"I saw 'em in front of 2 people at the Dog & Hammer back in the day"

[BlodwynPig]

Saw Gary Glitter and the C-beams play off the Hard Shoulder near the A3.

[Larry Heliotrope]

The Cure at Kingston Poly 1979, not long after the release of Killing An Arab, which they played possibly 3 times in response to repeated exhortations to 'kill another Arab'. 10.15 Saturday Night also had 2/3 plays too if I remember rightly.

[buzby]

Saw Elbow in a tent at the Reading Festival in 2001, when they were waaaaaaaay down the bill. Frustratingly I remember seeing them but not Gorkys Zygotic Mynci who were on straight after, and I know which of those bands should've been massively successful.

I saw Elbow supporting New Order at their Liverpool Olympia warm-up gig just prior to the release of Get Ready in July 2001, to an audience of about 50 (most of the Manchester contingent were coming by coach and hadn't arrived yet due to an accident on the M62). It was just after the release of their debut album (which I still consider to be their best). They were pretty good - I bought the album afterwards. First on where a band from Salford called Hanky Park, playing to even less people, who despite having been going for 15 years have never really made it.

Billy Corgan was on backing vocals, guitar and keyboard duties for New Order. He played a shit guitar solo over the end of Blue Monday.

[Danger Man]

Four skinheads in black polo-necks who sounded like a Doors cover band.

Seven years later they were doing Ebeneezer Goode on TOTP.

[manticore]

The Fall at Cambridge Corn Exchange on on May 26, 1979. Half the audience left before they came on because they'd never heard of them or didn't think they were 'hip' or something and they had just come to see my sister's band and The Users, the ignorant fools.

[non capisco]

^ The nascent Fall supporting your sister's band is an unbeatable belter. My only equivalent is that I used to pal around a bit at university with Carlos from The Libertines but I never saw them play. It was only about four years later I picked up an NME and was astonished to see that nice mumbly bloke from halls in some kind of drug crazed band decrying everyone he went to uni with as being a bunch of boring square wankers. Well be that as it may but I was in Richmond HMV with you when you bought 'Hush' by Kula Shaker, mate. WITH YOUR OWN MONEY.

[hummingofevil]

I was there this for one as well, 18 years ago...fuck me.

This was the night I trod on Bjork's foot during the Autechre set, she seemed to take it well.

My lasting memory of this show (I canned loads of cans of Stella, fell asleep on wall overlooking the Millenium Dome and woke to ask everyone I saw "When's Bogdan on?" - he had finished) was watching Bjork and her partner (massive Dolph Lungren looking fucker) walked through a crowd and every single person acted cool as she walked towards them but split and turned heads behind her back. It was like a wake from a speed boat engine. She was wearing green.

My early gigs were a very early Broadcast supporting Gorky's in the Buckley Tiv with songs from first e.p. Was magical and loved them instantly.

Also saw Mogwai around 97 in Roadhouse Manchester with Aeriel M supporting. Both basically playing on the dancefloor so couldn't see much but sounded great. Bit later but also was there for the Mogwai remix album launch at Sankey's. Fucking took the roof off the place with that sound system. Remember being so close to Stuart was almost on stage and they strip For Satan down to one glockenspiel riff. Then it went fucking mental again and place went AAAKKKKAAAA. Those 90s Mogwai gigs were fucking awesome. Load of madheads following them round, Scotland shirts everywhere, hammering the pills and treating the gigs basically as a techno set with everyone going mad for the loud bits.

Shame they turned into such boring fuckers.

[hummingofevil]

Also remember seeing Mansun in the Tiv as a Stone Roses baggy band. All a bit of a joke. Few months later and Manics Holy Bible era kicked off and they returned as commie-goths. They were pretty good TBF but it amused me greatly.

[hummingofevil]

DJ'd with Mark Pritchard & Tom Middleton at a squat in a big house in Sandbanks, Poole (most expensive real estate per foot in the world) to about 30 people, there were several other bigger rooms there with sound systems and to be fair the room we did was small and packed. This was when they were still releasing records on Evolution, I think they had just released #3.

Saw Andy Weatherall play to me and 4 mates in Madison's Bournemouth 1989.

Wasn't early on in career but was invited to a Warp/Reflex label party in a field in the middle of nowhere in Exeter. Was basically a marquee. Can remember K-Rock playing live and the farmer chucked in a dead sheep as part of the deal which was cooked pretty much whole and Aphex drove up in a fully boy-racer kitted-out white Renault 19. Cool car. My mate asked him if he "had any weed" not knowing who he was. We royally took the piss out of him given fact no recognising Aphex's face is hilarious.

[a duncandisorderly]

PJ Harvey was one of the regular acts at the sausage machine (at the white horse in hampstead) when they were signed to too pure ("too poor", as everyone called them, when poll took her business elsewhere).

stone roses loads of times in tiny places from about 1985 on- I used to work with ian's (then) g/f.
at the hacienda to see the mary chain in 1985, & being introduced to the aforementioned mr brown, there's bobby gillespie doing a set with his own band before going on with JAMC.

snow patrol, sometime in 1998/9, third on the bill to a new band with one of the blokes from the cocteau twins. SP were essentially a rubbish guitar band with a bloke 'playing' turntables- I often wonder (no I don't) what became of him.

I saw U2 support the police at gateshead in 1982... I'd heard of them, as had a fair few of the 20,000 or so there, but the people I was with had no idea.

pulp, who'd already been around for almost a decade, opened for the boo radleys at the venue in new cross in 1992 or 1993... the band sometimes had to leave the stage via the audience in that place, & so I collared one of them when they'd finished-
"excuse me, who areyou?"
"I'm russell. who are you?"
which was fair enough.

[manticore]

PJ Harvey was one of the regular acts at the sausage machine (at the white horse in hampstead) when they were signed to too pure ("too poor", as everyone called them, when poll took her business elsewhere).

This annoys me because I didn't see her until 1993, when she was doing 'Rid of Me' stuff. I would have loved to have seen her in her early more unstudied and ingenuous days.

[a duncandisorderly]

This annoys me because I didn't see her until 1993, when she was doing 'Rid of Me' stuff. I would have loved to have seen her in her early more unstudied and ingenuous days.

I saw polly & the lads in 1990 at ULU, whence I'd made a mad dash from work (in rupert street) to get there in time for the support acts, moonshake (who became laika) & becketts, whose EP I'd been 'rinsing', as the kids weren't yet saying back then. john parrish, lovely bloke... many years later, my then g/f was in a band that did a few gigs with PJ Harvey... this would be 1998... & he took us all out for eats before the edinburgh show. I think he'd just got wed. my g/f later married eric feldman, who was keyboards on that tour. didn't see that coming... he was a lovely bloke too.

back-stage at a show earlier on that tour, I'd met the bloke who did the sound dubbing for 'the x-files'.

[Head Gardener]

U2 supporting Talking Heads in 1980 and even then they were really awful and I swear to you the fuckers did I Will Follow 3 times.
The Heads were on fire as you'd expect (Remain In Light tour) and it's probably #3 in my list of fave gigs (if there is such a thing in my head)

 

[Head Gardener]

The Specials when they were The Special AKA at The Crauford pub in Wolverton, Milton Keynes,
I bought their new single from Jerry Dammers in the bar (he was selling them from a suitcase)
There were no tickets but I still have the local fanzine from the time and that single of course.





In '79 there were loads of other great bands who played there, I saw The Cure, Undertones, Spizz etc

[ajsmith2]

The Fall at Cambridge Corn Exchange on on May 26, 1979. Half the audience left before they came on because they'd never heard of them or didn't think they were 'hip' or something and they had just come to see my sister's band and The Users, the ignorant fools.

Your sister was in Dolly Mixture? Impressive.

[Shit Good Nose]

Saw Gary Glitter and the C-beams play off the Hard Shoulder near the A3.

Blade Runner first draft.

[greencalx]

Probably the best I did was seeing Goldfrapp not long after Felt Mountain was released in the Edinburgh liquid room, which apparently has a capacity of around 600, and didn't feel that full. They opened with a rather wonderful acoustic rendition of Lovely Head.

[dr beat]

Stumbled into HeeBeeGeeBees, then a small venue in Liverpool some time in 1996 when Les Rhythyms Digitales were on, playing in the corner of the bar. Less than 10 years later he's playing with Madonna.

[PaulTMA]

Supposedly I was at a Scissor Sisters gig in Glasgow's Art School but we just lingered around the bar obscuring the view and don't remember hearing anything which sounded like the string of now obvious hits they had the following year.

Saw Razorlight play a small show because a friend's band was supporting and remember them not being completely full-blown Boomtown Rats 2, if nothing special.

[drdad]

James supporting New Order at Bournemouth Town Hall in 1983. I remember their songs sounding jagged and angular and interesting; qualities that were swiftly erased as fame beckoned.

[purlieu]

James supporting New Order at Bournemouth Town Hall in 1983. I remember their songs sounding jagged and angular and interesting; qualities that were swiftly erased as fame beckoned.

To be fair, the streamlining began to set in on Power, Corruption & Lies.

[Chriddof]

I think he might have been talking about James there. If that's the case, then yeah, stuff like Hymn From A Village is a lot more interesting than the increasingly horrid stuff they did throughout the 90s (though I do still like Sit Down).

[Famous Mortimer]

I think "Laid" is the best thing they ever did, by miles. Funny old game, eh?

[manticore]

I think he might have been talking about James there. If that's the case, then yeah, stuff like Hymn From A Village is a lot more interesting than the increasingly horrid stuff they did throughout the 90s (though I do still like Sit Down).

Yes, I saw James supporting The Smiths in in 1985 and they were still spunky and interesting. Similarly The Thompson Twins supporting the Teardrop Explodes in 1980 a hundred yards from my student room - most people there felt that they did a better concert than the Teardrops, and much more (serious) fun than what they turned into later.

[drdad]

I think he might have been talking about James there.

I was but was assuming the comment was a joke.

The Wake were on the same bill, presumably featuring an as-yet-unknown Bobby Gillespie.

[kngen]

Green Day, on their first UK tour, to about a dozen folk in a basement in Glasgow. Someone must have shown them Vic Reeves Big Night Out when they were crashing at folks' houses on the tour, as Billie Joe did a 'Oh, Vic, I've fallen' right in front of me while they were packing up. I helped the drunken little scamp back to his feet with a 'You wouldn't let it lie!' which delighted him no end. They were really good, too, but at no point did I think they'd be the biggest band in the world two years down the line.

[purlieu]

I was indeed making a joke.
Largely because I find 'spiky' and 'angular' really unappealing and like big tuneful pop songs like them what James did from 1988 onwards.

[Famous Mortimer]

I guess the Hives when they first toured Britain? But that was right on the cusp of success, and Creation had already released that "Your New Favourite Band" CD. Their gig in Sheffield was free and packed to the rafters, cracking night too.

[Cuntbeaks]

Saw Pavement in the original Cathouse in Glasgow on their first UK tour. 150 people max. Superb performance, which sadly they never bettered any time in saw them subsequently.

Also saw Aphex Twin in the Cathouse, this time at the current venue. He was playing live with an Atari ST and a b&w portable telly. He had his dancer at the time as well. He brutalised the sound system to distortion levels.

Saw Suede supporting The Fall before anyone knew who they were. Very poor, fey and simpering.

Not really in keeping with the thread, but a bizarre small venue gig was John Cale at King Tuts. Tiny venue, big star. He played a few VU tracks and got the viola out for Venus in Furs.

[Better Midlands]

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