.

Inside there seemed to be very few stewards – I did not recognised the logo on their hi-viz gear as belonging to one of the major event security firms that one would normally see at such an event (they may have been employed directly by the Rugby Club but I’m not sure) -the parking e-ticket was scanned but there was some confusion about were we were supposed to park – the stewards didn’t seem well briefed. Eventually we found the designated area earmarked for disabled parking. Fortunately we arrived before this had filled up and I was able to get out the car easily – the individual bays were regular narrow ones, not the wider ones purpose made for disabled drivers/passengers, which are essential when transferring from seat out of a side door into a wheelchair.

Getting into the Stadium

With the scooter out of the car we set off towards the stadium entrances by a convoluted route to use the drop kerbs. There was not signage to a disabled entrance and some of the gates had steps. I asked a female steward where we should go and before she could answer a man in a Rugby club top took us to where we were supposed to go next – I asked him if he worked for the Club and he said he built it! As he took us to the next steward who scanned tickets he also told us that once we were inside, the wheelchair area was to the left of the stage and the steward there would give us yellow wristbands. We got there and were admitted to the area but were not given wristbands. A was given one later to allow her back in after purchasing food and drink. Apparently we were supposed to collect wristbands from the box office – who knew? There were no signs. At no point was there a security check of our bags. Although no food or drink was supposed to be allowed in, I did have a full water bottle with me, and was prepared to pour it away if challenged – I was not. I later discovered that another friend had been at the event, unbeknown to me. She told me that a steward had attempted to confiscate her sunscreen. She wisely refused to let him – this was after all one of the hottest days of the year – not good practice to ban sun protection,

The Viewing Area.

This was nothing more than an area separated off by barriers. Not a proper platform. there were some folding chairs stacked against the front barrier that people could get out and use if needed. The best thing about the “Pen” was that there were accessible portable toilets.

Although situated at the front, the area was so far to the left that only half the stage was visible. If you imagine a diagonal line drawn between the near front corner of the stage and near the opposite back corner. I could only see in front of that line – the back line wasn’t visible at all. The only time I saw a drum kit all day was on the screens! Even band members at the front of the stage were often obscured by the rigging at the side.

The front barrier was pretty solid and not the easiest thing to see over, especially if you were very short in stature and/or requiring a reclined position in wheelchair, making a raised platform even more necessary. All wheelchairs and scooters are not the same height!

At other events I’ve been to the wheelchair area stewards have been a lot more pro-active in ensuring the safety and comfort of disabled customers, for example ensuring that seats were positioned so no-one’s views were obscured. This certainly did not happen here – there was one steward on the entrance to the area who never ventured beyond that – there was a bit of a free-for all for chairs and people just positioned themselves wherever.

Event Information

There was no running order posted up on the screens – we only had the start and finish times given in the pre-event information. On stage times for each act would have been useful for timing trips to food vendors and bars (especially as the queues were long) and to use the toilet, which can take longer if you are disabled. Dynamic running order posts are especially useful later in the event if things are running late and people need to rearrange taxis.

The Smell

I mentioned earlier that this was a particularly hot day. The stadium is situated on the edge of town close to farmland. Later on in the afternoon there was a strong smell of farmyard manure! It was definitely not coming from the toilets. I’m a countryside dweller and I know the difference. I also know that we are entering the muck spreading season to fertilise fields for the next crop. I could be totally wrong here but I did wonder if there had been much liaison with local residents and farms and if a local farmer had been angry enough about the traffic, disruption and noise that they had staged a sort of agricultural dirty protest!

Food and Drink

I’m pretty used to the bans on taking your own food and alcohol into such events. Usually sealed bottles of soft drinks are often allowed though. At least there was free water available which was absolutely essential in view of the hot weather. I don’t think the party crowd or the hot weather had been taken account of though. People do drink more when it’s hot and the lager ran out early in the evening. Not good. There was a good variety of (expensive) food available

Leaving the Stadium

After the last band came off stage at the end of the night, exiting the venue took ages. One would expect all exits to be open to allow free movement off the premises. Only one exit seemed to be open, leading to a potentially dangerous bottleneck. Even when a crowd is moving in a slow orderly fashion,, when it’s packed tight like this it can feel very unsafe in a scooter or wheelchair as you are much lower down and cannot be seen. The stewards appeared to have given up by this point – a few were standing around chatting but seemed to take no part in ensuring the audience’s safe and speedy departure.

Once outside, the car park was chaos. With no stewards to direct traffic everyone was trying to find their own way out. At the same time, taxis and shuttle buses were trying to get in. A chorus of car horns blasted through the night air as drivers got more and more frustrated.

We on the other hand sat tight in the car, with our flask of coffee and picnic, waiting for the traffic to clear before we left, arriving home in the small hours.

This is not a Rugby Match

I did wonder if the organisers had simply applied what they did on a match day to this music event, without much heed to the differences, of which there are many. For example a majority home crowd of regular local supporters who know where they are going, and can use public transport or taxis, need less stewarding and signage. Many of the audience at this event would have come from further afield, probably visiting this venue for the first time with no idea of the layout. It also lasted around 11 hours, considerable longer than the duration of a match and many people were continually drinking – quite a few looked the worse for wear and would be thirsty in that heat, not the case for a winter season sport like rugby! More beer was needed!

A lot of the issues I’ve outlined could have been solved by using professional event stewards, with more experience of this type of event, better briefed and more of them, both inside and outside the premises and on duty from well beforehand until after all cars had gone. The addition of a viewing platform and adequate signage would have solved just about everything else.

As it stands I would hesitate to attend another event here. There would have to be a really good lineup of bands to persuade me. I hope that those concerned can learn from and improve what they do. We need and want 80s music here in the North East. More please but do try harder next time!

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Gig Round up of 2024: Part 2

Posted on by Jackie B

Haircut One Hundred, Carol Dekker, Sonia

Bents Park, South Shields, 4 August 2024

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, 17 October 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.

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Gig Round Up of 2024: Part 1

Posted on by Jackie B

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.

A good day, once we got in!

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Gig Review: Interzone Event (Peter Hook and the Light, The Wedding Present, The Farm, Theatre of Hate, Tom Hingley)

Posted on by Jackie B

Newcastle City Hall, April 13 2024

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.

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More Music: Peter Hook and the Light

Posted on by Jackie B

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!

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Accessibility: Live Music

Posted on by Jackie B

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I’ve been to a few concerts at venues of different sizes over the last few months and I have to say it’s been a pretty good experience, with staff really going out of their way to help. In most cases there has been a designated viewing area with great views of the stage and plenty of space.

My favourite small venue, The Cluny, is not the most accessible but does pretty well considering that it’s on one of the steepest streets in Newcastle! Before I ever bought tickets there I visited to check out the access and was given the full tour by a lovely member of staff. I now have an arrangement to email the manager to make sure a seat is left out for me on the balcony. It does make me feel like a bit of a VIP! He’ll also take me through a different way that involves the fewest stairs. I can park nearby so manage with sticks.

One thing I have noticed is that once you are sat down in a standing only venue you become invisible to other people. If I had to rely on my scooter or a wheelchair and take my chances on the floor in front of the stage I’m not sure whether my experience would be as positive. Even in my reserved position I’ve seen people hanging over the balcony impeding my view or even thrusting their mobile phone in front of my face to take a photo.

Most people are lovely though. At one gig recently two men who were standing next to me on the balcony asked if I could see ok. I said I could and thanked them but pointed out that there was another reserved seat so they might be in the way of whoever was going to be there. The concert was just beginning when this person arrived and the two men hadn’t noticed. She leaned across to me and commented about us living in an “Ableist Society”. I have to say this annoyed me a bit as she was pointing at the two guys I’d spoken to earlier. She seemed reluctant to ask them to move, even when I said they’d be perfectly fine about it – as soon as I attracted their attention they stood aside and even helped her move her seat to a better position. Then, she thanked me, not them! It almost seemed like she was making herself into a victim unnecessarily.

It made me think. In my experience, if you ask people for help they are generally delighted to do so. In most cases, problems are down to lack of awareness and if you point out what’s wrong it can be put right. When people see me struggling and offer to help, whether I accept their help or not I’ll always thank them – being gracious costs nothing. But I won’t just wait for someone to offer the help I need either. How can anyone help you if they don’t realise there’s an issue? Rant over!

Back to access. We were at a completely different venue last week (Newcastle Utilita Arena) ,huge by comparison and with a much bigger budget, more staff and extensive ramped accessible platform areas.

It’s quite a walk (even from the disabled parking area) so I used my scooter and drove it straight to my seat: perfect! And there was plenty of space with no-one to block my view. I’d been able to book accessible seats online and there is plenty of information about accessibility online.

I’ve learnt that if you do your research and check out online info or better still speak to venue staff and visit beforehand you’ll get a much better idea of the space and facilities, so there’ll be no nasty surprises when you get there. Information is power!

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More Music: Simple Minds

Posted on by Jackie B

On the strength of our “Month of Music“, in which we went to four gigs, I booked some more tickets and last night we went to see Simple Minds at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena.

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!

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A Month of Music: Part 2

Posted on by Jackie B

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!

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A Month of Music – Part 1

Posted on by Jackie B

The gift of an experience, whether it’s a voucher for a meal at a favourite restaurant, performance tickets, a trip, or a special activity, is a treat on many levels. It can be very personal if well-chosen to reflect the individual tastes of the recipient There’s the anticipation of something to look forward to, something we all need in these troubled times.

It was Kevin’s birthday just before Christmas. He’s not the easiest person to buy gifts for, but I ended up getting him concert tickets for four separate gigs at a small, but iconic, independent venue in Newcastle: The Cluny

We both love live music. We met at college when we were both part of a student group that staged concerts. It gave us the opportunity to see many artists perform. K got particularly interested in the technical aspects of sound and lighting and as a result it sometimes seems like we can be at the same gig and experience two entirely different shows. He can detect problems with the sound mix that I never notice. We’ll arrive early so he can have a good look at the technical set up and we’ll hang around at the end to watch how efficiently the road crew pack up. I suppose all this means we get some sorted added value to going to see live music, which makes those tickets a great gift (and even better, I get to enjoy them too!) It worked out that all four gigs are this month and we’ve been to two so far, beginning with Altered Images.

We worked on one of their gigs back in college in the 80’s, when they had hits with “Happy Birthday” and “Don’t Talk Me About Love”, The band broke up in 1983, but in recent years, vocalist Clare Grogan has performed as Altered Images with new band members, recently supporting fellow 80’s band The Human League on tour – we were at one of the Newcastle dates. Grogan is a warm and engaging performer so the opportunity to see Altered Images headlining at more intimate venue was irresistible.

She doesn’t seem to have changed at all (alas, those of us in the audience are not all aging so well!) And with a room full of fans (it was sold out), singing along to those 80’s hits, the atmosphere was simply joyful. In addition, there was a sharp cover of the Ting Ting’s’ “That’s Not My Name” and material from a forthcoming album, the first in nearly 40 years, including the atmospheric ‘It’s a Beautiful Thing”. What a great start to our Month of Music!

We revisited the Punk era for the second gig. Some may remember the Punk Movement for outrageous behaviour and fashion, but for me it was all about the music. With fast furious lyrics and driving guitar riffs, Buzzcocks typified that.

The band is now fronted by original bass guitarist, Steve Diggle, since the death of Pete Shelley in 2018. They played a tight set including the hits ‘What Do I Get” and “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’tHave Fallen In Love With)”. There’s still a lot of energy there…..not something to sit still to!

Much as I enjoyed the band, I was less impressed with some of the audience, There was a bit of a “Lad’s Night Out” atmosphere, mostly good natured, with middle aged former punks getting a bit the worse for wear. There was a bit of an incident at the end when someone got up on stage, got chased off, drink was thrown and tempers got frayed, but only briefly. On the plus side, since COVID, spitting is unacceptable, even for punks!

It was a different sort of Thursday Night for me – normally I would be at my ukelele group, but missed it so I could go. ….I wonder if I could play “Ever Fallen In Love…” on the ukelele. There’s a challenge!

Have you seen any great live music recently?

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The Return of Live Music: Elbow

Posted on by Jackie B

I love live music. It’s one of the things I’ve missed during the Pandemic. Last week I went to a gig for the first time in nearly two years.

Since I bought the tickets to see Elbow, the concert had been rescheduled twice, but it finally arrived. We were going to the O2 Academy in Newcastle, a small (2000 capacity) venue that makes me feel quite nostalgic for the gigs I went to in my student days, before there were huge arenas in every city.

We’d decided to make a night of it and had a meal at a nearby pub beforehand. Sitting there, that wonderful sense of anticipation began to build when I overheard the people at the next table discussing the band and other gigs they’d been to – they were heading for Elbow too. We finished our meal and went round the corner to join the queue.

I had booked accessible seating and arrived on my scooter The security staff were excellent, and guided us efficiently, via a ramp and lifts, to our seats, on a platform just behind the mixing desk.

K was highly delighted about this. We met at college where we were both members of the Entertainments Committee that put on gigs for the student body. He got really involved in the technical side and to this day, whenever we go to a concert together, we see two different gigs. I see the staging and the performance; he identifies all the equipment, listens to and assesses the sound mix and notes any issues: a hum on one of the speakers, a channel dropping out: things I rarely notice!

This is the most crowded place I’d been to since Lockdown. We’d been asked to take evidence of vaccination or a negative COVID test but this was not checked. I was reassured that there were ventilation ducts above where I was seating and I could actually feel the cold air. I had taken my mask off after I took my seat, but began to feel a little uneasy when the room filled up and there were people standing quite close behind me. I put the mask back on and relaxed.

Two reasonable support acts later , the main band were due on stage. If you haven’t come across Elbow before, you might know their biggest hit, “One Day Like This”, which was everywhere when it came out and became something of an anthem that summer. The band are from the Manchester area and have been going for years. We’ve seen them several times. Apart from the great music, Elbow’s frontman, Guy Garvey, always has a great rapport with the audience that makes even a large arena feel like an intimate little gig. As the band came on stage, Garvey said, “Sorry we’re late.” In that moment, the last 18 months melted away.

As Elbow performed a 90 minute set of old favourites and new album tracks, with stories and banter with the crowd in between, I remembered all the things I love about live music: that throb in your chest from the sub-bass; the joy of recognising a favourite song from the first few notes of the intro; being mesmerised by a good light show; singing yourself hoarse and noticing that those around you are all singing their hearts out too.

There was an acknowledgment that we’d all had been through difficult times over the last 18 months and that this was the first time back at a gig for many of us. It made the shared experience of being there all the more poignant.

All too soon the encore was upon us and it was time for one final song, which had to be One Day Like This, with Garvey conducting layers of voices in a final chorus. Marvellous.

Then it was over and I was just one of 2000 smiling people leaving the auditorium.

Have you been to any concerts since COVID restrictions were lifted? What did you see? How did it make you feel?