In Support ….of the Support – Part One

Once again I’ve found myself starting a piece for here where so much stuff has come into my mind I’ve had to split it.

The lot of a support band is not great. On a lower level tour you have to provide your own van, unload your own kit and organize your own sound test. Even on a top drawer one you might just about sneak k a few seats down the front on the super deluxe coach and even get a mouthful of Jack Daniels or a quick toke courtesy of the main men but it’s a slog.

You’re getting a 45 minute set with the amps turned down and no spectacular light show allowed. Often playing to a half full space with a disinterested audience and a lot of people more focused on getting tanked in the bars outside.

Support acts are often lost in the mists of time. I have absolutely no recollection of who supported Madonna at Wembley in 1990 or indeed Diana Ross at Wembley Arena in 1989 or Simply Red at the Docklands Arena in 1992.  When I was going to gigs in Sydney in the 80s there was a requirement for the support to be a local act. No chance of getting the big ones like AC/DC or INXS to do this kind of thing and even the big local ones were reluctant. You ended up being treated to a third tier band filling in time.

I’ve seen bad ones over the years but some really good ones and there seems to be a trend to have better support acts now. There’s some I’ve enjoyed whose name I can’t remember – there was a UB40 type reggae band supporting Public Image Limited last Christmas who were better than the main act

Here are my favourites – there’s a bit of recent bias in here partly due to memory but also as I said main acts seem more comfortable with a decent support band now. The more observant will note a significant gap in the noughties and teens – the kids were growing up and I travelled quite a lot for work. There just wasn’t time. Since the ridiculous lockdowns I’ve tried to fill in gaps but there’s a few still to go.

1. Blur

Supporting REM – Milton Keynes Bowl 1995

Milton Keynes Bowl is a dump. No two ways about it. A sparse flat piece of ground with a low bank around the perimeter so those 100 yards from the stage have half a chance of catching a glimpse of the acts.

Blur must have signed up for this one before the runaway success of Parklife released a year earlier. They were probably capable of doing this venue as headline. Still they came out and gave it everything. Played pretty much the whole album and anything else they could think of. Thousands of us singing “All the people”

REM were crap

2. The Bare Nakedladies

Supporting The Beautiful South – Wembley Arena 1999

Canada’s contribution to the international music world is dubious to say the least.

Inflicting Celine Dion, Rush, Bryan Adams and Shania Twain on us counts heavily against them.

There are redeeming features though – Arcade Fire being one and the Bare Nakedladies another robust competitor.

Wembley Arena at the time was the only show in town for big indoor gigs ( Blair and Falconer were still fraudulently trying to run the Dome ).

The good lady was well along with our first ( 6 or 7 months) and I’d thoughtfully booked standing tickets on the main floor. We got there early and secured a position some 10 or 15 yards from the stage. There was somewhere for her to sit if necessary and so we were all set.

The Bare Nakedladies came on and blew me away. High energy indie rock and One Week is still one of my favourite tracks. One of my best gigs ever – Beautiful South are really good as well.

3. Travis

Supporting Killers – O2 London 2024

Had to push the boat out for this one. Killers should have really been doing gigs in stadiums so had to pop a double ton each for posh tickets in the O2.

I loved the stuff Travis did in the noughties – quirky rock with good lyrics. I’ve always enjoyed that kind of thing. They came out and did a set with a lot more audience than most O2 supports. Didn’t do Coming Around but it was worth getting in early

4. Lightning Seeds

Supporting Madness – Blackheath Common 2024

Anyone been to a gig on Blackheath Common?

It’s basically on top of a hill so anyone arriving at Lewisham or Blackheath station faces a long uphill walk (It’s not as bad as Ally Pally but bad enough)

Broudie is going to be bearing the cross of Three Lions for the rest of his life but the stuff from the mid 90s gelled perfectly with the age and I still throw things like Pure and Simple, Life of Riley, Perfect, Lucky You and Marvellous on fairly frequently

5. Mike and the Mechanics

Supporting Rod Stewart – Wembley Stadium 1995

The original Wembley was a big old cave. The stands held just over 80,000 so if you set up at one end the loss of the stand area was compensated for by space on the pitch area so 80k was the crowd you got.

Rocking Rod (and he really was good live) had opted for a circular stage in the centre circle area meaning all the stands and pitch were available. Estimated crowd 110,000.

The first support was Curtis Stigers which I missed due to being in the Globe at Baker St watching the end of SA and France in the RWC semi final.. We arrived in time for this – the main support and had really good seats halfway up the stands on the halfway line.

A warm sunny June evening with a bit of breeze this was ideal. I suppose the band was an indulgence for Mike Rutherford but Paul Carrack’s vocals for Living Years, All I Need is a Miracle and Looking Back Over my Shoulder was the perfect introduction to Stewart’s energetic set where we all sung along to Maggie May, You Wear it Well and Sailing.

6. The Pixies

Supporting Kings of Leon – Hyde Park 2017

Hyde Park’s summer sessions are a bit of a mixed bag. Often promoting the sort of shite that appeals to teenage girls there are quite a few gems and this was one of them.

And it was by accident – a friend of the good lady couldn’t attend and we snapped them up for the first big gig we’d been to for a long time.

I hadn’t been to any gig for 7 or 8 years and a big outdoor one for nearer 20.  It was a shock. The old style loos without drainage where the smell knocked you over on entry were gone. So too were the warm bottles of Hofmeister and the sort of burgers that you had a decent chance of getting E Coli or worse from.

Toilets were clean and plentiful. Cold beer was on tap at numerous outlets and there was a vast variety of decent quality food available.

The Pixies were (or are) the archetypal American indie band from the 90s. Some of it is a bit jarring but we’d arrived in good time and took up a decent spot.

Another warm summer evening and tracks like Where is My Mind and This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven went down really well.

None of the bands I’ve mentioned above have I ever seen as a headline act. Nor has a support act ever influenced my decision to go to a gig. A good support act, however, enhances the evening and means you get there earlier. It is important, I think, for the main act to have complimentary support as it warms the audience up.

A few years ago I went to see Red Hot Chili Peppers and the support was ASAP Rocky. No doubt a decent act for people who enjoy that type of music but not my stuff at all. Sent a photo of his set to my lads and got the following response….

“I think someone has stolen Dad’s phone as he appears to be at an ASAP Rocky concert”

They know what I like.
 

© ArthurDaley 2026