Cherry Red [Release date 28.04.23]

CD1 – Hot Wire (1974) & Trapeze (1976)
CD2 – Hold On (1979)
CD3 – Live At The Boat Club, Nottingham (1975)
CD4 – Live In Arlington, Texas, (1976)
CD5 – Live In Fort Worth, Texas (1981)

In 1973, after 3 albums, Glenn Hughes took a free transfer from Trapeze to Deep Purple.

The talented foursome who formed the “new” Trapeze, Mel Galley, Dave Holland, Pete Wright and Rob Kendrick subsequently elevated the band’s unique brand of hard rock and funk as they constantly sought to overhaul their own template during the band’s short lifespan.

The first album with the new line up, Hot Wire, 1974 (Disc 1), confounded the critics.

What impacts you most is the fact that there’s a rigour to the band’s music, a technical brilliance that’s hidden behind fluent, impressive playing, most notably on ‘Midnight Flyer’ and ‘Steal A Mile’. Hughes may have got the vocal plaudits up until now, but it’s clear from this album that Galley’s guitar, voice and writing helped lay the foundations of Classic Rock.

You can hear this further on the recording of the quartet’s gig at the Boat Club in Nottingham in 1975 (Disc 3), a UK live radio broadcast featuring tracks from their first 2 albums with Hughes, Medusa (1970) and You Are The Music…(1972), as well as Hot Wire and the forthcoming Trapeze (1976).

Hughes’ regrets on leaving Trapeze were widely documented. And indeed he returned to the band, as guest vocalist, on that 1976 self titled album (also Disc 1), performing vocals on two tracks, ‘Nothing For Nothing’ and ‘Chances’.

Clearly the magic was still alive. Hughes, Galley and Holland re-joined forces as a power trio for a US tour in 1976. The Arlington, Texas gig, constructed around a solid backbone of the band’s music… ‘Coast To Coast’, ‘Medusa’, ‘Seafull’ and so on … is included on Disc 4 in all its powerful, funk rock entirety.

At that point Hughes’ drug abuse intervened, the tour was called short and Hughes went on his way.

Galley recruited singer/guitarist, Pete Goalby (later to join Uriah Heep) for the ‘Hold On’ (Disc 2) album. It features six songs from Galley and three from Goalby.

One of Goalby’s first US Trapeze gigs was the Live In Fort Worth, Texas concert in 1981 (Disc 5). And credit to the guy, he rocked the house. It’s a short sharp set, in which Goalby more than holds his own on Trapeze classics, most impressively on ‘Way Back To The Bone’ and ‘Backstreet Love’.

With or without Hughes, this boxset displays the considerably awesome talent Trapeze possessed in spades, showing us how an astute compiler can take us on a thrilling journey though some of the best years of a band’s life. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

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Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

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

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

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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.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 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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