So, four months in the waiting and now just a faded hangover and few memories to go by! My God did we push the limits of promotion of this event, but only to be originally knocked by the Facebook Big Brother, cutting my invitations by 90% merely due to the slight biased Tory based description, Absolute Bowie Band playing Harpenden (of which I probably would of gone to otherwise) and then on the day, 'Storm Dennis' wreaking havoc across the UK (although let's face it, a bit of rain and a mild breeze is all that it takes to put most local people off supporting a free night!) In the end, I had to resort to +100 personal messages asking friends to help us push this night, but sadly, I can count the amount of people on one hand that actually did invite people in the end! Even after all this time, I still can't get used to peoples lethargy when it comes to a good night out!
Anyway, upon first coming up with the concept back in October 2019, I decided that this night was just too good an idea to play the once, so I tried my arm at selling it to other local venues, all the while knowing that I'd probably be wasting my time, and that G2 was the only place worthy of hosting this night. The distinct lack of foresite with other venues these days really does seems to rule this town, so we buckled down and found our night, only for me to realise our booked date was the night after Valentines day!
Regardless, still being full of hope, we arrived to an already busy pub, and settled in pretty quickly. A good crowd all round, and I even met someone whose aunt was pictured in my poster! I'd also decided not to take requests, having so much music to work from, unless the request was age accurate/related, although trying to convince one lairy punter that David Bowies 'Space Oddity' was indeed released in 1969, and not 1983 of which she was originally convinced, didn't stop her from making her case! Ironically, she was later ejected from the pub, but that was nothing to do with us! There was also a few comments about too many album tracks, but I only counted approx 23 out of the 84 songs played, but you know I prefer to host the alternative than be a human jukebox!
So in the end, all in all we had a great and busy night with a full dance floor for the best part. Kudos to those that did support, especially to those that traveled and braved the weather, and to the constant loyal. This support means the world to us.
We're officially back at the end of March for 'The Spiral Staircase' alternative night, and I'll also be DJing at this weekends Hazard/Rats Nest gig at LU playing a mixture of new punk. For those that want more 80s, I'll be hosting an abridged version of this night in June at The Donkey in Leicester so maybe we'll see some of you there!
Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall
The Buggles - Living In The Plastic Age (edit)
Suicide - Touch Me
The Associates - The Affectionate Punch
Toyah - Ieya
Squeeze - Another Nail In My Heart
Stiff Little Fingers - Gotta Getaway
XTC - Generals And Majors
B52s - Private Idaho
Human League - Marianne
Devo - Freedom Of Choice
Bow Wow Wow - C30 C60 C90 Go!
John Lennon - Just Like Starting Over
The Chords - The British Way Of Life
Joy Division - A Means To An End
Killing Joke - Requiem
Genesis - Turn It On Again
Olivia Newton-John - Xanadu
Echo & The Bunnymen - Do It Clean
Magazine - Sweetheart Contact
The Police - Man In A Suitcase
Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Julia's Song
David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
U2 - Out Of Control
B-Movie - Nowhere Girl
The Korgies - Everybodys Gotta Learn Sometime
The Piranhas - Tom Hark
The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck
Ian Dury & The Blockheads - I Wanna Be Straight
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
Simple Minds - I Travel
The Psychedelic Furs - Sister Europe
Ultravox - Mr. X
Hazel O'Conner - Monsters In Disguise
Odyssey - Use It Up And Wear It Out
Split Enz - Missing Person
The Teardrop Explodes - Treason
The Undertones - More Songs About Chocolate And Girls
The Fall - Totally Wired
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
The Specials - Man At C&A
The Barracudas - Summer Fun
The Damned - Wait For The Blackout
Motorhead - The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
Saxon - Wheels Of Steel (7" edit)
The Pretenders - Stop Your Sobbing
Adam & The Ants - The Human Beings
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Red Light
Throbbing Gristle - Adrenalin
John Foxx - A New Kind Of Man
Bauhaus - Spy In The Cab
UB40 - Little By Little
The Boomtown Rats - Banana Republic
Peter Gabriel - No Self Control
Bad Manners - Lorraine
Secret Affair - My World
Blondie - The Tide Is High
The Selecter - On My Radio
Madness - In The Rain
The Jam - Start (album Version)
The Cure - Play For Today
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache
The Lambrettas - Dance
Roxy Music - Same Old Scene
Grace Jones - Private Life
Gary Numan - Remind Me To Smile
Eddy Grant - Do You Feel My Love
Queen - Crazy Thing Called Love
Sex Pistols - (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone
The Ruts - Staring At The Rude Boys
Dead Kennedys - California Uber Alles
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - High Fidelity
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Could You Be Loved (edit)
The Clash - Jail Guitar Doors (Super Black Market Clash E.P.)
Thin Lizzy - Killer On The Loose
Rainbow - All Night Long
Iron Maiden - Running Free
AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long
Status Quo - What You're Proposing
The Ramones - Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
The Beat - Best Friend
Splognesabounds - 2 Pints Of Lager
Not The 9 Oclock News - The Bouncing Song
