The Cuda Adventures

Observer Music magazine recently reviewed what they regarded as the ‘best’ music gigs of all time. Sorry guys you missed a few; here are my favourites;

ACDC- Wembley Arena; 19th, October  1982                                                                      

My first ever music gig and without doubt my most memorable and exciting because I was just sooo relieved that after 6 months of hounding my parents relentlessly they let me go with a crowd of school pals, I was 14. Arriving at Wembley Arena I remember the whole atmosphere inside the venue was electric; the state of the audience; greasy mulletts, denim clad bikers and one bowl-headed public school boy walking around in complete awe. When Angus Young, the lead guitarist finally strolled on in his school uniform smiling under the spotlight the impact of the band almost burst my ear drums, it was 2 hours of the greatest rock n’ roll I’d ever seen. The sounds of the drums and rhythm section were just like this giant noise which made my skelton shudder with excitement. Angus, the manic lead guitarist, leapt around the stage headbanging, taunting his guitar and whipping the audience into a frenzy as he played his instrument like his whole life depended on it. I remember looking back at the crowd and seeing 8 thousand heads and mulletts shaking up and down to the sound  of ‘Angus’ ‘Angus’, this was Rock n’ roll utopia. The highlight was when Angus circumvented the whole of the arena on the singer’s shoulders wrestling through the hords of adoring fans and I leapt over and touched the ragged shorts of the guitar maestro as swept by me for one split second looking over… unforgettable night.  

 Angus Young or AC DC rocking Wembley- Oct 1982

Queen at Live Aid; 13th july

It was complete and utter chance that I got a ticket to Live Aid, (thanks Ali) none of us really knew we were witnessing probably the greatest music event of all time and I just happened to be right at the front of the crowd at 6.44 p.m when the mighty Sir frederick Mercury strolled onto the Wembley Stadium stage. Queen had alot to do, U2 had just played a complete blinder and I wasn’t much of a fan to be honest. But for Queen’s performance was the greatest 20 minute stage music show that has ever and will ever be performed, I still watch it on DVD and it is music perfection. Freddie was on fire from the word go. He whipped the crowd into an almighty frenzy, flirting relentlessly with the camera man and hamming it up at every moment. His piercing operatic vocals gyrating around the stadium bowl and everyone sung along to every word. The site of 60 thousand hands clapping will never leave me, we all knew afterwards that we’d witnessed something special.

  Freddie Mercury at Live Aid- the greatest ever 20 mins of rock’n roll?

David Gray; Brixton Academy; Dec 2001

David Gray had just broken through in the UK charts with a song called Babylon although I knew little of his music except my Irish cousins raving about him. I was with a group of about 15 , many Irish friends of my pal Sandra, a really fantastic crowd. There was a weird sense of anticpation in the crowd as he came walked on stage, and it was explosive from the first song  and the crowd sung along to every word he uttered mostly drowning out his own words but it jus tadded to the whole atmosphre. Admittedly I’d drunk alot of pop but there was a magical feeling in the Acamedy that night. He finished with a blistering version of ‘Shine’ I thought my Mother was watching me from heaven.

The Cure; Glastonbury June 1990 My first glastonbury was a feast of laughs, entertainment and craic and this incredibly memorable performance by The Cure. It was weird because the singer didn’t move a single inch throughout but the crowd went completely bananas, me included. I remember half way through the show, Robert Smith the singer stopped the show to airlift a girl out of the front by helicopter who had been crushed in the pogo dancing  madness, you could feel a sullen guilty silence afterwards as the crowd subdued until 2 songs later the singer announced the girl had recovered in hospital and launched into a blistering version of ‘inbetween days’ I was smiling for 2 days afterwards, awsome.

   Robert Smith at Glasto- 1990

George McMichael- The Swan Pub, Stockwell; Feb 1992 George Michael was playing a feted string of shows at Earls Court Stadium, £35 a ticket for the Faith Tour..Me thinks to myself on the Saturday afternoon; ’shall we go see him at Earls Court?. um..no thanks..lets go for some beers instead and see where we end up later’ 3 hours later we are watching South London’s finest impersonator..George Mcmichael, billing himself modestly as ‘the second greatest soul Singer on planet earth’ rocking the dirty, smelly drunken audience at The Swan Pub in Stockwell. Swan door policy;£5 at the door, no trainers (seriously) and leave your weapons with the bouncer..no questions asked. McMichael was the real deal; he had the full Lady Di barnet, the 80’s stubble and all the Wham dance moves..Ok we’d drunken a mighty hat-full of lagers, wine, pop ..you name it, but this felt like it was the real deal! It wasn’t the type of joint you’d take your mother-in law for a cup of tea, it was back-to-basics entertainment. Mcmichael rocked for 2 hours back to back, hits galore.. culminating in a blistering version of the classic ‘Club Tropicana’ and at that moment as I watched McMichael gyrating up on the stage and gasping in the limelight of the devoted audience.. I thought at that moment that there was probably no-one on planet earth having as much fun as us.      

Not a venue to take your mother-in-law for a cuppa 

Gotta a gig that was life affirming? Leave a message below and tell us some more