Legends Lindisfarne began concerts tradition over 40

Writer WHAT do you remember of the Christmas of 1976?

Johnny Mathis was number one in the pop charts with the seasonal When A Child Is Born; Newcastle United were sitting pretty in fourth place in football’s First Division; and the region’s shoppers were flocking to the recently-opened, American-style Eldon Square retail complex to do their Christmas shopping.

Meanwhile, a trio of wildly successful concerts at Newcastle City Hall would begin an annual tradition that is still going strong more than four decades later.

Lindisfarne, one of the region’s most successful ever bands, having formed in 1969 and enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums, split up in April, 1973.

But then, three years later, the folk rockers announced two dates at the City Hall, on December 22 and 23, 1976.

Due to phenomenal ticket demand, a third show at the earlier time of 6pm, was added for the 23rd. The music press reported how the first show would be recorded by a BBC film crew.

The concerts themselves were a triumph. Each one a huge, joyous, swaying Christmas singalong, with the whiff of Brown Ale heavy in the City Hall air.

Kicking off with No Time To Lose, the band revisited the finest moments from their early 1970s back catalogue, including Lady Eleanor, Meet Me On The Corner, Fog On The Tyne, with a double encore of their classic Clear White Light, and the old chestnut White Christmas closing the show.

Years later, Lindisfarne’s original drummer Ray Laidlaw recalled: “What I remember most is the incredible reception we received when we walked on to the City Hall stage.

“Originally, we were worried nobody would turn up, but in the event we had nothing to worry about.

“That 1976 Christmas reunion sparked the band back into life for the next 20 years – and beyond.”

Indeed, two years later, Lindisfarne would enjoy one of their biggest successes with the top-10 smash hit, Run For Home.

As for the Christmas concerts, the band were back the following year with five shows. There were five more concerts in 1978, and a whopping seven a year later.

The band’s festive City Hall shows were now an annual festive celebration, as a much a part of a Tyneside Christmas as Fenwick’s yearly window display, or the Civic Centre tree.

In 1986, 10 years after the comeback, we reported on the December 19 show: “The magic of Lindisfarne like the magic of Christmas never goes away. By the end, there was hardly a dry eye in the house.”

By 2004, the group had disbanded, but since 2013 a revamped version of Lindisfarne, fronted by Rod Clements, has been treading the boards.

And they’re back at Newcastle City Hall this Christmas – 42 years on from those first legendary concerts, with this year’s festive shows starting on Friday and due to finish last night.