Steve Webster's account on how a young Southampton Rock Band called ‘Fury’ came to support (for one night only) one of the most famous Heavy Rock Bands in the world…...
It was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon on 8th November 1980 and the band – twin brothers Mark and Steve Owers (Lead Guitar & Bass/Vocals respectively), Bill Downing (drums), and myself Steve Webster (lead guitar/vocals) - were running through the last of our songs at rehearsal in the Youth Club attached to ‘The Owl and Crescent’ pub, Calshot, Hampshire.
We were just starting to pack up when an old friend of mine, Derek Pullen, appeared in the doorway and said, “Hi guys, would you be interested in a gig tonight?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. How much, where’s it at, any free beer, etc, etc!”
“Ummmm….. it’s at Southampton Gaumont, supporting AC/DC……..”
Stunned silence…….. sound of pins dropping……..
“Yeah, yeah, yeah……. Nice one, what next a world tour with Led Zeppelin?!”
“No, really…here’s the phone number to ring and there’s no time to waste!”
By a sheer stroke of luck, Derek had been in Fret Music, Southampton, looking at guitars, when a call came through from AC/DC’s management to Ed Hailwood, the shop’s owner, asking if he knew of any good local rock bands that could step into the breech at short notice, as the support band, The Starfighters, had had an argument after the previous night’s performance and pulled out. Derek (bless him) put our name forward!
So it was true! “But how the hell do we phone anyone, there’s no phone here!”, I said. (This was 1980 don’t forget, so no mobiles yet).
Anyway, we managed to find a phone in one of the youth club offices, and Mark rang the number and had a short conversation with somebody while we all stood fidgeting.
When he got off the phone we said, “who did you speak to?”
“Some American bloke, I think”, said Mark, ( it was actually Peter Mensch, manager of AC/DC and Def Leppard!) “and he needs us there A.S.A.P.”
We packed down in double quick time, nipped home to break the news, pick up girlfriends, etc, and headed for Southampton, 15 miles away.
The very un-rock-and-roll convoy of a dying, pea-green Bedford CF van and a red and white Vauxhall Viva rolled into the rear car park of the Southampton Gaumont Theatre at about 4.45pm.
I was in the Viva and parked in the nearest available space, where I was immediately challenged by an old boy wearing a car park attendant’s uniform that made him look like the doorman at the Savoy. “You can’t park there, it’s for artists only”.
“I am an artist, I’m with the support act”.
More stunned silence, looks of disbelief….
Anyway (bless him), he ran off and quickly returned with some traffic cones to put round the car so I wouldn’t be blocked in later!
Meanwhile, the van was being reversed up to the loading ramp…..
When the others got out, we all looked at the top of the ramp and it was about 10 feet off the ground – ideal for an articulated truck but higher than the roof of the van! So, looking like the Keystone cops, we manhandled the gear 10 feet up on to the ramp!
Finally we were in!
We were met by a big friendly guy called Jake, who was the Road Manager for the tour and he organised some roadies into setting up our rag-bag collection of amps onstage in front of AC/DC’s awesome wall of amps which was hidden behind a big black curtain.
While this was being done, they were testing Brian Johnson’s vocal mic though the onstage monitor’s…..
“One !!!!!”
Ouch! Imagine standing about 3 feet from a jet engine as it fires up…. It actually hurt my ears really badly, just as if somebody had stuck a needle into my eardrum! How could he stand it that loud?
Meanwhile, Bill was having a conversation about Sonor drums with the drum roadie testing Phil Rudd’s kit, because Bill and Phil both played Sonor kits.
“I’ve got about half a dozen”, said the roadie.
Bill thought that was just the roadie talking proudly, as if Phil’s kits were his own personal property. It was only after the show that Bill realised he had actually been talking to Phil Rudd! “I thought he was a bit good for a roadie”, Bill said afterwards.
Meanwhile, some of the others had gone for a wander, as we had all been given Backstage passes, ‘Access all areas’. Unfortunately, they soon found out that ‘Access all areas’ didn’t include the beer tent that AC/DC had set up backstage complete with a full-sized bar and dartboard, and they were told to “leave quickly” by a very grumpy Brian Johnson!
During our brief sound check, when Dave Bell (our roadie/gopher/soundman) was allowed on to the desk to help out, Bill glanced upward into the lighting gantry and nearly shit himself – the famous bell was dangling on a chain directly over his drum kit!
The on-stage sound through the monitoring system was fabulous, everything was loud and clear and perfectly balanced. A rare treat.
After ten minutes, all was set and as we left the stage to head for our dressing room on the fourth floor, we passed Malcolm Young who said “Hi”. (He and Angus are really tiny, coming to about shoulder height on me, and I’m nearly 6 feet tall).
We were in the dressing room for about 10 minutes when there was a knock at the door and Jake walked in carrying a crate of beer, “compliments of the crew” he said.
We had just finished tuning up when there was another knock at the door, “time to go” said the man, and we were on our way…..
As we neared the backstage area, the lights went out in the auditorium and the audience stirred as we were directed by torchlight on to the stage.
We were greeted with a mild cheer as we went through the “How ya doin’, Southampton is the Rock and Roll capital of the world” bit, then Bill counted us in and we were into the first song which was called, ‘Is it just a dream?’, which in hindsight was surprisingly apt given the surreal nature of the situation.
We finished the first song to more than respectable applause from the audience, most of whom were still seated and hadn’t, in time-honoured support band tradition, pissed off to the bar!
At the end of our half-hour set, we were well pleased when some of the audience shouted for an encore, but the lights went up and that was that…It had seemed like about ten minutes to me!
As we left the stage, a voice at the back shouted, “Who the fuck are you?”. It suddenly dawned on us that nobody had actually said who we were…..oh well, too late now!
We passed Cliff Williams on our way off stage (amazingly he had watched most of our set from the wings) and he gave us the thumbs up.
Jake congratulated us on our performance and was surprised by how cool and unfazed we appeared to be before we went on. “I’ve usually got to drag the support band kicking, screaming, and puking with nerves from the dressing room”, he said. In truth, there was no smugness or egotism on our part, it was just that everything happened so fast we didn’t have time to think about it.
We didn’t want to miss AC/DC’s set, so we hung around hoping to see them perform from the wings, but were told that the band only allowed their official crew near the stage area during a performance. Shit! Now what were we going to do?
We decided to go out in to the circle and try to get a seat, but the concert was a sell-out so we had to stand at the sides. The lights were still up and some of the audience recognised us and we were suddenly overrun by people wanting autographs! I smile to myself now as I can imagine those people looking in their autograph books today and thinking “Who the fuck was Steve Webster?”
Finally, the lights went down to a huge roar from the crowd and they went nuts as the first toll of the bell rang out of the P.A. to introduce ‘Hell’s Bells’. The familiar guitar intro started, the stage lights went up and they were into the first song of what was to be a typically dynamic and bombastic AC/DC performance. Most of the ‘Back In Black’ album was played, along with all the old favourites, including ‘Rocker’ with Angus being carried through the crowd on a roadie’s back.
After the show we went backstage and mingled, although we didn’t venture into the hospitality room, which was laid out with a sumptuous looking buffet, chastened by our earlier experience with the beer tent!
We met up again with their manager Peter Mensch, who thanked us and then dropped a bombshell by offering us the chance to finish the rest of the tour if the Starfighters didn’t manage to get it back together! Wow! Hammersmith Odeon, Glasgow, etc. We said we would think about it (only joking!)
Mark said something like, “Fuck me, yeah!” but then made us all cringe by asking about our money for tonight’s gig!!!!! Amazingly, Peter Mensch gave him £50 quid out of his back pocket!
I thought for many years afterwards about Mark’s barefaced cheek (I mean people would pay thousands to play on a tour like that) but now I think bollocks why not? After all we did a good job at very short notice, and Peter Mensch probably thought, “Yeah, respect!” for being ballsy enough to ask.
As luck would have it, The Starfighters did get it back together so our big chance was confined to history.
I have related this tale, if prompted, to various people over the years. Most take it as read but some think you’re bullshitting them. But I know it happened, and so do a few acquaintances who were there on the night and had no prior knowledge that we were going to be on the bill!
The only proof we have is our ‘Backstage all areas’ passes, but they only prove we were at the concert, not that we played on the bill!
Everything happened so fast that nobody thought to take a camera or a tape recorder with them. However, there were flash bulbs going off in the audience during our performance. I know it’s a long shot, but if anybody has any photographs of us on stage, we would love to hear from you.
The only piece of tangible evidence in print is a little black paper-backed picture book produced after the tour. If you have a copy, look at the rear of the book and right at the bottom of a long list of thank-yous is the word ‘Fury’…….
So there you have it for what it’s worth, a whirlwind of a day and one that we’ll never forget.
Mark and Steve , in a later incarnation of Fury, signed to Jet Records (E.L.O, Ozzy Osbourne), who’s secretary was one Sharon Arden, surname now Osbourne! They released a single which was a rock version of Ike and Tina Turner’s soul classic ‘River Deep Mountain High’ on the Anchor label (a Jet subsidiary) which has long been deleted. (Incidentally, I played the bass guitar on the B-side of that record as Steve Owers had flu). They then went on to form a band called ‘Lionsheart’ and subsequently had a big selling album in Japan called ‘Portrait’ (possibly still available in the U.K.). They currently have a band in the Southampton area called ‘The Psychics’ who are well worth seeing.
Bill later went on to audition for Magnum, but as he is currently playing drums with Southampton rock covers band ‘Burn’ (well worth a look), he obviously didn’t get the job! (Their loss I say).
And me? I’m currently playing with Southampton rock covers band, ‘Below The Belt’, who are extremely well worth a look (but then I would say that wouldn’t I?)
Steve Webster
Website links:
well they moved on down 
AC/DC - Black Ice