Saturday 14 November 2009

FACES - CAIRD HALL - 1972

 
Here's a couple of items about a gig Rod Stewart and the Faces played in Dundee on 7th December 1972.
The top cutting is the announcement of the tour with Dundee getting a mention, and the other 2 were published after the Dundee gig.
The reason the show grabbed the attention of the national music press was because the Caird Hall was the first venue that started off this particular tour and so generated a lot of media interest.
Dundee didn't disappoint either, with a large enthusiastic turnout that helped create a great buzz on the night.
In fact, the crowd got a bit carried away because by the end of the show, the audience who rushed to the front stage area, ended up destroying the first 3 rows of seats!
Anyway, after a bit of a dodgy start with sound problems, it didn't take too long for the Faces to get going in full flow and keep the good vibes going for the rest of the night.
The music was a mix of raunchy r&b album tracks and melodic pop hits, with the likes of "Maggie May", "Stay With Me" and "Angel" being the more familiar chart singles that got the crowd singing along.
And being Rod Stewart of course, there was a lot of clowning about on stage which ended up with him kicking footballs into the audience!
You can get a good sense of how the concert went by reading the gig review above - give it a click to bring up the large version.
Incidentally, Scottish rock singer, Maggie Bell was also present at the gig, she being one of the VIP's who attended.
The support act was a band called Stumble.
I was 14 years old in 1972, and although I had 2 Rod Stewart albums in my collection, my going to gigs had still not begun yet, so unfortunately, it's not a show I was at.
I do, however, have a recording of the gig, and so below you can have a listen to their well known hit  "Stay With Me" - featuring a bit of vocal interaction with the Dundee crowd!
 

9 comments:

  1. the seats colapsing wasnt due to people rushing to the front, it was we were standing on the backs of the seats all linked together
    with one foot on the back of our own seat and the other foot on the back of the seat in front, beacuse we were rocking to the beat of the music and mainly pressing down hard on our own seats that is what made our own row colapse.after it had fallen we all jumped on the back of the row in front and thankfully that row didnt colapse. jim mclauchlan.

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  2. the only person i can 100% remember also being with me was sandy ogilvie, but im 99% certain that bob mudie was there as well
    jim mclauchlan

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  3. 1972 - Caird Hall - two nights - myself and my mate Dave Urquhart operated the Spot Lights for both gigs - we chatted to Brit Ekland, drank beer and aquired Rods Red Tartan Scarf which we cut in half and showed off to our mates at school the following week(Linlathen High) - we were 12 YEARS OLD !! Happy days - Dave Thomson.

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  4. She also had a much publicised romance with rock star Rod Stewart; they were introduced in 1975 by Joan Collins and lived together for more than two years, with Ekland giving up her career to focus on the relationship. Joan Collins is such a bullshitter, as you were drinking beer with Britt backstage in 1972 in between operating the spotlights for the gigs. ill bet rod thought if these two talented 12 year old drunken linlathen torags can pull the most photographed woman in the 70's ill ask joan collins in three years time to set me up. jim Mclauchlan

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  5. (Third Time Lucky) Jim, The only thing I managed to pull was a muscle operating what appeared then as monsterous bloody Spotlight rigs! To be honest, it was more Ms Ekland telling us not to mess up the lighting but as I remember there were more pressing problems over the 2 nights than the lights!and your no wrong with the description - torags then and not much different now! I remember if you knew someone who worked at the Caird you could pretty much get your bum on a seat at any gig for a fiver and a half bottle of OVD! Deep Purple, ELP, Genesis, Supertramp, Queen - Great Gigs!

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  6. You're referring to the wrong gig.
    Rod's 2 nights in Dundee took place in 1977 not this 1972 gig with the Faces.
    Also, Rod didn't meet Britt until 1975.
    You can get info about the gigs on Dundee Gig Time Machine.
    GG

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  7. I was there first gig I had ever been at! Was just turned 13, my memory is of being at the front and getting squashed, passing out then recovering! Pints of beer on Ian McLagan's piano and Rod kicking ball into the crowd. It was wonderful. Wish there was more photos. Great to hear the music though.

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  8. Thanks Retro! Everyone I told about the gig said it was too cool to be doing a gig at 12 years old. Britt was definetly there, Rod was there Davie Urquhart and I were there. Two nights Caird Hall - working the spots. There were deinertly footballs and beer! Makes more sense to be at least 17 lol 1977. Thanks for keeping me right ! DT

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  9. Also English Progressive Rock band GENTLE GIANT played in Dundee Caird Hall 19 November 1972. Anyone of you attend this show ? Thanks for your memories

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