Thanks for the great post
brings back some great memories of being 16 and seeing them at BingleyHall in Stafford the night before this Wembley show (and seeing the director's cut of "Phantom In The Park" at the cinema the week before)
Just a couple of comments, regarding them not being able to bring over the full US show.. that must have been the very first UK tour in 1976 - that was when they played Leicester DeMontford Hall, Manchester Free Trade Hall (see documentary footage of Free Trade Hall show on the first Kisstory DVD set), and one or two other similar 3000 seat theaters)....
However, on the 1980 tour, they DID have the full US show.. the flying rig, the bombs, the fire, the whole nine yards / the full monty
I don't remember what other cities they played besides London and Stafford.
Sorry to hear that the Wembley show was devoid of atmosphere but the Bingley Hall show was packed to the gills with atmosphere and crazed fans... and Stafford Hall was LITERALLY a cowshed LOL - during the day, it was usually used to auction off livestock and hold similar farmer-orientated meetings LOL then on some nights, it was a concert venue..
it sucked, it had lousy acoustics, but hey, we were starved for bands like this and at that time, there were very few large-enough venues outside of London for this kind of band to put on a full show (Rush was able to use their full north-American stage show at Stafford Hall, but not when they played the smaller theaters in the UK).
nowadays, most major cities in the UK have large arenas for bands to play (like the MEN arena in Manchester), but back then, if you wanted to see a major act with a big stage show, you had to travel - which meant a horrible coach/bus ride and getting home really late.. but it was fun 'cos you got to drink and hang out with other rock fans and get to make some new friends along the way
Anyway.. gotta go.. thanks for listening to an old man ramble on about the "good old days" LOL
Hybrid Mode
