With the legend that is Laurie Mansworth (lead guitar and vocals) as the driving force for this project and his son, Dhani Mansworth on drums with his fellow Treatment members, Tagore Grey on guitar and Tao Grey on bass, ex-Piston frontman, Rob Angelico on lead vocals and newcomer to the rock scene, Isobel O’Neil on keyboards, is it any wonder there is a real sense of excitement in the room, what a sublime mix of talent!

This is their inaugural gig with a 30 minute set opening ahead of Sons of Liberty and Grand Slam, what an absolute privilege to be in this room watching and listening as they let loose with ‘Ruled by Your Love’, belting out ‘Children of the Sun’ which they have released, raising the bar again with ‘Rock & a Hard Place’ and concluding with ‘Stone in your Shoe’

They describe themselves as 70’s/80’s rock on steroids and that is pretty accurate! What is amazing is how tight this band sound together on their first ever gig, with limited time to collaborate due to tour schedules and other projects. The audience were on-side from the off and if audience response is any indicator, this band is on a stellar trajectory and I intend to hang on their coat tails as they rise.

Mansworth are working on their album which will be released in 2023.

Here we have those established, hardest working Southern rockers, Sons of Liberty, from Bristol, with Rob Walker (Yesterday’s Gone) on lead vocals, having taken over the mantle earlier this year, and the band being on tour for pretty much all of 2022, making up for lost time and grabbing every opportunity to gig.

The Sons are a guitarist down as Andy ‘Moose’ Muse is recovering after having an emergency op in the middle of their hectic tour schedule, but he’s still with them and manning the merch table at gigs in good humour, wishing you a speedy recovery Moose, we need you back on that stage!

They may be a man down but that doesn’t show as they kick off proceedings with ‘Big Ass’ and the audience are in fine fettle by the time we get to ‘Rich Man, Poor Man’, it’s a pure showcase of good old time rock n roll with ‘Damaged Reputation’ and ‘Texas Hill Country’ which is a favourite of the new frontman. Next up is my personal favourite, ‘Don’t Hide Behind Your Weakness’ from ‘Aces & Eights’ album, which is well worth a try if you’ve not heard it yet. Fred Hale is sublime on lead guitar, whilst Mark Thomas delivers all the rhythm you need on bass and Steve Byrne is a complete legend on drums.

Concluding their energetic set with ‘Fire & Gasoline’ and ‘Ruby Starr’, the Sons have definitely liberated both Swindon and Milton Keynes, they are such a good time, feel good, rock band to see, they always deliver, man down or not. Highly recommend catching them on tour if not this year, then there’s plenty more dates already planned for 2023, I’ll see you there, cowboy hat on.

For those who don’t know, Grand Slam come from one hell of a pedigree, having being originally formed in 1984 by Phil Lynott, after the breakup of Thin Lizzy. Grand Slam was active for a year, prior to Lynott dying in 1986, the band was then revived in 2016 by original member Mark Stanway (keyboards) together with Laurence Archer (lead guitar).

In 2018, they recorded a new Grand Slam studio album, reworking original Grand Slam material written by Phil Lynott, Laurence Archer and Mark Stanway, as well as writing new material. The ‘Hit The Ground’ album was released in November 2019.

This new tour brings Laurence Archer (lead guitar) together with Mike Dyer (vocals), Benjy Reid (drums), Rocky Newton (bass) and FM’s Jem Davis (keyboards), honours the traditions of rock and Laurence’s song writing dynasty, but also looks to the future – the classic tracks sit alongside a set of brand new rock anthems that embody the same ethos of freedom, positivity and adrenalin that ran through Grand Slam in 1984.

So on an autumnal night in Old Town, Swindon, here we are watching an absolute master class in guitar skills and performance right from the opening track of ‘19’, the engagement with the crowd is clear, vocally Mike Dyer is superb and the set is packed to the brim with quality including ‘Hit the Ground’, ‘Military Man’ and ‘Sisters of Mercy’.

It is clear that there are many here who are thoroughly enjoying this classic rock revival that Grand Slam deliver, not to mention the sublime guitar solos from Laurence. Many that follow this band are wearing their hearts on their sleeves, the band evoking memories of good times gone by and also poignancy with the more hard hitting current tracks being dedicated to the Ukraine.

When Grand Slam conclude with ‘Parisienne Walkways’ (Laurence absolutely nails that Gary Moore solo!) and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Rosalie’, the audience are eating out of their hands. If you get the opportunity to catch them on tour, you are guaranteed a great night of live music that will feel nostalgic and current all at the same time!

Review by Karen Clayton

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

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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 1 December 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 3 December 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

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