Big Bobby
First gig was The Mission, very strange. Next was the Pixies, very loud and I fell over but was kindly picked up again.

Chris Wilson
My most memorable moment was from Megadeth a few years back, when Dave Mustaine said between songs "You know, after I injured my hand, the doctors told me that I would never play guitar again..." and then after a long pause, he waggled his hand in the air and yelled "BUT IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING WELL TONIGHT!" We wet ourselves laughing.

Damien
Best Ulster Hall gig for me had to be Rage Against The Machine sometime in the mid-nineties when they were at their peak. The whole place was jumping up and down from the front row to the back row for the entire gig!

Mike Edgar
First Gig at Ulster Hall was Thin Lizzy - Lynott/Downey/Gorham Robertson. Went to the show with Andy White, both of us aged 14 wearing denim and proudly sporting are Lizzy badges. Andy's dad got us backstage and we got to meet Phil - cheesy to say but it was a life-changing moment. Still love Lizzy to this day and no bad thing!!!

Dan Donnelly
I went to see a lot of hair metal at the Ulster hall as a teenager... Thunder, Aerosmith etc. I remember Lenny Kravitz playing there in the 90s, Primal Scream too. My Dad supported Herman's Hermits there in the 60s and I played it with Watercress in the 90s... Last night was AMAZING though!! If Belfast had of been like this 10 years ago I never would have left!!

Nic
One of my earliest Ulster Hall memories was in 1997 seeing Tim Burgess from The Charlatans getting hit on the head with my shoe (I didn't throw it). He took it in good spirits as he and the rest of the band had a kick around with the other shoe. I even got the shoes back at the end of the gig - good times!

Aaron
My brother took me to my first gig - it was 1982 - and it was Mamas Boys! I was only five at the time but it was class. The Ulster Hall seemed like the biggest venue in the world then but still is probably one of my favourite venues...

Ben
AC/DC - August 1979 only 6 months before Bon Scott died. Still the best but many more, UFO (sadly without Schenker), Rory Gallagher,(blistering solos from the heart), Hawkwind (Ginger Baker 10 minute drum solo), MSG (at last Schenker live), Whitesnake (both nights of course), Mamas Boys (Sweet Savage supporting), Rose Tattoo (maybe second best gig there), Dokken and Accept (another belter), Motorhead several times and more recently The Frames twice (amazing). Many many more too - definitely the best venue in Ireland. Almost forgot my one and only time on stage when my band Ghost of An American Airman supported James (yeah, Sit Down was great).

Don
Woah, way back in the seventies a friend and I would bunk off school & turn up at the stage door of the Ulster Hall before the trucks arrived to offer our help to the road crew. It was a great way of getting into gigs for free, access all areas! Rory Gallagher, Horslips, Thin Lizzy. Rory Gallagher at the Ulster Hall in Jan 76 (I think) was the first gig I ever attended. sitting up on the balcony just above the stage - awe struck. The last gig I saw there was Paul Weller & I was really disappointed at how tired & shabby the place looked then. Really looking forward to seeing it in refurbished splendour again soon.

Catherine C
Ok this is deeply untrendy but the first time I was there was when I went with my best friend to see our favourite (to this day) band, Crowded House. We were dropped off by my Mum and Dad, it was our first concert in the Big Smoke and we were SO excited. Since then I have visited many times. Snow Patrol is a great memory, the crowd singing Run was shiver-tastic.

Groover
Doves, Leftfield, Therapy? (and the mighty Silverfish!!), Bloc Party, The Strokes, EMF, Red Hot Chilli Peppers... the list is endless. Great venue, great memories, top gigs!

Marcus K
It was the end of February in 2006 and Duke Special was headlining but there was this mad warm up act, Thomas Truax. During one of his songs, 'Full Moon Over Wow Town', he jumped on to the P.A. still playing the song with his acoustic guitar and went round the whole balcony scaring the life out of the punters, what a guy! Best Duke gig ever as well!

Lander
Loads of great memories from the Ulster Hall, but the most special moment for me has to be Ash covering 'Only In Dreams' by Weezer. Stunning.

Robert
Where to start - Dr Feelgood (possibly the first - can't recall), Clash, Smiths, Buzzcocks, Undertones, SLF, Stranglers, Arctic Monkeys, Suede, Primal Scream, Leftfield, Graham Parker, Eddie & the Hot Rods, Boomtown Rats, Dexys two nights in a row, Strokes and tons more I can't remember offhand. I remember being 'confused' at a Clash gig, getting 'lost' on the way to the bog and trying Joe Strummer's leather jacket on for size - then getting uncermoniously bucked out of course.

Eoin
I was a late bloomer when it comes to Ulster Hall gigs. My one and only gig was the NME tour in 2006 with Mystery Jets, We Are Scientists, Arctic Monkeys, Maximo Park. I had just arrived back in the country after doing my whole backpacker thing so I just started listen to new music again and they were 4 of the bands I was really into. It was a really special feeling that night. Also the Arctic Monkey's album went to number one that night but they were played off the stage by Maximo Park!

Patrick Kane
I played in the Ulster Hall with my school orchestra but I remember my first gig like it was yesterday... My brother bought me tickets to the Thrills in December 2004 for my 14th birthday, and it was eye opening. The support acts (including a certain Roque Junior) weren't bad, but the Thrills were incredible. Seeing as it was about a week before Christmas, Fairytale of New York was played before the Thrills came on and the entire hall united in song. Then, an incredibly energetic performance from the lads, banging out all the hits. We could only get seated tickets but at the final song of the encore (The Irish Keep Gatecrashing) it turned into a free for all 12 minute rock out, and the no standing rule was completely and utterly ignored. We were dancing and singing like there was no tomorrow. Simply incredible.

Donna Legge
Most of the gigs I went to as a teenager were the big pop gigs at the Kings Hall, so I think my first Ulster Hall experience was Deacon Blue in 1989. I still have the 'review' I wrote of the gig - even back then I wanted to be a music journo! Since then, I've been lucky enough to see many of my favourite bands play the hall. Some of my best moments: Coldplay's first gig there when the yellow lights lit up the beauty of the hall during 'Yellow'; The Strokes slightly shambolic, intense and exciting show; Chemical Brothers' visuals hanging over the organ pipes; the crowd slow-dancing to The Thrills at the back of the hall. There's also been something very special about watching bands from here like Ash, Snow Patrol and The Divine Comedy play there. Here's to many more great gigs in the grand dame...

Lou
I went to see Paul Weller several years back. I think it was when he'd just started out on his solo career. I was working late that night and got to the Ulster Hall just after he'd gone on stage. I walked into a wall of Mods. Dressed to impress. Shiny shoes, sharp suits, cool barnets, crombies, and that was just the women! The atmosphere was amazing and the gig was fantastic. I never knew there were so many mods in Northern Ireland. I was in heaven. I spent most of the night checking out the audience and only got a glimpse or Mr. Weller. It was definitely the best dressed gig I've ever been to.

ATL Pablo
First time was EMF around 1990 or so. Some eejit did a dive from the balcony and just about got away with it. He hobbled off surprisingly unscathed. Best Ulster Hall moment would probably have been the Strokes around 2004. They were just magnificent, at the height of their powers, but beginning to shake off the pretty indie boys tag. Powerful hey.

Big Door
Ahhh what a venue... what memories... what smells... images... and that ringing in the ears at the end of the night / next day / next week. Big Country, The Prodigy (Keith Flint still has my Hong Kong Phoooey T-shirt which was ripped from my back mid stage dive) and Stiff Little Fingers, across 3 decades. All very different but the venue made the atmosphere electric. The Prodigy stands out because I just remember looking up (when not rolling back and forward on a sea of arms and legs) at the balcony and seeing a mass of people going apoplectic with enjoyment and ecstasy (musical kind) etched over their faces, bouncing around as if electrocuted, set against the background of the Hall's grand architecture. Top gig.

Davy Sims
First band I saw in Ulster Hall was Taste with Rory Gallagher leaning against an Orange stack screaming "I wanna be your catfish". Then there was the original Fleetwood Mac doing a 25 minute encore of 'Jenny Jenny'. And, of course, the first play of 'Stairway to Heaven' was in the Ulster Hall!

Annaliese
I went to see Megadeath in the Ulster Hall around 1994 or thereabouts. There were many men there with long hair that smelt of puke. My friend caught Dave Mustaine's friendship bracelet when he threw it into the crowd.

ATL Bell
I'll start us off... The very first gig I went to was in the Ulster Hall - I saw the mighty EMF the night that Manchester United won the Cup Winners' Cup in May 1991. Top night all round. Of course, being 13 at the time, my dad picked me up, which wasn't very rock'n'roll. Also recall the Rage Against the Machine gig there not too long after, possibly '92 or '93. That was quite an experience. Specifically recall the drummer was front of stage but with his back to the audience, which I thought was the coolest thing ever, before my body was crushed to smithereens by several hundred hefty metallers giving it the whole 9 yards and I struggled to recall my own name. Fun times.