Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1984 - (page 198)

OB1 said:
Surprise, surprise, I am a Triumph fan and I think I have almost all their albums. Their original UK release was IIRC a combination of songs from their first two Canadian releases. Pretty sure my vinyl copy of Just A Game was an import.

Although Rush did not release anything in the year, they did record their next album in the UK I think and whilst here played a couple of sold out shows at the New Bingley Cow Shed, both of which I attended. They had also done a UK tour earlier in the year where I saw both Manchester Apollo gigs and also my first Hammersmith Odeon (now Apollo) gig, my father booked me a hotel so that I could go down and stay over for it. The tour gigs were supported by another Canadian band Max Webster, who were a slightly quirky hard prog rock band led by guitarist vocalist Kim Mitchell. A great pairing.

If my addition is correct, I attended 41 gigs in 1979. They covered quite a range of music, from AC/DC to Frank Zappa, including Rush, Zep, Van Halen, Boston, Journey, Sammy Hagar, BOC, The Tubes, Roxy Music, Horslips, Bad Co, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Whitesnake, Gillan, Uriah Heap, UFO, Queen, The Who, Steve Hillage, Trevor Rabin, Maiden, Leppard, Earth Wind & Fire, Jude Tzuke (at our hall party) and Cheap Trick (in the main hall at Uni).

I also saw Dave Edmunds’ Rockpile at the FTH, with I believe Nick Lowe on bass.
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41 Gigs! Wow I am humbled. No wonder you know so much about music. I was too young myself. Became 12 at end of 79. Plus, living with my parents on a farm in rural Denmark there weren't many Gigs around :-)
Cheers
 
BimboBob said:
There seems to be two camps here...dinosaurs who are still clinging to 70's MOR and trendy and up to date cool cats who are embracing the new tech...
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On the subject of which when you get a moment can you tell us a bit more about how you ended up interviewing Martyn Ware? He's always struck me as someone with something sensible to contribute. The Electronically Yours podcast is pretty geeky but often good listening.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
I did say intelligentsia :-)
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Yeah, I’m proudly anti-intellectual. I think it probably was in 1979 during a lecture at university that one of the students on our course differed in opinion on something to do with economics with our lecturer, Prof Brian Something who said something like I can’t take you seriously as an intellectual if you think that. No idea, which one I agreed with but I remember being appalled by the Professor’s comment.
 
Jazzman said:
41 Gigs! Wow I am humbled. No wonder you know so much about music. I was too young myself. Became 12 at end of 79. Plus, living with my parents on a farm in rural Denmark there weren't many Gigs around :-)
Cheers
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The beauty of being a student with only 10 hours of lectures a week and about 1 essay every 2 or 3 weeks. Plus having my own car…
 
OB1 said:
Yeah, I’m proudly anti-intellectual. I think it probably was in 1979 during a lecture at university that one of the students on our course differed in opinion on something to do with economics with our lecturer, Prof Brian Something who said something like I can’t take you seriously as an intellectual if you think that. No idea, which one I agreed with but I remember being appalled by the Professor’s comment.
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At least you went to University mate. I graduated from the school of hard knocks and spent a long time at the University of life.
Between work and school I had a gap weekend :-).
 
RobMCFC said:
We are about to enter a period of darkness on the thread, but each to their own.

The overuse of synths, Casios and button-push music.
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I look forward to nominating Trio in a few weeks so we can discuss the merits of the VL-Tone as a musical instrument!!

Actually we must be now at the point where Roland got into the guitar synth game. ARP had a crack previously but it was Roland who took it on. Guitar synths Rob, acceptable or the work of the devil?
 
RobMCFC said:
November 1993, The America’s Bar, Playa de Las Americas, Tenerife. There was a covers band working their way through one classic after the next. Two English guys and a singer/guitarist from Australia. The band, The Lizard Kings, made our holiday. Anyway, when they went on a break, they put some music on to play in the interval. Pre-internet days, it took me a while to find out what the song was, but I loved it:-

“My Sharona” - The Knack
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I'm glad you took that, because that song was never going to come from me! ;-)

I think some sort of cover band story has to be part of that, as I think that song was played every hour on the hour back in the day and was the scorn of middle school existence. It would clear me off the rink for a break too. Funny how music can do that and be memorable, both good and bad!
RobMCFC said:
I’m going to nominate a song from an album that’s already been covered by @Black&White&BlueMoon Town above. The album and song are so good, it deserves another. Whilst there are better and more upbeat songs from the album, this deep good has a superb groove.

“You Tell Me” - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
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Side 2...., I'm just sayin'!
RobMCFC said:
A year after their debut, Midnight Oil really hit their stride in 1979.

“Back on the Borderline” - Midnight Oil
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Nice, another new one (to me). ;-)
 
Protein Junkie said:
Right so six into four just will not go.
I have decided to leave out Van Halen and the Pat Benatar releases. The latter being mostly cover versions (albeit very good).
Two of my four selections involved key personnel changes that evoked very strong albums as a result.

Ronnie James Dio seemed to be integral to the sound of Rainbow.Often usurping the prog stronghold of myth and legend it was a great shock when he was no more. Enter the exact opposite in Graham Bonnet. Girls swooned over this new heartthrob and the radio friendly Since you’ve been gone emerged.

Over in Germany, Scorpions were now without the talismanic lead guitarist Michael Schenker. As a result the music shifted and the album Lovedrive succeeded. One of many favourites is Loving you Sunday morning.

Transatlantic Foreigner continued their rich vein of form with Head Games. Included in this release was the brilliant opening track Dirty White Boy.

And finally we come to Supertramp’s Breakfast in America. The obvious would be The Logical Song or the title track. For my selection it was very close between the closing track Child of Vision or Take the Long way Home. Ive chosen the latter today :-)
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4 for 4 on the hitting the mark here, with *3* now nominated from BiA.

I'm glad you took one from Head Games, because next to Supertramp's blockbuster, that might have been my 2nd favourite at the time from that band, that would be pairing things down and going a bit lighter but much more radio accessible material into the next decade. The album cover was iconic, and my go-to was always "Rev on the Red Line", but it didn't make my cut for this year in relistening to it yesterday.

Also, on the Benatar mention, a side note that she recorded JCM's "I Need A Lover" off that same album a year later, which IIRC, was the first version of the song I had heard. My favourite from that was the original song her future-husband Neil Giraldo wrote "We Live For Love".
 
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threespires said:
On the subject of which when you get a moment can you tell us a bit more about how you ended up interviewing Martyn Ware? He's always struck me as someone with something sensible to contribute. The Electronically Yours podcast is pretty geeky but often good listening.
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A big nosed bloke on here called Toma ran a website that I contributed to on occasion. Music/ Football. Seeing as Martyn is a big Wednesday fan he seemed a no brainer. I mailed him. He agreed so I rang him. We had a 2 hour chat. An absolute gent.

www.thedaisycutter.co.uk

"We Were A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy" - The Cutter Meets Heaven 17 - The Daisy Cutter

The Cutter's Noel Draper meets up with Heaven 17 founder Martin Ware to discuss being banned by Mike Reid, tangible vinyl, and his other great love Sheffield Wednesday.
www.thedaisycutter.co.uk www.thedaisycutter.co.uk
 
1979.
My Road To Damascus year musically.
My musical tastes were influenced by my older brother - who sadly passed away in 1980 aged 21 (I was 17)
From around 1973 (aged 10) I had been listening to his music through the bedroom wall, T Rex, Bowie, Slade etc. I loved Marc Bolan but never quite got into Bowie. The Sweet was my band that I found myself and singing away to Teenage Rampage, even though I was 3 years away from being a teen felt rebellious and inspiring.
But musically from around 76 to the beginning of 79 I was in a musical wilderness for 2 reasons. The first one was being in the Scouts, so every Thursday I missed Top Of The Pops and secondly not knowing about evening radio shows like Kid Jenson or Peel, being on way too late. I desperately wanted to find my place but just couldn’t. The 6th formers at school all desperately wanting to be hip, walking around with their Led Zep or Bowie albums that did nothing for me.
I only bought one single in 1978, Airport by The Motors. I liked the way it was fast both the music and the lyrics but nothing else grabbed me. Punk was exploding all around me but I was oblivious to it all.

Then January 79 I missed Scouts. Maybe it was mad snow? I was able to watch TOTP’s and Generation X came on performing King Rocker. Never heard of them. They were awful. Idol couldn’t mime in time, too busy snarling and posing. I thought it was very bad.
The following week they were on TISWAS and I thought here we go again.
But halfway through the song something in me changed. I thought “you can’t be that bad and get on TOTP and TISWAS so I twisted it around and thought they were good at being bad, which meant they were very good. In 3 minutes I’d gone from What the fuck to signing up to become a punk.
(Within months I’d left school, spiked and dyed the hair blond and had my left ear pierced.)

I went out and bought King Rocker on orange vinyl and told my friends I was now a punk. Three weeks later Sid Vicious - and punk - was dead, yet for me having just discovered it, a whole new world was open.

I bought the following singles:
London Calling (but never really ‘got’ The Clash, too much sloganeering for my liking)
Oliver’s Army - Elvis Costello
Destination Venus - The Rezillos
Car Trouble - Adam and the Ants
Sound of the suburbs - The Members
Everybody’s happy nowadays began a Buzzcocks love affair.

It was great thinking that these were all new bands only to discover they all had a back catalogue I could delve into.

Generation X was my number one band and played at the local Poly but at 16 I looked 13 and no way could I get past the bouncers. I bought the album Valley of the Dolls and follow up singles Valley of the dolls (multi coloured vinyl) and Fridays Angels (red vinyl) and by the end of the year they had split up before Idol and Tony James revamped and came back as Gen X.

I had found what I was looking for and it felt I finally “belonged” in my new musical home - funny thing is, living in Coventry at the time, The Specials smashed their way into the charts and the nation but it wasn’t for me. Looking back they did some belting tunes with powerful lyrics but the whole Two Tone fashion that came with it wasn’t for me so the whole scene was dismissed.
Punk shaped me back then, politicised me and influenced me. If anyone asks I still say I’m a punk. It’s still there inside me, it was about attitude, not what you were wearing from The Kings Road.
Billy Idol, so much to answer for……
 
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Mad Eyed Screamer said:
1979.
My Road To Damascus year musically.
My musical tastes were influenced by my older brother - who sadly passed away in 1980 aged 21 (I was 17)
From around 1973 (aged 10) I had been listening to his music through the bedroom wall, T Rex, Bowie, Slade etc. I love Marc Bolan but never quite got into Bowie. The Sweet was my band that I found myself and singing away to Teenage Rampage, even though I was 3 years away from being a teen felt rebellious and inspiring.
But musically from around 76 to the beginning of 79 I was in a musical wilderness for 2 reasons. The first one was being in the Scouts so every Thursday I missed Top Of The Pops and secondly not knowing about evening radio shows like Kid Jenson or Peel, being on way too late. I desperately wanted to find my place but just couldn’t. The 6th formers at school al wanting to be hip, walking around with their Led Zep or Bowie albums that did nothing for me.
I only bought one single in 1978, Airport by The Motors. I liked the way it was fast both the music and the lyrics but nothing else grabbed me. Punk was exploding all around me but I was oblivious to it all.

Then January 79 I missed Scouts. Maybe it was mad snow? And Generation X came on performing King Rocker. Never heard of them. They were awful. Idol couldn’t mime in time, to busy snarling and posing. I thought it was very bad.
The following week they were on TISWAS and I thought here we go again.
But halfway through the song something in me changed. I thought “you can’t become bad and get on TOTP and TiSWAS so I twisted it around and thought they were good at being bad, which meant they were very good. In 3 minutes I’d gone from What the fuck to signing up to become a punk.
(Within months I’d left school, spiked and dyed the hair blond and had my left ear pierced.)

I went out and bought King Rocker on orange vinyl and told my friends I was now a punk. Three weeks later Sid Vicious - and punk - was dead, yet for me having just discovered it, a whole new world was open.

I bought the following singles:
London Calling (but never really ‘got’ The Clash, too much sloganeering for my liking,
Oliver’s Army - Elvis Costello
Destination Venus - The Rezillos
Car Trouble - Adam and the Ants
Sound of the suburbs - The Members
Everybody’s happy nowadays began a Buzzcocks love affair.

It was great thinking that these were all new bands only to discover they all had a back catalogue I could delve into.

Generation X was my number one band and played at the local Poly but at 16 I looked 13 and no way could I get past the bouncers. I bought the album Valley of the Dolls and follow up singles Valley of the dolls (multi coloured vinyl) and Fridays Angels (red vinyl) and by the end of the year they had split up before Idol and Tony James revamped and came back as Gen X.

I had found what I was looking for and it felt I finally “belonged” in my new musical home - funny thing is, living in Coventry at the time, The Specials smashed their way into the charts and the nation but it wasn’t for me. Looking back they did some belting tunes with powerful lyrics but the whole Two Tone fashion that came with it wasn’t for me so the whole scene was dismissed.
Punk shaped me back then, politicised me and influenced me. If anyone asks I still say I’m a punk. It’s still there inside me, it was about attitude, not what you were wearing from The Kings Road.
Billy Idol, so much to answer for……
Click to expand...
Saw him last month. Sounds really good still.
 
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Saddleworth2 said:
At least you went to University mate. I graduated from the school of hard knocks and spent a long time at the University of life.
Between work and school I had a gap weekend :-).
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Yes, and I am thankful for that experience. I also needed to go to pursue my chosen career. Actually my late father’s idea that I should qualify as an accountant. He had to leave school at about 14 or 15 and take on his father’s small business after he died, so his education was very poor and had been disrupted to some degree by the war. He and his younger brother made a success of the business but he did not want me following in his footsteps…

1979 was probably the best of the time that I spent at Uni. My Dad died early on in the summer holidays, a couple of days after we had come back from a holiday in Malta, which wasn’t the best holiday we’d had. We got an apartment rather than a hotel and it didn’t have air con, and it was very hot. As soon as we got back, I needed to get down to our chalet in Abersoch to start my holiday job. My car was playing up and my Dad managed to fix it so I could leave very early the next morning. The last time I saw him was when I gave him a big hug of thanks.

It’s a strange thing, losing my father was truly awful but the rest of the year was pretty great. My friends were really supportive, one in particular who had then not been a close friend for long was brilliant and would eventually be my best man (and I his). There’s actually a musical relevance there, as will be come clearer next time it’s my turn to write about a year.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
3rd nomination. I used to hear this alot as I was getting picked up for work in a Mk1 Orange Escort. I subsequently bought the car a couple of years later. I thought her voice was good and the song and hook memorable.

Brass in Pocket - The Pretenders.
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Great track. First two Pretenders albums are very good.

Saw Chrissie Hynde not too long ago at the Taylor Hawkins tribute at Wembley, she still rocks.

I did see a bit of a Pretenders show at the Apollo but it was the following year. I think it was a gig where the doorman let me / us in for free and we went and caught the end of the show after having been to watch a midweek game at Maine Road. My best friend knew one of the doormen at the Apollo somehow and he would just let us walk in to gigs.
 
Mad Eyed Screamer said:
1979.
My Road To Damascus year musically.
My musical tastes were influenced by my older brother - who sadly passed away in 1980 aged 21 (I was 17)
From around 1973 (aged 10) I had been listening to his music through the bedroom wall, T Rex, Bowie, Slade etc. I loved Marc Bolan but never quite got into Bowie. The Sweet was my band that I found myself and singing away to Teenage Rampage, even though I was 3 years away from being a teen felt rebellious and inspiring.
But musically from around 76 to the beginning of 79 I was in a musical wilderness for 2 reasons. The first one was being in the Scouts, so every Thursday I missed Top Of The Pops and secondly not knowing about evening radio shows like Kid Jenson or Peel, being on way too late. I desperately wanted to find my place but just couldn’t. The 6th formers at school al wanting to be hip, walking around with their Led Zep or Bowie albums that did nothing for me.
I only bought one single in 1978, Airport by The Motors. I liked the way it was fast both the music and the lyrics but nothing else grabbed me. Punk was exploding all around me but I was oblivious to it all.

Then January 79 I missed Scouts. Maybe it was mad snow? I was able to watch TOTP’s and Generation X came on performing King Rocker. Never heard of them. They were awful. Idol couldn’t mime in time, too busy snarling and posing. I thought it was very bad.
The following week they were on TISWAS and I thought here we go again.
But halfway through the song something in me changed. I thought “you can’t be that bad and get on TOTP and TISWAS so I twisted it around and thought they were good at being bad, which meant they were very good. In 3 minutes I’d gone from What the fuck to signing up to become a punk.
(Within months I’d left school, spiked and dyed the hair blond and had my left ear pierced.)

I went out and bought King Rocker on orange vinyl and told my friends I was now a punk. Three weeks later Sid Vicious - and punk - was dead, yet for me having just discovered it, a whole new world was open.

I bought the following singles:
London Calling (but never really ‘got’ The Clash, too much sloganeering for my liking)
Oliver’s Army - Elvis Costello
Destination Venus - The Rezillos
Car Trouble - Adam and the Ants
Sound of the suburbs - The Members
Everybody’s happy nowadays began a Buzzcocks love affair.

It was great thinking that these were all new bands only to discover they all had a back catalogue I could delve into.

Generation X was my number one band and played at the local Poly but at 16 I looked 13 and no way could I get past the bouncers. I bought the album Valley of the Dolls and follow up singles Valley of the dolls (multi coloured vinyl) and Fridays Angels (red vinyl) and by the end of the year they had split up before Idol and Tony James revamped and came back as Gen X.

I had found what I was looking for and it felt I finally “belonged” in my new musical home - funny thing is, living in Coventry at the time, The Specials smashed their way into the charts and the nation but it wasn’t for me. Looking back they did some belting tunes with powerful lyrics but the whole Two Tone fashion that came with it wasn’t for me so the whole scene was dismissed.
Punk shaped me back then, politicised me and influenced me. If anyone asks I still say I’m a punk. It’s still there inside me, it was about attitude, not what you were wearing from The Kings Road.
Billy Idol, so much to answer for……
Click to expand...


I must confess I liked Gen X even back then.

Seen Billy a few times. Once performing with the Who; think he played Cousin Kevin.
 
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