The Legendary Toads Place, Randall Beach
The Legendary Toads Place, Randall Beach
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Legendary Toad's Place
Stories from New Haven's Famed Music Venue

Author: Randall Beach, Brian Phelps

Narrator: George Newbern

Unabridged: 6 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/29/2022

Synopsis

Anyone who has lived near New Haven, Connecticut, in the past forty-plus years has surely heard of Toad's Place. With a capacity of 750, Toad's has served as the perfect spot for musicians who prefer smaller venues. U2 played one of their first US concerts there, on their Boy tour. In 1978, Bruce Springsteen was in New Haven and arrived at Toad's unannounced, and got up and played. The surprises kept coming and the club was attracting big names, as well as up-and-comers. In 1989, the Rolling Stones played a surprise show on a Saturday night, giving 700 fans the night of their dreams. Nothing could have been better—the Rolling Stones in downtown New Haven was unimaginable! That is only a taste of the stories that are uncovered in this book. Randall Beach and Toad's owner Brian Phelps recall the legendary shows and behind-the-scenes stories.

About Randall Beach

Randall Beach was the rock music critic for the New Haven Register from 1978 to 1984, covering many shows at Toad's Place. He later wrote about rock music for the New Haven Advocate, the Hartford Courant, and Billboard magazine. He was also a reporter and columnist for the New Haven Register from 1997 to 2020. In addition, he writes the "Beachcombing" column for Connecticut magazine. He lives in New Haven.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Leigh

4 stars for the nostalgia value. I can't believe I missed U2.......more

Goodreads review by Beth

An interesting history of Toad's Place, but badly written. It could have done better with an editor. Too many stories are one-sentence mentions, that almost seem like a grocery list. Some of the tales are fascinating and well-told; most, sadly, are not.......more

Goodreads review by Erik

If you're from New England, love rock and roll, and are familiar with the lore of Toad's Place, this is a fun listen (or read). The time the Stones played there as a warm-up for their Steel Wheels tour makes for a great story told from multiple angles, but they have lots more fun stories and lots mo......more

Goodreads review by Kevin

If you're a fan of the legendary Toad's Place, this is a great read. Lots of stories, and I was happy to see Brian focus on so many of the dedicated staff who made it all happen - especially giving Tank his due. If you know nothing about the place, well, may not be the book for you.........more

Goodreads review by Jeffrey

Not well written, but as someone who caught U2, Ian Hunter, David Johansen, and more from 1976 in, it's a treat to reminisce.......more

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