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One of the cool things about working at a venue is collecting backstage passes. Most of mine were crack-back™ stickers or fabric cloth ones so didn’t stand the test of time. After the Gigs, I used to stick them onto my mobile disco console and my briefcase flight case (where I kept the DJ mic and spare styluses).
A couple have survived the passage of time.
This could have been from any year between 1975 and 1980, and possibly even from when I blagged my way backstage when they came to Coventry in ‘76 or ‘77. (& played Mastermind with the support act). I suspect that a Lindisfare expert will pop up in time and be able to date it. (Note it isn’t named or signed, they were more useful like that.)
This one is for the City Hall stage crew. It is actually a conceit, as I lived in Coventry by the time these were issued, so I was given it for old time’s sake. (I continued to visit the Hall when up North on Holiday for a number of years and worked the occasional show). The photo dates from 1978 and I am wearing a Coventry Eighteen plus Group Sweat Shirt.
I also found this picture of Colin Rowell the Stage Manager with his lovely Wife Angela, taken in the Stalls. (You can just about see the rows of seats disappearing into the distance behind). As the venue was council ran, his job title was Custodian. He eventually moved on to be floor Manager for The Tube at Tyne Tees Television
I’ve blogged about Colin a couple of times before and I’m sure we will meet again one day. I have very happy memories of helping decorate his Jesmond Flat and lending a hand at Gosforth Civic Hall over the summer of ‘76. He promised me a pair of Tannoy Reds…
