If ya like ya lists these make for interesting reading. There’s been a new welcome addition to the back office stats from owners WordPress. Previously they’ve counted views from each country with the total to date 422,000.
Now they have drilled down further and added the number of views from what regions and cities where the posts are being read. These are from start date February 2017 – March 2025.
Top 10 countries >>>
UK
USA
Australia
Canada
Spain
Germany
Ireland
France
Netherlands
Italy
This list includes countries with ex pats who I think will add views from countries like Australia and Canada. European countries Germany, Spain, Italy, France etc might include followers of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal – I’ve added many posts including North East bands Fist, Raven, Tygers of Pan Tang etc.
Top 10 regions >>>
England, UK
Scotland, UK
Virginia, USA
Wales, UK
California, USA
Northern Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Limburg, Belgium
Texas, USA
Ontario, Canada
This list is harder to summarise – USA regions Virginia, California and Texas in the top ten are a surprise. I have added a few posts with musicians based in America so maybe that’s it really. I can speculate as much as I like about why people are attracted to the site but honestly, I’m just very grateful that people enjoy reading it.
Top 10 cities >>>
North Shields, England
London, England
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Manchester, England
Edinburgh, Scotland
Washington, USA
New Silksworth, England
Sheffield, England
York, England
Birmingham, England
Few things popped out of that list – New Silksworth is only a small suburb of the city of Sunderland so a big shout out to the Silks whoever you are! Washington, the capital of America, is not to be confused with Washington near Sunderland because when I checked on the list the stars and stripes are next to the name.
Outside the top 10 the next most international cities viewed are Menlo Park in California, USA, Maasmechelen in Belgium, then Lincoln in Nebraska, USA, next is the Australian city of Perth and then Dallas in Texas, USA.
Big thanks to all the readers it’s much appreciated that you check in to the site from wherever in the world you are. New posts have slowed up lately so why not do a quick search on the archive to see who or what is there – you might be surprised – and why not pass the link on to a friend.
If you’ve got a story to add why not get in touch.
The last time I met David was in October 2019 he talked about starting up Impulse Studio in Wallsend and the legendary record label Neat.
David exclusively revealed how the success of North East comedian Bobby Thompson kick started the label which went on to spawn chief headbangers Raven, Venom, Blitzkreig and Tygers of Pan Tang who in turn were a huge influence on American bands Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeath. Read the interview here >>>
We’re in The Customs House, South Shields chatting over a pot of tea and David is in a talkative mood. We talk about North East music and how influential live music show The Tube was, and how it outclassed other music TV. I was lucky to be in the audience of the ground breaking show and being exposed to different genres of music that opened my eyes and ears.
I remember The Tube. I took Venom to the studio they weren’t playing they were there to highlight the type of music they were doing and getting their name out. On that occasion Madonna and Cliff Richards were also on recalls David.
I knew Geoff Wonfor and his wife Andrea who both worked there. I was surprised when it was shut down it was a beautiful studio. Andrea worked on the Lindisfarne film in our recording studio in Wallsend, that was for local news. Unfortunately, a lot of that footage and much more has been lost. Andrea done really well she ended up an executive at Channel Four.
However, my interest in music goes back to when I was 16 year old, a long time ago I’m nearly 80 now. I remember asking a bank manager for a loan to open a recording studio ‘A what?’ he replied. There was a drummer from Howdon came to see me, he looked around ‘Is this yer studio is it. A recording studio in Wallsend? Ya must be f***in’ mad’. That just gave me a push to get on with it.
Councils weren’t interested. Music wasn’t taught much in schools then. We had only one school from Blyth who had enough sense to come down and get the kids to know what it was all about. If you encourage people to find out about things it works on all parts of their life rather than trudging about.
At Impulse I ended up recording every Tom, Dick and Harry in the North East. There was John McCoy and his band. John ran the Kirklevington Country Club near Stockton on the A19. His brother was chef in the restaurant downstairs while bands played upstairs, the club booked in a lot of big acts including Jimi Hendrix.
I have the recording here that I did for them at Impulse in Wallsend, I was 21 we had just started the studio. This must be from 1967 or 68 the time they opened for Jimi Hendrix. They were some band, I tell ya the Real McCoy could really play.
John was a nice bloke, he must be in his 80’s now, he was a really good musician (I’m in touch with John his stories will be added to the site soon). I saw the band at Middlesbrough Town Hall that was always a good gig. I used to go to the Country Club because the food was amazing – charcoal grilled fillet steak in red wine sauce with all the trimmings …beautiful.
We had bands coming to Impulse like The Sect, Half Breed, John Miles – he was brilliant, a class act, a great songwriter, it’s very sad he’s not around now he was such a nice bloke. As a studio it was how basic can you get really but we were all trying to learn new things – that’s how you start.
All the stuff we were working on in the studio was original songs – folk, alternative, punk. We had The Carpettes and Penetration from down Durham way, and from your doorstep in South Shields who else but the Angelic Upstarts! Yes, they were a wild bunch! I didn’t do an LP with them at Neat records it was only the first single ‘Liddle Towers’ and ‘Police Oppression’.
Cover for Angelic Upstarts 7″ single ‘The Murder of Liddle Towers’.
I remember years later they were on Warner Brothers and I got a phone call ‘I need the tracks you did with them to put on an LP, can you mix them and send them to us’. In the archive I had the 16 or 24 track tape they had done so it was possible. ‘When do you need it for‘?‘Tomorrow morning’. I was up all night I couldn’t get the engineer so had to set it all up but got there in the end and they paid the bill for re-mixing.
But thinking back the Upstarts were fine lads I got on with them. I went to see them at the Guildhall in Newcastle and out comes the pigs head with a helmet on which they start kicking around the stage! I could see what they were doing. People like a bit of edge to things I see it now when you watch TV. A band wouldn’t be able to do that now – probably get them locked up.
There was a lot of musicians who really worked at it and built themselves up, there was even my milkman. Well, it was his son Gordon who used to work weekends to collect the money with his brother Phil. Thing was I used to frequent the Peoples’ Theatre in Newcastle’s Haymarket, this was around 1970, ‘71. My friend Andy Hudson talked about a Newcastle Big Band, around 20 of them – there was sax, drummer, trombone all sorts and of course the bass player was Gordon Sumner or Sting as he became.
They played all this American big band stuff there were some professional players in there like Ronnie Pearson the drummer. But sometimes they weren’t taken seriously as there were members who had day jobs or on the dole – it was a real mixed bag. Andy used to lead it and it was really good, the place would get packed out, a good atmosphere.
I used to go on a Sunday and had the idea to record them at Newcastle Playhouse. I took up a portable kit, a Revox quarter inch tape recorder and made a record which we put out, just a few hundred copies pressed. We sold them at the gigs, ironically the bands do things like that now to make money which is the only way for most bands.
Andy had good contacts and one of them was the airline to Holland. He fixed up a gig for the band to play for the Mayor of Amsterdam, it was some kind of twinning town or similar. We all got on the plane with the instruments for a 7.30am flight to Amsterdam it was only a short flight. When we got to the town hall we set up and had a bit practice. The Mayor turned up and we met him and he gave us a few drinks….within an hour we had a good skinful and were bladdered.
The flight back after the show was much later in the day so Andy suggested a walk around town. Not everyone went just the hardcore were left walking around. We eventually ended up in the red light district with its little bars and clubs. There was a few of us so we negotiated a cheaper admission into a live show.
Some lads still had their instruments with them as we sat down to watch the show. A couple got on stage and started doing their act and got well ‘at it’. One of our lads got his trombone out and waited for a certain movement by the act then played a short burst – it didn’t go down well. The lass on stage gave them ‘what fettle’. ‘We are professionals, this is our job’! The lads were thrown out by the manager. You’d have to ask Sting if he was there.
Andy then arranged a visit down to Pau in France near northern Spain. I went with my recording equipment and we took the gear in a transit van down through France. Part of the road was Le Mons race track it was so smooth you couldn’t hear the tyres. In all it took about two days.
We had a member of the band with us in the van and he had an accident in his underwear, so he chucked them into the back of the van. When you went abroad you used to have a carnet which was a document listing everything in the van to make sure you brought everything back. Everything was listed down to the name of the instrument, serial number, colour, value – you had to sit down and type out pages of it. Then apply for it, then get it stamped before you go anywhere.
We get to the border and the customs officer checked the carnet. ‘So, you are a band, open the doors and just step out the van’. We open the back doors the smell hits them. Holding their noses they quickly say ‘Hurry up, close them and be on your way’! Touring at its best.
We then went to Pau municipal casino. It was like a big echo chamber in there, I remember they played ‘Hey Jude’ with everyone singing along to the chorus. That was a good recording, we spliced it with a version from a Newcastle recording, it came out great.
We sorted out digs at the university because hotels would have been expensive for all the band and crew. As we tucked in to our first meal it was ‘What’s this? – it’s a bit tough’. It was cheval – we all had horse steak for the first time.
We crossed the border and travelled to San Sebastian, there was a jazz festival with big names on, Last Exit played in the town square, I don’t think the Big Band played there. I remember Sting played bass in Last Exit and other members of the Big Band were also in Last Exit.
When it was all over, we headed to Bilboa and jumped on the ferry. The crew found out about the band travelling over to England so invited them down to the Pig and Whistle bar in the bowels of the ship.
It was a great atmosphere with jam sessions going on, laughter, food and a few drinks – well more than a few drinks. At the end of the session as we were coming into Portsmouth, I went to the bar to pay but the steward said ‘no, nothing’. I insisted ‘Come on the boss told me to sort it out you’ve been really good, we’ve enjoyed ourselves, how much do we owe?’‘Ok’ he replied ‘One pound’. Wasn’t that a great gesture.
You know it was 2011 when the Borough Theatre in Wallsend where Impulse studio and Neat records were based was eventually demolished, it had been lying empty for years. Looking back, it was a great time but to be honest I just wanted to hoy the keys away. I worked there from 1966 to 2001. The years since then have passed very quickly.
After I sold Neat records I ran a Theatre group which went well until Covid destroyed the numbers involved so we are building it back up again. I kept a lot of the group together through ZOOM. I was also on the local club committee at Cullercoats on the North East coast here.
Now I’m writing short comedy scripts for a podcast. I’m trying to get them on local radio. Problem I have is some of its adult humour you might laugh your socks off but not sure you’ll hear it on the radio.
What else do I do? I’m also on a committee for wine tasting because I like my wine. That’s been going for 40 years. We also like our holidays, we have a few planned this year. We look after our Grandchildren and dogs and take them out to the country each weekend, yes you just get on with things don’t ya. I’ve also been involved with a few compilation CDs with the Cherry Red label, I’ll let you know all about that when we catch up next time.
Big thanks to all the readers of the site with just over 4,000 for January and a total of 418,000 since the first post in February 2017. There was an extra push on social media for ‘The Butchers of Bolingbroke’ (Angelic Upstarts) and the punk band proved as popular now after first posting the interview in 2017.
January readers in UK & USA have contributed most views to the site, however there’s been a spike in numbers from Australia and Sweden after another social media push on ‘Ticket to Ride’ from promoter Julie Clay in 2021 and ‘Light ‘Em Up’ from stagehand & lighting technician Par Can in 2023.
Finishing with a big number crunch from the backroom statistics uncover the largest number of referrers to the site are from Google search then Facebook, with smaller numbers from Twitter, Bing and Yahoo.
Drilling down into the count for daily views reveal a rise from the first year (2017) of 46 to 219 in 2020 and 212 the next year, with a slight drop to 147 in 2024. Average views per day in the first month of this year are at 130.
Well, it’s just about the end of the eighth year of the site, loved every minute of working on it and meeting everyone I’ve interviewed over the years. I look forward to seeing who or what will turn up in 2025. If you’vegot a story to add, just get in touch.
WordPress, who run this publishing site have a statistics page where all the viewing numbers, countries, dates and comments are gathered and crunched. A new addition to the stats is the percentages from what device the site is being read from – currently it’s mobile 63%, desktop 32% and tablet 5%. We are entering nerdsville territory so some people’s eyes will glaze over but stick with it, the stats can bring up some interesting surprises.
I remember back in 2017 posting an interview with former Angelic Upstarts guitarist Mond Cowie and noticing views from the Bahamas – who’da thought punk would invade the tropical paradise!
The site kicked off in February 2017 with first year views of 15,478 quickly rising to 79,850 in 2020 with most people staying at home during the Covid pandemic. It was March of that year that hit the highest monthly views with 9,700.
2021 reached 77,259 with a high of 8,400 in February that year with a small dip back to a total of 51,482 in 2022. This year has experienced a sharp upturn in numbers, so after eight years you can say ‘it’s daein’ canny’. For non Geordies and Mackems that means ‘it’s doing fine thank you very much’.
2024 has hit over 53,000 views with nearly 3,000 this month. December readers from the UK and USA are high with an unexpected spike in numbers from Belgium. So, yep its daein’ canny. All the best for 2025!
I listen to all styles of music it’s been a constant through my life. Even when you’re sad there are tunes that can pick you up. I’ve seen bands like Crass the more abrasive side of punk but I love the power pop as well. I may be a big punk rock fan but also love ABBA… explained Radio Northumberland presenter Keith Newman. We talked about his passion for music and the special moments when you are a teenager blown away watching your first concerts and meeting a band.
Thanks to local historian Steve Elwood for the advert taken from the Evening Chronicle.
It was May 79 and The Dickies were doing a signing session in HMV, Newcastle. Banana Splits was their latest single and they were signing copies. I nicked off school to get there it seemed like everybody else had the same idea cos it was rammed with queues of kids to see the band.
HMV had a big window at the front and with all the pressure of the kids pressed up against it, it smashed into the shop – and me with it.
Police were called, the kids scattered – I never got me autographs. But it was on the telly and my mother saw it and I got knacked. Years later when interviewing Stan Lee from The Dickies I mentioned the HMV incident and he couldn’t believe I was there. We got on great after that.
Actually, the first band I saw was The Dickies at Newcastle Mayfair, most anticipated gig was first time for the Ramones at Newcastle City Hall.
Keith on stage with the Village Idiots.
In 1980 we formed a punk band called The Village Idiots, we rehearsed in a portacabin in Leazes Park, Newcastle. We played three gigs in all, shouting and screaming, we couldn’t play – it was just noize.
Our first gig was on a bill with four other bands playing for the patients in Prudhoe Mental Hospital. Before going on we were interviewed live for Hospital radio. When I told the interviewer the name of the band his face dropped and quickly cut us off. Subsequently we were banned off the radio – a very punk thing to do.
We opened for Total Chaos at The Garage in Newcastle it was a real punk venue. Total Chaos were a proper band and we were on with them – couldn’t believe it! Thing is I remember we were bad but now I get some people saying yeah I was at that gig and The Village Idiots were great. I say no we weren’t. We were crap. Really we were.
It’s a strange thing…three gigs and immortality…we’re down in folklore! There’s even a photograph of us in the book about North East bands Closest Thing to Heaven. After the Idiots I joined a band called Damian – and they could play. Very goth, Iggy Pop – Lou Reed sounding – we also had two female backing singers.
I also run a PR company called Highlights PR and how I got started in radio was through a business contact. Ultra Radio were based in Ashington and I asked to be punk DJ. That went well until the licence ran out so myself and another DJ, Stewart Allen, formed Radio Northumberland 15 years ago.
It’s only on the internet at the minute although plans are to go DAB next year plus we’ve just moved into a new studio in Alnwick. We’re always looking for some sponsorship to help with the costs – anybody out there just get in touch.
The show New Wave with Newman has built up a decent following. It’s live every Monday night where I play Ramones, Undertones, Skids those types of bands. 1979 was my favourite year for music.
The show also showcases a lot of local bands, its great to see their development, Slalom D from Sunderland have done really well after releasing two albums and playing Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.
The show not only gives me the chance to play the music I love but to meet my heroes. The first interview I did was Jake Burns from Stiff Little Fingers, then The Dickies – I even took Stan Lee shopping in Newcastle for a new ipad.
Keith and Marky Ramone.
But the one that got me really nervous was with Marky Ramone. I found he was doing a DJ set in Newcastle. He was so cool and recorded a few spoken intro’s that I used on my show ‘Hi this is Marky Ramone from the Ramones and this is ‘Sheena is a Punk Rocker’. Fantastic.
I first saw them in 1980 at Newcastle City Hall and bought the t-shirt from the gig which I never took off. I remember next day I was going to a corner shop in Forest Hall to get me ma’s tabs – yep we could in those days – and I could see a coach outside. As I got near it pulled away.
I went in the shop and the assistant said ‘eeh see those lads on your t-shirt – they’ve just been in here. They were Americans asking for milk and cookies’. I couldn’t believe it I ran outside but the coach was away up the street.
For years I wondered if it really was them so when I talked to Marky I asked him about it and he told me Johnny Ramone had OCD and after every gig he had to have milk and cookies.
I also interviewed CJ Ramone on zoom and that was interesting how he talked about the legal wranglings about getting a percentage of the merchandise. Another Ramone drummer I talked to was Ritchie, I arranged to meet him before soundcheck and we caught up in an Italian restaurant. He was really nice we chatted for an hour. The kitchen staff and waitress were Ramones fans so they came over – yeah it was great he was really easy going and signed my albums.
Thing is I’ve interviewed Skids, Undertones and Baz Warne from The Stranglers – just loads of these supposed to be nasty punks – when they were all really nice to talk to. Martin Metcalfe from Goodbye Mr McKenzie was the latest. I rate them as a good band.
What does music mean to me? I just love music. I do the radio, I do the Tyne Idols Bus Tour, I do a lot of PR work with bands like Eddie and the Hot Rods and music festivals – that’s me bread and butter. Yes, music has been important in my life not just for relaxation but for work.
It’s also good to see when friendships are formed through the radio show. We have listeners in Scotland, Teesside and Cumbria, and strangely the most popular area is Sunderland. There are listeners now in USA and Canada – probably folk who used to live in the North East.
There are a lot of shows on Radio Northumberland where you hear the authentic Geordie voice which a lot of listeners like. Yes we’re really grateful to the people who tune in.
‘There’s been nationally recognised music scenes in Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Glasgow and Bristol but there hasn’t been one in the North East. So, I thought there’s a story to be told’.
Retired former Nissan worker Ian Fawdon decided to write a book about his passion. ‘Too Far North’ features over 30 interviews with musicians talking about what it means to be a musician from the North East.
‘I started talking to musicians like The Kane Gang and Lindisfarne drummer Ray Laidlaw, they were all fantastic to interview. White Heat frontman Bob Smeaton was a great storyteller and I found the Heavy Metal section really inspiring’.
‘John Gallagher from Raven and John Roach from Mythra were so enthusiastic – after all these years. When I met Robb Weir from Tygers of Pan Tang I took their first single to the interview I bought in 1980 to get autographed. Robb was more shocked than me!’
‘I start off looking at the 60s and The Animals. I talked to people from then, it was a really vibrant scene. Then I look at the folk scene and Lindisfarne, then punk and New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Then the Kitchenware record label and Sunderland bands Field Music and the Futureheads and finish off by bringing it up to date with Nadine Shah’.
‘Did I come across any unexpected stories? When putting this book together good management really stood out it really made a difference. Tom Noble at Tygers of Pan Tang went to MCA and got them a four album deal. Fist got an album deal but didn’t do as well’.
‘I talked to Keith Armstrong, owner of Kitchenware Records a really interesting guy. Until they came along there was only one choice for bands and that was to go to London. Kitchenware thought no, you don’t have to move we can do it up here. That for me was a refreshing attitude’.
‘They had four bands – Prefab Sprout, Kane Gang, Hurrah and Martin Stephenson and the Daintees. Keith got them all really good deals. Kitchenware still managed the bands but were licensed to the major companies’.
‘Prefab Sprout had already recorded a single and were selling them in HMV when Keith heard them. He went to CBS for Prefab and they asked him how much he wanted. ‘£100,000’ he replied. They made a quick phone call to their boss and agreed the price. He said he had ‘no idea where that number came from!’
‘He later went on to Editors and Jake Bugg. Keith could spot talent and he always hoped that each band recognised that he was doing his best for them’.
Lindisfarne at Newcastle City Hall.
‘Further interviews with Keith revealed that around 1982 there wasn’t much happening in Newcastle. ‘There was me and a couple of mates looking to start something. There was Viz, Trent House bar and a club called World Head Quarters. We wanted to put bands on in the town, there was plenty Heavy Metal gigs but nothing else’.
‘We got a few bands from Scotland like Aztec Camera and a few other nights started up. Our favourite band was New Order so we thought of getting them’. They phoned the manager up and he demanded cash on arrival, which they agreed to. Tickets sold quickly so they transferred the gig to Newcastle Mayfair, that sold out and set them up’.
‘The New Order gig money was enough to record singles in a London studio for Hurrah, and Martin Stephenson and the Daintees. One day Keith Armstrong, who was manager at Newcastle HMV, had Martin Stephenson’s Daintees busking outside the shop. But they were getting some grief so Keith asked them to play inside. He liked some of the tunes – that’s where he asked them about going down to London to record’.
‘Just every now and again you get people from the North East who have that drive, that ambition, and Keith was like that. He was just a young lad at the time, in his early 20s and a manager of a record shop’ said Ian.
‘Keith told me that he got hold of Malcom Gerrie who was the top boss at The Tube and said to him ‘you’re not doing much on the North East why not do something on Kitchenware?’ It wasn’t long till a segment on Kitchenware records was broadcast on The Tube. Keith was pushy with enough belief in the North East. He’s still active now and has Soul Kitchen Recordings and gets young talent from the North East to put records out’.
‘If you are looking for a sad story in the book I did an interview where I did feel sorry for those concerned. There is a lot of tales of woe. One of the bands in the punk section were from Durham, called Neon. I really liked them, they were so arty and interesting and played a lot in the North East. One of the famous gigs at the Guildhall in Newcastle was with Angelic Upstarts and Punishment of Luxury where a massive fight broke out’.
‘Punishment got signed by United Artists who were also sniffing around Neon. In an interview Tim Jones (vocals, Neon) told me there was a guy called Martin Rushent (Buzzcocks, Stranglers, Human League). He was a big name producer starting up a new label. He asked Neon to ‘come down to our independent label and we’ll put your single out give you plenty of attention’.
‘They went with them and started touring but the van was breaking down, the PA was knackered, there was just no money. They went to the studio where Martin was recording XTC and told him about the situation, he replied ‘What do you expect me to do about it?’
The band were devastated and not long after split up. Tim was shocked at the treatment and said ‘at first someone gave us the dream, then just dropped us. How could he treat a bunch of 18 year old kids like that? It seems we got picked up then they got bored of us’.
‘You want a funny story? Maybe not comical but the book has a number of incidents that occur around musicians and gigs. This one included top Hollywood film director Spike Lee’.
‘Believe it or not Spike has a brother who is a massive Prefab Sprout fan. A few year ago Spike wanted to develop a fairy tale animation based on the music of Paddy McAloon. Everything was going alright until they met in London and Spike had changed his mind because he had fallen out with his brother’.
‘Hurrah got the gig supporting U2 and found themselves in a big venue in Birmingham where they didn’t understand the scale. Their little curly guitar leads wouldn’t stretch across the huge stage’.
‘They also told me they didn’t play the game. After gigs they didn’t go in the green room to rub shoulders with other bands and music biz people. They’d stay in their dressing room turn the light off and shout at each other while throwing their rider about, which was usually fruit. At one gig The Edge and Larry from U2 opened the door to someone shouting ‘bananas’!’
‘I spoke to Brian Bond and he told me Punishment of Luxury were on a European tour and the last gig was in Holland. The stage manager said why not do something special? So, on their last song Jellyfish he got a bucket of raw fish and threw it at the audience – who threw it straight back all over the guitars and amps. Brian said it was the worst thing he had done on stage he couldn’t believe he had done it and had to apologise to the band’.
Ian adds ‘I wrote the 400 odd page book in a positive fashion, I didn’t include stories about drugs and not everyone’s favourite is in but I favoured the North East bands, always loved them and saw plenty when I was younger’.
‘Too Far North’ on Tyne Bridge Publishing is out now for further information contact >
A wave of steel is planned this autumn as standard bearers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal North East Division, Tygers of Pan Tang, map out a series of live European dates.
They include October – Belgium (4th), Germany (5th) and Netherlands (6th) and November – Barnsley, UK (7th) then crossing the border on Friday 8th to play the Classic Grand in Glasgow with Scotland’s very own granite plated rock band Lyin’ Rampant opening.
Rampant lead vocalist Stewartie Adams is looking forward to the gig…
“It should be a great show we’re all up for it and looking forward to a great night with the Tygers. It’s the first time opening for them.”
“We’re back in the studio in Glasgow to work on some new material to add to our set…so we’ll be ready to rock. We’ve had a much needed break after the Graham Bonnet tour. We made great friends with Graham and his band. They were a joy to work with. It was a blast”.
The legendary Tygers then march back down to Tyneside to celebrate a homecoming return in the seaside town of Whitley Bay on Saturday 9th November 2024. The show is being promoted by the local town council to celebrate over 45 years of the Tygers.
Whitley Bay was the headquarters of the original four Tygers. They had a residence at local club Mingles where they honed the tunes that would make up most of their first album ‘Wild Cat’.
The Tygers most recent album ‘Live Blood’, released on Mighty Music, features songs from across their career including tracks that were first played in Mingles.
Support on the night will come from Shannon Pearl, a North East neo-folk band that was specially chosen by the Tygers.
“I’ve lived in the area for most of my life and being invited to play at the prestigious Whitley Bay Playhouse has long been a dream of mine” guitarist Robb Weir commented.
“I think the current band will really enjoy visiting where it all started. It promises to be one helluva night”.
Wrapping up the autumn dates is a visit to Grimsby (10th) and finally Marseille, France at the South Troopers Festival (16th).
VainGloriousUK are collectively known as Chas Groovy.
“There’s been some amazing music created in the North East which has never received the recognition that it deserved and there is always an emphasis on musicians from the southern end of the country” said Chas.
“Being mostly Hartlepool based we were well aware of bands like The White Negroes – who were immense in Hartlepool in the early 90’s – also Jimmy McKenna and Wendells Parlour”.
In the ‘80s Dave Emerson bought a video camera and started making recordings of local gigs. Dave realised that some of the videos he had might be worth sharing and the VainGloriousUK You Tube Channel was created.
Chas explains “We chose the name VainGloriousUK because all the North East groups went for glory but ultimately for some it was in vain. However, we realised later that the dictionary definition says that vainglorious means someone who is boastful, which is not what we mean at all!”
“We began seeking out, tidying up and uploading historic – and sometimes hysterical – video footage of music associated with the North East”.
Since the early 70’s there had been local TV shows such as The Geordie Scene and Alright Now. Many of these shows still exist in TV archives and bit by bit some interesting videos fell into their lap.
“The VainGloriousUK channel currently has up to 170 videos uploaded and its playlists also link to interesting videos from other sources”.
One of the sources was the late music journalist and broadcaster Ian Penman.
“Ian had undertaken work for Tyne Tees TV and, lucky for us, he kept a personal copy of many of the things he was involved in. It took a bit of arm twisting but eventually Ian let us use some of them”.
“One of these was the appearance of Brian Johnson’s first group Geordie. Recently we learned that our copy appears to be the only one still in existence when we were contacted about it being used in a forthcoming documentary about Brian” said Chas.
The collective had found a hidden treasure trove of recorded music so they created a website companion to the You Tube channel.
“This would enable us to tell the stories of the groups and artists and provide direct links to their specific videos, and most importantly, provide examples of their music to listen to with the opportunity for this to be purchased”.
“CDBaby, Spotify, Soundcloud, all of these companies charge a percentage for their services whereas 100% of any income goes directly to our artists. What we are doing is focusing on a particular geographical area which we passionately believe has been a hot bed of great music, we are doing it for fun – and the odd pat on the back”.
“Most musicians are flattered that we care so much about their music, some are a bit wary about how their historical musical legacy may now be viewed – what you thought was important at 16 is not the same when you are 56!”
Top of the hit list to trace was a band called The Mynd. Eventually contact was made with former keyboard player Billy Surgeoner, who was persuaded to put The Mynd music on to VainGloriousUK.
“Bit by bit that’s how it worked, we learn about an interesting artist, do a bit of homework and sometimes it works out nicely”.
“We would love to find the performance on Tyne Tees TV’s Northern Life programme from early 1977 by Newcastle group Last Exit singing ‘Don’t Give Up Your Day Time Job’ – whose lead singer went on to have a successful career in The Police”.
Early 70’s Newcastle glam/folk group Sandgate have been added to VainGloriousUK, including their appearance on the Geordie Scene.
“With Sandgate there is a great omission. The band comprised of two main line-ups, the first was formed and led by songwriter Fred Wheatley and they made some recordings. Then when Fred left the group the remaining chaps made further recordings which are the ones we have. We would love to locate Fred Wheatley and get our hands on the early Sandgate recordings”.
Vainglorious also have software available that can make a good job of reconstruction and remastering.
“Sandgate had two albums worth of really good recordings, they noticed that our efforts had improved them sonically”.
Songwriter Steve Thompson, who has featured on this site, has had his work uploaded onto VainGloriosuUK leading to Cherry Red Records releasing it.
“Also, partly as a result of our pestering regarding making the music of mid 70’s group FOGG available again, their original record company has re-released their original album plus a second album of their singles”.
“We’re always on the lookout for interesting artists with a body of recordings. We’re open to ideas for future video uploads so if anyone has an interesting video, we would love to hear from them”.
After 500 posts and over 370,000 views, WordPress (who run this blog) have sent their congratulations to the North East culture site after completing its seventh year, aye seven years, can’t believe how quickly time has gone.
From the first post in February 2017, the free site – without any ads, pop ups or clickbait – has gone from strength to strength picking up views not only here in the UK but worldwide, including USA, Japan, Brazil, Sweden, Ireland, Australia and European countries Spain, Italy, France and Germany.
First up were metal bands Fist, Mythra, Raven, Satan, Venom and Tygers of Pan Tang followed by music memories from bands including Beckett, Angelic Upstarts, White Heat, Lindisfarne, Lorraine Crosby, Wildhearts, Dance Class, Kane Gang and Southbound.
Searching the site, you’ll find interviews with authors and photographers, there’s also stories from recording studios Guardian and Impulse.
As well as theatre producer Leah Bell and TV actress Lesley Saint-John, by far the most popular post at 15,000, there are stories from roadies, radio presenters and TV production teams.
During the 2020 covid lockdowns people looked for something new to read so their views added to the regular readers, resulting in monthly numbers of 7,000 with a high of 9,700.
Now the site gets a steady monthly count of 4-5,000, I must say a big thanks to everyone who reads the posts – much appreciated.
How long will it last? Well, the phone’s still ringing and stories keep dropping in my inbox, so I’ll keep gaan until the juice runs out.
First rumble of thunder out of Whitley Bay was way back when their first single was recorded at the legendary Neat records in Wallsend. Now after nearly half a century the NWOBHM flag bearers Tygers of Pan Tang are not ready to throw the towel in just yet as they prepare to unleash a live album.
Vocalist Jack Meille explained“Recording a live album after all this time? I never thought I would experience it but with the Tygers I have learnt that the impossible is possible. ‘Live Blood’ captures all the energy we deliver while playing our favourite songs live and raw!”
Recorded in summer 2023 at The Patriot in Wales, with guitarist Robb Weir, vocalist Jack Meille, drummer Craig Ellis, guitarist Francesco Marras and bass player Huw Holding, the set includes Euthanasia, Love Don’t Stay, Paris By Air and Love Potion No.9 from their first albums plus Edge of the World, Fire on the Horizon and A New Heartbeat from the latest album ‘Bloodlines’.
‘Live Blood’ will be released on April 26th 2024 via Mighty Music. The double LP includes three exclusive bonus tracks, it’s also available on CD and digital formats. Pre-orders and full track listing are available here.
Robb Weir added“Every time we play a show we’re asked when are we going to record a new live album. Our live show adds a new dimension to the old songs and allows us to stretch out a bit on the newer numbers”.
The album will be preceded by two singles – the live favourite Gangland from their legendary album ‘Spellbound’ and Keeping Me Alive from ‘Ambush’.
ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST MUSIC & CULTURE 