A blog for all of us who have an interest in the history of music in the North East of England, UK.
Recollections, photos and videos of bands, gigs, nights, venues and recordings from all eras and music genres.
And we're also on Sky Tyne and Wear, with Cllr Veronica Dunn. So,
Newcastle City Council says here that they will work with the users of
Newcastle City Hall. That's us, the people. Let's see if we can now find
a way forward. http://tyneandwear.sky.com/news/article/55062
Thanks to all who have signed and shared the petition, which remains
open. The petition will also be formally submitted to a full council
meeting in the Council chamber next week. With best wishes and fingers crossed for a positive future for Newcastle City Hall, North East Music History http://www.facebook.com/groups/northeastmusichistory/
North East Music History (NEMH) has the following comments to make about this:
Firstly, as we’ve made clear previously, the focus of our campaign is certainly not the management and staff of the venue itself. Our campaign is targeted at the people in Newcastle Council who will determine the future of the City Hall. The key decisions on this will not, alas, be left to the people who work at the venue.
The statement indicates there is now considerable speculation that the City Hall is under threat of closure. That’s true and is hardly surprising when Cllr Nick Forbes, Leader of the City Council and the man ultimately responsible for decisions on this issue, told the BBC on 27th November, “the whole site - the City Hall and Pool - doesn't have a long-term future given the current funding climate.”
Whilst NEMH welcomes the statement that the venue management has “put forward a series of proposals to enhance the financial viability of the City Hall”, we do not consider that, in itself, changes anything regarding our campaign. We don’t know the details of these proposals, we don’t yet know whether the Council is prepared to accept and implement them – and we still don’t know what the Council’s own plan is for the long term use of the site.
In short, we believe our campaign to save the City Hall as a vibrant performance venue is still very much needed. The campaign will continue and indeed will be intensified early in the New Year.
Finally, as the Newcastle City Hall post says, the venue is continuing to operate and tickets are on sale for a range of gigs in 2013. NEMH hopes you will support the venue by going to City Hall gigs and continue to support the campaign by signing the petition atwww.change.org/savenewcastlecityhall, which has so far collected over 8,000 signatures online and in the street. The two things are hardly mutually exclusive!
by North East Music History PRESS RELEASE – NORTH EAST MUSIC HISTORY – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NORTH EAST MUSIC LOVERS CALL ON COUNCIL TO SAVE NEWCASTLE CITY HALL
The North East's music-loving public are rushing to defend Newcastle City Hall, demanding that it should continue as a performance venue. Newcastle City Council has asked for people’s views on the future of the City Hall, within the recently published Budget proposals. The North East Music History group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/northeastmusichistory has once again demonstrated the power of social media, by launching an e-petition calling for the City Hall to be saved as a music venue. In less than 24 hours, it has already gathered more than 1,000 signatures and expects to attract at least 10,000 signatures by the end of the consultation period. North East Music History group and blog admin, Hazel Plater, author and ex-employee of Newcastle's legendary Riverside music venue, which closed in 1999, said,“We have lost Newcastle's iconic venues The Mayfair and Riverside in recent history, and the Club A-Go-Go before them. Newcastle City Hall has so much history; from orchestras and opera, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Dylan, Beatles, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Bowie, Blondie, Lindisfarne Christmas Concerts, Stand-up Comedy and much more. It’s not at all clear what Newcastle City Council’s intentions are towards the City Hall site. Our group believes that the Council should do whatever is necessary to save the City Hall as a performance venue. This would not only recognise its iconic status and its rich musical history but also acknowledge that it still has massive potential as a performance venue in the future, as part of the cultural industry activity that we hope will form an important part of our future local economy.” Tony Stephenson, North East Music History group contributor said, "We need first to secure the council's commitment to retaining the City Hall as a performance venue in a way that will enable to offer a great experience to the ticket buying public. Whether that is as a wholly run public enterprise or as a partnership or a privately run deal (with absolutely binding terms and conditions from the Council) I, personally, am prepared to be pragmatic about. The important thing is to secure its future and commitment to its continuation as a viable venue, not to sell it off now or allow it to pass into the hands of people who will run it down in order to pitch for change of use of the site and then it's lost anyway." Martin Craig, a musician and also part of the NEMH group said, “We want more members of the public plus performers linked to Newcastle City Hall to sign the petition before the end of the consultation period on 1st February 2013. We are conducting a high profile campaign to save the City Hall for future generations.” If you want to add your voice to the e-petition to save Newcastle City Hall you can go online at: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/newcastle-city-council-save-newcastle-city-hall
This month marks 30 years since The Tube television programme was first broadcast live from Tyne Tees Television on City Road, Newcastle upon Tyne to the music lovers of the nation.
Channel 4 had just begun, and this show, presented by Jools Holland and Paula Yates was its flagship music show, featuring, over its 5 seasons, performances from a huge number of artists, including The Jam, The Smiths, REM, U2, The Cure, Pet Shop Boys, Tuna Turner, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran Duran and even Madonna.
The Tube was named after the distinctive entrance to Tyne Tees Televison
The majority of music appearances on the magazine-style show were performed live at Tyne Tees' Studio 5. The video clip below, however, shows Billy Bragg, busking to the queue of people waiting to come into the studios to be part of the live television audience.
A large number of hip young people around the North East at the time, remember taking part in the show, a night which would often begin in the adjacent Egypt Cottage public house, where celebrities could often be seen propping up the bar. The pub was such a part of the show that it was dubbed 'Studio 6' and was famously where presenter Paula Yates first met INXS frontman Michael Hutchense as part of a 1986 episode. The Tube was last broadcast in 1987. The Egypt Cottage and Tyne Tees are now both no more, having been demolished in recent years. Post your recollections of The Tube below, or at the North East Music History Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/northeastmusichistory/
I'm very proud that this story, written by Ian Ravendale (real name Ian Penman, but he writes articles under this name to avoid confusion with former NME writer Ian Penman), has appeared in Classic Rock magazine this month thanks to input from the North East Music History Facebook group. Turns out Led Zeppelin's first gig was at Newcastle's Mayfair - 4th October 1968 - a fact hitherto unreported. The article tells the full story and includes first hand accounts from NEMH group members Ray Laidlaw and Charlie Foskett, a late-friend's tale told by John Porteous and additional research by Marshall Hall. Well done everyone concerned - Led Zeppelin history, North East Music History and a fine story unveiled! The magazine is available from all good newsagents or by subscription from http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/
Led Zeppelin's first gig featured in Classic Rock magazine October 2012
After I posted the above article, Ian himself got in touch with me, to elaborate on how the Classic Rock story happened:
"The legendary Led Zeppelin played their first handful of UK gigs under the name The New Yardbirds, a roll-over from leader Jimmy Page's former band whose final gig obligations they were honouring. The first of these shows was at Newcastle Mayfair ballroom on 4 October 1968 with support slots from local bands Downtown Faction and The Junco Partners plus New York Public Library, originally from Leeds but based in London by this time. I'd found out about the show while researching another possible locally based Led Zeppelin story. The fact that Zep made their UK debut on Tyneside and under a different name jumped out to me as a potentially fascinating subject for an article and Classic Rock agreed.
Still being billed as The Yardbirds, on the night they were billed as The New Yardbirds
If anything was going to stretch my super-researcher powers it was locating the support bands, audience members, promoter and Mayfair staff and then getting some good stories and anecdotes out of them. The gig was, after all, 44 years ago! But, pulling in favours and with the invaluable help of a notice on the main NEMH site, I got the response I needed from people who were at a gig that was, by most accounts, not very well attended.
In addition to interviewing Ray Laidlaw (Downtown Faction) and Junco Partners Bob Sargeant and Charlie Harcourt I also spoke to promoter Fraser Suffield and Brian Greenaway who was the manager of the Mayfair in 1968 that I located via a lead from Marshall Hall. Brian was seriously ill when I went up to chat with him in hospital in Berwick. He was courteous and responsive and I appreciated him seeing me under very adverse circumstances. Sadly Brian died a couple of days ago.
Some people, like NEMH member Charlie Foskett, had great recall of the event-remarkable because no-one knew, of course, that they were witnessing the first UK gig of the outfit who would become the world's biggest rock band in the 1970’s. Others remembered less but I still unearthed lots of great information that has never seen print before.
I got off to a bit of a false start by spending a fair amount of time trying to track down Terry Reid, who was credited on the advance tickets as the main support act.
Terry rang me and told me that, no, his band Fanasia didn’t play the gig because they were off supporting Cream on their Farewell US tour!
This was why, I surmised, New York Public Library were credited on the Evening Chronicle adverts, which would, of course, have gone to press a lot later than the advance tickets. They’d have been the replacement for Reid. It took a bit of scurrying around (with the deadline looming!) but I managed to get hold of a couple of guys from the band. One was convinced that the gig took place in Glasgow, but I quickly managed to disprove that to him. The other, Tez Stokes, NYPL’s guitarist, was a very good interviewee with a good memory of the event, enhanced by him already slightly knowing John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page.
I was pretty happy with the finished article and the reaction to it.
This is exactly the sort of article I like doing where I can locate people and untold information to tell a story that has previously gone unrelated. Zeppelin have been discussed, debated and written about non-stop since their split in 1980 following the death of John Bonham but very little exists about their first UK gig. Until my article. Thanks to Hazel and everybody else from NEMH who helped me do it."
Fugazi playing at the Riverside in Newcastle upon Tyne on Sunday 26th November 1989, without a doubt changed my life! It seems a grand and ridiculous statement but it really is true.
Fugazi's whole outlook on playing live and their approach to the music industry was and remains to this day quite simple but radical and I admire them more than words can describe.
Riverside, as a venue, felt similar with friendly door staff and an atmosphere unlike any other club I had been to or have been to since.
Fugazi ticket from Riverside Newcastle
Before the gig I approached the band as they walked around the venue and they were only too happy to have the show filmed and then be interviewed afterwards. At which my position for the night was taken on - a hastily moved table in front of one of the mighty brick pillars, which I must say that I always liked!
God's Ultimate Noise and Crane warmed the crowd up and by the time Fugazi walked on stage the room was heaving and already dripping with condensation! They played a mixture of songs from their first two EPs plus some newer songs from their forthcoming album Repeater. 'Waiting Room', 'Glue Man' and 'Margin Walker' never sounded better. It was a combination of the band being on top form and playing in what was to become one of their favourite venues. This remains one of my most memorable gigs ever.
When I heard that there was to be a documentary made about Riverside, I got in touch with one of the producers and offered them my footage of this and other Riverside gigs I filmed around the time. I am really pleased to have my work included in the trailer, which can be found on their indiegogo crowd funding page this month. The campaign runs for 30 days. If enough funds are raised, the team will go out to interview Ian Mackaye in Washington DC, to add his recollections of Riverside to the live footage in the completed documentary.
Tyneside bands who went out through agents like Beverley Artistes, Birchall's, West End or JKR Theatrical (the legendary Jimmy King) will remember how we were often sent down the motorway to gigs in Teesside & North Yorkshire on Friday & Saturday nights during the Seventies. Meanwhile, Teesside & Yorkshire bands would slog up the opposite Northbound carriageway on their way to dates in Tyneside & Northumberland. We used to flash our headlights to each other as we passed.
This exchange arrangement was done so that the Concert Chairman could announce, "Ladies & Gentlemen, put your hands together for a great group who've come all the way from...." The theory was: the further we'd come, the more exotic it made us seem to the punters.
During the decade-plus we spent doing this north-south journey it found its way into my songwriting, probably as a form of self-therapy, in songs like 'Living on the A19', 'M62' and 'Teesside Blues'.
After our first vinyl EP came out, I got a publishing interview with Chappell Music in London's Bond Street. It was late summer in 1979. The bloke I met wore a curved moustache and a frilly shirt with long pointed collars and billowing sleeves, looking very like Peter Wyngarde as Jason King in the cult tv series 'Department-S'. I wore my usual black leather bike jacket.
I told Jason King that my new songs were about actual places I knew and real experiences I'd had, rather than made-up stories. I also said my songs were often about movement, with lots of car and bike images.
Jason King took our precious quarter-inch stereo demo tape, played a few bars of each song and fast-forwarded through the rest, making us sound like the Chipmunks. I started to bristle.
'Rockin' at the Ace Café' came on. "I wanted this one to have a Chuck Berry sound," I pointed out helpfully, in case he'd missed it. "Ye-e-s-s, well, we already have Chuck Berry himself on our books... you know, Jewel Music? I shut up. He pointed to a grand piano. "Roy Orbison was writing songs on that piano yesterday. He's with us too." I shut up some more.
'Teesside Blues' got underway. "I like this one," said Jason King, "but you need to change the lyrics to 'L.A. Blues.' No-one cares about, what is it called, Teesside? Where's that, for God's sake? Somewhere up North? No WAY!!"
Lynn was with me and she said afterwards that I looked as if I was going to chin Jason King. I can remember arguing that it HAD to be Teesside, because that was the WHOLE BLEEDING POINT!
Jason King was quite nice about it really. He took us downstairs from Department S to the Chappell record shop, pulled out some albums and gave them to me, saying, "Have a listen to these, let them soak in for a while, then write me six new songs."
The albums included Ricky Lee Jones, Tom Waits, Springsteen's first album and a fantastic reggae compilation. I think Jason King must have been good at his job (despite that shirt) because, after I'd soaked up those great LPs, the next song I wrote had no trace of a car or a motorbike in it.
It did feature a bus, though. A bus in a Northern town, quite possibly in Teesside. The North's gonna rise!!
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