casapete

Colin Crompton, IIRC?! Most northern clubs had a Concert Secretary, who’s job was to source the bands and performers appearing ( usually via one or maybe two agents ) and then ensure the evening went well. Any problems (bands being late / too loud / not up to standard etc.) were dealt with by him. Most of them had little or no idea of music / entertainment in general but did it for the kudos and probably free ale. They in turn usually had to answer to ‘the committee’ , a group of similar blokes, so you can imagine why club bands were tolerated rather than respected. Bingo was the main draw in clubs, and 3x30 or 40 minute sets were fitted in around the games, throughout which dead silence was expected. In Hull they had a thing called Link or Allied bingo, where most of the city’s clubs combined to play for large sums via a telephone link. This was deadly serious stuff - when I was in a resident club house band we played most weeks, and actually won it twice! Prize on a Saturday night was around £1100, which was quite a lot in the 1980’s.

This for me too. Prefer clip on tuner so as to minimise leads / clutter. ( A DI box is the only addition, as our sound guy prefers it to using the amp’s XLR out.)

I spent a lot of time in WMC land in my first few bands. So many memories of doing gigs in these places, and the programme mentioned above ( as well as a bit of ‘Phoenix Nights’) brought a lot of it back. Despite often being frustrating, it did prove a great training ground for me in many ways, musically and socially. I was the youngest player in those bands, and still living at home. Never told my parents what went on - my first ever paid gig was playing for a stripper! My drummer mate got offered the dep gig but was scared to go on his own, so I joined him and we split the fee. Medium sized club full of drunk blokes, it was certainly a massive eye opener for me - we made a pact not to tell anyone in case it got back to our folks. A band I was in during the late 70’s had a Transit, although ours was an ex Lincolnshire Health Authority ambulance! Bought from an auction, it came straight from NHS service, and had various medical items concealed in cubby holes all over the rear section, much to our amusement. Main problem with it was fuel consumption though - engine was a Ford 3 litre V6 job, and you could almost see the fuel gauge going down as we drove. Went like stink but unfortunately often attracted attention from the police as it looked like a standard ambulance but contained 4 scruffy blokes and often girlfriends too. (Unfortunately the ‘blues and twos’ had been removed prior to us buying it, probably for the best.)

Am sure I’m not the only one on here who was in a band like this? Great find, thanks for posting!

As our sound guy always says, once the meat baffles are in everything changes.😆

I can’t knock Elixirs for doing what they say. Their tone is consistent for donkeys years, but for me that’s a long time of being a bit ‘meh’. Also not a fan of how they feel either, but all this is purely subjective of course. As a happy D’Addario EXL user of 40+ years, I guess I won’t be changing anytime soon. 😆

There’s someone currently selling fake Elixir guitar strings marked as such on eBay. Only a couple of quid a set with proceeds to charity. The adverts says it’s to warn people off fake stuff.

40+ years in for me, with 30+ doing it for a living. Played mainly Precisons and Musicmans for years, various models. Reluctantly gave up on the MM stuff when I couldn’t find a Ray light enough. Currently using a Precision Lyte (1 of 2) as my main squeeze, along with a Dano Longhorn and an Ibanez PNB14E electro acoustic which is a fine little thing. I have a lightweight Jazz bitsa for depping with pub bands and stuff. My 63 Precision also gets an occasional outing when I do a gig where I can keep an eye on it.

Just replied, cheers.

Still some 60’s bands touring with no original members left - Herman’s Hermits, Swinging Blue Jeans etc. I remember working with The Easybeats in the late 80’s, who were all youngish blokes and had just bought the name for touring purposes. Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be…..

We play a retirement home a couple of times a year. Couldn’t agree more with Len about not underestimating what old folk like - pop stuff from the 50’s and 60’s is the most requested for us, not wartime singalongs! From my experience, you can’t go wrong starting with early Elvis. Usual rock n roll stuff ( Blue Suede shoes etc) but also the pop stuff like ‘Can’t help falling in love’, ‘It’s now or never’ etc. Then there’s all the (naff IMO!) stuff post rock n roll / pre Beatles & Stones era like Cliff Richard (‘Summer holiday’ / ‘Living doll’ etc), Billy Fury (‘Halfway to Paradise’) and much more from people like Bobby Darin, Bobby Vee, Frank Ifield, Neil Sedaka and many more. The crooner stuff from Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin and Matt Munro are still popular too. Maybe check out UK Top 20 charts from the period to get some more ideas? P.S. Just realised you wanted British ideas, so apologies for the US mentions!

I’ve always found jazz basses tricky on a stand, let alone leaning against the wall.😆 (Should add that I use K&M stands which have the bass resting on the stand supports, not one of the ‘hanging by the neck types like Hercules ones etc.)

It’s not as if SGs (and Les Pauls) have a bad rep for neck breaks though is it? 🤣 A stand is an essential item wherever you use a bass or guitar in my opinion. I keep a compact one handy in my gig bag and always use it.

I remember trying an ABM 4x8 cab, thinking it must be worthwhile carrying something so heavy - wrong! Farted out quite easily, and even paired with another one wasn’t that clever. Shame as they were a good looking compact cab, rated at 600watts. Think they did an updated version with Neo speakers which presumably made them a bit lighter.

Traffic ( IIRC?)

Agree with you Paul. Saw the original AWB line up many times in the 70’s / early 80’s, and then a few with various line ups up until recently, so one of my favourite bands. They still sound great, but never have had that magic vibe they had when Hamish was with them IMHO. I also saw Hamish with his band probably the same time as you mention, at a pub in Leeds ( The Duchess?) and they were indeed awesome. Think it was around the time Hamish was in Paul McCartney’s touring band. The AWB have recently announced their final UK tour for spring 2024. I’ll probably be going if I can. 😊

Love the fact that Steve Lukather is using either a Gretsch short scale or then what looks like a SquierJaguar SS , both inexpensive basses. Maybe they belong to Hamish though, who is no stranger to a shorty himself. Maybe just an AB pedal for swapping instruments or something?

Feel your pain. We lived in an end terraced Victorian house where the neighbour’s son played a full acoustic drum kit every night. Eventually had to threaten them with council intervention, following which they never spoke to us for years. They were a nightmare family - 4 teenage kids, grandma and both parents living in a small house. We eventually moved to a cottage in a quiet village, where we’ve settled so well in a peaceful environment with lovely neighbours all around.

Played an afternoon / early evening gig on Sunday with my acoustic duo at a great pub ‘The Sun Inn’ in Beverley. A new venue for us with a landlord who promotes and appreciates a lot of live music. He remembers me and guitarist Gary from our days playing in a previous band, and has been brilliant in pushing the gig. His work paid off - the place was rammed with people, including many local musicians we haven’t seen for years. The gig went really well - we played 3 x 45 mins sets, finishing around 8pm. Our small Bose / Yamaha PA was perfect for the venue, and I used my Ibanez short scale acoustic into my Fender Rumble 100 and had some nice compliments on my sound. We tried to play as many requests as possible, which ranged from relatively obscure stuff like ‘Besame Mucho’ through to ‘Livin on a prayer’! Probably the best gig I’ve done for a long time, with a great audience cheering us on throughout. The landlord has already been in touch wanting some more dates too, so happy days.

Didn’t see them to be honest. That’s a bit odd. Maybe for early arrivals or something?

Looks like our band are the only tribute playing at this festival. Bit scary!

Whilst loving doing venues like Sheffield CH, I’d always be be more chuffed if I was doing them with an originals band like a lot of people on here. We’ve been fortunate in that there are still lots of people who want to hear ELO’s music and the theatre environment seems to suit them ( and us!). We do the occasional festival too - e.g Camper Calling at Ragley Hall in August - but theatres are our mainstay really.

Cheers Dave, we never take doing great venues for granted though. The band has now been going for over 17 years, and I’ve been with them for over 12. During that time we’ve done a fair few dives and places we’d rather forget, so it is nice to be able to play gigs which are better suited now to a bunch of old geezers ( not including our string section in that of course!). Having said that, I’m playing at a nice old music pub in Beverley later today with my acoustic duo. Still get a massive buzz from doing small gigs where the audience are near, and can see myself doing that for as long as I continue playing.

What about Spinal Tap’s appearance at the ‘Live Earth’ benefit gig in 2007, which featured them playing ‘Big Bottom’ with ‘every bass player in the known universe’. Brilliant.

Did our final gig last night before a 3 week summer break at Sunderland Empire theatre. It’s another great old place, opened in 1907, which has retained all of it’s period charm in the theatre itself whilst having modern backstage facilities, making it probably my favourite venue we are lucky enough to visit. The crew and staff here are the best , and always a pleasure to work with. The theatre has a capacity of nearly 2000 (seated over 4 levels), and we had around 1500 in so a good atmosphere, especially since a few punters had been to the nearby football stadium to watch their team play in a friendly match against Majorca, and had a few drinks afterwards. The gig itself was fine, good sounding room and band played well too. Back home for 1pm with no travel issues, getting to be a rare occurrence.