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Last updated: May 20, 2013

17 March 2013.On this date i went to my 5950th gig.
Status Quo live at Wembley Arena,London.
Looks like i will get to 6000 gigs after all.
2013 will be the 40th anniversary of my first ever gig in 1973.
1.Slade Geordie Suzi Quatro (Pop Party) Brands Hatch Racetrack,Kent 12.08.1973 No singing just personal appearance. I can remember picking up all these Chris Jagger singles that the promo girl threw out the window.
2.Wizzard + Raymond Froggart Hammersmith Palais, London 11.09.1973 First ever proper live concert. We met the band upstairs in the circle after the show for autographs.
3.Mott The Hoople + Queen Hammersmith Odeon, London 14.12.1973
My first of over 2000 shows at this venue.
Whatever happened to the support band???



Journey Co-Headlining show with Whitesnake
With Special Guest: Thunder
May 16, 2013 - Belfast, UK - Odyssey Arena
May 18, 2013 - Glasgow, UK - SECC
May 20, 2013 - Sheffield, UK - Motorpoint Arena
May 22, 2013 - Newcastle, UK - Metro Radio Arena
May 23, 2013 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Arena
May 25, 2013 - Nottingham, UK - Capital FM Arena
May 26, 2013 - Cardiff, UK - Motorpoint Arena
May 28, 2013 - Birmingham, UK - LG Arena Birmingham
May 29, 2013 - Wembley, UK - Wembley Arena
See www.livenation.co.uk link to buy tickets.




BON JOVI play...
Sat 08/June/13 Manchester Eithad Stadium...
Sun 09/June/13 Birmingham Villa Park...
Wed 12/June/13 Cardiff City Stadium...
Thu 13/June/13 Sunderland Stadium Of Light..
Sat 15/June/13 Dublin Slane Castle...
Sun 16/June/13 Isle Of Wight Festival(headline)
Wed 03/July/13 Glasgow Hampden Park...
Fri 05/July/13 London Hyde Park...


The Who will play their "Quadrophenia" album in full and other classic tracks at:
Dublin The O2 (June 8)
Belfast Odyssey (10)
Glasgow SECC (12)
London The O2 (15) and (16)
Sheffield Motorpoint Arena (18)
Newcastle Metro Arena (20)
Manchester Arena (23)
Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (25)
Birmingham LG Arena (28)
Liverpool Echo Arena (30)
EXTRA DATE...Wembley Arena...08 July



ZZ Top are to play two UK shows as part of their European summer tour.
MONDAY 24 JUNE HAMMERSMITH APOLLO
TUESDAY 25 JUNE MANCHESTER APOLLO
To buy tickets go to www.livenation.co.uk


The Rolling Stones play Glastonbury Festival at the end of June then Hyde Park on 06 July and 13 July.


Roger Waters plays
Wembley Stadium 14 Sept 2013.
Manchester Arena 16 Sept 2013.



DEEP PURPLE - LIVE DATES OCTOBER 2013
SATURDAY 12 02 APOLLO MANCHESTER
SUNDAY 13 GLASGOW CLYDE AUDITORIUM
TUESDAY 15 BIRMINGHAM NIA
WED/THUR 16/17 LONDON ROUNDHOUSE
Their new album NOW What? is out 29 April 2013.
In May 2013 The Highway Star, a Deep Purple website, listed the chart position for the album from a number of countries and asked why do American fans ignore the album yet German fans still love Deep Purple so much???:
Chart placings....
USA: #115
UK: #19
Germany: #1
Austria: #1
Czech Republic: #1
Switzerland: #2
Russia: #3 (unconfirmed)
Norway: #4 first week, #1 second week
Poland: #5
Sweden: #7
Finland: #8
Worldwide: #11
Netherlands: #12 first week, #48 second week
Italy: #12
Spain: #19
France: #19
Greece: #20
Denmark: #26
Belgium:
Flemish chart: #33 first week, #37 second week
French chart: #36 first week, #14 second week
Ireland: #87




23 April 2013.Some very nice surprise tour news.
Mott The Hoople are to play a UK tour.
It’s the band’s first shows since a set of reunion appearances in London in 2009. It was the first time the original lineup had gathered for 35 years.
I went to all five of their Hammersmith Apollo shows.
The dates tie in nicely as Mott The Hoople were the first headline act i saw at Hammersmith Odeon in 1973....Yep 40 years ago.
Mott The Hoople UK tour
Nov 11: Birmingham Symphony Hall
Nov 13: Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
Nov 16: Newcastle City Hall
Nov 17: Manchester O2 Apollo
Nov 18: London O2 Arena
Tickets go on sale Friday 26 April 2013.



Black Sabbath new album '13' out 10 June 2013.
Black Sabbath will play:
London O2 Arena (December 10)
Belfast Odyssey Arena (December 12)
Sheffield Arena (December 14)
Glasgow Hydro (December 16)
Manchester Arena (December 18)
Birmingham LG Arena (December 20)
EXTRA SHOW Birmingham N.I.A.(December 22)



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BEST GIGS OF 2012.
Here is my Top 20 bands/gigs of 2012.Another great year as i went to 187 live music related events.
This brings the total seen by me since 1973 to 5919 so the UKs number one gig goer will hit the 6000 mark in 2013.There were loads of great gigs i saw that never made the Top 20 but here are a few of my fave ones of the year and a few words on why they were the best ones for me.
1.The Rolling Stones live at The 02 Arena 25 Nov and 29 Nov 2012.
The most talked about gigs of the year.The anticipation was super high like when i went to see the Led Zeppelin show at The 02 in 2007.The Stones were mega.Over two hours on stage each night.Mick Jagger was just incredible.
2.Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band + John Fogerty live at Hyde Park 14 July 2012.
Bruce and the boys only deal in 10/10 shows.
A mega gig and the support was one of Bruce's heroes John Fogerty playing his only UK show of the year.
3.KISS live at The Forum 04 July 2012.
My fave American band in London for a few days of press and a one off UK show.I went to the press conference the day before the gig,then the gig itself and the aftershow party at The Playboy Club.The gig was hotter than hell inside as totally oversold but a great atmosphere.
4.Beach Boys live at Royal Albert Hall 27 Sept 2012 and Wembley Arena 28 Sept 2012.Beach Boys reunion shows were just amazing.Over three hours on stage each night.So many songs played.
5.Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers live at The Royal Albert Hall June 18 and June 20 2012.
Tom had not played the UK for over a decade so to see him play live again was very special.
6.Alice Cooper live at Wembley Arena 28 Oct 2012.
An act that plays every year but is just always fantastic to watch and who delivers every time.
7.Guns And Roses + Thin Lizzy live at The 02 Arena
31 May and 02 June 2012.His timekeeping is crap but Axl and hired hands always put on a superb show.Also Thin Lizzy as support was great.
8.Paul McCartney live at The Royal Albert Hall
29 March 2012.Another fantastic Macca show but restrictions on pyros meant no "Live And Let Die".
9.Robbie Williams live at The 02 Arena 23 Nov and 24 Nov 2012.This show was an "in the round" production which worked amazing as the whole crowd were crazy from start to finish.
10.Rammstein live at The 02 Arena 24 Feb 2012.
German rockers put on a visually stunning show with fire contraptions and stunts being used pretty much during each song.
11.Roger Daltrey + Paul Weller + Kelly Jones + Steve Winwood live at The Royal Albert Hall 28 March 2012.Roger on top form and a great bunch of support acts on the bill.
12.Judas Priest live at Hammersmith Apollo 26 May 2012.A fantastic 2 hours 25 mins of loud metal with a great stage show.
13.Leonard Cohen live at Wembley Arena 08 Sept and 09 Sept 2012.Amazing shows from this Canadian legend.Age 77 and playing three hour sets.Wow.
14.Blur + Specials + New Order live at Hyde Park 12 Aug 2012.A massive headline show by Blur playing all their best tunes with quality support.
15.Public Image Limited + Slaughter And The Dogs live at Rebellion Festival,Blackpool 04 Aug 2012.
I have seen PIL three other times this year.
However for this one i was front row for both bands.PIL were mega and a unique support from Manc punk legends Slaughter And The Dogs.Brilliant.
16.The Queen's Jubilee Concert At Buckingham Palace 04 June 2012 feat Paul McCartney + Stevie Wonder + Madness + Elton John + Grace Jones + Kylie Minogue + Robbie Williams plus others.Mega line up of acts playing short sets.
17.The Killers live at The 02 Arena 16 Nov and 17 Nov 2012.The Killers back with their fourth album and these shows were just totally fantastic.
18.Muse live at The 02 Arena 27 Oct 2012.
A stunning live production from Muse.
19.Elton John Band live at Wembley Arena 21 Sept 2012.The 85 mins set was shorter than normal for him but lots of hits played and i watched it from down the front.
20.Madonna live at Hyde Park 17 July 2012.
Madonna is always great live but she played a few too many new album tracks at this show.


My fave three small club gigs of 2012.
1.The Hives live at The Borderline 01 May 2012.
Swedish uptempo garage rockers played a great show.
2.Glen Matlock And The Philistines live at The 100 Club 23 Dec 2012.This was a tribute gig for Joe Strummer.Glen and his band played a brilliant set of solo material mixed with Sex Pistols and Rich Kids classics and excellent support acts TV Smith,Spizz Energi and Ed Tudor Pole made it a cracking punk rock event.
3.Paul Weller live at The 100 Club 01 Aug 2012.
Amazing to see PW in this small venue.It was rammed so mega sweaty in this famous venue.


I also went to a few music awards in 2012.
The BRIT Awards,NME Awards,Ivor Novello Awards,
Q Awards,Classic Brit Awards,Metal Hammer Awards and The Classic Rock Awards.
The premiere of The Led Zeppelin dvd "Celebration Day" at Hammersmith Apollo with a great party afterwards was also a good one.






BEST GIGS OF 2011.
Here is my Top 20 bands/gigs of 2011.Another great year as i went to 180 music related events.
This brings the total seen by me since 1973 to 5731 so the UKs number one gig goer will hit the 6000 mark in two or three years.There were loads of great gigs on but here are a few of my fave ones of the year .............
1.Paul McCartney live at The 02 Arena,London.
A stunning show.Macca seems to play London every year these days with a nice long set including loads of Beatles classics.Gig of the year........
2.Alice Cooper + New York Dolls live at Alexandra Palace,London.A fantastic pair of legends on the same bill.New York Dolls played a full 75 mins set and Alice Cooper was rock theatre at its very best as usual................
3.Foo Fighters live at The Roundhouse,London.
A rare indoor show for this stadium rock band.
A long show of over 2 hours 30 mins.Their 90 mins set at Brixton Academy for The NME Awards was also great.Sadly i did not get along to see their show at Wembley Arena as same night was a great event to launch John Lydons book "Mr Rottens Scrapbook" .....
4.Roger Waters live at The 02 Arena,London.
I went to three of these fantastic shows.........
5.Kylie Minogue live at The 02 Arena,London.
You would be surprised how good a show Kylie puts on.I went along to see it three times.......
6.Def Leppard + Motley Crue + Steel Panther live at LG Arena,Birmingham and Wembley Arena.The best indoor rock package of the year.Three great bands ....
7.Ozzy Osbourne live at Hammersmith Apollo.
A greatest hits set by this rock legend..........
8.Iron Maiden live at The 02 Arena,London.
I went to both the shows at this venue...........
9.Brian Wilson live at The Royal Festival Hall.
So many great Beach Boys songs..................
10.Who + Debbie Harry + Jeff Beck + Bryan Adams live at Hammersmith Apollo.A one off charity show that started off the year great.............
11.Manic Street Preachers live at The 02 Arena,London.Amazing one off show where they played all their 38 singles ..
12.Roger Daltrey live at The Royal Albert Hall,London.A great show by this Who legend......
13.Elton John live at The Royal Opera House,London.A one off charity show in this amazing venue.Just Elton and Ray Cooper..........
14.Lenny Kravitz live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.A fantastic 2 hour show............
15.Red Hot Chili Peppers live at The 02 Arena,London.Funk rock at its best...............
16.Public Image Limited live at Guilfest.Punk legend John Lydon on top form
17.Bon Jovi live at Hyde Park,London.
A full three hour show .......
18.Buzzcocks + 999 live at The Punk By The Sea Festival,Portsmouth.A fantastic punk alldayer on the pier.An excellent atmosphere.................
19.Motorhead + UK Subs live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.Rock legends always great..........
20.Bryan Adams live at The 02 Arena,London.
Greatest hits 2 hours 15 mins set.Really good....

It was also another good year for music awards as i attended The BRIT Awards,NME Awards,Ivor Novello Awards,MOJO Awards,Metalhammer Awards,
BMI Awards,Q Awards and Classic Rock Awards.

Also in London we are spoilt to see big bands in small venues/secret gigs.Here are my top three...
Manic Street Preachers live at The Hard Rock Cafe.Just 200 people with free booze and food for this Q Mag event.On stage for 80 mins........
Lady Gaga live at Annabels.One of the poshest clubs in London for this four song set with free booze for 200 guests including Kate Moss and Stephen Fry.No real Lady Gaga fans here.Just a bunch of posh folks ..........
Lenny Kravitz live at The Box,Soho,London.
Just 200 people here for this 65 mins hits gig for Absolute Radio with free booze at one of Londons coolest new clubs ....

Going to less and less festivals these days as standing up all day at my age half a mile from the stage with huge crowds and with possible rain does not appeal that much when i can see the same bands in London.Always better to see bands indoors rather than outdoors.



Check out some photos of me taken in 2009 on www.london-media.co.uk and type in Ray Morrissey in the search.

BEST GIGS OF 2010.
Here is my Top 10 bands/gigs of the 208 music related events i went to in 2010.This brings the grand total of gigs seen by me since 1973 to 5551.Great gigs can be great for various reasons.Its just my personal choice..............
1.KISS.Bigger and better than ever.I saw them nine times.Seven UK arena shows and an
amazing club show at The Islington Academy and also overseas in Madrid,Spain that has to go down as the gig of the year where they played two extra songs on top of the UK setlist and i had an hours meet and greet with the band with photos of me with the band in full make up and costumes,autographs and swag galore that was very kindly arranged by KISS UK and Europe booking agent Rod MacSween.See the picture in my photo gallery........

2.Paul McCartney.The last few years he seems to be on some kind of mission to play every venue in London.I saw him three times.Hyde Park was great but small gigs at The 100 Club and Hammersmith Apollo were pure 10s.................

3.Alice Cooper.I went to both the Halloween shows at The Roundhouse.From start to finish it just mega.Over 30 years since i first saw him live and every show is still just total quality and very theatrical ..........

4.Ozzy Osboune.I went to three shows.02 Arena,Roundhouse and the best was to 1000 hardcore fans at the tiny Oxford Academy.Like Alice Cooper it was a perfect greatest hits set from a true legend of rock ...

5.The Faces.Reunion shows with Mick Huchnall on vocals and Glen Matlock on bass.
I went to both UK shows.First to just 400 people at The BME Soundstage at The 02 Complex.then the Goodward Festival Show.Mick Hucknall did a fantastic job on vocals with those classic songs ....

6.Suede.Their first gig back after a few years away to just 300 fans at The 100 Club.
In full flow in such a small venue.This is why The 100 Club cannot be closed down.EVER..............

7.Aerosmith.Much better to see them indoors at The 02 Arena rather than Download Festival.
A briiliant show.Like KISS i have seen them at least once on each time they have come to the UK......

8.Specials .2009 had seen great shows by them at Brixton and Hammersmith and this year the The Royal Albert Hall really was bouncing to their non stop ska pop gems......

9.Iron Maiden.A stunning Sonisphere Festival show from these UK rock legends who are always great live.Excellent support from Iggy Pop And the Stooges and The Cult .....

10.Rammstein.German rockers who put on a stunning fire show that is totally mental.
Wembley Arena was superb and they headlined a great Sonisphere Festival with Motley Crue and Placebo..........And there were loads of other great gigs in 2010 ..........