In all my years gig going, I don’t think I’ve ever been to one this close, just ten minutes walk from my house. That it should be by two members of FM, a band I’ve devotedly followed for 40 years now, made it even more of an eye opener. Singer Steve Overland and guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick only play occasional shows in this format, so we were doubly privileged, as they chose The Weir pub in Brentford, which has a historic link with JMW Turner, to show off their own masterpieces as a fundraiser in support of Hammersmith Hospital’s kidney trust, a cause very close to them.

There were a couple of catches that might have threatened to spoil proceedings: one was that this was that rarity, an outdoor show in winter, but luckily the weather was unseasonably mild other than a lively breeze whipping across the brook at the foot of the pub garden. The other was to learn with dismay a couple of days earlier than Steve was fighting a chest infection, but luckily he was dosed up enough to fight his way through it.

After a four song warm up from a talented youngster, Lara Brewer, who has been collaborating with Steve, the two took position on stools in front of a decent crowd, with the front row occupied by me and a number of familiar fellow FM diehards.

They opened with ‘Tattoo Needle’, just as the full band had on their acoustic tour in the spring, and its jaunty melodies were well suited to the format, before a couple of other old favourites in ‘Don’t Stop’ with some quite nifty acoustic guitar picking and ‘Blood and Gasoline’.

However just as much as the music this was an evening for open questions and sharing stories with the audience. Both have the ready sense of humour you need for that format and though questions about FM’s commercial heyday were naturally handled by Steve, his younger band mate was the perfect foil, taking him down a peg or two with a witty aside.

One of the stories was how well they were looked after by Bon Jovi when they supported them in 1986 as the Jersey boys were making it big at that very moment, leading into a cover of ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’. The raucousness of the singalong, compared to that for ‘Blood and Gasoline’ confirmed my suspicion that we FM fans were in a minority of an audience of curious locals or those wishing to support the charity. The feat was repeated on ‘Summer Of 69’, though Steve seemed less sure of the words than the rest of the crowd.

To give that voice a rest he handed over to Jim, a very fine singer in his own right as followers of his parallel solo career will attest, for ‘Crave’, from early in FM’s reunion period which apparently got playlisted on Radio 2. Steve’s absolute professionalism showed as despite expectorating into a tissue mid song, his traditional vocal tour de force ‘Story Of My Life’ was as strong as ever.

After a break the second set began with the pair accompanying another young woman, Skye (I think), who has been working with Steve and vocal coach Sonia Jones, on her version of Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’. Back in more familiar territory, FM oldies ‘Every Time I Think Of You’ and ‘Burning My Heart Down’, complete with some very intricate acoustic guitar work, were accompanied by more questions and stories. As someone who was there the tales of how Kieran Dargan persuaded Steve to first reform FM for Firefest in 2007 was particularly interesting and the tales, complete with mimicry, of Eric Martin, Desmond Child and Mick Ralphs were very entertaining.

Talking of the latter, a cover of ‘Feel Like Making Love’ proved that Steve is a fitting heir to Paul Rodgers as Britain’s definitive blues rock voice, but sadly at that point the band were told to wrap up, just as it seemed we were getting started, to observe a curfew and avoid upsetting local residents.

It would have been nice in hindsight for a little more music rather than banter to have been crammed in, but they ended in fine style with one of FM’s most-loved songs from the classic debut ‘Indiscreet’ in ‘The Other Side Of Midnight’. It was a memorable evening in my neighbourhood with two talented individuals I have long admired, so the perfect end to a year’s concert going. A Happy Gigmas to me indeed!

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

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