TWICE !
It was only when she took the stage at the second gig that I remembered I'd been dragged there before, about 4 years previously.
Not my cup of tea by any means, but Baby Don't You Break My Heart Slow is a wonderful song.

I was, what, 15? I liked The Young Ones, Woody Allen (ooh get me...) - what I know I didn't like was "that oleaginous twat Monkhouse".

My father's reply was simple - "you're coming" - he said. I went and - what do you know - to this day - the best stand-up I've ever seen.

Knew a thing or two, my Dad. Monkhouse too. God rest them both.

An absolute comic genius...
A stand up who had no peer...
If I could do that cut and paste thingy from youtube...
Will somebody please oblige and show the non-Bob masses how great this man was?

Bob Monkhouse was, at one time, the most highly-paid after-dinner turn in the UK. A good mate of mine worked for Rank Org who would get someone good every year for the senior management beano. One year it was Bob, and word got out that he'd cost the thick end of £60k. He spoke for an hour or so, no notes, and had a gag or an anecdote woven seamlessly into the routine for every person in the room, was utterly foulmouthed and delighted all. It turned out his research team had been calling all the secretaries for ages pumping them for info under the strictest confidence, all of which Bob put together into a huge routine.

Yes he was smarmy but you can afford to be when you're that clever.

It was 1975, my brother and his mate Dave were going to Leicester's De Montfort Hall to see 10cc, and offered to take me. I was 17, knew everything, and had read somewhere influential that the band were 'too clever by half', so I declined.

God bless the pair of 'em, they persisted, detecting, no doubt, the whiff of wankery from my poseur position, and I witnessed my first hearing of Un Nuit a Paris ('no clapping till all three parts are finished please') which will stay with me forever.

As will the the sight of the 10cc logo at the back of the set in which were embedded twin rotating mirrorball devices. Keep your lasers, your flying pigs and your pyrotechnics - there's nothing more likely to drop your jaw in wonderment than a precision-spotlit mirrorball.

that we go to see Barry White. I had heard tales of wild knicker throwing by screaming ladies of a certain vintage and didn't really want to go. But to keep the peace I did. And it was great. A fabulous band, seriously old school production and the Walrus of Love registering on the Richter Scale with that voice.

Her sister used to book tickets so the 4 of us could go together. They wouldn't tell me until I got in from work and had the "we're going out tonight" bombshell.

This is how I managed to see :-

M-People - not bad actually
Lighthouse Family - excruciating
Simply Red - my opinion of him has softened with age. He can certainly sing, but he was such a ridiculous "I love myself" character at the time, that it was a couple of hours of pain......

at the old London Arena. I bitched about it for days beforehand but came away very evangelical about Michael Hutchence's voice, stage presence and charisma.

I can see why he drove many many pretty ladies insane with desire.

my FPO to see Ray Davies last weekend. She wasn't a big Kinks/Ray Davies fan before.

More than once, she asked me "He wrote this song too?", and left a big fan.

About 2000. I wasn't dragged along - more a case that I bought a ticket as a present for my then girlfriend (now wife) who was a fan, and attending the gig too was all part of the sacrifice given that I really didn't like them at all. But they were awesome, and I went back to the CDs and they weren't half bad either. I now think they're unfairly maligned.

Hammersmith Odeon, around 1981. I couldn't stand them but my housemate was a big fan. He persuaded me to go, against my better judgement.
They were bloody awful; all that prog-rock tosh, though I seemed to be the only one present who thought so. Still can't stand 'em!

The FPO wanted to see him I wasn't too fussed. An unplugged evening albeit with a tape machine. He spent as much time talking and answering questions as he did playing but he came across as a damn decent chap and it was a thoroughly entertaining evening.

Cardiff St Davids. I was expecting fey nonsense, but got great rock with a killer singer.

I'd like to say Snow Patrol, as I had tickets to see them only last night, but it was raining and I had a headache, so I didn't bother.

was at college and my mate who remains an avid fish/marrillion fan got me a ticket to see the single Fish. i had yet to fully embrace old prog, never mind the new prog that ver merrillion attempt. loved the music hated the singing/lyrics loved the between song banter fae big derrick-never bought their records tho

wasn't expecting much, but the missus is a fan, and had a great time. I do have a penchant for the Quo though, which helped.

They even played all their slow songs one after another in the middle of the set so you could go to the bar.

I was living in Madrid and my girlfriend strongarmed me into going to see Michael Jackson at the Calderon stadium. This would have been '90 or '91 and I could not have been less interested. Standing on the pitch in front of the soundboard it was (still is) one of the most enjoyable gigs I've seen.