As usual, thinking of something different for my wife Sandra’s Christmas present left me scratching my head. In early December I saw an advert on FB for the RS tour coming to Newcastle for the first time in six years so I thought – problem solved!
I booked an apartment near the Station on Booking.com. £50 and very convenient for walking to and from the concert. Sorted. [I should say we live in Darlington.]
Fast forward a few months and an email from Booking.com – the apartment owner has decided to take it off the market – booking cancelled!
No problem. Jury’s inn right across the road from the Arena. £68 for the night – bargain – sorted again!
Fast forward to the morning of the concert and I thought I would just print off the postcode for the hotel – I know where it is, but just to be on the safe side as I was driving rather than getting the train. NE8? I thought that was Gateshead? You idiot Colin, that’s because it IS Gateshead! Who knew there were 2 Jurys inns??
Oh well, we can get there a bit earlier, walk across the Millennium bridge, get some food and a taxi from the Quayside. No problem.
So we check in, chill out, have our free drink in the bar (bonus). And then set off walking – umbrella in hand to protect from the drizzle. We had a leisurely walk over the bridge and onto the Newcastle quayside. Past the quayside seaside (yes, it’s real thing), past the law courts and towards the Tyne Bridge…..I’ve just had a thought said Sandra….I don’t think I picked the tickets up. Frantic search through bags for tickets. DOH!
Now, me and Sandra couldn’t make up a decent three legged race team – our feet are knackered.
I’ll go and get them I said. You sit on one of the deck chairs on the quayside seaside. It doesn’t look far – but it is! By the time I got back I was soaked by the rain on the outside and sweating like mad on the inside – bloody hell! But at least Sandra had remembered that she / we had forgotten the tickets. It would have been a lot worse if we’d got all the way to the gig! We went for food and then got a taxi to the arena.
I’d paid a bit more than usual and got seats in the block at the front near the stage – about 15 rows back. Still great seats.
The support band – Johnny Mac and the Faithful – were entertaining and got everyone in the mood.
Rod and his band were amazing and full of energy. Sandra has been a fan forever and last saw Rod in the early 90’s.
Rod had most of the crowd on their feet from the opening number ‘Having A Party’
Trying to remember to put the camera away and just watch – not record! I took a few pics and recorded ‘Going Home’ – we are in Newcastle after all and 2 of our sons are big NUFC fans. The guitarist Emerson Swinford and Sax player Jimmy Roberts were amazing…and talking of managerless NUFC, Rod asked the crowd “What do you think about Steve Bruce becoming manager?”, Unsurprisingly, the majority of the crowd reacted with boos. “Oh f***, I don’t know what to do about that…replied Rod “I’ll call talkSPORT for you.”
The whole gig was amazing. The band. The backing singers / musicians. The sets. Everything. Such a great show and some great memories.’The Killing Of Georgie’,’Young Turks’,’Stay With Me’, ‘Rhythm of My Heart’, and ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ were all played along with covers like ‘It Takes Two’ and ‘Rollin and Tumblin ‘ During ‘Some Guys Have All The Luck’ Rod stopped singing as Johnny Mac ran to the stage to tell Rod that Scott Sinclair had scored a third goal in Celtic’s Champions League qualifying match against FK Sarajevo to put Celtic 3-1 in the lead!
Anthems like ‘Baby Jane’, ‘Sailing’, ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy, and ‘Maggie May’ finished the show and we grabbed a couple of the big balloons as keepsakes and slowly walked back – all the way – to our hotel – in Gateshead!
What a night. Thoroughly enjoyed by both of us…and with a bit of an extra story on the side,
Great times.
Review By Colin Dodsworth
Main Rod Photo By Marc Baulisch-Steines
Photo of Don Don Kirkpatrick and Julia Thornton at the Malmaison Hotel with Paul Monkhouse Thanks to Paul
Other photos By Colin Dodsworth
Montage by Tommy Kevitt