{"id":4017,"date":"2014-02-10T19:52:35","date_gmt":"2014-02-10T19:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanrowley.info\/?page_id=4017"},"modified":"2014-02-10T19:55:38","modified_gmt":"2014-02-10T19:55:38","slug":"the-boys-are-back-in-town","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.alanrowley.info\/?page_id=4017","title":{"rendered":"The Boys Are Back In Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rock music was at its height in the 70s, and during this decade, I went to see many groups, often going to concerts three or four times a week. Many local clubs and pubs put on rock bands, and on top of this, there were the annual rock festivals.<\/p>\n

Locally, you could see a rock band most nights of the week. Within a few miles, there was the Grey Topper at Jacksdale<\/a>, the Working Men’s Club at Langley Mill, the Plough and Harrow at Hucknall and the Regency Rooms at Ilkeston. All of these put on concerts at least one night a week.\u00a0A bus ride into Nottingham meant you could see bands at the Boat Club, by the side of the river, the Imperial on St James Street and the University campus.<\/p>\n

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\"Arthur<\/a><\/dt>\n
Arthur Brown live in concert. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n
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I saw several bands at these venues that later went on to become big stars, as well as many that I thought were destined for the big time, but failed. In the latter category were bands like Limelight, Sweaty Betty, Chicken Ass Blues Band and Bethnal, all of which guaranteed you a great night out, but failed to sell much black vinyl.<\/p>\n

The Boat Club was the place to go on Saturday night where many bands stopped off at before they became famous. The most notable of these was Led Zeppelin<\/a>, who played the venue in their early days, before returning for a ‘thank you’ gig after the release of their second album. Unfortunately, I missed both dates.<\/p>\n

The Regency Rooms at Ilkeston put on gigs on Friday evenings and would attract big-name bands that were playing locally on the Saturday night. My advancing years, and the alcohol consumption, means that a lot of these gigs are just vague memories, though I do remember a spectacular, theatrical gig by Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Brian<\/a><\/dt>\n
Brian Robertson<\/a> at the Reading Rock and Blues Festival, 1977.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Of the big festivals, the Rock and Blues Festival at Reading was an annual event. There would often be eight or ten of us making the trip down there, often in a hired van, which doubled as sleeping quarters. The most memorable Reading for me was in 1977 when I won two weekend tickets for the festival in the Daily Mirror. When the tickets arrived, they turned out to be back stage passes.<\/p>\n

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\"Phil<\/a><\/dt>\n
Phil Lynott<\/a> at the Reading Rock and Blues Festival, 1977.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

On a very wet and muddy weekend, I spoke to the legendary John Peel<\/a> backstage, and also saw Elton John doing some publicity for his Rocket label. The best part of the weekend was undoubtably Thin Lizzy and I watched the show from the press enclosure right at the front of the stage. I don’t remember much of the set, but I did manage to grab a few close-up photos, which have survived the 35 years since.<\/p>\n

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\"Phil<\/a><\/dt>\n
Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham<\/a> at the Reading Rock and Blues Festival, 1977.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

I saw many concerts in those days, including Pink Floyd<\/a>, the Rolling Stones, Queen, Led Zeppelin and Status Quo. I was even the first punk in town after I discovered the emerging craze on one of my many weekend trips to London. During the Punk era<\/a>, I saw a memorable concert at the Roundhouse, in London, featuring the Ramones, supported by Talking Heads.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, I can afford the best tickets in the house, but the thought of sitting, or standing, in thousands of concertgoers, or even a crowded pub, doesn’t really appeal to me. Glastonbury? You can keep it.\u00a0Gabba, gabba, hey.<\/p>\n

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