Who've you seen live most times?

[AndyM]

Aaah, you're just saying that to be polite.... Nobody cares about tribal disputes between anarcho punks, hippies and hell's angels anymore. What's funny is how important it all seemed at the time.

I assure you that's not true. Subcultural history is a thriving field (or fieldette).

[Hugh Weldon]

Andy

anyone remember the unspeakable Bru Cru?)

(Fortunately) not. But Adam's just reminded me of This Heat for the first time in 30 years.

[Adam Blake]

Well, you surprise me. I think that kind of thing is best done as oral history - interviews with people who were there. But that is collecting material rather than writing about it. I suppose one could do both!

Hugh: This Heat were fab! Definitely the best of that post-punk industrial mob. The "Health And Efficiency" EP and the first album were firm favourites and they still sound pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gw0oF5eFeo

[kevin]

x

[kas]

Umm... All of the below are very much local names - no outsiders venture here often enough, although I think Motörhead have been gigging here regularly for some 30 years.

Ismo Alanko, Kauko Röyhkä and 22PP, all about 20 times from 1979 - 1980 onwards. All consistently good, sometimes staggeringly so.
22PP provide the most fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhoLdw1s ... re=related

[Jamie Renton]

Howlin Wolf, Miles Davis, Franco, Bessie Smith, Otis Redding, Charles Mingus and Muddy Waters. All in their prime, all on numerous occasions, but only ever in my dreams.

In reality I've never really kept score of such things but...
Elvis Costello - dunno how many times, but I gave up on him decades ago
Billy Bragg- at every free political rally in the 80s (he was my Hawkwind)
The Bhundu Boys and 4 Brothers - whenever they came over here in the 80s
Ian Dury- a fair few times
Khaled
Various line-ups featuring Ben Mandelson

Obviously since I've started putting on gigs I've seen lots of people (Errol n Adam, Al-Andalus/Fantazia, Grupo Lokito etc etc) lots of times, but I don't think that counts

[AndyM]

Billy Bragg Was My Hawkwind: Memoranda From The Musical Front-Line (University of Ipswich Press, £29.99)

"A triumph" - Andy Kershaw

[gary booth]

In the 4-6 times category: The Clash, Nick Lowe, Ron Sexsmith, John Hiatt, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Kevin Coyne, Graham Parker, and then Street Band, Q Tips, solo, & Los Pacaminos too many times to remember as this falls into the 'not really allowed' bit as I know Paul Young. And like Adam said about Nick Lowe, he's a lovely bloke and once had a good voice and occasionally made a decent record.
Oh, and I've seen Gryphon once.

[Adam Blake]

I used to see Kevin Coyne a lot in the 70s. He was always good value. Likewise, Michael Chapman. Caravan, I saw a few times. John Martyn at least four times. I used to go to a LOT of gigs in the 70s! Considering how young I was (I was born in 1960), my parents were very cool about it. I think they knew that I'd go anyway whether they let me or not. In the punk days, when I just about looked old enough to get served in most pubs, you could easily see 12 bands a week in London. There were so many places putting on gigs. 50p or 75p to get in, maybe £1 if the headline band had a record deal. Good times.

I remember Nik Cohn's chapters on Merseybeat and R&B England: "it's just that there won't be any time when you could open your Melody Maker, scan the clubs, walk down the street and hear so much noise for 7s 6d." That briefly flowered again in my late teens. Is it possible it could happen again?

[Nick Boyes]

Osibisa in my early concert days.
Fairport Convention every year at St Albans Civic Centre and still going even though they are even more past their sell by date than I am and always have the feeling that they are just going through the motions of being a folk-rock band.
5x for Bellowhead
Salif Keita whenever he plays London

[Marti Owen]

As a teenager, the frequency I saw some Merseybeat bands seems uncountable- Rory Storm, Undertakers, Big Three, Escorts seemed to be at some venue every weekend.

Later in London life as a habitue of the Kensington, Greyhound, Nashville Rooms and the Half Moon it seemed to be a constant cycling of:
Kilburns, Dr Feelgood, Bon Temps Roulez, D P Costello... but memory may fail me.

In many guises, I suppose Albert Lee seems to turn up on stage and always entertains..
and again out of longevity Martin Carthy (solo, Swarb, Steeleye, Waterson-Carthy etc)... and Fairport - who will turn up in rural Wales from time to time.

Anyway - with memories of Butlitz Pwllheli residency - Rory Storm and the Hurricanes

http://youtu.be/rYAL-eBfBno

[NickH]

Jamie wrote:

Billy Bragg- at every free political rally in the 80s

Billy's gigs today are as good as they were in the 1980s (I saw him play live a couple of times last year).

The Undertones would add Guildford Civic Hall to their tour itinerary whenever they had a new LP released, so I saw them perform live 3 or 4 times.

Although I've returned to see many performers I like play live again, The Clash and Loudon Wainwright III are the only acts I've paid to see twice in one week.

[allears]

It`s a good question, and I think the prize for the most impressive answer so far goes equally to Rob Hall and will vine.
In fact I was probably standing next to will vine at some concerts, because I also saw Rory G, Dr. Feelgood, Chicken Shack and Kokomo (who were much better live than on record).
People that I`ve seen more than once include Dylan, Beefheart, John Martyn, Stefan Grossman and the lesser-known, Sam Mitchell :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCKlYuL4 ... re=related

[will vine]

As I further reflect, and add the names of Family and Youssou N'Dour to my list, I also consider that I must start to get out more.

[garth cartwright]

Errol Linton more times than I can remember (most often with Adam but not always).

Alabama 3 more than a dozen times - I was living in Brixton when they started out and they were playing the local venues. Always a good show and last year they were on storming form at Womad.

Dr John - seen him maybe ten times.

Iggy - five or six times. I swore I'd never see him again after a poor Brixton Academy show then he reformed The Stooges and was better than ever.

Allen Toussaint - I've paid to see Allen almost every time he comes to London and will continue to do so.

Nick Lowe - seen him half a dozen times and will go see him again in March. A fine crooner with some very good songs.

Alejandro Escovedo - I go see AE every time he comes to London. Sometimes he's exceptional. Sometimes he's not.

Khaled - ditto. Possibly the best live male singer I have ever witnessed. On a good night he is just incredible.

Taraf de Haidouks. I've seen this outfit countless times. I doubt I will go see them again as the older members have died and they don't really have much fresh to offer.

There's probably a few others I've seen lots of times - I'm a fan boy and love a good gig. Charlie did prefer recorded music but he went to a lot of gigs including the Stones in Hyde Park!