Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Villa Memories => Topic started by: jon collett on September 21, 2023, 01:59:42 PM
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I know the history with the Serpentine and then the Asda Superstore but was it a money spinner for us?
Whose idea was it to get involved?
Did selling the site generate a fair amount which compensated for car parking revenue?
Any other clubs invest in this kind of sector?
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I remember watching us on a big screen in there when we done Albion in the FA Cup. Was a cracking atmosphere.
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I don't think it was ours. I thought we owned the car park and the council owned the leisure centre.
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I saw INXS there in their hey-day. I wasn't even a fan, but my mate was and he won free tickets on BRMB....it was some kind of secret gig tour they did where they announced the venue a few hours before the concert.
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Saw The The at the AV Leisure Centre
(https://i.ibb.co/T2FSx9z/large-1989-09-22the-The-Aston.jpg) (https://ibb.co/T2FSx9z)
Full list of all gigs listed here. Some big names.
https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/aston-villa-leisure-centre
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I saw the Pogues at the Villa Leisure Centre , minus Shane McGowan ( Joe Strummer was filling in as Front man). I'd love to say it was magical , but in all honesty is was just an okay unmemorable gig.
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I managed to see the Wonder Stuff 3 times there. Once supported by PWEI, once supported by Ned's Atomic Dustbin and the third time by the less well remembered Gigolo Aunts. I also used to play in the 5-a-side leagues there.
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I used to play squash there when it first opened. I also saw Kash The Flash Gill in a World title fight there.
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Saw The The at the AV Leisure Centre
(https://i.ibb.co/T2FSx9z/large-1989-09-22the-The-Aston.jpg) (https://ibb.co/T2FSx9z)
Full list of all gigs listed here. Some big names.
https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/aston-villa-leisure-centre
I'm sure I saw a reggae artist there called Bitty McLean in the 90s but he's not on that list.
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I saw the Alarm there plus a few boxing bills including Macklin v Wayne Elcock when Tyson Fury stepped into the ring over the top rope.
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I saw Deacon Blue twice, MSP, The Levellers, Weller and Brian May.
The latter featured Cozy Powell on drums and the flame throwers singed my eyebrows during his "1812 Overture" solo.
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I saw The Beautiful South there.
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I saw a completely naked woman covered head to toe in tattoos coming out of a tattoo show there once, she must have been in her 70's
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I saw the Alarm there plus a few boxing bills including Macklin v Wayne Elcock when Tuson Fury stepped into the ring over the top rope.
Wayne Elcock used to run a team in our Sunday League, smashing bloke.
I used to play in the five a side league there too, and collected the autographs of Nigel Spink, Alan Evans and Tony Daley there at a Panini Swap Shop in 1987, I think.
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I also remember playing in a tournament there which was for competition winners in the Evening Mail when I was around 16. It was before the home game with Albion in the Division 2 season. I met Graham Taylor who said he was impressed with the (entirely fluke) goal I scored from a really acute angle. I can't imagine the club's manager turning up to do something like thata couple of hours before a league game these days.
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I used to play squash there and also saw Debbie Harry and Transvision Vamp live there too.
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I used to play squash there and also saw Debbie Harry and Transvision Vamp live there too.
VFL...She kissed my mate the lucky bastard when she did a gig in Nottingham...
UTV
The Doc
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I went a couple of times for gigs, saw The Beat there for certain but cannot remember the other one.
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I used to train in karate there with ZSKA, under the sensei (now kyoshi 8th dan) John Richards, who was built like a brick out house.
It was proper old school discipline, press ups on your knuckles, standing in line in silence for inspection.
I remember using the changing rooms at the same time as the 5 a siders, John would walk in with his black belt on, and the place would fall silent.
Always thought it was a great place for indoor sports.
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I used to play squash there and also saw Debbie Harry and Transvision Vamp live there too.
VFL...She kissed my mate the lucky bastard when she did a gig in Nottingham...
UTV
The Doc
I’d have not washed again!
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She said hello to me backstage at the Town Hall.
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Wonderstuff around 1988.
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I watched the Birmingham Bullets there regularly around 83/84 I think
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Paul Weller and the dinnertime five a side league plus skulking around waiting for travellers club coaches when it was raining were my only appearances there.
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Saw The The at the AV Leisure Centre
(https://i.ibb.co/T2FSx9z/large-1989-09-22the-The-Aston.jpg) (https://ibb.co/T2FSx9z)
Full list of all gigs listed here. Some big names.
https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/aston-villa-leisure-centre
I'm sure I saw a reggae artist there called Bitty McLean in the 90s but he's not on that list.
Saw the Stranglers there early 90s with Paul Robert’s on vocals.
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I saw the Manics there on the Everything Must Go tour.
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I used to play squash there and also saw Debbie Harry and Transvision Vamp live there too.
VFL...She kissed my mate the lucky bastard when she did a gig in Nottingham...
UTV
The Doc
To complete the double, Wendy James kissed me outside Salford University circa 1988.
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I saw Thunder there in 1990, great gig.
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My memories are different
The leisure centre was used as an exam base for my accounting exams
These were held in June (sweatbox) or December (freezing)
No aircon or heating back in the day
Every time i walked past it,it would send a cold shiver down my spine
I am probably in the minority happy that it is no longer there
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I saw the Alarm there plus a few boxing bills including Macklin v Wayne Elcock when Tuson Fury stepped into the ring over the top rope.
Wayne Elcock used to run a team in our Sunday League, smashing bloke.
I used to play in the five a side league there too, and collected the autographs of Nigel Spink, Alan Evans and Tony Daley there at a Panini Swap Shop in 1987, I think.
I was going to say. I remember going to a sticker swap shop there at some point. Ocean Colour Scene played there as well.
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Seem to have a combo of above.
Bullets a couple of times mid 80s
Transvision Vamp on an unbelievably hot day 1989 I reckon. Maybe Wonder Studf but maybe that was Hummingbird
Some accountancy exams too - mid 90s
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Yeah it was a bit of a crappy shed, but Pixies was a beautiful riot.
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Used to watch the bullets there & saw Terrorvision.
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I went to see the basketball when they were still called Team Fiat.
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What became of the ASDA?
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Played squash there a fair few times also played a few 5 a side tournaments too. We won one. Seen some basketball and netball too, can’t remember who though. Seen Howard Hodgson’s pitch to replace Ellis, quite ludicrous thinking about it. Never seen a gig there. I snobbishly thought it wasn’t a great venue based on the experiences of some who had. The car park, I remember a sandy surface with craters that filled with water and held that water all year round so it seemed.
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There was a 24hr, charity 5 aside tournament held there that we had a team in.
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There was a 24hr, charity 5 aside tournament held there that we had a team in.
I have a very vague recollection of that, when was it?
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We used to hire the court for lunchtime football when working at Aston Cross…we’d have 7/8/9 a side games as it was a great size court.
Also attended the Ellis protest meeting, unless memory playing tricks I remember them bringing in Dennis Mortimer rocking a full shell suit :-)
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Did any of the musicians who played live there, reference the Villa at all between songs? Surely Shaun Ryder waxed lyrical about Tony Daley or something.
Was never there but have listened to the Blur/Pulp/Supergrass bootleg of their Villa Lesiure Centre gig in 1994.
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I remember the Gigolo Aunts' lead singer talking about Villa winning the League Cup in 1994 when they supported the Wonder Stuff in April 1994. That was only because he had heard about it being sponsored by Coca Cola though.
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Morrisey came on stage wearing a Villa shirt in 1994-ish.
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No way?!
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Just googled it, and there's reference to and photos of a Villa football he apparently autographed and chucked into the crowd:
https://www.morrissey-solo.com/threads/signed-morrissey-football.115063/ (https://www.morrissey-solo.com/threads/signed-morrissey-football.115063/)
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I saw The The too, waited around much earlier in the day for autographs and got to meet Johnny Marr and Matt Johnson, which was nice. Looking forward to seeing The The when they play again next year!
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Fun fact. People from Leeds are never able to order tickets over the phone for The The concerts.
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I used to watch the Bullets there & saw Terrorvision there way bacl
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Just googled it, and there's reference to and photos of a Villa football he apparently autographed and chucked into the crowd:
https://www.morrissey-solo.com/threads/signed-morrissey-football.115063/ (https://www.morrissey-solo.com/threads/signed-morrissey-football.115063/)
Remember that gig well. He came out wearing a retro Villa shirt. I have spoken to the guy who got the ball but he doesn't want to sell it!
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I went to a rave there when I was 16.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ZvQAAOSwDnBiTYqJ/s-l1200.webp)
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/en8AAOSwQj1iTYqO/s-l1200.webp)
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What was the 'stringent body search' like?
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What was the 'stringent body search' like?
My memory of it is hazy at best but pretty sure it was about as stringent as the "Definitely NO under 18s".
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*Old geezer phoning in the frisk gif*
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Just noticed this - saw the Pixies there and had the best night out I can ever remember at a gig (even better than Sabbath in 1974).
Also saw Kash the Flash and Howard Brown fight there.
Ran a few wargames competitions at the annual games show as well
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saw Voice of The Beehive here on one of my first ever dates :-*
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saw Voice of The Beehive here on one of my first ever dates :-*
Was she a Monster or an Angel ?
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I saw the Cranberries here in around 1995.
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Used to enjoy the Bullets matches, I think Russ Saunders was the main man
& was on Channel 4 Mon evenings, if memory serves.
In 1988, a national indoor tennis league sponsored by The Mortgage Corporation started, using the leisure centre as base for the Birmingham team. Andrew Castle played for B,ham, Alan Durban ran the Telford team, & David Lloyd ran & played for I think Heston.
My mates girlfriend worked on reception & she managed to get us some time on the court when it wasnt being used, as long as we played at 7.30 am the morning after a match. In those days, WM used to send a young Paul Franks to cover the Bullets & the tennis
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My mom used to take us on the & bus to go to the Panini sticker swap shop there in the early to mid 90's.
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My mom used to take us on the & bus to go to the Panini sticker swap shop there in the early to mid 90's.
I did one of them in 1988 I think and got Nigel Spink, Tony Daley and Alan Evans' autographs.
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I saw the Cranberries here in around 1995.
Surely they would have been too big by then. Was Dolores Villa?
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My mom used to take us on the & bus to go to the Panini sticker swap shop there in the early to mid 90's.
I did one of them in 1988 I think and got Nigel Spink, Tony Daley and Alan Evans' autographs.
I worked at one of those in the late 90s, they came round our sixth form asking for people to do it. I seemed like decent money at that age but probably wasn't.
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I saw the Cranberries here in around 1995.
can't remember what she looked like really , mousy brown hair and a big perm i recall only.
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I saw the B52's there too. Now i'm trying to remember if Voice of the Beehive was the support act. Jesus my memory is gone
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I saw the Cranberries here in around 1995.
Surely they would have been too big by then. Was Dolores Villa?
As ubiquitous as their hits were and are, they still weren't reaching stellar chart positions in the UK, so as an indie band they were probably only civic hall/theatre sized at the time.
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I went to a rave there when I was 16.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ZvQAAOSwDnBiTYqJ/s-l1200.webp)
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/en8AAOSwQj1iTYqO/s-l1200.webp)
Seems mad that a council-owned community building would allow an all-night rave and the attendant "social issues" to take place! Or maybe they never knew...seems like they got bang for their buck in terms of frequent multi-usage of the place.
It was re-named "Aston Arena" in later years - was there an attempt to modernise the faciities at that time? And was it affiliated to Aston University too?
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Was thinking we'd often park here on matchdays too. Get there early we were out the front , get there later was out the back opposite the Asda that was on the serpentine site.
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I saw the Cranberries here in around 1995.
Surely they would have been too big by then. Was Dolores Villa?
They played the Aston Villa Leisure Centre along with other similar sized venues in the UK the first half of 1995- they went to venues such as the NEC by July in 1995. So I caught them just before they went huge.
http://hopelesslydevoted.free.fr/pages/cranberries/tours/no_need_to_argue.htm
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I took my then girlfriend (now my wife of many years) to see Hooty and the Blowfish at the Leisure centre - 1997 or 1998?
i enjoyed the concert having seen them before at Wolves Civic -1996, she was not that impressed!
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The place was rough around the around the edges but my word, concert nights were loud and the atmosphere was electric. I used to leave the gigs drenched in sweat.