Steve and Rusty had organised this Valentine's Day Ball but nobody expected anything but a DJ. Suddenly we got Shock! I can't remember if YaYa was already open I don't think so but the costumes were over-the-top even by our standards! The music was very electronic and the whole band just looked . . . right.

There'd been an act before you I think. They had to play in front of the fire curtain with their synths and things balanced on someone else's equipment cases ("Ultravox" was stenciled down the side and that gave us a clue who was headlining). The drum parts were on cassette which the singer turned on and off for each song. Someone said they were from Basingstoke or Basildon. The songs weren't bad although when we found out the name of the band we thought they were French. 25 years on and they're still around and I've seen them a couple of times in the intervening years. By coincidence they're playing Milan this weekend - I live about an hour away. I still think the French name, depeche mode, was a mistake but that hasn't stopped them.

Then Ultravox came on in their recent new guise with Midge Ure and played the Vienna material.

I wish I still had the photos I took that evening. None of the ones of Shock were any good I remember. I wasn't close enough. If anyone else was there AND has photos I would really love to see them.

Like you I took pictures on that night, and like yours mine came out complete rubbish ... oh to have had a decent camera in those days!
I will see if I can put my hands on the pictures anyway!

I remember being bowled over by Shock as well as Ronnie... whatever happened to Ronnie? still have the single 'If you want me to stay' and of course Shock's 'Angel Face'

If you want to hear Shocks music check out www.youtube.com/elektrapunk or www.myspace.com/tartysauce

Barbie was, is and remains an amazing talent in my eyes and was a singer who should have been a huge success in that vocation.

Gary