Entertainment For Lively Minds
"West Runton, you're the rock and roll capital of the world!"
Posted by stimpy on 11 December 2008 - 11:33pm.
Just been browsing an old stash of Sounds I found in a dark corner of the attic and it reminded me of the days when West Runton Pavilion was a regular stop on mid-size tours.
I seem to remember it was Saxon (or possibly Def Leppard) who uttered the classic line "West Runton, you're the rock and roll capital of the world!"
Anyone from the North East corner of East Anglia know if it's still there?
- More from stimpy.
- Login or register to post comments
-
West Runton
The pavilion is sadly no more - it closed down and then was demolished. There is a blue plaque on the wall of a pub.
A website about the place is here:
http://www.whatflosaid.co.uk/
West Runton is an ace little beach though...
West Runton Pavilion...
Motorhead, Adam & The Ants (I fell asleep), Chelsea, The Flys, The Dickies, Dead Kennedys, The Damned, The Adicts etc etc; the walk to Cromer railway station to sleep in the waiting room; pal Rupert dying after an asthma attack. Fantastic venue - dark, scary, loud and remote. So many memories...mutter mutter...
More info
You might find these links interesting.
http://www.easterndailypress.com/Content/Features/BluePlaque/04_SexPisto...
http://www.easterndailypress.com/Content/Features/BluePlaque/04_SexPisto...
My first 2 gigs were there...
... both BowWowWow funnily enough - it should have been Adam & the Ants (do you see a pattern emerging?), but the first date was cancelled and I couldn't make the rescheduled one... it was a great grotty little venue, but as far as Norfolk gig venues went at the time, it was Norwich UEA or the Pavilion, that was it, so it was a standard stop-off tour point...
I don't know if this is covered in any of these links (no time to read them right now), but the final gig there was Motorhead, in tribute to a venue that would have them when no-one else would, and they brought the "Bomber" stage set with them, designed (lest we forget) for Hammersmith Odeon-size venues, so enthusiastic pogoers found themselves hitting their heads against the wings... patrons of the pub 200 yards away allegedly couldn't hear themselves speak for the noise...
And (somewhere) I still have the Robert Rental & The Normal "Live at West Runton Pavilion" one-sided album... sniff!
Buzzcocks supported by Joy Division
and also Elvis Costello and the Attractions on another night. Seemed to take forever to get there even from Norwich and it was dark both times, so no idea what it was really like in West Runton. Charlie Higson was year above me at UEA and, although i didn't know him, he was quite a prominent character at the time with a blue mohican for a while. Anyway, he was ejected from one of these gigs for fighting - at that time he didn't seem much like the slightly diffident and good humoured personality he is now.