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Author Archives: andynathan
Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 15 October 2025
There is no harder working touring band than Brave Rival, but of their many shows this was a special one, a well attended Central London showcase for their new (and excellent) ‘5 to 4’ EP which marks a new chapter … Continue reading
Gig review: THE DUST CODA/BAD TOUCH – Islington Academy, London, 8 October 2025
The economics of touring do not always make happy reading with too many bands chasing the same limited audience. So it made sense for two of the leading lights in the New Wave of Classic Rock in Bad Touch and … Continue reading
EP Review: BRAVE RIVAL – 5 to 4
Independent (Release Date: 17.10.25) Its been a year of change in the Brave Rival camp with the departure of Chloe Josephine, one of the twin lead singers that helped make their sound so distinctive. Given their incessant touring activity, there … Continue reading
EP review: HOLLOW SOULS (featuring Kris Barras)
Release Date 10.10. 25 Kris Barras has evolved his style fairly dramatically from his early blues rock days, embracing first more commercial melodic rock, and latterly a heavier modern rock style, even stating that last Kris Barras Band effort ‘Halo … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged album, blues rock, Elles Bailey, EP, Hollow Souls, Jared James Nichols, Jon Harvey, Josiah J. Manning, Kris Barras, Phoebe Jane
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Gig review: KIRA MAC- Islington Academy 2, London, 1 October 2025
Life has not been straight forward for Kira Mac after a flying start to their career, with line-up changes and industry troubles which have culminated in a decision to release their long awaited second album independently. Neither was it a … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged gig, Hell Hotel, Joe Worrall, Kira Mac, Loz Riley, Rhiannon Kira Hill, Vernon Whitmore, Wrex
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Gig review: THE NEW ROSES- Downstairs at the Dome, London, 27 September 2025
The New Roses have become a fixture on the UK circuit, this being their fourth autumn jaunt in a row, and yet the success they have had in Germany still eludes them here despite all that roadwork. I did wonder … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Dizzy Daniels, gig, melodic rock, Norman Bites, The Mercury Riots, the New Roses, Timmy Rough
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Gig review: NORDA MULLEN – Half Moon, Putney, London, 21 September 2025
For 15 years, American musician Norda Mullen toured the world with the Moody Blues as a flute player and multi-instrumentalist after Ray Thomas’ retirement. Though she guested with John Lodge on his solo tour earlier this year, she leads a … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged folk rock, gig, Jim Bernard, Moody Blues, Norda Mullen, Noris Schenk, Quinny and Company, Sarah Bernard
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Gig review: LUKE MORLEY – Bloomsbury Theatre, London, 19 September 2025
With Thunder on indefinite hiatus for some while during Danny Bowes’ long road to recovery, their guitarist and songwriter Luke Morley has been keeping himself extremely busy. In between touring with the Quireboys he has now trebled his solo output … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged blues rock, Chris Childs, Dean Howard, gig, Luke Morley, melodic rock, Sam Tanner, singer songwriter, Thunder, Willie Dowling
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Gig review: FM – Islington Academy, London, 18 September 2025
FM are on the road so constantly that it is hard to divine where one tour begins and another ends. However the release of their excellent latest album ‘Brotherhood’ marks the start of a long tour, with the set list … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged AOR, Brave Rival, FM, gig, Jem Davis, Jim Kirkpatrick, melodic rock, Merv Goldsworthy, Pete Jupp, Steve Overland
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Gig review: MARTIN TURNER – 229 Club, London, 11 September 2025
Celebrating a remarkable 55 years since the first Wishbone Ash album, founder member Martin Turner and his band have been a constant touring fixture for many years. Recent Central London sightings have been at the 100 Club, but this show … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Danny Willson, gig, Martin Turner, Misha Nikolic, Tim Brown, Wishbone Ash
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Gig review: STONEDEAD FESTIVAL – Newark Showground, Nottinghamshire, 22-23 August 2025
‘If you build it they will come’ could almost be the motto of Stonedead, which is one of the undoubted and most heartwarming successes of the crowded festival calendar. The festival was originally founded not by corporates in the business, … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Black Oak County, D*A*D, Danny Vaughn, Dead daisies, Enforcer, festival, Florence Black, gig, Jayler, King Kraken, metal, Myke Gray, Ozzy Osbourne, Primal Fear, Ricky Warwick, Stonedead, Sweet, Sweet Electric, The Almighty, the New Roses, Tyketto
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Album review: FM- Brotherhood
Frontiers Records (Release Date 05.09.25) You can set your watch by the fact that FM will release a new album every other year since 2018, no mean feat considering they seem to be perpetually on tour. Given that the live … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Brotherhood, FM, Jem Davis, Jim Kirkpatrick, melodic rock, Steve Overland
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Album review: ROULETTE – Go!
Black Lodge Records [Release Date 25.07.25] Swedish melodic rockers Roulette have had a chequered history- around since the eighties, they never got as far as releasing an album till 2008. It was another eleven years before a very well received … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Go!, melodic rock, review, Roulette, Thomas Lundgren
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Gig review: TEN – Leo’s Red Lion, Gravesend, Kent, 9 August 2025
Back in the mid-nineties, when melodic rock was at its lowest ebb, Ten were one of the first shoots of hope as a thriving underground scene emerged and I was a huge fan. They were the great white hope of … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged AOR, Dann Rosingana, Darrell Treece-Birch, Gary Hughes, gig, Leo’s Red Lion, melodic rock, Steve Grocott, TEN
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Gig review: A THOUSAND HORSES- Islington Assembly Hall, London, 1 August 2025
The boundaries between southern rock and country become ever more blurred, and in that thriving scene it is hard sometimes to pick new acts worth discovering from an increasingly crowded field, hoping to capitalise on the success of the Cadillac … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged A Thousand Horses, Bill Satcher, blues rock, country rock, gig, Michael Hobby, southern rock, These Wicked Rivers
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Gig review: MALMO MELODIC – Plan B, Malmo, Sweden, 25-27 July 2025
Last year’s inaugural ‘Malmo Melodic’ was such a success that it was swiftly clear that a 2025 version would build the brand further. The line-up was stronger, and Johan Nylen and his team from Wind Up Productions brought into the … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Animalyze, AOR, Arctic Rain, Arkado, Bad Habit, Brother Firetribe, Care of Night, Crazy Lixx, Cruzh, Daytona, Degreed, festival, FM, gig, House Of Shakira, Kissin’ Dynamite, Malmo Melodic, melodic rock, Nick Workman, Nitrate, Pittman Cole, Rian, Seventh Crystal, State of Salazar, Treat, Violet
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Album review: FIRST LIGHT – Elemental
Pride and Joy Music [Release Date 25.07.25] There are not enough British AOR bands around, so it is always a pleasure when one arrives with some pedigree. First Light released an EP a couple of years ago and, on top … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Carl Sharples, Dave Hardman, First Light, melodic rock, Phil Manchester, Warren Passaro
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Gig review: STEVIE WONDER – British Summer Time, Hyde Park, London, 12 July 2025
(Photo: Isha Shah) Legend of soul, songwriter of countless hits, but why you may ask is Stevie Wonder being reviewed in a website dedicated to rock music? Well, many of the top singers in our world, from Glenn Hughes to … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 12 July 2025, British Summer Time, BST, Corinne Bailey Rae, festival, funk, gig, Hyde Park, London, soul, Stevie Wonder
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Gig review: NEIL YOUNG AND THE CHROME HEARTS – British Summer Time, Hyde Park, London, 11 July 2025
With the exception of Bob Dylan, there aren’t many rock stars who can divide opinion quite as much as Neil Young. For every person (including some on this website) that cannot abide him, there are others who hang on the … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged British Summer Time, BST, Cat Stevens, festival, folk rock, gig, grunge, Micah Nelson, Neil Young, Spooner Oldham, The Chrome Hearts, Van Morrison, Yusuf
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Album review: STYX- Circling From Above
Alpha Dog 2T/UMe (Release Date 18.07.25) While many ‘heritage’ classic rock acts on both sides of the pond have chosen to give up on writing new material and rely on their legacy catalogue, in recent years Styx have proved a … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, James 'JY' Young, Lawrence Gowan, melodic rock, pomp rock, Styx, Tommy Shaw, Will Evankovich
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Album review: ALIEN – When Yesterday Comes Around
Pride and Joy Music (Release Date 21.03.25) Its nearly five years since Alien’s last album, ‘Into The Future’, an attempt at a heavier sound that was a major disappointment – reviewing for GRTR! my verdict was ‘the experiment with a … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Alien, AOR, Jim Jidhed, melodic rock, Tony Borg
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Gig review: MELISSA ETHERIDGE- Union Chapel, London, 17 June 2025
It is fair to characterise Melissa Etheridge as a pioneer and all-American icon. One of the first female rock stars to come out publicly. A chequered life which includes over 20 years as a breast cancer survivor. And an artist … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged gig, heartland rock, Melissa Etheridge, Niall McNamee, roots rock, singer songwriter
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Gig review: ELECTRIC BOYS – Water Rats, London, 10 June 2025
Sweden’s Electric Boys must be among the most Anglophile of bands as they constantly seem to be on tour here. They were last in London only last November playing the Camden Club, and I missed that, but have always enjoyed … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Ben Marsden, Conny Bloom, Electric Boys, funk rock, gig, melodic rock, Slim Martin, The Spangles
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Gig review: DEL BROMHAM- Thames Side Brewery, Staines, 1 June 2025
At a time of life when others may be taking things a bit easier, the evergreen Del Bromham made two trips down from Buckinghamshire on the M1 and M25 in the space of four days, first in Putney with Stray … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged blues, blues rock, Colin Kempster, DEL BROMHAM, gig, Karl Randall, Stray, Thames Side Brewery
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Gig review: BLUE OYSTER CULT- London Palladium, 25 May 2025
With each passing tour Blue Oyster Cult somehow seem a hotter ticket. The days of struggling to fill places like the Mean Fiddler are long gone as they are packing larger venues, on this occasion a prestige show at the … Continue reading
