Journey - Recollections
Here's a trio of blasts from the past.
Below are scans of very old prints that have seen better days, but bring back memories. Evolution U.K. Tour, Sheffield City Hall, 24th March 1979.
The band shot is not great, but the close-ups are a reminder of what was hair today, gone tomorrow...
The Gregg Rolie shot is zoomed from a box seat and from memory may even be the Glasgow Apollo date of 22nd March, but is just as likely to be Sheffield.
Many bands loved the Glasgow Apollo, the atmosphere and the Glaswegian (or 'Weegie') crowd. One of the many who cited it as one of his favourite gigs to play (if not the gig) back in the day was Sammy Hagar.
I didn't attend the Sheffield gig and these photos were by a concert photographer I used to keep in contact with (whose name sadly escapes me - if you're reading this please get in touch).
He did all the name bands from the mid-70's to at least the mid-80's eighties and for all I know he may well still be doing it.
Here's a trio of blasts from the past.
Below are scans of very old prints that have seen better days, but bring back memories. Evolution U.K. Tour, Sheffield City Hall, 24th March 1979.
The band shot is not great, but the close-ups are a reminder of what was hair today, gone tomorrow...
The Gregg Rolie shot is zoomed from a box seat and from memory may even be the Glasgow Apollo date of 22nd March, but is just as likely to be Sheffield.
Many bands loved the Glasgow Apollo, the atmosphere and the Glaswegian (or 'Weegie') crowd. One of the many who cited it as one of his favourite gigs to play (if not the gig) back in the day was Sammy Hagar.
I didn't attend the Sheffield gig and these photos were by a concert photographer I used to keep in contact with (whose name sadly escapes me - if you're reading this please get in touch).
He did all the name bands from the mid-70's to at least the mid-80's eighties and for all I know he may well still be doing it.
I used to have a serious amount of prints and photos of live acts from this period. Unfortunately, other than a few Todd Rundgren/ Utopia shots from Hammersmith Odeon 1975 and Knebworth 1979 (and I don't even know where I've put those), these are the only ones I kept from back in my day of championing and promoting bands such as Journey in the UK via contacts with PR individuals, radio stations, music mags, journalists, fan clubs and in some cases the bands themselves.
This was part of the era that was, for me, the very definition of Journey as regards commercially creative peak, personnel and musical chemistry within the band.
I still cite that Glasgow Journey show as one of the best rock concerts I've ever attended.
That's partly because of the overall sound and quality of performance, but primarily because of the crisp and brilliant playing of Neal Schon and the vocal histrionics of Steve Perry.
And it didn't hurt that The Pat Travers Band were part of that double-headlining show (another favourite and an artist I promote to this day).
In retrospect these images, three decades on, can be seen as a visual presentation and interpretation of part of my Personal Journey...
Thirty years later and there's a new JRNY audience (along with a percentage of the long-time fans), but for others like myself Journey can no more function as Journey (in musicality, creativity and progression) without both Neal Schon and Steve Perry being part of the equation. And Perry of course wasn't an original member of the band. Nor even their first lead vocalist.
Their individual abilities as combined talents, along with their creative energy, helped produce what was a genuine phenomenon in both rock music and Journey's live performances.
They were the Heart & Soul, or perhaps more accurately the Fire & Friction, that truly made Journey work, whilst fully acknowledging the Journey legacy and classic sound is also due to the contributions of musicians such as Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, Steve Smith and the song writing skills of Jonathan Cain.
For many, the name is not important. For others, it means particular individuals within a collective, creating a fondness for both band and music that - try as they might - will never be heard or created exactly that way again.
And memories of 30 years ago. Thirty. How the hell did that happen?
Ross Muir
October 2009
This was part of the era that was, for me, the very definition of Journey as regards commercially creative peak, personnel and musical chemistry within the band.
I still cite that Glasgow Journey show as one of the best rock concerts I've ever attended.
That's partly because of the overall sound and quality of performance, but primarily because of the crisp and brilliant playing of Neal Schon and the vocal histrionics of Steve Perry.
And it didn't hurt that The Pat Travers Band were part of that double-headlining show (another favourite and an artist I promote to this day).
In retrospect these images, three decades on, can be seen as a visual presentation and interpretation of part of my Personal Journey...
Thirty years later and there's a new JRNY audience (along with a percentage of the long-time fans), but for others like myself Journey can no more function as Journey (in musicality, creativity and progression) without both Neal Schon and Steve Perry being part of the equation. And Perry of course wasn't an original member of the band. Nor even their first lead vocalist.
Their individual abilities as combined talents, along with their creative energy, helped produce what was a genuine phenomenon in both rock music and Journey's live performances.
They were the Heart & Soul, or perhaps more accurately the Fire & Friction, that truly made Journey work, whilst fully acknowledging the Journey legacy and classic sound is also due to the contributions of musicians such as Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, Steve Smith and the song writing skills of Jonathan Cain.
For many, the name is not important. For others, it means particular individuals within a collective, creating a fondness for both band and music that - try as they might - will never be heard or created exactly that way again.
And memories of 30 years ago. Thirty. How the hell did that happen?
Ross Muir
October 2009
