the word according to neil thompson

While I have a very eclectic taste in music I do not think that the same can be said for what I will go and see live. You cannot get a better example of this than to take a look at the ten year period from 1991 to 2001 when, with a single exception, I saw no-one in concert unless they had been in Split Enz at some point. It should also be pointed out that the trip to see the Divine Comedy, which I greatly enjoyed, I only went to as I won the tickets in a competition!

Oh and I have been to see some real rubbish too. Some under duress (Belinda Carlile, Bucks Fizz and S Club 7) and others of my own volition (Tanita Tikaram). On the whole though I have enjoyed almost all that I have been to but I know now that I enjoy the smaller venues to the big stadiums and I like my bands to have some stage presence (Crowded House) rather than strictly following a play list (Genesis).

Also as you can see I have also saved the tickets. The one immediately above is fairly self explanatory but I have included the first one for a mate of mine Dirk who I went to see Love and Money with. If you aren’t familiar with Love and Money I urge you to check out the sublime “Strange Kind of Love” which I greatly enjoy to this day. Love and Money were supported by Hue and Cry, who readers of a certain age might remember for “Labour of Love” which reached number six in the UK charts. I, however, remember being one of only a dozen people being there when they came on stage and Dirk shouts out “Which one’s Huw!” They never really recovered after that!Anyway, here is the full list:

Date	Band	Location	Support
13/03/1982	10cc	Oxford Apollo
23/08/1982	Bucks Fizz	Oxford Apollo
23/03/1983	10cc	Oxford Apollo
03/04/1983	Bucks Fizz	Oxford Apollo
23/02/1984	Marillion	Oxford Apollo
28/02/1984	Genesis	Birmingham NEC
06/10/1984	Boothill Footappers	Portsmouth Poly
07/10/1984	Elvis Costello	Portsmouth Guildhall	The Pogues
25/02/1985	Love & Money	Portsmouth Poly	Hue & Cry
13/07/1985	Live Aid	Wembley Stadium
14/07/1986	Eric Clapton	Birmingham NEC
18/03/1987	Simply Red	Portsmouth Guildhall	Terence Trent D’arby
04/07/1987	Genesis	Wembley Stadium
1988	Squeeze	Reading Festival	Hothouse Flowers John Hiatt Deacon Blue The Smithereens Broken English Roachford Rankin’ Roger The Lucy Show John Otway
20/03/1989	BB King	Hexagon Reading
26/05/1989	Tanita Tikaram	Hexagon Reading
24/10/1989	Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe	Birmingham NEC
12/01/1990	Paul Mccartney	Wembley Arena
30/09/1990	Knebworth	Knebworth
25/03/1991	Maria Mckee	Town & Country Club
25/06/1991	Yes	Birmingham NEC
10/10/1991	Crowded House	Apollo Hammersmith
09/11/1991	Crowded House	Town & Country Club
07/03/1992	Crowded House	Portsmouth Guildhall
24/06/1992	Crowded House	Wembley Arena
14/07/1992	Crowded House	Oxford Apollo
16/06/1993	Tim Finn	Borderline, London
12/11/1993	Crowded House	Apollo Hammersmith
23/11/1993	Crowded House	Portsmouth Guildhall
30/05/1994	Crowded House	Birmingham NEC
15/11/1995	Finn Bros	Union Chapel, London
17/09/1998	Neil Finn	Oxford Apollo
21/03/2001	Divine Comedy	Oxford Brookes
12/05/2001	Neil Finn	Birmingham
10/06/2001	S Club 7	Birmingham NEC
07/04/2002	Garbage	Brixton Academy
02/05/2002	Del Amitri	Oxford Apollo	Cousteau
18/05/2002	Del Amitri	Shepherds Bush Empire	Cousteau
17/09/2003	John Mayer	Hammersmith Apollo
28/11/2006	The Zutons	Rivermead, Reading	The On Offs
03/03/2007	The Feeling	Apollo Hammersmith	The Fray
27/05/2007	Travis	Hexagon, Reading
23/06/2007	Peter Gabriel/Crowded House	Hyde Park, London	The Feeling, Ghosts
08/07/2007	Genesis	Twickenham, London
28/06/2008	Eric Clapton	Twickenham, London	Sheryl Crow John Mayer Jason Mraz Robert Randolph And The Family Band Steve Boyce Band
29/08/2008	Duke Special	Roundhouse, London
22/06/2009	Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds	Bournemouth International Centre
16/07/2009	Simple Minds	Roundhouse, London
11/08/2009	7 Worlds Collide	Dingwalls, London
09/11/2009	Liam Finn	Bush Hall, London
???	Belinda Carlile	Wembley Arena
???	Phil Collins	Birmingham NEC

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