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THE BEST CONCERT I NEVER WENT TO
What was the best concert you ever went to? When you see your favourite band or singer live or go to a much anticipated concert you will always remember it. You’ll recall it at every opportunity. As soon as a song comes on the radio you’ll say, ‘I saw them at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1972’ (or words to that effect).
If you enjoy live music, you will certainly have one or two stand out concerts that easily come to mind. Paul Mumford (on Forest Radio 6-9pm weekdays) remembers one concert in particular very well. It was the best concert he never went to. Find out more below.
The best Saturday job.
It’s the summer of 1985 and I’m 15. Fresh out of school I had managed to land my ideal first Saturday job, working at a record shop. The shop in question was the unfortunately named Trumps Records in Loughton, Essex. During the few months in between leaving school and starting college I put in as many hours there as I could. Having been an avid record collector since the age of 8, most of the money I earned ended up back in the till.
1985 was a peak year for music sales. CD’s were the latest thing and many people were busy filling their shelves with new, digital copies of their favourite classic albums. People were still buying vinyl too. Not just albums but the 12” single was huge and 7” singles were still selling by the bucket load. Then there were pre-recorded cassettes and blank media. The likes of TDK, Maxell and BASF providing the means for us to copy our mates new albums (naughty, but we all did it) and video meant we could now record stuff off the telly too.
Perks of the job
There were many perks that came with working in a record store in the mid 1980’s. My favourite perk was when the record reps came through the door with a cardboard box full of goodies. They were always giving away samples of their new stock and offering tickets to concerts. I remember there being a bit of a buzz around one particular concert happening that summer. None of us really knew how much of a big event it was to become but we were all talking about it. I am, of course, talking about Live Aid. The Global Jukebox.
So, when one rep came into the store and offered two of us tickets to the concert at Wembley on 13th July we were pretty excited. The problem was that someone had to work in the shop on that day. Only one of the Saturday staff could go. So, in the interest of fairness we both turned down the tickets. What an idiot I was. I turned down the opportunity to be at probably the biggest live music event in my lifetime.
The big day
July 13th arrived and remember, at this point nobody really knew how much of a big event Live Aid would turn out to be. However, almost every major recording artist around in 1985 was going to be playing either in the UK or Philadelphia (or in the case of Phil Collins, both). So I was all too aware that this was a hot ticket I had passed up. I had turned down the opportunity to see Status Quo, Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones, Sade, David Bowie (my hero), Paul McCartney and of course let’s not forget that legendary set from Queen. I could have been there for all of it.
So on Live Aid day I showed up for work at that little record shop on the corner of Loughton High Street ready for action. It was a very busy Saturday. I can still vividly remember selling almost nothing but blank videos and blank cassettes for all the Essex music fans who didn’t even get a sniff at a ticket. They were all eager to get home so they could illegally record the event from the TV or radio for prosperity.
As it got closer to the start of the concert at 12 noon, the shop got quieter. Then from 12, it was dead. We didn’t see a soul. Our boss and the owner of the store, Martin had bought in a portable telly so we could watch everything unfold in glorious black and white. As it transpired, we could have easily closed the store that afternoon. Anyone with even a mild musical appetite wasn’t going to be anywhere near a record store on that afternoon. They, like us, were eager to consume every second as it happened.
I do seem to remember us closing the shop early that day. That evening I was being dragged to a barbeque at my Dad’s sailing club. I wasn’t all that keen with the prospect of missing the action, but I had arrived home that afternoon armed with the longest video cassette money could buy. So, I managed to record the rest of the concert as it wrapped up in London and eventually came to a close in Philadelphia.
A second bite of the cherry
So that’s it. My story of the best concert I never went to. Sir Bob Geldof did have another bite at the cherry though 20 years later by staging the similar Live 8 in Hyde Park. This concert didn’t quite live up to the legacy of the first, but I was lucky enough to be there this time around. I watched as Paul McCartney and U2 recreated Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, enjoyed the likes of Madonna, Sting, Elton John, The Who and the reformed Pink Floyd all do their thing. While it was a privilege to be there it really didn’t compare to the original.
I’ve been very lucky to see many of my heroes perform live since and have many happy memories to share as I’m sure you have. What was your favourite concert? Preferably one you actually attended. Or maybe you were lucky enough to be at Live Aid itself? What was it like? Did I really miss out as much as I think I did? I almost don’t want to know … but I kinda do.
Paul can be heard on Foresr Radio Monday to Thursday 6-8pm and for the Saturday Social, Saturday mornings from 9. Click here
to send him a request.
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