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Hi, just come across your website & it brought back so many
memories. My father was chief steward at Liverpool Stadium for about 25 years & as a student I worked there at the rock
concerts & got paid to see all the concerts!! Dad was devastated when it closed. Do you have a higher definition version
of the last night photo? I well remember
Roger Eagle. I was always in awe of him & often wondered what happened to him. Sad to learn he died so young. Kind regards, Malcolm Chester.
I got into conversation with somebody connected with this site
at the Golden Earing concert in London a year or so ago. After the normal I was at this gig etc I mentioned that I thought
you had one missing off the gig list. In the Seventies I went to a Roy Buchanan concert to promote his Second Album but could
not remember the details. Determined to authenticate it I chatted to a friend on a recent trip back home, Hampshire based
now, to try and establish at least the year. We decided it must have been 1973 and then googles Roy Buchanan Tour 1973 and
it came up with a tour advert from The NME and if you enlarge the photo it dates the concert as 10th May 1973. Unfortunately
it does not give any more details than that but I hope that helps with your research. Great memories, did quite a few concerts there. Remember Roxy being booed strongly
and then being pelted with hot dog buns soaked in beer as they sandwiched Nazareth and Rory Gallagher. John Peel came on and
quietly exclaimed that he thought we were a "shower of shits". Queen supporting Mott was a hell of a night, Mott's Rock and
Roll Circus amazing, the Amon Duul Wolf City tour, the place getting wrecked for sabbath. Great site keep up the good work. Terry Lewis
Thanks for the site about the stadium. i went to a lot of gigs
there in the late 60's/early 70's. One in particular I remember was Loudon Wainwright III, around the time he as John Peels'
favourite new artist, I met Loudon in the Cross keys pub where he was having a pint before his show. I don't remember when
this was and I was wondering if you knew, as I am writing a piece about him. I can't find a message board on your site to
leave anything. Either way, thanks a lot, it was a great venue, one of the best and they were great days for music, never
been bettered all the best Adam Morris
Padraig Coleman has good things to say Hi, I have just been drooling over your wonderful Liverpool
Stadium site. I am working on an
article about Roger Eagle and was interested to read CP Lee’s reminiscences. My own memory of helping Roger out at a gig is similar to CP’s.
Like CP my memory for dates is a bit hazy as senility sets in.
I
am pretty sure that the gig I attended with Roger was Traffic supported by Seatrain. Roger gave me a copy of Seatrain’s album for my birthday on 24 October 1971 (I think it was 1971). Your gig
list shows Traffic in May 1971
but says it was cancelled. They definitely played. I remember Chris Wood being out of it and Steve Winwood looking annoyed with him,. I also remember Rebop taking a lustful interest in my friend Lois.
OK mate, my name is Mike Kelly from Bootle. Used to
live about half a mile from the Stadium itself. It was like a second home at times. Then at around
14 I got into bands, etc. so it was great that they appeared at the Stadium. Seen most of the bands
I was into. If memory serves me right the first band I actually seen live at the stadium was Jess Rodens Bronco,
they were the support band but cannot remember the main act. Remember saving up to get their album which i still
have.
Anyway its great to have a site for those who remember the
great days at the stadium. hope to attend one of your get togethers.
Mike Kelly
Keith Lamb sent...and I have other stuff from Keith too
Hi there.
Wow!......just found it......great site.
Me and my school chums/mates tried to get to EVERY gig at the Stadium
in the 70's.
My name is Keith and I lived in Prescot so I knew and went to school
with "Bano" featured in your obituary section. I think I knew Phil Jurek but I think he attended a different school.
Just skimmed the surface of the site but main memories for me are:
Queueing round the block from about 1PM to make sure you got a good
seat.
Listening to the sound check through the fire escape doors.
Buying and under-age bottle of sherry between us from the pub across
the road.
Frank Zappa refusing to do an encore and getting the full force
of the Stadium wrath.
Roxy Music beeing booed off and cans of ale thrown..(I think they
were supporting Queen or Mott.)
That smell once the lights went down. Know what I mean?
Jethro Tull doing "Thick as a Brick" - first time I'd been when
they had to use the whole Stadium.
Hawkwind and Man gigs every few weeks.
The doughnuts.
The Faces kicking loads of footballs out from the stage.
Mott the Hoople's Rock'N'Roll Circus.
I think I still have some badges (we all wore BADGES) and also some
programmes.....I'll have a look.
A Couple from Rita Pike..
I came
upon your site as I aimlessly surfed the web while off work with ear problems (probably due to standing too close to p.a.
systems every week in my mis spent youth) I really enjoyed the photos and nostalgia!!
My
first stadium gig was the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and Yes, but I had to leave to catch the last train before Yes came on.
My favourite
Stadium memory was when I sagged off school to be first in the queue to see Lou Reed, as I was, and still am a
lifelong Velvet Underground fanatic. While I was keeping my lonely vigil outside, the closed doors opened
and the New York Dolls appeared in their gorgeous skinny heroin chic finery. I fell in love with them immediately, but was
too cool to ask for their autographs. Sadly, they didn’t play but I did get to sit in the front row to see fat old leather
clad Lou.
The
list of bands I saw at the Stadium was impressive. In no particular order,my top gigs were – Roxy Music, Sha Na Na (twice),
the Steve Miller Band, the Faces, Zappa and Spider Mike King(!)
I
loved the Saturday afternoon ‘happenings’ for the social scene, the posing, the atmosphere and occasionally the
music. It’s a pity there’s nothing like that now.
Most
Stadium experiences would begin with my friend Margaret and me necking a bottle of Yates’ Aussie White in the Cross
Keys ladies toilets,then we’d make our entrance. Probably because of this, I don’t remember the names of most
of the people we knew from there. I can remember some girls from Prescot, a tall guy with longish red hair called Steve, Derek
and Little Steve from Waterloo and Mickey from Formby. All the rest of the people just merge into a denim, desert booted,
long haired dream.
I
stopped going to the Stadium because I wasn’t a card carrying prog rock loving hippy at heart, (though I will list Quintessence
as a guilty pleasure). When Roger Eagle decamped to Erics, I did too. But that’s another website…
Keep up the good work, all the best, Rita Pike (oblivion51@hotmail.com)
hi craig, would be great if u put my memories on site. using the
stadium as a phd study is really interesting - the whole dynamics of the place were interesting, for instance, in the early
seventies, when there was still at least one male only pub in Liverpool ( i know, i tried to get into it with some mates once)
and single females just didn't go to pubs, concerts etc, i could quite happily trek down to the stadium on my own if none
of my mates could come, and go in and hang out without feeling awkward.
i really think it's a pity there has been nowhere
else like the stadium. i would have loved my kids to have been able to go to a place like that when they were in their early
teens. it had such a sense of community, which i felt, even though i wouldn't claim for one minute to be one of the main movers
and shakers.
i was more involved in the punk scene, and i conributed to the erics book paul whelan and jaki florek are
getting together. i also have a contribution in the Roxy 1976 77 book.
sadly, i've no photos of the stadium, but i think
i've got a couple of copies of the last trumpet and some tickets up in my 'museum' in the attic. if i can find them, i'll
get my son to scan them in to you.
i think you are doing a great job on the website, and i'm telling all my old rocker
friends about it. the stadium was important, and more power to you for keeping the memory going.
all the best, Rita Pike
xx
Got this last year but it was placed in my " Things to do! " pile sorry
Hi,
Just stumbled upon your website, which brought back a lot of memories.
I was a gig promoter at the Stadium for a short time in 1972, under the name of Dragonfly Promotions, renting the place from
the John Moores organisation via Roger Eagle, and noted that you missed out 2 of my gig's.
For the record the Stadium gig's I promoted in 1972 were :
April 27th - Jimi (Hendrix) Plays Berkley (Film) + Gentle Giant
May 10th - Edgar Broughton Band + The Flying Hat Band
May 24th - Lindisfarne + Camel + Khan
June 14th - Rory Gallagher + Roxy Music + Nazareth
Nov 8th - Roxy Music + Supertramp
Interesting side fact was that the original plans14th June gig featured
just Gallagher and Nazareth, until Chrysalis agency called to ask if I had any suitable gig's for their new band, Roxy
Music, at a nominal fee. I knew that Roxy had been signed by EG Management, who had brought King Crimson together, and so
I unhesitatingly knew they were quality and offered them the Rory gig -somewhat surprisingly (with hindsight!) EG/Chrysalis
accepted the offer, for a total fee of £20. The downside of course was that Roxy's image was a million light years from
the denim clad crowd who had arrived to see Rory and Nazareth, and when they appeared on stage after Nazareth and before
Gallagher, the crowd reaction was extremely hostile, only turning during the last number - "Remake-Remodel" - which was
as near to hard rock as Roxy ever came.
I also witnessed a Saturday night gig at the Stadium sometime in May/June
1972
headlined by the original Electric Light Orchestra, including both Roy
Wood on electric cello and Jeff Lynne on guitar, when the total audience attendance was just 160 people, including myself
and girlfriend who had free admittance !!
Another 2 stadium gigs missing from your 1972 list were Mountain (sorry,
can't recall the support band) in January, and the Steve Miller Band / Flash / Mick Softley in late February
- both gig's were promoted by Roger Eagle / Triad.
Good Luck and thanks again for the memory jerker,
Norman Layne
From Alan McCann
Hi
I've just found your site for the first time
on a link and I was amazed at the memories that came flooding back.
I'd forgotten that I'd been to half of those concerts,
I remember there was usually a concert midweek but the big night was Saturday.
The first concert I went to at the Stadium
was Family supported by America in 71' or 72' I was 14 or 15 at the time, from then on I was hooked, all the way through until
the Stadium closed.
We used to get there about 5 O clock on a Saturday and try and get served in the Bixteth Arms
round the corner which we called the Mickey Mouse pub, we eventually got barred when one of the lads a bit worse for wear
after a day on the ale was sick on the one and only table in the place, so we started going to the Cross Keys instead.
Some
of the concerts that stand out to me were Captain Beefheart who we saw in 72' and 73', Lou Reed 73' I think, Groundhogs who
were supported by Gentle Giant and the Hawkwind concert on New Years Eve. The greatest thrill for me was when the band that
I readied for, local band Montana played the Stadium as support act to the Pink Fairies, after Montana had finished their
set the Fairies still hadn't turned up so, just as they were getting ready to go back on the Fairies turned up bladdered and
just jammed for 45 minutes accompanied by loud boos from the crowd.
It was great being able to go behind the scenes
at the Stadium and seeing areas that normally I would have been barred from.
As I rapidly approach my 52nd birthday I still
listen to the same bands that I listened to in the 70's.
The Stadium was a one off with a unique atmosphere that I
have never found at any other concert venue, and it was a very sad day for Liverpool when it closed down.
Best
of Luck
Alan
From "Bazza"
just sobbin' in me bottle of newky brown havin just found your site,the
venue,the atmosphere,the smell,but most of all the antisipation of knowing that you were in for one heck of a feckin' night,i
was a lowly student (i use the term very loosely)so when a gig came up that we all wanted to see we were like rats up a drainpipe
to make our way over the water to what i consider one of the best venues,no frills,what you saw is what you got,a few bevvies
before went in,what was the name of the pub just up the road? remember the package tours,"status quo"supporting"slade" what
a night that was,"thin lizzy"and"suzy quatro",and of course the majical "marc bolan"promoting the"electic warrior "album,"hawkwind","edgar
broughton","uriah heep"the list goes on,sorry to waffle you've probably heard it a thousand times,you just made an old man
very happy and not in the biblical sense,god bless ya and all who sail in her,keep up the good work,but most of all keep on
"ROCKIN".
regards
bazza.
Tom G provides us with this:-
You asked for Stadium recordings. I found this recently which may
interest some, this was the gig where Queen supported Mott the Hoople in '73. I was there and thought they were shite...and
have ever since! Though I remember I was sitting on the right as you looked at the stage and everyone around me sat
staring bemused after each song, whilst those on the left were standing to their feet and going wild, so maybe they were hearing
stuff that we didn't (maybe they fed the 150 guitar overdubs tape into their channel on the PA and not ours!)
Queen
Liverpool,
UK
Stadium
November 17, 1973
Here are the download links :
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zzhtyzutzzj
http://rapidshare.com/files/102965796/liverpool2.zip
From John Ditchfield
Hi Guys
Just heard today about your site,what memories that evoked.You see,i
used to be a steward at the Stadium (as well as an avid concert goer).
I was lucky enough to be working during such great artists as Frank
Zappa,Yes,Black Sabath,The Sweet (yes,they were an unbelievable band),Quo,Nazareth,and so on,and on,and on.
Strangely enough,the reason i was there was because of a guy named
Ronnie Dinwoody who worked at the Main Post office depot in Hatton Garden.
He asked me one day if i had a gang of mates that may be interested
in earning a few bob and get to see their heroes,and of course i did.As it happened,his son also did the same.The interesting
part about that is that his son later went on to form a band called Marseille,with none other than Neil Buchanan of "Art Attack"
fame (the art program on telly).
It seems quite ironic that those days inspired me,and no doubt,many
others to play themselves.I have been playing in various bands ever since including Liverpopols own Professor Longhair,and
still play every Friday at the Cavern Pub in Mathew Street.Funny enough,i only noticed a poster in there last week for a gig
at the Cavern Club by,yes you guessed it,a reformed Marseille.I wonder if Ronnies son is still with them.
Anyway,thanks for listening (and the nostalgia)
Good to get it off my chest after all this time,Most people i talk
to about it think i'm making it up!!!!!!!!!!
Best wishes
John D
Anyone??
Hi there,
I feel that Liverpool Stadium needs a higher profile
on Songkick.com
as it deserves it. I hope that users of your fascinating site share
their knowledge with Songkick.
Some of Songkick is inaccurate but its
heart is in the right place. It also allows users to build up their
own gigography.
I have also written to English Heritage suggesting that they do a
series of books in the style of their Played In
Liverpool/Manchester
etc called Performed In ... with details of venues and theatres etc.
kind regards
Richard
Thanks to Fran McManus ( Just spotted the error ...Fran is a
LADY)
The website is fabulous, it brought it all back, those
happy days and nights including the scent of cereal in the air while queuing on the cobbled street,(where did it come
from ?) queuing on a freezing,sleeting Saturday morning for Deep Purple tickets (and one of our party catching half of
Blackmore's guitar at the gig). First gig was at age 13, Wishbone Ash - 50p (have now seen them 30 times - I'm claiming
a stake in their pension plans).Too many bands to name now, but cherished memories of my youth. Please let me know of any
reunions, travelling from the Wirral is easier these days ! Thanks for the memories, Fran McManus
So it's you Tosh! - Hello! !
I remember you quite well -
I think I was there the day you had the photo taken with Arfa in the photo booth - in fact, I think I may also one of the
other photos taken at the same time with my head in there too!
Do you remember me? Wouldn't be surprised if you didn't
' - you're far more likely to remember Valerie with her big black top hat and autographed afghan! I was older, but quite ordinary
and unexciting as I remember, apart from the time I streaked naked around the Stadium - that sure got me noticed! This I blamed
for my (shortlived) career as a bunny girl in the playboy when I first came to London!
I saw Bano's obit. How
very sad. I'm so sorry you lost such a good friend.
Thanks again
Elaine
Hi there
I have just come across your site.
I was trying to compile a list of gigs that I have ever been to, and thus googled across to your list for the Stadium.
I only ever went there once. 17/11/73
Queen\Mott The Hoople 1.00p . Although this may seem laughable now, Mott were well and truly the headliners. Queen
were good, they had Seven Seas out as a single at the time and Freddy was amazing to a 13 year old boy (whose dad was waiting
in the car outside). But Mott were definitely the stars of the night. My how I idolised them back then.....
..... and when did people stop shouting
'Wally' at the roadies...LOL
Anyway, just thought I'd say hello,
and I appreciated your work.
When I have got my personal list
complete, I will bung it on my own blog
Cheers
Mike
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