King Street Club came alive this weekend with the third Tyneside Americana Blues Festival, welcoming an eclectic mix of music fans for three days of live entertainment.
The ILNS crew turned out decked in tartan for the Burns night finale headlined by Scottish teen sensations Bay City Rollers. The dance floor was already jumping as we arrived to the banging blues rock of Jed Thomas Band from Leeds. ‘We’re touring Holland next week. We’ve got an appearance on their equivalent of the The Old Grey Whistle Test,’ keyboardist ‘Paul the Hat’ told us later in the VIP lounge. ‘Did you know you’re also coming to play the Arran Rock ‘n’ Blues Festival in May?’ a lady’s voice piped up. ‘I don’t think we’re aware of that,’ Paul mused, looking every inch the part in a purple velvet suit and hat complete with silver snakeskin boots. ‘Well, I’m the organiser and I’ve booked your travel and accommodation anyway!’ Tina and Mick from Preston enthused: ‘He’s a fantastic piano player.’ The couple had been to every Tyneside Americana Festival and said that this was by far the best: ‘The venue is better. There’s a bigger room and everyone can get a seat.’ Mick reeled of his top three highlights of the weekend: ‘Whisky Flowers, Chris Jagger and Wishbone Ash.’
Next up Zac Schlutze Gang brought their electrifying blend of blues rock and punk, funk and soul, young Zac jumping all over the stage displaying his astounding guitar skills. Afterwards, friends Kathleen, Gillian, Christine and Margaret from the West End of Newcastle offered us their seats, as they had been at the festival all afternoon: ‘We wouldn’t usually come to see rock bands. It’s normally things like Take That! But it’s been great. Stephen Donnelly is a marvellous compère, he knows about all the turns and gives the audience insights into their backgrounds. Also – we’re very impressed by how clean the toilets are!’ The ladies had particularly enjoyed classic rock covers band Stormchaser, and I took the opportunity to tell their lead singer, Gregor, as he was procuring some food from Whitley Bay Pizza Company’s representative, Jeff, who was dressed for the occasion in a fabulous pink suit and hat. Cheeky Scot Gregor initially tried to pass himself off as one of the Bay City Rollers, the evening’s headline act, but there was no fooling our writer Carol, a die-hard fan who has followed the band most of her life: ‘I remember as a ten-year-old riding around on my bike decorated with tartan listening to them on my cassette player.’
So off we went on the hunt to meet Carol’s idols before the show. We had heard they might make an appearance in the VIP lounge, and were hopeful after bumping into some tartan-clad ladies from Ferryill, giddy from having had parts of their bodies and clothing signed by some of the band members. On our search we met 16-year-old super fan Katy from North Shields and her mum, desperate to meet even just one Roller. ‘Sorry,’ explained Jonny, one of the festival organisers, ’Woody won’t see anyone before the show.’ We compensated by offering Katy a photo shoot with the famous ILNS tote bag instead.
Heading back into the main room we realised just how many Rollers fans there were – everywhere we turned there were colourful characters decked in tartan. Imelda Haynes, who we thought had come a long way from Birmingham, proceeded to introduce us to Danielle and Sue, who had unbelievably travelled all the way from LA and Maine in the USA! Meanwhile Irene from Tynemouth couldn’t believe how lucky she was that the Bay City Rollers were playing right on her doorstep.
The loyal community of fans waited patiently as the bright lights went on while the raffle was drawn. The old-school social club, with its patterned walls and carpets and cheap drinks, all added to the overall retro 70s vibe. Finally, a Scottish flag adorned the stage and chants of ‘We want the Rollers!’ and ’B-A-Y, B-A-Y, B-A-Y, C-I-T-Y with an R-O-double-L-E-R-S… Bay City Rollers are the best!’ filled the room. The lads didn’t disappoint, belting out their repertoire of hits including ‘Summerlove Sensation’, ‘Give a Little Love’, ‘Saturday Night’ and
‘Shang-a-Lang’ and some covers such as the Ronettes ‘Baby I Love You’ and David Bowie’s ‘Suffragette City’. Scarves were waving and kilts were flapping as the band played up to their adoring audience – delighted little Katy got to sing a line and was rewarded with a high-five from one of her idols. During their last song a frenzied fan grabbed the set list off the stage and turned it over to reveal ‘Bye Bye Baby’ on the back – no surprises there as to what their encore would be!
Feeling a little flat after the band didn’t turn up in the VIP lounge yet again after the show, Carol was determined not to be outdone. She interrogated the roadies who directed her to the door of a small backstage room adorned with a ‘No Entry’ sign. After there was no answer to her knock, she proceeded to prise open the door and politely asked if she could meet her childhood heroes. They graciously obliged, and although it had taken a few decades, the little Shields lass finally had her dream come true.
