“Fuck politics. Music is the healer”.

And there speaketh the Voice of Rock.

But first, Sophie Lloyd who lent her support on this UK leg of the European tour. From what I can gather she doesn’t mind flaunting her body in the cause of rock and roll.

Aside from the visual I found her guitar histrionics a bit underwhelming: she sounds much better on album. From where I was standing it looked like her backdrop read Sophie Void.

Things lifted with the arrival of her onetime bandleader Marisa Rodriguez who lent vocal pizazz to, amongst others, “Won’t You Come’ reprising her contribution to the album ‘Imposter Syndrome’. That debut album had a bevy of A-list singers which suggests some strategic planning and investment going on. And as if to confirm her trajectory, last January Sophie played a gig at Hollywood’s Whisky-A-Go-Go.

I couldn’t help thinking that Marisa and the Moths have the better tunes but Sophie’s now forged ahead in her own right, for better or for worse.

Female guitar-slingers may still be a relative novelty but I fear Sophie has some way to go before she steals Orianthi’s thunder.

It did make me think also how difficult it us for younger artists playing hard rock to attract an audience nearer their own age.

Glenn Hughes comes across as a genuinely humbled and gracious performer, one of the great survivors and never forgetting his working class roots and writing songs in his grandma’s kitchen.

These tales formed backdrop banter to a musical survey of Hughes career and a pleasant divergence from his previous Deep Purple-themed excursion.

The voice is still in fine fettle with the whoops hollers and screams all present and correct and although now stripped down to a Power Trio this was an engaging and powerful evening of nostalgia. He even included a song from his 2001 album ‘Building The Machine’ and 1999′s ‘The Way It Is’. But there could have been many more.

Frankly, Glenn could have played the whole of the new album as it has a real consistency but here he chose to showcase ‘Voice In My Head’, ‘Into The Fade’ and the title track.

Amongst the other highlights he recalled his first major band Trapeze, a nod to Black Country Communion, and Hughes Thrall’s epic 1982 album was given rightful prominence. Although I would have preferred ‘Hold Out Your Life’ to ‘First Step Of Love’. Hughes revisited ‘Coast to Coast’ with acoustic guitar for the first encore.

One of his finest collaborations of the millennium is the album Fused with Tony Iommi and ‘Grace’ and a snatch of ‘Dopamine’ were particularly welcome. Even if the latter didn’t quite capture Iommi’s original humongous riff.

Hughes has constantly striven to reinvent himself over the years and ‘The Chosen Years’ was a welcome dive into an illustrious back catalogue. And with only ‘Burn’ remaining from the Purple period tucked in as a final encore. Just as it should be.

Review and photos by David Randall

Soul Mover/ Muscle And Blood/ Voice In My Head/ One Last Soul/ Can’t Stop The Flood/ First Step Of Love/ You Kill Me/ Into The Fade/ Way Back To The Bone/ Medusa/ Grace/ Chosen/ You Are The Music/ Stay Free/ Encore: Coast to Coast (Acoustic)/ Black Country/ Burn

Facebook Gallery

GRTR! Greats (September 2025)
Album review (Chosen, 2025)
Albums that time forgot (Hughes Thrall, 1982)
Albums that time forgot (Fused, 2005)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

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

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 16 November 2025.

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 600th show was first broadcast on 18 November 2025

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.