NORTH EAST MUSIC

LIGHT ‘EM UP with former Lighting Tech & Stagehand Par Can 2/2

/ Alikivi

Part two of the interview with Lighting Tech & Stagehand Par Can. Any other venues you worked at stand out?

Madison Square Gardens – oh Lord above. I did the arena upstairs and downstairs was the Felt Forum. Both times the New York State Circus had cages in the building where they kept animals when they weren’t on the road. The smell…you could imagine!

The Manchester Belle Vue had a similar animal circus thing, I saw Peter Frampton and Parliament there and you got this faint whiff of dung. Like the person in front having really bad B.O.

Wembley Arena was easy enough to get in and out off but back in the day it had a reputation for rubber rigging. I remember putting Queen in there in 1980.

When the ‘fly swat’ lighting pods with follow spots went up and down they weren’t smooth like they should be, they bounced…up, up, up. Same when they came down…boing, boing, boing. Yeah that was rubber rigging.

Philadelphia Spectrum was bad, a lot of iconic venues you read about as a kid it’s disheartening when you find they are horrible places. It was always known as the RECTUM !

There was an arena that The Tubes were doing, might have been Minneapolis? No it was Duluth. Next door was a car museum and next to that was a freezer plant because the place was also an ice rink.

Now they used ammonia to pump under the ice rink to freeze it, it was a whole complex – America is all bigger and better apparently!

After the gig during load out warning lights started flashing, horns started screaming. Next thing everyone’s choking there had been an ammonia leak “Everybody out”.

Fire brigade made it safe but your eyes were burning, you’re choking, felt as if you were gonna throw up from your feet. Not gonna forget that one in a hurry.

Newcastle City Hall

I started at Newcastle City Hall in October 1977 and it was all the older guys who’d been there a while. Then slowly but surely, the Sheelz (South Shields) Mafia landed – Dave Ainsley, Dave Linney, Ian Rylance, Gary Lilley, Alan Armstrong and Kev Charlton who once tried on Phil Lynott’s leather pants and he couldn’t get them past his thighs.

Kev was thin himself in those days. We were rolling around in hysterics it was so funny. It showed how skinny Phil Lynott was.

Colin Rowell was the manager and it was rare for him to just leave us overnight to crack on with stuff – but he knew we’d get up to no good. Rush in 1979 comes to mind.

There was a big plastic bin full of ice cubes lying around so we took it up through the roof into the rigging points which looks onto the stage.

One of the lads was looking for us, Dave Ainsley, he was walking across Rush’s stage which was covered in a lovely white shag pile carpet, he shouted “Where are you” as the ice cubes went flying down on him… never thinking ice cubes from 45 feet up could have knocked out… or worse !

When Thin Lizzy played the City Hall me and Kev Charlton ‘acquired’ some pyro and at 6am went up in the old empty projection room on the roof.

We set alight to the pyro, a white mushroom cloud went up and started drifting towards John Dobson street. We ran downstairs when there was a bang on the stage door.

“Morning officer” we said “Never heard nothing we’ve just been asleep”. Somehow we got away with that one.

Another night Mr Plod visited again about 2am “What’s going on in there?” We’d been on the stage and turned on the City Hall organ thinking we were playing Phantom of the Opera.

Looking down on the stage from the balcony to the ‘Biggest production in the City Hall’ Van Halen 17 June 1980.

One night we found a small tunnel on the side wall panels near the seats. We all crawled along on our hands and knees to see where it went. We ended up in next door’s building – the City Baths.

So obviously we got our kit off and swam about – well what else would ya’ do?  Unfortunately we must have triggered an alarm so we scurried back to the hall with our clothes under our arms!

The tunnel led to a number of turning points and they went on for a fair distance, some were blocked off by a fence. I’m sure they led all over the city. Once we ended up at a fenced off exit all the way in the Ouseburn Valley !  Took almost an hour to crawl each way !!

Back then it was great, so much fun. Nowadays after spending hours putting them together they don’t let the crews watch the show.

We didn’t do it because we were Meccano freaks, we did it because we were hanging around with the gear, the musicians, to see bands we would never dream of paying to see – Weather Report at Newcastle City Hall was one such band.

Me and Kev Charlton were sitting on the drum riser before soundcheck, Jaco Pastorius came in and sat at the drums. Thwack, thwack, leading with the left, leading with the right, giving it six nowt. We were astounded.

Then he gets up and another guy comes in on drums, believe it was Pete Henderson. Then Jaco Pastorius picks up a fretless bass and starts playing. The sounds they created were amazing. Kev and I were mesmerised.

We did follow spots for the comedian Billy Connolly and one joke had me and Kev laughing so much that we couldn’t keep the follow spot steady. Billy said “Geordies, pissed again”! The whole audience turned to look up at us.

What impact did the road have on your life today?

Until 1990 I never saw that career ending, I came back to the UK got married and had a beautiful daughter. But touring for months at a time isn’t compatible to a home life. So eventually got my hair cut and got a proper job – boy have I regretted that ever since.

How did it affect my life? It got me around a lot of the world several times, lived in America, and to this day I’ve still got an amazing amount of friends I met and worked with because of that time.  Some of them, not many, are still on the road today.

Alikivi    August 2023.

Link to 2017 interview –

BACKLINE – interview with former Stage Hand and Lighting Designer PAR CAN | ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST CULTURE (garyalikivi.com)

LIGHT ‘EM UP with former Stagehand & Lighting Tech, Par Can 1/2

/ Alikivi

For music concerts staged in small clubs or huge enormodomes a crew have to load the gear in, set it up, operate it during the show, break it down and load it all back out again then onto the next venue. And if you’re on tour, repeat that for days, weeks or months.

Newcastle born Par Can was a former stagehand at Newcastle City Hall, on The Tubes touring crew, worked for Bette Midler, Queen, The Cure, and American rock giants Van Halen with ‘the largest production ever in the City Hall’.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the show with Par Can who looks back at his time on the crew.

I guess like every local Geordie kid in the seventies I was football obsessed. Then I heard Alice Cooper’s Caught in a Dream, I’m Eighteen and other tracks from Love it to Death.

Then I started buying music paper Sounds every Wednesday, that’s where I first saw pictures of Alice Cooper – wow what the hell is this?

The Kard Bar in town sold hippie oil, pop and rock posters. With my friends we used to go on Saturday and spend our pocket money.

My parents were fine with my bedroom being covered in Alice Cooper posters, including the ceiling. It was when I put up a picture of the New York Dolls that they got worried!

I can’t say music means everything these days – but it did back then. I used to hang around the stage door at Newcastle City Hall and one day, it was a Mott the Hoople gig, helped a roadie with a piano (interview with Par Can 20 Nov 2017 link below).

I got more involved in music and hanging around the City Hall, so my mother had a word with City Hall Manager Bob Brown.

Then one day in October 1977 I turned up at 9am to work. My first ever stage crew gig paid me £7. The band on that night were Wishbone Ash. Next day was Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet band.

I blagged my way into working for a lighting company in London run by The Tubes manager, after that I ended up following the band on their first ever UK tour.

Newcastle City Hall

Did any venues stand out when on tour around the UK & USA?

Newcastle City Hall is always gonna be the venue it’s where I saw every band I wanted to see growing up, except Led Zeppelin.

But I suppose the only thing that stops Newcastle being the venue is the loading in and out. It was bad back when we did it. It isn’t much better now they have extended the stage door. Why someone doesn’t make that whole load in/out more efficient is beyond me.

There is a beautiful theatre in America, the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, to me that was like the City Hall. The only problem with that one is that the trucks had to reverse down an alley to get to the front door.

If you can imagine two blocks of buildings with the Orpheum literally being the sort of stop gap at the end of the alley. It wasn’t wide enough for two trucks so you had to reverse one at a time.

To load in you had to go through the front doors, through the foyer, turn left into the theatre and then down the space between the seats and onto a ramp leading to the stage. A bad one to load in and a pain in the arse to load out at midnight.

However, it will always be one of my absolute fave halls, ALWAYS a great atmosphere… just like the old lady or even the old Glasgow Apollo.

Par Can on stage at the Glasgow Apollo.

Edinburgh Odeon when that was still open was a lovely place. Trucks loaded in across a backyard then straight onto the stage.

The ceiling of the Odeon was studded with little bits of mirror that looked like star constellations and it had recesses in the walls with statues – a really beautiful theatre. Only 1800 capacity and perfect for The Tubes.

It had a stage door phone which was a direct line to the pub opposite; The Bucleuch Arms.  You would send your order and 10 minutes later, barmaids would be carrying trays of drinks to the stage door.

Birmingham Odeon was a good one although the trucks had to reverse down a sloping alley, not ideal but the theatre itself was fabulous.

Load in was through a door onto quite a big stage. Around 2500 capacity, but another one they went and shut down.

Manchester Apollo was an easy load in load out, didn’t much care for that place, although it was right next door to a lovely pub called The Apsley Cottage.

The Tubes did a series of smaller shows towards the end of ‘81 and one of them was called Uncle Sams in Nantasket Beach in Hull Massachusettes.

The two trucks were parked back to back in front of this three storeyed cube building, the bus was on the opposite side of the street.

We got out the bus went through the doors and oh my God it was like the stairway to nowhere !  It seemed to go on and on. Every piece of gear had to go up this concrete staircase of around 100-150 steps.

The show finishes 11pm you’re tired after a long day and you’ve got to load the gear out – how the hell nobody fell down those stairs carrying amp racks and the sound desk.

Glad I was a lampie – although that was bad enough. There are lots of venues that are horrible but that Uncle Sams has got to be the worst… on second thoughts, Mr C’s Rock Palace in Lowell MA was a REAL toilet… urgh !!

One of the best was the Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, it was directly opposite the Winterland Ballroom. The joy was it had a revolving stage.

The Tubes did two shows there in September ‘83, MTV filmed both nights. You can watch it on You Tube. You catch me when I had my long blonde hair then, wandering along the stage. Near the intro a phone rings and manager Chopper Borges shouts out “Par Can”! “What” I reply in Geordie.

The revolving stage was perfect for The Tubes. They would be on stage with backs towards the audience, combing hair putting on make-up, then Kenny Ortega the choreographer would shout ‘showtime, showtime’ and the band would line up in their business suits.

The stage would revolve and there is all the gear, as they walked onto the static lip at the front of the stage. What an amazing start to the show…any show!

At the end the stage would revolve and you would see the band starting to get undressed and a curtain would pull across the entire front of the stage. Marvellous.

Read part two packed with more stories from Par Can.

Alikivi    September 2023.

Link to 2017 post –

BACKLINE – interview with former Stage Hand and Lighting Designer PAR CAN | ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST CULTURE (garyalikivi.com)

THE CRACK – with writer Rob Meddes

/ Alikivi

The Crack is a free culture magazine and website providing a valuable service to the North East. Reviews of books, film, stage and music are packed into each monthly edition.

To find out more about the people behind the magazine I got in touch with one of the writers, Rob Meddes.

‘Reading takes up a lot of my spare time now. I review between two and three new novels each month for The Crack. I also love old films, particularly black and white film noirs made between the 1940s and mid-1950s – The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity’.

‘I never set out to be a writer, but stumbled into it through luck more than anything else. I was born in Newcastle and lived here all my life. I’m now 57. I didn’t go to university but on leaving school I did a Youth Training Scheme on computer programming’.

‘I got a job as a programmer but the company I worked for went bust – hopefully not because of my efforts. Then got a job as a civil servant, working at the big site at Longbenton for around four years. I became frustrated at having to do the same thing every day so thought I’d leave and go back to college. The aim? To become an artist’.

‘I did ‘A’ level art and then the Art Foundation course. I was accepted on the Fine Art course at Northumbria University but figured I didn’t want to do another three or more years of that because I really needed a job’.

‘I wrote to loads of different companies to ask if they would take me on, maybe in an admin capacity. The one company that got back to me was The Crack. I did a bit of everything at first – including selling adverts – before moving more onto the writing side of things. That was in 1994 and I’ve been here ever since’.

What changes have you seen since you started at The Crack?

‘What has actually changed most for me is how the magazine is put together. When I started there was no internet, certainly not in our office. Every image in the magazine had to be physically scanned in. Now they’re all digital’.

Have you seem many cultural changes in Newcastle since joining the team?

It’s Gateshead not Newcastle that has seen some of the most compelling big ticket items – Baltic, Sage Gateshead, Angel of the North, The Millennium Bridge. But Tyneside as a whole seems to have become more of a destination for people outside the area who want to sample cultural life in the region’.

What can you see for the cultural future of Tyneside?

‘After 13 years of Tory backed austerity, particularly for the arts, many of our cultural icons are struggling. We’ve already seen The Side Gallery close and The Tyneside Cinema has started to crowdfund. And they’re just the tip of the iceberg’.

‘But often in straightened times, art – in its myriad forms – manages to find a way to bubble to the fore. What hasn’t changed is people’s capacity to get out of the house and go and see stuff, whatever that stuff might be’.

For further info contact the official website:

Art – What’s On | The Crack Magazine

Alikivi    September 2023

NORTHERN CROWN – new album by Durham duo, Lowfeye

/ Alikivi

Original cinematic soundscape musician and producer Alan Rowland and songwriter Carol Nichol have released a new album Northern Crown.

“It’s a mammoth task trying to mix on our equipment set up in a box room at home, it’s D.I.Y. – it’s low fi”.

A toxic mix of Stooges/Springfield/Velvet Underground gave birth to 2017s Pow and 2021s Poor Little Rich Girl. Both sparked with creative energy leaving their third album big shoes to fill.

To find out if they’ve got the right size and same passion I caught up with Carol in old favourite the Centurion Bar in Newcastle’s Central Station. 

“Thing is it’s sad to see storytelling becoming censored in the arts you see it even with comedians now, that is what the album is about. We’re having a go basically”.

“The track ‘Little Vultures’ and the lyric ‘drowning statues’ deals with the people who want to wipe out history instead of preserving it. Just Stop Oil protesters throwing a tin of soup over a Van Gogh painting. What’s that about? He died in poverty”

“They’re targeting big sports events and slowing traffic down stopping people getting to work on time. They’re targeting the wrong people. It’s about the killing of culture. We should rejoice in our culture and celebrate it. You had to laugh when people wanted ‘Delilah’ by Tom Jones banned!”

The album has 11 tracks building slowly and throwing in a surprise or two.

“We’ve got a strong running order and a very diverse range of tracks. The song ‘Bubblewrap’ has a go at middle class privilege, the arts are dominated by them. Not only acting but music, they want you to sing about utopia, sunshine and everything’s alright out there”

“We are banned by the BBC for ‘Snowflake Generation’ which was on our last album, although it was played on Amazing radio in USA and here in the North East on the Keith Newman show on Northumberland Radio”.

“We’ve got the cinematic track ‘Chinatown’ with its 60s Latin vibe and then ‘Starlight’ which gets dark, a woman is in a boot of a car and is going over a cliff – it’s a bit Thelma & Louise.”.

“The track ‘Kiss of Life’ is a dig at politicians during lockdown they had their raucous parties when people couldn’t kiss their loved ones goodbye”.

“Neil Tunstall came in and recorded some bass on ‘Creatures’. A song about man’s cruelty to animals which I hate, again it’s us having a go about what’s going on around us. There’s a lot more grit in this album”.

“On this album we have kept to the cinematic music by including two soundtracks, one is a loose ballsy swagger for maybe a film soundtrack that hasn’t been made yet!”

Film being a theme right through this album. British actor Albert Finney is pictured on the front cover, a still from one of my favourite films ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’.

“My mum got me into the gritty, working class, kitchen sink dramas, films like ‘Get Carter’. The reason why I chose Albert Finney is that he grew up working class and made it big in Hollywood films and turned down a Golden Globe and an O.B.E. He wasn’t interested in all that – he was the real deal.”

“It’s a sort of celebration of working class heroes like Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, these people wouldn’t get into the acting business now, it’s saturated with the privileged, the middle class who pay their way into the industry. We need the working class ethic back in music and acting again.”

“Savage Silence’ was my mother’s poem which I used in a song. I dedicate the album to her as a thank you for influencing me into being creative and introducing me to the golden age of 60s, 70s film and music which I adore. Also to remain true to your creative passion as music is an art, and not to sell out to the manufactured mainstream and the masses”. 

“I really enjoy putting it all together, we love the process, we’re looking at writing new stuff now. We’ve also had two more TV syncs from our soundtracks ‘Bury My Skin’ and ‘One Drop’ used in the second series of Warner Brothers Swedish TV drama ‘Partisan’. (Series 1 & 2 available to view on All 4).

What can we expect from the fourth album?

“Well I don’t write Adam and Eve type Ed Sheeran stuff I don’t think I’ve ever wrote a song with lyrics like ‘I love ya’ baby!”

Alikivi    August 2023

For further info or to buy a copy on CD contact Lowfeye on their social media page: 

 Facebook

Link to previous Lowfeye interview:

A FISTFULL OF MELODIES : Durham band Lowfeye | ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST CULTURE (garyalikivi.com)

FRIDAY NIGHTS ALRIGHT for New Wave of British Heavy Metal band, Avenger

/ Alikivi

In the early 80s Tyneside based Avenger released two albums on the Neat record label – ‘Blood Sports’ and ‘Killer Elite’ both firmly planted the band on the NWOBHM map.

Fast forward to 2023 and their last show was three months ago in Spain at the Galia Metal Fest near Madrid…

“It was a cracking festival just in its first edition” said drummer Gary Young.

Next up is an explosive triple bill of classic NWOBHM on Friday 1st September. Joining Avenger are Spartan Warrior plannng an old school 80s set and an exclusive Venom set from Abaddon.

“I think we’ve played more shows with Spartan Warrior than any other band we know. We have a smooth working relationship with them and that makes touring alongside them very easy”.

“We’ve played with Abaddon too, and been friends with him for nearly 40 years! It’s always an honour to share the stage with him and the lads”.

The three bands will be playing on home turf at Trillians Rock Bar in Newcastle…

“We love Trillians….so much history, so many memorable shows there in the past – both as punters and playing. The place is essential to the music scene’s health”.

How influential has NWOBHM been?

“I think New Wave of British Heavy Metal has been a keystone to how current metal music has developed and that’s recognised by people especially when discovering metal for the first time.”

“When researching a bands history they can identify the whole legacy, for example Metallica were influenced by NWOBHM”.

After 40 plus years the NWOBHM North East Division of Satan, Raven and Tygers of Pan Tang are still breathing fire wherever they turn up.

“How has NWOBHM endured 40 odd years? Simple, the sheer quality of the bands”.

Free night of classic NWOBHM at Trillians Rock Bar, Newcastle, Friday 1st September 2023.

Alikivi   August 2023

Link to 2017 interview with Gary Young, Avenger:

YOUNG BLOOD – interview with Avenger and Repulsive Vision drummer Gary Young | ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST CULTURE (garyalikivi.com)

MEMPHIS CALLING for Teesside Rhythm & Blues singer & songwriter Emma Wilson.

/ Alikivi

Robert Plant, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Jerry Lee Lewis are just a few names that have recorded in Sam Phillips Studio in Memphis, USA – a new name to be added to that impressive list is Teesside Rhythm & Blues Singer & Songwriter Emma Wilson…….

“Sam Phillips studio breathes, it has an immense presence. The Phillips family have kept the rooms the same. The live room is awesome, huge, beautifully designed, it took me everything to hold it together. I let my emotions out on the recording”.

Her second album Memphis Calling, scheduled for an October release, with first single What Kind Of Love released on Friday 1st September 2023.

What Kind Of Love was co-written by legendary singer and songwriter Don Bryant (Hi Records) and Scott Bomar, who also produces the album.

“Don Bryant collaborated with his then wife, my idol Ann Peebles, on many huge songs such as the iconic ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’. For him to offer me one of his songs and then join me in singing was a dream come true…he is so vibrant and such a great singer!” explained Emma.

“When I asked him how he thought I should perform the song he took hold of my two hands and said “Just sing it honey”.

“The band on ‘Memphis Calling’ are spectacular we have members of the HI Rhythm section Leroy Hodges bass, Charles Hodges organ, Hubbie Turner piano, the greatest drummer in the world Steve Potts and young Memphian cats Joe Restivo guitars, Kirk Smothers saxes and Marc Franklin trumpet”.

“Scott Bomar produced the record and is one of the greatest, he restored the STAX desk that we recorded through, it was just a beautiful experience”.

Emma won 2022s Emerging Blues Artist of The Year in the UK Blues Awards, her debut album Wish Her Well, made the finalist in Blues Album of The Year category in UK Blues Awards 2023.

Pre order link:

https://EmmaWilson.lnk.to/WhatKindOfLovePR

For further info contact the official website at:

www.emmawilson.net

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/emmawilsonbluesband

Alikivi   August 2023

SOUTHERN COMFORT for 70s rock legends GEORDIE

/ Alikivi

Geordie were signed to EMI, had UK chart hit singles, appearances on Top of the Pops and toured with Thin Lizzy and Nazareth. A few line-up changes took them into the 80s where they finally called it a day.

With a much welcomed return to the stage, the 2020s line up has original members Brian Gibson on drums and Tom Hill on bass with new recruits in former Animals guitarist Steve Dawson, and former Beckett/Back Street Crawler frontman Terry Slesser.

“Terry is working really well as the frontman for Geordie” said Tom.

The band are back on the road in August and heading down south with a series of gigs including the Half Moon in Putney and Leo’s Red Lion in Gravesend.

Tom added “For the set we’ll be introducing some new songs, we recently released three singles in quick succession. All three made the top 20 of Mike Read’s Heritage Radio Show”.

“After this run of gigs we’ll be doing more recording then at the end of September playing a festival in Belgium, keep on rocking”.

Alikivi   2023

For further info contact the official website:

The Official Geordie Website – Keep On Rocking – Geordie Band

NIGHTS of NWOBHM at TRILLIANS ROCK BAR, NEWCASTLE

/ Alikivi

The starting gun fires on Friday 4th August on old school NWOBHM at Trillians. They won’t be nights full of half arsed tunes. Expect red hot, heavy, driving sounds topped with power vocals – just the way you like it.

First up is Kev Riddles’ Baphomet, Kev was an original member of NWOBHM band Angel Witch who released their first album in 1980.

The record, along with the track Baphomet, always feature on any ‘Best of NWOBHM’ lists. On their last visit to Newcastle, Kev Riddles’ Baphomet played original Angel Witch classics to a packed house. Expect the same on a loud start to your weekend.

Another night of old school metal is a triple bill on Friday 1st September with Avenger, Abaddon and Spartan Warrior.

Spartan vocalist David Wilkinson explained “2023 has been a milestone year for Spartan Warrior as we celebrate 40 years since the release of our debut album, ‘Steel n Chains’, on the Guardian label”.

“We’ve played some well received anniversary shows where we’ve played our debut album live in its entirety”.

“As we have two shows at the same venue quite close together we want to give people something different each time. The 1st September set will be exclusively from the ‘Steel n Chains’ album and the second album only. November’s set will draw material from all four albums”.

That November date is set for Friday 3rd, a pre-Bonfire night with Kev Riddle’s other band Tytan. What to expect from Tytan? Chunks of melodic, epic rock with screaming riffs and Tony Coldham’s soaring voice. At the time of posting the band are on the road back from Germany after playing the Headbangers Open Air Festival.

Joining the bill are Millennium, frontman Mark Duffy explained “The first time Millennium played in Newcastle was when we were asked to do a reunion show for the Brofest festival in 2016 and we’ve played Newcastle a number of times since”.

“We know Spartan Warrior as they were on the Guardian records compilation ‘Pure Overkill’ along with Millennium. Although we didn’t get to meet them till around five years ago, we’ve since played gigs on the same events. We haven’t  played any gigs with Tytan before so we’re looking forward to that”.

Spartan Warrior’s Wilkinson added “We’re very excited to be co headlining the November show with our dear friends Tytan. We’ve shared stages before and it’s going to be a great night for sure. We also have a long history with Millennium who were our Guardian label mates, so in our 40th Anniversary year that’s a bit special too”.

Millennium’s Duffy added “I think the NWOBHM scene has lasted so long because it has produced so many good bands who recorded some great records. There’s also a younger generation who are now listening and discovering these bands for the first time and appreciating their music”.

“We’re looking to do some gigs with other NWOBHM bands and hoping to play festivals in Europe having played in Athens this year. But it’s always good to play home shows at Trillians – really looking forward to it”.

If that isn’t enough for ya’ on Thursday 23rd November at Trillians is a hometown visit from the Tygers of Pan Tang. After trekking around mainland Europe during summer they have arranged extra dates to support new album Bloodlines.

Alikivi   2023

THE HISTORY OF ROADRUNNER RECORDS – with Film Maker Bill Saxton

/ Alikivi

Launched in Holland in 1981 and focused on releasing  Heavy Metal records, the label then expanded and opened offices around the world including UK, USA, Germany, Japan and Australia.

A documentary about the company is currently in production, the idea for the project started during lockdown when 34 year old Bill and his friend from Leeds started a podcast called Temple of Bleh.

The idea for the podcast was for the pair of us to reconnect with heavy music in a more meaningful way explained Bill.

This would be done through projects such as The Hunt for the Secret Channel 4 Metalhead, then we finally arrived at looking at The History of Roadrunner Records.

Being a metal guy of my age, I noticed a thread that connected my favourite bands – Trivium, Killswitch Engage, Sepultura, then the likes of Mercyful Fate and Type O Negative. So I toyed with the idea of a book on the subject.

After writing a brief report on the topic for the podcast, by complete chance, I crossed paths with former PR for Roadrunner UK, Michelle Kerr. She told me she’d like to see the finished product.

This was a sign to take this project to an academically accurate standard – so as not to look a complete twat in front of Michelle, who had kindly taken an interest.

I spent about a month creating a monster spreadsheet, detailing every original Roadrunner release since its formation in 1981 – conventional wisdom says Roadrunner formed in 1980, this is a lie.

After finishing this, I set about contacting every band, with mixed success, for a Zoom interview – which would be put up on the Temple of Bleh podcast and You Tube channel.

Then the idea was to roll them up into three documentaries of 60-75 mins each and detailing the three core ‘eras’ of the record label – 1981-1986, 1987-2001 and 2002-2012 explained Bill.

Andreas Kisser of Sepultura, pic Bill Saxton, 4th November 2022, at KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton.

Research can always bring up a number of unusual stories, and Bill found a few about Roadrunner.

A good story I found is that Roadrunner’s first Gold single wasn’t metal at all – it was a 1995 gabba song called I Wanna Be a Hippie by Technohead. 

Also, in this period Roadrunner was trying to edge away from heavy metal, and in the UK specifically were trying its hand at Britpop.

If you were to ask Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos who first signed him, he’d say Roadrunner, with his early outfit The Karelia.

Another story is the range of artists Roadrunner licensed to Europe from the rest of the world. There are albums from Sinead O’Connor and Cliff Richard bearing the Roadrunner label.

Bill emphasised that the main point of the documentary is to illustrate that once upon a time, death metal hit the top of the Billboard charts, and had a seat at the table with the perceived top industry ‘players’.

It’s important to my generation to understand exactly how that came about. Who better to ask than those responsible at Roadrunner Records.

It’s also insanely convenient that you can’t answer the ‘how’ question without showcasing the stories and legacies of the key artists on the label such as Mercyful Fate, Type O Negative, and Slipknot – as well as the less mainstream bands like Deicide, Gruntruck and Blue Mountain.

Madball being interviewed, pic by TheFinalCut, 7th February 2023, at Manchester Club Academy.

After six months, 150 hours of interviews, one mini and one full documentary complete, Bill was contacted by Mrs X – who would prefer to remain anonymous.

She favoured the project so much she came up with the finance to form a production company and elevate the quality to broadcast standard.

Big thanks to our Mrs X where would I be without her! said Bill. So far I’ve filmed 32 interviews for the project, across six countries, both artist and Roadrunner personnel alike. I’ve still got a lot to go before I can call this thing even close to complete.

Bands from North East UK are represented by stories from Battleaxe and Dark Heart. It’s a dense mix of music business learnings, interwoven with rock n roll regalia.

As it stands at this moment, ‘The History of Roadrunner Records’ has no distributor or broadcaster interest as yet– so this will likely be hitting YouTube.

The documentary is being exclusively filmed in the UK and I’m managing the time with my day job, so I can’t put a final deadline on the production. I’m considering crowdfunding to quicken it up.

For more info or if you dealt with the Roadrunner label contact Bill at templeofbleh@gmail.com or @HistoryOfRoadrunnerRecords on Instagram.

Alikivi   July 2023

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE MOUTH OF THE TYNE FESTIVAL 6-9th JULY 2023.

/ Alikivi
Siouxsie at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival 2023

I still get some freelance camera work and this job was at a four day event set in a fantastic location inside the grounds of Tynemouth Priory & Castle where the river Tyne meets the North Sea.

First day a smooth load in and five camera set up with three operators and two remote to feed the large video screens, after a few tweaks the set up was ready to go live.

The return of headliners The Proclaimers, they were canny back in 2019, stage time called and the Reid brothers marched on towards the sun and a full crowd, not a bad place to work.

Of course they played Letter From America and 500 miles, they make the camera job easier for framing when they’re planted next to the mic. Think it might be different for Siouxsie tomorrow – and it was.

Opening band LYR were mere lambs to the slaughter as a sold out sunny Friday evening saw Siouxsie casting spells and spinning her web in the perfect goth setting of the Priory, Castle ruins and graveyard.

The Ice Queen majestically skipped around stage singing Spellbound, Cities in Dust and Arabian Knights. Played last, and not on the set list, was a triumphant Hong Kong Garden. Letting the crowd know she went for a dip in the North Sea earlier in the day brought a cheer and more love from the goth hordes.

Set list for Siouxsie at the Mouth of the Tyne festival 2023.

Camera set up 4pm on Saturday in place for the openers from 6.30pm, former Housemartin/Beautiful South vocalist Paul Heaton & special guest on at 8.15pm. Cameras went undercover on a soggy evening.

Trouble in the crowd was just handbags, and the rain never dampened the Saturday night sing a-long. Heaton’s songs are great little stories, and a nice touch when introducing band members he told the crowd what football team they supported!

The show ended with four encores, yes that was four, and a sparkly finish, compared to barely an hour on stage from Gabrielle on Sunday.

It was a long filming day with early camera set up from 10am for six acts and over six hours video screening scheduled. Gates opened 11.45am and saw Newcastle band Clear Blood first on at 12noon.

Gabrielle sauntered on stage for 5pm, but after a few songs disappeared for 15mins leaving her backing vocalists singing random pop hits. What’s this about? A costume change? No, when she returned just a few more songs and no encore.

After enjoying the show the crowd looked deflated – was that it? And who thought of booking a Thin Lizzy-lite rock band to go on before her? As tight as they were, maybe a better fit would of been Friday before Siouxsie.

Thankfully, earlier in the afternoon the suited and booted Big Red & the Grinners landed on stage, tuned in and turned on the crowd to their brand of blistering banjobillypop – and saved the day, excelling from their 2019 performance with Big Red observing the Priory ruins ‘I see you still haven’t repaired the windows’.

With sold out shows another successful event organised and delivered by North Tyneside Council. See ya next year.

Alikivi   July 2023