TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY 25/10/89. In March 1988 I became the landlord of a city centre pub in Leeds called The Duchess of York. By then I had been an independent promoter for 12 years and had just relinquished a directorship/partnership at The Astoria on Roundhay Road. Over that time I had brought to Leeds many emerging bands, who were later to fill stadiums, from The Police to U2, from The Stranglers to The B52s. None of those shows caused more interest than a package I promoted twenty five years ago today. On Wednesday 25th October 1989 I brought to The Duchess a line-up headlining a Seattle based metal/grunge band on the Sub Pop label called Tad; the opening act was a Husker Du influenced band from Scotland, The Cateran, and, in the middle spot, another Seattle band, also signed to Sub Pop, going by the name of Nirvana. When I booked the show, through visionary young agent, Russell Warby, I mentioned that there was already a psychedelic British band called Nirvana, they had brought out a few well received albums in the late 60s. The British Nirvana even had a hit single in 1968 with Rainbow Chaser. Russell said it wouldnt make much difference as nobody knew of this American Nirvana and that they would address the problem should they grow any bigger. Just to be on the safe side, and to avoid a load of disillusioned hippies turning up, I added an H to the end of the name on the publicity, so they became Nirvanah for a day :) Russell later went on to nurture The White Stripes/Jack White and is now one of the biggest agents in the country. The British Nirvana sued and allegedly ended up being paid £150k for the use of the name, which is probably more than they made from any of their records. As for the gig: It was the third show on the tour after Newcastle and Manchester, there were about 100 - 120 people in the venue. Must say I dont remember much about The Cateran, I was on the door collecting admissions when they played. However, because it wasnt that busy, I put one of the staff on the door and decided to do some lights for the next act, Nirvana. All I can remember is the energy, I was impressed with the bass player and his hooks and the way the three piece worked together, but must admit I didnt see the meteoric future that awaited them. My recollection of the performance that night was that they were a bit shambolic and Kurt seemed to be slightly pissed off. At the end of the set they stormed off stage, Kurt swung his guitar and batted an expensive Sennheiser drum mic. Our Geordie sound guy, Geoff Bell, jumped from behind his desk and went to pin Kurt against the wall, Look what youve done to my f***in mic, man!. The tour manager rushed over, pulled Geoff away and placated him by promising to replace as new the next day. Next on stage was Tad, the bands frontman, Tad Doyle was a massive bear of a man who dominated the stage. The band put in a solid, rocking performance and were most definitely the best act on the tour, deserving their headline status. After the show, we pulled out the pool table and the bands relaxed until about 3 or 4 in the morning. I dont recall Kirk doing much speaking, he seemed pleasant, but a touch moody. However, I do remember having a long conversation with Kris, who appeared to be the spokesman for the band. Above the pub I had a room where the bands could stay. I kept a few duvets in the cupboard and a few mattresses on the floor. There was also an old white leather couch, which, I understand, was bagged by Kurt. None of the bands would have Tad sleep in the same room with them, as he snored too much, so I gave him the couch in my office. The following morning the tour manager, true to his word, brought in a new Sennheiser mic. He also bought an electric guitar from Big Deal, the 2nd hand shop a few doors down from the Duchess. He said that it was Kurts thing to do up cheap guitars and smash them during the act. An expensive attention-grabber, but it paid off in the end. Shortly after this tour, Nirvanas drummer, Chad Channing, left and was replaced by Dave Grohl, who had previously played The Duchess in a Washington DC hardcore band called Scream. By coincidence, I promoted Nirvana (with L7) again exactly a year later, on Thursday 25th October 1990, at Leeds Poly. They were on the rise, but not quite there yet. A D.I.Y collective known as Flame In Hand had booked Victims family and Arm into the Duchess on that day, but realising that both gigs would clash, we amalgamated them together. The Poly gig featured Nirvana, L7, Victims Family and Arm. There were less than 500 people in attendance and we just about broke even. A year later, after the MTV rotation of Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana became the biggest rock band of that era. Needless to say, they had rocketed out of my sphere and I never saw them again. :)
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 10:53:10 +0000
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