How did people book tickets for concerts and so on before the internet?

[Headphonesin]

I’m not even young, before I get a load of MNetters scorning my lack of knowledge, I just didn’t go to a concert until I was 35!

Even things like shows at the theatre, events on for kids - I hear about them all through social media and through websites, so wondering how people would go about it before good old google and Facebook?

One memorable (cold!) night in the 80s, me and my friend camped out overnight outside thee Apollo in Manchester to get tickets to see Aha! It was a long, but friendly, queue, and we had a great night in sleeping bags with flasks of coffee and a pack up our mums made us 🤣

Most of the time though, we went to HMV in the Arndale Centre to buy tickets. I'm sure we could have done the same for the Aha! tickets, but we got carried away with the adventure of The All Night Queue 🤣

NME had a list of gigs in the back with phone numbers

Piccadilly box office in the Virgin Megastore on Market Street in Manchester. Used to go to so many gigs back then, would just go through the list they used to have printed out on A4 when my student loan came in and book loads of stuff.

The local record shop had a board in the window with details of all the concerts coming up and you could go in and book. Read about them in the NME. I paid the princely sum of £35 to see Guns n Roses at Wembley Stadium, including a coach there and back. Local gigs were about a tenner.

Phone queues!
I remember feeling so smug booking tickets for Oasis at Knebworth as i had got through 5 mins before the lines officially opened - the nice lady on the phone said they had switched the lines to open early to check they were working!

I remember for Glastonbury sending off a cheque in the post and if you didn't get tickets they would send it back to you!

A gig advert might say cheque/p.o. and an sae to....and the address for the tickets. This was for big acts e.g. Pink Floyd at Earls Court. But someone at Mcr Apollo was employed to open the envelopes, check the payment and put the tickets in the envelopes. Tickets posted each night. Someone had to go to the bank to pay it all in. Some people even sent cash!!!

I wouldn't know, I always got backstage passes. <smug>

And how you did that... umm, know people.