"Heavy metal music has never been so thunderously noisy as Saxon were last night" said the Post’s music man James Belsey the following day.

"Their electrically super charged roar was tangible - a body shock which quite literally struck you like a physical force.

" The Colston Hall was crammed to the gills with leather jacketed, blue jeaned diehards tough enough to sustain such an onslaught.

"I wasn’t and ended up listening behind the safety of a thick curtain behind the back of the stalls.

"My ears were still ringing half an hour later.

"And the music?

"It was an incomprehensible blitzkrieg of sound punctuated by a steady, monotonous howl of basic rock rhythm.

"The stage performance was nothing but classic posing - front man Biff Byford even had a hidden wind machine to blow his long hair into unintentionally hilarious haystacks.

"It was all going a bit far, I’d say.

"Saxon, who only made their debut album last year, have started to make a lot of money from heavy rock and they have clearly invested their riches in even more powerful amplification equipment.

"They would do better to invest their talents in something a bit less obvious than the hideous noise they made last night."

Despite Belsey’s comments Saxon went on to huge success throughout the 1980s with 8 UK Top 40 albums including 4 UK Top 10 albums.

They also had numerous hit singles.

As one of Europe's biggest metal acts they also had success in Japan and in the USA selling more than 13 million albums worldwide.

Fronted by Biff Byford since 1976, Saxon are still touring today.

Someone else worth going to see at the Colston Hall, but a completely different, was Scots funny man Billy Connolly.

"Billy Connolly is dangerous for your health" wrote the Post’s Barbara Webb the next day.

"If he came to Bristol more often then the BRI would have great difficulty in coping with the rush of patients suffering from split sides and aching cheek muscles.

"He is simply the funniest act I have ever seen - anywhere.

"For two and a half hours last night he kept a packed Colston Hall in stitches.

"It was pure magic

" Connolly’s genius is that he needs no props, no support, nothing but his great ability to pick out the quirky and embarrassing failings we all have and then put them over in his own, inimitable, style.

"He mentions all the things we are not supposed to mention and uses all the words our mothers told us not to say.

"But the only people that he really offends are those without a sense of humour