Radiohead, Contempo – The Garage, Highbury

My first Radiohead headline show, having seen them support other bands three times last year. My first Garage gig too (it opened this very year).
As I lived in Billericay I was never going to see them in Glasgow, but still, shame I chose London and not Glasgow – Radiohead’s next gig, two days later at the Barrowlands, was a co-headlining show with Blur. On a scale of 10 to 10, how good was that gig, I wonder?
Radiohead were due to play Reading the previous week, but Thom Yorke went down with laryngitis and they cancelled. He struggled a bit of a few songs, but then I don’t listen to Radiohead because I think the singer is going to sound like Michael Buble.
Writing almost exactly 30 years to the day after the show, I’ve got three overriding memories of this gig. The first is that I turned up during the support band, and asked someone who it was – they told me it was Contempo. This wasn’t the same Contempo who later became Hard Fi; in fact I’ve never been able to find any record of them anywhere at all. They may not have been called Contempo at all. I did see a Radiohead gig listing once which mentioned a different band, but I can’t find that right now.
The second was that – well, it was a gig, and it was pretty hectic up the front because we were all young, weren’t we? I remember a girl complaining relentlessly to me and my friend. “Stop pushing! Stop pushing! Stop pushing!” Of course we weren’t pushing deliberately, we were just in a critical mass of bodies. But we got fed up and moved a few yards away from her. About 60 seconds later, we saw the guy who was standing next to us get sick all over her. I actually still feel bad for her.
And lastly – waiting for a train on the platform at Highbury and Islington, my friend let off perhaps the loudest fart anyone’s ever heard. It stopped a lot of conversation. And it was followed by a lot of laughter. This isn’t meant to be a “and the whole train applauded” anectode; it was just a fart. But it really did happen like this. I can’t go through that station without mentioning it to someone.
The show was great though! The setlist exists because there’s a bootleg recording of the show somewhere (I can’t find it, but I will one day).

A flyer for a fanzine I picked up at this gig

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Setlist:
- The Bends
- Prove Yourself
- You
- Vegetable
- Creep
- Lurgee
- Yes I Am
- Banana Co.
- Faithless the Wonder Boy
- Ripcord
- Anyone Can Play Guitar
- Pop Is Dead
- Stop Whispering
- Blow Out

From the NME, 18 September 1993
Wednesday 1 September 1993, 464 views
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Gigs
- Gigantic Indie All Dayer – Marble Factory, Bristol
- HMS Morris, Pictish Trail – Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham
- The Others – The 100 Club, Soho
- Stray Tracks: White Gates Band, Mystery Team, Basharan, SNM, Monumental – Pink Toothbrush, Rayleigh
- Franz Ferdinand, Master Peace, Great Leslie – Empire, Shepherd’s Bush
- Melys, Yr Anghysur – Neuadd Ogwen, Bethesda
- Ynys, Sybs, Lafant – Y Cwps, Aberystwyth
- Sultans of Ping FC – Saint Luke’s & The Winged Ox, Glasgow
- Franz Ferdinand, Permanent (Joy) – Grand Central Hall, Liverpool
- Half Happy, em koko – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
- My Life Story – The Quarry, Liverpool
- Melys, Osgled – Y Cwps, Aberystwyth
- They Might Be Giants – The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm
- Darling Buds, Simon Love and the Loves – 229, Great Portland Street, London
- Fightmilk, Tugboat Captain – Paper Dress Vintage, Hackney
- Bugeye, Lucky Number You – The Victoria, Birmingham
- Art Brut – The Castle & Falcon, Birmingham
- Sultans of Ping FC, Meryl Streek – The Ritz, Manchester
- Chroma, Baby Brave, Lila Zing – Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham
- Melin Melyn, Ynys, Pys Melyn – Town Hall, Llangollen
- Antarctic Monkeys – The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury
- Bloc Party – The Institute, Digbeth, Birmingham
- Urdd Gobaith Cymru: Achlysurol, HMS Morris, Llareggub Brass Band – Mathrafal Field, Meifod
- Echobelly, Camens – Live 45, Kidderminster
- Futureheads, Adult Play – Shrewsbury Castle, Shrewsbury
- Adwaith – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
- Melys, Pys Melyn, Sophie Kilburn – Neuadd Ogwen, Bethesda
- Sea Power, Callum Easter – Town Hall, Birmingham
- Dydd Miwsig Cymru: Morgan Elwy, Tew Tew Tennau, Mynadd – Y Institwt, Llanfair Caereinion
- Bikini Beach Band – The White Hart, Stoke Newington
- Pacifica, House of Women – Academy 2, Islington
- Fonda 500, Bugeye, Hurtling, Colossus – Amersham Arms, New Cross
- Snow Coats, Toodles and the Hectic Pity – Signature Brew, Haggerston
- Snow Coats – Tunbridge Wells Forum
- Darling Buds, Keeley – The Thunderbolt, Bristol
- Fightmilk, Feeble Strength – Signature Brew, Haggerston
- Thousand Yard Stare – The Lexington, Islington
- Thousand Yard Stare – Prince Albert, Brighton
- Be Your Own Pet – Rough Trade East, Whitechapel
- Brian Butterfield – Bush Hall, Shepherd’s Bush
- Pulp – Apollo, Hammersmith
- Blur, Self Esteem – Wembley Stadium, Wembley
- Blur, Wu Lu – City Hall, Newcastle
- Salad, Repetitive John – Arts Club, West Hampstead, London
- Salad – The Hope and Ruin, Brighton
- The Others – The Garage, Highbury
- Fightmilk – Signature Brew, Haggerston
- Ynys, Gillie – The Victoria, Dalston
- Republica, Freya Beer – Powerhaus, Camden
- Pop Will Eat Itself, Sigue Sigue Sputnik – 229, Great Portland Street, London
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