The world's first ever full-time students entertainment officer then also declined the services of The Sex Pistols, for an entirely different reason.
Barry had Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious and co booked for The Great Hall in 1976, at the height of their notoriety. But some students objected to the sexist nature of the group, the likelihood of violence at the gig and – in those more sensitive days – the names of their support bands The Vibrators and The Damned. So the planned event was scrapped.
At the time Barry was quoted in the Lancaster Guardian, saying: "To be honest I think (the Pistols) are absolute rubbish and we are well shot of them."
"It's amazing what you are told to say to the press!" says Barry today, with a wink.
But he did eventually book every single other band of the punk genre to play at the university – such as The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers and The Ramones.
Then in 1977, in a complete change of pace, he arranged for the Joe Loss Orchestra to perform at The Great Hall, in an attempt to appeal to a more mature audience.
Unfortunately, the concert clashed with the night of the great floods in Lancaster and Morecambe, so only 400 people turned up.
"Joe Loss called me into his dressing room and angrily said: 'This is the first time I've not sold out a show!' I said: 'What do you want me to do, put on canoes?'"

Legends
Despite this bad experience of dipping into the waters, so to speak, of big band music, Barry says his biggest regret is when he turned down the chance to have jazz legends Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald at Lancaster University.
After all, his personal all-time favourite artist was not the kind of heavy guitar-playing stadium rocker you might expect, but Frank Sinatra.
"And I wanted to expand student entertainment away from just rock 'n' roll," explains Barry.
In future years he would do so with greater success, bringing in stand-up comedians like Billy Connolly, Rik Mayall and Ben Elton.
Aside from his role at the university, Barry always had an entrepreneurial spirit for outside ventures.
In December 1971 he and business partner Nigel Waller opened the Ear 'Ere record shop at Lancaster Market.
After Barry sold the business in the 1980s, Ear 'Ere later moved to Penny Street before closing down. Today it is the site of the OXFAM book shop.
He also started a regular disco night at the Central Pier in the late 70s, and from 1986 to 1994 he joint-managed The Gardens nightclub in Morecambe (formerly the Blue Rhapsody), above where the Pleasureland arcade (Johnny's) is today.

Sugarhouse
In 1981 Barry also opened The Sugarhouse, intending it to be a club where students and 'townies' could mix and enjoy a good social night out, in a time of great tension between the two.
It was also an excellent support venue for the university where he could put on smaller, more low-key gigs to showcase brand new talent.
In the early 80s The Sugarhouse played host to up-and-comers like The Eurythmics and Simply Red, in front of crowds of between 150 and 300 people.
Barry also brought in a few Radio One DJs during the 80s for special appearances. One of them was the late, great John Peel.
"Radio One DJs were usually £1,250 for an hour's work and didn't do an awful lot for the money," explains Barry.
"Peelie thought this was outrageous and so he only charged £650 when he came to the Sugarhouse for the first time.
"He went down a storm so we wanted him to come back and we tried for weeks to fix a mutual date.
"The only date we had was a Saturday and it was well known that John Peel never worked on Saturdays, because he went to watch Liverpool FC.
"But he said: 'I feel obliged because I owe you a date' so he came anyway. We had the big screen on with Liverpool on Match of the Day and during his set, he stopped and told the audience: 'I'm having a pint of beer, playing my favourite records, watching Liverpool on the big screen…and getting paid for it. Isn't this wonderful?'
"He was a great man."
Three years after opening the Sugar-house, and after 14 years as Lancaster's rock impresario, Barry quit his university role in 1984.
He had been offered several lucrative jobs in London's music industry over the years, but had previously always said 'no'.
When asked why, during an interview with the Lancashire Evening Post in 1978, Barry explained: "I feel a commitment to the university and I detest the big city."
But he changed his mind in 1984, and says: "I realised if I stayed much longer I would be stuck there forever.
"My friend Paul Loasby was promoting for Harvey Goldsmith and had the comeback tour of Deep Purple at Knebworth. He asked me if I would help him do it.
"I said: 'I've never organised for a crowd of any more than 2,000, and this will be 80,000!' He said: 'It's the same!'"
After working at Knebworth for a few years, Barry soon got a taste for large-scale outdoor event production.
His own company Mayday Productions struck a deal with London venue Finsbury Park and promoted concerts featuring Siouxsie and The Banshees, UB40, The Pogues and New Order.
Then he became involved in some of British boxing's glitziest open-air occasions, as site manager for Terry Marsh's World Light-Welterweight Title-winning fight at Basildon in March 1987 and, perhaps more infamously, for the Michael Watson-Nigel Benn brawl at Finsbury Park in May 1989.

Mandela
He also worked for the Walt Disney On Ice Show in Belfast and Liverpool, and spent six years working for the African National Congress while they were campaigning to free Nelson Mandela from prison, either fundraising or arranging for British acts to go out and play in South Africa.
This culminated with a huge gig in London, held to celebrate Mandela's release in 1990, headlined by South African musicians.
Other Barry-promoted events included 'Jazz Is', attracting 16,000 people to Highbury Fields in Islington for a concert where Jamiroquai topped the bill, and a Christmas disco party on a beach in Singapore in late 1993, where Barry was assisted by his friend Steve Middlesbrough.
Barry did all of this while commuting from his home in Morecambe but again, he eventually began to feel the itch for change.
"Living in a tent in a field for a day is all well and good, but when you've spent two months beforehand organising the event, two weeks living in a caravan immediately prior to it, and then two weeks taking everything down, it takes its toll.
"I was spending more and more time away from home."
So he opted for a complete career change and did a teacher-training course at St Martin's College in Lancaster.
After qualifying, he taught at St Mary's Primary School in Morecambe before moving on to Our Lady Of Lourdes in Carnforth last year as an English and cricket teacher.
As a lifelong fan and himself a former star batsman for local teams, he loves to teach kids about the simple pleasures of the gentlemanly game.
"It's my dream to go and watch England v Australia at The Gabba in Sydney," he says.
In his personal life, Barry is now happily married to his second wife Mary. Primary School in Morecambe before moving on to Our Lady Of Lourdes in Carnforth last year as an English and cricket teacher.
As a lifelong fan and a former star batsman himself for local teams, he loves to teach kids about the simple pleasures of the gentlemanly game.
"It's my dream to go and watch England v Australia at The Hill in Sydney," he says.
In his personal life, Barry is now happily married to his second wife Mary. A former circus star, Mary now works at The Platform as an events organiser.
"How ironic that Mary used to be the performer and now she puts on acts, like I used to, but now I'm the performer because that's what teachers do," he says.
But although his professional life has changed direction, Barry's not lost his taste for live entertainment.
He says he sometimes "gets roped-in by Mary" to steward at Morecambe festivals and concerts at The Platform.

Involved
And now and again, his phone will ring with an offer or a cry for help from one of his old contacts in the music business and if this happens during school summer holidays, Barry admits he usually can't resist getting involved.
"Harvey Goldsmith rang me 18 months ago.
"He said: 'I've got Jools Holland on at Blackpool and I need to sell 4,500 seats. Can you help us out?'
I said: 'I'm a bit old to go out fly-posting, but I'll find you some contacts in the local press' – because that is the key to successful event production. Local knowledge."
With a wealth of experience in the field, Barry is more qualified than most to talk about today's local live entertainment scene.
After all, in his day he attracted world-famous names to the district almost on a weekly basis.
But Lancaster University stopped allowing rock and pop concerts at The Great Hall many years ago, and in recent years the big-name acts pulling in the crowds in Morecambe or Lancaster have been few and far between.
So what's the solution?
"They've got to open The Winter Gardens with a 2,000-seater capacity, it's as simple as that.
"To make it worthwhile to pay for a name artist, you've got to be able to take enough money to cover your costs. But at the moment, we don't have a venue in this area that's big enough.
"I've been asked by the Friends of the Winter Gardens to come on board, but I think they're fighting a losing battle.
"Without the backing of council officers, I can't see it happening, because I don't think there is the political will to reopen it.
"I wish them all the luck in the world and they've done an amazing job generating the money they have, but they would need a lot more to attract major artists.
"It's a shame, because it's what Morecambe needs. Big names who will make people travel from all over the North West.
"Things could be so much better."