Gig review: RECKLESS LOVE – Islington Academy, 10 October 2013

Over three years and now three albums since they exploded onto the scene, Finnish glam metal revivalists Reckless Love have defied critics who thought they were a flash in the pan and in the words of one of their songs have made it last.

They will never appeal to those looking for something musically or lyrically more substantial, but no-one writes catchier songs, or are such a fun live act. A near sold out Academy was a good mixture of those of us who remember the late eighties heyday of this music and a new generation of fans, although in my view they would have been better off leaving the Rock of Ages wigs at home.

Coming on stage in studded leathers which they swiftly stripped off, they opened with the tongue-in-cheek tribute I Love Heavy Metal and another new song in Bad Lovin.

Looking like a young Michael Monroe, Olli Herman is a master frontman and the whole band exude a sense of fun, but artificial assistance was not needed as the crowd was a forest of hands in the air to insanely catchy anthems like On the Radio, Born to Break Your Heart and Wild Touch.

It is a measure of their material that Beautiful Bomb, the song that brought them to wider attention can be casually slipped in to the set relatively early.

They cleverly mixed familiar material with songs from the new album Spirit, some of which such as Edge of Our Dreams and runaway Love showed a pleasing step forward in maturity.

However in this cheesy genre there is a fine line between affectionately respecting your roots and dumb self-parody and I did have to cringe when Sex and Drugs and Reckless Love was introduced.

Fortunately Back To Paradise and the title track of their last album Animal Attraction got things back on the straight and narrow.

After a somewhat short hour long set there were a trio of encores as lead-off single from the new album, Night On Fire gave way to Hot, which, catchy even by their standards, had the whole place jumping, and One More Time brought things to a joyful conclusion.

To adapt Bon Jovi, this was about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. S Club 7, as so often, were wrong – there ain’t no party like a Reckless Love party.

Review and photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

Check out radio stream repeat on Tuesday 8th (16:00 GMT) and Thursday 10th April (21:00 GMT)
Next Session: Sunday 4 May

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

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 6 April 2025.

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 on 8 April 2025

How to Listen Live?

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

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 live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 21 April 2025

THE DEVIL WEARS NADA Late Night Talking (Eonian Records)
DROWNING POOL Madness (SBG Records)
PARKER BARROW Make It (indie)
REDIKIN Nailed It (Wormholedeath)
PENNY FOUNTAIN Euphoria (indie)
CRY FOR MERCY Saving Grace (indie)
VIGILANTES Life In The Fast Brain (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 21 April 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.