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What songs were on your first bands setlist? Include the year

Ooba Tooba

Ooba Tooba

Apr 30, 2017
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USA
#1
I saw the “rock standards” thread and got to thinking about all the old songs my first band learned. My first band in the mid 80s as a young teen only played originals (except for Smoke On The Water, and Rainbow In The Dark) so I’ll use my 2nd band around 1990-1992. This a few year before we played the club scene so these were house party lists.

Whipping Post ~ Allman Bros
Too Rolling Stoned ~ Robin Trower
Taxman ~ Beatles
How Many More Times ~ Led Zeppelin
Rock Candy ~ Montrose
Born Under A Bad Sign ~ Cream
Electric Funeral ~ Black Sabbath
Welcome To The Machine ~ Pink Floyd

There were some more, and around ‘92 we got a little faster and heavier with some Soundgarden, Paw, Alice In Chains and Tool. Curious to see your early lists
 
#2
I find it interesting that we skipped over 80s music while we were teens in the 80s. We really knew our 60s and 70s influences well, but didn’t care much for the keyboard pop in our youth. Now I’m much more open to some of the things I overlooked back then like Yes, Tears for Fears, Talking Heads... a lot of bands our age in our area were like minded.
 
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#3
I was a drummer in my first band (early 80's) and the songs on our list were the typical VH, Zeppelin, Def Leppard and AC/DC tunes that everyone else was playing.

My first band as a Bass player was 1995, the setlist when I joined was all dinosaur rock from the 70's. Within a few weeks of me joining, they decided to switch the format to modern rock like STP, Pearl Jam, Goo Goo Dolls, Nirvana etc...... I was 100% welcome to that change and we became the first band in our area to play that stuff.
 
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#5
I’m going to use the second band I was in, the first band I played bass in, 1979-1982.
Turning Japanese
Brand New Cadillac
Blitzkrieg Bop
I Will Follow
What I like About You
Dancing with Myself
India
White Wedding
Police on my Back
She’s the One
Bye Bye Love
Rejoice
Rumble in Brighton
Rudy Can’t Fail
Prisoner Number One
Should I Stay or Should I Go
Sister Europe
Five Foot One
etc etc
 
#6
1966-1967:
Midnight Hour- Young Rascals version
Mustang Sally Young Rascals version
Good Lovin'
You Like Me Too Much
Abilene
The Last Time
Diddy Wah Diddy, Why Do I Cry-- Barry and the Remains
Many other Beatles, Stones etc

We had no keyboard player:laugh:, two guitars, one bass, two microphones, all through two Silvertone Twin Twelves, deluxe sound.



 
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#7
First regular gigging band, early 90's with other players I met studying music. We worked quite a bit considering the obscurity of some of it on the band circuit.

Zappa:
Cosmik Debris
Almost all the first side of Joe's Garage
Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy
Dinah-Moe Hum

Thomas Dolby:
My Brain is Like a Sieve
The Ability to Swing

Beatles:
Hey Bulldog
Rocky Racoon

Fishbone - Ghetto Soundwave
James Brown - Sex Machine
Stevie wonder - Master Blaster

Others I can't remember.
 
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#8
My first band was death metal/grindcore band in 1990. Our first show was at a dance rehearsal studio that we rented.
I don't remember the whole set list but it probably included our songs Sacrifice For The Blood God, Lord of the Seven Darks, Father of Decay, and Irreverence. We also played a cover of Enter Sandman because the guitar player's girlfriend liked that song, and Slayer's Dead Skin Mask.
 
#9
It was 1981 and this is what I remember:

"Police on My Back" - The Clash
"War Stories" - Starjets
"No Secrets" - Angel City (aka The Angels)
"Personality Crisis" - NY Dolls
"London Boys" - Johnny Thunders
Possibly a Gary Moore number in there too.

Also I was underage.
 
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#10
1983-84. The BL / guitarist / lead singer was into alternative music, so:
"Pretty Vacant" - Sex Pistols
"Stray Cat Strut" - Stray Cats
"Hammer In My Heart" - Utopia
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - The Clash
There were a few others I can't remember right now.
 
#11
What songs were on your first bands setlist? Include the year
it was 1964, not my first band, but it was my first performance of what turned out to be a very busy year! :laugh: i don't remember all of the tunes, but i still chuckle at the disparity between these two tunes (that were on the single setlist: one set):
- glad all over, dave clark
- theme from a summer place, percy faith

variety is the spice of life, no? :laugh:
 
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#13
My first band played mostly originals, but we did play Bermuda (Roky Erickson, as performed by the minutemen), I Don’t Care (Black Flag), I’m Not a Loser (Descendents), Christmas Vacation (Descendents) and....oddly given that list, The Sounds of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel). PS this was around 1985.
 
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#15
Circa 1976-77, a great bunch of guys known as Sandy Beaches . . .

Ted Nugent - Stranglehold
Ted Nugent - Hey Baby
BTO - Not Fragile
Argent - Hold Your Head Up
Cream - Sunshine of Your Love
Vanilla Fudge - You Keep Me Hanging On
Rare Earth - I Know I'm Losing You
Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
CCR - Bad Moon Rising
Neil Young - Down By the River

These were pretty much mainstays on our set list.
 
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#16
1970, I was 13 and we got a gig in a local bar. The good old days!

Black Magic Woman - Santana
Jumping Jack Flash - Stones
Honky Tonk Woman - Stones
Brandy - Looking Glass
Funk #49 - James Gang
Woman - James Gang
Not Fade Away - Buddy Holly
Do Some Bongs - original

Can't really remember anything else, although we did a lot of Stones tunes. I was really lucky; we were young, but everyone could actually play their instrument.
 
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