Readers remember rocking (and more) at the Forum

As part of Randy Lewis’s front-page story on plans to for the Forum’s comeback as a concert venue, we asked readers to contribute memories of their experiences at the storied Inglewood building.

Check out some of what they’ve written below -- lightly edited for length and clarity -- and add your own memories at the bottom of this post.

I saw my first concert ever in 1977. I was 9 years old and it was KISS and Cheap Trick [at the Forum] -- the show that KISS recorded for the “Alive II� record. Smoke, fire, loud guitars -- I will never forget it!

-- Chris Cognac, Torrance

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Sometimes [my brother and I] would sneak in through the bottom entrance with the touring buses and limos. The list [of acts we saw] includes Earth, Wind & Fire, Sly & the Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic. The thing we always talk about and remember the most is [that] when the lights went off, the “aroma� would immediately change inside. Being two little young guys, that confused us at the time.

-- David Johnson, Los Angeles

Stevie Wonder was magical. [He] ended his show with a stage full of artists and celebrities singing “Happy Birthday,� his tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. The crowd kept singing as we streamed out of the Forum. The wafting of voices across the parking lot seemed to make it levitate. It was like we were floating to our cars, then out into the traffic on Manchester Boulevard.

-- Dr. Kweli, San Bernardino

I saw Depeche Mode perform at the Forum in 1986. Black was the primary fashion choice for concert attendees. The performance was electric -- literally -- and all left satisfied. I went with my boyfriend, Steve. He was more the Michael McDonald type, but he embraced the experience and we were better for it. Later I had to go hear Patti LaBelle at the Hollywood Bowl for him.

-- Chris Becker, Los Angeles

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Summer of 1986, the impotent new version of Van Halen stumbled onto the Forum stage. By-the-numbers Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen with his new haircut and sappy keyboard hooks absolutely disappointed my guitar-obsessed 19-year-old self.

-- Hoops McCann, Covina

Black Sabbath (with Ozzy Osbourne) and Grand Funk Railroad, February 1971. Black Sabbath opened and was amazing, but then Grand Funk came out and, surprisingly, blew them off the stage. I didn’t have my own car then, and I recall that five of us squeezed into a friend’s red Subaru 360 and slowly made our way up the 405 from Huntington Beach. We took the wrong exit and got lost in Inglewood or Lennox; I remember the strange looks we received from those we asked for directions.

-- John Lai, Camarillo

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Twitter: @mikaelwood