Gigography
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This list of gigs by Europeans
and How We Live has grown
substantially since I started it in Summer 2000. I've added more comments and
details from Geoff, Steve, Colin and Ferg, plus various reviews and photos.
The list here was compiled from tour ads, music magazine classifieds, reviews
and various other sources. If you can fill in any more details, then please
email me, at glasswell@btinternet.com |
(Geoff Dugmore) "They were all fab in their own way"
(Click the photos to see them full size)
Thanks to Nick Atkins (early Europeans sound engineer), I have
been able to compile a list of early shows performed by the band:
02/09/80 Rock Garden, Covent
Garden, London
01/10/80 Ronnie Scott’s, London
13/10/80 The Bridgehouse,
Canning Town, London (support)
16/10/80 Half Moon, Herne Hill (support)
18/10/80 Basildon
20/10/80 Top Rank, Brighton
28/10/80 The Ship, Maidstone
(Steve Martin, fan) I worked at a pub called The Ship, in
01/11/80 Sunderland
07/11/80 Half Moon, Herne Hill,
London (support)
08/11/80 ROK rockstore
London (support)
11/11/80 The
Ship, Maidstone
20/11/80 Peckham, London
23/11/80 The
Ship, Maidstone
04/12/80 Dagenham
05/12/80 Newlands Tavern,
Peckham, London
08/12/80 Richmond Hotel,
Brighton
17/12/80 The
Towers, Walthamstow, London
18/12/80 Central Hotel,
Gillingham
19/12/80 Porchester
Halls, Bayswater, London (supporting Paul
Goodman)
20/12/80 Lewisham Odeon (support)
21/12/80 Half Moon, Herne Hill,
London
22/12/80 The
Ship, Maidstone
John Otway 'Band Behind The Curtain Tour'
13/02/81 City Hall, St Albans
06/03/81 Queen Mary College, London
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(John Otway)
"I sang in front of a screen and they were featured in silhouette behind
me - This was the only way I could get them on the same stage" (Steve Hogarth) "We were behind a white screen and Otway was in front. We were backlit so the audience could only see our silhouettes. Colin used to wear a tea-towel on his head under a top-hat so they all thought it was Willy Barrett. I guess it was my first real tour. We worked hard but it was a blast. All our friends came to see us. They were mostly Scots. They're all millionaires now" |
(Colin Woore) "Nearing the end of the set, I would drape a towel over my head and then put on a top hat - Wild Willy Barrett magically appearing. We were pretty knackered after a few nights though as we were also the support act and were supplying and moving the PA and all the gear."
(Geoff Dugmore) "I remember that quite well. We rented him our PA system and in return we got to open up for him. So, we opened up for him as the Euros but we had to play for him as well as this 'band behind the curtain. In some respects it was a lot of fun, although when I look back on it I think we were probably being used. I think it was youthful naivety and the desire to succeed ! "
15/05/81 Birmingham (supporting Chelsea)
16/05/81 Wolverhampton (supporting Chelsea)
22/05/81 City of London Polytechnic supporting 'Chelsea'
05/06/81 Clarendon Hotel,
Hammersmith (supporting Chelsea)
06/06/81 Clarendon Hotel,
Hammersmith (supporting Chelsea)
07/06/81 The
Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London
25/06/81 The
Ship, Maidstone
26/06/81 Aston University,
Birmingham (supporting John Otway)
19/07/81 Kensington, London
20/07/81 Clarendon Hotel,
Hammersmith, London
21/07/81 The Greyhound, Fulham,
London (supporting Spang)
23/07/81 The
Ship, Maidstone
25/07/81 The
Half Moon, Herne Hill, London
27/07/81 The
Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London
22/08/81 The Marquee, London + 'Everest The Hard Way'
23/09/81 Greyhound, Fulham,
London (supporting Buzz)
27/09/81 The
Ship, Maidstone
28/09/81 The
Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London
29/09/81 Starlight Rooms, West Hampstead, London
(Review
: Melody Maker, 10th October 1981) "Amazing what a few months can
do. An average four-piece club outfit, The Europeans
looked straight and sounded straight. That was April. Now they've gone
overboard on image and their songs have gone into overdrive. Gone is the casual
'wear-what-you-like' look of old. In are tight white skin
piercing trousers, colourful tops, black leggings and bare feet. Still
experimental, the new image requires refinement but it's a great improvement.
The material's the killer though. Sharper than ever, songs like 'Joining Dots'
& 'Tokyo' are blasting, pumping, aggressive slices of punchy pop; a nod to
the tougher edge of the Sinceros, while 'Going to
Work' (an anthem for the unhappily employed) convinces with its abrasive guitar
riff curling through the verse and the power of the song's sentiments. And
they've got a lot more up their sleeves as well; definitely a band to keep your
eye on.- Paul Strange."
30/10/81 Queen Elizabeth
College, Kensington, London
06/11/81 Half Moon, Herne Hill,
London
26/11/81 Manchester University
27/11/81 City University, London
28/11/81 Guildford University
02/12/81 The Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London +Mxyztplk
04/12/81 Bath College of
Technology (support)
05/12/81 Christs
College, Liverpool (support)
06/12/81 Kingston Polytechnic
07/12/81 101 Club,
Clapham, London
08/12/81 South Dorset
Polytechnic
11/12/81 North Staffordshire
Polytechnic
12/12/81 Folkestone
18/12/81 The Regal, Hitchin (support)
21/12/81 Oxford
22/12/81 The
Ship Inn, Maidstone
??/??/?? The 100 Club, London
??/??/?? Snoopies, Richmond,
London
??/??/?? The Venue, Victoria, London
??/??/?? The Hope & Anchor, Islington, London
??/??/?? The Thomas a Beckett, Old Kent Road, London
??/??/?? North East London Polytechnic
??/??/?? The Crypt, Hastings
??/??/82
Leicester Polytechnic
(Photos by Thomas Oldfield on Flickr. See all the photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7159476@N04/sets/72157626450337950/with/5599000826/
17/03/82 Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London + Troops for Tomorrow
30/04/82 City University, Islington, London (supporting Secret Affair)
16/05/82 Starlight Rooms, West Hampstead, London + Vital
09/09/82 Warehouse Club, Leeds
31/05/83 Lyceum, The Strand, London (CND Benefit, supporting
Midnight Oil)
1983 Summer UK Tour
10/06/83 Central London Polytechnic
11/06/83 Angies, Wokingham
16/06/83 Dog & Trumpet, Coventry
17/06/83 JB's, Dudley
18/06/83 Nottingham Trent Polytechnic
23/06/83 Triffids, London + Honest
24/06/83 Angies, Wokingham
27/06/83 Faces, Birmingham
30/06/83 Newmam College, Birmingham
02/07/83 Crystal Palace, London (Concert Bowl
Festival)
04/07/83 Faces, Birmingham
05/07/83 Fridge, Brixton, London
09/07/83 Half Moon, Herne Hill, London + Philip Jap
19/07/83 Fridge, Brixton, London
(Geoff Dugmore) "Every year A&M had an annual conference in London, and we went to it one time and got so drunk it was unbelievable! I remember waking up the next morning, on my own, in the suite that had been hired by the president of A&M. I don't know how! We had a gig that night at 'The Fridge' in Brixton and we were so hideously hung over it was horrendous, but the gig was good. We did a residency there."
20/07/83 Highgate Lazers,
London
22/07/83 Dingwalls, Newcastle
23/07/83 Leadmill, Sheffield
26/07/83 Fridge, Brixton, London
27/07/83 Highgate Lazers,
London
30/07/83 Dingwalls, Hull
02/08/83 Embassy Club, London
03/08/83 Highgate Lazers,
London
04/08/83 Warehouse, Leeds
10/08/83 Liberty's, Birmingham
11/08/83 Dingwalls, Bristol
12/08/83 Moles Club, Bath
18/08/83 Jungle, West Kensington, London
20/08/83 Tin Can, Birmingham
1983 US Tour
??/09/83 'LA' Palace, Los Angeles, USA
(Ferg Harper) "The record company were a little over generous in the 'entertainment' that they were giving us prior to the show. Without saying too much, there were several lagers quaffed, and certain other substances involved, so by the time we hit the stage, we were not in the best condition. It was probably the most pivotal gig of our career, in as much as MTV producers and all the media were there to watch it, and we basically came out and played the whole set at 78rpm instead of 45rpm ! Apparently the front of house sound wasn't the best either, 'cos it was a very echoey venue. I remember at the time, our guitarist Colin was going out with Toni Childs, the American singer, and she was a great champion of our cause. She'd lived with us in London, and come to our gigs. And I just remember when we came off stage she said "What the f*ck happened?" And we were like, 'Oh, was it not good ?' And that was probably the critical point of us not getting the full backing in America that we probably should have."
(Steve Hogarth) "The song 'Better Dreams' (from the 'Ice Cream Genius' album) is about Los Angeles for the first time...how it struck me. I remember getting into an elevator lift and when the doors closed I realised it was just me and Debbie Harry. Then it stopped, she got out and Little Richard stepped in!"
??/09/83 California, USA
??/09/83 The Ritz, New York City, USA
(Ferg Harper) "I think that was the only gig on the American tour where we really excelled. We got used to being in America. The sound was good, we had a good stage to play, good lighting. I was one of those gigs that just fired off. There were quite a few people there. Billy Idol's guitarist was there and he thought we were fantastic. And 'Flock of Seagulls' were there. They had seen us in Los Angeles, and liked us enough to follow us to New York and watch this gig. And everybody when we came off said 'oh, that was absolutely blinding.' It was shame we hadn't done that gig in the Palace in L.A, but, hey, you can't control these things !"
(Geoff Dugmore) "By the time we got to 'The Ritz' we realised what it was that we were supposed to be doing. We weren't there to have party. It wasn't a holiday. We were actually there to work. A lot of that was down to our manager who guided us unbelievably badly through that whole thing."
(Steve Hogarth) "I tie these little rags around my fingers. I've always worn them, since years ago I cut one of my hands very badly, and a year or so later I started wearing bandages round my fingers. It's become a superstition and whenever I don't, terrible things happen. Once, at The Ritz in New York, I didn't wear them and the PA blew up. The bass gear went down, and so did the keyboards. The band had to go offstage, and we couldn't come back on again for ages because nothing worked!" (Rogues Gallery Interview 1991, Dave Ling)
Wed ??/09/83 Boston,
USA + Sister Sledge
(Ferg Harper) "I remember we met Robert Plant at that gig in Boston. He was there for some bizarre reason. I don't know why!"
(Colin Woore) "We were on tour in the US following a lot of airplay on the East and West coasts of the Animal Song and MTV exposure of the video (raw meat edited out by censors of some kind). The gig in Boston was in a large club that could put on two separate shows on their back-to-back stage on the same night. The backstage area, as we found out later, was communal. Robert Plant was in Boston and came down to see the show with his girlfriend. We'd never met him before but new that he was in an old band called "Led" something. Sister Sledge were performing on the other side of the stage behind us that night, but we hadn't had any contact with them. After our show, he came backstage to say hello. We were all really hungry and had barely eaten anything all day, so we all got stuck in to the excellent rider food which we thought had been supplied by the club for us. Just as we were polishing it all off, Sister Sledge appeared from their last encore, which was " WE ARE FAMILY " or was it "WE ARE FAMISHED" only to witness the last bits of their food being devoured. That really went down like a Led......something."
Thu ??/09/83 The
Living Room, Providence, USA
Fri ??/09/83 Brooklyn,
New York City, USA
Sat ??/09/83 Peppermint
Lounge, Manhatten, New York City, USA
1983
'Vocabulary' UK & European Tour
16/09/83 Dingwalls, Camden, London +
Kane Administration'
22/09/83 Halesowen Liberties, Birmingham
24/09/83 Rockathon, Shepton
Mallet
27/09/83 Queen Mary's College, London + 'Annabel Lamb'
28/09/83 The Regal, Hitchin + 'Annabel Lamb'
29/09/83 Angies, Wokingham
30/09/83 Crocs, Rayleigh +
'Annabel Lamb'
01/10/83 Porterhouse, Retford + 'Annabel Lamb'
04/10/83 Kings College, London + 'Annabel Lamb'
(Review : Sounds, 22nd October 1983) "...The Europeans are a whole hospital ward of accidents in a musical sense. Virtually each song has a rousing, memorable chorus (even if they all sound a little similar), but the verses tend to ramble incoherently and get lost in the cross-rhythm. Still, they have several saving graces: their infectious enthusiasm, the screeching attack of guitarist Colin and the edgy, pulsating emotion of 'Going to Work', their one truly great song. At the moment, the Europeans are too anxious, too wired for frantic response to get near the heart and soul of an audience... - Johnny Waller"
05/10/83 Sheffield Polytechnic (Freshers
Ball)
06/10/83 Warwick University +
'Annabel Lamb' (Freshers Ball)
07/10/83 The System, Liverpool + 'Annabel Lamb'
08/10/83 Bradford University +
'Annabel Lamb' (Freshers Ball)
09/10/83 Bangor University +
'Annabel Lamb' (Freshers Ball)
10/10/83
Lancaster University + 'Annabel Lamb'
11/10/83 Birmingham Polytechnic + 'Annabel Lamb'
12/10/83 Huddersfield Polytechnic + 'Annabel Lamb' (Freshers Ball)
13/10/83 Hatfield Polytechnic + 'Annabel Lamb'
14/10/83 Nottingham Trent Polytechnic + 'Annabel Lamb'
15/10/83 Wolverhampton Polytechnic + 'Annabel Lamb'
17/10/83 Leeds
University + 'Annabel Lamb'
18/10/83 Fagins (or The
Hacienda), Manchester + 'Annabel Lamb'
19/10/83 Leicester Polytechnic + 'Annabel Lamb'
20/10/83 Bournemouth Academy +
'Annabel Lamb'
21/10/83 London City Polytechnic + 'Annabel Lamb'
22/10/83 London School of Economics + 'Annabel Lamb'
22/10/83 Hammersmith Palais, London + 'JoBoxers' & 'Milkshakes'
??/10/83 The Hague, Holland (am) +
Rotterdam (pm)
A CND festival at The Hague.
Melody Maker magazine reported that "lengthy delays, language and
technical difficulties, a lack of Dutch co-operation and Geoff Dugmore's heavy bout of 'flu' had prevented them from putting
on a decent show."
(Geoff Dugmore)
"We played at an open air festival in Holland somewhere in time and I
remember having a fever of 104 and feeling crap but in true Europeans style
carried on. During the gig I felt great but after got taken to hospital where I
remember a nurse sticking a thermometer up my bum ! Not a great way to
remember a gig."
01/11/83 Amsterdam + Cocteau Twins
(Geoff Dugmore) "That was a very weird gig. I actually thought that it was a fantastic show, and I remember coming off stage and feeling very elated. Then we listened to the 'Cocteau Twins' with Liz Fraser singing in floods of tears, and it really took the wind out of my enthusiasm that night. I'd never seen anybody perform with such emotional conviction, bearing their soul so openly on a stage. It had a striking effect for me personally. "
??/11/83 Dingwalls, Camden, London
(Review : NME, 5th November 1983) "The recipe from which Europeans were concocted is a common one : add a dollop of the Associates to a dash of Bryan Ferry, and stir with a far too generous helping of the not so Thin Tanned Duke. It doesn't take an Egon Ronay to see that this mixture doesn't gel. In the studio, the drums / bass / guitar / synth line-up make a somewhat lifeless stab at the white Euro-rhythmic disco beat, as championed by Simple Minds. On stage, The Europeans over compensate for their lack of drive on record resulting in all semblance of melody being lost somewhere between the monotonous bangs and crashes. The Europeans try too hard to appeal to all, and end up pleasing no-one. - Ziyad Georgis."
25/11/83 'The Tube' (UK TV)
The band played 'American People', 'Innocence' and 'Tunnel
Vision' on this Channel 4 music show. (See the 'Video'
page for pictures)
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(Ferg Harper)
"That was one of the better ones, apart from Steve almost ending
someone's life by throwing that fire extinguisher! It knocked the electronic
box off the wall and nearly killed one of the stage hands !
And did we care ?" |
08/12/83 The Garage, Nottingham
09/12/83 North Staffordshire Polytechnic, Stafford
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(Simon Buckmaster, fan): "I knew one of
the guys who was big in the Student Union at the
time, and he liked the Europeans, so he booked them for the Christmas Ball. The concert
was more polished and less energetic (than their previous gigs at the
venue). I got one of Geoff's well beaten drumsticks at the end of the
show, which I kept for many years." |
10/12/83 Huddersfield Polytechnic
13/12/83 Dingwalls, Camden, London
14/12/83 Dingwalls, Camden, London
15/12/83 London City University
(Mark Thompson,
Manager)
“I hired a mobile studio for two days, brought in David Lord (a close friend)
and recorded two consecutive nights at London University. David, I and Paul
Owen (the band’s live engineer) mixed it over Christmas. By the way, everything was original on the
album except the applause, which was dubbed from a Bob Dylan live album!”
(Geoff Dugmore) "It was a great night, great crowd and we played our butts off, as I remember."
('Live' Record Sleeve)
"Highlight of the entertainment .... was a
scintillating set by the Europeans,
a band who were so hot on the night you could almost feel the fire slide up
your back."
1984 UK Tour
(Steve Hogarth) "The biggest Spinal Tap Moment I ever had was
in the Europeans. I
once ran off stage and crashed out some exit doors which slammed shut behind
me, leaving me out in the street in the snow on a cold winters
night, wet through with sweat from head to foot. I had to run round the
building to the front doors where security refused to let me back in. I could
hear the band back on stage for the encore as I shivered in the street!"
20/01/84 The Chelmer Institute
25/01/84 New University of Ulster, Coleraine
(cancelled)
26/01/84 Queens University, Belfast (cancelled)
27/01/84 TV Club, Dublin + Amazulu (cancelled)
28/01/84 Golddiggers, Chippenham
The show was filmed for the BBC's 'Sight & Sound' music show, and broadcast live (simultaneously) on BBC2 and Radio One. The set was : (warm-up / sound tests) American People / Going to Work; (broadcast set) Typical / Spirit Of Youth / American People Innocence / Falling / Joining Dots / A.E.I.O.U. / Animal Song; (non-broadcast songs) Tunnel Vision / Writing for Survival
(Ferg Harper) 'The broadcast faded off as I sang an extraordinary flat note ! Quite a disappointing end to the evening. I thought 'Shit, you did have to sing that flat bit right at the end !'"
(Geoff Dugmore) "We kept getting these great 'In Concert' TV and Radio things and I could never quite understand why, because we didn't seem to sell any records. That was the strange thing about the Euros - we could sell out venues but we could never translate it into album sales. In retrospect, I think we were a 'musicians' musicians' type band as opposed to a 'pop' band. "
29/01/84 Henri Afrikas, Glasgow + Amazulu
30/01/84 Fat Sams, Dundee
The band announced in the national music press that they were looking for local supports for their 1984 UK Tour. They received 174 tapes, and chose the lucky bands listed below.
(NME? Jan 1984): "The response confirmed the Europeans' belief that agents, social secretaries and bands themselves could do more to provide opportunities for local acts during a tour rather then simply selling off the support slot to groups with major label deals. A Europeans spokesperson said last week 'It should not be regarded as a privilege for bands to play support slots on decent stages in their home towns, but rather as a right.'"
31/01/84 Edinburgh University + Back at the Front
01/02/84 Huddersfield Polytechnic
02/02/84 The Venue, London + Apocalypse + The Opposition
03/02/84 Wolverhampton Polytechnic + Wildflowers
04/02/84 Manchester Polytechnic + The Herbs
06/02/84 Clouds, Preston
07/02/84 The Beer Keller, Liverpool + Wildflowers + Ad Astra
08/02/84 Pink Elephant, Luton + Tora Tora
09/02/84 North East London Polytechnic + Junk
1984 European & UK Tour
10/02/84 The Box, Arnhem, Holland
11/02/84 De Eland, Delft, Holland
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(Inge Kuijt, Big Europeans Fan)
“I was shopping in town with my friend Ciska,
when we walked past our local venue in Delft, Holland, and we saw this very
large, very yellow poster of 4 very good-looking blokes. It turned out they
were playing a concert there that night and we instantly decided, ‘this we
have to see!’. We ran to the nearest record shop and
bought a 12-inch single, which we played for the rest of the afternoon, so we
would be able to sing along to a few songs at least. The 12-inch was American
People, the four ‘pretty boys’ were Europeans. The gig was amazing. My friend Ciska
and I were at the front, and after about two songs we got into the grip of
the music and we danced and danced until we almost dropped down dead. Europeans had just released their LIVE
album the month before and they played all of it. The stage was pretty small,
so the band didn’t have a lot of room to move about, but it created a very
intimate atmosphere. The sheer energy of the performance was overwhelming. A
few times during the concert I looked at Ciska and
she looked so happy, so excited and thrilled, as if she was having a most unusual
experience. And then I realised I must look the same, because I knew what it
was she felt.” See Inge’s own recollections page for the continuation of
this story... |
(All Photos by Inge Kuijt)
12/02/84 Der Melkweg, Amsterdam,
Holland
(Inge Kuijt, Super Fan): “The next day the sun was shining, and it was warm outside, so of course nobody was at the hotel when we phoned! We decided to go to Amsterdam early anyway, and found the band having a drink at a pavement café on the Leidseplein. A happy reunion. The gig that night was even better than the previous one in Delft, or was this just because I already had an inkling that they would become ‘my band, for now and forever’?”
(Photos & setlist, once again, by Inge Kuijt)
??/02/84 TV Club, Dublin + Amazulu
25/02/84 National University of Ireland, Galway (UCG) + Amazulu
The band appeared on RTE TV show ‘Anything Goes’ in the morning and
played the University ‘Tramps Ball’ in the evening.
The date is described by the ‘Galway Advertiser’ as the last gig of their
tour, so perhaps the other late January dates were also rescheduled.
02/03/84 Sheffield Polytechnic
03/03/84 Glasgow College of Technology
04/03/84 Spring Street Theatre, Hull
09/03/84 Brunel University, Uxbridge
10/03/84 Bristol Polytechnic
13/03/84 Town Hall, Bournemouth
15/03/84 Westfield College, London
16/03/84 Dingwalls, Camden, London
17/03/84 Kent University, Canterbury
(Ferg Harper) "I think that was the one where I lost my teeth ! I seem to remember a problem with one of the monitors. I decided to strip a bit of wire with my teeth, and I pulled my two front teeth out ! So what I had to do for the gig was to get a big bit of chewing gum, stick it in and 'shing like thish.' Trying to keep this chewing gum in my mouth so I could pronunciate !"
23/03/84 Valencia, Spain
24/03/84 Madrid, Spain
12/04/84 Le Bain Douche, Paris
13/04/84 Le Bain Douche, Paris
(Geoff Dugmore) "The concerts in Paris in April '84 were at a venue called Le Bain Douche. I remember it well. It was my birthday and we had a fantastic party after the show."
15/04/84 Hammersmith Palais,
London 'Gang of Four' farewell
concert + 'Abacush'
??/05/84 Norway, Sweden, Finland Denmark
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07/05/84 Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany
+ Psychedelic Furs
Filmed by European Music show Rockpalast
(See the 'Video' page for more pictures)
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The Set : Typical / Spirit Of Youth / American
People / Burning Inside You / Love Has Let Me Down / Writing For
Survival / Innocence / Listen / Don't Give Your Heart / Falling I / Joining
Dots / A.E.I.O.U. / Animal Song / Tunnel Vision / Falling II / Going To
Work |
06/06/84 The Venue, London + Opposition
(Ferg Harper) "I had lost my voice and managed
to restore it by using every throat sweet and mixture known to man. Amongst the
cures I had been gargling with an aspirin solution and drinking neat whiskey
during and after the gig. As a result of that I somehow managed to burn right
through part of my stomach causing massive internal bleeding in the following
days. I was rushed to hospital with only one-fourth of my body blood remaining
and was transfused with about eleven pints of blood as the hole gradually
sealed itself several days later."
1984
'Recurring Dreams' UK Tour
05/10/84 Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone
(Photos &
Set List courtesy of Inge Kuijt)
16/10/84 Swansea University
(Ferg Harper) "By that stage, I was playing a little keyboards in between to try and recreate the sound of Recurring Dreams on stage. We had to do a lot of extra stuff to try and make [the show] sound like the album, so I was playing a bit of synthesizer. It actually worked really well, and we all sang harmonies."
17/10/84 Rayleigh Pink Toothbrush
18/10/84 Town Hall, Fulham, London
19/10/84 Colchester Woods Leisure Centre
20/10/84 City of London Polytechnic
21/10/84 Limit Club, Sheffield
22/10/84 Warehouse, Leeds
24/10/84 Huddersfield Polytechnic
25/10/84 Kiesas, Leicester
27/10/84 Baths Hall, Scunthorpe
29/10/84 Manchester Free Trade Hall
02/11/84 Mid Kent College, Maidstone
03/11/84 London School of Economics + The Blow Monkeys + Hoorah Boys Hoorah
(Ferg Harper)
"The place was packed. I remember the whole crowd jumping up and down,
really lapping it up. Everybody was singing the songs, and it was just one of
those magic evenings where everything clicked so well. The lights were great,
the sound was great, we were performing right on the pinnacle,
we had everything absolutely down tacked. It was a totally professional,
fabulous show. And we knew it. We came off feeling absolutely electrified by
it. There was an incredible buzz when it all went right like that."
(Photo by Ullis Wesley)
1984 'Recurring Dreams' European Tour
07/11/84 Lorre, Delft (cancelled)
08/11/84 Tivoli, Utrecht (cancelled)
09/11/84 Arena, Rotterdam (cancelled)
10/11/84 Paradiso, Amsterdam (cancelled)
12/11/84 Mascotte, Zurich
13/11/84 New Morning, Geneva
14/11/84 Atlantis, Basle
15/11/84 Atlantis, Basle
(Geoff Dugmore) "The unity left us at 'The Atlantis' in Basle, in 1984. I have a very strong recollection of sitting in a bar and suddenly being very aware that two 'camps' had evolved. There wasn't the same 'four people against the rest of the world' thing that we had before. It had all changed."
17/11/84 Szene, Vienna
19/11/84 Palis, Munich +
Psychedelic Furs
(Steve Hogarth) "We did a club gig in Munich where we opened for the Psychedelic Furs... Richard Butler was walking through our dressing room on the way to the stage, and he was floating! It was like he was walking on tip-toes, grinning like a cheshire cat. He seemed like a magical person, it was like he was all full of something... it radiated from him... some kind of peculiar, creative, insane love. I must have been in the room with him for about two-and-a-half minutes and that was enough. I thought, I'm gonna find out all about what this guy does, because he's just got something... one of those things you can't quite put your finger on, but it's very spiritual."
20/11/84 Maxims, Stutgart
21/11/84 Batschkapp, Frankfurt
(Photos from German Newspaper 11/84)
22/11/84 Hunky Dory, Detmold
23/11/84 Odeon, Munster
24/11/84 Jugendzentrum,
Nordhorn
25/11/84 Zeche, Bochum
26/11/84 Luxor, Cologne
Live & Backstage photos by Inge Kuijt. Thanks Inge!
27/11/84 Schauberg, Bremen
28/11/84 Fabrique, Hamburg
29/11/84 Outpost, Eindbeck
30/11/84 Metropole, Berlin
(Steve Hogarth) "I did the occasional gig at The Metropole with the euros, and we had some wild times. It just seemed like everybody was so conscious of the fact that they were entirely encircled by this oppression and bleakness, that they were partying to spite it. There was this sense of nobody knowing when it was gonna end, and it was like 'it could be tonight, so let's get out and have a good time. So there was that edge, and that determination to be outrageous, and to do everything that wasn't allowed, just to cross the wall."
(Ferg Harper) "There's a film of us doing 'You
Don't Want Me (In Your Life)' at the Metropole in
Berlin. Geoff's got a copy of that. There was an interview as well, and we were
absolutely shot. We really looked like we'd been on tour for like a month,
drinking heavily. We all looked slightly shocked, because we were sleeping in
the van."
01/12/84 Metropole, Berlin (?)
03/12/84 France (?)
04/12/84 Lyon
05/12/84 Rouen
06/12/84 Montpelier
07/12/84 El Dorado, Paris
08/12/84 Nantes
1984/5 UK Dates
16/12/84 Marquee, London+
DJ Jerry Floyd
(Ticket stub from Inge
Kuijt)
17/12/84 Marquee, London+ DJ Jerry
Floyd
(Ferg Harper) "I remember the Marquee dates as always clicking together. I remember the guy who managed the Marquee at the time, said that we were the best band he'd seen since The Police had played there."
(Geoff Dugmore) "By that time we were so anxious, and aware of the fact that it was all slipping away from us. We were more pre-occupied with that than we were with doing the shows. The whole thing was drifting apart. We were clutching at straws rather than being a unit anymore."
21/12/84 Dingwalls, Camden, London
+ Kalimba + 'Compared to What'
(Melody Maker, Dec 1984): "A much under-rated A&M pop
act, Europeans have
recently dropped their wacky image and have drastically changed their
material. Straight looking and highly melodic in their latest LP
Recurring Dreams (totally ignored by the music press and radio deejays) is a
strong statement of poignant, purposeful pop. Highly
recommended."
(Ticket
stub from Inge Kuijt)
24/02/85 Shaw Theatre, Euston, London
A benefit gig (with 'The Soul Windows' & 'The Hank Wangford Band') for the 'Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons. This was the
last ever concert by Europeans.
(Ferg Harper) "The Shaw Theatre was the last one. I don't quite know why, It was a one off date near the end, but it was very good. We didn't know that it was our last gig."
(Geoff Dugmore) "I don't really recollect too
much about it. I remember finishing playing and thinking 'Is the last time we
are ever going to do this ?'... which
it was!"
1986 UK
Dates
19/06/86 Angies, Wokingham
(Raine Shine, keyboard player)
"Had a good rehearsal and generally hung out in
the sun until it was time to get ready. People started arriving - Next thing I
knew, Steve was on stage singing 'Promises' so we all whooped and Colin got on
to do 'Working Town'. Next thing, me and Andrew were on to do 'Acid Rain' and
then we were into 'India' and it didn't really dawn on me that I was on stage
until 'Beat in the Heart' 'cos I was enjoying myself too much to get freaked
out! Made a few bummers but nothing too major except bringing on the elephants
too soon in 'Wrap me in the Flag' - Got off stage and the audience were
demanding an encore so we went back and did 'Freedom' which I jumped on
keyboards on - and the first gig was over." (Raine Shine's
exclusive How We Live Tour Diary is now
online)
23/06/86 Dingwalls, Camden, London
05/07/86 Dudley
11/07/86 Angies, Wokingham
25/07/86 Tunnel Club, Greenwich, London
28/07/86 Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London
03/08/86 Marquee, London
07/08/86 Half-Moon, Herne Hill, London
+ Cut the Wire
08/08/86 Angies, Wokingham
13/08/86 Dingwalls, Camden, London
14/08/86 Moles Club, Bath
15/08/86 Tropic Club, Bristol
22/08/86 Red Lion, Gravesend
1986 UK
Tour (Chris De Burgh 'Into the Light' support)
11/09/86 Colliseum, St Austell
12/09/86 Colliseum, St Austell
14/09/86 N.E.C, Birmingham
15/09/86 Edinburgh Playhouse
16/09/86 Edinburgh Playhouse
(Steve Hogarth) "I had been eating certain substances which are normally smoked in cigarettes. I wouldn't advise you to do this. I ended up completely forgetting everything - my immediate past as well as my distant past and I had to go on stage at Edinburgh Playhouse (sold out) with no idea of how any of the songs went, or any of the words. Two minutes before stage time I was being heartily sick into the car park at the rear of the theatre. I was still outside on my hands and knees when I heard the band strike up. Walking to centre stage with the band already playing and no idea what I would do when I got to the mic. It's one of the outstanding nightmares of my life."
17/09/86 Newcastle City Hall
18/09/86 Newcastle City Hall
(Judith Mitchell, fan) "I remember How We Live more than most support acts. Hogarth wore a long black duster-type coat and sat a piano, with, I think a keyboard on top. I do remember him sitting and even standing on top of the piano at one stage! 'All the time in the world' was getting a bit of airplay on Gary Davies' Radio One lunchtime show, and when I heard the 'How We Live' tape, I recalled the catchy chorus straight away. This had me very perplexed as I knew I'd seen them somewhere, and a trawl through my tickets of past gigs had me wondering. I finally managed to figure out it was Chris De Burgh I'd seen with 'How We Live' - much to Hogarth's embarrassment! In 1991, I was backstage at the 'Holidays in Eden' show in Bradford, and asked Hogarth to sign a few tickets. I'd put the Chris De Burgh one in between, and when it turned up he went as white as his shirt!"
20/09/86 Bingley Hall, Stafford
21/09/86 Liverpool Empire
22/09/86 Manchester Apollo
23/09/86 Manchester Apollo
24/09/86 The Marquee, London
A one-off 'How We Live' show !
Support came from 'Monty Zero.'
(Review: Sounds, 18th October 1986) "Usually
it's easy to tell what type of band are about to play by the dress sense and
hairstyles of the crowd. But if you walked in to the Marquee tonight, you'd
have found it bloody impossible. The audience, you see comprised of coloured, spikey hairstyles, a girl wearing jackboots, arty farties, pessimistic housewives and cravat-wearing tourists
- a pretty mixed bunch huh? Either How We Live
can't be categorised, or their recent tour with Chris De Burgh has attracted a
highly diverse following. Their music is breezy, middle of the road, cool
calypso, plus both smoochey and lively rock -
although listening to their recent single 'All the Time in the World', you'd
never guess that this band could offer such a mixture. Elfin frontman Steve Hogarth draws the crowd in. He sings loud
yet effortlessly, and springs, crouches and writhes, energised by the sounds
around him. He plays piano and the notes tipple like a waterfall with cymbals
making metallic splashes among the guitar lathered waves. Each song is markedly
different and there's hardly a break between each finger clicking number. How We Live know how
to live. It seems that life is there to be enjoyed rather than merely endured,
and they do their best to loosen up the unwilling. - Kez
Owen"
26/09/86 Wembley Arena, London
27/09/86 Wembley Arena, London
28/09/86 Wembley Arena, London
29/09/86 Wembley Arena, London
01/10/86 King's Hall, Belfast
02/10/86 King's Hall, Belfast
06/10/86 Brighton Arena
07/10/86 Brighton Arena (Last night of the
CdeB tour)
08/10/86 Dingwalls, Camden, London
1987 German Tour
26/03/87 Mannheim
27/03/87 Offenbach
20/06/87 Oldenburg, Weser-ems-Halle
24/06/87 Hannover, Messehalle
25/06/87 Berlin, Waldbuhne
(Colin Woore) "The Berlin gig took place in a stadium that was a natural amphitheatre in the middle of some woods where Hitler made a lot of his speeches. We had to enter the stage through Hitler's secret tunnel, which you entered through a hole in the ground in the woods behind the stage area, through a concrete bunker, bringing you onto the stage through a pair of huge metal doors at the back of the stage. Apparently he used this for theatrical effect - the big doors would open and out he would come. It was eerie."
27/06/87 Munchen, Galopprennbahn
28/06/87 Munchen, Galopprennbahn
(Colin Woore) "The
Munich date was the biggest audience we ever played to - 102,000. It was
a whole day thing, with Tina Turner, Eurythmics,
Chris de Burgh, and a couple of others. We were first on. I started it
with the 'Dry Land' guitar riff."
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