THE prospect of chart-toppers playing a concert in Barnsley seems pretty far-fetched nowadays.
But for music fans back in 1974, it was a regular occurrence with the biggest acts of the day regularly taking centre stage at the Civic Hall.
There were regular appearances from artists in the top ten with The Bay City Rollers, Suzi Quatro, Cockey Rebel, Mud and Showaddywaddy all featuring.
It was the Scottish heartthrobs who caused the biggest stir and Barnsley, like many others towns and cities across the country was awash with tartan ahead of their two performances.
Their show on May 19, as reported by the Chronicle, was a powderkeg of teenage emotion that threatened to boil over.
Queues formed outside the venue 90 minutes before the doors had even opened and the riotous atmosphere was only ramped up by playing tracks from the band in the pre-performance disco from DJ Chris Wood.
Once upon stage, at 9.45pm, girls began to break through the security to storm the stage and a clinch with their heroes.
The Chronicle reported that the young Scots ‘played faultlessly in conditions which many groups would have refused to play under’.
They played all their hits from the day, including ‘Shang-A-Lang’ and ‘Remember’ but also some early 60s’ rock ‘n’ roll numbers.
Mud’s appearance in February of the same year was also deemed a huge success with queues for the concert backing up way down Eldon Street.
The band, whose song ‘Tiger Feet’ remains a staple at discos to this day, were in town with that song number two in the charts behind Quatro’s ‘Devil Gate Drive’.
The Chronicle’s report suggests Mud’s appearance caused almost as much of a stir as The Rollers’.
The band themselves pleaded with the crowd to calm down with several revellers having to be lifted out of the melee for fear of being crushed.
They played their hit song twice as well as some hits by Elvis and Steppenwolf’s ‘Born To Be Wild’.
Do you have memories of going to concerts in Barnsley’s glory days? Send them and any pictures you may have to: ashley.ball@barnsley-chronicle.co.uk
1974’s top selling hits
1 – Mud – Tiger Feet
2 – Terry Jacks – Seasons In The Sun
3 – Paper Lace – Billy Don’t Be A Hero
4 – The Three Degrees – When Will I See You Again
5 – George McRae – Rock Your Baby
6 – David Essex – Gonna Make You A Star
7 – Charles Aznavour – She
8 – Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
9 – Ken Boothe – Everything I Own
10 – Rubettes – Sugar Baby Love
1974’s top selling albums
1 – The Carpenters – The Singles 69-73
2 – Wings – Band On The Run
3 – Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells
4 – Elvis – 40 Greatest Hits
5 – Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon
