Ray's Gigs

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News and Reviews: 6th January 2019

Sunday 06 January 2019.
This gig took place 49 years ago today.......on 06 Jan 1970.
The debut London show by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at The Royal Albert Hall, London.
Paul McCartney was in the crowd to watch them.




Saturday 05 January 2019.
The Official Top 40 biggest selling albums of 2018 in the UK.
Pretty amazing that Rod Stewarts album has crept in there at 15.
POS TITLE ARTIST
1 THE GREATEST SHOWMAN MOTION PICTURE CAST RECORDING
2 STAYING AT TAMARA'S GEORGE EZRA
3 DIVIDE ED SHEERAN
4 MAMMA MIA - HERE WE GO AGAIN MOTION PICTURE CAST RECORDING
5 SCORPION DRAKE
6 BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS POST MALONE
7 A STAR IS BORN MOTION PICTURE CAST RECORDING
8 LOVE MICHAEL BUBLE
9 DUA LIPA DUA LIPA
10 KAMIKAZE EMINEM
11 ODYSSEY TAKE THAT
12 SI ANDREA BOCELLI
13 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY - OST QUEEN
14 ALWAYS IN BETWEEN JESS GLYNNE
15 BLOOD RED ROSES ROD STEWART
16 SWEETENER ARIANA GRANDE
17 THE ARCHITECT PALOMA FAITH
18 TRANQUILITY BASE HOTEL & CASINO ARCTIC MONKEYS
19 HUMAN RAG'N'BONE MAN
20 GOLD - GREATEST HITS ABBA
21 THE THRILL OF IT ALL SAM SMITH





Friday 04 January 2019.
DICK WHITTINGTON : Panto at The Theatre Royal, Windsor.
Feat Anne Hegerty, Kevin Cruise, Steven Blakeley, Anita Harris, Mike Read, Basil Brush and others.
Dick Whittington and his cat are getting ready to help celebrate 80 years of traditional Panto here at the beautiful Theatre Royal Windsor. Get ready for even more laughs, splosh and days of Christmas than ever before!
** Anne Hegerty will now perform as Queen Rat from 18 Dec - 6 Jan only, due to her being whisked away to the jungle.
Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It employs gender-crossing actors and combines topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale.It is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers.
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I took my mum out for a day in Windsor today for her 85th birthday which is next week.
She has become a big fan of Anne Hegerty after her stint in the jungle.
Windsor and the nearby over the bridge Eton make for a nice day out.
Plenty of tourists are here because of Windsor Castle.
The panto was on for 1 hour 45 mins over two sets of 55 mins and 50 mins.
Anne Hegerty is Queen Rat so we all boo her.
Lots of silly slapstick but they always throw in some topical gags so there is a jokey mention
of Brexit , The Chase, I'm A Celebrity, Harry Redknapp, Slough (only three miles away) etc.
Basil Brush said " I'm the best rat-catcher in Europe, next year I will be the best rat-catcher
outside of Europe".
Songs included tracks by Abba, Elton John, Michael Jackson and Meat Loaf (changed to Rat Out of Hell).
Another play on words for the track "Who Let The Fox Out".
One of the actress's said "this is my 10th year of panto here, I'm as hard to get rid of as Theresa May".
Panto is always good fun.



Thursday 03 January 2019.
Legendary F1 racing driver Michael Schumacher turns 50 on 3 January 2019.
His physical condition remains a mystery to those outside his personal circle, following the skiing accident which left him with severe brain injuries in December 2013. He has not been seen in public since.
But the memory of what Schumacher achieved in Formula 1 over a career that totalled more than 18 seasons and spanned 21 years is indelible.
His records of seven world titles and 91 wins is pretty incredible.



Thursday 03 January 2019.
It appears many people are not that interested in owning music anymore.
Sales of CDs plummeted by 23% last year, as consumers flocked to streaming services for their music.
Just 32 million CDs were sold in 2018 - almost 100 million fewer than in 2008; and a drop of 9.6 million year-on-year.
The growth of vinyl also began to plateau, with 4.2 million records sold, a rise of just 1.6%, said the BPI.
Shrinking shelf space in supermarkets contributed to the slowdown, but HMV's troubles suggest we are increasingly uninterested in owning our music.
The CDs that did sell in large quantities tended to appeal to older, non-traditional music buyers - with six of the year's top 10 albums either film soundtracks or Now compilations.
The picture is the same in America, where CD sales have fallen 80% in the last decade, from roughly 450 million to 89 million.
In a sign of the times, two of the records nominated for album of the year at the Grammys (H.E.R.'s self-titled debut and Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy) weren't even released on CD in the US - the first time that's happened since 1984.
"Lots of us have changed the way we consume music and film, and more people are streaming from Netflix or Spotify," Kim Bayley of the Entertainment Retailers Association recently told BBC Radio 5 Live.




Thursday 03 January 2019.
QUEEN'S ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ movie will be on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 22 and the disc will include the complete recreation of the Live Aid performance, only seen in part in the movie.




Wednesday 02 January 2019.
Happy Birthday to legendary photographer DAVID BAILEY who is 81 today.
In 1960, David Bailey began photographing for British Vogue, and his fashion work and celebrity portraiture, known for stark backgrounds and dramatic lighting effects, transformed British fashion and celebrity photography. His work reflects the 1960s British cultural trend of breaking down antiquated and rigid class barriers by injecting a 'punk' look into both clothing and artistic products.




Monday 31 December 2018...10pm to 1am...
LONDON NEW YEAR'S EVE FIREWORKS 2018.
Every year over 100,000 spectators from across the globe flock to the London Eye embankment to get a prime view of the stunning fireworks that see in the new year. The 2018/2019 event is set to be a huge celebration with 12,000 fireworks alongside lighting and music set from barges on the Thames.
All the £10 tickets have now sold out...will be 12 mins of fireworks at midnight that is shown live on tv.
The last time i went to see the fireworks here was 31 Dec 1999.
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Thankfully it is a very mild evening for this time of year.
We are in the Red Zone on Victoria Embankment by The River Thames.
Not as good a view as the Blue Zone which is directly opposite The London Eye.
We are along a bit on the left, opposite The OXO Tower.
You can bring in your own food and drinks.
A nice party atmosphere and not as many drunks as expected.
There is a dj playing tunes all evening and after the fireworks until 00.45am.
Just before the fireworks start three helicopters appear for aerial tv shots / security purposes.
The fireworks were great and it was all good fun.



Sunday 30 December 2018.
Happy Birthday to PATTI SMITH who is 72 today.
Happy Birthday to JEFF LYNNE who is 71 today.



Saturday 29 December 2018...3pm to 5pm...
SPURS 1 WOLVES 3 at Wembley Stadium.
Spurs in great form before this game as they are now in second place behind Liverpool.
First game for Harry Kane since he was awarded an MBE.
Harry Kane has spoken of his pride after being awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list.
It’s the latest chapter in the incredible story of the local lad from Walthamstow who had to do it the hard way before becoming one of the Club’s greatest-ever goalscorers, captaining England at the World Cup and winning the Golden Boot as the Three Lions reached the semi-finals in Russia this summer– all by the age of 25.
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Loads of unsold seats up in Level 5 so we could move to better seats.
Down in Level 1 some 3000 Wolves fans in good voice have made the trip.
Tottenham's Premier League title challenge suffered a big blow as Wolves produced a stunning second half fightback to stun Mauricio Pochettino's side 3-1 at Wembley.
Harry Kane celebrated his MBE award by belting in the opener in the first half, but Willy Boly headed Wolves level in the 72nd minute before Raul Jimenez slotted them ahead seven minutes from time.
As Spurs desperately searched for an equaliser, Nuno Espirito Santo's side broke away to struck the deadly blow three minutes before the end to complete a remarkable victory a stunt Tottenham's growing title charge.
Definitely one of those games that delirious Wolves fans can say " I was there".
On the plus side all four goals were scored at the end we were at.
Spurs 1970s striker legend Martin Chivers was interviewed on the pitch at half time.




Friday 28 December 2018.
JIM STEINMAN'S 'BAT OUT OF HELL' live at The Dominion Theatre, London.
Winner of Best Musical at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2017 and nominated for 8 WhatsOnStage awards in 2018, Jim Steinman’s smash-hit musical Bat Out of Hell returns to London at the iconic Dominion Theatre!
I saw this great show in 2017 when it was at The Coliseum.
Bat Out of Hell is a rock musical written by Jim Steinman based on the album of the same name. Steinman wrote all of the songs, most of which are songs from the Bat Out of Hell trilogy of albums by Meat Loaf including Bat Out of Hell, II: Back into Hell and III: The Monster is Loose. The musical is a loose retelling of Peter Pan and Wendy, set in post-apocalyptic Manhattan (now named "Obsidian"), and follows Strat, the forever young leader of The Lost who has fallen in love with Raven, daughter of Falco, the tyrannical ruler of Obsidian.
I have seen the real Meat Loaf live over 15 times including his first ever London show back in 1978.
www.batoutofhellmusical.com
Visit their website here for more info and to buy tickets...it ends on 05 Jan.
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This is the theatre where where the Queen musical "We Will Rock You" was for an incredible 12 years.
It is a big theatre to fill for a run as it holds around 2000.
The show is on for around 2 hours 20 mins over two sets of 65 mins and 75 mins.
Pretty much the same big stage production from The Coliseum.
Loads of scene changes and props and lights.
The sound is much louder than it was at The Coliseum as there are speakers hanging from the ceiling.
Around 20 dancers on stage off and on throughout the show.
Mainly Meat Loaf mega tunes but also some from Jim Steinman albums.
Some pretty incredible power ballads of the highest order.
An excellent show.
Act I
"Love and Death and an American Guitar"
"All Revved Up with No Place to Go / The Opening of the Box / Everything Louder Than Everything Else / If It Ain't Broke, Break It"
"Who Needs the Young?"
"Out of the Frying Pan (And Into the Fire)"
"Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"
"Paradise by the Dashboard Light"
"Making Love Out of Nothing at All"
"Bat Out of Hell"
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Act II
"In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher Is King"
"Heaven Can Wait"
"Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are"
"Teenager In Love"
"For Crying Out Loud"
"You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)"
"Not Allowed to Love"
"What Part of My Body Hurts the Most"
"Dead Ringer for Love"
"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through"
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)"
Finale (Bat Out of Hell (reprise))





Thursday 27 December 2018.
SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE is now an established live music venue but before 1994
it was a BBC owned theatre that they used for Crackerjack (1963 - 1984) and Old Grey Whistle Test Specials
in the 1970s and The Wogan Show (1982 to 1991)....the venue was sold , then had a full refurbishment...
I went to four BBC music shows there in the 1970s as well as the opening night as a live music venue.
I also went to Crackerjack and The Wogan Show a couple of times each.
Lynyrd Skynyrd (BBC Theatre O.G.W.T Special ) Shepherds Bush Empire,London 11.11.1975
Dr Hook (BBC Theatre O.G.W.T Special) Shepherds Bush Empire,London 28.11.1975
Bonnie Riatt (BBC Theatre O.G.W.T. Special) Shepherds Bush Empire,London 22.03.1976
Manhattan Transfer (BBC TV Special) Shepherds Bush Empire, London 07.02.1977
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Soundgarden + These Animal Men Shepherds Bush Empire , London 12.03.1994
Invite only opening night of this venue which is now under new ownership.





Wednesday 26 December 2018.
QUEEN are everywhere due to their film but where is their bass player John Deacon???
Noticeably absent from the hullabaloo surrounding the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody is his
Queen band mate John Deacon. The band's former bass player has long since retired from the limelight.
While guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor continued to record and tour following Mercury's death in 1991, Deacon called it quits long ago. Queen's publicist Phil Symes recently told the Daily Mail, "He's just living a private life." And as an equal shareholder in the band's enterprises, he can afford to do whatever he wants since he has an estimated net worth of about £100 million"....WOW!...
So perhaps it's not quite so surprising that Deacon -- who wrote the Queen hits "Another One Bites the Dust," "Under Pressure" and "You're My Best Friend" -- recoils from fame. He is even scarce among neighbours in Putney, where he continues to live in the same modest house he purchased with his first royalty cheque. There, he and his wife have quietly raised six children.
"It's his choice. He doesn't contact us. John was quite delicate all along," said May. "I haven't heard a squeak from John," Taylor added. "Not a single guttural grunt."
But to some extent that was the plan all along. After auditioning a number of bass players, Queen chose Deacon in part because of his demeanor. "We were so over-the-top, we thought that because he was quiet, he would fit in with us without too much upheaval," Taylor admitted.
Many people in Deacon's life suggest he also suffered from depression that isolated him, especially after Mercury's death. Since then, he's performed only three times. The first was at the 1992 star-studded tribute concert for Mercury. A year later, he and Taylor played to help raise funds for King Edward VII Hospital, while May was on a solo tour.
In 1997, the three surviving members of Queen partnered with Elton John to perform "The Show Must Go On" at the opening of the Bejart Ballet in Paris. That same year, Deacon recorded "No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)," a new track for the Queen Rocks compilation, and then officially retired. He was not present when the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.




Monday 24 December 2018.
Merry Christmas to all the visitors to this website.
Check back at the end of the year for my best gigs of the 100 plus i saw this year.



Monday 24 December 2018.
Fact of the day.
The Verve official video for "Bitter Sweet Symphony " has had over 400 million views.



Sunday 23 December 2018.
Two classic Christmas records came out 45 years ago.
Here is the Top 10 from Xmas 1973....look at some of the great records & bands.
1 - MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY - SLADE
2 - I LOVE YOU LOVE ME LOVE - GARY GLITTER
3 - YOU WON'T FIND ANOTHER FOOL LIKE ME FT. LYN PAUL - THE NEW SEEKERS
4 - I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY - WIZZARD
5 - MY COO-CA-CHOO - ALVIN STARDUST
6 - PAPER ROSES - MARIE OSMOND
7 - THE SHOW MUST GO ON - LEO SAYER
8 - LAMPLIGHT - DAVID ESSEX
9 - ROLL AWAY THE STONE - MOTT THE HOOPLE
10 - STREET LIFE - ROXY MUSIC
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Roy Woods Wizzard were the first proper concert i ever saw.
Sept 1973 at Hammersmith Palais....I was aged 14 and a few months.
In 1973 they had two number one hits - "See My Baby Jive" and "Angel Fingers".



Saturday 22 December 2018
RICHARD ASHCROFT + DJ support live at The Forum, London.
Richard (ex singer of The Verve) Ashcroft will be promoting his recent chart album 'Natural Rebel'
'Urban Hymns' is the third studio album by English alternative rock band The Verve, released on 29 September 1997.
'Urban Hymns' is ranked the 19th best-selling album in UK chart history with over three million copies sold
in the UK and has sold over ten million copies worldwide.
The album features the hit singles "Bitter Sweet Symphony", "Lucky Man" and "The Drugs Don't Work". The critical and commercial success of the album saw the band win two Brit Awards in 1998, including Best British Group, and appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in April 1998."Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
The anthemic track "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is based on a sample it uses from the Andrew Loog Oldham orchestral cover of The Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time", and involved some legal controversy surrounding a plagiarism charge. As a result, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were added to the songwriting credits. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was released in June 1997 by Hut Recordings as the first single from the album, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the chart for three months.
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A dj played some cool tunes for an hour before the band came on stage.
This Oasis/Kasabian type loving crowd are drinking the bars dry.
RICHARD ASHCROFT arrived on stage at 8.35pm and played for 1 hour 45 mins.
Richard arrives on stage wearing a huge fluffy coat and shades and looking like a Hollywood pimp.
Thankfully he took if off before the first song started and left it by the drum kit.
Back to having his trademark shaggy hair after having it closely cropped a couple of years ago.
A nicely paced set with most of the big tunes in the last 30 mins.
A few classics from The Verve were played which were the highlights of the show.
New album tracks seemed a bit average and introducing "Money Money" Richard said "this is dedicated
to all the impostors taking up my space on the radio".
The only song that could’ve finished his set was obviously "Bitter Sweet Symphony",
and it was an utterly euphoric extended version.
Without doubt it is one of my fave songs of the 1990s.
A good show overall.
Full Richard Ashcroft setlist played tonight...
Sonnet (The Verve song)
This Is How It Feels
Weeping Willow (The Verve song)
Break the Night With Colour
Surprised by the Joy
Music Is Power
Born to Be Strangers
A Song for the Lovers
They Don't Own Me
Hold On
That's How Strong
Money Money
The Drugs Don't Work (The Verve song)
Judy(Christmas Song)
Lucky Man (The Verve song)
Bitter Sweet Symphony (The Verve song)
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Faces spotted at the gig included footballer Peter Crouch and his wife Abbey Clancy.
Also Tony James ( ex Generation X, ex Sigue Sigue Sputnik , ex Carbon Silicon and
currently in Generation Sex with Steve Jones and Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols).




Saturday 22 December 2018.
Punk Icon JOE STRUMMER passed away this day 16 years ago - 22 December 2002.
I was lucky to have seen The Clash and Joe Strummer solo play many times each.



Friday 21 December 2018.
BJORN AGAIN + DOLLAR live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
Bjorn Again play the second of two shows at Shepherds Bush Empire.
It is the final night of their month long UK tour.
The worlds number Abba tribute act are celebrating their 30th anniversary.
I have seen them several times before including Christmas shows at Shepherds Bush Empire
in Dec 1996 and Dec 1997.
Support act will be Dollar who had 10 Top 40 hits in the late 1970s / early 1980s.
A few of their hits were produced by Trevor Horn.
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Back again to see Bjorn Again and it is again a very lively Christmas party atmosphere.
Lots of classic disco hits played over the pa when the bands are not on stage.
DOLLAR arrived on stage at 7.45pm and played for 25 mins.
Dollar were always a bit third rate and they still are a very weak live act.
David Van Day is still there and the duo sung along to a backing tape.
Oddly a short set that still had more cover versions that their own hits.
This crowd sing along to anything that sounds familiar, but Dollar were two bob.
Like last night , BJORN AGAIN arrived on stage at 8.35pm and played for 95 mins.
It was exactly the same setlist as last night.
The crowd were dancing and singing loudly to every song.
Another very enjoyable fun evening.




Thursday 20 December 2018.
BJORN AGAIN live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
Bjorn Again play the first of two shows at this venue at the end of their UK tour.
The worlds number ABBA tribute act are celebrating their 30th anniversary.
I have seen them several times before including Christmas shows at Shepherds Bush Empire
in Dec 1996 and Dec 1997.
I saw the real ABBA at The Royal Albert Hall in 1977.
Not many can say they saw the real ABBA as they disbanded in Dec 1982.
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I must admit i do have a soft spot for top notch tribute bands such as The Sex Pistols Experience and TRextasy.
BJORN AGAIN arrived on stage at 8.35pm and played for 95 mins.
A 75% female crowd who are up for a Christmas party.
Lots of dancing and singing along all through the evening.
Lots of ABBA hits and a couple of great Van Halen and Slade covers.
There is a giant disco glitter ball.
A Cher lookalike came on for a couple of songs.
They are speaking in dodgy , but fun fake Swedish accents and have all the costumes.
A fun evening.
Full Bjorn Again setlist played tonight...
Waterloo
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Super Trouper
Honey, Honey
Knowing Me, Knowing You
SOS
Fernando (with Cher lookalike)
Eagle
Ring Ring
Voulez-Vous
Lay All Your Love on Me
The Name of the Game
I Have a Dream
Chiquitita
Jump (Van Halen cover) (without the two girls who went off for a costume change)
Money, Money, Money
Take a Chance on Me
Mamma Mia
Does Your Mother Know
Encore:
Merry Christmas Everybody (Slade cover)
Dancing Queen
The Winner Takes It All
Thank You for the Music (with Cher lookalike)




Wednesday 19 December 2018.
ADAM ANT live at The Roundhouse, London.
First of two Christmas shows at The Roundhouse for Adam Ant.
I have seen Adam Ant over a dozen times since 1979.
In the early 1980s he was massive in the UK and had over a dozen hit singles with three number ones.
Adam has sold over 40 million albums worldwide.
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ADAM ANT and his band are on stage from 9pm for 1 hour 45 mins.
Adam is still looking great and is doing plenty of nifty stage moves for his age of 64.
He looks to be rockin' some kind of Johnny Depp vibe.
Like in his heyday he is still using two drummers which create a fab sound.
Many of his loyal fans are dressed up in Adam Ant costumes from the past, pirate etc.
A great mix of lesser known material and loads of his hits including his three number ones
"Prince Charming", "Stand and Deliver" and "Goody Two Shoes".
A great show.
Full Adam Ant setlist played tonight....
Beat My Guest
Vive Le Rock
Dog Eat Dog
Kick!
Antmusic
Friend or Foe
Ants Invasion
Desperate but Not Serious
Cartrouble
Prince Charming
Zerox
Christian D'or
Kings of the Wild Frontier
Stand and Deliver
Encore:
Goody Two Shoes
Lady/Fall In
Physical (You're So)




Tuesday 18 December 2018.
DEF LEPPARD + CHEAP TRICK live at Wembley Arena, London.
Def Leppard UK arena tour ends with a second show in London.
Check my review from this mega double bill at 02 Arena on 06 Dec 2018.
The main set features their 25 million selling album from 1987 ' Hysteria'.
It was conceived as hard rock’s answer to Michael Jackson’s Thriller: an album where every track is a potential hit single. And so it proved.
Mutt Lange’s superb production and the Lep’s anthemic choruses were a winning combination. Six of Hysteria’s 12 tracks were top 20 US hits, with power ballad Love Bites reaching number one, and rap-rock hybrid Pour Some Sugar On Me (written specifically for strippers to disrobe to) hitting number two.
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CHEAP TRICK arrived on stage at 7.40pm and played for 45 mins.
A couple of weeks ago i saw Cheap Trick play one of the best support sets of the year.
They have changed their set by three songs as they were joined by special guests.
Def Leppard gave them full use of the big screens and the stage walkway extension.
Again they sounded totally fantastic.
Full Cheap Trick setlist played tonight....
Hello There
Big Eyes
Ain't That a Shame (Fats Domino cover)
Voices
I Want You To Want Me
Dream Police
Run Rudolph Run (Chuck Berry cover) (with Phil Manzanera on guitar) (& Michael Monroe on harmonica)
The 'In' Crowd (Dobie Gray cover) (with Phil Manzanera on guitar)
Surrender
Goodnight Now
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Like last time Def Leppard have a clock on the stage curtain for the 9pm prompt start.
DEF LEPPARD arrived on stage at 9pm and played for 1 hour 40 mins.
The whole show is again a visual treat to look at with loads of big screens and lights.
The sound from their pa is enormous.
So many great pop rock anthems on the "Hysteria" album.
They do actually change the setlist each night a bit as the first song of the encore changes nightly.
The whole show is very well rehearsed with band members moving around the stage the same way each night.
Singer Joe Elliot said this was the last of 83 shows they have played this year since i saw them play at
The Royal Albert Hall in March...so they started and finished in London.
A superb evening.
Full Def Leppard setlist played tonight...
HYSTERIA Album played in full for the main set.
Women
Rocket
Animal
Love Bites
Pour Some Sugar on Me
Armageddon It
Gods of War
Don't Shoot Shotgun
Run Riot
Hysteria
Excitable
Love and Affection
Encore:
Promises
When Love and Hate Collide
Let's Get Rocked
Rock of Ages
Photograph




Tuesday 18 December 2018.
Someone has put a very nice highlights video up on YouTube from last nights concert.
The second half of the 23 mins video features Eric Clapton.
Type this in Google....Chas Hodges Memorial Concert - Monday 17th December 2018





Tuesday 18 December 2018.
Happy Birthday to KEITH RICHARDS who is 75 today.
The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards has revealed that he has cut back drastically on his drinking, admitting in
a new interview that “it was time to quit”.



Monday 17 December 2018...I went to two events tonight...
2.30pm to 5.30pm
HEDDON STREET KITCHEN - press review - 3-9 Heddon Street, London W1.
We are just a few yards from the David Bowie's landmark album 'Ziggy Stardust' plaque.
Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp unveiled the plaque in Heddon Street where the cover of the 1972 release was shot.
Gordon Ramsay's sleek European brasserie features eclectic, all-day menus and an airy, modern space.
Gordon Ramsay's Heddon Street Kitchen is a casual destination for brisk breakfasts and weekend brunches, post-shop pit stops and working lunches, dinner dates and after work cocktails. Take a look inside the Heddon Street Kitchen menus and whet your appetite for sleek European dining.
A nice cool vibe here, they say it is a medium priced brasserie.
We had a very nice three course meal along with cocktails and coffees here.
My mains was “Roasted cod with crushed potatoes,artichoke,salted capers, red wine & lemon sauce”.
This is usually £22.50.
I had three cocktails including Espresso Martini which they usually charge £12 for.
The wait for food between courses seemed longer than usual but we had a great time here.
www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com
Visit their website here for more info on menus and prices.
then
IN MEMORY OF CHAS HODGES live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
This show was for Chas of Chas & Dave who sadly passed away a few months ago.
The show sold out within a week.
The lineup for the In Memory of Chas Hodges concert consists of Dave Peacock, entertainer Joe Brown, comedian Paul Whitehouse, comedian Matt Lucas, jazz guitarist Martin Taylor, singer-songwriter
Ralph McTell, Ed Tudor Pole ,Gary Brooker and Jackie Lynton, with more to be announced.
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The show was on from 7.45pm to 10.30pm.
An older white crowd who are looking for a good old cockney knees up before Christmas.
No proper interval and with just a couple of mins break between acts for quick changeovers.
All the acts performed two to six songs each , with most using the house band.
The evening was a mix of Chas & Dave songs, original songs and cover versions.
Dave Peacock opened up with a few Chas & Dave classics including "Down to Margate" and "London Girl".
Dave would join most of the other acts on bass.
Ed Tudor Pole did a couple including "Swords of a Thousand Men".
Ralph McTell did a couple including 'Streets of London".
Jackie Lynton, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown and Martin Taylor all did short sets.
In 1982 ERIC CLAPTON and ALBERT LEE performed with Chas & Dave on their 1982 tv special
and amazingly they are both here tonight on stage playing the same song "Goodnight Irene"
along with "Little Queenie" and Chas & Dave gems "The Sideboard Song" and "Ain't No Pleasing You".
An enjoyable evening although some bits were better than others.
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Other guests here included ex Spurs players Ossie Ardiles, Graham Roberts and Micky Hazard.
Also Vic Reeves and his wife and Mark Lamarr.



Monday 17 December 2018.
Who is the biggest earner in live music this year?....it's ED SHEERAN....
$432,398,856 is an audacious number. So is 4,860,482. A tour gross of the first amount in a single calendar year is unheard of, as is the latter figure for tickets sold. Yet, that’s exactly what Ed Sheeran’s “÷ Tour” did in 2018, making it the highest gross and the most tickets tallied in any single year in Pollstar’s 30-year history.




Monday 17 December 2018.
AC/DC singer BON SCOTT played his last ever London show this day on 17 Dec 1979.
I was there for it at Hammersmith Odeon, it was the 19th, yes 19th time i had seen them.
A couple of months later he would be found dead after a heavy drinking session.
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The Bohemian Rhapsody film has set a new box office record as the highest-grossing music biopic in
global history after rocking past the $600 million (£477 million) mark.
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Happy Birthday to rock singer PAUL RODGERS who is 69 today.



Sunday 16 December 2018.
PAUL McCARTNEY live at The 02 Arena, London.
Over half the setlist will be Beatles classics along with a couple of Wings classics and a few tracks from
his 2018 album 'Egypt Station'.
The show sold out pronto but Macca refuses to add an extra show or two.
Macca is now at the grand old age of 76.
I have seen Macca with Wings three times in the 1970s and well over a dozen times as a solo artist
including Live Aid in 1985.
This includes an incredible lunchtime gig on 17 Dec 2010 at The 100 Club where he played
a full 1 hour 55 mins set.
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It's the last night of his European Tour and he is in London so you know there will always be a
good selection of family members and well known musicians.
It was one of those nights that really was a very hot ticket.
Before the show started i got into a lift going up to second floor hospitality and to my surprise
the other five people in the lift were three hospitality girls along with Coldplay's CHRIS MARTIN
and his burly black personal security guy.Chris watched the show from a suite/room.
I had a great view in the guest list block right of stage next to Stella McCartney's husband and
next to him were Stella and their kids.
Others here included Roger Daltrey, Geri Halliwell, Harry Styles and Olivia Harrison.
Also actress Emma Thompson was there along with theatre writer Richard Curtis.
The venue was totally rammed sold out.
MACCA arrived on stage at 8.10pm and played a mammoth forty song three hour set.
A very nice stage production with loads of big screens mixing live footage and pre-recorded images that
included footage of The Beatles.....Also lots of lights and a few lasers.
Macca was looking great and had lots of friendly and amusing stage banter throughout the show.
For "Blackbird" and "Here Today" he was elevated 20ft up in the air on a giant podium.
A mega version of "Live and Let Die" as usual had the full monty flames and pyros a gig-go.
For 'Get Back' he was joined by RINGO STARR on a second drum kit and RONNIE WOOD on guitar.
Soooo many incredible songs that have been the soundtrack of our lives.
A superb show that def will be in my Top 5 gigs of the 100 plus gigs i have seen this year.
Full setlist played by Macca tonight...
A Hard Day's Night (The Beatles song)
Junior's Farm (Wings song)
All My Loving (The Beatles song)
Letting Go (Wings song)
Who Cares
Got to Get You Into My Life (The Beatles song)
Come On to Me
Let Me Roll It (Wings song)
I've Got a Feeling (The Beatles song)
Let 'Em In (Wings song)
My Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five (Wings song)
Maybe I'm Amazed
I've Just Seen a Face (The Beatles song)
In Spite of All the Danger (The Quarrymen song)
From Me to You (The Beatles song)
Dance Tonight
Love Me Do (The Beatles song)
Blackbird (The Beatles song)
Here Today
Queenie Eye
Lady Madonna (The Beatles song)
Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles song)
Fuh You
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (The Beatles song)
Something (The Beatles song)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles song)
Band on the Run (Wings song)
Back in the U.S.S.R. (The Beatles song)
Let It Be (The Beatles song)
Live and Let Die (Wings song)
Hey Jude (The Beatles song)
Encore:
Birthday (The Beatles song)
Wonderful Christmastime (with children's choir) (with fake snow falling on the crowd)
Get Back (The Beatles song) (with Ringo Starr) (Also with Ronnie Wood. Tour debut)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (The Beatles song)
Helter Skelter (The Beatles song)
Golden Slumbers (The Beatles song)
Carry That Weight (The Beatles song)
The End (The Beatles song) (with ticker-tape falling on the crowd)
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There was a bit of a downer leaving the venue.
Macca should know better after the curfew incident with Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park.
Coming offstage at 11.10pm on a Sunday night is not on for fans getting home as the tube ends early.
Anyone who goes to the 02 knows there is a mega queue for the tube after the gig.
There were plenty of people leaving before the encores to get their connections.
We got the last Jubilee line train into Central London at 11.50pm and there were still
a few thousand in the queue so they would have had a very messy journey home.
Macca should have come on at 7.30pm when he is playing three hours on a Sunday.



Saturday 15 December 2018...I went to two events today....
3pm to 5pm
SPURS 1 BURNLEY 0 at Wembley Stadium.
For Tottenham this week it has been a case of the beauty and then the beast. After producing one of the finest European performances in their history against Barcelona on Tuesday, here they had to scrap past an obdurate Burnley side to secure a precious 1-0 victory that effectively keeps them in the title race, five points behind leaders Manchester City.
If winning titles is about securing victories while playing badly, then Spurs must be considered serious contenders for this season's Premier League. In front of just 41,645 spectators - Spurs’ second lowest home League crowd of the season - Tottenham were flat and uninspired at times at a wet and windy Wembley.
Burnley's time wasting in the hope of getting a point got on Spurs fans nerves.
Spurs were selling some good value tickets for this game up in Level 5 - £20 for adults and £8 for kids.
then
JEFF WAYNES 'WAR OF THE WORLDS' live at The 02 Arena, London.
40th anniversary UK arena tour.
The album 'War Of The Worlds' has sold over 2.5 million copies in the UK alone since 1978.
Jeff Wayne will return to the podium once again to conduct the 9-piece Black Smoke Band and 36-piece ULLAbdubULLA Strings, with Liam Neeson retaining his role in 3D holography as The Journalist.
Stage and screen star Jason Donovan returns to the role of Parson Nathaniel, with Carrie Hope Fletcher playing his wife, Beth. Adam Garcia will debut as The Arilleryman, British singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner will perform The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist. Nathan James will play The Voice of Humanity, with Annie-Marie Wayne returning as Carrie, The Journalist’s Fiancee.
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Half a dozen unsold blocks up in Level 4 but otherwise pretty full.
I have never been a big fan of WOTW since it was released but am here to give it a look.
The show was on for 1 hour 55 mins over two sets of 50 mins and 65 mins.
Around 35 musicians on stage when you add band and string section together.
The band include Chris Spedding on guitar and Herbie Flowers on bass.
There are speakers all around the venue which sound fantastic as the sound bounces around.
A giant four legged Martian is standing tall in the middle of the stage over the musicians.
We have lots of lights, flames, pyros to make a visually nice show.
The massive string orchestra sound fantastic throughout the evening.
The big screens mix live footage with pre-recorded images.
Liam Neeson narrative is half the show and for the rest the singers come and go.
It is like a West End musical but on a bigger stage.
Highlights included superb versions of 'The Eve Of The War' and 'Mostly Autumn'.
A bit cheesy in parts but overall very enjoyable and much better than expected.





Friday 15 December 2018.
URIAH HEEP live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
With support from GUN + VON HERTZEN BROTHERS.
I have seen Uriah Heep around 15 times since 1974 when i saw them headline Hammersmith Odeon.
Guitarist Mick Box is still there as the only original member from 1969.
Mick Box was the first guitar plectrum i got with the musicians name on.
The band maintains a significant following and performs at arena-sized venues in the Balkans, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia and Scandinavia. They have sold over 40 million albums worldwide.
Their best-known songs include "Easy Livin', 'Gypsy' and "July Morning".
Support act Gun had their biggest hit in 1994 with a rock cover of Cameo's 'Word Up' that went to number 8.
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Level 3 is closed tonight but there is still around 1500 here tonight.
VON HERTZEN BROTHERS arrived on stage at 7pm and played for 40 mins.
The band feature three brothers and hail from Finland.
A bit rock, a bit Prog rock,a bit folkie...not really my cup of tea...
GUN arrived on stage at 8.10pm and played for 40 mins.
Gun played a good set that featured their great cover of Cameo's 'Word Up'.
Full Gun setlist played tonight...
She Knows
Don't Say It's Over
Better Days
Take Me Down
Word Up! (Cameo cover)
Favourite Pleasures
Steal Your Fire
Shame on You
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URIAH HEEP arrived on stage at 9.20 and played for 90 mins.
Their set featured some classic oldies from the 1970s along with tracks from their 25th (yes 25th)
studio album “Living the Dream” released in 2018 via Frontiers Music.
Mick Box played some nifty guitar throughout the show.
Nice keyboards give some tracks a neat Deep Purple type sound.
The singer still keeps his microphone in a gun holster.
There were film cameras here so probably a DVD of the show will come out in the future.
They were joined by long time Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake on one song on backing vocals who
drummed with them from the 1970s onwards who retired from the band due to ill health.
Kerslake's work can be heard on Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman.
Uriah Heep still put on a good rockin' show.
Full Uriah Heep setlist played tonight...
Grazed by Heaven
Too Scared To Run
Living the Dream
Take Away My Soul
Rainbow Demon
Waters Flowin'
Rocks in the Road
Gypsy
Look at Yourself
July Morning
Lady in Black (with Lee Kerslake)
Encore:
Sunrise
Easy Livin'
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I had a nice chat with a 71 year old rock fan here who still buys a t-shirt from every gig he goes to.
He told me he still wears them all in rotation.





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