Band reformations always form differences of opinions but the few thousand people watching Vardis on the main stage at Hard Rock Hell delivered their overwhelmingly positive verdict.

After being apart for almost 30 years, drummer Gary Pearson, after a lot of detective work managed to track down lead guitarist Steve Zodiac and a rehearsal was arranged with the second bass player Terry Horbury. It went so well that their comeback gig was arranged, headlining Brofest last March.

So two summer gigs at Keep It True fest in Germany and another headlining spot at the Custom Rock and Blues fest in Pentrich Derbyshire kept Vardis nicely warmed up for Hard Rock Hell.

Hitting the stage with a raucous ‘Situation Negative’ they seemed even tighter than the earlier 2014 dates with some of the songs stretched out a bit to allow for some jamming. Steve Zodiac belied his 57 years by throwing some serious guitar shapes as he stalked the stage wringing the neck of his guitar.

Gary Pearson seemed intent on demolishing his custom built drum kit as Terry Horbury chose to play his bass guitar as a lead instrument, not content to stand in the shadows providing a steady foil. His Jack Bruce influences were there to hear with some thundering runs and at one point some ear piercing feedback.

Their 11 song set was half based on their debut live album 100MPH. Released in 1980, Vardis still play with the intensity they did 30 years ago. The remainder of the set was built on studio albums ‘The World’s Insane’ and the recently remastered ‘Vigilante’ whichfeatured my song of the set ‘Don’t Mess With The Best, Cos The Best Don’t Mess’.

A slow burning ‘World’s Insane’ gave Steve the chance for some lengthy lead work which was followed by a storming ‘Love Is Dead’. The classic ‘Let’s Go’ should have been followed by possibly their most famous song ‘If I Were King’ but strict stage times did not give them time to play it unfortunately.

No new songs were played from a forthcoming studio album set for a 2015 release but maybe some will get aired when they play a homecoming gig at the Unity Halls in Wakefield on December 13th which is being recorded for a live album release also in 2015.

Review by Dennis Jarman
Photos by Simon Dunkerley

Hard Rock Hell (16 November 2014)

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Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)

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