School Disco Classics - Reliving Your Youth With Retro Conce

							by: Robin Richmond

Looking back school discos were the epitome of uncool. People tended to fall into two different
categories; those who were clearly very geeky and those who were delusional to the point of
thinking they were at the cutting edge of popular culture with their suspect haircuts and jerky
dance moves. These two subgroups could of course be further broken down into boys and girls.
Girls tended to dance on mass together in tight circles gossiping and singing all the words, while
the walls of the school hall were lined with nervous looking boys doing their best to pretend that
they didnt know the words to the latest Rick Astley hit.

However, as the old saying goes - school days were the best days of your life and like it or not
these discos were the soundtrack. To this day hearing a song can cast your memory back to the
creaking sound system ran by a DJ old enough to be your great uncle you may even still sport the
scars of failed break dancing moves. Its perhaps due to these sparks of nostalgia that has led to
the increasing popularity of retro concerts.

In the past retro concerts have been a little bit of a mixed bag. For every Bob Dylan there is a sad
miserable effort from a band desperately trying to re-live their youth and squeeze an extra few
pounds out of the final tour. Very often going to see these fallen idols can shatter the memories
of your youth and make you realise just how uncool you and they were in the first place. It is
always worth therefore doing a little investigating before heading off to a retro concert. Does the
artist still have it? Have the drug fuelled parties of their youth taken their toll? Are they
medically speaking still alive?

Luckily there are a number bands touring in the near future across the UK that do, definitely still
have it. One perennial favourite is Scottish singing legend Rod Stewart who is planning dates
across the UK in Manchester, Newcastle and London to name but a few. Famed for hits such as
Maggie May and Do ya think Im Sexy? - Rod has been entertaining crowds across the world
since his career began as a singer in the early 1960s. While the numbers of people replying
positively to his most famous hit has no doubt diminished through the years, Rods lyrical
presence has certainly not and he continues to be one of the worlds great showmen.

One of the quintessential school disco greats from the 80s were the sublime reggae outfit, UB40.
While the name of the band is certainly very apt for many of their current followers, UB40 are
still as good a live act as you will see. Formed in 1978 UB40 are heavily influenced by 1960s
Ska and reggae which was the inspiration behind original tracks such as King", "Madam
Medusa", "Food for thought" and "Signing Off". UB40 have 2 dates in December playing to an
expected sell out crowd at Wembley, London.

One act guaranteed to spark an emotional response from your mother are the Everly Brothers.
Best known for tracks such as Wake up Little Susie and Crying in the Rain, the Everley brothers
are widely regarded as one of the greats in rock and roll history. Playing live in the UK this
winter, tickets can be bought for their Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester gigs which promise to be
a sing-a-long extravaganza!
In the past retro concerts have received a lot of bad press, with fans wishing they could just
remember their favorite artists when they were at their peak. However, as the saying goes for
many artists class is permanent and if you are looking for a fun day out listening to the songs of
your youth then these concerts are great. Just dont expect miracles you arent going to look 16
again no matter how loud you sing...

For further information on retro concerts and concert breaks in the UK try short break specialist
http://www.superbreak.com.

This article was posted on September 09, 2005