1970s

Throughout the seventies the Civic and Wulfrun halls attracted the cream of the world's pop and rock acts – easily holding off competition from the increasing number of stadium venues.

From the sequins and stack heels of glam rock through pop, rock and reggae to the aggressive guitars of punk, Wolverhampton offered an incredible choice for music fans.

Gig goers could see David Bowie entertain as Ziggy Stardust, watch Queen appear as a support act or enjoy reggae legends Bob Marley and The Wailers at the start of their crossover into the UK mainstream.

The decade was kicked off in style by The Who, who played at the Civic on August 24 1970. The band loved the venue so much they returned in October 1973.

Local heroes Slade made their first spotlight appearance at the Civic on January 1 1971 – the band had been previously played at the hall for the Beatties staff dance, but were now top of the bill with their own show.

Slade topped the charts six times in three years in the early 70s and had 12 top ten singles in a row. They performed at the Civic almost every year throughout the decade and each time played to a rapturous home crowd.

The years between 1971 and 1973 saw a roll call of incredible acts including Yes, The Sweet, T-Rex, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull and the Electric Light Orchestra. An impressive – and probably quite noisy – set on November 6 1972 saw the roof raised by Slade, Thin Lizzy and Suzi Quatro.

Rock royalty David Bowie was at the height of his fame in 1973, but was still able to squeeze in a show at the Civic in May.

Promotional posters show the tour spotlighting his new single Drive-In Saturday – released a week before the album Aladdin Sane and eventually a Top 3 UK hit.

As if one rock god was not enough in a year, six months later Queen appeared at the Civic – not as headliners, but as support for Mott the Hoople, whose best known song All the Young Dudes had been penned by Bowie.

But Queen were not the support act for long

But Queen were not the support act for long - on December 7 1975 they were back at the Civic for a headline show, where you could have seen them for the astonishing price of £2.50 – a musical bargain even back then.

The set list included 20 songs and five encores, with White Queen, Flick of the Wrist, Brighton Rock, Killer Queen, Seven Seas of Rhye and – of course - Bohemian Rhapsody all making the cut.

Acts on offer during 1975-6 included ELO, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Leo Sayer and even Hollywood legend Marlene Dietrich, who appeared on February 16 1975.

Legend has it that when she'd appeared at the Grand Theatre nine years earlier, the grande dame was so keen to keep her white fur coat pristine that she swept the stage floor herself every night.

It is unknown whether she did the same at the Civic.

Perhaps two of the stand-out acts during the mid-70s were Elton John and Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Sir Elton (as he later became) entertained Wolverhampton twice during the decade; the first in 1974 performing as part of a benefit for former Wolves player Dave Woodfield and the second in May '76 to a sell-out crowd at the Civic.

June 1976 saw none other than Bob Marley appear with The Wailers – bringing their Rastaman Vibration Tour to the town.

The tour had kicked off in Pennsylvania in April and the band appeared in Wolverhampton just a day after their headline show at Cardiff's Ninian Park Stadium.

As the decade grew older so the acts at the Civic grew significantly louder, and some might say, angier.

In 1977, Australian rockers AC/DC appeared on stage in March, punk bands The Clash and The Stranglers both performed in May and on August 17 the hard rock of Motorhead was shaking the Civic. The band appeared at the venue just a few days before the release of their self-titled debut album.

The following years saw a real mix of acts, proving the attraction of the Civic to performers from all genres.

Wolverhampton welcomed singers as diverse as Hall & Oates, Chris de Burgh, Ultravox, The Boomtown Rats (twice, in '77 and '78), Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Judas Priest, Showaddywaddy, Def Leppard, Gary Numan and The Undertones.

After an astonishing 10 years of internationally renowned acts, the honour of playing out the spectacular seventies went to mod revival band The Jam with a gig in November 1979.