Robbie Williams live, in a 2500 capacity club, for less than fifteen quid. Truly, 1997 was a different planet.
All the gigs of my life: Gig 24 – Mansun, Tuesday, October 14, 1997, Astoria
“All I can say is just over an hour ago I TOUCHED PAUL DRAPER!!! Whilst being drenched in champagne! He was just a metre away!!! Oh christ indeed.”
Buckle up, kids. It’s going to be THAT sort of a gig.
All the gigs of my life: Gig 23 – Mansun, Saturday, October 11, 1997, Manchester Academy
October 1997, and my newest obsession were on tour again! And I literally could not wait to see them in London. So I zoomed up to Manchester one Saturday to see them there first.
All the gigs of my life: Gig 22 – Einstürzende Neubauten, Sunday, September 07, 1997, Astoria
What could be more appropriate, at the end of the most surreal week in UK history, than to spend an evening having my mind expanded by people banging on dustbin lids?
All the gigs of my life: Gig 21 – Manic Street Preachers, Saturday, August 23, 1997, Richfield Avenue, Reading (Reading Festival Day 2)
All the gigs of my life: Gig 20 – Suede, Friday, August 22, 1997, Richfield Avenue, Reading (Reading Festival Day 1)
A slightly rocky start to my first ever Reading. When would I ever learn that Moshpits And Me Don’t Mix?
Pet Shop Boys at the Royal Opera House, Wednesday 25th and Saturday 28th of July, 2018
The Pet Shop Boys are where everything begins for me, when it comes to music. I don’t remember the exact date, but it was some time in the middle of 1988 that I borrowed my mum’s cassette of “Actually”, and suddenly, music became the most important thing in the world. So attending two shows at the Royal Opera House in the middle of 2018 felt like the perfect way for me to celebrate 30 years of Pet Shop Boys fandom.
All the gigs of my life: Gig 19 – Placebo, Sunday, August 17, 1997, Hylands Park, Chelmsford (V97 Day 2)
Day two of V97, and my plan was to return to see a couple of my faves: Placebo and headliners the Prodigy. However, things did not quite go as I’d intended, and the day turned out to be something of a Festival Learning Experience.
All the gigs of my life: Gig 18 – Mansun, Saturday, August 16, 1997, Hylands Park, Chelmsford (V97 Day 1)
My third Mansun gig, and my first ever UK festival. This was a special event indeed.
All the gigs of my life: Gig 17 – Suede, Wednesday, June 25, 1997, Ilford Island (“Filmstar” video shoot)
I don’t have a ticket stub for this gig, as this was not a ticketed gig. This was a special invitation from Suede’s fanclub to be a part of the filming of the video for “Filmstar”. And it was a joyously, dementedly wonderful night.
