Morrissey

22nd October, 1999. Tilburg. A big regret of mine was never seeing The Smiths. I'm not sure how that one got away. Anyway, just one date of this solo tour was in the Netherlands and to my amazement, not in Amsterdam, but Tilburg. I wasn't going to miss this chance. It had been 8 years since Mozza had played in Holland and the venue was sold out. Considering that it was packed with fans, the audience were a bit of a let down. There was the usual fanatical group stuck at the front, but the majority were pretty quiet. There wasn't much singing or dancing going on. The man himself, maybe had something to do with it. Of course, he is older and a bit portly and didn't exude much enthusiasm. Dressed in a West Ham boy's club T-shirt, he chatted a bit, but not getting much response from the crowd, professionally worked his way through the set list. Opening with You're gonna need someone on your side, followed by Boy Racer should have got the toughest of audience's going. I think a lot of people were in awe of seeing the 'Icon' in the flesh. I, in any case thought it was a great start. He went on to play a mix of solo and Smiths songs which didn't always sound like they should (like I'm used to hearing them!), due to the backing band and the shift in his voice. He didn't play for long - just over an hour - and ended up with 'Last night I dreamt..'. And then he was gone, leaving the crowd to enjoy the after-party which, dare I say, was greeted with more enthusiasm than the concert.

The Clash

November 12, 1977. Hastings Pier. In the summer of ’77, I started going to the Basement Club, near to the Art College in Brighton. Saturday night was punk night and although it was dark and dingy and the walls ran with sweat, we went there for the music. The DJ, Tony, was always happy to play requests and after a few visits, I got to know him. During a party at his house, Tony came up with the idea to drive to Hastings to see the Clash in the White Riot Tour. (The band had played in Brighton on May 25th, but that night I was watching the Stranglers instead at the Suite.) Tony being a DJ, drove a van so there was room for several of us to go. I left work early on the Saturday to give myself plenty of time to get dressed up. This wasn’t just an ordinary concert, I was going off with the coolest DJ to see THE punk band of the moment! Tony and a girlfriend turned up at 6.15 and to my horror I found them sitting on the settee drinking tea with my mum and dad! In full make-up, black leather, pins and chains – the embarrassment! I quickly got them out the house and we drove around Brighton picking up an assortment of hardcore punks eager to get to Hastings. Of course, there were more people than there were seats in the van. We all squeezed in somehow, wedged between the seats and propped on the floor. With the Clash blaring out the speakers to get us warmed up, we finally arrived at 8.30.
The concert was actually on the end of the pier, which for some reason I hadn’t really realized. As we walked along the wooden slats, you could see the sea below and I was wondering if this was a good idea after all. I thought I had seen lots of punks and punk bands in Brighton, but they were tame compared to the busloads of punks that were going in to see the Clash. The band had clearly brought an entourage of punks down with them from London. These were scary. I didn’t know whether to look at the stage or the crowd.
The support band was Richard Hell and the Voidoids. An American, but well known in the English punk scene with his singles Blank Generation and Love comes in spurts. He didn’t seem to be too comfortable with the spitting and the beer emanating from the front rows, but nevertheless managed to get the crowd focused on the stage instead of each other. There was a distinct feeling of aggression and expectation. There was no way I could get to the front with this crowd, but the view from the side was just as good. My friends from Brighton of course, had all dispersed and were lost somewhere in the heaving black mosh pit at the front of the stage.
When the Clash came on with a raw rendition of London’s Burning, I really thought we would end up in the sea. The Pavilion vibrated to the pogoing and the floorboards groaned. Joe Strummer seemed to recognize faces in the crowd and the energy on and off the stage was overpowering. Mick Jones, dressed up in his SS gear stomped around, launching into the next song before the other was finished. I’m so bored with the USA, Career Opportunities, Janie Jones – the songs whipped the crowd up into a jumping frenzy that I hadn’t seen before. What a buzz - it was a relentless jostle of dancing, jumping and seething bodies. The crowd had been screaming for White Riot since the start, but they had to wait for the encore to hear it.
Hoarse, battered and streaked with smeared make-up, we met back up at the van for the drive back. That we got back in one piece, after all the drink etc. that had been consumed, was a miracle. It was unanimously agreed that this had been the best punk concert ever.

The Undertones

Brighton and London. According to my records I have seen the Undertones, three times, but it could well have been more. They were a favourite band of mine and seeing them live was always awesome. My first 'recorded' concert was a concert at the Hemel Hempstead Pavilion on October 3rd, 1979. My sister was living in Radlett, so all I needed was to catch the train from St Pancras and she would bring me back to London the next day. Being a poor student, I bought a ticket for the next stop, Kentish Town for 20p, and succeeded in dodging the ticket man at the other end. The venue was quite impressive. The Undertones were supported by The Photos, an English Blondie-style band who I had just seen play on the 29th of September (supporting John Cooper Clarke). I still didn't like them. The Undertones on the other hand, were terrific. Feargal Sharkey not only looked so different to anyone else I had ever seen, but he had 'that voice' too. He was so skinny and so scruffy and I have to say, unattractive. He was all over the stage and even jumped into the crowd at one point to break up a fight. The songs were all belted out in that Derry accent and the crowd couldn't get enough.
Jump to April, 23rd 1980, and I was going to see them again in Brighton. The Top Rank was sold out and packed to the rafters. When the band came on at 9.30, the place erupted. We were jumping and dancing about like madmen. Teenage Kicks, My perfect cousin, Jimmy Jimmy - we were melting in there. My favourite song that always turned me into a crazed pogoing idiot, You've got my number (why don't you use it?), was left to the end. They played until 11pm and then played 2 encores. Not bad for 2 pounds 50.
1981 and the release of another album, Positive Touch meant another year of touring. I caught them this time at the Rainbow Theatre in London on May 21st. Although I wasn't completely sold on this album, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to see the band play live. Their now legendary live shows ensured that the Rainbow was full, and despite the mix of new, slower songs with the fast punky numbers, the band effortlessly went down a storm. Feargal, just as fashionless and thin as ever, could stun the crowd to silence with his quivering voice and then whip them to a frenzy with the next song. I lost count of the number of encores. They were truly magnificent. We left for home, soaking wet, emotionally drained and with no voice left.

Young Knives

17th October, 2006. Concorde 2, Brighton. How happy was I to see that the Young Knives were playing in Brighton in the same week that I was going to be there! I quickly ordered tickets in Holland, beacuse this was going to be a sell-out. Many years ago, I had held my 18th birthday party at the Concorde together with 5 other friends. It wasn't until I had ordered the tickets that I saw that the venue has moved furthur along the seafront to another building - hence the name change to Concorde2. Duh, no return to my old birthday haunt, but to a concert held in the lobby of the lift that used to take people up from the beach to the top promenade. Interesting. The Young Knives - they have a particular 'look' of should I say style, which can best be described as a 1960's geography teacher crossed with Jarvis Cocker. They look so square that they're trendy. (The merchandise on sale included Young Knives ties!). They play wonderful punky songs with witty lyrics which are totally addictive. They came over really well in the small venue, joking around with each other and the crowd. The songs sounded great and the crowd were really rocking. People climbed up on the pillars and stood on the window sills to get a better view, or maybe to get out of the heat. It was boiling in there! The bass player 'House of Lords' was pissed but still played and sang really well. Part timer, Weekends and bleak days, the Decision - brilliant. Their single - She's attracted to - sent the crowd crazy. Everyone was singing 'You were screaming at your mum, I was punching your dad,' in the extended version of the song, with extra lines such as, punching hif f****** face in, thrown in by Henry. What a laugh. Everyone left dripping wet, with a big smile on their face. Hope they come to Holland soon!
The Young Knives

Infadels

Infadels. Effenaar, Eindhoven, 24th October 2006. Back to the Effenaar for another new English band, this time for the Infadels. What can I say? They were magnificent. They are a dance/pop band from London who are touring their debut album We are not the Infadels. The group burst onto the stage with Jagger '67, a favourite of mine and the crowd erupted. They have a frontman with an amazing voice who clearly knows how to work the crowd and they produced an energetic and driven performance which kept the crowd jumping. It was clear to see that the group really enjoy playing live and I expect they say it everywhere, but they kept repeating how much they love to play for a Dutch audience.(Their live DVD was filmed in Paradiso.) After a version of Steady as she goes and a slightly mis-timed Girl who speaks no words, the set ended with Can't get enough. An incredible track to finally see and hear live. Their hit Love like Semtex was still to come and an extended version of Brandon Vegas rounded it all off leaving us all extremely sweaty, exhausted and still shouting for more.
Infadels

The Ramones

22nd February, 1980. Electric Ballroom, London. The night my jacket shared the stage with Joey Ramone. There were 2 support bands for this concert, one of them - The Boys were good, but the other sent us looking for the bar. The Electric Ballroom in Camden was packed solid and sold out for the Ramones. There was a continual stream of people pushing past trying to get to the front. I had put my jacket on the floor, safe as I thought between my feet, but I soon realised that in the crush it had disappeared. We crawled around with matches trying to find it in the darkness amongst the mass of feet, but all we found was a lighter! The big build up for the Ramones started, so we abandoned the search and tried to find a good place to see the band. That wasn't very easy. We were crammed together like sardines - wall to wall and from the front to the back- and the build up went on for a ridiculous 15 minutes. The huge crowd got more and more restless. When they eventually appeared, launching into the wonderful Hey ho, let's go, the place erupted! Everyone was jumping, it was impossible not to jump with everyone around you going crazy. Before the first song had finished - and that's not long with a Ramones song - we were liquid with sweat. The heat generated by the number of fans in there was incredible. Half an hour into the gig, the bass player Johnny, threw his guitar away and they all trooped off for 10 minutes. The band weren't happy about something. They didn't like the amount of beer that was being thrown at them and because it was so hot in there, they couldn't play properly. (Duh, they kept their leather jackets on!). Apparently, the heat had put their guitars out of tune. Anway, after cooling off they came back on and the crowd went gaga again. If they weren't playing well, we didn't notice. We were too busy leaping around. They played until midnight and as the crowd dispersed, we continued the search for my jacket. We found it eventually, covered in footprints but neatly folded up, on the stage next to Joey's mike stand. Maybe Joey had done that himself. It was a nice thought.
The Ramones

Generation X

12th April, 1978. Brighton. What can I say about Billy Idol? He was a punk rocker who was trying too hard. We couldn't really take him seriously with his peroxide hair and bike chains. He pulled the same sneer as Sid Vicious, but on him it looked ridiculous. There was an extremely rowdy crowd in the Top Rank, which seemed to consist of a lot of football supporters. Ready, steady, go - as Generation X hit the stage, Billy Idol was showered with glasses and beer. He immediately retreated, to be replaced by one of his entourage, pleading with the crowd not to throw stuff at the stage. The football chanting crowd greeted this with jeers and yet more glasses and liquid. Eventually, the not-so-hard singer sheepishly reappeared and played quite a good set, although their songs didn't really appeal to the hardcore punk fans. The football chanting contingent however appeared to enjoy it. The aggressive atmosphere meant that I watched this show from the balcony; it was a wise decision.
Generation X

Editors

21st February, 2006 Eindhoven. This was my first visit back to the new-look Effenaar and I was impressed. From the view outside of the ladies loo to the absence of heavies at the front of the stage, I have nothing but praise. The support band this evening, The Brakes are from my home town (Brighton) so I didn't want to miss their show. They seemed to really enjoy themselves and have some good songs - 'Heard about your band'. The singer sounds strangely like the singer from the Violent Femmes. They closed their set with the opening chords of Munich. The crowd seemed to contain a lot of 'foreigners' and some misplaced Goths. As the Editors aren't yet as big in Holland as in England, it was easy to get right down to the front of the stage. Tom was easily in touching distance, which is why I love this type of venue! It was a great set and the crowd were really rocking. I wanted to see this for myself...everyone sang along. They saved my favourite song for the final encore, a powerful and extended version of Fingers in the factories. Fantastic stuff. Hmmm, walking back to the car, my legs seemed to have turned into lead! Obviously, I'm not as fit as I thought I was.
Editors

Bunch of Stiffs Tour

October 19th, 1977 and a Bunch of Stiffs tour hits Brighton. (Wonderful to see the documentary on Stiff records on Channel 4 recently. ) There were really two headline acts at this show, namely Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. But for me, these two were a little too polished. Wreckless Eric was already playing when I got there, but immediately captured my attention with his strange songs. However the other Stiffs were just pale imitations of the real star that was Ian Dury. I couldn't understand why he moved the way he did, or why he held the mike the way he did. He was so strange! What was he on? He wore a tweed jacket and cap and draped his scarves around the mike stand. We tried not to look at the veins in his neck but it was hard to look away. He was clearly older than the other Stiffs and his music was a sort of cockney alternative punk. But, he was such a fantastic performer and effortlessly captured the somewhat aggressive audience. Elvis Costello, although gawky and strange looking in his own right, failed with his music to carry on where Dury left off. This was a great evening to showcase Stiff records artists and although Costello went on to become the most commercially successful, it was Ian Dury who brought the house down in Brighton.

Stiff records

Kraftwerk

Tilburg (NL), 1st July 2005. In 2004, the Duracell powered robots smartly disguised as 4 aged businessmen decided to go on a world tour. They were to play one date in the Netherlands and the venue in Tilburg was quickly sold out. I became aware of Kraftwerk for the first time, way back in 1974. Neighbour S. had asked me round to listen to a song on his new stereo hi-fi system. Duly sitting with oversized headphones, I listened as cars seemingly drove through my head entering one ear and leaving by the other. The track seemed to go on for ever and although Autobahn was never a favourite track of mine, I leant to appreciate its unique sound. The greatest roar in Tilburg was reserved nevertheless for Autobahn, which I felt was disappointing, given that there were many other successful tracks. The men in suits behind their synthesisers laptops were dwarfed by the huge back-drop which projected film and slides synchronized with the music. I particularly liked Vitamin with its huge rolling tablets and Radioactivity. This prevented the otherwise static show from becoming repetitive. After the break, the lights went on to show that 4 robots had now taken the place of the group members. They moved their arms to We are the robots, of course. They were then replaced by the band wearing fluorescent yellow neon suits, showing that they are not so boring after all. An impressive, aero dynamik show with wonderful music that hasn't dated at all. What an accomplishment!
Kraftwerk