[Music] Your first ever (proper) gig?

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ozzygull

Well-known member
Oct 6, 2003
4,244
Reading
Phil Collins Paris 1990.

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GT49er

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Feb 1, 2009
50,355
Gloucester
I was lucky enough to be at Liverpool Uni, late 60s -early 70s - and the list of bands I saw at the Friday or Saturday night dances (for five bob to 10 bob a time (25 to 50p)) is awesome; in the later years as we got cooler, there was less dancing and more sitting on the floor to watch, listen and admire - and for bigger bands, like The Who (the warm up gig for the Live at Leeds album) there wasn't enough floor space to dance anyway! Just from memory (and I may have forgotten a few), try this for a list:

The Searchers (with support band Jethro Tull) - my first 'proper' gig, I think, Vinegar Joe, The Mojos, Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Tremeloes, Fairport Convention. Blodwyn Pig, The Herd, Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds, Status Quo, Strife, Velevet Underground, The Who, Derek and the Domimoes, Steeleye Span, Solution, Silverhead, Black Widow, Daryl Way's Wolf, Geordie, Jethro Tull (again, when they were much bigger), Pink Floyd, The Byrds .........................
 




Guinness Boy

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Jul 23, 2003
38,458
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
First one was shit. Madonna in Paris. She mimed and someone let off teargas. Not my idea, I was over there on a French exchange and the French kid's parents got the tickets.

Once I hit 18 I had a run of going to see baggy / indie bands at The Zap. Saw Ocean Colour Scene (very early version of), Flowered Up, Bridewell Taxis and Northside within months of each other. No idea now which was first, but Flowered Up was properly mental, full of lads who were faces at the Goldstone smashing round a huge, inflatable can of Red Stripe.
 








Guinness Boy

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Jul 23, 2003
38,458
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
I was lucky enough to be at Liverpool Uni, late 60s -early 70s - and the list of bands I saw at the Friday or Saturday night dances (for five bob to 10 bob a time (25 to 50p)) is awesome; in the later years as we got cooler, there was less dancing and more sitting on the floor to watch, listen and admire - and for bigger bands, like The Who (the warm up gig for the Live at Leeds album) there wasn't enough floor space to dance anyway! Just from memory (and I may have forgotten a few), try this for a list:

The Searchers (with support band Jethro Tull) - my first 'proper' gig, I think, Vinegar Joe, The Mojos, Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Tremeloes, Fairport Convention. Blodwyn Pig, The Herd, Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds, Status Quo, Strife, Velevet Underground, The Who, Derek and the Domimoes, Steeleye Span, Solution, Silverhead, Black Widow, Daryl Way's Wolf, Geordie, Jethro Tull (again, when they were much bigger), Pink Floyd, The Byrds .........................
Good list.

In a weird kind of coincidence Mick Abrahams, who was in early Tull and later formed Blodwyn Pig had a son who was in my class at school. I presume an out of wedlock thing as they lived in a council flat near Dyke Road. His son and some others were going to see Terence Trent D'Arby at the Brighton Centre and asked me along but I had to decline because I'd spent my paper round money on fags and football. That would have been my answer instead of ****ing Madonna.
 




Rdodge30

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Dec 30, 2022
1,024
Motörhead Hammersmith 1982. Iron Fist tour. Tank the first band I clapped eyes on. Fantastic memories

I saw Motörhead on the iron fist tour but I thought when I saw Tank they were supporting Gillan (roughly same time) … have I misremembered and Tank were supporting Motörhead?
 




Brovion

In my defence, I was left unsupervised.
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Jul 6, 2003
20,096
Genesis at the Dome. Foxtrot tour. 70p
With Lindisfarne and Rab Noakes! Yes, I was at that one too, as I believe was @Harry Wilson's tackle Mind you that was at the Top Rank, not the Dome

1972. It was the year I first started going to gigs. My first proper one was David Bowie a few months before that at Worthing Assembly Hall. Worthing used to have loads of good bands in the 70s.
 








bhafc99

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Oct 14, 2003
7,542
Dubai
Steps at the Brighton Centre
🤣 I regularly bump into Lisa Scott-Lee over here in Dubai - kids in the same class at school etc. I’ll pass your regards on to her!
 






Man of Harveys

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
19,074
Brighton, UK
UB40 at the Brighton Centre in 1983. Very loud. A big fight broke out in the standing bit to the extent that Ali Campbell shouted to stop the song and got the miscreants thrown out. The two Middle Eastern guys sitting next to me were so stoned from smoking huge spliffs throughout that they had absolutely no idea what was going on at any stage. All very impressive to a 13 year old and UB40 were still good then, before it all went a bit Rat In Mi Kitchen soon afterwards.
 










maltaseagull

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2009
13,620
Zabbar- Malta
Aye, I'm sure this has been done before on here but nothing came up in a search...

I've been ill, decided to compile a list on the old laptop of all the gigs I've been to in my life, kept many of the tickets (getting older now and going to fewer due to tinnitus, due to going to too many in small venues when younger......Wear ear plugs kids!).

At 15 I went up with a couple of school mates to see Eric Clapton at the Albert Hall. Quick google reminded me that, oh yeah now I remember, Phil Collins was on drums and Mark Knopfler popped in for Money For Nothing. I was really into Cream at that age.

I've been lucky since, seeing many bands in small venues before they blew up (Sigur ros, Midlake, The Libertines, Strokes, War on Drugs), Radiohead between The Bends & OK Computer, Elliott Smith and Amy Winehouse at the Concorde, and many legends and special gigs (Portishead at Glastonbury '95, Brian Wilson on his first SMiLE tour, Neil Young and Springsteen solo acoustic shows).

What was your first gig or the one that also set you on the road to many beautiful live moments? Live music has been a massive part of my life.

edit - I miss The Freebutt, Pressure Point and particularly the Hanbury Ballroom as venues in Brighton.
My first gig was Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames at the Dome circa 1966?
 


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