CONCERT TICKETS FROM SHREWSBURY

The Bodysnatchers were fronted by Rhoda Dakar and only released a couple of singles. I can't recall who the support was for this show.

The Look were a one-hit wonder who made the charts with a song called "I Am The Beat." From what I remember, the show was a pretty forgettable experience.

This was a gig in 1979, I think. The Tremors released a single on Redball Records called "Modern World" backed with "Smashed Reality," which got played by John Peel. I have a feeling that Dom Estos and the Stains were also on the bill.

This was a really good gig, by a band that should have had more recognition during the Britpop years, though Oasis have mentioned their influence on numerous occasions. Support band Clinton were regulars on the live music scene in Shrewsbury during the 1990s, though I don't remember much about them.

Membership card for the Jazz and Roots Club, held at The Buttermarket every Thursday, for 1995/96

As this ticket for The Beat at the Cascade was ripped in half as I walked in, I seem to remember that this took place in January 1980 and was one of the earliest shows by the band. 

Neon Hearts headlined this gig at the Cascade on 9 May, 1980. They were from Wolverhampton and didn't impress me much at all. The Stains, on the other hand, were a great band and, for me, remain the best Shrewsbury band I've ever seen. They released one single on Redball, called "Bored," backed by "Emotional Pills" and "I'm a Believer," the latter being a live favourite, though I always liked a number called "The Flash," which gloried in the lyrics, "If you want a body tingle/Go and mingle in the Dingle/Do the Flash."

Louis Gordon was (and still is, as far as I know) a singer/songwriter from Manchester who played some memorable shows in the early to mid-1990s. Towards the end of the decade, he worked with John Foxx on at least one of his albums.

Lew Lewis Reformer at the Cascade on 26 September 1979 was a solid dose of Rhythm 'n' Blues, and that's about all I remember about the gig.

Instastella at The Music Hall on 23 September 1995 were awful, from what I remember. They were from Manchester had a female lead singer, and that's about all I recall.

This was a festival that was held in Cleobury Mortimer, near Bishop's Castle, in 1996. I can't remember the lineup, though I have a feeling that Louis Gordon and/or They Went To Portugal were on the bill.

The Damned put on a great show, though there was a problem with the sound initially, prompting Rat Scabies to walk off stage. Supporting them were a band called The Anti-Nowhere League, who I thought were utter garbage. I think Fear Of Flying were a female-fronted group from Shrewsbury.

One of the leading mod bands during its brief revival in the late 1970s, Secret Affair released a couple of great singles before disappearing up their own pretentiousness. The band reformed a couple of years ago, though I don't know what they're up to now. Back To Zero were another mod band, though I can't remember any of their songs. The original support band, Squire, released a classic of its time though, "Walking Down The King's Road." 

Squeeze played in Shrewsbury in 1980 and must have been one of Jools Holland's last shows with the band, as he left the same year. I wasn't that impressed with Squeeze, especially as Wreckless Eric had played a fantastic set before them.

This was the first 'Big' gig I ever saw in Shrewsbury (not there have been many in the intervening 32 years), and came about because Elvis Costello had decided to play less fashionable towns and cities to publicise his new album, Get Happy, in 1980. The support band was Clive Langer and the Boxes.