Anti-Nowhere League Chron-Gen Chelsea Newcastle Mayfair 1982

Anti Nowhere League Newcastle Mayfair
Newcastle Mayfair was an important part of my youth. Along with Sunderland Locarno and Middlesbrough Rock garden, they were all great venues, and featured some classic bands throughout the 70s. Every time I pass The Gate in Newcastle, which now stands where the Mayfair once did, I think fondly of great Friday nights spent there. This ticket is for the Anti Nowhere League, but my memories are of Alex Harvey, The Groundhogs, Chicken Shack, Stray, Ian Hunter, Steppenwolf, The Clash, David Bowie, Family, Curved Air, UFO, Cockney Rebel, and many many more. And of stories of legendary gigs that I sadly didn’t attend there: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Eric Clapton. Time for my tardis again. I would love to go back in time and be standing on the balcony of the Mayfair, listening to Zeppelin’s Rock n Roll, waiting for the band to come on stage. Great memories, some of which are sadly fading as I get older. Turning to the band in question, the Anti-Nowhere League we (and still are) fronted by Animal and came along at the tail end of punk. They seemed quite outrageous in their day; their album at the time was We are the League if I remember correctly. Think I also saw them supporting the Damned. Support came from Chron-Gen and Gene October and Chelsea whose well know song was Right To Work, and always put on a good show. The Anti-Nowhere League still play to this day and were in the region recently playing at the Three Tuns in Gateshead.

All About Eve Newcastle City Hall 1988

All About Eve Newcastle City Hall 1988
Its taking me longer than I thought to work through my concert recollections. So far this year I’ve been blogging every day, jumping around concerts a little, but also working through the letter A, which I am almost (but not quite) through. I’ve left some bands that I’ve only seen once or twice to last…All About Eve makes me think of Martha’s Harbour and that fateful performance on Top of the Pops when the tape played away while the band sat motionless. That song, which was their biggest hit was in the charts when I saw them at the City Hall in 1988. I’d seen them a year or so before supporting The Mission at the same venue. I remember them as more melodic folk rock than being part of the goth genre, which is how they are often classified. Martha’s Harbour remains a classic beautiful song. I’m going to see UFO in Newcastle tonight, and I’m really looking forward to it.

The Cure Wembley Arena

The Cure Wembley Arena 20 March 2008

Hadn’t seen the Cure for ages. Must have been 20 years; Whitley Bay Ice Rink was the last time I think. Laura had been listening to a lot of their old stuff and I’d been given the best of the Cure as a present, so we were all getting into them again. So Laura, David and I decided to buy tickets for their only UK gig in 2008 at Wembley Arena. We bought the tickets ages before the show and we were all really looking forward to seeing them.

Travelled down to London on the afternoon of the show, went for a pizza and then took the tube to Wembley. Didn’t really watch the support act; spent the time looking at the merchandise stall; Laura bought a great t-shirt with a full size face of Robert Smith, which looks great on her.

This was a long set; with the Cure playing for around 3 hours. Yet we didn’t get bored. I would say that I know less than half of the set ; still enjoyed it though. Great to hear The Forest, Three Imaginary Boys, Love Cats and Arab again. Brings back memories. David and Laura thought they were great (which they were!).

Memories of old Cure shows:

Seeing them at Reading in the late 70s, seeing them at the City Hall in the early 80s; seeing them in Newcastle University Ballrom on a Saturday night in the late 70s or early 80s.

Mainset:

plainsong
prayers for rain
a strange day
alt.end
a night like this
the end of the world
lovesong
to wish impossible things
pictures of you
lullaby
from the edge of the deep green sea
hot hot hot!!!
the only one
the walk
push
friday i’m in love
inbetween days
just like heaven
primary
a boy i never knew
shake dog shake
never enough
wrong number
one hundred years

Encore 1
at night
m
play for today
a forest

Encore 2:
the lovecats
let’s go to bed
freakshow
close to me
why can’t i be you?

Encore 3:
three imaginary boys
fire in cairo
boys don’t cry
jumping someone else’s train
grinding halt
10:15 saturday night
killing an arab

ticket for wembley

programme for wembley concert