INTERVIEW: Rock music returns to Lancaster University Great Hall at event celebrating legendary concerts

Tuesday, 9 January 2024 19:16

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

Paul McCartney performing on stage at The Great Hall at Lancaster University in 1972. Photo by Sheryl Walmsley from the book When Rock Went to College

Live rock music will return to Lancaster University's Great Hall for the first time since the '80s at a special event to celebrate the venue's golden age of rock concerts.

The event in March will commemorate the era when some of the biggest names in rock and pop music performed on the university's Great Hall stage.

Legends such as Paul McCartney, Bob Marley, The Who, Queen, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Blondie, The Specials, U2 and Tina Turner played at the venue during the period 1969-1985.

To mark the university's 60th birthday, a plaque will be unveiled at the Great Hall on Friday, March 15 as a permanent celebration of these classic concerts.

Then on Saturday March 16, The Great Hall will host a live rock and pop music gig for the first time since the 1980s - organised by Lancaster Musicians' Co-Op.

The event is called 'Rock Comes Back to College: Celebrating the Rock Concerts at Lancaster University with Conversation and Music'.

Barry Lucas, former entertainments manager at the university who booked these big names during his tenure, appeared on The Resident on Beyond Radio to exclusively announce the news.

LISTEN to our interview with Barry (pictured below with Paul Tomlinson, co-author of his book When Rock Went to College)

The evening will include an in-conversation interview with Barry on stage, followed by performances by contemporary rock and pop artists.

That weekend, Barry will also launch a new edition of his hit book 'When Rock Went to College'.

The book tells the incredible story of how some of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll came to perform at Lancaster.

First launched in 2017, 'When Rock Went to College' is an A-Z listing of the acts that played at the Great Hall, along with the stories and recollections of Barry, from Morecambe, who was Britain’s first full time, professional university campus impresario.

The book is fully illustrated with colour concert posters of John Angus and previously unseen photographs by Geoff Campbell of bands on stage in The Great Hall.

The new edition will include memories from people who went to the gigs, and new photos of the shows.

Tina Turner performing on The Great Hall stage in the 1980s. Photo by Geoff Campbell.

"There's going to be an event to celebrate the concerts on March 15, 16 and 17," said Barry.

"On the Friday there's going to be an unveiling of the blue plaque. Then on the Saturday there will be food stalls, a mini-festival feel, I'll be doing signings of my book and a talk/Q&A on the stage.

"And we thought, that was then and this is now, and where do we go from here? So we got hold of the Lancaster Musicians' Co-Op and thought why don't we give the evening over to them. They are producing a night of new young local musicians to play on the Great Hall stage.

"The last concerts there were in 1985.

"If you'd told anyone around at the time that they would cease for 40 years, they wouldn't believe you!"

A permanent exhibition of memorabilia from the shows will also go on display at the Great Hall.

More details of the event will be released soon, including how you can attend.