You don't want to miss this last chance to hear Black Diamond: when are they playing?
It will be one last dance for a popular local band.
Rock and roll fans of a certain age will remember when Black Diamond was regularly playing area bars and nightclubs in the early 1980s. Now the group, which was formed by its original members in 1979, will reunite for one final show in Winchendon.
The band, which once opened for Bo Diddly and toured with Joe Perry of Aerosmith, will play their last gig at an all-day outdoor festival at the Snowbound Club in Winchendon on Saturday, May 18. The event, which is billed as an all-day, rain or shine, family-friendly show will begin at 2:30 p.m. and feature performances by Very-Kate and Ashley, Rita and the Mistreaters, Mad Hatter, and the Night of Zeppelin tribute band.
The show will mark the 40th anniversary of the year the band ended, according to William Ladeau, who joined the group as a drummer in 1982.
“The original band was together for only six years, and there was a different drummer during each two-year period,” Ladeau explained. “We broke up in November of 1984 – actually, my first marriage was 10 days after the band broke up.”
Black Diamond ruled the local music scene in the early '80s
The names of Black Diamond’s original members will be familiar to those who watched the band play at fondly remembered local venues such as Alan’s Pub and Mahaki’s in Gardner and Cathay Island in Leominster. Bill Saulnier, Mike Birt, Joe Chaisson, and Rob Walsh comprised the band’s original lineup. Walsh was replaced by Dan Sargent in 1981, and Ladeau replaced Sargent the following year.
True fans of the group will remember that their soundman, Carl LaPlante, would sometimes strap on a bass guitar and fill in on a few songs.
Ladeau, who lives in Winchendon, remembered he was setting up his drums for his audition with the band and listening to Saulnier, Birt, and Chaisson practicing three-part harmonies for a cover of ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin’.”
“And even though when you listen to the song the harmonies don’t jump out to the average person, but the harmonies have to be spot-on in order for it to sound like the song was recorded,” Ladeau said. “And what I heard (at the audition) was perfection. I heard three guys that had been playing together for a few years before I ever met them, and they were tight. All they needed was a drummer.”
The band played nearly 60 songs straight through at that first rehearsal, Ladeau recalled. He noted that Birt and Walsh have since passed away.
“It took four hours and when we were done they looked at me and said if you want the job, you’re the new drummer for Black Diamond,” Ladeau added. “And that was all it took.”
Winner of WBCN Rumble and WAAF Rock Fight in the same year
To say Black Diamond was successful would be an understatement. In 1984, they achieved what no other New England-based band had done before – win the WBCN Rumble and the WAAF Rock Fight in the same year. They had thousands of regular followers, and an original song the group recorded received regular airplay on local radio stations.
“We were pretty popular,” Saulnier admitted, adding that the group had built a loyal following by playing music people could dance to. “The girls liked to dance, and that’s the way it always is - if you can draw the girls, the guys will show up too.”
Band played last original show in 1984
Black Diamond played its last original show at Cathay Island (now Chopsticks) on Nov. 7, 1984. Before the break-up, Chaisson had left the band and was replaced for a while by Dave Bourgeois, who readers will recall owned the Strings and Things music store on Main St. in Gardner. Bourgeois has also since passed away, and attempts to reach Chaisson had been unsuccessful, Ladeau said.
“The list (of lost members) seems to grow on a monthly basis,” he said.
35th anniversary show in Gardner proved wildly successful five years ago
The idea for a final farewell concert can be traced back to a show the band performed in 2019 at the Polish American Citizens Club in Gardner to celebrate its 35th anniversary, according to Ladeau, who studied music at Berklee and the University of Miami.
“It was my dream to put the band back together and play one night, even if it was for just one set,” he explained. “The tickets sold out four weeks before the (PACC) show. The reason for the 40th reunion show is partially for the fans, but also because all of the guys in the band are getting old. I want to play again.”
The band had actually planned to play another show following the PACC appearance, but the pandemic put the idea on hold for a few years, according to Saulnier.
“We had fun (at that show), everybody loved it, but then COVID came – we were actually lucky to get the 35th anniversary show in,” Saulnier explained. “So, we decided to do a 40th anniversary show, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The Snowbound Club show, which will limit the number of fans to 500, will definitely be the band’s last performance, Saulnier stressed.
“Yeah, this will be it,” he said.
Black Diamond’s members for the farewell show will feature notable local musicians including Troy Hanks, Ronnie Babineau, John Stefancik, and Danny LeBlanc. The setlist will include songs by Billy Idol, Thin Lizzy, and AC/DC, according to Ladeau.
Tickets for the show, which will also include performances by Ron Morey and T. Bone, are available from all participating bands and their members, the Snowbound Club, City Music, the Blue Moon Diner, Dot Line Curve, and Not Just Produced in Winchendon.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Local band Black Diamond reuniting at Snowbound Club in Winchendon
