Blue Nation are a band making a growing name for themselves. They’ve actually been around quite some while, but about 18 months ago I’d been impressed enough by their support slot with Laurence Jones to buy a CD, so the release of a new album ‘Ordinary People’ and the fact they were concluding a lengthy tour with this free show at one of my regular South-West London haunts made it the perfect moment to catch them in full electric format for the first time.

There was a mixture of regulars at one of Outer London’s best rock pubs and confirmed fans with t-shirts, one of whom had even come from Holland. There was plenty of chat throughout the night, and indeed they riffed on the fact even some fans had criticised them for excessive banter- meta banter you might say.

All that would just be a gimmick but for the undoubted quality of the music. Although songs like ‘Rich Girl’ and ‘Gimme Some Time’ had some big retro sounding guitar riffs and reminded me a bit of Rival Sons, even Blue Nation’s name is a little misleading as their style is refreshingly different to the crowded scene of blues rockers out there. The likes of ‘The Reason and ‘Time Is a Thief’ were song oriented and devoid of guitar heroics.

Lead singer and guitarist Neil Murdoch, sporting a military style jacket, has a lot of charisma while his voice blends well with the harmonies of bassist Luke Weston. The latter has grown his hair since I last saw them and gone full on hippy in John Lennon glasses, a paisley top and stockinged feet.

A variety of influences slipped through; psychedelic pop, occasionally a hint of Chris Cornell in Neil’s vocals and even the Britpop bands that also mined the sounds of the late sixties, notably Ocean Colour Scene. Not many bands are able to joke that one of their songs ‘Old Friends’ was emo meets goes country.

The new album naturally was generously featured including the title track, ‘Run Straight Ahead’ and I Feel Low’. ‘Once In My Life’ saw Neil’s voice going falsetto, ‘Come Back Home’ showcased those psychedelic influences and ‘Strangers’ was particularly impressive. There was also a melancholic feel to many of their songs.

Even in this pub environment an hour and a half long set was nearly all originals, other than slipping ‘When My Guitar Gently Weeps’ into a medley and Neil surprising Luke and drummer Nick Sharman (not that you would’ve noticed) by sneaking ‘Sweethome Alabama’ into the setlist.  ‘Every Single Time’ had a more jaunty melody and ‘Good Times’ boasted one of the relatively rare big old school riffs.

There is also a serious as well as playful side to them with Luke giving a speech about the importance of men taking about their mental health prior to the first encore in ‘Echoes’. Both that and ‘Cold Night’ were fairly downbeat songs but the big riff of closer ‘Down By the River’ left everyone in a good mood with the jug for tips in a healthy state and even the resident dogs lapping up the music. A great end of tour for this promising and quirky band who are sure to be playing bigger venues before too long.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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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 27 Ocrober

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 8 September 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 10 September 2024.

How to Listen Live?

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

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

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 again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

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Power Plays w/c 30 September 2024

AVALON STONE Cliffhanger (indie)
LEILANI KILGORE Trouble In My Bones (indie)
SKAM Rising Fever (indie)
INTERLAKER Carving Circles (Hassle Records)
DEFENCES Shadowlight (Long Branch Records)
ENMY On The Edge (FiXT)
TEXAS HIPPIE COALITIONBones Jones (Napalm Records)

Featured Albums w/c 30 September 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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