An Impossible Question

How can anyone who has been to as many concerts as I have possibly answer that question?! Virtually every concert I have been to has had highlights and I have seen pretty much all of the artists I have wanted to. I couldn’t choose a Top 20 of favourite concerts, but what I can do is give you a list of 10 moments that have stayed with me, because concerts are about moments.

• Showaddywaddy playing Under the Moon of Love in the first concert I ever went to at the age of 12 or 13.
• Huey Lewis and the News playing The Power of Love at the Hammersmith Apollo which was my first big venue concert.
• Fairground Attraction playing in Stoke on Trent in my first year at Polytechnic with Perfect being a massive singalong.
• Skin, a rock band who should have been massive playing the loudest gig I have ever been to at Keele University. Look but Don’t Touch was a real piledriver of a track. I think that’s where my hearing started to go!
• Taking Janet to the Pet Shop Boys concert in Manchester, our first concert together. We’ve since seen them four more times together, but when they played ‘our song’ Always on my Mind we both loved it.
• My first concert with one of my children was S Club 7 and S Club Juniors in Manchester. I loved the whole concert as much as Andrew and Reach raised the roof.
• Our first open air concert was Robbie Williams at the Milton Keynes Bowl and he was incredible. Singing along to Angels was an almost spiritual experience.
• As a writer for Subba Cultcha I had the opportunity to write about the Rambling Man festival, a rock, metal and prog two day festival, in 2017. My favourite moment was when Europe raised the non existent roof with The Final Countdown.
• The biggest concert I ever attended was The Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium with 92000 people. It was also the nicest atmosphere I have ever experienced. It was a day of love, acceptance and joy, the like of which I can’t imagine being matched. You Belong With Me was my favourite song of the night.
• Last year I won tickets for Janet and I to see Annie Lennox and Friends at the Royal Albert Hall. As well as seats seven rows from the front we also had a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch her sound check. For a music lover like me that was the most amazing privilege. At the sound check and the concert she played my favourite song of her solo career Walking on Broken Glass.

So there you have it. 10 moments from a life of concert going. I could easily have chosen 10 more and my concert going isn’t done yet! This year I am seeing Midge Ure, Lola Young, The Proclaimers, My Chemical Romance, Eddi Reader and Alison Moyet!! I will be adding those to my blogs. If you’re interested, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t be 🤣🤣 they can be found under the title Reflections of an ageing gig goer ! Happy reading and happy concert going.