Just one day out of life! My first proper concert. With support from Hue & Cry[^Now I am reading that Level 42 were the support for this whole tour, so did I imagine hearing Hue & Cry? Did I mix up the songs, and I have always thought I saw Hue and Cry when really it was Level 42?] + The Bhundu Boys, so not the rumoured Wet Wet Wet[^Just seen (in 2023)a Top Of The Pops from 13th August 1987 presented by SiMonday Bates + Peter Powell were they mentioned Wet Wet Wet supporting Madonna this week. They do specifically mention Leeds, which was the first date. So did they support at Leeds only? Great episode of Top Of The Pops anyway with Def Leppard + Motley Crue and Jesus And Mary Chain.]. My first concert, went with Lee, a friend from school, and some friends of his dad. Sounds a bit weird now. Got the t-shirt, programme, every bit of junk going... do I still have the t-shirt? Was an unofficial t-shirt from outside the ground, and I cut the sleeves off at some point[^I do still have …
Tue Aug 18 1987
This week in my gigography
- Wed Sep 18 1996
Baader Meinhof Revue @ Camden Dingwalls The Auteurs, messing about …
- Wed Sep 18 2002
Morrissey @ Royal Albert Hall Played a couple of Smiths songs, average apart from that.…
- Thu Sep 18 2025
The Coal Porters @ Kings Cross Water Rats My friends are keen, I don't know what to expect. Oh, I guess I can research them. This gives us a clue: _THE COAL PORTERS were shining lights of the UK Americana and Bluegrass circuit for 17 years before hanging up their instruments within moments of England’s defeat by Croatia in the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup (true, though possibly unrelated). Led by AMA Award winner Sid Griffin (Long Ryders) and featuring on fiddle Grammy winner and Adele string section leader Kerenza Peacock. They are reuniting for a select number of dates in 2025 – including this special show at the Water Rats on Sid Griffin’s 70th birthday – expect guests!_ …
- Tue Sep 19 1995
Gouge @ Southampton Joiners Lovely poster from this event, though I've now seen the release date of this single touted as something else, the same day as the Blur vs Oasis battle. Maybe this is a re-release? I do have the single "Get Odd" too. …
- Thu Sep 19 1996
Camden Crawl II @ Electric Ballroom Not just this venue, all around Camden, I saw Collapsed Lung and Moby here though... I might also have seen Jack. I think I tried to get into Tiger but the venue was too full. Others were Urusei Yatsura, Prolapse, China Drum, Broadcast, Linoleum, Sneaker Pimps and The Aloof. Participating venues were WKD, Monarch, Dingwalls, dublin Casle, Underworld, Electric Ballroom and Camden Falcon. Found more details in this Melody Maker gig guide. …
- Sat Sep 19 1998
David Devant and his Spirit Wife @ University of Surrey Students Union
- Thu Sep 20 1990
Iron Maiden @ Southampton Mayflower Theatre Snuck in, and got thrown out again before the gig started. Tried to blag that we were writing it up for the student newspaper. Failed. Went home, having not seen the gig. Really wanted to see Wolfsbane who were supporting. Seems this was the first night of the tour. Saw them later at Hammersmith Odeon.…
- Wed Sep 20 1995
Stereolab @ Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms _STEREOLAB, Camberwell's Moog-tinkling cult heros and Reading highlights, support their "Refried Ectoplasm" singles collection with shows at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms tonight (Wednesday September 20), Northampton Roadmender (21), Stoke Stage (22), Leeds Cockpit (23), Glasgow Garage (25) and Newcastle Riverside (26)._ …
- Sat Sep 20 1997
David Devant and his Spirit Wife @ University of Surrey Students Union
- Sat Sep 22 1990
UKCAC 91 @ ULU Some time about now, was on for two days again but this time (I also went the previous year) we got accomodation in student halls... I had a big pad somewhere of sketches from a load of the artists, but where is it now? I had a Simon Bisley on my wall in a little frame, where's that[^Found it now and it is back up on the wall.]? The only one I can still find is my Carlos Ezquerra Judge Dredd that I think he sent me in the post. I originally had it that I was here in 1990 and 1991, but on finding the Carlos Ezquerra sketch which is dated it reminds it must have been 1989 and 1990. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Comic_Art_Convention UPDATE: found it: …
- Wed Sep 22 1999
Robyn Hitchcock @ Camden Dingwalls
- Thu Sep 22 2005
Alex Horne and Josie Long @ Lanterns Part of Folkestone literary festival. television's Little Alex Horne! Though he wasn't famous then. Emma introduced him to us, maybe she was doing his press.…
- Thu Sep 23 1999
Arab Strap @ Union Chapel Looks like the venue of this one is wrong. I don't remember this Arab Strap gig, so don't remember where it was, and have found no record of it now. I can look in my big stack of NMEs, though sure I'd stopped buying it by this point. I was in London, so probably there. ~I get a vague feeling it was ULU.~ UPDATE: Heard from a friend who was not at that gig but has was aware of it and found it on https://www.setlist.fm You might like to know it wasn't at ULU, but at the Union Chapel: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/arab-strap/1999/union-chapel-london-england-3bea1440.html I still don't remember it. Seems they didn't even play the song I liked.…
- Tue Sep 23 2003
Camera Obscura @ Kings Cross Water Rats Plus support from Sister Vanilla (Jesus and Mary Chain's sister) and Pipas. I went to both gigs they did here, 2 days in a row, and this says "looking forward to seeing them tomorrow", so the first time of seeing them o would be this day. I originally had this down as 2002, but blog posts say it was 2003. How did I get the dates of so many of my gigs wrong?? I did have some pictures taken at these gigs, on a very early digital camera (it was credit card thin and 480px resolution) but can't find them now.…
- Thu Sep 23 2004
MJ Hibbett @ 12 Bar Club Something involving Frankie Machine anyway, and probably MJ Hibbett as I wrote about it... Aha found it here too it is actually MJ Hibbett at the 12 Bar Club.…
- Wed Sep 24 2003
Camera Obscura @ Kings Cross Water Rats Plus support from The Broken Family Band and Kicker. I went to both gigs they did here, 2 days in a row, Just found this one on thejohnsonsound.com. I did have some pictures taken at these gigs, on a very early digital camera (it was credit card thin and 480px resolution) but can't find them now.…
- Tue Sep 24 2024
Richard Herring Leicester Square Theatre Podcast @ Leicester Square Theatre RHLSTP! Been to this before, this time it works out nicely with staying up in London for work (well sort of nicely for work). Guest accounced so far is Peter Serafinawicz, of of Spaced, and Sean of the Dead. Oh and Star Wars and that.. That Ricky Gervais is in the same building the same day...…
My first gig was Madonna in 1987, from then until 1990 it was mostly rock, either around Portsmouth or on trips up to London.
Then in 1991 things got more indie, and in britpop times things really kicked off.
I did my fanzine $OLD OUT from 1995 to '96.
In 1996 I moved to London (first Waterloo, then Putney in 1998, Ealing in 1999, New Cross in 2000, and Stoke Newington in 2003) and in 2005 I moved back out again, to Folkestone (so that's where the list slows down again).
Click on a year to see the gigs from that year.
LOTS missing, it's surprising how many gigs I remember I can find no mention of online.
Lots of Under Neath What, Atom Seed and David Devant (favourite bands of various times) to hopefully be unearthed probably lost to the mists of time now.
And what of the epic Supergrass at South Parade Pier?
It's documented nowhere
Of course that gig is on Song Kick now, the internet has overtaken me.
This could turn into an valuable archive This did not turn into an archive of value to anyone...
See links on individual pages to my Folkestone gig history.
Bands I have seen the most (based on the bragging tagging I have done so far). More still to go, especially comedy, so comedians are likely to overtake the bands...