pre first album supporting journeymen aussie rockers you am I in a church hall newtown ,sydney

supporting Peter Gabriel the last time he played in Dublin. Outside in Marley Park in the pissing rain, the House had the tunes and the good humour to carry the crowd, Gabriel, I'm sad to say, was very boring, having decided to concentrate on the early stuff and pretty much ignore So and Us, the two albums I went to hear.

Apollo, Glasgow, June 79, supporting The Police.

Feral frenzied rockabilly, wired to the moon.

Bryan Gregory looked like a skull, Nick Knox effortlessly cool, Poison Ivy chewing gum and rocking like mad, Lux Interior was the Creature From The Black Lagoon. Absolutely thrilling.

I'd never seen anything like it - opened up a whole new world.

Van Halen at Newcaste City Hall May 1978 supporting Black Sabbath.

Outside in the street you could hear them sound checking I'm On Fire.

Full PA. Every seat in the hall occupied which must have been a first for pre gig thirsty Geordies.

A heavy rock version of the Beach Boys, with their harmonies and catchy rock tunes.

A guitar player from another planet, maybe as influential in his own way as Hendrix was.

The cockiest front man you'll ever see.

An amazing performance for special guests.

They came back the next year and headlined an even better show.

Trivia fact the numpties at the City Hall Box office printed the tickets bearing the name VAL HALEN !!

Radiohead supporting REM @ the Milton Keynes Bowl, 1995.

Knew little about Radiohead at the time. I'd heard Creep, that was pretty much it. But I was a mad keen REM fan.

The Bends had just been released and I think they played most of it. They were a revelation. From that crunch in Creep to a sublime Street Spirit. I remember them being intense

To be honest it was probably just my familiarity and love of REM that carried it. But it was damn close...

Started going to see the Handsome Family when they were supporting the likes of Calexico and Johnny Dowd. Mind you, I was already into them and they were the main reason I was there.

Best support band I'd never come across before hearing them play: Smoke Fairies.

Lynyrd Skynyrd opening for Golden Earring, Edinburgh Odeon, November 15th, 1974

Followed about eight weeks later by:

Little Feat opening for The Doobie Brothers, Rainbow Theatre, January 19th, 1975

are supporting Snow Patrol in Bangor later this year. I suspect they will be slightly better.

supporting The Meteors at the Lyceum in '82.

The Pogues, allthough they were called Pogue Mahone at the time, supporting the truly awful King Kurt, 1983 Lyceum again.

The Lyceum again (god I do miss that place...) I also remember being so blown away by Wall Of Voodoo that I can't even remember who the main band were!

Black Flag almost outclassed The Damned, any other band and they would have blown them away - but The Damned at the time were just amazing live.

In fact The Damned and The Cramps often had great support acts that would have had lesser bands nervous about following on stage - I remember being mightily impressed by The Fuzztones and Hoodoo Gurus amongst others.

...supporting just about anyone but their performance supporting the Darling Buds at the T&C in 1989 was so staggering that it was pointless to stay to watch the main band, so I didn't bother.

I also saw a bizarre concert a few years ago here in Utrecht - The Veils (first incarnation) played first to a place full of young women. The second and final band on that night was The Fiery Furnaces who played about two notes and the place emptied. Eleanor kept shouting 'will someone close that door' not realising that it was open because most of the audience were walking through it. I was one of the 30 people who stayed behind and the FF were fantastic.

Supporting Flaming Lips at Bham Academy about 5 years back. Incredible live band who I already loved but didn't know were on the bill until I turned up quite early and saw their stuff on the merchandise stall! Also Adam Green supporting both The Strokes in 2006 and The Cribs last year. James supporting The Smiths in 85 when they were still brilliant. And how about My Bloody Valentine supporting The Soup Dragons, or Blur supporting Railway Children?

...opening for Emmylou Harris at the Jazz Cafe in London, September 1996. First I'd heard of them, and they completely reeled me in.

Supporting Morrissey at Ali Pally in 1992. Her joyful set left Morrissey's dry run through his recent catalogue seem grey and uninspired. The best Morrissey song performed that night was her version of "You Just Haven't Earned It..."

And to top it all - Shane MacGowan joined her for "Fairytale of NY" - AND it was around Christmas time...

Where The Spanish Fleet Foxes "Arizona baby" will be blown to smithereens by the Mighty Clem Snide.

Supporting Keane in Orlando, 2005.

They were ab fab (much to my surprise) and a hundred times better than the trying-too-hard guitarless trio.

Supporting UB40 at Wembley Arena in 1984.

This was a time when UB40 were still "good" and relevant and Hucknall and co simply blew them off the stage. Came away mighty impressed and went and bought Picture Book the next day.

supporting Television at City Hall, Newcastle. A healthy audience there to see the Ice King Tom Verlaine circa Marquee Moon perform. Blondie come on, Debbie in shades, beret and a long cloak. Within one number, she whips it off to reveal a red leather minidress, thigh high boots, beret off and the blond locks shaken loose. Phwooooaaarrrr!!! Needless to say, the Geordie massive went berserk and it was the only time I've ever seen a mass stampede to the front for a support band who nobody had really heard of before.

Oh, and I saw Joanna Newsom play support a few years ago and she was absolutely outstanding, just her and her harp, and the headliner, Paul burch, although good, was a mere irrelevance after her.

support The Smiths at Middlesbrough Town Hall in 1985, and it's no wonder than Tim Booth was thrown into the Morrissey Friend-Shredder shortly afterwards. I've never seen a group do so much shapeshifting with such a limited set of chops, and Tim Booth's spazz-on-a-cattleprod gyrations made Morrrissey look about as shamanic as Pam Ayres.

Just two things frustrate me about that memory: firstly, that the bootlegger who captured The Smiths performance never had the foresight to leave their tape running for the whole show, and secondly that within just a couple of months James themselves had turned into a self-important, big-deal-chasing, tshirt-selling emporium; what a bunch of wasters.

Blew Elton John offstage at Wembley Stadium 1975. Also on the bill was The Eagles, Joe Walsh, Chaka Khan with Rufus and (Word favourites) Stackridge. All for three pound fifty.

I saw Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers blow the then highly-regarded Nils Lofgren into the Mersey when they supported him at the Liverpool Empire in 1977. Extraordinarily good.

In 1980, I saw Pink Military and Wah! Heat at Manchester Polytechnic, but the band at the bottom of the bill (who'd yet to release a single over here) left a far greater impression than either of them. U2, they were called.

Supporting The Alarm at the UEA in Norwich in 1985.

Wiping the floor with Primal Scream in February 1998.

Supporting Tad at the Norwich Arts Centre. '89? '90? The three of them joined the crowd for Tad's set and "moshed" with the rest of us.

I remember walking away thinking that Tad had a great future . . .

but the worst was Gary Moore supporting Curved Air.A forty five minute guitar solo = Very pissed off Hippies.

supporting the housemartins- way before shrek and that awful single version of letter from america. they were different to my ears (18year old ex mod at the time) and good in a wow look what music can be- way

supporting Tom Robinson at the Edinburgh Odeon in 1978 - Alternative Ulster!!

supporting The Kills. Absolutely superb, full of intense sloganeering and chilly post punk over teutonic beats. Most people in the crowd didn't seem too phased though.

or

A Hawk and A Hacksaw
Balkan influenced American folk band consisting of a ukulele, accordian and a violin. Supporting Portishead. Who thought up that beautiful combination?

Free Trade Hall manchester 1975 supporting Bachman turner Overdrive...no contest!! this was TL just prior to releasing the Jailbreak album and they were superb. Quite a few persons walked at start of BTO set

who was fantastic and got a couple of encores prior to the Rolling stones coming on at Belle Vue in Manchester in 1973; The Stones have never been afraid of a great support act though and I've seen some great acts on with them over the years...Joe Jackson springs to mind,Sheryl Crow... and infamously 10cc at Knebworth...who they were afraid of (or at least the road crew were as they cut the cables causing the Stones to delay for ages before coming on)..Oh happy days.

support to Neil Young at The Palace in Manchester on the tonights the night tour....misery all round that night as The eagles amps caught on fire after a couple of songs and Neil only played stuff nobody knew.

Went to see The Veils at Dingwalls, ostensibly to ogle their lovely bass player, and was distinctly unimpressed on all fronts. Goldheart Assembly in support more than made up for this.

supporting Grizzly Bear last week in Brighton - made up for a somewhat indulgent GB set. And Fanfarlo would have blown a lesser band than Mumford & Sons off the stage - also last week.

supporting The Shins at Hammersmith Apollo in 2008. Quirky but apparently over-reliant on the singer-guitarist..., but what do I know?

Supporting Nils Lofgren when their first album was released. Fantastic live set and have been a fan ever since.

Also, Genesis supporting `Lindisfarne - had never heard of them yet within a year they were doing their own headlining sell out tours.

And re earlier Alabama 3 comments - saw them on same bill as Was not was at SXSW 2008 - first time I had seen them. Was completely blown away and have seen them a further 4 times. One of THE great live bands.

Saw the Specials open for the Police at Liberty Bell racetrack. The crowd danced like wild to the Specials. When the Police came on the dancing stopped.

supporting Tunng this Friday in Bristol, I hope. Not that I have anything against Tunng

... and I sh*t ye not, supporting John Otway at Sheffield University Students Union, 1980. About their fourth or fifth gig in England, and that was back when they were exciting and new.

I was the assistant stage manager for the gig and attended to the lowly support band while the head stage-manager honcho had to literally drag Mr Otway away from the Space Invaders machine in order to play his set.

Stage manager: "Is your band all here?"

John Otway (for it was he): "Dunno - let's go on stage and find out."

Donnington Monsters of Rock 1981.

Slade were the best band on the bill by a mile, and in my humble opinion went down a dawn sight better than Ac/Dc.

Slade's set proved that they had never lost it as an ace live act.

. . . supporting Dire Straits at Woburn Abbey in 1992. To be honest, I'd only gone to see WNW anyway but after their storming mutant soul funk rampage (which, as I recall didn't hit the spot with much of the Dire Straits wine-bar crowd at all) I'm afraid I slipped away early after the bill-toppers came across as very tame in comparison.

Perhaps sensing the antipathy, WNW threw in a spectacularly atonal version of their already atonal 'Hello Dad, I'm in Jail' and went off waving cheerily amidst quite a lot of jeering. Excellent.

Royal Albert Hall,probably early or mid 80's. Admittedly I'd only gone in order to see Johnny Clegg (as I would anywhere, anytime), but Winwood was very boring.

Here are a few of the more memorable ones:
UB40 supporting the Pretenders - both bands on their first albums so probably about 1980 at Hammersmith Palais - both bands excellent.
A fledgling Wonderstuff supporting Wire Train at the Marquee - mid 80's
Wire Train supporting The Waterboys at Hammersmith Palais - mid 80's
Altered Images (great!) and The Associates (rubbish!) supporting Siouxsie and the Banshees - Hammersmith Palais 1980
Stiff Little Fingers - er supporting Stiff little Fingers at Aylesbury Friars (they did a set of cover versions of old glam rock songs) early 80's
The Animals - full original line up supporting The Police at Wembley Arena - about 1984?
Mumford and Sons supporting Laura Marling at St James, Picadilly, 2008
The Feeling supporting The Pretenders at Koko - 2006
Ed Harcourt supporting Starsailor at ULU - early 2000's
John Shuttleworth supporting The Rockingbirds at ULU 1990's

Must be loads more - I'll get back to you.........

supporting, unbelievably, Green on Red, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, 26 March 1987.

'Thanks to Steve Earle and the E-Street Band' said a visibly upset Chuck Prophet...as Steve and co began emptying the bar.

Back in the early 90's i saw them support My Bloody Valentine ,Sonic Youth (with Pavement if my memory serves me well) and the Pixies.
The Pixies gig does'nt really count as the crash barrier collapsed after their first song but The Fannies were always (and still are) great.
I also saw Black Rebel Motorcycle and Interpol support U2 at Hampden park in Glasgow which for me was a dream bill.

I went to see Electric Wizard in Sept 2009 at Ivory Blacks, having no idea what the support band Blood Ceremony were like - I was so impressed I immediately bought a T-Shirt as soon as they finished their set, and a copy of their album the next day. They're coming back to Glasgow in May - for me a must see!