In January 2016, having just released an album in ‘Too Many Gods’ and begun to attract attention for its seventies inspired, yet original, songwriting, Cats in Space made their live debut at the Half Moon at Putney, which I was privileged to be at and indeed covered for this site.

Originally this show back at the same place was planned to be on the exact tenth anniversary, but that neat symmetry was not possible when the venue closed for a (welcome) refurbishment. Instead I rushed back, beginning the day travelling from the Wings of AOR Festival in Sweden, to ensure I could make the rescheduled date.

I’ve seen them many times in the intervening decade in a variety of settings, from supports to Thunder and Deep Purple to their theatre style stage shows in 2023 and 2024. Since then it has been a bit of a transitional time for the ‘Cats’ with the departure of a couple of stalwart members and relatively low key touring activity. This was one of a limited series of ‘Acousti-cat’ shows and the first time I have seen such a show.

It felt a little strange to see the band come on not only unplugged, but down to a core four piece. In another neat piece of symmetry they opened (as they had on that very first show) with the title track of ‘Too Many Gods’, followed by moving bang up to date with ‘My Father’s Eyes’ from most recent album ‘Time Machine’.

Guitarist and co-founder member Greg Hart doubled up as master of ceremonies to a far greater extent than during the electric live shows, with anecdotes and shout outs at various points to past and present collaborators and supportive journalists. The stripped back arrangements seemed to give Andy Stewart’s keys greater prominence, his retro sounds on ‘A Big Balloon’ being a case in point, while in contrast we saw a new side to Steevi Bacon, usually hidden behind the drum kit but now playing a variety of percussion instruments from bongos to chimes and even the odd spot of harmonica playing.

There was a mixture of established live favourites like ‘Mr Heartache’ but also lesser played tracks, including ‘2:59’ and ‘Poke the Witch’, both showing their gift for satire, and a highlight for me in ‘Jupiter Calling’ which I thought I was fated never to hear live. Singer Damien Edwards seemed more relaxed and this format brought out his superb voice, particularly on the ballads including the first half closer ‘Scars’.

If the first half of the show had something resembling a setlist, the rules were progressively torn up during a looser and more relaxed second set. It opened with another relative obscurity in ‘Magic Loving Feeling’, one of those numbers that in another time would have been a big hit, before Damien delivered a superb cover of ‘Forever Autumn’, though he did confess that he didn’t get to sing it when part of the War of the Worlds cast.

After ‘Last Man Standing’ he again showed off that crystal clear voice on the ballad ‘1,000,000 Miles’ but the fun was only just beginning as the show became looser and more spontaneous. A running gag about whether a Queen cover should be played led to the band beating out ‘We Will Rock You’ and the crowd taking over, then both parties combined to improvise ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’- all three movements of it-in a ramshackle and spontaneous, yet utterly brilliant way!

There were more contrasting covers in ‘Stray Cat Strut’ and a beautiful rendition of ‘Desperado’, but after sitting at the back for much of the show I belatedly realised I had to be nearer the front to be part of this special and intimate atmosphere. Returning to their own originals, the set mixed ballads- ‘Narnia’ and ‘This Velvet Rush’ with traditional live favourites ‘Thunder in the Night’ and ‘I Fell Out of Love with Rock’n’Roll’, the latter with a coda of ‘Hey Jude’.

However in keeping with the surprises of the evening, just as special was when Greg spoke of how there was no need to have ‘guilty pleasures’ when it came to good songs, and from his favourite musical year of 1976 they played The Real Thing’s pop soul classic ‘You to Me are Everything’.

Intimate, fun and increasingly spontaneous as the night went on, this was a great delayed 10^th anniversary party to keep things going before their new album appears later in the year.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 27 April 2026

SELF-DECEPTION Don’t Belong (Napalm Records)
THE DEVIL WEARS NADA Elephant In The Room (Eonian Records)
blacktoothed Monsters (Arising Empire)
BANKS ARCADE Severance (Arising Empire)
SULLY ERNA & BILLY MORRISON Becoming (TLG/Zoid)
SWEET GORILLA Give Them What They Want (5000 Records)
EMILY WOLFE Lips (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 27 April 2026

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)

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