My Personal Gig History, Volume 2 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. On 7 September 1976 I went to the Grand Opera House in Belfast to see an traditional Irish folk group founded in 1962 that had helped popularise Irish music around the world. The previous year members of the group had won an Oscar for the music used in the Stanley Kubrik film, "Barry Lyndon", and in 1988 they worked with Van Morrison on the album "Irish Heartbeat". What's the name of this band?

Answer: The Chieftains

The Chieftains were at their peak in the mid-1970s. The hugely innovative "Chieftains 4" album (the first to feature harpist Derek Bell) was released in 1973, and "Chieftains 5" (their first album as a professional group) came out in 1975. Their music was wonderfully exciting and brilliantly played, and the group's rapport with the full-house audience at the Opera House was obvious.

The group carried on for many years with very few changes in personnel. They were always looking for new directions like playing in China and Nashville, and their touring schedule was hard. The death of piper and group founder Paddy Moloney in 2021 has probably brought about the end of the group, although they did have a final reunion on 14 April 2023 to play for US President Joe Biden on his visit to Ballina, County Mayo (a place I know well!).

2. In late 1976 Punk Rock came along and the whole music scene changed. One particular first-rank punk band came to play in Belfast in October 1977 but the City Council wouldn't let them play. So they came back on 17 December and played at Queen's University. They came on stage and launched into a track called "Complete Control" - and I was totally blown away. It was magnificent, visceral, thrilling. Every song was memorable, especially the reggae ones. What was the name of this terrific band?

Answer: The Clash

Even after 45 years, The Clash at Queen's remains the best gig I was ever at. When they'd come to Belfast in October I'd actually had the opportunity to sit on the steps of the Queen's Student Union building and have a long chat with them - I was tremendously impressed with Joe Strummer, a bright, very politically aware young man.

A few days after the gig a local fanzine reviewed it. Commenting upon the audience, the reviewer wrote "there was even a large bearded hippy pogoing frantically in the front row". Yes, that was me - and it took me ages to clean all the gob off my hair and clothes and to get my hearing back!

But oh, the music - stunning! I still believe that the Clash were the best rock'n'roll band ever.

3. Another punk band played at Queen's University, Belfast, on 28 December 1977. Featuring a keyboards player wearing pyjamas and a tall, lanky, loudmouthed lead singer, they'd just had a UK number 11 hit with a song advising people to look after Number One, and their current single about a schoolgirl was on its way to number 15 in the UK charts. What was the name of this Dublin band?

Answer: The Boomtown Rats

So the Boomtown Rats played Belfast - and I thought they were awful, more like an Irish showband than a punk band. I thought Geldoff was totally insincere and a real pain in the backside - a plastic punk. Not that I was hardcore punk myself, I just didn't like the pretense the Rats exhibited. Having said that, I thought "Rat Trap" was a good track even if it was heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen.

4. On 27 September 1978 I went to the Ulster Hall in Belfast to see a band from the US that had played a huge part in the development of punk rock/new wave in both the US and the UK. This foursome were tremendous on stage: they just stood there, shouted "one - two - three - four" and launched into a new one-and-a-half-minute-long song. They must have all been related because they all had the same surname. What was the name of this band?

Answer: The Ramones

Who else could it be but the Ramones? What a great gig! The songs were great: melodic, fast and loud. But it was the guys' stage demeanour that got me. Basically they all just stood there, every now and then moving one step forward or one step back - and that was that! No jumping around, no interaction with the audience - just playing the music. And no, they weren't related. Definitely my third-best ever gig.

Sadly, all four of the original band are now dead. The band toured virtually non-stop for 22 years and played 2,263 concerts.

5. I went back to Queen's University in Belfast on 15 October 1978 to see a local band! Punk had really taken off in Belfast, with groups like the Tearjerkers, the Outcasts and Rudi playing everywhere. But this band organised themselves a record label called "Rigid Digits" and put out a great single about life in Belfast on a cassette tape - a very suspect device. What was the name of this band?

Answer: Stiff Little Fingers

Stiff Little Fingers (SLF) were a good band with lots of raw energy and a hard-core following. They were by far the most politically-interested of the Belfast bands, with songs like "Alternative Ulster", "Suspect Device" and "State of Emergency". This led to conflict with some of the other bands in Northern Ireland, who felt that writing and performing such songs was exploiting the sectarian conflict that was going on; the Undertones in particular had major issues with SLF. Terri Hooley of the Good Vibrations record label (and the godfather of the punk scene in Belfast) also disliked them, which at that time was basically the kiss of death.

However, the band's first LP, "Inflammable Material", was released on Rough Trade records in early 1979 and went on to sell over 100,000 copies, and the band moved to London. And now in 2023 - over 40 years later - they're still recording and still touring! They've had some great people playing with them as well, such as Dolphin Taylor (ex-Tom Robinson Band) on drums and - for 15 years - Bruce Foxton (ex-The Jam) on bass.

6. I went to Queen's University in Belfast again on 29 October 1978 to see a gig put on by a well-known record label - they'd released "New Rose", the first punk single in the UK. There were five of its artists performing, namely Wreckless Eric, Lene Lovich, Jona Lewie, Mickey Jupp and Rachel Sweet. But what was the name of the record label?

Answer: Stiff Records

Stiff Records were very much at the forefront of the punk/new wave explosion, with artists like Ian Dury, the Damned (the band that recorded "New Rose"), Elvis Costello, Madness and The Pogues on their roster. In 1977 they had the idea of loading up a coach with some of their acts and driving around the country putting on gigs at student unions.

The 1977 tour, "5 Live Stiffs", featured Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Wreckless Eric and Nick Lowe - very much the "A" team. The second tour, the "Be Stiff 78" tour that I saw in Belfast, featured Wreckless Eric, Lene Lovich, Jona Lewie, Mickey Jupp and Rachel Sweet - a bit like the "B" team, though Lovich and Lewie both enjoyed some chart success. The gig was great fun although a bit shambolic, and my friend Paul really fancied Rachel Sweet.

7. Paul and I went to the Ulster Hall in Belfast on 30 November 1978 to see a nine-piece (!) pop group. They'd reached number two in the UK charts three times in 1978, mainly with covers of 1950s doo-wop and rock'n'roll songs like "Come Back My Love" and "The Boy from New York City". What was the name of this band?

Answer: Darts

So Darts were OK, but really not my thing. Paul had a bit of a thing about Rita Ray, one of the singers, and he just stood and ogled her the whole evening. Darts had been assembled by Den Hegarty who was a real OTT performer, but sadly he'd left the band just a few weeks before we saw them because of illness in his family.

This was more-or-less the zenith of their career, and by 1980 the hits had dried up. Still, it looked as though they had a lot of fun on stage.

8. I was in London for a week so I paid a sentimental visit to the Marquee Club on 12 December 1978 to see a duo that was starting to get some attention for their "rockney" songs - rock'n'roll with a cockney twist. If you think about rabbits, snooker and referring to a well-known north London football club as "Tottingham" then you should be able to guess the name of this band.

Answer: Chas 'n' Dave

This was a real fun gig. Chas & Dave had been playing and touring for donkey's years and they were at the top of their game, relaxed and in tune with the audience. During the gig somebody in the crowd shouted out for them to play a particular song - Chas just said "right - we've not played that for a long time" and they both launched into it. The songs were great, too - musically they had a great boogie rhythm, and lyrically they were full of fun.

Success came to Chas & Dave quite rapidly after this gig. Their single "Gertcha" charted in the UK the next spring, and soon they had a UK number eight hit with "Rabbit" (a song about somebody who talks too much). "Snooker Loopy", a comedy song about snooker with contributions from current top players, reached number six in the UK charts in 1986, but their classic track was "Ossie's Dream", a "Spurs for the FA Cup" anthem with a wonderful (mis-)spoken contribution from Osvaldo Ardiles; it reached number five in the UK charts. The duo carried on for many years after, always popular and always genuine - both of them good honest pro's. Chas died in 2018 - sadly missed.

9. On 21 February 1979 I was given free tickets to go to a gig at Queen's University Belfast featuring a home-grown world superstar from East Belfast - probably the single most well-known Northern Irish artist ever. Who was he?

Answer: Van Morrison

Van Morrison was awful! He showed a complete lack of desire to interact with what was after all a home audience - he was dour, surly, uncommunicative and arrogant. I've no memory of what he played - all I can recall is that there was a young woman playing violin very well. Even his more up-beat songs came over as leaden dirges. At the end of the gig I really wanted to ask for my money back!

Morrison has sold more records than I've had hot dinners, he's won two Grammy awards, a Brit award and an Americana Lifetime Music Achievement Award, and he's been knighted. Not bad for a wee lad from Bloomfield.

10. Next was a cracking gig at the Ulster Hall in Belfast on 24 March 1979. Playing music that was more like "power pop" than punk, they were nevertheless very politically aware and addressed a lot of issues like racism and anti-gay prejudice in their songs. The lead singer was openly gay and was glad about it too - and we all joined in the song to celebrate it. What's the name of this band?

Answer: The Tom Robinson Band

I thought then that Tom Robinson Band was great, and I still hold that opinion. Their first two albums are packed with classic songs about politics and the threat from the extreme Right, often performed to great, riffing music. A few years later I saw Robinson perform by himself, another great gig that demonstrated his terrific song-writing ability.

Source: Author Southendboy

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Over the years I've been to many, many gigs. Given the date, the venue and a few salient facts can you identify whom I went to see playing? This quiz covers the years from 1976 to 1979.

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