Derby Gig Posters, 1973-1980

Museum & Art Gallery

A collection of 90 posters document the live music scene in Derby in the 1970s and 80s, with an emphasis on rock, punk and progressive rock bands. Bands featured include Thin Lizzy, Mud, Wizzard, ACDCand The Damned. The Sex Pistols 1976 gig at The King’s Hall is of particular interest, as it was one of the ‘Anarchy in the UK’ tour dates cancelled after the band caused outrage on Bill Grundy’s, ‘Today’ show.

The posters were designed and hand screenprinted by local graphic artist, Rob Gilvary. Rob’s style was influenced by the American West Coast 1970s rock posters and Fritz the Cat illustrations by cartoonist and musician, Robert Crumb. The Derby photographic studio W. W. Winter assisted Rob in producing his screens.

The posters were purchased from Jonny Thomson and were previously at his former exhibition space ‘Kunst Gallery’ in Belper. We are grateful to Jonny and our supporters for helping us acquire this exciting collection.

Made possible with support from the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and generous sponsorship from The Flowerpot and the Golden Eagle in Derby.

List of posters on rotation are:

Starry Eyed and Laughing plus Palm Beach Express, The Great Hall, Kedleston Rd, 17 January 1978
Good Habit and Giggles, The Great Hall, 9 January 1976
Climax Blues Band and Hustler, King’s Hall 14 January 1976
Climax Blues Band, The Great Hall, 18 October 1974
Thin Lizzy, The Great Hall, 21 November 1975
UFO and Strife, 9 December 1975
A Band Called O and East of Eden, 4 February 1976 (draft copy on the reverse of above, UFO and Strife)
A Band Called O and East of Eden, 4 February 1976
Christmas Ball with Doctors Of Madness, 12 December 1975
Gentle Giant plus Michael Moore, The Kings Hall, 15 December 1975
Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames, The Great Hall, 3 October 1975
Van der Graaf Generator, The Great Hall, 1 Nov 1975ember
Be-Bop Delux with Arcturus, The Great Hall, 14 November 1975
Amazing Blondel plus Arbre, New Hall, Wilmorton College, 21 November 1975
Christmas dance with The Wrinkles plus Sassafras, The Great Hall, 13 December 1974
Edgar Broughton Band, King’s Hall, 26 October 1973
Groundhogs plus Metropolis, The Great Hall, 10 January 1975
Stackridge with Shepstone and Dibbens, King’s Hall, 15 January 1975
Smiley Four, Camel and Georgie plus Horace Buttocks, The Great Hall, 26 January
The Jess Roden Band, The Great Hall, 31 January 1975
Students Rag Ball, Mud and Chopyn, The Great Hall, 4 March 1975
Rare Bird plus Sonny Condell, The Great Hall, 14 March 1975
Mike Absalom, New Hall, 21 March 1975
Slack Alice plus Michigan Flyers Band, The Great Hall, 18 April 1975
Horselips, The Great Hall, 25 April 1975
Stan Webb’s Broken Glass plus Moon, The Great Hall, 16 May 1975
Capability Brown and Witchfynde, The Great Hall, 26 April
Quicksand, The Great Hall, 10 May 1974
Summer Ball with Geordie, Tiffany’s, 13 June 1974
Curved Air plus Alkatraz, King’s Hall, 21 January 1976
Smiley Three, Silverhead and Raw Material plus Horace Buttocks, The Great Hall, 12 January 1973
Freshers Ball with Shakin’ Stevens & The Sunsets Rocks-off Rival, Johnny & Silky’s RnR Record Show , The Great Hall, 4 October 1974
Greenslade and String Driven Thing, King’s Hall, 30 October 1974
Thin Lizzy plus Witchfynde, The Great Hall, 22 November 1974
Smiley Two, Third Ear Band and Midas, The Great Hall, 8 December
Christmas Extravaganza with Roger Ruskin Spear and Thunderclap Newman, The Great Hall, 15 December 1973
Babe Ruth, The Great Hall, 11 January 1974
Harvey Andrew’s and Graham Cooper, the Great Hall, 25 January 1974
Rag Ball with Showaddywaddy, Tiffanys, 14 March 1974
Derby College of Arts & Technology, Conservation Society, What Price Future Energy: A Conference on the Long-term Problems and Solutions of the Energy Problem, The Great Hall, 23tMarch 1974
Refugee featuring Ex Nice, The Great Hall, 29 March 1974
Freshers Dance, Max Merritt and the Meteors plus Biggles, The Great Hall, 6 October
Smiley One, Carillon and Scharnhorst, The Great Hall, 20 October
Roy Wood’s Wizzard, Derby Colleges Charity Appeal, Rag Ball, King’s Hall, 22 March 1973
Smiley Five presents, Gypsy and Parlour Band, The Great Hall, 9 February 1973
Moon, The Great Hall, 6 February 1976
Mann, King’s Hall, 12 February 1976
Jack the Lad with Arbre, 18 Feb 1976February
Alan Price, Albert Hall, Notts, 25 February 1976
Rage Queen & Drag Queen Competition with Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, The Great Hall, 6 March 1976
Kyte-Hopkin Big Band and Mubb plus The Lasers Trad Band, The Great Hall, 9 March 1976
The Jess Roden Band, The Great Hall, 11 March 1976
Rag Ball with The Troggs, Tiffany’s, 18 March 1976
A Ceilidh with The Albion Dance Band, The Great Hall, 20 March 1976
Groundhogs, King’s Hall, 24 March 1976
Away Day Dance featuring Shanghai, The Great Hall, 1 May 1976
The Silk Mill Charitable Association, Ice, Razzle and Low Tar Band, Cleopatras, 4 May 1976
Freshers Dance with Bathnal, The Great Hall, 2 October 1976
A Folk Concert with Gryphon plus Richard Digance, The Great Hall, 22 October 1976
A Folk Concert with Decameron plus Richard Digance, The Great Hall, 22 October 1976 (same date as above, change of line-up)
Curved Air, Kings Hall, 28 October 1976
Pat Travers Band, The Great Hall, 29 October 1976
Roogalator, The Great Hall, 12 November 1976
Steve Hillage band, Kings Hall, 18 Nov 1976ember
Shanghai, The Great Hall, 26 November 1976
Caravan, The Kings Hall, 2 December 1976
It’s Anarchy in the UK Tour starring The Sex Pistols, The Damned, from the USA Johnny Thunders, Heartbreakers and The Clash, Kings Hall, 4 December 1976
Magna Carta, The Great Hall, 21 January 1977
ACDC, King’s Hall, 23 February 1977
The Annual Rag Queen/Drag Queen Competition with The Damned, The Great Hall, 5 March 1977
A Rag Ball with Roogalator, Tiffany’s, 17 March 1977
A Ceilidh with Flowers and Folics plus Caller, The Great Hall, 19March 1977
Sassafras, Charlie Strife and Dirty Tricks, King’s Hall, 23 March 1977
‘O’ Band, The Great Hall, 29 April 1977
Edgar Broughton’s Childermas, The Great Hall, 14 October 1977
Sham 69, The Great Hall, 12 November 1977
The Pirates, The Great Hall, 7 October 1977
Gryphon, The Great Hall, 14 October 1977
Radio Stars, The Great Hall, 28 October 1977
New Hearts plus Krazy Kat, The Great Hall, 12 November 1977
A Fancy Dress Christmas Ball with The Enid and Fritz the Cat, The Great Hall, 9 December 1977
The Depressions plus The Killjoys, The Great Hall, 27 January 1978
The Annual Rag Queen/Drag Queen Competition with Dead Fingers Talk, The Great Hall, 10 February 1978
The Yachts, The Great Hall, 17 February 1978
Orchid Dawn, Wilmorton College, 20 February 1978
Rag Ball, Heavy Metal Kids and The Tourist, Baileys Colyear St, 23 February 1978
Zal (Ex Sensational Alex Harvey Band) plus Marseilles, The Great Hall, 3 March 1978
Dean Ford with Tim Hinkley, Charlie McCracken, Rob Townsend, Roger Saunder and Charlie Whitney, The Great Hall, 6 May 1978
The Freshers Ball with Gruppo Sportivo plus The Tourists, The Great Hall, 6 October 1978
Ginger Baker’s Energy, The Great Hall, Lonsdale College, 17 May 1980