I’ve seen over 170 bands at 120+ concerts since my first gig in 1986. Favourites? It’s hard to pick just one, but a few which stick out are:
- Dio (1986) because it was my first big concert
- Motorhead (1991)
- Rush (2002)
- Bjork (2003)
- Deep Purple & Thin Lizzy (Massey Hall, 2004)
- The Musical Box (2004)
- Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts (Sugar House, 1987) was a fun show – it ended with Dumpy riding a motorbike on to the main floor, doing doughnuts and then riding off through the emergency exit
- Kiss (2000) was an OK concert but it was the day Kerri & I got engaged.
*** I take it back – it is easy for me to pick a favourite now – it’s the Marillion Weekend in Montreal, April 2011 – I even wrote about it!
Gigs – past, present and future
Date | Headline act | Venue | Support act(s) |
---|---|---|---|
13/02/1986 | Pallas | SugarHouse | (none) |
10/05/1986 | Dio | Queens Hall, Leeds | Keel |
23/05/1986 | Pallas | King George’s Hall, Blackburn | Militia, Cobra |
14/09/1986 | Chris de Burgh | NEC | ? |
06/10/1986 | Magnum | Guildhall, Preston | FM |
22/11/1986 | Cobra | Yorkshire House | – |
28/11/1986 | Gary Glitter | Great Hall, Lancaster University | – |
29/01/1987 | Blitzkrieg Zone 20/20 | SugarHouse | – |
30/01/1987 | Cobra | Georgian Club, Lancaster | – |
31/01/1987 | Metal Heart | Yorkshire House | – |
06/02/1987 | Rough Edge | Yorkshire House | – |
15/02/1987 | Metal Heart | Flying Dutchman ph, Lancaster | – |
01/03/1987 | Raw Deal | Furness JCR | – |
06/03/1987 | Magnum | St.Georges Hall, Bradford | Heavy Pettin’ |
07/03/1987 | Deep Purple | NEC | Bad Company |
13/03/1987 | Raw Deal | SugarHouse | – |
14/03/1987 | Raw Deal | Yorkshire House | – |
07/05/1987 | Wedding Present | SugarHouse | – |
16/05/1987 | Raw Deal | Yorkshire House | – |
21/05/1987 | Blyth Power | SugarHouse | – |
04/06/1987 | Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts | SugarHouse | – |
22/08/1987 | Bon Jovi | Donington | Cinderella, WASP, Anthrax, Metallica, Dio |
28/08/1987 | The Mission | Reading Rock Festival (day 1/3) | The Babysitters, All About Eve, The Godfathers, Fields of the Nephilim, Icicle Works, The Fall |
29/08/1987 | Status Quo | Reading Rock Festival (day 2/3) | Quireboys, Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts, Shy, Glory, Terraplane, MGM, Lee Aaron, Georgia Satellites, Bad News, Magnum |
30/08/1987 | Alice Cooper | Reading Rock Festival (day 3/3) | Chariot, Kooga, Virginia Wolf, Vow Wow, Gypsy Queen, Lizzy Borden, The Enid, FM, The Bolshoi, Zodiac Mindwarp, The Stranglers |
11/10/1987 | Raw Deal | Furness JCR | – |
22/10/1987 | Tygers of Pan Tang | SugarHouse | – |
25/10/1987 | The Damned | Great Hall, Lancaster University | The Crows |
02/12/1987 | Dio | NEC | Warlock |
22/12/1987 | Marillion | NEC | It Bites |
03/01/1988 | Whitesnake | NEC | MSG (McAuley Schenker Group) |
03/03/1988 | Heart | NEC | The Jitters |
18/04/1988 | Def Leppard | NEC | Loverboy |
16/06/1988 | Pallas | Georgian Rooms, Lancaster | – |
27/06/1988 | INXS | NEC | Big Pig |
15/11/1988 | David Lee Roth | Wembley Arena | – |
12/03/1989 | Gary Moore | Wembley Arena | (Victory, except they cancelled) |
01/04/1989 | Europe | Hammy Odeon | Dare |
19/08/1989 | Bon Jovi | Milton Keynes Bowl | Skid Row, Vixen, Europe |
29/10/1989 | Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe | Wembley Arena | – |
26/11/1989 | Aerosmith | Wembley Arena | – |
10/12/1989 | Alice Cooper | Wembley Arena | Britny Fox, Great White |
11/05/1990 | Heart | Wembley Arena | – |
12/05/1990 | Midnight Oil | Wembley Arena | – |
30/06/1990 | Pink Floyd | Knebworth – Silver Clef Award Winners Concert | Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Dire Straits, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Genesis, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Status Quo, Tears for Fears |
18/08/1990 | Whitesnake | Donington | Thunder, Quireboys, Poison, Aerosmith |
05/09/1990 | Black Sabbath | Cambridge Corn Exchange | – |
16/09/1990 | Magnum | Wembley Arena | – |
16/12/1990 | Status Quo | Wembley Arena | Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts |
20/01/1991 | Ozzy Osbourne | Wembley Arena | Thunder |
19/02/1991 | Motorhead | Hammy Odeon | The Almighty |
14/03/1991 | Deep Purple | Hammersmith Odeon | Vixen |
16/04/1991 | AC/DC | Wembley Arena | – |
30/06/1991 | Yes | Wembley Arena | – |
06/07/1991 | ZZ Top | Milton Keynes Bowl | Little Angels, Thunder, Bryan Adams |
11/02/1992 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Town & Country Club | – |
24/02/1992 | Eric Clapton | Royal Albert Hall | Clive Griffin |
27/06/1992 | Def Leppard | Earls Court, Olympia | Gun |
18/07/1992 | Bryan Adams | Wembley Stadium | Little Angels, Squeeze, Extreme |
24/07/1992 | Mr. Meana | Plinston Hall, Letchworth | From The Dark |
02/08/1992 | Genesis | Knebworth | Lisa Stansfield, Saw Doctors |
22/08/1992 | Iron Maiden | Donington | The Almighty, WASP, Slayer, Thunder, Skid Row |
04/10/1992 | Gary Moore | Royal Albert Hall | – |
13/12/1992 | Apollyon | Baldock F.C. | From The Dark |
20/12/1992 | Status Quo | Wembley Arena | – |
08/01/1993 | From The Dark | Plinston Hall, Letchworth | Apollyon |
09/04/1993 | From The Dark | Plinston Hall, Letchworth | The Lords |
17/05/1993 | Iron Maiden | Wembley Arena | The Almighty |
22/05/1993 | Bruce Springsteen | Milton Keynes Bowl | – |
13/02/1994 | The Egg and Bacon Band | The Man In The Moon ph, Stevenage | – |
24/02/1994 | The Uninvited | Red Lion ph, Stevenage | – |
13/04/1994 | Black Sabbath | Hammersmith Apollo | Cathedral, Godspeed |
04/05/1994 | Catch 22 | Red Lion ph, Stevenage | – |
09/06/1994 | Mr. Rainmaker | Red Lion ph, Stevenage | – |
17/06/1994 | Hard To Cure (?) | Hitchin Football Club | Devious |
23/06/1994 | Rickshaw AKA | Red Lion ph, Stevenage | – |
07/07/1994 | Turn The Page | Red Lion ph, Stevenage | – |
01/10/1994 | Purple Turtle | Yorkshire Grey ph, Stevenage | – |
20/06/1995 | Corduroy | Agincourt, Camberley | The Hairy Things (!) |
16/02/1996 | Deep Purple | Rivermead, Reading | Pan Ram |
21/06/1996 | AC/DC | Wembley Arena | – |
29/06/1996 | Eric Clapton | Hyde Park | Alanis Morissette, Bob Dylan, Pete Townsend’s “Quadrophenia” |
14/12/1996 | Status Quo | Wembley Arena | Steeleye Span |
18/05/1997 | The Who | Wembley | – |
25/10/1997 | Motorhead | Brixton Academy | – |
29/10/1997 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Royal Albert Hall | – |
22/11/1997 | John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers | Shepherds Bush Empire | – |
27/02/1998 | Genesis | Earls Court | – |
07/05/1999 | Think Floyd | (?) | (none) |
23/06/2000 | Kiss | Air Canada Centre | Skid Row, Ted Nugent |
|
|||
18/03/2001 | Jeff Beck | Massey Hall | – |
26/05/2001 | Raoul & The Big Time | Steam Whistle Brewery | – |
01/06/2001 | J.Englishman | (Windsor) | – |
19/06/2001 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Molson Amphitheatre | Ted Nugent, Deep Purple |
05/07/2001 | Styx | Molson Amphitheatre | Joe Stark, Billy Squier, Bad Company |
07/07/2001 | Raoul & The Big Time | (?) | – |
24/07/2001 | Black Sabbath | OzzFest @ The Docks | Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society. Crazy Town, Disturbed, Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson |
28/09/2001 | The Arrogant Worms | Hugh’s Room | Wendell Ferguson |
30/11/2001 | April Wine | Kool Hous | Blue Oyster Cult |
05/06/2002 | Big Rude Jake | The Horseshoe | (none) |
27/04/2002 | Motorhead | The Docks | – |
06/07/2002 | Long John Baldry | Harbourfront | (none) |
17/07/2002 | Rush | Molson Amphitheatre | (none) |
16/08/2002 | Zeppelinesque | Healey’s | (none) |
17/08/2002 | (various Thin Lizzy cover bands) | Healey’s | – |
22/08/2002 | Jethro Tull | Molson Amphitheatre | Saga |
21/12/2002 | The Arrogant Worms | Hugh’s Room | (none) |
05/03/2003 | Status Quo | Club 279 (Hard Rock Cafe) | The Trews |
11/04/2003 | Zeppelinesque | Healey’s | (none) |
05/06/2003 | Blessed Blond | Bistro 333 | (none) |
05/07/2003 | The Trews | Celebrate Toronto | – |
30/07/2003 | Rolling Stones | Downsview Park (“Molson Rocks For Toronto”, a.k.a. “SARSstock”, a.k.a. SARSapalooza”!) |
AC/DC; Rush; The Guess Who; Justin Timberlake; Blue Rodeo; The Tea Party; Sam Roberts; The Flaming Lips; Kathleen Edwards; The Isley Brothers; Sass Jordan; La Chicane; Jim Belushi & Dan Aykroyd & Have Love Will Travel Revue |
03/08/2003 | Iron Maiden | Molson Amphitheatre | Dio, Motorhead |
12/08/2003 | Def Leppard | Molson Amphitheatre | Ricky Warwick |
|
Bjork | Centre Island | Bonnie Prince Billy |
09/10/2003 | Eric Idle | Massey Hall | ? |
10/10/2003 | Buffy Sainte-Marie | Massey Hall | ? |
31/01/2004 | The Trews | Horseshoe Tavern | Rebel Emergency; Bedouin Soundclash |
26/02/2004 | Deep Purple | Massey Hall | Thin Lizzy |
27/03/2004 | “The Musical Box” (Genesis cover band) recreating “Selling England By The Pound” | The Danforth Music Hall | (none) |
22/07/2004 | Alice Cooper | Molson Amphitheatre | Edgar Winter Band & Foghat |
18/08/2004 | Judas Priest | Molson Amphitheatre | Slayer |
21/08/2004 | Deep Purple | Molson Amphitheatre | Thin Lizzy & Joe Satriani |
18/11/2004 | April Wine | Hard Rock Cafe | Carl Dixon |
18/03/05 | Thunderstruck | Opera House | (AC/DC tribute band) |
16/06/05 | Marillion Live and Acoustic Trio (Los Trios Marillos = h, Rothers & Pete) | Mod Club | ? |
03/08/05 | Iron Maiden | Molson Amphitheatre | Mastodon |
15/08/05 | Def Leppard | Molson Amphitheatre | The Tea Party |
04/10/05 | Jethro Tull | Massey Hall | Lucia Micarelli |
03/12/05 | The Musical Box | Massey Hall | performing The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway |
28/06/06 | Spamalot | Canon Theatre | (Not a concert, I know, but a fun night nonetheless) |
16/10/06 | Iron Maiden | Air Canada Centre | Bullet For My Valentine |
03/04/09 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Sun Domingo |
04/04/09 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | The Wishing Tree; Sun Domingo |
05/04/09 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | John Wesley |
08/04/11 | Sun Domingo | Brutopia, Montréal | Tempus Fugit |
08/04/11 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Pete & Robin; John Wesley |
09/04/11 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Jason Hart |
10/04/11 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | The Free Press |
20/06/12 | Marillion | The Opera House, Toronto | Sun Domingo |
22/03/13 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Mystery |
23/03/13 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Jacob Moon |
24/03/13 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Sound Of Contact |
24/04/15 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Scripted; Kings; |
25/04/15 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Lo-Fi Resistance |
26/04/15 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | David Barrett Trio |
31/10/16 | Marillion | Danforth Music Hall, Toronto | John Wesley |
17/05/19 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | District 97 |
18/05/19 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | Jenny Rothery and Riccardo Romano |
19/05/19 | Marillion | Théâtre L’Olympia, Montréal | “An Audience With Marillion” |
04/09/20 | Marillion | Couch Convention | – |
05/09/20 | Marillion | Couch Convention | – |
06/09/20 | Marillion | Couch Convention | – |
|
|||
July 2022 | Marillion Weekend | TBC | Montréal |
– | – | – | – |
Missing?
I’m sure there are other bands that I’ve seen which don’t appear on this list, such as
- Page & Plant
- Derek Miller (at the benefit concert where I also saw Buffy Sainte-Marie)
- Tangible Fruit Squad
- Voivod
I also saw The Spice Girls and Jamiroquai at the launch of the McLaren (Formula One) car, but I can’t remember the date. (I think it was 13 Feb 1997)
Other bands I’d like to see (if I could turn back time)
- Fleetwood Mac … but the Peter Green incarnation (not Stevie Nicks)
- Led Zeppelin (although I have seen Page & Plant)
- Queensryche
- Rainbow (there’s no official band site, and Richie Blackmore is doing other stuff these days)
- Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Toyah
- Triumph
What have I been listening to recently?
Unfortunately last.fm no longer supports the charts which I used to include here, so if you want to see what I’ve been listening to you’ll have to go to my last.fm profile page.