Just a list of artists and bands I have seen playing live, in no particular order.

I am getting to the age where I sometimes forget what I have done, so maybe its time to write some of this down while I remember – then I can check back when I really start losing my marbles! The list is not exhaustive – I have forgotten a lot of the support band names I have seen, and missed off the really obscure support bands or people I saw at festivals but never heard of before or since.

• Yes
  Wembley Arena, 1977 or 1978. The first concert I ever went to.
• The Tubes (x2)
  This would have been the first concert I ever went to, but Fee Waybill broke his leg and the rest of the tour was cancelled. By the time they toured again I had seen Yes. Saw them again in about 2001 at the Shepherds Bush Empire but without all the stage show and theatrics.
• Squeeze (x2)
  Once supporting the Tubes and once on a double bill with Wreckless Eric. Both times at the Hammersmith Odeon.
• Wreckless Eric
• Bow Wow Wow
  At the Lyceum in the Strand
• Siouxsie & The Banshees
  Chelmsford Odeon, 1979
• The Cure
  Support band for the Banshees
• Spizz Energi (xLots)
  I think its eight times at least. It might be more. First time was support for the Banshees and the Cure in 1979 at the Chelmsford Odeon.
• Fleetwood Mac
  Wembley Arena
• Crowded House (x2)
  The first time at the Hammersmith Odeon, then a couple of weeks later in the studio audience at an MTV special.
• Thin Lizzy
  At the Hammersmith Odeon on the Chinatown tour.
• Pink Floyd (x4)
  At the start and end of the Delicate Sound Of Thunder Tour in Sydney and Wembley, then at Earls Court on the Division Bell tour, and finally at Live 8 in Hyde Park
• Amazulu
  At a GLC event in Jubilee Gardens
• Dr. Feelgood
  In the Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff
• 9 Below Zero (x2)
  At the Cliffs Pavilion and at the Town & Country
• Mano Negra
  At the Town & Country club/Forum
• Les Negresses Vertes (x3)
  At the T&C, Brixton Academy and Shepherds Bush Empire
• Fields Of The Nephilim
  At the Town & Country, or whatever it is called now.
• Chihuahua
  In a tent on Clapham Common. They were providing the music for punk circus Archaos
• Kraftwerk
  At the Brixton Academy midnight show in 2004
• Erasure (x3)
  Including a short set at the end of a Gay Pride march
• Depeche Mode (x2)
  Both times while they still had Vince Clark with them – at Southend Technical College and Racquels Ballroom, Basildon.
• Rachid Taha (x2)
  At the Croydon ‘World Party’ for free in 2004 and at Patti Smith’s Meltdown in 2005
• Carbon-Silicon
  At the Meltdown
• Wall Of Voodoo
  Supporting Bow Wow Wow
• Gang Of Four (x2)
  First time at the LA2 with only Andy and Jon from the original line-up, then at Shepherds Bush Empire in 2005 for the reunion.
• Angelique Kidjo (x2)
  At the Shepherds Bush Empire then the Royal Festival Hall. Or maybe the other way round.
• Khaled
  At the African Proms
• Baaba Maal
  Stole the show at the African Proms
• Santana
  At Wembley Arena
• Jean-Michel Jarre
  The London Docklands show. Princess Di was there.
  It poured with rain!
• Pavarotti
  Free concert in Hyde Park. Princess Di was there too.
  It poured with rain.
  I stopped going to open air concerts if she was going to be there.
• Manu Chao/Radio Bemba Sound System
  At Brixton Academy. Twice. And then at the Forum, Kentish Town.
• Ojos de Brujo
  At the Union Chapel. Islington.
• Ron Kavana
  At the Half Moon Putney sometime in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I can’t believe I lived in Putney for several years and only went there once.
• The Wandering Crutchlees
  At the Half Moon, Herne Hill.  Basically half of The Sweet re-incarnated in a slightly heavier form.
• The Departure
  Support band the second time I saw Gang of Four
• Niagara
  A band who play stadium concerts in France, playing at a small club in London!
• Heaven 17 (x2)
  Both times on the guest list.
• Youssou N’Dour (x2)
  At the African Proms and at Live 8 in Hyde Park
• Donovan
  At the Cambridge Folk Festival
• The Chieftans (x3)
  All three times at the same Cambridge Folk Festival
• Joan Baez
• John Sebastian
• Lindisfarne
• Steeleye Span
• John Cooper Clarke
• Taj Mahal
• Fred Wedlock
• Fallen Arches
  All the above at the Cambridge Folk Festival, along with loads of others I can’t remember any more.
• Clint Eastwood & General Saint
  At the end of the People’s March for Jobs 1985(ish)
• Bad Brains
  At the same end-of-march concert, along with a few more I can’t recall.
• The Levellers
  At an anti-racist rally/concert in Brockwell park. I saw Credit To The Nation there too, and maybe the Manic Street Preachers, its all a bit of a blur now.
• The Doudou Cissoko Trio
  Free lunchtime performance at the RFH in 2005 as part of their African season.
• Toyah
  At the Rainbow. I’m not ashamed – I enjoyed it!
• Chas & Dave
  At the old arts centre in Basildon. Might have seen them at Cambridge too.
• Rodrigo y Gabrielle
  At the Croydon World Party in 2005. Mexican brother and sister, now settled in Ireland who play acoustic guitars and manage to slip bits of Metallica and White Stripes into flamenco-type music.
• Wasted Youth
  Supporting Bow Wow Wow
• Richard Digance
  At a folk club in a room above a pub on the Upper Richmond Road.
• Waster (x2)
  Spizz’s guitarist and bass player in their own band
• Daddy Those Men Scare Me
  Best band name in the world ever! A colleague at LUL was playing bass with them.
• False Idols/Silicon Idols
  Classmates at college in their band.
• The Screaming Ab-Dabs (x2)
  Essex R&B from Alison Moyet’s original band. At the 2nd Basildon open air rock festival (!) and at the old ‘Top Alex’ in Southend.
• Europa Lula
  The band which an upstairs neighbour belonged to. Also known as Viva Lula
• Stained Glass Heroes
  Supporting Spizz in 2005
• Four Man Trio
  Also supporting Spizz in 2005. Great name!
• Think Floyd
  Pink Floyd tribute band seen at the Hawth theatre in Crawley.
• The Who, The Killers, REM, Robbie Williams, Madonna, Elton John, Scissor Sisters, U2, UB40, Velvet Revolver, Bob Geldof, Sting, Snoop Dogg, Mariah Carey
  All at Live 8 in Hyde Park, along with Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Travis, Dido, Annie Lennox etc.
• Chemical Brothers
  Olympia, August 2008
• Paul Weller
  At K2 in Crawley, Nov 2008
• Metallica
  At the O2 Arena, March 2009
• Machine Head
  Supporting Metallica at the O2.  Only caught the last couple of songs.
• Plus… a few more local Basildon bands (School Bullies, Boredom etc.), some local Crawley bands (84mm, Us & Them, etc.), various support acts, other acts at the Cambridge Folk Festival, Croydon World Party, Crawley Mela, Crawley Folk Festival and political rallies and people seen at small folk and jazz clubs

I just wish I could remember the name of the band who supported Les Negresses Vertes at Shepherds Bush. They were a duo from Marseilles who both played electric tambourines and that is not something you see every day.