Worst gig you have been to

[donegal]

What has been the worst gig you have been to and why?

[andy-hughes]

The list is long, sadly.

I think T'Pau at their hometown - Telford Ice Rink - a bad pub band with an off-key vocalist and no idea of stagecraft elevated to statdium status on one hit single. They should have gone to see Duran Duran to see how pop bands who can hack it live go on.

[almcd007]

80s band tour recently. T'Pau, Heaven 17, Ben from Criosity, Go West & best of all Kim Wilde (in Leather) they were all great but the finale came with Paul Young who was atrocious. Bottled out of anything higher than tenor, the songs were unrecognisable as a result and kept pointing the microphone at the audience to sing the highs notes !!

I saw him back in the 80's at NEC in Birmingham and he was fantastic then !!

Disappointed with Meatloaf too - the songs were all 20 minutes long - strung out and a bit lifeless.

[happygam]

Paul Young could still be suffering with his throat problem - I don't think it was that long ago that he had an ilness - cos he is a fantastic singer...

[curiosity]

Van Morrison at Middlesbrough Town Hall early 90's. Paid for a surprise for Mam & Dad & brother in law for Christmas. He was in a total strop, didn't sing any "favourites" didn't bother to speak to the crowd. Vowed never to see him again, and I haven't . Arrogant Arrogant Man!

[andy-hughes]

Don't sweat it curiostiy - Van Morrison never plays his favourites, he almost never talks to his audience, and he always appears to be the Mayor of Strop City - sounds like a typical VM gig to me!

[almcd007]

Well George Michael recently stated that he can't do falsetto anymore and doesn't do some of his early stuff because of this and I think that was what the problem was with Paul Young. I've heard him sing other stuff recently and it's not bad - I think his throat problem put paid to what fantastic voice he had and he has ended up , now with an average voice and odesn't have the range that he used to enjoy.

[Goodsoulette]

Skunk Anansie..shoes came off, lost a jumper and someone urinated on my leg. What am I talking about, it was bloody marvellous.

[vehelpfulguy]

Jack Bruce was the bassist in Cream (Clapton & Baker) in the 1960s and I was a great fan.

After they broke up he released some solo albums and formed his own band.

I went to see them at Watford Town Hall (not sure of date).

They left us sitting there for ages before coming out on stage, we even resorted to slow hand claps.

When they did come on stage it seems they had been in an argument in the dressing room.

They all shuffled on stage, nobody in the band spoke or smiled to anyone else in the band or in the audience.

They went through the motions of doing their set with little enthusiasm, and then shuffled off stage to polite applause.

Awful.

[barneysdad]

Bon jovi on the slippery when wet tour in 1986,they played four "rock" songs and then resorted to acoustic pomposity,it was a real disapointment to me at the tender age of 13 so much so i got into really heavy music.Thanks Bon Jovi for being stuck up your own a**e and helping me discover real rock and metal!!
I would also like to add that Metallica have done possibly 2 of the best gigs i have ever seen but they have also done 1 really pants one at download 2 years ago,they kept everyone waiting 2 hours because Lars Ulrich was poorly,when they actually did come on with the drummer from slipknot they did nothing more than a collection of meddleys and a lot of pouting and posing,they were still better than bon jovis self induldence though!!!

[Stevee]

Blue Oyster Cult - Loved Don't fear the reaper" so went to see them at the the Hammersmith Odeon - They had no lighting, played in semi-darkness communicated to no one.

The only gig I ever walked out of.

[chaotica]

Steve Brookstein at Georges Hall Bradford ..Tickets had been knocked down to half price..he arrived an hour late .His support act (his wife )sang playing the piano and you couoldnt see her face for the lid! He finally came on and looked like he had just fallen out of bed and didnt know where the bathroom was and sang like he couldnt give a merry toss to 200 people when the place holds 2000.. I didnt stay till the end.. Watching them make the sandwich at Subway after was more entertaining.

[andy-hughes]

barneysda - I saw Bon Jovi on the same tour and they were pants!

However, as a music journalist, I get to express my opinion to the masses, and I duly infiormed the huge American readership of 'Creem Metal' magazine that BJ sucked a big one - and nearly got buried under the sacks of hate mail!

I stand by my view - they sucked, I said so - job done.

[robertson]

Worst I've seen so far are Gloria Estefan at Wembley Arena, Gary Glitter at same venue, and Level 42 at Hammersmith Apollo - all so utterly dull I walked out. However, biggest put-off was Sam Brown at The Forum in Kentish Town - mid-way thru she shouted to her band 'Oi, who's farted? There's a right stench up ere!' and duly waved a hand over her rear end to explain what she meant. I've never been able to eliminate the association of Sam Brown and bad smells ever since. Some things, Ms.Brown, are not clever but best left unsaid.

[Athley]

Worst ever Whitney Houston at Wembley Arena - luckily I didn't pay for the tickets. She talked half way through the concert about herself - even her real fans at the front were shouting at her to just sing. That wasn't very good either.

Rubbish!!!!

[r a l p h]

> Blue Oyster Cult - Loved Don't fear the reaper" so went to see them at the the Hammersmith Odeon - They had no lighting, played in semi-darkness communicated to no one. The only gig I ever walked out of.

Well, I saw every BOC gig at the Hammersmith Odeon in the seventies apart from 1975 - and I've never heard of BOC playing in semi-darkness....

To twist this thread around, my BEST ever gig was Blue Oyster Cult at Newcastle City Hall in 1978!! More lighting,lasers and flash-cannon explosions than you could shake a stick at!!

Nobody walked out....

[Memore]

I saw Bon Jovi at wembley in mid 80's and they were not good might have been Bad Medicine days not sure - also one Pogues gig where Shane turned up over 2 hours late he had played Dublin earlier that day and just couldnt perform seen him about 8 times and always excellent but that was awful.

[mycats]

Iron Maiden about 1992. I was looking fowrad to it for ages. They were an all singing all daning cliche lol
I lasted 2 songs and walked out in disgust (after snogging the guy standing beside me lol)

[Memore]

I saw Iron Maiden a couple of times couple of years back at Earls Court and then in Brazil they are a bit panto but I thought they were great think it was Dance of Death tour

[raysparx1]

Van Morrison, did two songs and walked off without saying a word, little git, Luckily Chris Farlowe was on the same bill and came back on stage and was as allways superb.

The Kinks were never very good live

[littleoldme]

Not a whole gig but some years ago I went to Madstock (the Madness open air gig in Finsbury Park). Second on the bill, and therefore second last to perform was Finlay Quaye (remember him)? He was utterly dire and painfully dull, with the charisma of a sheet of chipboard. Until, that is, the booing and slow handclapping from the crowd caused him to have a little tantrum, swear, and stomp off in a hissy fit. By far the best thing he did all night, or indeed in his mercifully brief career.

Madness, of course, were brilliant.