Captain Beefheart - Free Trade Hall - 8th June 1974

This is the ticket for Captain Beefheart at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester on 8th June 1974. I think this was with the new Magic Band, whom everyone hated. The original Magic Band had quit because of their disklike of the Captain's new direction on the "Unconditionally Guaranteed" record and in were drafted : Ty Grimes, drums; Paul Uhrig, bass; Michael (Bucky) Smotherman, keyboards; Dean Smith, lead guitar; Fuzzy Fuscaldo, rhythm guitar and Del Simmons on flute and tenor sax. Personally I really enjoyed this gig. I liked the new songs especially "Upon The My O My", "This Is The Day" and "Peaches". For a peak of the Captain around this time checkout this streaming video: courtesy of the excellent Captain Beeheart Website "The Captain Beefheart Radar Station".

Peter Hammill - Holdsworth Hall - 21st September 1973

This is the ticket for the Peter Hammill (Van Der Graf Generator) solo performance on 21st September 1973 at Holdsworth Hall, Manchester. This venue was on Deansgate between Kendals and the "Moon Under Water" pub. I don't think it is still used as a venue. The only other gig I went to there, was to see the then Howard Devoto Buzzcocks support Eater ! (Eater's first gig) 3 years later in September 1976. I don't have a great recollection of this gig (too much to drink) though I recall the set was based on Peter's first two solo albums's , Fools Mate and Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night.

Faust - Free Trade Hall - 6th June 1973

This is the ticket for Faust at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester on 6th June 1973. This is the first concert I remember going to. I had probably been to a couple previously, but nothing special. Faust on the other hand changed my musical landscape forever. Up until the first Faust lp I'd been into popular groups such as T.Rex, Slade, Sweet, I then progressed (pardon the pun) to Van Der Graf Generator and Jethro Tull. But Faust were the band that changed all that. My love affair with Krautrock had began. The support was provided by Gong (circa Flying Teapot) who played an exceptional set. Faust came on in half light, very minimal. I remember the drummer wearing just his vest and underpants. Faust played a great set including a long drawn out version of "It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" For anyone interested checkout a great Faust site here.

Sex Pistols - Electric Circus - 9th December 1976

This is the ticket for the SexPistols Anarchy Tour on 9th December 1976 at Manchester's best punk venue, The Electric Circus. I think by time this gig came about, the Damned were off the tour and the Buzzcocks had replaced them.

Sex Pistols - Lesser Free Trade Hall - 4th June 1976

This is the rare Sex Pistols ticket for the first of 2 gigs at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Note the mistyped date Friday 4th June 1076. As an avid follower of bands like the Stooges, The MC5, The New York Dolls and Nuggets Garage bands, it seemed like the perfect gig. It didn't disappoint. As has been well documented elsewhere (see here) , the start of Manchester's love of Punk began.