the worst gig you ever went to?

[Brains]

1983, Sheffield City Hall. Dire Straits. So pissed he forgot the lyrics to Sultans of Swing FFS.

Dire Straits were our local pub band (The Sultan obviously) we saw them one time in a small pub in Deptford, the 'stage' was a load of tables pushed together. At the highpoint of the gig the drummer and the entire kit dissapeared through the stage as the tables came apart.

Having said which, up until that point it had been a good gig.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

my daughter reminded me of a truly awful gig I had blotted from my memory. Mark King's Level 42 at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon. I used to love L42 back in the day and he was a significant part of that band, but the reincarnation was crap. Listening to him sing lead voclas on songs he didn't sing lead on first time around was dreadful.

We left after about 25 mins and went and got slightly drunk with the support act.

 

[dellzeqq]

I attended a concert by the popular beat combo known as 'Busted'. I did so as chaperone for the Kid and her mates.

I can't really tell you what I think about Busted - they seemed nice enough boys, and their haircuts were sweet. What I can tell you is that my ears bled. Good grief, those girls could scream.

 

[Proto]

Birmingham Roller Rink, Hockley, about 1970. Headline band was Steamhammer. About twenty in the audience. Trouble was Steamhammer's lead singer bloke was ill, so they played a few 'songs' as a trio. Underwhelming to say the least. Awful, in fact. Didn't get our money back. Just sat their on the wooden floor, bored to tears. I would've walked out but I was on a hot date with Liz Knibbs, so stuck around.

The support band almost made up for it, though. Genesis, who had just released Trespass. Lead singer was a bit of a showman. No idea what happened to them.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I was on a hot date with Liz Knibbs.

Didn't she have a sex change and become Hiz Knibbs?

 

[Proto]

She might have had a sex change before I met her, for all I know. I never got far enough to find out.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Julian Cope, The Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, 2003 or 4. Or possibly earlier. Anyway, he came on, mumbled something about being off his face on mushrooms and launched into one of the songs from "Peggy Suicide" for which his radio mike failed to work. Then he tried a load of new stuff, which left the audience so underwhelmed that he decided to win us back with a rendition of "World Shut Your Mouth", which he can't sing in key any more. We didn't want an encore and we didn't get one.

 

[ChrisKH]

Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry. Hull University, December 1983 (roughly).

At least the beer was cheap.

 

[Fnaar]

Just remembered another one.. I used to go to a lot of jazz gigs in the mid 80s The Tommy Chase Quartet was a particular fave of mine (he was the drummer, in a bebop stylee, used to 'train' and 'bring on' younger musicians, in a sort of Art Blakey band-leader role. Usually excellent, imho. But one gig, he stopped playing mid-tune, and started to berate the band members for playing it wrong. Think it was a young trumpeter he had a go at. They picked up, and finished an otherwise good gig, but it was odd.
Think TC developed a snorting habit... haven't heard of him in years now, which is a shame. Check out the albums Hard! or Groove Merchant on spotify, if you dig that jazz

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I went to Stonehenge Festival (I know, I know) a few years before it all went really bad, or badder. Anyway there was a band playing and they were dreadful - they played a version of a Rolling Stones song and used the words 'I know it's only Marijuana but I like it' - there was a good fire eater there too who kept setting fire to his beard.

 

[theclaud]

Just remembered another one.. I used to go to a lot of jazz gigs in the mid 80s The Tommy Chase Quartet was a particular fave of mine (he was the drummer, in a bebop stylee, used to 'train' and 'bring on' younger musicians, in a sort of Art Blakey band-leader role. Usually excellent, imho. But one gig, he stopped playing mid-tune, and started to berate the band members for playing it wrong. Think it was a young trumpeter he had a go at. They picked up, and finished an otherwise good gig, but it was odd.
Think TC developed a snorting habit... haven't heard of him in years now, which is a shame. Check out the albums Hard! or Groove Merchant on spotify, if you dig that jazz

A friend of mine cut his teeth in the Tommy Chase bad. Scary man (TC, not the friend). I'm hard pressed to choose a worst gig, as I've been to so many terrible ones. One eminent pianist's generic name for the duff house bands that the country's best jazz soloists endure night after night is The Ted C**t Trio .

 

[ChrisKH]

Birmingham Roller Rink, Hockley, about 1970. Headline band was Steamhammer. About twenty in the audience. Trouble was Steamhammer's lead singer bloke was ill, so they played a few 'songs' as a trio. Underwhelming to say the least. Awful, in fact. Didn't get our money back. Just sat their on the wooden floor, bored to tears. I would've walked out but I was on a hot date with Liz Knibbs, so stuck around.

The support band almost made up for it, though. Genesis, who had just released Trespass. Lead singer was a bit of a showman. No idea what happened to them.

Would have loved to have seen that. Mind you I was about 7.

 

[Fnaar]

A friend of mine cut his teeth in the Tommy Chase band. Scary man (TC, not the friend).

Yeah, I chatted to TC a few times... you wouldn't want to get on his wrong side! I might very well have seen your mate play... small world etc

 

[Happiness Stan]

One of my brothers went to the same gig, I'll ask him if he remembers them - my Mum wouldn't let me go 'cos I was too young

On the positive side, I did also get to see UB40 at the same gig which probably makes me one of the few people left alive who saw them before they became crap.

Apparently Squeeze were playing too. Can't remember a thing about them.

 

[theclaud]

Yeah, I chatted to TC a few times... you wouldn't want to get on his wrong side! I might very well have seen your mate play... small world etc

Alan Barnes - he'd have been with Chase til about '86...