My first ever gig

Howard Jones, at Liverpool Royal Court.  Howard bloody Jones.  People talk about their first gigs being a cool indie band at some underground club.  For me, it was Howard Jones.  I guess the saving grace is that I was only 13 at the time, and none of my other friends from school had been to a gig at all.  The next day, I took the tour programme in to school trying to be cool.



I have a hard time working out exactly when this was.  The programme isn't clear, but from cross-referencing it must have been in March 1984.  At this time, Howard was very popular.  The first 2 singles released in 1983 had gone into the top 5, New Song



and What is Love?, with Howard moping around Paris

 

At the time, I was still hanging out with Si McMahon, Steve Bishop and Mike Howarth outside school friends.  They'd got quite into the style, clothes from Fosters or Burton, which I was amazed to find is still going.  I had my red grandfather shirt, blue/grey "pegs" and blue shoes.

I can't remember much about the gig itself.  Support was from Endgames, a Scottish new wave band, pretty unremarkable apart from some pissed up guy throwing up in the crowd near us.  Then quite a crush as Howard came on.  Someone has posted most of a gig he did a few months earlier in his home town, High Wycombe, and I'm sure this gig was fairly similar, with Jed's "crazy" dancing to supplement Howard's musicianship.



There's also a review of the Newcastle gig from this tour, which helps place the date as late March.

In hindsight, not horrendous, a little bump in "status" in class and a good experience.