On this day in 1980, the band played the first gig of the huge headline tour to promote their debut album New Clear Days at Bradford University. Throughout June, they traveled the length & breadth of Britain on a 20 date trek which culminated in a London show at the Rainbow on the 28th of June.
If you were lucky enough to attend any of the shows, please let us know in the comments below…
Was at Manchester Uni gig. Great gig, got back stage after and met the band. Got a pick off Dave… Then the police raided the dressing room looking for drugs. Steve sent me on my way. Often wonder if they remember that night!
I was at the Rainbow gig on Saturday 28th June. I remember it being a great gig with new songs Galleries for Guns (an instant favourite which we had to wait a while to hear on record) and Johnny’s in Love Again. The were some pyrotechnics which went off at the front of the stage as well. I had seen the band play the Marquee 6 weeks earlier and they were equally good at The Rainbow. Obviously the smaller venue was a better setting to appreciate the band, but at the time we were thrilled that they were headlining bigger venues because we all wanted them to be mega successful.I am not sure the show was sold out because I seem to remember the upstairs being empty. The Chords, who we also enjoyed at the time, were the support act. I have a clipping of a review by Paolo Hewitt which outraged me at the time because it was overly critical.
Both Marquee gigs, Guildford and The Rainbow for me on this tour. The Marquee shows were memorable, like pretty much every gig in that special place, from memory there were at least five Vapors gigs at the Marquee that year and each one unforgettable – many lifelong friendships made that hold strong today. Don’t remember much about the Guildford gig probably due to last-train-home-on-a-school-night concerns, though I do remember the following year’s gig at the same venue much more clearly. The Rainbow finale had a sense of occasion about it with the band stepping up to a larger venue, truth be told the smaller venue gigs and less formal atmosphere suited (suits) them better in my opinion, but it was still a great night for the reasons mentions above by Michel, and of course the addition of The Chords to the bill.
I remember this tour well – I went to both Marquee gigs and The Rainbow with The Chords. One of the Marquee gigs was on the evening of Cup Final day (which Mike Philpott and Matt Inskip will both remember for different reasons) and was the first time I met and spoke with the band in the bar after the gig. Steve was incredibly friendly (still is!) and I nervously said hello to Dave, who gave me a can of Carling Black Label ‘for the journey home’ and one of his plectrums. Although I drank the beer, the can and ‘pick’ were prized possessions for many years, until either my Mum or my wife probably discarded them. The Vapors were and are absolutely my favourite live band and this tour was where the bug really bit me. Thanks for the beer Dave!