Cheap Trick opening for Motley Crue on the Theatre of Pain tour at Newcastle City Hall. Awesome.

Pete, thanks for mentioning Rory Gallagher. I saw him play live once, back in 1974, when he was just getting started as a recognizable star, and he was amazing! I have a good chunk of his albums, but his "Irish Tour 1974" is still one of my favouries. I have the DVD of that one as well.

Mine was Dokken opening for Kiss on their Tooth and Nail tour and Kiss was promoting Animalize. Never heard them before and I was blown away by them. I became an instant fan. That was in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada on March 7th, 1985. My very first concert.

Really made me smile on a very tough weekend .. cheers

Consistently the best show on SoT. Is it me or is it the one Pete seems to have most fun?

The Classic Rock, Proper Beer and Cricket show - When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease - marvellous.

I remember seeing Dokken open for... everyone. I saw them so many times and they usually upstaged the headliner. Loudness opening for Motley Crue was cool. Joe Lynn Turner opened for Pat Benetar - that was good, also.

One very good one I remember is Y & T opening for AC/DC on the 'For Those About to Rock' gig at Wembley Arena, 1982. Didn't know them before, bought their music after.

Saw Cheap Trick opening for Kansas in 1977. Trick was ok, but every band I ever saw open for Kansas got blown off the stage. Even when Kansas opened for other bands in their early years, they blew the headliners away. A killer live band in the 70s!

Rory Gallagher from 1978-1981 was his heaviest period! Ted McKenna on drums

In the UK Budgie opening for everybody (which they did) was always a good show but the best 'support' band I ever saw were Grand Prix, opening for UFO at Newcastle City Hall in 1982 -ish? Perfect sound, great songs and great singing from Robin McCauley - just tremendous.

I worked with Ron Keel at KBAD Radio. Keel had some good tunes, The Right To Rock, Come Hell or High Water. I saw the Ron Keel Band last summer, they did a cover of Train, Train by Blackfoot that was stellar.

Iron Maiden with the mighty Paul Di'anno and Clive Burr on drums supporting Kiss on the German-Leg of the Unmasked Tour. Maiden's Sound and Performance stole the Show. Phantom of the opera and Prowler sounding amazing that night.

Best opening act for me was The Rods, who were the support for Iron Maiden in 1982. For a trio they were energetic and played really well. Bought the debut album from 81 and then a few moths late Wild Dogs. Another opening act were the Alliance who opened for Magnum in 85, pretty decent band but it was the singer who stood out, next time I saw him he was the lead singer in Black Sabbath, Mr Tony Martin.

Southampton Gaumont, October 1984, Bon Jovi supporting Kiss on the Animalize tour. Not a bad bill.

Another entertaining show, gents. Most of my concert activity was in the preceding decade and don't really recall any specific high- or low- lights from the few 80s concerts that were seen. But certainly enjoyed hearing about yours and reading about the experiences of other commenters. And, yes, the bad experiences are always the ones to stand out. Thanks again. Cheers!

Pete, I know you just LOVE when someone says "this is how its pronounced" but my surname is Gallagher and the second "g" is silent, so its like Gallagher. Think Galahad...but add an "er" instead of an "ad" at the end. :)

Steve, I have stayed up at Loch Rannock and could see Shiehallion from the window. One of the most stunning places I've been to

Pete sir, you have to be THE most prolific poster on KZfaq. I swear, every time I tune in you have a new video up. Amazing, and I love it all, especially album homework. Been introduced to some great music through that, Echolyn being the most notable.

My 3 favorite, from what I remember Megadeth, opening for King Diamond in 86 Metallica, opening for Ozzy in 86 Queensryche, opening for Metallica in 88 Least favorite Autograph, opening for Van Halen in 84 Great White, opening for Judas Priest in 84 WASP, opening for Metallica in 85

I'd listen to you guy talk about anything. Once in a while I'd need subtitles.

Thanks for another wonderful show. As an aside, and picking up on Pete seeing Saxon in 1981, their latest album Carpe Diem is excellent. If fine wine ages we’ll then Saxon are a premier cru Burgundy.

Amazing opening acts: Iron Maiden (Number of the Beast) opening for Scorpions (Blackout), Alcatrazz (No Parole) opening for Girlschool (Play Dirty) at a 300 seat club, Whitesnake (Slide It In) opening for Quiet Riot - three nights in a row and 1,000 miles driving. Worst openers: The Hyts opening for Motorhead (Another Perfect Day), The Fabulous Poodles opening for Van Halen (Van Halen II), The Cats opening for Van Halen (Women and Children First), The Fools opening for Van Halen (Fair Warning), After The Fire opening for Van Halen (DIver Down). Van Halen had the most rubbish opening acts back then. Cheers Guys!

Always fun to hear you lads talking about shows with bands I generally don't care about, it just shows how interesting you three are at storytelling,and your beer intros make me thirsty as well. Highly enjoyable.

The Clash 'Posh Punk'... perfect description! Thank you Steven.

In 1983 I saw Quiet Riot at the Sam Houston Coliseum. The openers were Axe and an unknown band called Queensryche. I went out and bought their 4-song EP the next day. And I would have loved to see Marillion opening for Rush.

OK, for 3 acts here, best: 1. Dokken opening for Accept. Still in my top 5 gigs of all time. 2. White Sister opening for FM 3. House of Lords opening for the Scorpions. And for 3 stinkers: 1. Shy opening for UFO. Tony Mills was just an arse as a frontman. 2. Ratt opening for Ozzy. 3. Warlock opening for either Wasp or Dio, rank at both.

Diamond head supporting April Wine were majestic. Southampton 81

I will have seen a whole load of bands suporting headliners at the Marquee London during summer 1982 most of which I have no idea of who they were, but two I do remember are Solstice and, I think, Howard Jones who both supported Marillion Sosice were pretty good but Howard Jones, who if I remember had a set up with TV sets to either side of the stage and was playing his brand of electro pop - which to be fair was probably quite good but not necessarily for a partisan Marillion crowd - decided to leave halfway through his set when a plastic beer class sailed through the air and landed slap bang on his Keyboard. I thnk he he also tried to get the crorwd onhis side by saying something along the lines theat he was from Aylesbury and was great friends with the band. Another Marillion support who at the time I thought was rubbush and who I 'm still unsure about whether I do or dont really like his voice, was Peter Hamill. Not so great supports- I saw Dokken support both Accept in 86 and AC/DC in 88 - both times I wasnt impressed, mainly due to Don's on stage banter, but at the time I was just 'Meh' about them. Taurus, a NWOBHM wannabee supported Slade in Dec 80 an again Saxon in Jan 81, were ok but one of the guitarists was, I think, using a 50w Marshall combo and you just couldnt hear what he was playing so everyhting went flat when the other guitarist soloed or you coldnt hear him soloing or harmonising. Support to Rainbow at the Rainbow in March 1980 was also a band I'd never heard of before or since, I think they were called House, and they were there becuase Ritchie had decided, apparently, that either Saxon or Samson had been support bands too often so the kids maybe had become bored of them. I'd have loved either Saxon or Samson to have supported though. Great supports - I also saw the lovely Doro with Warlock supporting Dio, and another great band for a hormonal, just stopped being a teenager, to see was Cheetah wth the lovely Hammond sisters, who supported Saxon in 1982. Nearly blowing the headliners offstage were Accept supporting Judas Priest in 81. Blowing the headliners off stage at the first but not the second gig were Trust supporting Iron Maiden in Feb/March 81 Two bands one to become huge, the other, the guitarist to become much better known were Iron MAiden supporting Priest in March 1980 and Vandenberg supporting Michael Schenker Group in Nov 82. I saw Budgie supporitng a number of times - Ozzy in 80 and Gillan in 81 - always good. I never saw Mercyful Fate support Manowar at Bournemouth in early 84, as they had pulled out from the tour the noght before, and at Manowar's next show at Bristol (at what was then called the Colston Hall but which has now been changed to the Bristol Beacon, due to Edward Colston's history of being a slave trader) the band I played bass in at the time managed to blag the support slot, just for that date. I have no idea if we were good or not but I loved every second of it.

Saw ''The Trend'' open for Wishbone Ash in 1981? (ish) Just remember the singer playing a double cut-away Les Paul junior with FINGERLESS GLOVES on! The headliner may have been Peter Hammill, I can't remember, if only I had a book in which I'd written...... Thank you lads, you disappoint only when you stop.

Fantastic show. I am digging the UK Connection!

There’s a band in Inverness called Schiehallion. Often playing at the Gellions pub. 👍🏻

Steve Bannon has shaved this week. I saw Keel opening for Dio and Overkill opening for Helloween. Overkill were touring their Feel The Fire album, still one of my top 5 Thrash records of all time. It was rad.I like The Clash.

Nice selection of beers chaps. I agree with Simon that Landlord is an absolute classic. I shall be drinking a couple of Tap Social beers in Oxford later today. I saw Hawkwind plenty of times in the early to mid 80s generally at the Manchester Apollo or Preston Guildhall. No support act stands out as good and Hawkwind fans were particularly partisan so every band had a rough ride. I remember Vardis being quite dreadful. The audience hooted with laughter when the lead guitarist pulled out a violin bow during his solo. The vocalist/rhythm guitarist tripped up and landed on his arse to the amusement of all. To be fair he carried on playing whilst lying on his back. Paul Young opened for Genesis at Wembley Stadium in the mid 80s. Not special. He must have been on tour at the time because he sounded like he had gargled with razor blades. Pallas supported Uriah Heep in 85(?). I was a fan of Pallas but they were woefully under rehearsed and one song even ground to a halt at one point which was a tad embarrassing. Again this was at the Manchester Apollo. In 81/82 I saw a NWOBHM triple bill of Tygers of Pan Tang, Magnum and Def Leppard. Magnum blew the Leppard off the stage. Edit - I just remembered Dumpies Rusty Nuts opened for Hawkwind. They were brilliant and really funny. A great match for Hawkwind. Edit 2 - Duckworth Lewis Method is fantastic English whimsy. Both Thomas Walsh and Neil Hannon are Irish.

I saw Skid Row headline at Wolverhampton Civic Hall and Skunk Anansie opened for them.

For Rory...its Irish Tour 74! ANYDAY, Steven.

I think you should do a favourite & least favourite beers/other alcoholic beverages.

The Rods, supporting Iron Maiden, Birmingham Odeon, 1982. Unbelievable.

Porcupine Tree opening for Marillion at E-werk in Cologne (2000?)

saw the Eagles backing up Gentle Giant and Yes,ZZ Top before beards backing up Deep Purple,Nazareth backing up Deep Purple with Bolin,Coverdale,and Hughes in the band,April Wine backing up Nazareth,Max Webster backing up Rush,BOC backing up Uriah Heep,Uriah Heep backing up Kiss around 77 I believe,BTO backing up Spirit and Robin Trower backing up Dr. Hook both from around 1973

Great shoutout for the Duckworth-Lewis Method.

My first metal gig in 1981.judas priest in Cardiff,Wales, with support from Accept😀

Pete great to see your subscribers numbers rising awesome

I saw Peter Hammill support Marillion in 1983 so difficult for any opening act to be better than that (as always - in my opinion!) I got married in 1984 so, as discussed previously, the eighties were not my most intense gig-going period though I do have dozens of theatre tickets. I do have a ticket for Genesis in 1987 when they were supported by Paul Young (apparently) Now I was either late to the gig or Paul Young was entirely forgettable. You choose which. Bonus marks for foxing the Yanks with 'Ooh er missus', Morecambe and Wise and The Duckworth Lewis Method (both band and...er....method)

Fish-era Marillion opening for Rush in the mid-1980s. "Awesome" doesn't even come close to describing it.

Love the show, look forward to it every week...How about a UK Connection on top British AOR 80s Albums? We had some fantastic bands, many of whom were overlooked.....Lionheart, Virginia Wolf, Strangeways, Rio, Dare, Airrace, Grand Prix, Alaska, Romeo's Daughter, FM, Shy etc...I know that you did an FM show but there were many other brilliant albums from that era.

Iron Maiden opening for Judas Priest 1980. Y and T for AC/DC in 1982 Both at Newcastle City Hall, both superb.

Diamond Head supporting AC/DC

Killer Dwarfs!! Oh yes! They are fairly local to where I live, and I saw them many times in local bars. They were always terrific. The tricycle was a regular part of their shows, always. They are still playing, as far as I know.

I still can't believe Whitesnake opened for Motley Crue?! I know Motely Crue was the bigger name in1987 but it's like pairing caviar w/a bologna sandwich!

@Steven: if you'd like Rory Gallagher totally on fire, check out the live album "Stage Struck" from 1980 (with Ted McKenna on drums!), it'll blow your socks off! Easily his heaviest period and yes, Pete is right, Rory should always be enjoyed live, his studio albums only reflect a fraction of what he was capable of live.

Only gig I saw in the eighties was Gun in 1989 the support band blew me away, it was The Almighty, or should I say the Alf--kingmiighty! They were amazing

3 opening acts on memorable shows for which I have zero recollection, and therefore couldn’t have been very good - DVC opened for Blackfoot & Def Leppard at Palladium NYC ‘81, The Rings opened for BOC & Foghat Nassau Coliseum ‘81, Coney Hatch opened for Maiden & Fastway Nassau ‘83. Great openers include Scorps opening for Rainbow MSG ‘82, Maiden opening for Priest Meadowlands ‘82, Queensryche opening for Maiden Radio City ‘85.

One of my all time favourite openers was a pre Marc Ford Black Crowes opening for Gary Moore on his Still Got The Blues tour. Both acts were incredible.

3 times have gone to see an opening act and not headliner One was The Fixx opening for Flock of Seagulls The other 2 were Saga opening for Heart and then for Eddie Money on New Years Eve

Best Saxon opening for Motorhead Overkill tour I believe. Manchester Apollo.

First time watching this show because I have a hard time understanding these guys even though I watch premier league every week .but now that I know there is beer talk I won’t miss a show !

Yet again mine & Steven’s gig experiences intercept. I was at the Crue show with Skid Row, the Maiden show with Killer Dwarfs and the Dio show with Warlock. Interestingly, in the context of the show, on the previous tour I saw Keel support Dio and on the tour before that it was Queensryche - all at the Playhouse. Also saw Cheap Trick open for Crue on the Theatre of Pain tour and Waysted open for Maiden on the world slavery tour, again both at the Playhouse. Ratt opening for Ozzy is another that springs to mind - I know Ratt could be hit or miss live but I recall them being pretty decent that night. Too many stinkers to mention, but that’s what the Playhouse bars, or the much missed Greenside Tavern, were for🤘🏻🍺

Rory Gallagher advice: Photo-finish or Top Priority…. Live album-/ Stagestruck… all with Ted MacKenna on drums as has been recommended by others here. Probably Rory’s most “rock” period and my personal favorite at the moment.

I only remember bad support acts, so, Stretch supporting Rainbow 1976, Playhouse. Kingfish supporting Rainbow 1977, Apollo. Grupo Vida supporting Dixie Chicks 2000, Cox Arena, San Diego. and Fuel supporting Aerosmith 2001, Pyramid, Memphis. I had the chance to see Rory Gallagher at the Caledonian Hotel , Ayr in 1972 but didn't go. Steven should go with a unique Williams Bros Fraoch for next week.

good ones.budgie supporting ozzy,magnum supporting whitesnake,witchfynde supporting def leppard,blew them off stage,saxon supporting nazareth,blew them off stage,saxon supporting motorhead,accept supporting judas priest,tanksupporting motorhead.worst,patrick fitzgerald,punk poet,supporting hawklords.2 decent bands who seemed to support everybody,but never progressed to headline are marseille and nutz,and how can i forget the best,which would be van halen supporting black sabbath 78,as was traditional,the crowd was ready to give these young american upstarts a hard time,after vh had played ,the audience was in awe,sabbath were lucky they had a die hard following that night

Favourites are Y&T, Grand Prix, Lita Ford. Can't think of any I didn't like.

Brilliant show who needs TV 📺

Evening peeps!

Best Opening Band. Van Halen 1978 tour with Sabbath. WOW !!

I am with you Simon on indie music, when you get talking to people and say I am from Manchester they ask do you like Oasis etc erm no !!

Blackfoot, Budgie, Maiden, Def Leppard and Max Webster stood out for me. Worst were Girl and Girlschool. Girl actually got booed off and came back for an encore!!! I remember a band called Samson, who weren't particularly good, but their singer was. A fellow called Bruce Dickinson. Wonder if he made it with somebody else?

I'm a bit too young to have been to any gigs in the 80s. First gig was Clash of the Titans in 1990.

I saw the Dave Gilmour tour for his About Face solo album in 1984. The Icicle Works opened the show and they blew me away with their music and their live show . I went out and bought their debut album the next day. Great album by a chameleon like band. Bought a few of their subsequent albums but their debut has always been my favourite.

I was never much of a concert goer. Saw 5 concerts in the 80s. INXS opening for Men at Work Autograph opening for Heart Joe Walsh opening for Stevie Nicks Eric Clapton twice. Both times he used his touring band as his opening act. So from worst to best: 5. INXS (an easy one. Tim Farris threw beer on the people in the first rows of the audience and cursed at them for not getting Into the music as much as he thought they should.) 3 & 4. a tie. Clapton always had great musicians in his backup bands and they played well but I would have preferred another band opening. 2. Autograph. I went to the concert because the girl took wanted to see Heart. I actually liked Autograph better. 1. Joe Walsh: the clear winner.

Rory Gallagher was sensational live

Bad: Peter Maffay (a German pop artist) opening for Rolling Stones in Hannover, Germany, Niedersachsen Arena, 1982. Maffay was bombarded with foul fruit and stuff. Good: Iron Maiden opening for Kiss, Unmasked, Germany, 1980. Paul Di'Anno singing

Favorites from the early 80s - Romeo Void opening U2 on their first American tour - it was a club and Romeo Void knew how to play a club, while U2 pretended they were at Wembley even in front to 250 people; The English Beat opening for Talking Heads on the big band funk tour - both bands were flat out amazing. On the not so great side - I really don't remember any band who was bad, just not my thing and/or not particularly skilled. Sorry, but those bands have faded from memory. I think the one band that was disappointing was Living Color opening a big stadium show - but they were lost on that stage...

I've seen many great bands open but off the top of my head , I always remember Be-Bop Deluxe seeing them twice has an opening band for BOC and Foghat maybe ? 🤔 " WOW" So good live ! Maiden Number of the beast open for Scorpions and AC-DC opening for UFO about six months before Bon Scott passed away.. Also the Scorpions opening for Sammy Hagar in music hall in Cleveland great show.. I seen Aldo Nova open for Hagar in Music Hall also he was so good live ! Coney Hatch, and Fastway open for Maiden.. Hatch and Fastway were excellent live ! I seen Dream Theater open for Yes I believe they only did like 20 shows together ? Oh yes I seen the Climax Blues Band open for I can't remember I think it was Foghat also ? I seen Starz a few times open for kiss and someone else but very good live ! Not a big fan but was always good live I seen Bob Seger open a few times I think it was Ted Nugent and the other was Peter Frampton ? Thin Lizzy or I believe it was Kansas open for Queen ? I seen them both open it's just so long ago ?

Jellyfish opened for Tear For Fears in club-sized venues for the "Elemental" tour - what a mind-blower!! But NOTHING beats the Beastie Boys opening up for Madonna - no one was ready for that shit - the were loud, rude, all the soccer mom's hated them, and they changed my life.

Good show SOT.

Little Angels supported Marillion? I was in a band that supported Little Angels before they left Scarborough for a UK tour!

Saw many gigs in the 80’s at my Local City and in London theatres. In the 80’s there was more of an effort to put on a support band that was similar to the headliner. It was all new back then no You Tube to check the band out, no setist to see what would be played. Everything was classed as Heavy Metal . I was never really disappointed with any of the supports even Keel. I would always go see the support. We often would never have heard much maybe a recommendation in Kerrang and if you liked you would try and get an Album. Now in the 2000’s frequently the support is not to my taste so I don’t even bother with them. Maybe that’s the topic “bands you didn’t want to see but could have”

Off the top of my head, favourites are Blackfoot opening for Scorpions, what a night! VH for Sabbath, just TOO good ! Top ranking worse The Radiators from Mars as a last minute replacement opening for `Priest at The Liverpool Empire. Thank goodness `Priest knocked it out of the park!!!

Nice show...👍

Best ones: Def Leppard opening for Priest 81 Mama's Boys for Gary Moore 85 Virgin Steele for Manowar 87 Overkill for Helloween 87 Kingdom Come for Magnum 88 Not that good: Shy for Gary Moore 87 Krokus for Nugent 88

My best support of the 80's....Iron Maiden (Di'Anno/Stratton), supporting Judas Priest on the BS tour (9 Mar 80). Also my first real gig (starting on a high). In terms of Rory Gallagher, I'd start with Deuce and his first solo album. Taste's 'On The Boards' is also a classic.

Man, i saw so many good ones. Van halen opening for Sabbath 15sept 78 here in cleveland ( sabbath was better) . Angel opening for Styx 78. Holy shit ! Both bands killed, but Angel was insane. Im not a big Guns and Roses guy, but they opened up for Aerosmith in 88 . Very good. And, i guess i can put this one in. July 30, 1979 the. Greatest show i ever saw. I was 16. Took a bus to the cleveland stadium. It was called The World Series of Rock. They had a few every year. Scorpions, ACDC with bon scott, journey, thin lizzy, Ted Nugent , Aerosmith. It was the day Joe Perry quit the band. I was there!

Hi Steven! How are you doing? I'm not crazy about lagers; I'm more of an IPA woman. Especially Arrogant Bastard from Stone Brewery here in San Diego. My favorite chocolate, coffee, & peanut butter stouts come from Belching Beaver Brewery, also here in San Diego.

As I wasn’t a keeper of lists I only remember support bands that made an impression and the only bad one that sticks were the Broughtons supporting Gillan . The best of the top of my head Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon, Magnum, Blackfoot, G Force, Anthrax, Tygers of Pan Tang.

The greatest show on the Internet

Welcome to beer club...Great stuff.

Harviestoun Brewery isn't in Germany, it's in Alva, which is around twenty miles from Steven's front door.

Another great episode of The UK Connection. Alright favorite, and least favorite opening acts from the 80's. Favorites - Krokus opening for Ted Nugent in 81. After that loved Krokus. Billy Squire opening for Cheap Trick July 81.Aldo Nova opening for BOC in 82. Quiet Riot opening for Loverboy in 83. Quiet Riot was great. INXS opening for Men At Work in August 83. Got two pages of this, so I could go on, but I won't. Least favorite - not worth a mention.

Love the show. Good topic! I saw the Rainbow/Scorpions show that Pete saw, but at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Scorpions did kick ass, but what also made that concert special, was the band RIOT played before the Scorpions - on their Restless Breed tour with Rhett Forrester on vocals. A great 3 band concert. I've gone to concerts just to see the opening band instead of the headliners twice. Both to see Yngwie - Alcatrazz opening for Ted Nugent, and Rising Force opening for Triumph. I did really enjoy Ted and Triumph's show, but I was there to see Yng. A bad opener that I saw was Honeymoon Suite opening for Jethro Tull on the Under Wraps tour. Those two bands don't belong together.

Ironically, Steven, I saw Loverboy twice as a headliner. Granted, the second time was explicitly to see the opener, and they didn’t disappoint - Zebra. Worst opener may have been Jon Butcher Axis, although the memory cheats sometimes. Honorable mention to Übermensch opening for Rusted Root in either 1989 or 1990. Reminded me of Marillion and IQ. Have no idea what happened to them.

Agree Pete White Lion did blow whoever they supported off the stage.

I can't say I've ever seen any bad opening acts, or even any bad shows for that matter, but I have seen some unusual pairings. The strangest one, at first, was a southern rock band opening for Black Sabbath, for their Heaven & Hell tour with Ronnie James Dio. The curtains open and the entire backdrop was a massive Confederate flag. I don't think that would fly nowadays, but back then everybody thought it was cool, and I can't recall the name of the band, but it was the youngest of the Van Zant brothers as lead singer, and they were really good. Won the crowd over immediately. Another strange one was the Vancouver folk/country rock band, "The Hometown Band," opening for Supertramp at Maple Leaf Gardens for their Crisis What Crisis tour. Again, they were well liked here in Canada, so it went over well. Max Webster opened for Rush both times I saw them, and I was disappointed at the sound at the second Rush show, because you could barely hear Max, but as soon as Rush came on it was almost deafening. This was during their Farewell To Kings tour, when Rush was going through their somewhat "arrogant" period, on their Ayn Rand kick, and where they didn't want to give Renaissance a soundcheck when they played in the UK. That didn't last long. Max played great, but the people talking sitting next to me were louder than they were. I saw Rough Trade open for Roxy Music - that was a good pairing, and when Patti Smith played Massey Hall her opening act was Toronto favourite Mendelson Joe, who came out with an acoustic guitar and a 12-pack of Molson Canadian beer, and drank the entire thing during his half hour opening slot. The only time I have ever walked out of a show before it was over was for a large triple bill at the CNE Stadium in Toronto, all alternative rock acts. Gene Loves Jezebel opened the show and got the place absolutely rocking. Next came Echo & The Bunnymen, and they were awesome. Headline act was New Order, and talk about an absolutely boring band to watch live. Half their show was on tape, and the drummer wasn't even onstage a good chunk of the time. They sounded good, but it was like watching a band miming on Top Of The Pops. The only guy who tried to put on a bit of show was bassist Peter Hook, but with the rest of the band standing there like a bunch on mannequins, it didn't help. About 2/3 of the way through their set I got up and left.

The one that stands out to me - late eighties/White Lion opening for Stryper.... Vito Bratta could ruin almost any headliners night!

Saw Loverboy and Def Leppard completely agree Stephen

Saw Arthur Brown support Hawkwind around 2009. His set was badly played covers of standards you might have heard at a wedding reception in the 80s. Absolutely dreadful to behold. He is a nice bloke, mind you, and I believe he actually joined Hawkwind as a guest vocalist in 2018. I love his contribution on Robert Calvert's Captain Lockheed and the Star Fighters... That gig really was bad though.

I agree with Simon, it's great is Landlord. Happen! Proper Job from Cornwall. is a good ale too.

More good than bad in this period some that came to mind were; Magnum, Wildlife (I am sure Steven and Simon know who they were/became), FM, Jagged Edge (same tour as Steven highlighted), Billy Squire (first ever act I saw) and Bon Jovi (supporting Kiss in 84, if only they had been as good after). The less good; a Greek band (sorry I have no idea what they were called, they did say they were from Athens Greece!) supporting UFO, Quiet Riot and, this will be controversial, Queensryche supporting DIO - we dismissed them as Iron Maiden copyists! We were always a good set of judges.

Metallica opening for Ozzy on his Ultimate Sin tour at The Spectrum. BOC as a surprise opener for Rush (Marillion was the scheduled opener but Fish got sick), also at The Spectrum. Living Colour opening for the Godfathers at Rutgers University (talk about blowing the headliner off the stage!). I honestly don't recall any truly bad openers...plenty of forgettable ones. Pete - double thumbs up for Sam Smith's chocolate stout! Amazing stuff.

I went to see Rush and Tommy Shaw opened in Phoenix Arizona and I thought he put on a good show but the crowd acted like they never heard of him or even new that he was in Styx. I also had the same experience when Bb King opened for U2. Any band opening up for New Order is better. Everytime I have seen New Order there set is very short and the opening act is twice as long