Before i go any further, i’d like to thank my mate Rob for inspiring me to do this page & for setting it up. I don’t know anything about programming etc & he’s a pro ! I’ve spent many long hours inputting all the data of nearly 900 gigs & it’s still no where near finished….& will continue to get bigger as i will ALWAYS be going to gigs 🙂
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So, Mr Gig Addiction….
I’ve always been passionate about music & as i’ve got older, i’ve come to realise the place i feel most “at home” is in the crowd at a gig 🙂
From a very early age, i just fell in love with music. My mum says that when i was a toddler & was really into a song, i’d bite the radio gram ! Supposedly, there were teeth marks in it from me! (Note i was VERY young lol)
The earliest stuff i got seriously into was Elvis Presley. In the late 70s, i’d listen to just about anything. I’ve an older sister, so it was partly through her that i was exposed to the “classic rock” acts, such as Led Zeppelin, Rainbow, Genesis, Black Sabbath,Yes etc. I loved the “New Wave” & “Rock” acts the most.I’d collect 7″ singles by bands such as Blondie (who would become my favorite band in those early years), The Members,Sex Pistols, Siouxie & the Banshees,The Stranglers, Iron Maiden, UFO etc etc. Of course, i also religiously listened to “T.V. on the radio” on Friday nights 🙂
I always wondered what it would be like to go to a gig,but, living in Boston, there were no nearby concert halls.
In 1980, at the age of 13, i was very lucky as my dad took me to see Blondie in London.I was so excited about it. The thing that really stood out for me at the gig wasn’t the obvious (Debbie Harry) but Clem Burke! I was amazed at his drumming. So, even early on, i was picking up on the not so obvious….or looking at things from a different angle 😉
I wanted more of this stuff.
Next, whilst at grammar school, there was a chap who organized gig trips. At the age of 14, i went to see Saxon at Leicester. That was fantastic & totally different to the Blondie show. I was sat up in the balcony, taking everything in.
In the early ’80s, my dad started taking us to a few shows at Leicester De Montfort hall. Once my local mates could drive, we started branching out with the venues we visited. Nottingham soon became a favorite.
In 1984 i went to my first gig abroad : Monsters of Rock in Karlsruhe, Germany. It was pretty similar line up to the UK show.( AC/DC ,Van Halen, Gary Moore, Dio,Motley Crue, Accept) This was a bus trip & damn was it a long tiring journey! At the time, there were a couple of companies doing these trips. As it was something different, we decided to give it a go.The borders were still up then so that made for interesting happenings along the way.
Maiden Powerslave’84 was THE coolest Maiden tour. Great thing about that one was that they changed the set list a bit, as on some gigs they’d add an extra track to the set. The extras were Wrathchild, Murders In The Rue Morgue,Children Of the Damned, Phantom Of The Opera,Die With Your Boots On. Basically, i think they were rehearsing these tracks for the Hammersmith shows. Each Hammy gig got 2 extra songs. They were recording those shows for a live album. At the time, i’d be 18 years old. It was such a rush to be following my fave band around the UK. Back then, there was no internet, so there was a lot more “work” involved in planning the trips.People nowadays don’t know how easy they got it !
Late ’80s if there was a band i was really into, i wouldn’t just go see them in one place on the tour. Often i’d see bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Magnum, Voice of the Beehive at multiple venues such as Leicester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Norwich. Yes, i was already addicted to gigs 🙂 Whilst i was still living at my parents place, i collected the tickets & stuck them up on my bedroom door. Soon the door wasn’t big enough, so i started putting them in photo albums.
A great thing about the travelling etc is that i’ve met many people along the way.The next biggest change to my activities was due to meeting some Garbage fans. After doing a bunch of UK dates, it was suggested we try some dates abroad. So in 1999 we went to “Rock Am Ring” in Germany. This was a great experience. Cool line up including Skunk Anansie, Garbage, Faithless etc etc. Garbage headlined the Alternatent….this held about 15000! One of the funniest memories of the day was when someone tried to push their way onto the front row. Believe me, after we queued for many hours, there was no way we’d let anyone in! Anyway, this girl kept working her way along, trying to get in. Finally, she was behind Mel…the girl got the message when Mel kicked her & said something like ” I’ll rip your fuckin head off ! “. We were lucky going to RAR then as the festival has really got too big nowadays. But for sure, realising how easy it was to do gigs abroad, it certainly inspired me to do a lot more.
Somehow i heard that Garbage were gonna be on TFI so i contacted them to try to get tickets. I dunno if it had any bearing on getting them or not,but, i told them that myself & friends followed Garbage around the UK/Europe. Well, someone phoned me from TFI to say we had tickets ! He also said that as it’s the strongest line up ever, there’s people coming out the woodwork from everywhere try to get tickets. So we were super lucky. I mean, Garbage, Aerosmith & Red Hot Chilli Peppers ?!! Bloody amazing. When filming was finished we had a quick chat with Butch & Shirley. The Chillis were playing a gig at Camden Palace (now Koko) & some of the Garbage peeps were going. The only way to get tickets for the show was via a radio1 competition i think. Anyway, we all traveled over on the hope of getting in. We didn’t manage it 🙁
I’m still friends/in touch with those Garbage friends. In fact, the “Garbage family” has grown over the years. Not only that, but, there are various circles of fans of different bands who do a similar thing.
Finally, one of the biggest changes i had was seeing “Guano Apes”. What started as getting there early, to try meet the band & get autographs, ended up with me hanging with them all day long, & the beginning of some great friendships. Thanks to Henning, i managed to live everyones dream of traveling on a tour bus, being given the magical AAA laminate passes, the opportunity to meet other bands etc etc. It was one hell of a ride & i will forever be in his (& the band/crews) debt. I’ll never forget those great times from 1999 onwards. Thank you.
The internet has really opened things up. Now it’s very easy to book tickets flights etc. I’m constantly meeting “new” people along the road & i love it.
As i have mostly collected my gig tickets over the years & sometimes made video clips etc, i thought it would be cool to have an online blog/diary to record my travels etc. I really don’t know how interesting this will be to *you* but i hope it’s enjoyable in some small way. Feel free to comment on gigs, especially if you also attended one of the gigs.
Some quick things :
First band to see more than once on the same tour ? :Motorhead the “Iron Fist tour” 1982 (2 nights in Leicester).
The band i’ve followed on the same tour the most ? : Iron Maiden 1984 (11 times) 1986 (17 times)
Best gig i’ve ever seen ? : Impossible to answer as there’s too many variables.But stand out shows include Blondie as it was my first, Maiden Leicester 82, Queen Knebworth, Skunk Anansie Aston Villa, The Cure Birmingham, Metallica Sheffield 86, Maiden 84 tour, Guns n Roses rock city, Tesla Marquee , Heart Newcastle 88, INXS Leicester mainly because they opened my eyes to Voice Of the Beehive, Nah, there’s just too many 🙂
Regrets of gigs i didn’t see ? Oh yes, there’s many ! The stand out ones would have to be Manic Street Preachers early years. I remember dates at Leicester Uni, Northampton Roadmenders etc, but i didn’t go due to changes in my lifestyle. A similar thing was Nirvana. I was more than aware of them & yet i didn’t go for two reasons : 1. I was going through my “I don’t like Rock City ” stage. 2. The gf didn’t want to go 😉
Bands/artistes i’d still like to see ? Rolling Stones (though i wont go Stones unless i get a freebie or win lottery!). Patti Smith.
P.S. I didn’t always fully document everything so all entries on here are from my memory. I may get some aspects wrong ! If you were at the same gig & you saw things differently, or if you feel i need to add stuff, please let me know. I’ve also nicked loads of photos of various sites etc 😉 If any are yours & you want them removing, please say so.
UPDATED 2017
2016 was a rough year for me. In April, after playing squash (something i’ve done regular for 30 years or so), whilst in the changing rooms, i suffered a seizure. Subsequent investigation proved i had developed a couple of brain tumors. One was to be treated as being “grade 4 out of 4”. The supposed prognosis was that i have about 2 years left. I commenced radiotherapy + chemotherapy & my world changed. No longer could i just decide to zip off to various gigs whenever i wanted to. I’m not allowed to drive now, so have to take trains & use hotels (assuming i feel fit enough). Having not worked for so long, it’s very hard financially. During this time, i’ve had some great support from family, friends, work colleagues & the many Facebook friends i’ve made along my journey. You truly find out who are your REAL friends in these situations. As of February 2017, i have finished my chemo treatments. They will continue to observe any tumor growth via regular MRIs (approx every 3 months). One thing is for sure, the last couple of MRIs it had grown & it seems it will continue to do so. From day one it was all about trying to slow down the growth. There was never a miracle cure for this. So, all along i’ve tried to be as positive as i can & try to continue my passion for going to live gigs. I’ve had some amazing gestures from a few bands that i’ve known for years. As examples, Guano Apes paid my expenses to see them in NL. They really looked after me. Skunk Anansie gave me guest seats & early entry etc. Again, everyone was so nice to me. There have been quite a few nice gestures & it’s really meant a lot to me. Along my journey over the years i’ve met many great friends. I wont say names,but, please be aware your friendship has been appreciated so much. Thanks for all the great times together. I’ve lived my life to the max & pretty much have no regrets….hell, i’ve had some amazing times over the years & they cannot be took away from me.
I still hope to get to the magical gig number 1000….
UPDATED OCTOBER 2017
I’ve managed to hit 1000 gigs seen ! The band that had the honour of that was VOICE OF THE BEEHIVE (When they reunited & played The Lexington). It was suitably apt that it was them 🙂 ) Still getting out to gigs & will do so for as long as i can do.
UPDATED 2020
The years 2018 & 2019 were all about highs & lows. Some days I’d be “Fit as a fiddle” yet other days I had no strength physically & mentally. So it goes on…
UPDATE 2020 (part 2)
There’s a new virus. It’s called “Corona Virus”. When I first saw it on the news, I thought to myself “This has the potential to go pandemic”. It happened. Gigs started to be cancelled/postponed. Believe it or not, I thought to myself “What is the point in living, if I cannot get to gigs?” Whilst we’re all in self isolation, I’ve been buying more & more CDs Blu Rays. There’s only so much TV I can manage. Just wondering how this will all end. Also, will I still be alive to see the rescheduled gigs ?
Looks nice Si!!
Cheers Allyn ! (& you’re the first, but hopefully not that last, to comment in this part)
This blog is taking me down memory lane, not always of a shared gig but many tours from which I saw a different gig to yours. As you know, there is one special band.
Cheers Jim 🙂
Hi Simon. just been going through this blog tonight, so enjoyable and interesting to look at , very impressed indeed, Few Tesla gigs of course we met at and made friends along the way, and noticed 1 or 2 others I went to as well to my surprise, like Monsters of Rock (Donnington) 91, Thanks for sharing, keep up the good work, you doing RN’R proud, Keep Rocking
Hey Josh thanks a lot for commenting & i’m pleased you find it interesting. It’s funny, you’re not the only one that has said to me “we were both at XX gig when we didn’t know each other”. It’s a small world 🙂 I just love how on my travels i’ve made many new friends like yourself. Take care mate.
Welcome Simon, and thanks for creating and sharing such a great interesting site on your exciting journeys and Yea can’t beat bringing people and friends together through the power of RN’R music like we did, certainly is a small world going to gigs we both went to in the past lol, take it easy mate, Keep Rocking
Hi Simon, as promised have checked out your life time legacy!!!
We have enjoyed it and brought back some nice memories for us of bands( well, for Mark really!).
Loved the moves at TFI, will keep reminding you of those !!
Haha cheers Kaz ! Well what ya meant to do in that situation? It’s obvious you play an invisible keyboard/drum. Of course, i’m even younger then…so in line with recent comments from the Docs/Opticians, i musta been 20 something 😛
Bloody brilliant website mate! Really enjoy the gig stories, I suspect you could fill a book with some of the stories you’ve amassed over the years (there’s a thought) I met Bruce and Steve in early 86 when they took over a hotel here in Jersey, got my maiden Japan pic disc signed and Steve poured me and my mates a few pints from behind the hotel bar. Ah happy days!
Thank you Chris 🙂 Ah man you were lucky with the Maiden guys then! They’re probably my all time fave band ever. When you say “took over a hotel”, do you mean as a business venture? If so, do they still have it? (Yeah, i’m nosey 😉 )
Hi, I came across your site while researching for a story I am writing about Rock City’s 35th birthday and I’d love to speak to you about your gig experiences. Please get in touch if you are happy to share your stories. Thanks
Sandish, feel free to use my stories on here & if you wanna talk more, get in touch 🙂
Just found this while looking for a setlist… gonna have a good read. I still can’t believe I recognised you from that TFI Friday clip ahhaha
Haha nice one Paul ! I’ve aged a bit & the hair is going,but otherwise i still keep on gigging like crazy. Guess i’ll cya somewhere at the next Garbage tour…the last one was THE BEST ever as far as i’m concerned 😉
It’s a joy to find soemone who can think like that
I’ve been looking at this site for years, mainly for little angels info but I’ve always found myself looking at various other pages. Didn’t know it was your site til today! Great work! 🙂
Hi. I am researching Iron Maiden and found your website. It’s been great to hear about all your gig stories and from such early shows in the careers of many bands. I’ve also been to some of the same shows as you. I hope to be able to use some of your information for my Maiden project regarding the bands performances and nuggets of interest if that’s ok. I would like to talk further about your experiences where possible. Please contact me. Thank you for all the great memories and work on this blog.
Hi Simon – found you website by accident (google search on venue and date for a Gary Moore show). So many shows we have both been to – including my first (Gillan / Spider De Monfort Hall, Leicester December 1982) and some surprising smaller ones (FM Christmas show at the Old Marquee in 1986), together with dozens more. I grew up in Leicestershire, so most of the De Montfort Hall shows ! Will look at more further, but very impressive work. Sorry to hear of your health troubles – keep well, kind regards, James
A pleasure to “virtually” meet you James ! It sure is a small world 🙂 I often used to wonder how many of us were at the same gigs over the years. De Montfort was one of my fave venues back in the day. Take care mate.
Great site, Simon. What a gig list! Take care 🙂
Thank you Andy. As you’ll have noticed, i live for going to gigs ! I’m not far off my 1000th gig now 😉
Hi Simon,
Great site, and congratulations on hitting the 1000!
I was at quite a few gigs on your list, I was a student at Leicester Uni in the late 80s and helped with the Rock Society and gigs there. I even did local crewing on some of them 🙂
Spent more time at gigs and festivals than at lectures 🙂
All the best.
Hi Neil,
Thanks for your comment. As i’m sure you gathered, i live for going to gigs 🙂
Totally random question for you…As you helped with the gigs at the Uni, did you know a chap called “Ben” ? He used to do the Record fairs in Leicester etc.
I followed the whole Jane’s tour back in 2003. I think we may have met in the queue at one or more of the shows.
Sorry to hear about your illness. Hope everthing is OK!
Hi Danny, cheers for your comments. Yes, i think there’s a good chance we met at those Jane’s shows. I remember a couple of people i met. I think one was from the States. I think his name was Ali (Or did i mishear the name & it was in fact Danny?)
Hi Simon, you and me were sat next to each other last night at Rock City at the Steel Panther gig. We were the forgotten ones waiting for the stools to arrive, lol. Really enjoyed it except there was a tad too much talking between songs, I expected it but it didn’t detract too much. Love your blogs and reviews. Cheers chap
Col
Hi Simon,
Stumbled upon your site, which is excellent by the way, whilst trying to scourse old ticket stubs from shows attended way back that I don’t have for the reason of the venue retaining them upon entry and missing collection on way out, this happened a lot at the Manchester international venues and among the stubs I’m longing for are Pearl Jam 92, Extreme and Saigon kick 91,Megadeth, Almighty and Alice in chains 91.
There are lot more which I have found on your site from the Rock city which I will print of and store with my collection. They aren’t the originals but I can accept this.
My first gig was Saxon on my mates birthday 1982 and I was 14, a great experience and what followed was a journey to see all my fave bands around at the time- Maiden, priest, Leppard,MSG, Diamond Head, etc. Still to this day I regularly attend gigs, the majority in Manchester but do travel when required- often due to the big bands doing a big uk tour of London- as in Pearl jam in June.
I Collect my tickets in frames and display them in my hallway, friends and call are often lost in time for a while perusing the tickets and the guitar picks I have collected from the shows over time.
Like yourself Simon I have fond memories and stories of band members I have met and had a drink with or just a chat whilst getting autographs and asking for picks. I’ve met and got some stuff signed by some of the coolest people in this game,some who sadly are no longer with us,Cornell, Layne,Cobain, mike star, etc.
Gigs are truly an occasion to look forward to and after the memories will last as long as you can remember them- the ticket stubs help!
Next week on Thursday I’m taking my 14 year old daughter to her first gig with me, Fall out boy at the Arena- a proud moment and than on Good Friday I’m off again to see Testament/ Annihilator at the Ritz, two totally different shows but it’s the gig addiction you so so so already are infected with,
Keep up the good work and I’ll raise a glass and toast you with good health.
Hi John, Pleased my site has been of help to you. I wish i could have kept more ticket stubs, but as you said, some places, you couldn’t keep them. Rock City was one of those places. I have a kind of a theory they did it back then to kind of fiddle the numbers who were in the venue ! Sometimes it was so obvious it had been oversold 😉
I love the Manchester Ritz ! Best venue in Manc for me. Only seen 2 gigs there (Virginmarys then Skunk Anansie),but i find it much better than Manc Apollo.
Nice one for taking your daughter to her first gig. I’m sure she’ll be super excited. Hope you both enjoy the gig.
Thanks for the reply Simon, it was so weird that I have been to at least 20 you were at, from maiden in Newcastle to Crue in Nottingham etc.
I was hoping you might have had the Giant stub from when I saw them in the small room downstairs, I remember being at the front and pinching Dan Huffs picks of his mike stand, he didn’t mind but his tech kept pointing a naughty boy finger at me when he replaced them. To which I took a couple more, I had friends who were fans but couldn’t make the gig so I was getting momentos for them
Still got one and I have never seen one on that auction site!
Keep up the good work, enjoy your gigs and maybe I’ll catch you up stairs in the balcony at the rock city
Nice to see you are still at it. Just going through my Iron Maiden shows, and came across your “DMM”s. What’s it been? 15 years ago. I haven’t heard these in more than 10 years. Still have the ones you offered up, so many thanks for what you did.
Hi Cristian ! Your probably correct, it was years ago i did the DMMs. I’m pleased i could share them. Must be hundreds of people now that have them. I even noticed that my Leicester 86 one somehow made it to boot cds. I guess that shows how good quality it was 🙂
From what you released, 1st night Sheffield 86′ was the best. I have a tape off of your 86′ Hanley show, but don’t remember the sound.
Looking forward to receiving the tape decks & equipment I ordered to arrive (to finally transfer all those tapes). It’s been so long, I can truly enjoy the old shows again.
Hi Simon,
I only came across your site tonight and was absolutely fascinated reading who you’ve seen over the years.
I think you are probably the same age as me and tbh a lot of people don’t get gig addiction but i do.
I may only be a light weightcompared to you lol (around 700) but I’m so glad I made the effort even with all the expense involved.
Many are now long finished or a shadow of their glorydays.
I’m really sorry to hear of your medical problems, I’ve too had a few issues to deal with but the love of music certainly does keep you going.
All the best for the future and as Mr Mogg from my fave band UFO says ‘Keep on rocking’
Kindest regards
Paul
Hi Simon,
Just back from Neil Young in Antwerp, really good gig.
Great to share the B52s Nottingham show with you and glad you enjoyed the meet and greet.
Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World mate.
Cheers, David.
Hi David, We had a good chat at the B52s ! You certainly got lucky with your ticket (price wise). The Meet & Greet was very cool. Fred gave me the drum stick he’d been hitting the cow bell with 😉
Hope we meet again,
Simon
I hope you don’t mind, I’ve “borrowed” a few images for my site
http://sheffieldmusicarchive.co.uk/sheffield-city-hall/city-hall-tickets/
If you let me have your name I will credit you properly!
That’s ok Nick. Feel free to share. Simon
Hi Simon,
I hope all is well! While going through a long lost box of old CDrs from 2004, I found DMM01 ~ DMM20, that I received from you (the days of B/P and snail mail). What a treat it is to hear these releases after all those years! You did such a great job with those! Now if I could only locate:
DMM 21~DMM 24…
I love all the photos of your tickets on the website!