Album review : BAD INFLUENCE – Celebrating 40 Years

September 28th, 2026 by petefeenstra

Self release [Release date : 07.06.26]

Bad Influence’s ‘Celebrating 40 Years’ double album is a timely reminder of the melodic qualities of one of South London’s finest rock and blues bands.

The 28 tracks span 4 studio albums, an early career EP and early cassette releases.

There’s also one track from a Neil Kay’s 1992 compilation ‘Metal For Muthas 92’, which suggests the band were still straddling both soft and hard rock.

Fronted by the Val Cowell (vocal and rhythm guitar) and Richard Hayes (lead & slide guitar) song writing team, they are a band equally comfortable when they stretch beyond their rock and blues template to embrace, Southern and country rock influences.

The emphasis is never too far removed from strong melodies, subtle harmonies and uplifting guitar breaks.

From the opening radio friendly rocker ‘Ride This Storm’, to the closing, aptly titled ‘The End’ – complete with a banjo sounding country feel, slide and unexpected string-led outro – this is an album that will enthuse existing fans and the curious alike.

It’s a splendid document of a fiercely independent band who having worked hard to sell out The Marquee club multiple times, had to recalibrate to accommodate both changes in personnel and the industry as a whole.

They have long been known for the quality of their line-ups, including current bassist Peter Stroud (Pete Green Splinter Group) and the Thunder rhythm section of Harry James drums and Chris Childs.

The best tracks come mostly from 2005 Chris Childs produced ‘Closer’ album, which benefits from a rich sonic quality.

‘Not The Only One’ for example, references their Southern rock influences, on a big wall of sound in which Hayes’s ripping guitar work is neatly threaded through a concise arrangement into the wah-wah led finish.

The ‘Closer’ album title track is a gorgeous radio friendly outing, which might very well be a career highlight.

The subtle melodic outing perfectly frames Val’s smooth vocal, with some fine band interplay and deft bv’s.

This career reprise is notable for its restraint, which ultimately led them to what they achieve on ‘Closer’.

It’s a point worth making, because anyone who has seen this band live knows they can rock hard, as evidenced by 2009’s ‘Road To Nowhere’ from the ‘Carousel’ album, one of 6 Cowell, Hayes and James co-writes.

It’s a vibrant jump style rhythm & blues outing featuring some great shuffle drumming from Harry James, a gutsy Val Cowell vocal and call and response bv’s.

Everything flows into Richard Hayes’s luscious slide lines and some stop-time feverish hot picking, as the band slips through the gears.

The ‘Closer’ album also provides an impressive rock ballad featuring Val Cowell and Thunder’s Danny Bowes.

The latter’s gritty emotive phrasing brings an extra dimension, as Hayes switches to what sounds like a dobro, while bassist Chris Childs adds some muscular Hammond B3.

They counterweight that track with ‘Tearing Down The Walls’, a 2000 powerhouse rocker, which finds the band in full throttle.

This career retrospective isn’t approached chronologically, but Chas Cronk who also mastered the album establishes a nice ebb and flow, by dipping into the different albums and songs that nuance introspection, ebullience and ultimately retrospection.

‘One Way Love’ opens with a repeated southern rock motif, big chords, a catchy uplifting hook and Hayes’s imperious slide, while ten years before that, 1990’s bluesy ‘Life Goes On’ violently shifts from delicate acoustic guitar into a booming electric solo.

‘Big Heart’ is another excellent song, on which the tic-toc snare establishes a partially resolved tension with a snappy chorus, and like the stylish rocker ‘Love Comes Tumbling Down’, is taken from 2000’s ‘One Way Love’ album, which features 8 self penned track from a total of 13.

Surprisingly given the quality of the band’s songs, they opted for an all covers live album as a follow up, probably in synch with their live work at the time.

The early career ‘I Would Be There’ is notably heavier than what they do now, while 1997’s ‘Can’t Find Love’ is a slick up tempo rocker from their self titled 7 track EP, and only lacks the kind of beefier production that gives their later career material a bigger impact.

In sum, this album is an excellent snapshot of the band’s musical consistency and crossover appeal which continues to give them the durability to face the next decade with plenty in the tank. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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RETURN TO ZERO Dark Matter (Eve Music)
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