My one and only Be-Bop gig was september 1976 Colston Hall bristol supported by Burlesque, who were terrible. Still have remnants of the programme which I dismemberd to pin on my bedroom wall. I don't recall the setlist but remember that my favourite Maid In Heaven wasn't played 😪.
I was amazed to see the poster for the 1974 tour in the Axe Victim box set included my home town of Barnstaple in devon, a venue called the Civic which I was totally unaware of. I wasn't a Be-Bop fan at that time as I'd never heard any of their music but if I'd been aware of the Civic I would have been a regular, maybe Bill can confirm if the gig actually happened.
I have to be honest and say that I didn't like the direction of the majority of Drastic Plastic and Bill's solo career either, the new wave didn't excite me at all, but Be-Bop were and have remained my favourite band ever and Bill's guitar playing at that time is unparalleled, the Percy Shelley of the electric six string.
I saw Be Bop in Erie, Pennsylvania around 1976. Just recall the set was too short... Could never understand how they were billed with Kiss and Blue Oyster Cult. Glad I saw them!
too young and not a student so missed Sat Jan 24 1976 University of Strathclyde in Glasgow which i wanted to attend...so had to wait until 26th September 1976 Glasgow Apollo to finally see them..a short run of warm gigs i think before the full tour in 1977 when i saw them again on 4 February 1977. Big memory is Bill's guitar getting a standing ovation when it was placed on a stand in front of the Apollo's famous red velvet curtains before the gig started. !! Saw Be bop one more time 7 February 1978.. (and saw the be bop and beyond years later..)
Unfortunately I was at school when Be Bop toured. When Red Noise hit the road it was a bloody awful winter in 1979 which but a block on my travel plans. However have managed to see Bill a few times since. Definitely fond memories.
Hi Bill. How did you find players to audition for Be Bop. Were you given names? I'm sure you didn't stick a note on the greengrocer's window...but, then again. How did you find Charlie?
We advertised in the 'Melody Maker' newspaper, which, in those days, was a little more musician oriented that it eventually became.
Charlie responded to the advert, (though I think Andy may have been mentioned to me a little later by someone else as he'd been in a band called 'Mother's Pride' in Sheffield when he'd studied at University there.
I'm afraid the finer details have become a little lost in the mists of time, mainly because my career has been so prolific and ongoing since those old '70s days. There's been a tremendous amount of 'water under the bridge' since then you know...😉
I never got to see BeBop, I regret to say.I was too young when they were doing gigs like the Staging Post [which I could get a bus to & played there myself later], too poor during the mid 70s & then too busy playing in my own band by the late 70s.It's a thing I truly regret.
I've had Axe Victim, Futurama & Sunburst since the vinyl was still warm, but never got to actually see them live. I even had a friend at one time who "nearly got Andy Clark's gig".
I've met Bill on a few occasions & we have chatted briefly. He wouldn't ever remember - at best I would be "that mate of D P Crick" [which I hope is sufficiently opaque that only Bill [or DP] would know to whom I am referring.
I did once meet a.k.a. Nick Chatterton-Dew in a pub in Armley, some 20 years later. That was an odd encounter, but a fun night out. I had to dig the album out when I got home to check if it had really been him. I think it was. I did get to see Steve Harley doing a 'retro' tour [late 80s/early 90s maybe?] with his 'original' band, so I did get to see a part of it, in effect.
Interesting that you said you had a friend who "nearly got Andy Clark's gig." In the early '70's, after I'd split the first line up of the band, (after 'Axe Victim,) and put together the classic line up that went on to define the band's career, I recall we did audition one or two keyboard players before settling on Andy for the job. I'm wondering who this friend of your's might have been. Do you recall his name?
Andy came in at a fairly early stage so if your friend auditioned prior to me hiring Andy, he must be quite a bit older than yourself as you mentioned you were a little young in those days. 😉..
Thank you for the reply. Yeah, I would probably have been about 11 when you were playing the Staging Post ;)
This would have been about 1980 or so when the conversation took place. I really don't recall any detail except the vague 'nearly played for BeBop' element of it. The friend was Dave Cass & he was a fair bit older than me, but idk by how much. I originally knew him from the Leeds Music College in the mid-late 70's, he was a student, I was a school-boy part-timer. He later worked in a music shop in Bingley [of all places] where I bought my Rhodes Chroma [which is what nails the year for me] & later did something in instrument hire. I've not seen him in nearly 40 years, now.
btw, did you know Crick's got the old band going again, new album & everything. Gigs are all on hold due to covid, of course. http://www.fiat-lux.co.uk We still manage to get to see each other occasionally, xmas, birthdays etc. though I've been based in London the past 30 years.
With respect to the above interview, I have to say that Simon didn't have any lyric input to my songs. I think Charlie was 'riffing' quite a bit with that statement! 😉
OK, I’m going to be ashamed to admit this, but my very first and only Be Bop Deluxe show? I passed out during it! It was Ram Jam/Be Bop Deluxe/Robin Trower at the Omni in Atlanta (Bill will remember the Peachtree Plaza). I had great floor seats and was already a fan of Sunburst Finish. The girl I was with had given me a couple of pills from her parent’s medicine cabinet and then there was a gram of hash. First thing I remember is Ram Jam and then smoking the hash and then next thing waking up during Robin Trower. Ye gads! Where the hell was Be Bop? Have been kicking myself since and searching my memory banks if any remnant of the Be Bop show exits. Sadly, nothing has surfaced. Insult to injury a friend I met later on told me the show was awesome. At any rate, I confessed this to Bill at Nelsonica 10, which was a make-good long overdue. Probably a lesson to be learned here!
My one and only Be-Bop gig was september 1976 Colston Hall bristol supported by Burlesque, who were terrible. Still have remnants of the programme which I dismemberd to pin on my bedroom wall. I don't recall the setlist but remember that my favourite Maid In Heaven wasn't played 😪.
I was amazed to see the poster for the 1974 tour in the Axe Victim box set included my home town of Barnstaple in devon, a venue called the Civic which I was totally unaware of. I wasn't a Be-Bop fan at that time as I'd never heard any of their music but if I'd been aware of the Civic I would have been a regular, maybe Bill can confirm if the gig actually happened.
I have to be honest and say that I didn't like the direction of the majority of Drastic Plastic and Bill's solo career either, the new wave didn't excite me at all, but Be-Bop were and have remained my favourite band ever and Bill's guitar playing at that time is unparalleled, the Percy Shelley of the electric six string.
I saw Be Bop in Erie, Pennsylvania around 1976. Just recall the set was too short... Could never understand how they were billed with Kiss and Blue Oyster Cult. Glad I saw them!
too young and not a student so missed Sat Jan 24 1976 University of Strathclyde in Glasgow which i wanted to attend...so had to wait until 26th September 1976 Glasgow Apollo to finally see them..a short run of warm gigs i think before the full tour in 1977 when i saw them again on 4 February 1977. Big memory is Bill's guitar getting a standing ovation when it was placed on a stand in front of the Apollo's famous red velvet curtains before the gig started. !! Saw Be bop one more time 7 February 1978.. (and saw the be bop and beyond years later..)
All gigs between 1976 - 78.
Newcastle Mayfair - Sunburst Finish tour. Newcastle City Hall - Modern Music tour. Newcastle City Hall - Live in the Air Age tour.
Newcastle City Hall - Drastic Plastic tour
Sept 1977 - Opening for REO
April 1978 - Patti Smith opened
My homage to Red Noise.
Unfortunately I was at school when Be Bop toured. When Red Noise hit the road it was a bloody awful winter in 1979 which but a block on my travel plans. However have managed to see Bill a few times since. Definitely fond memories.
Hi Bill. How did you find players to audition for Be Bop. Were you given names? I'm sure you didn't stick a note on the greengrocer's window...but, then again. How did you find Charlie?
I never got to see BeBop, I regret to say. I was too young when they were doing gigs like the Staging Post [which I could get a bus to & played there myself later], too poor during the mid 70s & then too busy playing in my own band by the late 70s. It's a thing I truly regret.
I've had Axe Victim, Futurama & Sunburst since the vinyl was still warm, but never got to actually see them live. I even had a friend at one time who "nearly got Andy Clark's gig".
I've met Bill on a few occasions & we have chatted briefly. He wouldn't ever remember - at best I would be "that mate of D P Crick" [which I hope is sufficiently opaque that only Bill [or DP] would know to whom I am referring.
I did once meet a.k.a. Nick Chatterton-Dew in a pub in Armley, some 20 years later. That was an odd encounter, but a fun night out. I had to dig the album out when I got home to check if it had really been him. I think it was. I did get to see Steve Harley doing a 'retro' tour [late 80s/early 90s maybe?] with his 'original' band, so I did get to see a part of it, in effect.
It's from the book in the new Axe Victim set. My partner works for cherry red so have had the privilege of seeing it a little early
Interesting....that's a photograph of the notebook I kept at the time, with the band's bookings and stuff in. Where did you photograph it?
My first Be Bop gig and my first ever gig
Sound International interview with Charlie and Simon from 1978
http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/the-rhythm-section/8788
Just to be clear that wasn’t my first BBD gig.
i wasn’t there for the Sex Pistols either....
Huddersfield Ivanhoe club!
sounds like a happening place😀
Gigs from 1975
Good story, Michael. That must indeed have been a painful thing to have forced yourself to admit on these pages!
OK, I’m going to be ashamed to admit this, but my very first and only Be Bop Deluxe show? I passed out during it! It was Ram Jam/Be Bop Deluxe/Robin Trower at the Omni in Atlanta (Bill will remember the Peachtree Plaza). I had great floor seats and was already a fan of Sunburst Finish. The girl I was with had given me a couple of pills from her parent’s medicine cabinet and then there was a gram of hash. First thing I remember is Ram Jam and then smoking the hash and then next thing waking up during Robin Trower. Ye gads! Where the hell was Be Bop? Have been kicking myself since and searching my memory banks if any remnant of the Be Bop show exits. Sadly, nothing has surfaced. Insult to injury a friend I met later on told me the show was awesome. At any rate, I confessed this to Bill at Nelsonica 10, which was a make-good long overdue. Probably a lesson to be learned here!