Concerts I've seen over the years

Since the mid-1980's I've been to many concerts and live appearances, some of them remain clear in the memory, others not so much. None of them are really legendary appearances - no Beatles in the Cavern Club or anything like that. But here's a selection of some that I've seen over the years, in no particular order. More often than not dates and venue names are very vague.

1. Patti Smith, Madrid, 1996

I was on holiday in Madrid when I saw a poster for this concert, which was taking place in a couple of months time. My holiday was only for a few days, but all the same I was so keen to go to the concert that I bought the ticket and decided to come back to Madrid especially for it. It didn't even occur to me that she might be doing some London dates right where I was living at the time. Or maybe I didn't want to take the risk that there wouldn't be any London dates. These were her first concerts for decades, after taking a long time out to raise a family. She'd assembled most of her old band to play with her again, including musicians she'd collaborated with like Tom Verlaine. There was also a surprise guest appearance by Michael Stipe, who came on to duet with her. She had real magnetism and stage presence, a great aura. She sauntered on stage to "Redondo Beach", wearing a hat, looking effortlessly cool. I've since seen her live in London and Tokyo, so she's the only artist I've seen in three different countries.

2. Iggy Pop, Miami, 1999

Again, another concert I went to while on holiday. This time I didn't fly back to Miami a second time to see it though. I was passing by the concert hall and saw that this concert was coming up in a few days (along with Eminem) and decided to go. Great to see another rock icon live.

3. A Flock of Seagulls, Hammersmith Odeon, London 1983 or 84

This was the first concert I ever went to. The band were always ridiculed and completely uncool, they seem to sum up the naff 1980's (the absurd hairstyles) but I liked them at the time and am still quite pleased to be able to mention them as my first live experience. I went with a group of sixth form school friends, taking a bus from a Berkshire into London. I remember I wore an old denim jacket my Dad had and flourescent pink socks, which I thought made me wild and dangerous.

4. The Smiths, Portsmouth Guildhall, 1985

One of many concerts I saw as a student in Portsmouth. This was on their Meat is Murder tour, so I remember lots of abbatoir sound effects for the title song.

5. Take That, Heaven nightclub, London, early 1990's

This was a live P.A. rather than a concert. My friend and I were regulars at Heaven on Saturday nights in the early 1990's, and there would often be a short live appearance by up and coming bands with an album to promote. So we saw Take That one night. They hadn't had a hit single at this stage and were still more or less unknown, so there was no build up or anticipation for their performance. I didn't even take much notice of them when they came on, as they could easily have been the kind of band you heard nothing of ever again. Of course, they're now one of the most successful British pop acts of all time.

6. The Ramones, Astoria, London mid 1990's

I really enjoyed seeing these punk legends, who played against a brick wall backdrop, like the cover of their first album. Loved the way they launched from one song into the next without even waiting for applause, just a quick "1,2,3,4..." By the mid-90's only Joey and Johnny remained from the original line up, but they were like a street gang - if you were lucky you'd be invited into their ranks.

7. Madonna, Wembley Stadium 1990

I've seen Madonna for three consecutive tours, this was the first of them, the Blonde Ambition tour. I went with a friend from work and wore a cut off pair of jeans, cut off so high they were like hot pants, with the pockets protruding out below, and I'd fixed a pendant thing I'd made on one of the belt loops. the support act was "Pump up the Jam" legends Technotronic. The second time I saw her was the Girly Show, also at Wembley, and the third time was for the Drowned World tour which I saw in Paris with a group of friends, which made it a fun weekend away.

8. Kraftwerk, Zepp, Tokyo 2004

I'd also seen Kraftwerk live in the early 90's in London, and they were great so I was glad to get the chance to see them again in Tokyo. The four of them stood in line at the front of the stage behind what looked liked laptops, barely moving. It sounds boring but it was actually captivating, they have really interesting films and visual images on a backdrop illustrating each song. But even with all the visuals there's something fascinating about seeing them just standing there, like scientists at work in a lab.

9. X Ray Sex, Roundhouse, London 2008

X Ray Spex had always been one of my favourite punk bands, Poly Styrene was such a colourful and intriguing character. As they'd more or less split up after one album in the late 70's I didn't think I'd ever get to see them live, so I was delighted when they reformed for a one off show for the 30th anniversary of their classic Germ Free Adolescents album. I was very sad to hear she died of cancer recently, so I'm grateful I got the chance to see them when I could. Hopefully she enjoyed it too and realised how well loved her and her music is.

10. Summer Sonic Festival, Chiba Japan 2003

This was a two day festival I went to with a couple of friends in my first summer in Japan. Actually, when we went we weren't planning to stay the two days, and so had an uncomfortable night of (no) sleep lying on flattened cardboard boxes in a cold air-conditioned hall. But the festival had a great line-up; Radiohead, The Strokes, Blur, Kings of Leon, Interpol and others. I've never been there since, and I've never thought the line-up was as good as it was that year.

11. Manic Street Preachers, Astoria, London 1992

My friend and me really got into the first Manics album, and particularly loved the style of the guitarist Richey Edwards. At this concert my friend was wearing a leopard print coat with no shirt underneath, and a couple fo girls at the concert started talking to us and one of them wrote "fuck me Richey" on my friend's chest in lipstick. Also during the concert a shirtless James Dean Bradfield leapt into the crowd, landing right on top of my friend and me.

12. Divine, Ritzy nightclub, Portsmouth, around 1985-86

This was a live appearance rather than a proper concert. In fact, I'm sure it would all have been mimed. I actually worked part-time in this club while I was at university. It was a rough place. Fights would frequently break out and bouncers would be leaping over the seats to break up the fights and throw people out. Girls dancing round handbags. The last song was always a slow number so guys could grab whatever girl they'd picked up for the night. For some reason I remember one of the slow songs; "Why Can't I Wake Up With You?" by Janet Jackson. Not that any of this has anything to do with Divine, of course.