Moshpit Memories
January 1, 2015 6:53 AM   Subscribe

Moshpit Memories
Moshpit Memories contains seven years' worth of trivia, anecdotes and gig reviews from my old diaries as a music fan at the height of UK pub rock, punk and ska. I started the diaries in 1975, when I was just 16 and ended them in 1981. Among the gigs I saw – and have described here - you’ll find a 1977 Clash show in a sweaty little club (plus the NYC appearance which gave us London Calling’s cover two years later), Lynyrd Skynyrd supporting the Stones at Knebworth, pre-fame encounters with both Ian Dury and Shane MacGowan, the Damned becoming the first punk band to play a major London venue, the Ruts frantically improvising on the first night Malcolm Owen went missing and a couple of wonderfully chaotic label revue tours by Stiff and 2-Tone. Live music in Britain has never been more exciting, I had an almost indecent amount of fun and you can read all about it at the link above.

Moshpit Memories started life as a Twitter feed, which allowed for no more than the briefest snippets recalling each gig. In this new version of the material, I’ve been able to add my full accounts of gigs by all the above acts, plus Elvis Costello, Eric Clapton, Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers, the Selecter, the Undertones, Eric Burdon, Bad Manners, Kilburn & the High Roads, Frankie Miller, the Bodysnatchers, Eddie & the Hot Rods, Richard Hell, Slade, the Specials, John Otway, Kevin Coyne, Graham Parker, XTC, Sam & Dave, Steve Gibbons, Wreckless Eric, Madness and a good few others.
Role: Writer & publisher
posted by Paul Slade (4 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite

This is awesome.
posted by ChuraChura at 4:59 PM on January 4, 2015


Fan-freaking tastic, I'm surprised the Twitter feed never caught on.
posted by El Brendano at 3:03 AM on January 10, 2015


Jan 10, 1980: “All I recall of this evening is a pleasant few hours spent in the company of a bottle of wine, London Calling and the NME.”

Heaven is being young.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:07 AM on January 10, 2015


Thanks for the kind words, folks. Glad you liked the stuff.

I'm 56 now, but that episode Potomac Avenue mentions still sounds like a very enjoyable evening to me. Will I never grow up?
posted by Paul Slade at 11:39 AM on January 12, 2015


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