Best Gigs of 1996
For me this was a very special year indeed. The highlight was The Sex Pistols to reform with original members for the "Filthy Lucre" world tour. Alan McGee who was Creation Recordsand Oasis boss paid £5000 for a full page ad in NME to say that The Sex Pistols at Shepherds Bush was simply stunning. It was one of the greatest gigs of all time. KISS would also reform with all their original members and put the costumes and face paint on for their world tour which would be the No 1 grossing tour worldwide in 1996. These line ups were both from the classic late 1970s period when I was a teenager. Was a dream come true for me that's for sure. AC/DC at Wembley Arena was superb and I can remember they played a second date the day after but it was the same day as Sex Pistols at Finsbury Park. What a weekend. Neurotic Outsiders were the supergroup made up of Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), John Taylor (Duran Duran) and Duff and Matt (Guns And Roses). They were brilliant and apart from a short gig at The Borderline earlier this year this was their last UK performance as they sadly called it a day after one album. For the encore Simon Le Bon came on and sung punk gem "New Rose " by The Damned. Ice T at the small Subterania club in West London was a mega show by the OG. Fantastic lyrics, crazy atmosphere, boxer Lennox Lewis was here to watch as well. Other highlights I saw this year was Sting, Def Leppard, Pulp, Metallica, Rolf Harris, Social Distortion, Coolio, Henry Rollins, Jazz Passengers With Deborah Harry, Slade 2, Godfathers, Gwar, Damned, Stiff Little Fingers, Marianne Faithful, ZZ Top, Gary Numan, Bad Manners, Mike And The Mechanics, Trextasy, Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Manic Street Preachers, Eric Clapton, The Who playing Quadrophenia, Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Bjork, Massive Attack, Bryan Adams, Patti Smith Group, Steely Dan, Big Country, Powerstation, Peter Perrett.
| # | Artists | Venue | Date | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | 2979 | Sex Pistols + A | Shepherds Bush Empire, London | 17.07.1996 | 10 |
| 1= | 2977 | Sex Pistols + Sultans | Le Zenith, Paris, France | 04.07.1996 | 10 |
| 1= | 2971 | Sex Pistols + Iggy Pop + Buzzcocks | Finsbury Park, London | 23.06.1996 | 10 |
| 1= | 2982 | Sex Pistols + Terrorvision + Echobelly | Phoenix Festival, Stratford | 21.07.1996 | 10 |
| 1= | 2978 | Sex Pistols + Slayer + Bad Religion | Aquatica, Milan, Italy | 11.07.1996 | 10 |
| 2= | 2988 | KISS + Ozzy Osbourne | Donington Race Track, UK | 17.08.1996 | 10 |
| 2= | 3028 | KISS | Wembley Arena, London | 25.11.1996 | 10 |
| 2= | 3025 | KISS | NEC Arena, Birmingham | 20.11.1996 | 10 |
| 2= | 3026 | KISS | Nynex Arena, Manchester | 21.11.1996 | 10 |
| 3 | 2970 | AC/DC | Wembley Arena, London | 22.06.1996 | 10 |
| 4 | 3005 | Neurotic Outsiders + Stimulater | Astoria 2, London | 26.09.1996 | 9,75 |
| 5 | 2953 | Ice T | Subterania, London | 19.05.1996 | 9,75 |