Burton LeB SUBS 30th Jun 2023
| | Review(This is from my 1975 diary):
We arrived at the Corn Exchange and joined the queue, which moved a bit at first but then stopped for quite a while before moving again. We paid our £1.20 to get in which was pretty reasonable. We went and stood by the stage (NB this was a standing-only venue at the time) right at the front and could see Ray Shulman behind the equipment and when he noticed us standing there he feigned a 'surprised' look - open jaw and hands held-up - so he must have recognised us from the Hemel Hempstead gig. We then went and sat down on the floor, as most of the audience was doing by that time in front of a handful of idiots who seemed to have been drinking more than they could take and were beginning to get noisy, and consequently they spoiled Michael Moore's set, which irritated us as he was good as usual. One of my friends was especially annoyed by their manner. After the interval, Gentle Giant came on and opened with "Cogs In Cogs" again, which was superb. During "Funny Ways" Kerry Minnear stepped forward to play his vibes solo, wearing an open fronted silk shirt, and behind us one of the idiots there shouted out "Oooh TITTIES!" When the number had ended, Derek Shulman came up to the front microphone and said that it was apparent that some people had come to the gig just to get drunk and make a nuisance of themselves; most of the audience at the gig seemed to agree and a ripple of applause went round the room, then Gaz (my buddy) turned round to the source of the noise and shouted at them "Yeah why don't you f*ck off you silly c*nts!" It was undoubtedly Derek's announcement that did the trick as the disruptive element quietened down (probably feeling embarrassed at being called out for their behaviour), and the rest of the performance was undisturbed and very well received. When I got back home after the gig I listed to the whole of "Three Friends" LP and I really rate GG as a very special band.
3 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review? |