My Life in Concert.com Various Artists

Birmingham UK’s reggae outfit UB40 made two trips to London, Ontario, in the mid-80s, playing to a packed and joyous Centennial Hall on March 7, 1984, and then returning a year later almost to the week, to pack out Alumni Hall on the Western University campus on March 14, 1985. 
The first show came on the heels of their international breakthrough with the “Red Red Wine” single and its accompanying covers album, Labour of Love, while they were riding high in the local charts with their Gefferey Morgan album for the ’85 show. 
Special Guest Phil Robinson returns with his always splendiferous and humorous memories and observations.  New Special Guest to the podcast and all-round wonderful person and broadcaster, Skye Sylvain joins us in piecing together a hilarious—and sometimes bumpy and not-so-mirthful for her—and very memorable ride through the events surrounding these two concerts, especially delving into the social stuff following the gigs and a particular interview with the band. 
Tune in for further info about those group afterparties, setlist shockers, questionable album autograph signings, “excited” band “members,” contrasting memories about meeting Ali Campbell, Astro’s sweaty towel—once again we’re back to those sweaty towels that were a big part of the previous Episode 32 on the Stray Cats from 1983—a “whoopsy-daisy!” mortification moment that was part of a UB40 interview for Skye, and attempted strangulation.  
You can also read the original 2015 blog entry at mylifeinconcert.com.
 
NEXT ON STAGE>After years of devoted fandom, I finally get to see the one and only Siouxsie Sioux and her plucky Banshees in a cavernous (but wonderfully air conditioned) venue on Toronto’s outskirts.   
I’d been following Ms. Sioux since the early days of punk rock reporting in the UK press, and fell in love with their debut 45, “Hong Kong Garden” in 1978.  It was a UK smash hit and remains one of my favourite singles of the ‘70s. 
I was a Banshees nut from then on, and when I finally got to see them live in 1984, I was pretty damned stoked. 
HOWEVER ………. this gig is Another in an ongoing sub-thread in the mylifeinconcert.com series that could be called Concert Disasters, with said Disaster happening before, during, or after the show—OR during all 3, for those extra-lucky occasions.  
Frequently they involve some of the cheap and old cars I was driving in the 80s malfunctioning in some way.  And this is the first of those Car Nightmare EPs. 
Phil Robinson will also be back again to detail his memories of the show.  We each went down with other people with meant Phil was spared the “journey” that the other 3 of us went through. 
There will also be a new blog entry for this show. 
So what the hell happened with this one?  Tune in next time to find out.  You’ll be hearing all about leg casts, “rumours of a gig,” smoking fuses, the little Honda that couldn’t … and cities in dust. 
And that is the name of upcoming Epsiode 34, Concert no. 026. Cities In Dust: Siouxsie & the Banshees with Images In Vogue, the International Centre, Toronto, Ontario, July 10, 1984.

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The Stray Cats arrived to rock London, Ontario in 1983 at the peak of their fame.
With this episode, I’ve once again jumped backwards in my story, just not as far back as that cabaret show I saw with my parents in the UK in 1977 that was the focus on EP 31, Mum’s the Word.


This time, I jump back to March 26, 1983, when the Stray Cats rocked Alumni Hall here in London, Ontario.


Technically this should have been Concert no. 16, falling between no.15/EP 21 on The Gang of Four at Wonderland Gardens on March 5th and no. 16/EP 24 on The English Beat/R.E.M. at Alumni Hall on April 23rd.  However, as with the previous 1977 entry for EP31, this show was initially meant to be included as part of an upcoming compilation episode.


The reason it was going to be part of the compilation episode is this: I don’t have a ton of memories about this show.


I do remember going, and recall thoroughly enjoying the evening, but that’s about it.  For whatever reason, I have scant memories about this concert vs more detailed recollections for other shows from around this time.


However—and luckily—I seem to be alone in that regard.


Every time I have posted about it on Facebook, there are floods of responses from people, so clearly this was a concert that is in the hearts of many who were there.


Luckily, MLIC podcast regular Phil Robinson as well as Noelle from the Police Picnic ’83 episode (no. 27), and new guest, blogger Marc Hodgkinson, all have lots of great memories from the night to share with this blog and its attendant podcast.
So, here it is and here we are.


Stay tuned for stage dancing, sweaty towels, Britt Ekland sightings, restaurants serving Alka Seltzer with breakfast, Walkman music liberation, and what was the unforgettable message that Brian Setzer imparted to Noelle backstage?


NEXT ON STAGE> Birmingham UK’s reggae outfit UB40 made two trips to London, Ontario, in the mid-80s, playing to a packed and joyous Centennial Hall on March 7, 1984, and then returning a year later almost to the week, to pack out Alumni Hall on the Western University campus on March 14, 1985. 


The first show came on the heels of their international breakthrough with the “Red Red Wine” single and its accompanying covers album, Labour of Love, while they were riding high in the Canadian charts with their Geoffrey Morgan album for the ’85 show. 


Not only will Special Guest Phil Robinson be returning with his always splendiferous and humorous memories and observations, new Special Guest to the podcast and all-round wonderful person and broadcaster Skye Sylvain joins us in piecing together a hilarious—and sometimes bumpy and not-so-mirthful for her—and very memorable ride through the events surrounding these two concerts, especially delving into the social stuff following the gigs and a particular interview with the band.


Stay tuned for stage dancing, sweaty towels, Britt Ekland sightings, restaurants serving Alka Seltzer with breakfast, Walkman music liberation, and what was the unforgettable message that Brian Setzer imparted to Noelle backstage?

mylifeinconcert.com

With this episode, the series jumps back in time to a Cabaret show I saw in Portsmouth, UK, in August 1977 with my parents when I was 14. 
The cabaret took place between my first (Roxy Music at the London Arena, February 8, 1975) and second (Bob Seger at the London Gardens on May 19, 1978) official concerts. 


My initial plan was to include it as part of an upcoming compilation episode. 


However, I’ve decided that this cabaret was a unique live performance along with being the only one I ever saw with my now 96-year-old mother.  Therefore, I am giving this show its own entry.   


I wanted to take this opportunity to capture not only what she remembers of the event, but also her music-and-technology-related memories from her life growing up in the UK, having been born in December 1926. 


Taking in this show with my folks occurred during a three-week trip to the UK.  The vacation could not have possibly been more fortuitous for me. 


I had been following punk rock from its 1975-ish NYC inception via the underground press, and then later the British arm of the punk scene through the weeklies (when I could get hold of or afford them) which was absolutely exploding through the UK at the time of my visit.  Getting to be there and experience it happening real time was one of the luckiest tunes-y strokes of my life. 


So, in this episode, I interview my mother about the music she’s enjoyed and seen live, but also about the variety of technologies she has used to hear and enjoy it, starting with her hand-cranked family radiogram in the 1930s through to her love of streaming music today. 


Later on, I turn from looking at my mother’s musical youth to my own experiences, including this live cabaret show we saw in 1977, but even more so about the excitement and impact of being able to spend time in the UK at the peak of punk. 


My mother had In Town Tonight.  I had In the City. (Listen or read to find out more about all that). 


Listen to the podcast to hear the full interview as she talks about the musical journey of her life. 


Tune in for Worker's Playtime, “Attention K-Mart Shoppers!,” The Man in Black, children with acid batteries, revelations at Boots—or was it Woolies?—and what was Ethel Merman really like live?


 
Next on Stage -> I jump a bit more into the future with The Stray Cats at Alumni Hall here in London on March 26, 1983.  Technically this should have been Episode 16 but, as with this 1977 entry, this show was initially meant to be included with the upcoming compilation episode. 


I don’t have a ton of memories about this show, but luckily MLIC podcast regular Phil Robinson as well as Noëlle from the Police Picnic ’83 episode (no. 27) both have lots of great recollections from the night.


Tune in for stage dancing, artistic representations, Britt Ekland sightings, and what was the unforgettable message that Brian Setzer imparted to Noëlle backstage? 


Episode 032 (Concert no. 025) Rock This Town: The Stray Cats with The Bopcats, Alumni Hall, Western University, London Ontario, March 26, 1983


 mylifeinconcert.com

My final 1983 gig-going-entry recaps a couple of shows I took in during a crazy/nuts four-day trip to NYC.   
While I will be discussing the performances by hardcore titans The Circle Jerks and post-Throbbing Gristle offshoot Psychic TV, I’ll also be looking at the madcap trip to Manhattan as a whole, recounting the hijinks that MZ, Miss B, myself, and others got up to.   


If you’ve heard or read EP 25 on the Flipper show at Fryfogle’s, then you’ll have somewhat of an idea of what to expect.

Tune in for destroyed hotel rooms; terrified cousins; "Peace, Love and Groove!"; Danceteria bathroom hallucinations; Brooke Shields' husband, Broadway Bob; and pterodactyls and manifestations.

You can also read the original blog entries for The Circle Jerks and for the Psychic TV show on the mylifeinconcert.com blog.
 
Next On Stage –> I am jumping back further into the past as I recall a cabaret show that happened between my first and second “official” gigs (Roxy Music at the London Arena on February 5, 1975 and Bob Seger at the London Gardens on May 19, 1978). 


I saw the cabaret in Portsmouth, England, in August 1977, and it featured early-60s popster Susan Maughan, she of the 1962 hit, “Bobby’s Girl,” and possibly the legendary Tessie O’Shea. 


I had initially planned to discuss it as part of upcoming compilation episode but have instead decided to make it a stand-alone episode. 


The EP's Special Guest is my 96-year-old mother—we’ll call her Vera Various Artists—who attended the cabaret along with me and my late father.   


My mum shares her vague memories of the evening, including that she feels the legendary Tessie O’Shea was on the bill.  If my mother is right, then boy do I wish I could remember that.  I wouldn’t have known who she was then but I sure do now. 


We do both remember humourist Pam Ayers and the Famous People Players being part of the show. 


My mother also recalls the venue itself, the Portsmouth The Hippodrome but also The King’s Theatre in Southsea, as she grew up in Petersfield, but later moved to Portsmouth after marrying my dad, and both my elder siblings were born there.   


In the interview, she discusses listening to the radio as well as records in the UK as a girl in the ‘30s, and also music and live shows she enjoyed after to moving to Canada in the mid-50s and onwards. 


I also talk about my experiences on this trip in the ultimate UK punk year—1977—amid the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. 


Tune in for dangerous radio batteries, hanging out in British record stores to hear the latest releases, what double album of my mum’s drove me nuts in the ‘70s, punk rock mania, not seeing The Sex Pistols, and what Ethel Merman was really like live. 


That’s all coming up in Episode 31, Concert no. 001.5, entitled UK 1977: VA’s Mum on Ethel Merman and Susan Maughan at the Portsmouth Hippodrome and the Music of Her Life + My UK Trip Amid the Year of the Punk Rock Explosion and Silver Jubilee 


mylifeinconcert.com

This is the big one! THE ultimate! The single most anticipated show I ever attended, when I—along with my co-hort Miss B—and 60,000 other fans, all of whom who were going Absolutely Freakin’ Bananas, moseyed on down to a packed CNE Exhibition Stadium during a sweltering Labour Day weekend in 1983, for David Bowie. 
He was on his global Serious Moonlight tour for his worldwide smash hit album, Let’s Dance, with the great Rough Trade opening the show and warming up the troops. 


On the exact same weekend a year earlier, I had seen The Clash at this same venue (EP 18).  Now I was back and seeing an even more hotly anticipated show.  And he surpassed my expectations. 


In Part One, Episode 29A, Changes: Bowie, The ‘70s, and Me—a prelude to this episode about the show—I look back on first hearing David Bowie on the cusp of 1973 as well as take an in-depth journey through his recording career, from 1964’s “Liza Jane” through 1983’s Let’s Dance, but also examine his impact on me and the larger culture throughout the rest of that decade. 


In this Part 2, join me in returning back to this CNE show on that gorgeous Labour Day weekend in 1983—ending one of the most memorable summers of my young life with an unforgettable climax. 


Tune in for being caught up in the rush of crushing crowds, Hamlet references, bamboo steamers among the Bowie masses, and the most exciting show of my life.  


Go to the mylifeinconcert.com blog to read the original entry.


 
Next On Stage –> My final 1983 gig-going-entry recaps a couple of shows I took in during a crazy/nuts four-day trip to NYC.   


While I will be discussing the performances by hardcore titans The Circle Jerks and post-Throbbing Gristle offshoot Psychic TV, I’ll also be looking at the madcap trip to Manhattan as a whole, recounting the hijinks that MZ, Miss B, myself, and others got up to.   


If you’ve heard or read EP 25 on the Flipper show at Fryfogle’s, then you’ll have somewhat of an idea of what to expect.

Tune in for destroyed hotel rooms, terrified cousins, "Peace, Love and Groove," Danceteria bathroom hallucinations, Brooke Shields' husband: Broadway Bob, and Pterodactyls and Manifestations in Episode 30, Back Against the Wall and Discopravity: The Circle Jerks at the Reggae Lounge on Wednesday November 26th, and Psychic TV at Danceteria on Thursday November 17, both in New York City, 1983.

Click on the links above to read the original blog entries at mylifeinconcert.com.

David Bowie’s Labour Day Weekend concert in 1983 at Toronto’s CNE Stadium remains the most anticipated and exciting show I’ve ever attended. He was on his global Serious Moonlight tour for his worldwide smash hit album, Let’s Dance, with the great Rough Trade opening the show and warming up the troops. 
I discuss the show itself in Part 2—(EP 29b, no.22b) Let’s Dance: David Bowie with Rough Trade, CNE Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Saturday September 3, 1983.  First, however, in this prelude episode, I not only take an in-depth journey through his recording career from 1964’s “Liza Jane” through 1983’s Let’s Dance but also through the 1970s themselves.  


In particular, I examine the era’s rock music and how it intertwined socio-culturally throughout the decade as marginalized communities broke through and asserted themselves; Bowie’s influence on the ‘70s; and his seismic impact on me and many other outsiders during this era. 


Tune in for radio oddities, shag rugs, shag haircuts, satin flares, platform shoes, and personal liberation. 



Next On Stage –> This is the big one! THE ultimate! The single most anticipated show I ever attended, when I—along with my co-hort Miss Bennies—and 60,000 other fans, all of whom who were going Absolutely Freakin’ Bananas, moseyed on down to a packed CNE Exhibition Stadium during a swelting Labour Day weekend in 1983, for David Bowie.
 
He was on his global Serious Moonlight tour for his worldwide smash hit album, Let’s Dance, with the great ROUGH TRADE opening the show and warming up the troops. 


On the exact same weekend a year earlier, I had seen The Clash at this same venue (EP 18).  Now I was back and seeing an even more hotly anticipated show.  And he surpassed my expectations.


Join me in returning back to this CNE show on that gorgeous Labour Day weekend in 1983—ending one of the most memorable summers of my young life with an unforgettable climax. 


Tune in for being caught up in the rush of crushing crowds, Hamlet references, bamboo steamers among the Bowie masses, and the most exciting show of my life.  


Listen to it here and click through to read the original blog entry, (EP 29b, no.22b) David Bowie with Rough Trade: Let’s Dance, CNE Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Saturday September 3, 1983