Read more about gigs and music here 1989.
My friends Matt and John had a fanzine and The Housemartins had sent them a demo. We all thought it was brilliant. I suggested to Dan Treacy, from the Television Personalities, that he book them for his Room at the Top club night and let my band Go! Service support.
They arrived, all wearing sheepskin coats and watched us sound check. When we finished we said hello to each other and they gave us badges saying ‘The 4th best band in Hull’. When it was The Housemartns turn to sound check they started off by singing acapela, which was incredible. Very unusual on the indie circuit! Me and my band stopped talking and listened. It was the start an exciting night.
The gig got a great review in ‘Melody Maker’.
I stayed in touch with P.D. Heaton. We used to write to each other. He told me when he had got his first pair of jeans, to film the video for ‘Happy Hour’. They were very supportive and great people. Go! Service played a gig up North and we did a local radio interview before we played. The dj told us that when The Housemartins had been in recently, they saw the Go! Service 12″ and said ‘finish our interview by playing that, not us’! When he formed his new band, The Beautiful South, Paul contacted me to say they were going to play a hand full of gigs and could The Buzz Club be one of them. Naturally I said ‘Yes’.
They released their debut single, ‘Song For Whoever’ and were on Top of the Pops on the Thursday before they played. I was working at the Rock Garden in Covent Garden as the band booker. My boss, Sean, didn’t know I was still running The Buzz Club, so it gave me a bit of a thrill when I’d hear this on Radio 1 in the office the week leading up to the gig.
It was their third ever gig and was very intense. They were late going on stage as they had been down a local Aldershot pub getting interviewed by my friend Malcolm for his fanzine ‘Captain’s Log’ and hadn’t realised how late it had got. We were getting pretty nervous wondering where they were as the sold out crowd started to get a little fractious. Then in the side door they came and moments later were on stage. Paul Heaton walked on in a boxing robe and they finished with a version of ‘Fame’!
These are Paul Heaton‘s comments on those first few gigs, sums it up!
ITTLG 