Yet another bonza event chucked by those genius's at 2SM
a mock up of the poster
WELL....I remember another one, I can't honestly say it was billed as a rocktober gig... BUT 2sm did promote it and it was staged dead smack in the middle of the wild west at the home of the Magpies ..LIDCOMBE OVAL...
.If memory serves, I must of been working at Grace Bros in the hardware store at Roselands, I know I got my tickets at Roselands and I seem to remember having a few left over when mates pulled out ...so suffice it to say, I didnt bring 'em home with me....what I did bring home was a case of sunstroke and a arse kicking hang over...yep, it was a stinker alrighty ....Now to the bands that showed up for a strum.
After coming back from the gig in Blighty were Angry busted open his melon headbutting a stack of Marshalls...the Marshalls lost by the way, the band began work on their third album; with new guitarist Robin Riley replacing Cocks, who went on to join Heaven, they issued Scarred for Life in 1982...and if memory serves most of their lidcombe set list was from this album
The Radiators...I used to see the Rads at Narara, Sundowners, Bankstown RSL and Maroubra Seals...oh, and a footy ground at Lidcombe once....the mighty Rads formed in September 1978. Mainstay members are Brian Nichol on lead vocals and guitar, Stephen "Fess" Parker on lead guitar and Geoff Turner on bass guitar. In 1987 they were joined by Mark Lucas on drums. Their most popular albums are Feel the Heat (March 1980) and Scream of the Real (May 1983), which both peaked in the top 25 of the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart.
Avion...werent too foul to be fair, even went and saw a time or two....they were formed in 1981, originally named Lionheart, the line-up was Evan Murray on keyboards, Martin Toole on guitar, and three brothers: John Waller on drums, Kendall Waller on bass guitar and Randall Waller on lead vocals and lead guitar. The group issued two albums, Avion (1983) and White Noise (1987). Late in 1987, Murray died in a car accident and the group disbanded
Must say, I ve scanned the old memory banks and The Expression are coming up empty, I can honestly say I dont remember them at all, BUT, then, they werent my cuppa coffee Apparently the band formed in Sydney in 1981 and disbanded in 1985. Their best known single, "With Closed Eyes", was released in 1983 on Mushroom Records and peaked into the top thirty
I must admit to not being a huge fan of the The Allniters, but thats probably cause ska music got right up my nose...this isnt casting any aspersions on their un-doubtable musical abilities , far from it ...the original line-up was Ted Ayers on sax, Dave Bebb on drums, Stuart Crysell on guitar, Martin Fabok on guitar, Peter Hill-Travis on vocals, Graham Hood on bass guitar, Brett Pattinson on vocals and Mark Taylor on keyboards
Not only did Dragon reform for the "Concert of the Decade" they reformed AGAIN in August 1982 to pay off outstanding debts, not long after Jacobson left the band for health reasons and was replaced by British drummer Terry Chambers (ex-XTC), with the band then staying together when their second comeback single, "Rain", proved to be a #2 hit in 1983, Alan Mansfield also joined. around this time, Mansfield had worked for Robert Palmer (including guitar for the "Johnny and Mary" single from Palmer's album Clues) and Bette Midler in the late 1970s, by 1982 Mansfield was living in Sydney and produced tracks for Marc Hunter. Marc Hunter convinced Mansfield to also produce Dragon's single "Rain" and if memory serves Marc and the boys were in fine fettle
As long as they played "Ungaurded moments" I was a happy fella...I'd seen the Church a couple of times , mostly by accidents, they were doing a double bill with a band I wanted to see, that was a weird thing back in the day, you'd get bands like The Church billed with Candy Harlots or something...wacky as huh? ANYWAY The Church....were founding members Steve Kilbey on lead vocals and bass guitar, and Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper on guitars. Drummer Nick Ward played only on their first album; through the 1980s the band's stable drummer for eight years (1982-1990) was Richard Ploog, who left the band after Gold Afternoon Fix.
You may remember that i've previoulsy blathered on about the inherant greatness of the Stray Cats..indeed one of my all time favourites, further to that I have come to enjoy Brian Setzers Orchestra as well..
.it started out with me listening to Glen Millers Band playing "In the Mood" waayyyy back when i was a little tacker, then one day I found the BSO video clip of it, at this point I didnt know he had a big band, I knew he did a Anniversary tour with the other Cats, but that was it...ANYWAY....as is my want I went on the hunt and at the $10 dollar music shop in Sydney I found the "Dirty Boogie" c.d and the Christmas Extravaganza dvd and my Brian Setzer collection was off to a rousing start...and, as usually happens...I best do a blogaroo about the bloke and here it is.
With his guitar chops and retro-chic frontman persona, Brian Setzer helped launch two unlikely revivals during his career: rockabilly and swing. Born in Massapequa, New York, he spent most of his youth in nearby Long Island, where he received his first instrument -- the euphonium -- at age eight. He played the tuba-like instrument for ten years and dreamt of fronting a big band with horns, although the discovery of punk music during his teens expanded his tastes beyond jazz.
He began devoting time to both genres; his early attempts at songwriting would take their cues from blues-rock bands like Led Zeppelin, but he'd also spend his evenings in New York jazz clubs, sneaking into places like the Village Vanguard and the Village Gate. After seeing the Mel Lewis Orchestra, he formed the idea of leading his own big band -- but fronting it as the rockabilly guitarist he is known for
In the early '80s, Setzer formed the Stray Cats, a rockabilly band that took England by storm before coming back home to convert audiences in the U.S. the Stray Cats' breakthrough album in America, Built for Speed, spurred three separate Top Ten hits, including "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town."
While touring the country with the Stray Cats, Setzer practiced jazz chords and listened to the recordings of Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, and other big-band leaders. After the group's demise (and a fairly unsuccessful turn as a solo roots rocker), Setzer turned to jazz music by forming a 17-piece big band for a series of L.A. club dates.
After cutting an album of cover songs for a smaller label, Setzer took his big band to Interscope Records, which issued Guitar Slinger in 1996. The album blended jump blues, swing, and Texas blues; moreover, it established The Brian Setzer Orchestra as part of the swing revival, a genre that had begun gaining popularity in America thanks to groups like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Squirrel Nut Zippers.
The revival was in full swing by the time The Dirty Boogie appeared in 1998, and the band's cover of Louis Prima's "Jump Jive an' Wail" became a huge hit, resulting in two Grammy Awards and a healthy amount of radio airplay. Vavoom! followed in 2000 and Ignition! appeared 2001, although neither managed to go platinum like The Dirty Boogie.
In 2002, Setzer added a Christmas album (Boogie Woogie Christmas) to his résumé, followed by the greatest-hits anthology Jump, Jive an' Wail: The Best of the Brian Setzer Orchestra 1994-2000.
Although he continued working with The Brian Setzer Orchestra in the 2000s, Setzer also set time aside to work on his solo career, having released a number of solo albums during the previous two decades as well.
He issued a Japanese EP in 2003 -- the Sinatra-inspired Luck Be a Lady -- as a prelude to the rocking and decidedly horn-deficient full-length Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy, which followed several months later. Rockabilly Riot, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Sun Records appeared in 2005, and Setzer closed out the year with another big-band holiday album, Dig That Crazy Christmas. The aptly titled 13, which marked Setzer's 13th album of original solo material, arrived in late 2006 and became a big hit in Japan, where the song "Back Streets of Tokyo" cracked the Top Five.
A pair of live albums, One Rockin' Night: Live in Montreal and Red Hot & Live! -- the latter drawing its material from a 2006 show in Japan -- both appeared in 2007.
The Brian Setzer Orchestra returned to the recording studio for 2009's Songs from Lonely Avenue, but they were back on the road before the year's end, with another concert album (Don't Mess with a Big Band, released in 2010) celebrating their endurance as a live act.
In 2011, Setzer released the non-vocal album Setzer Goes Instru-MENTAL!, featuring his instrumental take on such classic songs as “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” “Cherokee,” and others. The live collection Rockabilly Riot! Live From the Planet, featuring performances recorded during his 2011/2012 wordl tour, followed in 2012.
I, along with squillion's of rock fans, Imiss Freddie Mercury...luckily I got to see Queen in Sydney on the Radio GA-GA tour ...but then Mercury vanished from the world of touring and then passed into rock'n'roll history...
The wake that Brian and the boys threw at Wembley for the king of Queen was just friggin awesome and I shall blog about it later...BUT....this blog is about the last time Freddie Mercury reigned over Wembley Stadium in the manner only he could.
The Magic Tour was the biggest and final tour by the English rock band Queen with their lead singer Freddie Mercury and their bassist John Deacon. which took place in 1986.
The band would not tour again until 19 years later, when the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour began in 2005, after the death of Freddie Mercury on 24 November 1991, and the retirement of John Deacon in 1997.
The Magic Tour took in 26 dates around Europe's stadiums, in support of their latest album A Kind of Magic....
including the two back-to-back shows at Wembley Stadium in London (where INXS and Status Quo were the supporting acts) that compromise the dvd
Freddie, Brian, John , Roger and Spike took to the stage at the peak of their powers on this night and they had the crowd rocking, singing and chanting for the whole gig, but you expect non the less at a Queen gig.
They came roaring out of the gates with One Visionand proceeded to rev the crowd up with a excellently constructed set list of classics and the boys threw in a healthy smattering of recent stuff
it was truly an outstanding event....and I think, somewhere in the back of his mind, Freddie sort of knew this was it for him (live wise)
Anyway...all the boys were up for the gig,,,Freddie had his regal pomp turned up to 11..Brian had the red special cranked and rocking...Deacon had his bass boogieing crazily and up the back, Mr Roger Taylor was thumping the tubs like a mad man.
I bought the dvd sometime in 2005...but prior to that I had a "Unauthorised " c.d of the gig...remember those, sort of like unofficial official bootlegs.
The extras on the dvd are pretty damn good as well...New interviews with Roger and Brian Rehearsal and the friday night gig excerpts...and a well shot backstage documentary
