Life at the London School of Economics: every day in the Ents room; every day in the 3 Tuns. And the occasional lecture…
I enjoyed my time at the London School of Economics. Probably too much, as my academic career suffered. On the upside I was at lots of gigs, got to meet lots of interesting people and drank lots of beer. My 1977 diary records all the gigs I was at, although there are gaps. A lot of these gigs were at the LSE itself, or in the student union basement bar at the LSE – the 3 Tuns.
Highlights for me are SALT, a great rocking’ blues outfit at the famous Red Cow in Hammersmith; Black Slate – one of the best reggae bands I have seen live – and in the 3 Tuns bar; Carol Grimes and Steel Pulse at the LSE Release benefit; Graham Parker, filmed for the BBC Sight and Sound programme, and Stretch at the new Music Machine venue in Camden. The Damned were great, but there is a bit of a story to tell there. I shall reveal in a future post…
The rest were all good and there is a story behind some of the acts that I will add to this page in the future. If anyone remembers any of these bands, but particularly the more obscure ones, I’d love to hear from you.
| 8 Jan | Street Scene | Shiphay Manor (Torquay) |
| 14 Jan | John Stevens’ Away | Marquee |
| 29 Jan | Alkatraz | LSE |
| 2 Feb | S.A.L.T. | Red Cow, Hammersmith |
| 4 Feb | Strike-A-Light | 3 Tuns |
| 8 Feb | Ocean | 3 Tuns |
| 17 Feb | Advertising | 3 Tuns |
| 21 Feb | 90º Inclusive | 3 Tuns |
| 26 Feb | Dave Edmunds Rockpile | LSE |
| Plummet Airlines | ||
| Ultravox | ||
| 5 Mar | The Crazy World of Arthur Brown | LSE |
| Carol Grimes | ||
| Steel Pulse | ||
| 7 Mar | The Cowards | King’s College |
| The Damned | ||
| 16 Mar | Black Slate | 3 Tuns |
| 17 Mar | Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias | LSE |
| 17 Mar | Graham Parker | Golders Green Hippodrome |
| 18 Mar | The Damned | The Rainbow |
| T.Rex | ||
| 27 Mar | Medicine Head | Fforde Grene, Leeds |
| 25 Apr | Jenny Haan’s Lion | Music Machine, Camden |
| 29 Apr | Stretch | Music Machine |
| 4 May | Don Rendell Band | 3 Tuns |
This is a ‘work in progress’, with more to be added as I plough through my ’77 diary.
I used to produce the artwork for some of the LSE and 3 Tuns gigs. In those days I had a set of Rotring pens and stencils, and pretty much everything was drawn by hand at my bedsit in Archway.
Having got the artwork completed I would then get them printed, usually at King’s College but sometimes at the LSE.
Shown above are three examples of ‘handouts’ for some of the gigs listed. The Release Benefit went very well indeed; needless to say Arthur Brown was great entertainment. I really enjoyed Carol Grimes and the London Boogie Band – desperately underrated at the time and seemingly almost unknown now, which is a great shame. Steel Pulse had not been around for very long, at least outside of Birmingham, and were one of my favourites. They had not yet released a record, but Handsworth Revolution was recorded in 1977 and released in 1978.
The 3 Tuns gigs were always free entry, and we were very lucky to have some great acts in the bar. Ocean, 90º Inclusive and Black Slate were all very good reggae bands and I made a note in my diary that Ocean in particular got everyone dancing, which was pretty much unknown in the student bar. Black Slate still sound good today with albums available to listen to on Tidal (and probably other streaming services). I would like to know what became of the other two – 90 degrees and Ocean.
Colin, My diaries for 1977-81 are similarly full of gigs attended and dates of ones i wanted to get to but didnt always manage. I saw The Lurkers at Red Cow Hammersmith in ’77, my first punk gig having left suburban Rayleigh, Essex where i had drooled over NME listings for years, looking forward to actually attending the gigs in the named places like The Nashville, The Rainbow, The 100 Club etc. When i scan the diaries now I cant believe how many gigs i attended in those years, then the same in 81-2 when in NYC. I look forward to more details from your diaries Colin. Cheers, Martin of the Brandon
I know quite a few of those bands.
Great posters.
Hey Colin and Martin
Chanced upon your LSE gig memories just now prompted by a request from Ralph Brown for the very same 1977 Ents reminiscences. Big flashback when I saw your artwork Colin!
Check Ralph’s labour of love from that wonderful era – Magicmenagerie’s Blog.
Remember God Save the Queen at full volume on Jubilee day out the Carr Saunders flat window? John Martyn, Rockpile with Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe, the sticky floor in the 3 Tuns…great reggae and dub, Sex Pistols at 100 Club supporting pseudo Genesis ‘Strange Days’, Sunday afternoon at the Roundhouse.
Happy days.
Must hunt down my diaries from 75 to 78.
Andy Cornwell -Ex Ents LSE Social Sec
Very good to hear from you! Certainly good times and we were lucky to be at the heart of some pretty big happenings, especially in music. I’m only in touch with two people I know from the LSE – one living in Spain and one in Las Vegas. I’m hoping to touch base with a few more in the next few months…