As a student in the early 80’s I went to many concerts...most the usual names. The strangest was probably Nico in a Liverpool nightclub or Joy Division’s final performance at Erics, only weeks before Ian’s suicide.

So what was the best concert you ever went to?

Kid Rock... believe it or not

2007 Dublin

Best live band was Status quo, no support band and 3 hours of rocking.

Loudest was Ted Nugent ears splitting but clear pure music.

My favourite Thin Lizzy. Just a great night of rock

Replied to a similar thread a few years ago and always maintain the best gig I ever saw was the Armed Force supported by The Hamsters at the Clarion club just off Accy Road any one who was part of the local Punk scene I would say would certainly remember that night

The Human League at Liverpool Academy circa 2005.

Worst group who were utter shite

Tigers of pantang

Bob Dylan at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of years ago - he certainly rolled back the years; and Bruce Springsteen at Wembley - about 4 hours of continuous performance.

I just remembered...I saw The Pogues (several times) playing in London pubs (circa 84-87). They were supporting The Shillelagh Sisters. Just great fun!

Andre Rieu

Probably Queen at Knebworth in 86.

Possibly Guns n Roses in Miami last year

Best. Springsteen at the RDS, Dublin 2003. I retired that week so was in a happy place.
Worst. Bob Dylan at the Point, Dublin ? Last night of a world tour and he didn't want to be there.

I was dragged kicking and screaming to a Lynyrd Skynyrd gig in 1974.

Best thing I ever did.

Yargo at the Hacienda 1986 - incredible live group

starting_11 wrote:Kid Rock... believe it or not

2007 Dublin

Pish off. This is a joke, yes?...

Kid Rock?

Wait...you paid actual, real money to watch Kid Rock? Kid Rock is to music what MRSA is to an appendectomy.

Talk Talk - 1986, Ku Discoteque, Ibiza. Their last live performance.

The Stone Roses - Razzmatazz in Barcelona on June 9th 2012.
No "stadium view" for me, I was down the front and close enough to have reached out and touched Ian Brown.
No "top lad" mancs hassling us and the beers were 3 euros a pop.
Also, it was my 40th Birthday on the 10th so it was the perfect way to slip into old age.

The Verve in Blackpool 2007

Impossible because I enjoyed so many, but I would select Bruce Springsteen at Roundhay Park in Leeds c. 1985 with Nils
Lofgren. Bruce just didn't want to stop and everyone appreciated that.

Dire Straits at Sheffield early 80's

Simon and Garfunkel re-union tour with the Everly Brothers as guests

Paul Simon at Liverpool Albert Docks marquee.

Dire Straits at Maine Rd early 90's takes some beating.

Paul Weller at the Don Valley comes close though.

Been to tons at The MEN but none there really stand out, don't think its the best venue for gigs / concerts. Kasabian were pretty good as a support act for Oasis who were disappointing but not as bad as Stone Roses (all at Heaton Park).

Funnily enough one of the best I went to was a Smiths tribute at The Ritz in Manchester.

Not a gig as such but The Dance Arena at EXIT festival is unlike anything I have been to.

Best I have been to though was probably Prodigy.

Little Angels. Cambridge Junction 2013. Waited nearly 20 years to see them after they split and this was their last headline gig of a very brief reunion.

Voice of the Beehive, The Lexington October 2017. In front of 180 people. Love this band.

Bdc wrote:The Verve in Blackpool 2007

That was very, very good. Never saw them before they spilt and am always wary of reunions but this was well worth it.

Claret-On-A-T-Rex wrote:The Stone Roses - Razzmatazz in Barcelona on June 9th 2012.
No "stadium view" for me, I was down the front and close enough to have reached out and touched Ian Brown.

Close enough to pass him a bucket to carry a tune in?

Saw a silly amount pf DJs during a misspent youth in dark rooms with wide eyes.

As the Kid Rock one above - the best live DJ I ever saw was David Guetta at Warehouse Project in Manchester. Was meant to meet a mate for a beer in town who was late so put £5 in the machine in the bookies and ended up winning about £400 - decided to go over in a taxi and touted tickets. Didnt really expect much from him but the other acts were decent enough - he ended up playing a full set of just classic undergroundy tunes with non of his cheesy stuff and had to cut the music to comment on "how the hell is this legal" with the crowd going mad for every song all night.

Saw Stone Roses at Heaton Park and the wailers (Bob Marley) were supporting which was good fun. Libertines put on a good show too when I saw them.

The Clash, King George's Hall, Blackburn I think in 1980/ 1981. They were supported by the Notsensibles who started singing Burnley songs at the end of their set.
Strummer, Jones, Simonon and Headon all on fire from beginning to end.

David Bowie
Serious Moonlight Tour
Milton Keynes Bowl 1983

Brilliant !

LoveCurryPies wrote:As a student in the early 80’s I went to many concerts...most the usual names. The strangest was probably Nico in a Liverpool nightclub or Joy Division’s final performance at Erics, only weeks before Ian’s suicide.

So what was the best concert you ever went to?

I went to a John Cooper Clarke gig in Leeds around 1985 and ended up having a drink with him and Nico afterwards,sat on a settee in the corner of the venue, they were both off their heads on whatever drugs they were on at the time. It's in my memory bank, but no selfies in those days so nobody believes me.

COBBLE wrote:Impossible because I enjoyed so many, but I would select Bruce Springsteen at Roundhay Park in Leeds c. 1985 with Nils
Lofgren. Bruce just didn't want to stop and everyone appreciated that.

Definitely 1985, Cobble, I saw Springsteen at Wembley, 4th July 1985, on the same Tour.... best I've ever seen !!

Funk Brothers at 'th Apollo.

Best was the Spin Doctors. They were obviously very drunk/stoned but still brilliant. Worst was Phish. Spent most of the night in the bar but could still hear them unfortunately.

I'm going to list four because I can't separate them

1972 - Barclay James Harvest at Sheffield City Hall - this wonderful venue played its part, brilliant accoustics
1986 - Queen at Maine Road - never thought I'd been seeing them for the last time
1990 - Rolling Stones at Wembley - just my favourite band for over 50 years now
1992 - Erasure at Manchester Apollo - brilliant entertainment

Biggest and best: Blackbushe, July 1978 - Bob Dylan headlining, Eric Clapton one of the many supports. Official attendance, 200,000 maybe, but rumoured up to 1 million. Based on how crowded it was and 8 hours to drive less than 1,000 yards to get out of the carpark, I'm inclined towards the higher number. "Forever young" late at night with many in the crowd holding lighters still sends a tingle down my spine.

Others on my "best" list:
Paul Simon at London Roundhouse, 2011 (Thanks, TD);
Paul Simon Bournemouth 2016 - and he was enjoying every minute of it - I missed out on tickets nearer home;
Bob Dylan, Royal Albert Hall (as mentioned above);
Leonard Cohen, Brooklands, Weybridge;
Stones, Twickenham Stadium;
The Who, Oxford Playhouse (1974 ?) and Staffordshire Showground (1977 ?) - they were loud, very loud - no wonder the band went deaf;
Caravan, yes, personal memories for me - late 60s/early 70s prog-rock - and they are still going and a new album out soon!

And, I know I will wake in the morning and say "how could I have forgotten to list...."

Tickets for Eric Clapton in Hyde Park in July. I guess his hands will now be moving slow! Was also lucky to see him in Singapore 3 years back.

There's nothing like a live event.

Stone roses Spike Island 1990 without a doubt.

Also Pink Floyd Earls Court 1994

Big Country 1987 (my first gig)

Madness also Earls Court not sure of the year.

Roger Waters was also excellent live

U2- Elland Road 1987.
Bruce Springsteen- Melbourne 2015.

The Who

Brighton conference centre 1979?

End of a world tour with just 2 days in the UK. Queued for 3 days for tickets. Stoned on the fumes..

Fishbone at Manchester Academy 1993

Bootsty Collins at Sankeys Soap 1995

Pink Floyd Birmingham - Birmingham Hippodrome Dec 1974 First time they played Shine on you crazy diamond before WYWH had even been released!
Queen - 1977 Bingley Hall. Fm just brilliant.

Thin Lizzy 1976 Lancaster University. That year I saw The Rolling Stones at Earls Court but it didn't compare.

The jam poole art centre 1979 blew me away.

starting_11 wrote:Kid Rock... believe it or not

2007 Dublin

That explains everything. FFS.


Anyway; Slayer at Donington 2004ish - they'd been bumped from the main stage to a small tent and it was the most intense hour of metal I'd ever experienced.
Also The Prodigy at Leeds Festival about 2009.

Holmeclaret wrote:The Clash, King George's Hall, Blackburn I think in 1980/ 1981. They were supported by the Notsensibles who started singing Burnley songs at the end of their set.
Strummer, Jones, Simonon and Headon all on fire from beginning to end.

Every time this thread comes up it’s a done deal. This was a superb performance by the only band that mattered. And the sensies added an element of fun & lots of balls!

Radiohead - Warrington - possibly 2000

Incredible musicians, every piece of music an anthem. An ELECTRIC atmosphere!

ClaretTony wrote:I'm going to list four because I can't separate them

1972 - Barclay James Harvest at Sheffield City Hall - this wonderful venue played its part, brilliant accoustics
1986 - Queen at Maine Road - never thought I'd been seeing them for the last time
1990 - Rolling Stones at Wembley - just my favourite band for over 50 years now
1992 - Erasure at Manchester Apollo - brilliant entertainment

I concur regards the Erasure concert. We could possibly have been in the same audience. An utterly fantastic spectacle and what a pop group they were! Some of Andy Bell`s outfits were `out there` to say the least.

The Wall
Earls Court
August, 1980

Seen countless gigs, many brilliant ones with a lot of big names.
That one will always be the best.
It was an away from the norm, mind-blowing event.


A wonderful second was a much more intimate gig.
Bo Diddley at Dingwalls, Camden Lock, in '82
Weren't many people there at all.
The great man was on stage with his daughters. Equally talented.
Dispute the few folk there, (coldish, midweek night) he played a long set, with three breaks.
He spent one of them on our table!
Lovely guy to talk to.

I've seen Rage Against The Machine twice, and each time they were pretty much the best thing I'd ever seen.

Gigs I've also massively enjoyed:

The Red Chord in London in 2005. The day after my birthday, my band were supporting one of the best bands in the genre, and they were unbelievably good that night.

Tame Impala, Albert Hall in Manchester, 2014. One of my favourite bands, smashed it.

Todd Terje, Parklife 2015. Such a good atmosphere.

Every time I've seen Pallbearer. The craftsmanship in those songs is so good.

Cannibal Corpse, Bradford Rio early 2000s. The Man Utd of death metal, and it was like watching them win the treble.

Biohazard, Bradford Rio early 2000s. Like CC above, but for hardcore. Particularly enjoyed somersaulting off the PA.

I've also been away to Europe with my mates' band, and it was so satisfying seeing them get such a good reaction over there. Just lads from Cliviger, Leeds and Burton packing out venues abroad and doing it relentlessly for weeks at a time. Great experience.

One more: Jeru the Damaja in a tiny bar in Leeds the other year

So many that it's impossible to pick just one.

My first "proper" gig - The Ramones at Manchester Apollo back in 79 or 80. Magical experience for a 15 year old.
Echo And The Bunnymen at the Albert Hall in 2007
Aha in Sheffield, 91 or 92. Took a lass of my acquaintance to see her favourite banded and was surprised how good they were.
Mock Turtles - many times in the early 90s
James
The Breeders in Manchester last October

March 1959
Louis Armstrong and the all stars at The Kings Hall Belle Vue.
His recording of Basin Street Blues Wa the first single I ever bought when I was about 13.
I wonder if any ( possibly Bob Lord standers) went to that concert ( gig).

Carport wrote:Pink Floyd Birmingham - Birmingham Hippodrome Dec 1974 First time they played Shine on you crazy diamond before WYWH had even been released!
Queen - 1977 Bingley Hall. Fm just brilliant.

Queen live must have been one HELL of an experience. Never lucky (OR OLD ENOUGH )enough to have had the pleasure.