Eric Burdon and the Animals

On 25^th February 1966 Brian and I went to Newcastle and saw the Animals at the Mayfair Ballroom. Eric appeared as if from nowhere on a revolving stage. We were able to get very close to the front of the dance hall, leaning against a wooden barrier a few feet away from Eric. To say that this had an important affect on me would be a classic understatement. At the time of the Beatles, the Stones and the Who, I subsequently thought of them as my band, the ones that I associated with more closely than any of my friends.

We had not even gone to Newcastle to see the Animals. We had gone trainspotting, because the area still had steam locomotives at work on its freight lines and because Brian’s brother was at university there, so we could spend three nights over half term at no cost. John’s surprise gift to us on our arrival on that Friday night was two tickets for the Animals. My gratitude continues to this day.  

On Saturday, I caught up with Eric Burdon again, fifty-two years since that defining moment in 1966. A whole career has gone by for each of us, but I can’t explain quite how important a figure he has been for me during that time. I can’t tell Eric, either, because although I wanted to, he reportedly made his get-away after the concert through the front door of City Hall, whilst our small knot of groupies hung around the stage door at the side of the building.

No matter. We had heard all the hits - including the blues numbers that stretch my taste as far in that direction as it can go, but which characterise his lifelong love of music. He has been consistent and true to the artists that initially drove him. His style has never wavered.

He didn’t have a lot to say between the songs, though his potted biography hints at all sorts of potential name dropping and high jinks that he could have dwelt on. He mentioned the impact of Bo Diddley on his development and how significant it was for him to tread the same boards as Louis Armstrong. I knew that he had just come home to Newcastle for the music. I was there for the music and for something else. I just wanted to say thank you. So, now I have.