From Bob Marley to The Cure: More of your favourite memories of gigs on campus!

Fleetwood Mac probably aren’t the first thing to come to mind when you think of the University of York. And yet, they’re just one of the many famous bands that have performed right here on campus – among Bob Marley, The Cure and many more!

After hearing your memories of iconic gigs that took place at York, we knew we had to do a part two. So if you want to know what it was like to have tea with Robert Smith before rocking Central Hall, or what it was like to speak to The Who after their gig, read on for more…

Watching The Who in Central Hall

“I was at Central Hall for The Who gig, with my Goodricke college roommate Marion. It was the first rock event I had ever been to, as I went to classical and early music concerts at the Lyons Concert Hall. It was, of course, an amazing event.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, my future husband, Adrian, was also there.

Many years later, our grown up children saw the band at Glastonbury and were equally amazed. Over the years I have been to music gigs and concerts of all kinds – that night was certainly a brilliant experience.” – Sally

“I learned much later the night The Who played at Central Hall that it was the day after they had recorded ‘Live At Leeds’ which became an outstanding and very much loved live album. They were fantastic and I was very close to the stage.

Afterwards a few of us found Roger Daltrey and Jon Entwistle leaning up against their Rolls Royce outside Central Hall and we had a chat. I said something like “How can you sing Young Man’s Blues?” Daltrey looked quite hurt. He said ‘We’re not singing it for us, it’s for everyone else’ or some such. I was too smart for my own good. But occasionally I wonder if he ever thought about that moment again. Probably not.” – Adrian (Sally’s partner)

Seeing the Sisters of Mercy and The Psychedelic Furs for the same price of a meal deal

“I saw the Sisters of Mercy supporting the Psychedelic Furs at Derwent College in October of 1982. The Sisters were absolutely awesome, blew me away. They were so different from anything I’d heard. The Furs were good too, I think they were on the President Gas tour. It was a truly memorable night. Cost about £3, maybe £4″ – Arran

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band’s Central Hall showdown

“The “best”, in the sense of being the absolute worst gig I attended at York, and therefore very entertaining – Sensational Alex Harvey Band. They were 2 hours late, Alex Harvey was staggering all over the stage; everyone booed, he told the audience to “f*** off”, and the gig ended within 20 to 30 minutes of starting. 

The band’s lorries had chewed up all the grass outside Central Hall, and they got sent the bill; an excellent night! Oh, and was it at a summer ball in Derwent; the beyond compare wonder of Dire Straits, just before they really hit the big time. Happy days” – Basil

Having tea with Robert Smith from The Cure in Vanbrugh Canteen

“I once had tea with Robert Smith & The Cure in Vanbrugh canteen when they played Central Hall and I worked the gig. It was the birthday of one of the band’s road crew and Robert Smith presented him with a card and a bottle of wine that he’d bought that day. Mr Smith had beans on toast! The gig featured most of the songs from The Cure’s first album from what I recall.” – Nick

An impromptu visit from Paul McCartney, and a life changing performance from Bob Marley in Vanbrugh

“The first band I went to see in Freshers Week was The Humblebums playing in Derwent College. I had no idea who they were and so was not expecting to see Billy Connolly for the first time. He talked more than he sang and was – of course – hilarious. 

On 10th February 1972, those of us lucky enough to be on campus and in the vicinity of Goodricke heard that Paul McCartney and Wings had turned up on their impromptu university tour and were going to play. I think about 300-400 students got to see them. I can’t remember much about the music now but can remember vividly that Paul McCartney was standing about 20 feet away from me!

The other really memorable night was being taken by a friend to Vanbrugh college to see Bob Marley and the Wailers sometime in 1973. Needless to say, like everyone else in the dining hall, I was overwhelmed by their brilliance. Hearing Bob Marley sing live in such a small venue was a privilege that I’ll always be grateful for.” – Pete

Editor’s note: We have amended ‘vicinity of Wentworth’ to ‘vicinity of Goodricke’ for accuracy.

The very first gig in Vanbrugh

Alum Eric Bell recalls how he put together the first gig in Vanbrugh. 

“I arrived at York in October 1967. A new Vanbrugh Committee was formed during the first weeks and I became the Social Secretary. It was agreed that we would organise a music event in January 1968.  After some discussions, it was agreed that the first “dance” would be The Family, who were developing a good reputation as a “progressive rock” live act. The Richard Kent Style, a Manchester based mod/soul group, was the supporting act. The total cost of the groups and a DJ was £100. The admission fee was agreed at 5 shillings.

About 10 days before the event, we were advised that The Richard Kent Style were not available and it was agreed that they would be replaced by a Swedish group of four women called Rainy Day Women. The concert took place in the spacious Vanbrugh dining room. Both groups had their own roadies, and a local pub organised the bar. The place was packed with about 350 students and we had some trouble with a few students trying to enter through the dining room windows. The porters were stationed outside to help prevent this.”

“During the evening, the DJ was not going too well, partly due to sound issues. I chatted to Roger Chapman, lead singer of The Family, and they kindly agreed to add an extra 45 minutes to their second set. The cost of this was a crate of Newcastle Brown! My understanding after was that this was the first York University music event to make a profit.”

Watching King Crimson, talking to John Cage, and a memorable night of Roland Kirk

“Thinking about the gigs I saw at York has made me realise that I never gave much thought to the people who made them happen. I took it for granted. But looking back they proved to be some of my formative experiences, so I want to express my thanks now, some 50 or more years later.”

“Things got off to a great start for me at the Freshers’ Ball in October 1969. King Crimson were playing. I already had their album ‘In the Court Of The Crimson King’ and knew it pretty well. It was (and is) a magnificent excursion into progressive rock, jazz fusion and dystopian social commentary. They played it right through with staggering accuracy and energy. I remember Robert Fripp the guitarist played sitting on a stool the whole time – so cool!”

“Andres Segovia, who revived the Spanish guitar almost single handedly, came to Central Hall. He was quite aged and a little slow, but he played with a gorgeous feel and expression. He said something that has always stayed with me: “Remember,” he told us, “The song of the piano is a discourse; the song of the cello is an elegy; but the song of the guitar is a song.”

“John Cage, the avant-garde composer, gave a concert in Lyons Concert Hall. Naturally there were a lot of music students and faculty in the audience. The programme included musique concrete, traffic noise, some weird spoken word stories, and of course his controversial solo piano piece 4’ 33” (in which he sits at the piano without playing a note). During the Q&A one of the music students challenged him over 4’ 33”. “Shall I tell you why I wrote it?” asked Cage. “It was to counteract the influence of Beethoven”. Pin drop. The unfortunate student retired in confusion!”

“The greatest gig of all for me, was Roland Kirk and his band in Central Hall. Roland Kirk was an extraordinary musician and performer. He often played two saxes at the same time, had circular breathing (taking air in while continuing to play a long note), gave out enormous energy, and he was completely blind. 

The percussionist with the band, Joe Texidor, had a sound tree, a kind of staff with lots of musical gizmos attached. He began walking along the front of the stage and holding the staff out to people in the front row. After a while he came to me and I took the end of it. We both held it and looked at each other for a while, then he passed along the row. At the end of the gig I spoke to him and asked “What did you want to happen when you held out your staff?” His answer left me confused and regretful at what I had missed. He said, “We wanted you to join us”.

If you enjoyed reading this, why not leave your own memory of your favourite gig on campus in the comments? Who knows, we might even end up doing a part three!