My Exeter Gigs - Alan Cottee
To introduce myself…
My name is Alan Cottee, I studied Geography at Exeter between September 1976 and July 1979. I then started a PGCE at Exeter through to 1980 but abandoned this early after deciding teaching wasn’t for me, subsequently having a career in I.T. until early retirement. To assist the alumni team in the development of a historical university concert listing, I have delved into my memories of music and gigs at Exeter during my time there; aided by my wife, friends, faded memories, and sometimes diaries!
Sometime in the brief interlude between lockdowns, I was in a pub with two friends discussing bands we’d seen, as you do, and I commented that we’d had many good bands at the University of Exeter. This led me, during lockdown in March 2021 to start compiling a list of the bands that had been to Exeter while I was there from September 1976 to June 1980. Early on I found that a complete list didn’t exist in one place on the internet, so it took a fair bit of research, using my memories, the internet, and picking the brains, and diaries of my wife Jacky and friends who were at Exeter with me. We came up with a list that may or may not be entirely accurate, but hopefully it’s close.
Before I went to Exeter University in 1976 I had only been to a few gigs. My first (May 1975) had been to see the prog rock band Yes at Stoke City football ground, along with three other bands, at the ludicrous price of £2.50 for the day. So, going to Exeter and discovering it had a large venue in the Great Hall, and a good reputation for attracting big bands, was fantastic for a (just) 18 year old who was into music. The Great Hall, with a capacity of around 2,000, was one of the bigger venues in the south west. I know the venue well, having been there for a few work related events in the last few years, and it doesn’t seem to have changed much. It’s a big space, and some sound perfectionists may think it’s not best suited to concerts but I remember the sound and atmosphere being great at the often packed performances. The view was always good I remember, with seating upstairs, and a big, high stage ensuring those standing also got a good view.
For me, the 1970s was the best decade for music, with so many new and up and coming bands, as well as established big bands – and it seemed many of them went to Exeter. So, I saw many of the bands I already knew (Genesis for example), bands I’d never heard of but enjoyed all the same, and many bands who would grow into big names of the 70s and beyond – just who were AC/DC? We saw rock, prog rock, punk rock, and stuff that wasn’t rock. We saw good bands, we saw bad, we saw a variety of music. There were about six gigs a term, and it was on our doorstep, and cheap! It was all about trying out new music and enjoying the experience.
These were the days of no internet, no computers, no mobile phones, and few phones in general, so queuing up was the normal way to get tickets, with some remembering all night queues for the big names, especially for the Summer Ball tickets. We heard about gigs mainly via posters put up by the Guild around campus and in halls by the hall Social Secretary, from who we could also buy tickets.
Exeter only had, I think, around 5,000 undergraduates, unlike the 20,000+ today. So there was I guess, reduced demand for tickets. I heard (via the John Giddings video interview) that until the early 70s gigs were open only to students, and that the Guild frequently made a loss. It was only after John Giddings suggested that gigs be open to the public too that they made a consistent profit. You can see why he went on to such a massive career in the world of music, where, amongst other things, he organises the IOW Festival. Maybe it was the improved attendances and revenue that enabled the university to attract the bigger bands that we benefitted from.
Before going onto discussing the bands we had back then, what were the costs of student life in the mid to late 70s? After canvasing a few Exeter graduate friends, these are indicative costs of the necessities of student life. Please accept the years may have caused some memories to be a bit hazy.
Some things will seem absurdly cheap; of course it’s all relative to income, but saying that, it even seemed cheap at the time on a student grant. To put things in context, my grant was £875 for the 1976/77 year, to include paying for accommodation.
Beer – by far the most important thing – was 20 to 23 pence a pint we think. We had the Ram and Ewe (now the Lemon Grove) bars on campus, with cheap offerings elsewhere, such as at Birks Hall where beer was 20p a pint.
Stamps (yes we had to write letters to people!) were 6.5 and 8.5p.
A good 2 course meal with drink in the refectory could be had for less than 50p. I used to get a lunch voucher from my Hall of Residence, Crossmead (which no longer exists as student accommodation).
Fuel – I think around 70p a gallon, so about 15/16p a litre, not that any of us knew what a litre was.
Football – To watch Exeter City FC, we could get in at half time for 50p. The first £1 million transfer (Trevor Francis, Birmingham to Nottingham Forest) took place while we were at university, and the first match he played in was a friendly at Exeter.
Other memories from friends indicate that in 1978-79, if you wanted to buy such things, an M&S pure wool jumper cost £7; Genesis album £4.40; weekend return Paddington to Exeter £13. Some of these costs seems disproportionate compared to today now and the price of a pint then!
Concert tickets – we think cost around £1.20 (Eddie and the Hot Rods) to £2.50 depending on the band. We did go to a couple of gigs in Bristol (Genesis, Billy Joel) when the cost was £3.50. The Gallagher & Lyle gig of November 1979 in the Great Hall was £1.75 in advance, £2.25 on the door. We think tickets were collected from us at the door or torn in half so between us we can’t lay our hands on many.
So we could go to a gig and have quite a few beers for less than £3.00! Not bad.
I have it on good authority that the summer ball 1979 had Ian Dury as the main act but also a support band in the main hall; a jazz band, disco, others in smaller rooms; and a meal of chicken salad, strawberries and cream and glass of wine for only £5! I missed it!
So that sets the scene. What were the stand out gigs? For me, the first big one was AC/DC in early 1977. Few had heard of this new band; I hadn’t before that gig. I won tickets by selling more Rag Mags than anyone else in a competition. Great gig, but why was one of them wearing shorts? And he still does! I remember it being different, exciting, powerful and loud! I had the customary ringing in the ears for several days afterwards.
The Xmas gig of 1976 featuring Heart was memorable for various reasons. It was a great evening with great music but there was a free Pernod promotion. Pernod was new to me, and unfortunately I took a liking to it. I woke up the next day, on the floor, in the same clothes, in my hall of residence room, in a very sorry state. No idea how I got back (it was three miles away). I’ve not touched Pernod since.
Others I really enjoyed include Peter Gabriel, who if I remember correctly approached the stage through the standing crowd in total darkness wearing a lamp on his head – very atmospheric. Seeing him was a real highlight as he’d previously been with a favourite band of mine – Genesis. Also good were The Damned, Dr Feelgood, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Boomtown Rats (on a Monday, who’d have thought it?), Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Genesis, The Ramones, Mud. We saw very different styles of music, and many were bands that I wouldn’t normally listen to or buy their albums, but that’s the benefit of having so much available to us at cheap prices; it was worth trying to see if we liked it. I credit those gigs (and university friends) with widening my knowledge and enjoyment of different bands and styles of music.
Another memorable gig, though not for the right reasons, was Gary Glitter. The atmosphere was unpleasant, and it seemed his style of glam rock/pop didn’t fit with the music of the day, which was punk to some degree. His relationship with the audience wasn’t good.
The ones I missed but wish I’d seen – The Jam (May 1979, I was revising for finals!), The Clash, Wishbone Ash, Iron Maiden, and Simple Minds. One band I wished had been there was Pink Floyd though I expect they had by then graduated to the larger venues. I did get to see them in various guises over the following decades. Friends would no doubt add Bruce Springsteen, Al Stewart, Supertramp, and the Eagles to that wish list, being music that we frequently listened to. We could wish!
Performers seemed much more ‘normal’ back then, as they occasionally mixed with the students. Ralph McTell was seen in the Ram having a beer before his performance, and I played darts against Fairport Convention in the Ram before their gig, with a friend playing pool against Thin Lizzy before an early 1976 gig.
So apart from having great, cheap gigs, a night out at one was pretty similar to now I guess – we’d meet up, have a beer or two, go to the gig, have more beer, have a Greasy Joe’s (burger van food), go home.
Since leaving Exeter I’ve seen a few of the bands again, all at smaller venues apart from Genesis at Wembley Stadium in 1987 and The Cure at Glastonbury in 2019. They include Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello, The Blockheads (minus Ian Dury), and The Damned. I’ve also been to many concerts of other bands down the years, ranging from small gigs in pubs and local halls to arenas, stadiums, and festivals – strangely only going to big festivals (Glasto, IOW) since I retired in 2015. I love watching and listening to music but can’t sing or play an instrument myself, unlike my wife Jacky and three children (one of whom also went to Exeter), who are all proficient in at least one instrument.
I’ve not yet ventured to a gig since before first lockdown (Michael Kiwanuka, Bournemouth in March 2020) but when things get better and I judge the time is right I will be there again – we have tickets for Glastonbury 2022 – if it’s on!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these memories of time at Exeter and the list of gigs and hope it’s prompted your own nostalgic thoughts if you went to any of those gigs. Maybe I saw you there! If you can add any detail to the list then please do, I’d like to fill in the gaps. I enjoyed putting this together no matter how sad or nerdy it may seem, but then it was lockdown, and I am retired.
I loved my time at Exeter and apart from meeting Jacky, I made many great friends, who I still see several times a year. Thanks to them – Ian, Nigel, John, Charles, Neil, James, Pete, David, Maureen – for helping to compile the list and keeping the memories alive.
