Trader Woody's Band Photos of the 80's/90's

Lush - Newcastle University

2006-10-04T21:31:00.000Z

I'm pretty sure this gig was supporting the Darling Buds at Newcastle Uni in the late 80's. At the time they weren't too well known, but I guess they ended up having a whole lot more influence than t' Buds. Pretty damn good for a support band.

Devo - The Forum, London

2006-10-04T21:16:00.000Z

These were taken during the Smooth Noodle Maps album tour. Pretty dire album, but I've always enjoyed the Hardcore Devo side of things. I went both nights, as they were my favourite group in those all-important late teens. I'd been waiting to see them for years, and probably would have tailed them around the UK, but they only played the two nights. Never came back, either. Bummer.....

I've a bunch more from this show - anyone interested?

Frank Sidebottom - Newcastle Riverside

2006-09-26T15:40:00.000Z

It seems extraordinary that this is the best photo I've got of the event, though I do remember the gig being rammed. Someone haned out invites to a 'Frank Sidebottom Party' that was going on later that night in an obscure part of Newcastle. We duly went along, and I recall drunkenly talking to a member of Frank's band who told us that 'Frank's here'. In disguise, no doubt.

Mudhoney - New Cross Venue

2006-09-21T06:18:00.000Z

These were taken at the same tiime as the Hole photos below. If you were wondering why Mark Arm is wearing a dress, well it's Courtney Love's and these were taken during the encores. I don't know how many times I've seen Mudhoney, but the earlier gigs were by far the most chaotic. The first time I saw them at Newcastle Riverside, I seemed to spend 20% of my time on stage, 20% diving off, and the rest of my time trying to get back on stage. The bouncers had a hands off policy those days!

Yello - HMV Shop, London

2006-09-20T06:36:00.000Z

Beastie Boys - Marquee, London

2006-09-20T06:16:00.000Z

This show happened after the Beasties had been off most peoples radar for a while, and so were playing a tiny gig for a band of their previous and future popularity. I think it happened sometime between Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head.....Perhaps around the release of the latter? The crowd was almost 100% B-boys, so they were playing to their hardcore audience. They really put on an energised show, announcing that they were back in business.

Suede - Camden Underworld

2006-09-20T06:05:00.000Z

Melody Maker had just put the relatively unknown Suede on their cover as 'The Best New Band in Britain', or something similarly overblown. So, me and a few hundred others dutifully filed along to the Camden Underworld to find out what all the fuss was about. I apparantly got a place directly under Brett's nose. I thought they were ok, though not really my cup of tea. My abiding memories of the gig being Brett's awful shirt, and inhumanly long arms.

The Swans - Newcastle Riverside

2006-09-20T05:54:00.000Z

A rare moment of calm before the storm. This was the very start of the show, with Michael Gira's guitar playing becoming gradually louder, accompanied by bowel-churning keybourd sounds. This was the last photo I took, as the spectacle took over - Gira writhing around on a carpet. with just the most overwhelming noise behind him. Bass heavy, this was music that was utterly physical, and I spent the rest of the show just trying to keep upright & my dinner in my stomach. I remember looking at the bassist, and trying to psychically plead with him not to hammer his strings so hard.

At the end, nobody made a sound. No whoops, cheers, or claps. We all just filed out amazed to get through the experience. I talked to the DJ afterwards and he said his turntables were vibrating to the extent that he thought they might fly off their spindles, and that was at the back of the room....

Of course, I saw them again about two months later, when they came around again.

Ivan Stang - Church of Subgenius - London

2006-09-19T06:28:00.000Z

This is one of the Church of Subgenius' 'devivals', held in a cavernous hall somewhere in London. (Near the new British Library, if memory serves). You can just about see the 'bleeding head of Arnold Palmer' on the upper photo. That's it being launched in the other photo.

Gallon Drunk - Rough Trade Shop

2006-09-16T13:07:00.000Z

Great Band! I guess this was taken during the early ginger drummer days. I saw them a few times over the years, and they never had a bad gig. I bought a few obscure videos from Mike Delanian, who worked at a place called 'Pysychotronic Videos' in Camden. James Johnston must have lived near me in Stoke Newington as I used to see him wandering along looking knackered & carrying a bag of washing every few weeks.

Transvision Vamp - Show filmed for tv

2006-09-16T12:57:00.000Z

This was a small gig filmed for tv somewhere in London. My memory of the event is very sketchy, but I have a feeling Roachford played as well, and was utterly shite.
Watch out behind you Wendy, some weirdo has just crept on stage..............but seriously, what was I doing up there?

The Didjits - Camden Underworld

2006-09-16T12:48:00.000Z

Man, I used to love the Didjits! The only way to describe them was 'high-octane'. One of those bands that never got picked up on the way they should have done. I remember this show being pretty sparsely attended, but Rick Sims gave it his all anyway. He had the last laugh as a Didjits song appeared on a multi-million-selling album by the Offspring. Killboy Powerhead, if my memory serves me correctly. The Didjits logo has to be the best band logo ever.....

StretchHeads (Stretcheads?)

2006-09-16T12:41:00.000Z

These were a weird bunch from Scotland, making Stump seem normal. I used to have their album 'Five Fingers, Four Thingers, A Thumb, A Facelift and A New Identity', but that vanished along the way. Not the most listenable of albums! It's the singer getting what looks like a head massage here. I recall this gig being pretty chaotic.

Luxuria - Newcastle Riverside

2006-09-16T12:31:00.000Z

Remember Luxuria, Howard Devoto's post-Magazine troupe? They came out with a couple of albums, and were a little too pretentious for my liking. Note book held aloft - Proust, no doubt.

Laibach - The Astoria

2006-09-15T15:58:00.000Z

One of the few times I've been backstage for a party with the band after the show, and it had to be Laibach! The fun never starts! To be fair, they were actually quite friendly, despite me drinking my way through their ales.

Green Day - Pub next to Euston Station (1992?)

2006-09-15T15:49:00.000Z

Who'd have put money on Green Day becoming one of the biggest bands in the world back then?
This shows how big the punk scene was back then - they were pretty well known after a couple of well-received pop-punk albums, but were still playing shitty pubs next to major transport hubs. There really wasn't a backstage area, or much of a stage. Everyone just hung out, checking the bands playing. They were fun, but I didn't think they were anything particularly special. Still don't if the truth be told. Now the Descendents.....that's pop-punk.

Lemonheads - Camden?

2006-09-15T15:22:00.000Z

Being a sucker for punk rock from Boston, the Lemonheads early albums were right up my alley. Melodic, noisy, and with a sense of humour too (as evident in their choice of covers). I saw them whenever they toured, at least in the TAAANG years. I'm not too sure where these photos were taken - possibly Camden Jongleurs (?) That night is etched into my brain because we missed the last train back and spent the night in a freezing doorway, waiting for daybreak. London a 24 hour city? Not at the beginning of the 90's.

Henry Rollins signing at Tower Records

2006-09-15T15:14:00.000Z

I was brought up on Black Flag, so it was a surprise to find Rollins signing records at Tower Records. When it was my turn to get something signed, I told him that I thought it was weird, but he replied that he did it all the time. He signed everything "Ol' Rollins". Friendly guy. Another time outside Tower Records in Picadilly, I bumped into Ice T and his entourage and I let him know how much I enjoyed his (then recent) Body Count album. He said "Peace" & shook my hand.

Stump at the Riverside, Newcastle

2006-09-15T06:20:00.000Z

Stump were one of the more under-rated of the c86 crowd, which was a shame because they were undoubtably one of the most inventive. A firm favourite of John Peel, they quickly became one of my favourites of that era. They seemed to play Newcastle every couple of months at one stage, and I went to see them each time.

These rather over-exposed photos make their singer Mick look like a skinhead, but at the time he sported an extraordinary hand-sized mini-spike/quiff of hair shooting straight upward from the front of his head.

Hole at the Venue, supporting Mudhoney

2006-09-14T21:39:00.000Z

Hole at the Venue, supporting Mudhoney. 1990? This was an extra show tacked onto the end of the Mudhoney/Hole tour. I'd seen them a few weeks before when Courtney smashed her green guitar a couple of feet from my head (she wasn't going for me personally - just seemed pissed off at the way the gig was going), but she seemed a little calmer this time. Mark Arm ended up wearing Courtney's dress during the Mudhoney encore - I've a few photos of their gig too, so I'll post them another day.

2006-09-14T06:37:00.000Z

Tedious copyright notice.
All photos copyright 2006.

Feel free to copy these for personal use. By personal use, I mean, storing them on your own pc or printing them out to stick on your wall. If posting elsewhere - other blogs, etc, please ask permission first. Any commercial use - permission must be sought.

Essentially, I just don't want to get shafted by greedheads.

Welcome to Trader Woody's band photos of the 80's & 90's

2006-09-13T21:21:00.000Z

I was having a look through a pile of old photographs yesterday, and was surprised to see a whole bunch of band photos. A lot of the time I couldn't remember even taking a camera, so they brought back some great memories.

All these were taken before digital cameras existed, on cameras that I usually broke or lost on almost a yearly basis. Every film had to be sent off to be processed, and the cost added up, so I didn't have the luxury of taking dozens of photos to get the right shot. I soon figured out that the best ones were taken close up, and without the luxury of a zoom, that basically meant getting right to the front of the stage. It makes me chuckle to see how many were taken ON stage! (I'm sure I introduced stage-diving to the North East of England).

The photos are taken either in Newcastle, Oxford, or London. I went to University in Newcastle, lived near Oxford, and went into London regularly to see bands. Who I saw where dpended on term times. I missed out on Nirvana playing the Riverside just because it was during the holidays.

While my favourite bands usually made a lot of noise with guitars and came over from the States, I used to see all kinds of stuff, whatever came through town. Sadly most of the time, I was minus a camera, but what photos I have give an idea of the times. Hope you enjoy them.