Campbells Landing, 17 December

BLACKFIRE saw the year out with a steady night in delightful Clevedon. Let the festive drinking begin...

 Farriers Arms, 11 December

It felt like a rapid return here after the Halloween party, but the welcome was enthusiastic as ever. The evening also saw the launch of the fantastic BLACKFIRE 2005 Calendar (a mere snip at £9) which was snapped up by the adoring fans. Big thanks go to Mark for his assistance with this. 

 Old Tavern, 27 November

A rousing welcome was given to the band who sprang some unexpected songs on drummer Thumper to keep him on his toes. The first purchases were made for the forthcoming BLACKFIRE calendar, which should be available by the next gig. Order yours now to avoid disappointment!

 Trout, 20 November

It may be a small venue, but they can certainly pack the people in when BLACKFIRE come to town. And they were most assuredly up for it.

 Reckless, 13 November

Even allowing for the mad dancer who got himself thrown out early on, this was another great BLACKFIRE gig. The band did sink to doing dedications for people, but as they had got married in the afternoon and then came to see BLACKFIRE, it only seemed fair! In fact there was no shortage of mad dancers later in the evening as the crowd got into it as much as the band.

 Old Pier, 6 November

Half the world may have been at various firework parties or carnival parades, but the rest were rockin' by the sea with BLACKFIRE. Many pictures were taken with Perfect's new camera and a rumour was even circulating about a BLACKFIRE calendar. What else could a person want in their Christmas stocking?

 Farriers Arms, Halloween Party

Aside from there being a fight before the band had even started playing, this was a great night. Capacity crowd, fancy dress and full on BLACKFIRE mayhem. Count Homer probably set the record for wearing the most Halloween masks in one evening. Now was it 3 or 4? 

 Bunch of Grapes, 22 October

A few unusual problems added to the gigging experience, such as having to park miles from the venue and the power being accidentally turned off to some of the gear part way through the first set . Apart form that it was another great night in the Bunch, right up until the very punctual finis necessitated by the arrival of the police. But everyone managed to go home happy in the end.

 Cat & Wheel, 15 October

The audience seemed to have encroached on the band area, leaving less space than usual. And  BLACKFIRE are a band that need a bit of space! Still they made the best of what was available and the gig went down a treat.

 Private Party, 8 October

The birthday girl certainly seemed to enjoy herself, as did everyone else!

 Kings Arms, 2 October

Excellent crowd in the Kings Arms and a good gig that was unfortunately restricted by the requirement for a timely finish due to issues with the  music license for the venue. This was a shame as the audience and the band were all up for doing a few more.

 King Billy, 25 September

A good turnout from the BLACKFIRE faithful for the band's return to the venue after a gap of several years. A last minute dash to get a replacement p.a. speaker aside, all went well and there was enthusiastic participation from a member of the staff who couldn't resist getting on stage and singing along to some of those punk numbers.

 Horseshoe, 19 September

As yet another Ramone has gone off to join that great punk band in the sky, BLACKFIRE chanced an unrehearsed Ramones tribute number that went surprisingly well. Let's hear it for 3 chord rock! And the night finished with some bizarre tangle of band members on the floor. Probably the less said about that the better...

 Sugar Loaf, 16 September

Back into the gigging fray with a solid night's work at the Sugar Loaf. Unfortunately, it seems that young Duncan is being pensioned off from running the place, so it's future as a live music venue is now in doubt.

 Bunch of Grapes, 27 August

The usual hot BLACKFIRE frenzy at the Bunch finished off August and was the last gig before the band took their late summer break.

 Old Tavern, 21 August

Something of a mixed night this. Started off with a historic moment - the debut of first new, original BLACKFIRE tune to be played in quite some time. The venue was packed and the crowd was really getting into it, until someone decided to go a bit too far. Some people might have found the sight of a naked, tattooed drunk dancing in front of the band a novelty to start with. But after falling into the stage lights and refusing to get dressed or leave, things took a more unpleasant turn. Sense finally prevailed and he was "escorted" off the premises. By the second half, the crowd and the band were back into the grove and the rest of the evening went down a storm. Certainly not a night that anyone will be able to forget in a hurry.

 Farriers, 14 August

Not much dancing from the crowd, but plenty of applause and general appreciation of the band laying it on the line. And also praise from a surviving Groundhog, who had watched the gig and enjoyed the whole affair!

 Royal Oak, 8 August

A sticky, summer, Sunday evening in Chipping Sodbury proved worthwhile as an attentive crowd sucked up all the oxygen and got into the BLACKFIRE thang. 

 Campbell's Landing, 6 August

This one certainly went with a bang. The good folk of sunny Clevedon went for it big style and BLACKFIRE were pleased to lead them in their hard rockin' frenzy into the night!

 Reckless, 31 July

There were concerns that this could be a quiet gig, as thousands of people flocked to the assorted events and free live music at the Bristol harbour regatta. But fear not, they still came to see BLACKFIRE strut their stuff at the Reckless, on a night that proved to be loud and generally free of strange occurrences.

 Old Pier, 24 July

Despite some technical problems, BLACKFIRE laid it on the line and managed to deliver another good gig. Some people had apparently come along to see if the stories they had heard about a BLACKFIRE performance were true. And they were not disappointed.

 Scallys, 17 July

A triumphant return for the band to sunny Weston-super-Mare. Great gig to a mostly new and innocent crowd, who were very into the full-on BLACKFIRE experience. Lots of people were keen to know when BLACKFIRE would be returning to the venue, but unfortunately it looks as though that won't be until next year. See you all then!

 Trout, 10 July

This was a really storming gig. Both bars of the Trout were stacked out and the crowd were definitely up for BLACKFIRE mayhem. The only thing that brought the gig to a close at the end of the 3rd encore, was the mass of dancers who all fell into a tangled heap in front of the drum kit. But they all seemed happy. Other points of note were the apparent theft of a certain Barbie Doll and the discovery of a rather interesting picture of a dedicated BLACKFIRE fan, which has been added to the Pictures page of this website.

 Cat & Wheel, 25 June

This could have been a bit of a quiet evening, as the country was hung over and in mourning after England's defeat in Euro 2004 the previous night. But BLACKFIRE gave it 110% and the crowd warmed up nicely and forgot their woes.

 Bungalow, 5 June

This was a charity gig for the NABD, so there were plenty of bikers in evidence. Turned out to be a really good night and BLACKFIRE made full use of the space available, with Perfect managing to make it across 4 tables whilst playing a guitar solo. You know it's been a good gig when the band get 3 separate offers of additional work at the end of the performance.

 Kings Arms, 9 May

Oh no - another venue with a volume problem! Apparently noise level monitoring was taking place as the live music license is up for renewal. This resulted in BLACKFIRE trying to play as quietly as possible. Not easy! The band were, however rewarded by some very enthusiastic female dancing in the crowd, so it wasn't all bad :-)

 Old Tavern, 8 May

A busy 2 gig weekend, started off with BLACKFIRE playing to a lot of familiar faces at the Old Tavern. Once the audience had been sufficiently warmed up things cooked along nicely. And the band even got to turn their amps up nice and loud...

 Stones Cross, 1 May

A night of mixed emotions as BLACKFIRE played their final gig for Von and Phil, who are leaving the Stones Cross after many years and many BLACKFIRE performances! Despite the Marquess breaking the p.a. system, the gig went down very well and the band were pleased to give Von & Phil a good send off. 

 Rose & Crown, 23 April

St Georges day, although the only member of BLACKFIRE called George is actually Scottish! The Rose & Crown was yet another new venue for the band and required some tricky manoeuvring to get the gear into the stage area. But when it came to show time BLACKFIRE cranked the volume (yes!) and left the locals shaken but happy. They didn't seem to be expecting a guitarist on the tables and a singer who frightened the children, but they enjoyed it none the less.

 Crown & Horseshoe, 17 April

Shock horror - another gig with a need for volume management :-(  BLACKFIRE are definitely at their best when cranked up, but they still managed to deliver for this performance, even if it had to be in a slightly more controlled form than normal. And the crowd certainly lapped it up. Who knows what they would have made of the normal, 100% full on BLACKFIRE experience?

 Cumberland, 11 April

No rest for the wicked, as BLACKFIRE roused themselves for a daylight performance at the Cumberland. This certainly livened up the lunch time of some people who obviously hadn't seen the band before. It was also impressive to see that some of the hard core BLACKFIRE fans managed to make it after also attending the gig the previous evening at the Chequers. Count Homer managed to crown proceedings by coming up with the lamest excuse ever for playing a wrong note. Apparently he was distracted because he was  "trying to stare a dog out". Yes, quite....

 Chequers, 10 April

Really good showing from BLACKFIRE regulars, most of whom couldn't believe the band was playing here. The Chequers is quite a large venue, but also contains a restaurant and tends to have a more mature/family clientele, who doubtless prefer something in the easy listening category. After some initial debate about how loud the band could be without upsetting the diners in the next room, BLACKFIRE proceeded to slam in another session of full on live entertainment! This went down a treat and at the end of the night there was much praise from another new audience won over to the dark side.

 Farriers, 3 April

Slightly more subdued crowd than normal, so there was less of the customary madness and audience participation.  BLACKFIRE still belted out a fine set, however, and even threw in a brand new, unrehearsed improvisation of a song that actually went down surprisingly well.

 Old Pier, 27 March

"Oh we do like to be beside the sea side" especially to watch a dismal England rugby defeat. But once that was out of the way, BLACKFIRE got on with a rather more spirited performance than the England team and managed to get Burnham on Sea rocking.

 Reckless, 20 March

A support slot from Rat:Daddy, who hail from sunny Southampton, was followed by the customary BLACKFIRE mayhem until the early hours.  Good crowd, Perfect and the Marquess running around and al that! Unfortunately Count Homer seems to have lost his blue Mohican, but he didn't want to talk about it. Oh, we also sold out of BLACKFIRE T shirts again, so it's time for another order.

 Trout, 13 March

A lot of people and a loud band squashed into not that big a place! A few nutters in the crowd and a couple of problems with the sound to make things interesting. Still, it all worked out all right in the end. Dave the roadie was a big hit in his new combat trousers, although we're not sure if he will ever recover from being molested by that woman...

 Cat & Wheel, 27 February

Another new venue for the band, although there were many familiar faces in the crowd. Fortunately the snow and ice of the previous day was largely gone, so the place wasn't grid locked by traffic as it had been only 24 hours before. Enough of the weather report - how was the gig? BLACKFIRE rocked and people, er, bopped. Perfect jumped off of the furniture, the Marquess knocked things over and we were privileged to have a special guest in the crowd - former BLACKFIRE drummer Spider.

 Bunch of Grapes, 20 February

As ever, a solid turnout of BLACKFIRE admirers filled the Bunch and got into the music and the over the top antics of Perfect and the Marquess. Unfortunately, an ill tempered incident in the crowd lead to the band skipping the customary encores. This lead to many bemused faces in the expectant audience, but proved to be the best course of action. Play nice in future children!

 Campbells Landing, 12 February

BLACKFIRE continued their exploration of new venues with their first ever visit to the Clevedon sea front. We can safely say that the crowd didn't seem to know what to expect from the band, but once BLACKFIRE were into their stride the audience were carried along with it. Quite a few people commented that it was the best band they had ever seen there and that they had never seen a band quite like BLACKFIRE before!

 Royal Oak, 8 February

Many years since the band had visited Chipping Sodbury - was the place up for a BLACKFIRE frenzy? Well, it filled with people as BLACKFIRE fired things up and once they had got over the initial shock, the whole place rocked very nicely indeed. Many new converts were won over to the dark side...

 Kings Arms, 31 January

First gig in the city of Bath for quite a while, but despite certain volume level and strict time constraints, BLACKFIRE rose to the occasion and delivered a fine performance to the Bathonians! Although battling with a cold, Perfect still managed to dance on the tables. The Marquess seemed to be struggling with an affliction of his own, as he appeared to have some strange sort of fungal growth attached to his head. Some surmised that it may actually be a pink hair extension...

 Old Tavern, 24 January

The place seemed a bit quiet early on, but by the time BLACKFIRE took to the stage there was a good sized  crowd who were plainly looking forward to the mayhem that was to come! Perfect did the wireless lead guitar thing, whilst Count Homer coaxed mighty bass tones from his new, bisexual amp technique. The Marquess still experienced a few mental blips (we blame all those cheap beef burgers he ate back in the '80s) but the band slammed in another fine performance and were forced into 3 encores.

 Horseshoe, 18 January

Bleary eyed and stretching, BLACKFIRE emerged from their brief, midwinter hibernation. To really wake themselves up, they played a very loud gig and encouraged the joyous crowd to do strange things. They also resurrected no less than 6 songs from their back catalogue, some of which hadn't seen an outing for a full year. The Marquess even managed to remember some of them.