Early dates
Paddy McAloon perfomed with Tony Coyle as part of a duo and sometime trio known as “The Doubles” and also as a band at University known as the “Happy Alberts”
(As “Avalon“)
1976/1977
Avalon line up was Tony Coyle, Vocals; Paddy McAloon, Guitar; Leo McCabe, Guitar and Bass; Roy McCalvey, Bass; Johnny Darmo, Drums
Sunday Nights, Bay Hotel, Cullercoats
Prudhoe Hospital
Unknown Dates
The earliest incarnation of Prefab Sprout was Paddy and Martin McAloon, with Mick Salmon on drums
St Leonards RC School Sixth Form Dinner Dance
“Ill-matched gigs were a feature of that post-punk era. I once saw Prefab Sprout supporting NWOBHM’s Samson in Durham, and Paddy McAloon was hit on the head by a cooking apple thrown by a local rock fan whom we just knew as ‘Reggie Mental’. ‘Reggie’s down the front’ someone muttered before the gig even started. ‘Has he got his cookers with him?’ ‘Yes’ At that point, we all knew that trouble was inevitable…” – Andy Darling quoted from a comment in the Guardan online.
Honeysuckle Pub on Coatsworth Road. Gateshead
“Saw The Eastside Torpedoes with Bren Healey, Toy Dolls, Prefab Sprout”
1980
Rixy’s Nightclub, Durham City
Castle Inn, Durham
? ?, 1980 Spectro Arts Lab, Newcastle, ENG (Supporting Dem-Cox)
January 30, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
February 9, 1980 University of Durham Dunelm House, ENG (supporting the Revillos)
February 16, 1980 University of Durham Dunelm House, ENG (supporting the Members)
June 29, 1980 Durham Domefest
July 2, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
October 8, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
October 15, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
October 22, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
October 25, 1980 Kings Head, Stanley
November 4, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
November 18-19, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
November 25, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
December 6, 1980 Langley Park St Joseph’s Parish Hall
December 11, 1980 Durham Q Ball Club
December 16, 1980 Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate, ENG
1981
March 27th: Newcastle Spectro Arts Lab, with Green Eyed Children (later to become Hurrah!)
March 28th: Spectro Arts Lab, Newcastle, ENG
April: Tom Minney’s Party
May 7th: Newcastle Spectro Arts Lab
June 18th: Newcastle Balmbra’s, with Reptile House
July 21st: Jesmond, The Lonsdale
June 25th: Brewer’s Arms, Gilesgate Bank, Durham.
August 11th: Jesmond, The Lonsdale
September 7th: Annabels, Sunderland
October: Le Metro, Sunderland
October 24th: Green Machine Disco, Dunelm House, Durham University, supporting Punching Holes
1982
Wendy Smith started performing at live dates about February 1982
January 6th: Washington Biddick, Farm Arts Centre
August 26, 1982 Soul Kitchen, Newcastle, ENG
1983
March 17th: Night Moves, Glasgow, supporting Aztec Camera. The Kingfishers were also on the bill
March 18th: Edinburgh University, supporting Aztec Camera
March 24th: Newcastle Soul Cellar at Grey’s Club
March 31st: Newcastle Soul Cellar at Grey’s Club
April 16th: Darlington Arts Centre
June 29th: El Hacienda, Tiffany’s, Newcastle
Michael Salmon left the band about July 1983. A Spinal Tapesque succession of drummers followed, including Daniel James (pseudonym for Graham Lant), Steve Dolder, Louis Connolly, David Ruffy and others, with Graham Lant being employed on the Swoon recordings and some gigs around this period including El Hacienda and Liverpool Poly.
December 7, 1983 Liverpool Polytechnic, Liverpool, ENG
December 12, 1983 Monday Club, Newcastle, ENG
December 15, 1983 Sunday Drum Club, Sunderland, ENG
December 19, 1983 Odeon, Birmingham, ENG (supporting Elvis Costello and the Attractions)
December 21-22, 1983 Hammersmith Odeon, London, ENG (2 shows on the 22nd, supporting Elvis Costello and the Attractions)
1984
The “New Way of Life” Tour
January 4th: Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) with Hurrah! and the Daintees
January 17th: Reading University, Reading, ENG
January 18th: Goldsmith College, London, ENG
January 19th: Kingston Polytechnic, London, ENG
By this time David Ruffy had joined as a regular drummer for live dates
January 20th: Kings College, London, ENG
January 21st: Brunel University
January 25th: Hacienda, Manchester, ENG (with the Daintees)
January 27th: Birmingham University
January 28th: Alcuin (University of York) with the Daintees
February 8th: Leicester Polytechnic (Arena) with the Daintees
February 9th: London Savoy at the Boston with Hurrah! and the Daintees
February 10th: Manchester University (announced at Hacienda gig, seems unlikely from geography of preceding and next shows)
February 11th: Portsmouth Polytechnic
February 13th: Upstairs at Erics, Bournemouth
February 24th: Night Moves, Glasgow
February 25th: Nite Club, Edinburgh
February 26th: Dance Factory Dundee
March 17th (broadcast): Saturday Live Session
March 1984: “Swoon” released. The lineup for successive dates included Virginia Astley of the Ravishing Beauties, with Neil Conti on drums.
UK and Ireland Tour:
April 27th: Trinity College Buttery, Dublin, IRE (supported by Hurrah!)
April 28th: Queen’s University McMordie Hall, Belfast, NI (supported by Hurrah!)
May 3rd: Hacienda, Manchester, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 4th: Lancaster University, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 5th: Liverpool University Mountford Hall, Liverpool, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 7th: Lyceum, London, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 8th: Leadmill, Sheffield, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 9th: Victoria Hall, Hanley, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 10th: Leeds Polytechnic, Leeds, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 12th: Essex University Students’ Union (supported by Hurrah!)
May 13th: Studio, Bristol, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 14th: Upstairs at Eric’s, Bournemouth, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 15th: Rock City, Nottingham, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 16th: Odeon, Birmingham, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 17th: Mayfair, Newcastle, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
May 19th: University Of East Anglia, Norwich, ENG (supported by Hurrah!)
German Tour:
May 21st: Cooky’s, Frankfurt
May 22nd: Luxor, Koln
May 23rd: Musiktheater Bad, Hannover
May 24th: KIR, Hamburg
May 25th: Odeon, Munster
May 26th: Loft im Metropol, Berlin
May 27th: Alter Bahnhof, Hof, Germany
May 28th: Media-Werkstatt, Stuttgart
Festival Dates:
May 31st: Pallieterhall Lier, Belgium
June 1st: Brielpoort, Deinze, Belgium
July 27-29th: Elephant Fayre, Port Eliot Estate, Cornwall
1985
The “Great Escape” Tour:
June 1985: “Steve McQueen” released. Virginia Astley left the live lineup at this point, being replaced by Michael Graves, and Kevin Armstrong joined on guitar, leading to a much harder edged rock sound.
July 16th: Triangle Arts Centre, Birmingham
July 17th: Manchester International
July 18th: Leeds Warehouse
July 19th: Porterhouse, Retford
July 20th: Leadmill, Sheffield
July 21st: Underground, Croydon
July 22nd: Dominion Theatre, London
July 27th: Saturday Live Session
August 7th (Broadcast 23rd October): Hold Tight, Alton Towers
August 18th: John Peel Session, Maida Vale
August 23rd (Broadcast): Bliss Channel 4
August 24th (Broadcast): Graham Bannerman Session
Piccadilly Radio Session around this date – referenced in Acrylic Daze Fanzine.
The “Two Wheels Good” tour:
Kevin Armstrong had left the live lineup by this point but was not replaced. Wendy was absent for a considerable number of early dates, between at least October 19th and 31st. She had laryngitis. Dates where she was confirmed absent are noted below, noting she was pretty much certainly absent for the dates in between! Hurrah! were almost certainly the support throughout: noted in a couple of places were they were confirmed as playing.
UK Tour:
October 17th: Ritzy, Aberdeen
October 18th: Dundee University
October 19th: Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow (without Wendy who was sick)
October 21st: Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh (switched from Coasters, and without Wendy who was sick)
October 22nd: Newcastle City Hall (without Wendy who was sick)
October 23rd: Rock City Nottingham (without Wendy who was sick)
October 24th: Leicester University (without Wendy who was sick)
October 26th: Salford University (without Wendy who was sick)
October 27th: Liverpool Mountford Hall (without Wendy who was sick)
October 28th: Powerhouse, Birmingham (without Wendy who was sick)
October 29th: Sheffield University (without Wendy who was sick)
October 30th: Victoria Hall, Hanley
October 31st: Warwick University (without Wendy who was sick)
November 2nd: Riley Smith Hall, University of Leeds
November 3rd: Norwich LEA with Hurrah!
November 4th: Oxford (may have been rearranged to the 15th)
November 6th: Guildhall, Portsmouth
November 7th: Cardiff University with Hurrah!
November 8th: Gloucester Arts College
November 9th: Essex University
November 11th: Top Rank, Brighton
November 12th: Studio, Bristol
November 13th: Exeter
November 14th: Coliseum, St Austell, Cornwall
November 15th: Apollo, Oxford
November 16th: University of Reading
November 18th: Hammersmith Palais
European Tour:
December 2nd: Alabamahalle, Munich, Germany
December 3rd: Lyon, Salle Moliere, France
December 5th: Eldorado, Paris (Moved from Le Palace)
December 6th: Rouen-Exo 7, France
December 8th: Vredenburg Hall, Utrecht, Holland
December 9th: Noordersingel, Borgerhout, Belgium
December 10th (broadcast): Old Grey Whistle Test
December 11th: Mannheim, Germany
December 12th: Frankfurt,Germany
December 13th: Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany
December 15th: Errol’s, Gothenburg, Sweden
December 16th: Circus, Oslo, Norway
December 18th: Ghetto, Stockholm, Sweden
1986
January 31, 1986 City Hall, Newcastle, ENG (Red Wedge Tour)
February 8, 1986 UK TV "The Tube"
February 18, 1986 Rolling Stone, Milan, ITY
February 20, 1986 Camelot, Bari, ITY
February 21, 1986 Teatrotenda Partenope, Naples, ITY
February 22, 1986 Rome, ITY
February 24, 1986 Padova, ITY
February 25, 1986 Bologna, ITY
February 26, 1986 Teatro Tenda, Florence, ITY
February 27, 1986 Teatro Colosseo, Torino, ITY (originally scheduled for the 17th, but snow prevented the equipment from arriving)
March 5, 1986 Hammersmith Odeon, London, ENG
Gary Hughes joined the line up for the Japanese dates, standing in for Michael Graves who was not available.
July 2, 1986 Kousei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo, JPN
July 7, 1986 Osaka, JPN
1988
July 4, 1988 KCRW Interview with brief solo performance
1989
January ?, 1989 Cannes, FRA (Midem Festival)
February 19, 1989 Brixton Academy, London, ENG (broadcast March 19th)
March 1, 1989 (Broadcast): The Hippodrome Show
1990
August 1990: “Jordan the Comeback” released. Joining the core band of Paddy, Martin, Wendy and Neil for the tour were Jess Bailey on keyboards, Paul Harvey on guitar, and Karlos Edwards on percussion.
UK Tour:
October 5, 1990 Guildhall, Portsmouth, ENG
October 6, 1990 AVLC, Birmingham, ENG
October 7, 1990 St. Davids Hall, Cardiff, WAL
October 9, 1990 Corn Exchange, Cambridge, ENG
October 10, 1990 St George’s Hall, Bradford, ENG
October 12, 1990 Playhouse, Edinburgh, SCOT
October 13, 1990 Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, SCOT
October 14, 1990 City Hall, Newcastle, ENG
October 15, 1990 City Hall, Sheffield, ENG
October 17, 1990 Apollo, Manchester, ENG
October 18, 1990 Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, ENG
October 19, 1990 Royal Court, Liverpool, ENG
October 21, 1990 Apollo, Oxford, ENG
October 22-23, 1990 HMV Hammersmith Odeon, London, ENG (with Trash Can Sinatras)
November 14, 1990 Amsterdam, NED
November 16, 1990 Nighttown, Rotterdam, NED
November 18, 1990 Modena, ITY
November 19, 1990 Teatro Olimpico, Rome, ITY
November 20, 1990 Teatro Orfeo, Milan, ITY
November 22, 1990 Montpellier, FRA
November 23, 1990 Palau d’Esports de Montjuic, Barcelona, SPA
November 24, 1990 Pabellon de Real Madrid, Madrid, SPA
November 26, 1990 Lyon, FRA
November 27-28, 1990 La Cigale, Paris, FRA
November 30, 1990 Vooruit, Gent, BEL
December 2, 1990 Copenhagen, DEN
December 4, 1990 Rockgarden, Gothenberg, SWE
December 5, 1990 Daily’s Melody, Stockholm, SWE
December 6, 1990 Kjellern Chateau Neuf, Oslo, NOR
December 8, 1990 Belfast, NI
December 9, 1990 The Point Depot, Dublin, IRE
1991
February 5, 1991: UK TV "The Late Show").
March 16, 1991 Le Zenith, Paris, FRA (Ricard Festival)
September 24th "An Eye on the Music" , Paddy McAloon with Jimmy Webb. Broadcast October 20th
2000
The 2000 tour saw Wendy leave the band, and a stripped down line up with Jess Bailey on keyboards joining the three remaining core members.
March 30, 2000 Royal Centre, Nottingham, ENG
March 31, 2000 Colston Hall, Bristol, ENG
April 1, 2000 University of Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, ENG
April 3, 2000 Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, SCOT
April 4, 2000 Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, ENG
April 5, 2000 Corn Exchange, Cambridge, ENG
April 6, 2000 Guildhall, Southampton, ENG
April 8, 2000 City Hall, Newcastle, ENG
April 9, 2000 Town & Country Club, Leeds, ENG
April 11, 2000 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, ENG
April 12-13, 2000 Shepherds Bush Empire, London, ENG
April 15-16, 2000 Olympia Theatre, Dublin, IRE
June 10, 2000 Finsbury Park, London, ENG (Fleadh Festival)
2007
December: PTA Fundraiser