Welcome to the page for
Goin’ Down De Mont: A People’s History of Rock Concerts at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall
the forthcoming book by author and rock historian Bruce Pegg.
*** PREORDER INFORMATION ***
Spenwood Books is now taking preorders for Goin’ Down De Mont! Order before 31 August 2022 and get your name included in the book as a sponsor. AND, if you are one of the first 100 people to place an order, you will receive a free hardback copy of Cream – A People’s History (retail price £19.99).
So, go to https://spenwoodbooks.com/product/demontforthall/ and reserve your copy today!
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ABOUT GOIN’ DOWN DE MONT
Background: In 2015, I started to write down my memories of rock concerts I had attended at the De Montfort Hall when I was a teenager growing up in Leicester during the 1970s.
As the project developed, I invited a number of my old friends to contribute, and I eventually published the stories here on brucepegg.com as a series of blog posts under the heading Aya Gooin’ Down De Mont?
Fast forward to 2021. Richard Houghton, my old college friend from Loughborough University and himself an author of numerous people’s histories of well-known rock bands, contacted me and asked if I would like to turn the blog posts into a book to be published by his company, Spenwood Books.
I readily agreed and began work on Goin’ Down De Mont.
The De Montfort Hall has enjoyed an incredibly rich history, playing host to the greatest names in modern popular music. From Buddy Holly’s appearance on 16 March 1958 through to legendary shows by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan in the early sixties; from groundbreaking performances by Pink Floyd and Genesis in the early 70s to cutting-edge appearances by The Clash and Blondie later that decade; and from numerous Marillion shows recorded at the venue to Kasabian’s triumphant homecoming gigs in the 2000s, the Hall’s stage has been graced by the famous and the influential alike.
In Goin’ Down De Mont, I am documenting that history by collecting as many stories as I can from concert goers who attended rock shows at the Hall from the late 1950s to today. In addition to stories, I am also soliciting pictures of performers and scans of memorabilia from the shows, including images of ticket stubs, setlists, autographs, and so on. (For copyright reasons, I can only accept material if it is accompanied by a permission from the owner.)
These stories will be accompanied by an essay documenting the Hall’s history, the ways rock tours changed from the package shows of the 50s and 60s to the full-blown multimedia productions of the mid 70s, and the Hall’s acoustics and ambience, features that endeared it to generations of concert goers and musicians alike.
Publication is expected sometime toward the end of 2022. Updates on the book’s progress and definitive publication information will be published both here and posts in the Goin’ Down De Mont Facebook group.
How to participate in Goin’ Down De Mont:
- Submit a story and/or database/discography addition/correction using the form below.
- Submit a story and/or database/discography addition/correction and/or a scan via email: demontstories@gmail.com.
- Join the Goin’ Down De Mont Facebook group and submit a story and/or database/discography addition/correction and/or a scan via Facebook messenger. Feel free to join the group even if you don’t have anything to contribute. It’s a good way to reconnect with like-minded Leicester people and enjoy banter that may or may not be related to the project!
About the De Montfort Hall gig database/discography: As a part of the project, I have assembled a database of dates and performers going back to 1957. I’ve added notes for some shows, especially ones that were recorded for official release, that may be of historical interest.
Additionally, I’ve assembled a discography of all live songs known to have been recorded at the Hall and released on legitimate labels. I have not included bootlegs for the simple reason that they are too numerous to list.
Both the database and the the discography are, admittedly, very incomplete and not 100% accurate, so I am asking visitors to this page to submit additions and suggest corrections using the contact information above.
I also fully admit to being very subjective about the inclusions; in addition to not including bootlegs recorded at the Hall, for example, I also haven’t included some genres of music. This is not to say I don’t think they should be there, just that I want to keep the project as manageable as possible. I’m certainly open to including all these things if they are in the spirit of the project, so feel free to reach out and change my mind!
You can access the database by clicking on this link.
You can access the discography by clicking on this link.
FAQ:
What are you looking for in a story? Whatever you are willing to contribute! The best stories have lots of details that really put the reader right there in the audience with you. They go beyond merely saying that you saw the band and they were great. (For an example of a good story, and how it will eventually look in the book, click here.)
Contact me if you’re not sure about an idea, and let’s work on it (see the answer to the next question).
I’m not a very good writer, but I have a story to tell. Will you help me write it? Of course! I’ve been a student of English, a writing teacher, a writer, and an editor for most of my life. I can help create good, readable copy with anyone who has something to say.
Are you looking for stories from a particular year/about a specific artist? No. I’m looking for stories from any era about any artist. Obviously, it’s getting harder to find people who witnessed shows in the late fifties/early sixties, so submissions from this era would be tremendous. But if you have a story, I’d love to include it!
Can I submit stories about shows I saw in venues other than the De Montfort Hall? For this particular project, I am only looking for stories related to performances at the Hall itself. However, if you have stories about other venues or bands, please contact me anyway. The publisher and I are always soliciting stories for new books or revised editions of existing ones.
What is the deadline for submitting a story? The sooner the better. A firm deadline for publication has yet to be set. Right now, the end of summer 2022 is the soft deadline.
Can I submit stories/images from the web? If you own the material, yes. If not, please send me the information including the URL, and I will ask permission from the owner to include it.
Can you make the database/discography editable/change the format for the web? For technical reasons, the easiest way for me to make the database and discography accessible at this time are as pdf documents. If someone with more technical ability than me would like to help build a dynamic, editable database for the net, that would be amazing. Contact me by email, Facebook, or the contact form below if you would be willing to help or contribute to this part of the project.
Project Updates
19 December 2021. Stories: 54 stories documenting 41 shows. Database: Version 1.0 includes 449 shows from 1957-2021.
19 January 2022. Stories: 75 stories documenting 54 gigs. Database: Version 1.1 includes 530 shows from 1957-2021.
7 March 2022. Stories: 100 stories documenting 73 gigs. Database: Version 1.2 includes 622 shows from 1957-2022.
3 May 2022: Stories: 145 stories documenting 99 gigs. Database: Version 1.3 includes 803 shows from 1957-2022.
Use the contact form below to submit your stories, update the database, or contact me about anything related to the Goin’ Down De Mont project.
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Bruce Pegg 