The Meteors - Gigs 1981

The Meteors - Gigs 1981 !

Right, so in the last blog I gave you an outline about me and a full 1980 gig list of The Meteors, with just a few photo's of the band and some Venue details.

I was living in Whitton, Middx and in 1981, I was 13 years old and as well as my Gene Vincent and Elvis LP's my modern Rockabilly records consisted of 'Polecats Are Go' , Some Crazy Cavan LP's and the Jets and that was it !!!!! and all this Meteor stuff was passing me by. 

But what had the original band done and what was I missing in 1981 ? .......,well from all accounts they were unstoppable, a mighty rockin' machine, bludgeoning their way across the UK, stomping on all that got in their way !

The gigs were coming thick and fast and Manager Nick Garrard was getting this band noticed, they starred in a short B movie called  'Meteor Madness', had multi press releases, magazine profiles, Paul on the cover of 'Sounds', John Peel sessions on Radio 1, you name it they were doing it and the music press loved it ......they called it Psychobilly and The Meteors had made a monster !!!!

1981 - Records Released - 'Meteor Madness' EP & 10" Promo.

                                            'The Meteors meet Screaming Lord Sutch' 12" EP

Lord Sutch, Ted Carroll & The Meteors (Record Business 22/06/81)

                                            'Graveyard Stomp/Radioactive Kid - Single.

                                            'In Heaven' - LP

                                            'The Crazed, Attack Of The Zorch Men' - Single.

The gigs were a plenty in 1981, these included residencies at Gaz's and The Hope & Anchor in the beginning of 1981 . So here is a listing with as much info as I could find, if you have more details or other gigs please let me know.

GIGS 1981 

1 - Friday 2nd Jan - Hope & Anchor - London.

2 - Mon 12th Jan - Gaz' Rockin' Blues - Dean Street, London.

Meteors Gaz's Set - Maniac Rrockers From Hell (P), Love Me (N), Crazy Love (P), Red Headed Woman (P), I Don't Worry About It (P), Honey Roll (P), Long Blonde Hair (P), Baby Blue Eyes (P), Can't Keep A Good Man Down (N), Psycho For Your Love (P), Haunt You Baby Rock (N), Domino (P), My Daddy Is A Vampire (N), Deep Dark Jungle (P&N), Drowning All My Sorrows (P), Your Wildcat Ways (N), Maniac (P), Crazy Crazy Lovin' (N), Bertha Lou (P), Mama's Little Baby (N)

Flyer © Meteors Website

3 - Mon 19th Jan - Hope & Anchor - London.

Sounds - 24th Jan 1981 - Matt Steer

4 - Tue 27th Jan - Dingwall's, Camden, London.

Gig list courtesy Stewart Rhodes 

# - Sat 31st Jan - 'Room At The Top', Shoreditch - Recording 'Meteor Madness' EP .
5 - Mon 2nd Feb - Gaz's Rockin' Blues - Dean Street, London.

Flyer © Meteors Website

6 - Wed 11th Feb - The Blitz Club (Bad Cat Club) , London.

The Blitz Club - Paul Fenech 

The Blitz Club - Paul, Nigel and Fan

Paul & Nigel - The Blitz Club - Wed 11th Feb 1981

7   - Wed 18th Feb - Hope & Anchor, London.

8   - Mon 23rd Feb - Gaz's Rockin' Blues, Dean Street, London.
9  -  Sun 1st March - The Marquee , Wardour Street, London + Pearl Harbour.

Mark Robertson - Photo © Paul Roundhill 01/03/81

Photo © Paul Roundhill - 1/3/81

Photo © Paul Roundhill - Marquee 1/3/81

10   - Fri 6th March - Hope & Anchor, London.
 #  - Fri 6th March - Meteor Madness EP Released 

11 - Mon 16th March - Tabernacle, Notting Hill, London + Pearl Harbour & TV21

12 - Mon 23rd March - Gaz's Rrockin' Blues, Dean Street, London.
13 - Wed 25th March - Hope & Anchor, London.

Hope & Anchor 25/03/81

Mark Robertson - Hope & Anchor 25/03/81

14 - Sat 28th March - The 101 Club, Clapham, South London.

The 101 Cclub .

15 - Tues 31st March - Bridge House , Canning Town, London + El Trains.

Bridge House - 1982

16 - Thurs 2nd April - Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London.

Clipping courtesy Matt Steer

Sounds 4th April clipping! 

Courtesy Perry Bartlett

17 - Sun 5th April - The Marquee, Wardour Street, London +  El Trains.

MM - 1981

Sounds - 1981

The Meteors - 5th April 

18 - Wed 8th April - 100 Club, London.
19 - Thurs 9th April - The Pits, Euston Road, London + El Trains .

20 - Sat 11th April - Feltham FC, Middlesex .

21 - Tue - 14th April - Dingwalls, Camden + El Trains.

Dingwalls photo's below © Nick Palliser.

Paul, Mark & Nigel - Dingwalls 14/04/81

22 - Wed 15th April - 100 Club, London.

Sat 18th April - Sounds Newspaper front cover and review of gig at Marquee on 5th April .

Sounds 18th April 1981

Sounds 18/04/1981

Sounds 18/04/1981

23 - Sun 19th April - Hope & Anchor, London.

24 - Mon 20th April - Gaz's Rockin' Blues, Dean Street, London. 

Flyer courtesy Stewart Rhodes 

Russell Lewis (Nigel's Brother by speaker in both photos )

Paul - Gaz's Rockin' Blues 

25 - Wed 22nd April - Greyhound Pub, Fulham + Daddy Yum Yum

26 - Sat 25th April - Royal Holloway College, Egham .

Royal Holloway College - Egham 

27 - Sun 3rd May - The Lyceum, The Strand, London + 999 & UK Decay

Mark Robertson - Lyceum - 3rd May 1981 

28 - Tue 5th May - Moonlight Club, Hampstead, London + Newtown Neurotics

# - 22nd May - Graveyard Stomp/ Radioactive Kid 45 released on Chiswick .

From May 14th The band would complete 12 dates with The Cramps on the 'Psychedelic Jungle' tour. 

Meteors Flyer - Cramps Support dates.

29 - Thur 14th May - Rock City, Nottingham + The Cramps .

Backstage - Rock City 14/05/81 - Photo © Dave Travis

Backstage - Rock City, Notts, 14/05/81 - Photo © Dave Travis

30 - Fri 15th May - Nite Club , Edinburgh + The Cramps (2 Shows - 8pm & Midnight)

31 - Sat 16th May - Strathclyde Uni + The Cramps.

NME Gig review 1981 (don't think she liked The Meteors)

Ticket courtesy Stewart Rhodes .

32 - Sun 17th May - Tiffany's , Leeds + The Cramps.

Flyer courtesy Mark Johnson

33 - Tue 19th May - The Limit, Sheffield + The Cramps.

34 - Wed 20th May - Keele Uni + The Cramps. 

35 - Thur 21st May - Electric Ballroom, Camden, London + The Cramps.(not sure if this show happened ?)
36 - Fri 22nd May - Porterhouse, Retford + The Cramps.

37 - Sat 23rd May - Royal Court, Liverpool + The Cramps.

##  - Mon 25th May - Eros Club, Huddersfield + The Cramps ( Gig Cancelled )
38 - Tue 26th May - Loughborough Uni + The Cramps.

# - 26th May - Graveyard Stomp/ Radioactive Kid 45 released on Chiswick .

39 - Wed 27th May - Manchester Uni + The Cramps.

##  - Thur 28th May - Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham + The Cramps (Gig Cancelled)
40 - Thurs 4th June - Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London + El Trains.

41 - Sun 7th June - Hamborough Tavern, Southall, London.

## - Tues 16th June - John Peel, BBC recording session - 'Voodoo Rhythm', 'My Daddy Is A Vampire', 'Rockhouse', 'Rockabilly Psychosis' & 'Love You To Death'

42 - Fri 19th June - Brady's, Liverpool

43 - Sat 20th June - Hope & Anchor, London

44 - Mon 22nd June - Hammersmith Palais, London + The Cramps & Screaming Lord Sutch 

Paul & Mark - Hammersmith Palais - 22/06/81

Nigel Lewis - Hammersmith Palais

Paul Fenech - Hammersmith Palais 

Sounds review - 2nd July 1981

45 - Fri 26th June - Warwick Uni, Wiltshire .
46 - Sat 27th June - Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham.

Cedar Ballroom - Photo © Natalie Clarke

Paul and Nigel - Cedar Ballroom 27/06/81 - Photo © Natalie Clarke

Nigel Lewis - Cedar Ballroom - 27th June 1981 - Photo © Natalie Clarke

Cedar Ballroom crowd - Photo © Natalie Clarke

Cedar Ballroom - Mark Robertson - © Natalie Clarke 

Photo © Natalie Clarke

47 - Sat 4th July - The Marquee, Wardour Street + El Trains ( In Heaven intro recorded on this night )

##  -  Sun 5th July - Hambrough Tavern (Gig Cancelled due to Southall Riot)

Hambrough Tavern in Flames after riots - Fri 3rd July

48 - Thurs 9th July - Greyhound Pub, Fulham + El Trains.

09/07/1981 - Photo © Steve Phelan

09/07/1981 - Photo © Steve Phelan

49 - Wed 15th July - Battersea Art Centre, London.

50 - Thur 16th July - The Granery, Bristol.
51 - Fri 17th July - Grass Roots Charles St - Cardiff, Wales.

17/07/81 - Photo © Dominic Wilson

17/07/81 - Photo © Dominic Wilson

17/07/81 - Photo © Dominic Wilson

52 - Sat 25th July - Feltham FC , Middlesex.

Meteors Set at Feltham FC - Maniac Rockers From Hell (P), Teenagers From Outer Space (N). Rockhouse (P), These Boots Are Made For Walking (N), Long Blonde Hair (P), Bertha Lou (P), Love You To Death (P), Rockabilly Psychosis (N), Wild Thing (N), My Daddy Is A Vampire (N), Love Me (N), Graveyard Stomp (P), Radioactive Kid (N), The Crazed (P), Rattlesnakin' Daddy (N), Voodoo Rhythm (P), 

Photo © Craig Duffy

Photo © Craig Duffy

53 - Sun 26th July - The Lyceum Ballroom, The Strand + Killing Joke. 

On Wed 29th in the afternoon they were due to play the 'Bromley Royal Rock Festival' but due having no power on site and no way of using amps after a wait they cancelled the show and headed over to The Royalty (below) to soundcheck for the evening show!

Poster courtesy Gary Hillman

54 - Wed 29th July - The Royalty, Southgate, London.

Poster courtsey Johna Johnson 

Paul, Nigel & Mark - Royalty 29th July 1981

The Royalty - The Meteors.

Mark Robertson - The Royalty, 27/07/81

55 - Mon 3rd Aug - Hope & Anchor, London .

Set list as follows for 3/8/81
Psycho For Your Love, Radioactive Kid, Maniac Rockers From Hell, These Boots Were Made for Walking, Long Blonde Hair, Love You To Death, Rockabilly Psychosis, Voodoo Rhythm, Attack Of The Zorch Men, The Room, The Crazed, My Daddy Is a Vampire, Love Me, Graveyard Stomp, Let It Slide, Rattle Snakin' Daddy.

56 - Tues 11th Aug - 100 Club, London + El Train

57 - Thur 20th Aug - Rock Garden, Covent Garden , London + Fear.

##   - Mon 24th Aug - Band sign for Island Records.

## - Early September the band spent 1 week recording 'In Heaven' at Am-Pro studios, Shepards Bush, London.

58 - Tue 8th Sept - Brunell Rooms, Swindon.

59 - Sat 12th Sept - Cambridge Uni, Cambridge.
60 - Sun 13th Sept - Letchworth FC , Letchworth, Herts.

The Meteors - Letchworth FC 13/09/81

Nigel Lewis - Letchworth FC  13/09/81

61 - Tue 15th Sept - 100 Club, London + Fear
62 - Fri 9th Oct - Greyhound, Fulham, London.
63 - Tues 13th Oct - 100 Club, London + Fear.

Clipping courtesy Matt Steer

64 - Fri 16th Oct - Vanbrugh,York Uni, Yorkshire + Trains To Europe

65 - Mon 19th Oct - Lyceum Ballroom, London . Supporting The Clash.

The Meteors were Support band on Mon 19th only .

66 - Tue 20th Oct - Basement, Brighton.
67 - Thur 22nd Oct - Central Hotel, Gillingham.

68 - Fri 30th Oct - London College of Printing, London.
69 - Sat 31st Oct - Manchester Poly + Theatre Of Hate.
70 - Sun 1st Nov - Tiffany's , Leeds + Theatre Of Hate + Zounds

Flyer courtesy Michael Verburg

71 - Wed 4th Nov - Top Rank, Brighton + Theatre Of Hate, Blue Orchid and Peter & The Test Tube Babies.

From ZIGZAG Magazine

72 - Sat 7th Nov - Reading Uni, Reading + Theatre Of Hate.

Reading Uni Flyer © Meteors Website

73 - Sun 8th Nov - Lyceum Ballroom, London + Theatre Of Hate, Blue Orchids and Peter & The Test Tube Babies.

Ticket

74 - Fri 13th Nov - North Stratford Poly , Stratford.
75 - Sat 14th Nov - Chester College, Chester.
76 - Sat 21st Nov - Feltham F.C , Middlesex.
77 - Sun 22nd Nov - King Charles Hotel, Gillingham.
78 - Fri 27th Nov - Sound Cellar, Cambridge + 13th Chime.

Poster courtesy Mark Keogh

79 - Tues 1st Dec - 100 Club, London + Fear.

Meteors 100 Club Set - Shout So Loud (P), Radioactive Kid (N), In The Cards (P), Last House On The Left (N), Bertha Lou (P), Into The Darkness (N), Mutant Rock (P), Another Half Hour Till Sunrise (N), Blue Sunshine (P), Walter Mitty Blues (N), I Ain't Ready (P), My Daddy Is A Vampire (N), Love Me (N), Graveyard Stomp (P), Insight (N), Zombie Noise (P), Dateless Night (N), The Crazed (P), Attack Of The Zorchmen (N), (Encore) - Love You To Death (P), Rattlesnakin' Daddy (N), Let Me Slide (N)

Fri 4th Dec - Central London Poly, New Cavendish St + Theatre Of Hate, UK Decay. (This show did not include the Meteors who did NOT play)

Dec NME clipping courtesy Matt Steer

80 - Wed 9th Dec - Bains, Douches, Paris, France .

The Meteors in Paris .

Pre show photo shoot in Paris Wed 9th Dec 

Ticket courtesy and © Mark Robertson 

Live LP 

Back cover

Paris - Bains-Douches set list (thanks Bernie)

shout so loud (P), rockabilly psychosis (N), in the cards (P), insight (N), love you to death (P), graveyard stomp (P), attack of the zorchmen (N), blue sunshine (P), my daddy is a vampire (N), love me (N), i ain't ready (P), maniac (P), radioactive kid (N), voodoo rhythm (P), rattle snakin' daddy (N), let me slide (N), bertha lou (P)

 #  - Paris was Mark Robertsons final gig with The Meteors.

81 - Fri 11th Dec - Woodville Halls, Gravesend + Theatre Of Hate .

Ticket courtesy Chris Bee.

82 - Tue 22nd Dec - Whiskey A GoGo - London.

So after finally realising that this great band that I had stumbled across in early 82 had already changed the original line up and was by the end of Dec 1981 without Mark Robertson. Paul Fenech was still there, so was Nigel and were soon to be joined by Woodie Taylor (Drums). It was Mutant Rock and I loved it !