GIGOGRAPHY

page 5

© Mike Morton 2002


Deborah Harry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 23rd May 1990.
first night of another debbie tour. covered this for melody maker & decided to follow the rest for myself. debbie looked great tonight in lots of tassles.
Deborah Harry, Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, 24th May 1990.
debbie was all in black tonight and she wore the biggest pearl necklace i've ever seen. a huge thing hanging round her neck. odd.
Deborah Harry, Gwent Centre, Newport, 25th May 1990.
wales was a bleak place. not one of the best nights of the tour.
Deborah Harry, Royal Court, Liverpool, 26th May 1990.
this was more like it. i loved liverpool & liverpool loved debbie. a great old theatre too with a high stage. debbie wore red.
Deborah Harry, Dublin Stadium, 28th May 1990.
this was an unusual venue. an old boxing stadium. there was a great atmosphere tonight.
Deborah Harry, Averneal Leisure Centre, Belfast, 29th May 1990.
this was a massive sports arena in the middle of nowhere. got some great pictures tonight.
Deborah Harry, Barrowlands, Glasgow, 31st May 1990.
no pictures from this gig & not too much memory. must have been partying.
Deborah Harry, Temple Park Centre, Newcastle, 1st June 1990.
another massive sports hall. highlight of the gig was 'in the flesh'.
Deborah Harry, Brixton Academy, London, 2nd/3rd June 1990.
some of my best pictures from this tour were taken at these two london shows. debbie was looking amazing. backstage, debbie hung out with chrissie hynde & the thompson twin's allanah currie.
Erasure, Milton Keynes Bowl, 1st September 1990.
erasure were massive at this time. their stage-show was fantastic & they were ideal from a photography angle. adamski was also on the bill.
Los Lobos, Town & Country, London, 11th September 1990.
i hated this band. la bloody bamba. and they weren't too photogenic either.
Dickies, Powerhaus, London, 30th September 1990.
it was twelve years since i last saw the dickies. i was curious to see what they were like at this late stage. not as great to look at but just as frantic. a fun gig.
Boo Radleys/Bark Psychosis, North London Polytechnic, 16th October 1990.
i'd photographed the boo radleys a while before this up in liverpool. bark psychosis were a band i knew who lived in the same town as me.
Adamski/EMF, Brighton The Event, 17th October 1990.
melody maker had sent us to cover adamski. s soon as i saw emf supporting i thought they were fantastic & tried to persuade the reviewer to favour them. 'unbelievable' was only a month away.
Flowered Up/Ocean Colour Scene, ULU, London, 19th October 1990.
flowered up were just about to release their second single 'phobia' and ocean colour scene were still five years away from having a top twenty single.
Northside, Subterranea, London, 31st October 1990.
northside were a great band. their second single 'my rising star' was just about to come out.
Public Enemy, Docklands Arena, London, 3rd November 1990.
the fourth and final time i'd photograph public enemy.
Jesus Loves You, Town & Country, London, 7th November 1990.
aways loved boy george & thought this period was one of his best. this was one of their first live appearances, maybe even the first?
Charlatans, Kilburn National, London, 8th November 1990.
had photographed the charlatans a few months before this up in manchester. this was the first time i'd see them live. their second single 'then' had just come out.
Marc Almond, Heaven, London, 17th November 1990.
this was a marc almond convention. tonight marc sang greats like 'if you go away' accompanied by only a piano. intimate stuff.
Depeche Mode, Wembley Arena, London, 20th November 1990.
i thought the last time i saw depeche mode was back in 88. i forgot about this one 'cos i wasn't taking pictures. a pal had a plus1 so that's how i went. the audience were really behind dm tonight.
Pale Saints, Town & Country, London, 21st November 1990.
was covering this for a japanese mag. i wasn't too keen on the music & they had no stage presence at all. i hated photographing bands like this.
Flowered Up, The Rocket, London, 29th November 1990.
this was a club down in holloway road. everyone was stoned & sitting on the floor, that is until flowered up came on.
The Fall, Brixton Fridge, London, 3rd December 1990.
the fall had been around for years. can't believe it'd taken me this long to get round to catch them live. mark e-smith was a star.
Ramones, Brixton Academy, London, 8th December 1990.
i was 13yrs old when i first photographed the ramones with a crappy 110mm camera. 10 years on i had my nikonf301 and shot colour this night for a change.
Billy Idol, The Point, Dublin, 13th December 1990.
flew to dublin to do this for melody maker. i'd never seen billy live before. years earlier when i was a kid i missed a generation x gig on the isle of wight 'cos i was underage. i was gutted.
Iggy Pop, Brixton Academy, London, 18th January 1991.
ramones, billy idol & iggy all in a few weeks of each other. i was having the time of my life. iggy was sensational to photograph.
Jesus Lizard, Camden Underworld, London, 23rd February 1991.
i'd never heard of this group before but melody maker were pretty keen. the singer liked flashing his bits & pieces so i was happy enough.
See See Ryder, ULU, London, 27th February 1991.
another great band no-one seems to know. they had a wonderful single out at this time called 'she sings alone'. this was in the bar area of ulu, not the normal concert hall.
Birdland, Liverpool University, 28th February 1991.
birdland were three little punk rockers who looked like andy warhol. first time i met them i begged one of them for his blondie badge on his jacket. i went home with it.
Lush, New Cross Venue, London, 15th March 1991.
i liked lush very much but i always wanted miki's vocals turned up. backstage i finally got a picture of their sexy drummer chris with shirt off.
Jesus Loves You, Astoria, London, 21st March 1991.
boy george again. the time of 'bow down mister' which i absolutely loved. i played that song for months. jesus loves you should have been massive.
Maria McKee, Glasgow Pavillion 22d March 1991.
the second time i had to photograph maria mckee. 'show me heaven' had been a massive hit. not my cup of tea though.
808 State, Brixton Academy, London, 13th April 1991.
808 state made great dance music but were not great for a live situation. not in my eyes anyway.
Julian Cope, Cambridge Junction, 18th April 1991.
first time i'd seen julian cope solo live. had loved his music for years. bumped into jill from strawberry switchblade at this gig.
The La's, Marquee, London, 23rd April 1991.
i had photographed the la's months before this but never seen them live. they played the whole first album which was excellent.
Sonic Boom, Subterranea, London, 24th April 1991.
had photographed spacemen3 a few times but this was sonic's solo gig. i remember being given a free single as we left the venue.
Boo Radleys/Curve, ULU, London, 26th April 1991.
melody maker were more interested in curve at this point. toni halliday was a great vocalist and looked beautiful. bumped into blondie's nigel harrison at this gig.
MC Hammer, NEC, Birmingham, 2nd May 1991.
emi laid on a coach to take a load of journo's & photographers up to do this gig. these big shows were always fun to photograph. hammer-time.

EMF, Cardiff University, 8th May 1991.
emf were pretty big by now. their 3rd single 'children' was out. it was a weird feeling leaving in the tour van with the band. it was teen hysteria. emf were great fun to be around.
Julian Cope, Brixton Fridge, London, 22nd May 1991.
had to go back for more julian cope once he did his london show. 'east easy rider' was out.
Inspiral Carpets, Alexandra Palace, London, 8th June 1991.
the inspirals were sounding brilliant live by this time. their light show was amazing for the crowd but a nightmare for someone who didn't use a flash. i gave in and used it for this gig.
Carter USM, New Cross Venue, London, 15th June 1991.
carter the unstoppable sex machine, that name was a laugh. two dead normal looking blokes. the crowd was always manic at carter gigs though.
Buzzcocks, Town & Country, London, 16th June 1991.
the buzzcocks had only recently re-formed. i last seen them live 13 years before this. i took pictures sitting on the edge of the stage for the whole show. best seat in the house.
Transvision Vamp, Brixton Academy, London, 21st June 1991.
never before had i seen such a great band go down the pan in such a disastrous fashion. they were on their last legs. 'if looks could kill', their worst & last single was out.
Deborah Harry, Warwick University, 26th June 1991.
debbie was back in the country. i never knew debbie would play here this much. i decided to just go to a few dates on this tour.
Deborah Harry, Wolverhampton, 5th July 1991.
a pal of mine drove up to this gig so that's why i decided to travel all the way to wolverhampton.
Mock Turtles, Middlesborough Polytechnic, 11th July 1991.
the mock turtles had jumped on the baggy band-wagon. they had just had a hit with 'can you dig it'. i didn't.
INXS/Deborah Harry/Hothouse Flowers/Jesus Jones, Wembley Stadium, London, 13th July 1991.
a great line up & a great day for pictures. debbie came on stage in suspenders, basque & huge platforms.
Wedding Present, Birmingham Insitute, 15th July 1991.
this was a tiny little place. really packed as hell. i shot pictures from a low balcony. david gedge wore shorts again.
Deborah Harry, Hammersmith Odeon, 21st/22nd/23rd July 1991.
oh well, i'd missed most of the tour due to work commitments so i decided to catch the three london gigs. debbie was doing lots of covers and more off-beat stuff during this tour. one for the fans.
Manic Street Preachers, Sheffield University, 3rd August 1991.
'stay beautiful' was out & richey was still in the band. the manics were awesome at this time. travelled back on the train with them & we were all gutted when the single came in at #40.
Manic Street Preachers, Hibernian Club, London, 13th August 1991.
had to go back for more manics. these reminded me of what the early punk gigs must have been like. the manics played magnificenty tonight. a classic.
Lemonheads, Mean Fiddler, London, 21st August 1991.
really early lemonheads gig. evan dando rolled around topless on the floor.
EMF/Pop Will Eat Itself, Cornwall Colleseum, 26th August 1991.
i asked to do this for melody maker as emf were one of my favouite bands at this time. "lies" had just come out. i hung out with suggs from madness at the after-show. he was here with the farm.
Cranberries, Camden Underworld, London, 26th August 1991.
i'd been given a tape of the cranberries and immediately loved dolores's voice. a really early gig of theirs.
Lush, Tabernacle, London, 9th October 1991.
gallon drunk and stereolab were also on the bill tonight. the tabernacle was a great old church building.
Pet Shop Boys, Heaven, London, 15th October 1991.
i think this was the first live performance the pet shop boys had played. that's why emi wanted me to do this job. derek jarman introduced them.

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