It’ll be non-stop powerpop punk when a legend of that genre brings his band to Newcastle, a city where he helped to create a little piece of music history.
Duncan Reid, whose grandparents hail from Whitley Bay and who back in the late 70’s was the bass player with The Boys, rode on the crest of a wave during punk’s heyday as part of a wider collective of friends and peers that included The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Generation X and a host of other power-chord pioneers. The Boys remain one of the best-loved and influential bands of their generation but Duncan has moved on and formed his own band, (unusually comprising of two males and two females) which he has mockingly named, Duncan Reid and the Big Heads.
The band will be playing Newcastle’s Head of Steam venue on Friday 26thApril and he’s looking forward to returning to the city where in 1980 The Boys supported the seminal punk rock band, The Ramones at The City Hall.
It was there on a cold, January evening that he persuaded The Ramones to play their hit single “Baby I Love You’ live. Unusually, the band had never played it live as the song was recorded by session musicians under the direction of Phil Spector. Having just appeared on Top of the Pops to an audience of millions, Duncan explained that the great Geordie public would expect to hear that song live. The band agreed and a frantic lesson took place with Duncan and other members of The Boys helping.
During the concert, Duncan and another member of The Boys played and sang back-stage and as a consequence, there are only two people in the entire world who can claim to have played with the Ramones while not actually being tagged with the ‘Ramone’ nom-de-plume. Duncan Reid is one of those people.
The North East connection is further strengthened with Duncan’s links with the New Wave With Newman Show on community radio station, Radio Northumberland where new tracks have been given first play prominence on a number of occasions.
The Ramones connection is also featured in the TyneIdols punk tour of Newcastle where a recording of Duncan tells the tale of Baby I Love You when the iconic yellow double decker bus passes The City Hall. The next punk tour is on Sunday 18 August but gig goers can hear the band in action in Newcastle this month before they appear at the prestigious Scotland Calling Festival in Glasgow.
Following a cornucopia of stellar reviews for their first album, Little Big Head, The Big Heads developed their unique, effortlessly entertaining, melodic brand of harmony laden pop punk with: “The Difficult Second Album” and their third album “Bombs Away” was released in 2017 gathering a variety of awards and appearing in numerous best albums of the year lists. A new album is due out later this year.
Duncan Reid and The Big Heads play The Head of Steam on Friday 26 April with support from local band Loaded 44.
https://www.seetickets.com/event/duncan-reid-the-big-heads-loaded-44/the-head-of-steam/1277103?fbclid=IwAR0kGal5WR5yO13HpXbnJiXrpmu2jxrKGZAdmJEwGDT7z9QbMlJN585TGPE
Photos show the band in action.
Interviews via Keith Newman 07814 397951
Contact: Duncan@littlebighead.co.uk
https://duncanreidandthebigheads.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DuncanReidTheBigHeads/