We were contacted here at the Birmingham Popular Music Archive by Neil Evans who lived in Birmingham up until 1978. Neil wrote…In fact here is the original message Neil sent:

I left Birmingham in 1978 but I’m interested in what you are up to. Somewhere I have a list of pretty much all the concerts that took place probably in 1975 – 1977 era, I’ll see if I can dig it up and get it on a copier and send it off to you.

Bands I remeber seeing:

Welsh Acid Rock Band “Man” at the Town Hall and the Odeon the day Harold Wilson resigned as PM

Rory Gallagher playing Bingley Hall 1976 during a snow storm. What a show, that man was something else. Gotta be the best live act ever, saw him at the Odeon a couple of times and he was the first rock act to play the NEC despite others saying that Quo were the first. I remember the Odeon gigs would be a crap shoot to whether we’d make the last 63 bus back to Rubery because he always played for about three hours

Graham Parker and the Rumor at Barberellas

Santana at the Odeon

The first Rush tour of the UK at the Odeon
Kiss at the Odeon

Judas Priest at the Town Hall on the Sad Wings of Destiny tour. I think Steve Gibbons supported on that

Ted Nugent at the Town Hall, could only get a 1/4 of the equipment on stage and still I went deaf for three days
Budgie at Bingley Hall I think with some other bands

Fairport Convention at the Town Hall, Sandy Denny was still singing then

Robin Trower at the Odeon supported by John Miles

Wishbone Ash (yawn). They always seemed to be playing the Odeon and for some strange reason I kept exposing my self to that nausea.

The list goes on: Camel, Genesis, Pat Travers, UFO, Jack the Lad, Manfred Mann (Split Enz supported)

In those days you had the choice of three support acts

– Stray (great live, the records were crap)
– Alcatraz
– Supercharge (humerous saxophone powered scousers)

Favorite local lads
– Steve Gibbons Band
– Slender Loris
– Little Acre
– Raymond Froggatt
– Steel Pulse (suported a lot of rock acts and went down real well I remember)
– Hooker, became School Sports when Punk hit
– Trapeze

Lark in the Park at Cannon Hill Park was one of those days you could see good local talent

Record stores

– Virgin down on Bristol Street
– Cyclops in the Arcade
– Reddingtons Rare Records

Is this the stuff you want to hear about?

I live in the USA now, costs a fortune to go to a concert that is basically crap. I remember getting agro from my mates after I scored Man tickets at EngP 1.10 when they could have been had for 90p. How was I to know that everyone just ran down the front as soon as the lights went out? That was my first concert, Rhino’s Wino’s and Lunatics tour. You had to stand in line back then on the appointed day in the rain, you earned those precious tickets, not like today where unless you have pre-sale privaliges, you have to pay through the nose.

All the best mate…

Neil