About
ABOUT STEVE’S GIG DIARY
Here’s a bit of background to why I created this blog and the philosophy behind it, as well as some info as to who I am. Basically, this is a labour of love with some of my phone pix and ramblings from the live music gigs that I attend, and I don’t pretend that it’s anything more. đ
ABOUT ME
Hi, I’m Steve and I am a self-confessed “gigaholic”. I get withdrawal symptoms if I donât get to see a live band for more than a few days in a row. Now that I have retired from full-time employment, I have the time to go to all the gigs that take my fancy. I have my favourite bands who I see as often as I can (UK Subs, The Exploited, GBH and more), but I am also open to discovering new music in the (narrow) range of musical genres that correspond with my tastes.
WHY CREATE THIS BLOG?
I have been posting photos from the gigs that I attend on my Farcebook page for a few years now. I was persuaded to create this blog following extensive encouragement (hassling) by some friends who wanted to follow my posts but who are not on Farcebook themselves. So, The Steve’s Gig Diary was born in June 2024. It also gives me a way of keeping my gig memories in one easy-to-find place. I will be able to look back on these great times when I am old(er) and unable to do it anymore.
I will do my best to update the blog with photos and comments following each concert that I attend, but at certain gigs I choose not to take photos, or I am too drunk to do so. đ I will also endeavour over time to go back through my old photos and add some retrospective posts from previous gigging years in the Archive section.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
I was fortunate to have been brought up surrounded by music. From an early age I remember hearing music all the time around the house, mainly jazz music, but also middle-of-the-road âcroonerâ music (Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, etc.) I recall going to see live jazz music at a very young age with my parents in smoky pubs in the U.K.
DISCOVERY OF PUNK MUSIC
In early/mid 1977, I had an epiphany when I discovered punk rock music. This was mainly thanks to my school music teacher at the time (Mr Lewin, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude). I was part of a Jazz Club at school where musical-minded pupils would meet to play and listen to jazz music. At the time, I played saxophone. One of the other kids had recently got into punk rock, so the teacher encouraged him to bring in one of his punk records to the next meeting, so that we could all find out what the fuss was about. I’m sure that Mr Lewin expected us all to hate this ‘dreadful’ new music. The next week the punk kid brought in his ‘God Save The Queen’ single by the Sex Pistols. Once we had all sat through it, Mr Lewin asked us in turn what we thought. Unsurprisingly, everyone else stated how terrible they found it. Then he got to me and, (much to his disdain, I reckon), I announced that I loved it. I was immediately hooked by the wonderful racket emitted by the record player, and particularly the angry vocals. And that was it for or me.
This was my YEAR ZERO. Nothing would ever be the same again, and my life was changed forever. Sounds dramatic? Probably, but the rest of my life has been hugely influenced by those early punk rock years, both from a musical point-of-view, but also from a philosophical, social and political perspective. I’m sure much of this will come out through my blog posts.
Soon after my epiphany, I discarded the saxophone for good and persuaded my parents to buy me a bass guitar (a 1977 US-made Fender Precision, of all things!). Back at school, my art teacher would allow us to listen to our own music during art lessons, so me and my mate would bring in cassettes of the latest punk albums. My mate was a fledgling keyboard / synth player, so I remember the Stranglers being on almost continual rotation when he had his choice of music. Incidentally, he is now a member of The Human League (hi Neil, if you ever come across this blog).
I persuaded my Mum to sew some zips and a bum flap onto an old pair of tartan (more ‘Rupert the Bear’) golfing trousers that were lying around the house, and got my hair cut. I now had the look.
MY FIRST PUNK GIGS
My first ‘proper’ punk gig was in February 1978 when, for my 15th birthday, I persuaded my Mum to get me and a mate tickets for Eddie & The Hot Rods at Bournemouth Village Bowl. Support was provided by The Radio Stars, with opening act being Squeeze. Over the following 24 months or so, I got to see many of the original punk rock bands in Bournemouth and Poole, including The Clash, The Jam, Siouxsie & The Banshees (supported by The Cure, with Robert Smith playing both sets), The Stranglers, The Ruts, Sham 69, and many others. And the rest, as they say, is history.
FULL-TIME GIGGING (ALMOST)
In 2022 I was fortunate to retire from full-time employment and that was the catalyst to start gigging in earnest. During my first full year of retirement (2023), I managed 108 gigs, and it looks like 2024 will be much the same. I now live in Belgium, so many of the gigs that I attend are in continental Europe, although I often travel over to the U.K. to see bands and go to festivals.
THE GIGAHOLIC PHILOSOPHY
I, like most people I guess, donât really want to watch a gig through someone elseâs mobile phone screen. I make a conscious effort to take most of my photos at (or below) eye-level, so that I am not obscuring other gig-goersâ views. In my opinion, this also gives a more immersive view of the gig from the point of view of the audience. For much the same reasons, I rarely take videos at gigs, but also because I donât want to watch the whole show myself through my own phone screen. There may be occasions where I do take a video or 2, but I always try to ensure that Iâm not obscuring the view of anyone behind me when I do.
The majority of my photos are taken with my camera phone (Apple Iphone 13). I donât want to be lugging a big (and expensive) SLR camera into the moshpit or up to the barrier at the front of the gig, although I do have extensive experience of using professional quality camera gear. The photos are subject to a bit of cropping and some minor edits, mainly within the camera phone app (a bit of sharpening, contrast and a couple of other minor tweaks) before posting. Yes, the resulting pictures may have a bit of blur and/or noise in them, but the most important thing for me is to capture the moment and the atmosphere.
The photos on this site are mostly taken by me, unless otherwise credited. Feel free to use my photos for non-commercial purposes, but please do not remove the copyright notice, and I would appreciate it if you would credit Steve’s Gig Diary. Contact me for other any usage.
A big thank you to the many wonderful people that I have met through gigging, both members of the bands and folk in the audience. Many of my best mates I met through concerts. Feel free to leave me a message or comment/ suggestion about this site. And finally, please continue to support live music! Steve x
DOWN YER PINT
Finally, just a mention of my own band, Down Yer Pint, in which I play bass guitar. Check us out on Facebook and Spotify.