God Save the Queen (gigs in Plymouth)

[MickyD]

There seems to be a general consensus about Andy Howard. I know him personally and that is far from the truth. He’s a lovely bloke who will bend over backwards to help anyone who needs it.

Fair comment. I didn't know him personally, and it was a long time ago!

 

[GreenThing]

I was a couple of years young for those gigs, but NMtB, GSTQ et al sit proudly in my vinyl collection. I loved everything about the genre - raw, anarchistic- just two fingers up to society, authority and of course the beige music scene if the time. You couldn’t accuse the Pistols of being musical geniuses but that wasn’t what it was all about.

In those days you always had a favourite band, something to identify with (never understood my daughters’ generation thinking that was an alien concept). Mine was The Stranglers - who I followed around a fair bit and am still mad about today. Dave has now sadly gone of course and every time I hear of a passing of ‘heroes’ of that musical genre, I always remember what an amazing period it was - never since matched IMO. Times were harder but still feel lucky to have lived it.

I have a mate who’s favourite band has been The Stranglers since they started. My favourite band is Therapy? and a few years back The Stranglers went on tour withTherapy? as the support band. We both went to see them and The Stranglers were amazing. Their current singer did a great job without trying to be Hugh Cornwell. I think it was the last tour before Dave passed on.

 

[Frank Butcher]

I have a mate who’s favourite band has been The Stranglers since they started. My favourite band is Therapy? and a few years back The Stranglers went on tour withTherapy? as the support band. We both went to see them and The Stranglers were amazing. Their current singer did a great job without trying to be Hugh Cornwell. I think it was the last tour before Dave passed on.

They were always one of the best of their era in terms of authenticity, by which I mean performances close to their recordings. It’s funny though, I’ve never been tempted to go and see them after Hugh left. There’s something about the provenance of the band and the memories that I don’t want to be blurred. A bit romantic I suppose but it’s how I saw it. Rubber stamped after Dave’s Covid tragedy.

 

[GreenThing]

They were always one of the best of their era in terms of authenticity, by which I mean performances close to their recordings. It’s funny though, I’ve never been tempted to go and see them after Hugh left. There’s something about the provenance of the band and the memories that I don’t want to be blurred. A bit romantic I suppose but it’s how I saw it. Rubber stamped after Dave’s Covid tragedy.

My mate saw Hugh at Tavistock a while back. Apparently he is great at doing his solo stuff but the Stranglers songs are poor.

 

[unhinched]

I was just too young for the Pistols gig etc but my first gig was the business though . . the Two Tone Tour at Fiesta Suite. The Specials Madness & Selecter on one bill. I was under 16 , it was over 18s, but I got in and some of my older mates didn't. Saw my hero Terry Hall in HMV on the day of the gig. ( I saw Pele too so that's my ' double'). Great musical times though 76-81 as someone previously mentioned. That first Specials album is still perfectly relevant for my 14 yr old son.

 

[Frank Butcher]

I was just too young for the Pistols gig etc but my first gig was the business though . . the Two Tone Tour at Fiesta Suite. The Specials Madness & Selecter on one bill. I was under 16 , it was over 18s, but I got in and some of my older mates didn't. Saw my hero Terry Hall in HMV on the day of the gig. ( I saw Pele too so that's my ' double'). Great musical times though 76-81 as someone previously mentioned. That first Specials album is still perfectly relevant for my 14 yr old son.

Similarly, I remember finally going to my first Stranglers gig at 15 years old. 10th February 1981 (ingrained in the brain) for the Meninblack tour at Plymouth Poly. I was blown away. I recall we had to walk in from Saltash though, bus strike I think - them was the days, eh?

 

[Steamer]

My first gigs were in the Guildhall. Me n some mates were 14 and when we didn't have enough money for a ticket, we used to hang around at the door and cadge tickets off folk as they left early. Some times had to pay a bit 10p to see Queen, John Peel Roadshow with Hawkwind, Cockney Rebel, Supertramp, Stackridge (remember them) ... You could do a lot more at 14 in them days as you can now ... .including going into a pub with your older looking mate and have a pint ..

 

[Guiri Green]

I was a little dissapointed in latter years to discover that despite the rebelious image, some of the Punk era bands were just as manufactured, managed and keen to get on Top of The Pops as the rest of 'em.

I was only in my mid teens, but me and my Dad would listen to John Peel, me because I thought I was being cool and rebellious, my Dad, just to make a note of the band names so he could go to work the next day and look trendy and surprise the apprentices !

I still like listening to New Wave and some Punk but now do it while wearing marigolds and cleaning litter trays. Not quite the teenage rebel I thought I was.

 

[Bernie Bernbaum]

There seems to be a general consensus about Andy Howard. I know him personally and that is far from the truth. He’s a lovely bloke who will bend over backwards to help anyone who needs it.

I knew him personally. Maybe he's changed then. Won't say anything else.

 

[Bernie Bernbaum]

Remember mystery group SPOTs being advertised around town . Think admission was 70p, so you knew that they had to be pretty good.

Anyone go to Woods to see Albertos y Los Trios Paranois being supported by The Police (when Roxanne was first released)? Or see The Jolt at Woods - pretty unlikely as the attendance was six!

Yes I was there! December 78. Was queuing outside when the three of them came walking along to enter the venue. They just been drinking at The Good Companions. I'm sure Sting was wearing that long coat he wore in Quadrophenia. He had the same hair cut. Makes sense as filming had finished not long before. Great gig. Quite liked The Albertos. I think The Police appeared on OGWT a couple of months later and they took off.

 

[greenpig27]

Remember mystery group SPOTs being advertised around town . Think admission was 70p, so you knew that they had to be pretty good.

Anyone go to Woods to see Albertos y Los Trios Paranois being supported by The Police (when Roxanne was first released)? Or see The Jolt at Woods - pretty unlikely as the attendance was six!

Yup...saw The Police at Woods. Even then you could feel that they had some sort of "aura" about them and I really felt that they would make the big-time ! (Probably not as big as they actually became though ). Still much prefer their early singles though (So Lonely, Can't Stand Losing You, Roxanne etc.)

 

[(I'm)Stranded]

I saw The Police at a small club down the bottom of town, but I can't remember what the club was called. They were supporting heavy punk band Chelsea, and there were only about 25 people there. The 'crowd' was listless, prompting Gene October, singer in Chelsea, to get a bit grumpy. Anyone remember that gig?

 

[Emu]

Its odd looking back at some of the bands being supported by, what we would call much bigger bands. Many years back I was a Student Union Officer at Plymouth CFE and we put on the Climax Blues Band (who remembers them) but they were supported by Dire Straights. We had to go around the posters adding their name in felt pen as Dire Straights, at the time were, nobodies. They were bleddy good though.

I see that Dire Straits gig was on 10th May 1978.

 

[ChepstowGreen]

Great era.... fab thread for those of us born too late..! What about others, like Sham 69, Stiff Little Fingers, the Undertones, did they make it down back in the day?

 

[Frank Butcher]

They certainly all came down CG - typically bands were at the Poly, Castaways or the Metro. I was too young for the 70s gigs when they started out though. SLF were my mate’s favourite band (and one of mine) and got a copy of Nobody’s Heroes signed by the band at a Bristol gig. And in a bizarre coincidence I have the same birthday as both Jake Burns and JJ Burnel (my musical god). I remember being so happy when I found that out lol.