The package tour is growing in popularity in the current economic climate as a way of bands combining forces to save on overheads and play in front of maximum audiences. Announced just before Christmas, this particular triple header was most melodic rock fans’ dream gift, combining arguably Britain’s two finest ever AOR bands and in Tyketto an act of equal quality who have always been confirmed anglophiles.

It was a tour that would have seemed inconceivable when each were building a following but falling just short of the big time in the late eighties and early nineties, let alone when the changing musical tastes made it an uphill struggle after that point. It is a tribute to the resilience of all three bands and the scene in general that we could now experience a night like this, and there were healthy crowds on the whole tour, whose twelve dates culminated in this London show. (And having heard rave reports from the earlier shows, I was mighty relieved when show time came and no-one had fallen ill during the course of the tour!)

This was a genuine co-headline tour in which each band had an hour each and the running order swapped from night to night, and on this occasion Tyketto opened. Danny Vaughn wears his heart on his sleeve and could barely conceal the irritation in his voice with the security searches and slow admission as they came on slightly late.

It was a revamped lineup – indeed with the departure of drummer Michael Clayton Arbeeny, Danny is now the last man standing from the original quartet – and by opening with the title cut of most recent album ‘Reach’ (its intro being not the only song tonight to remind me of Bon Jovi’s ‘Blood On Blood’) he showed the night would not just be about nostalgia. However, two of the opening classic trio from ‘Don’t Come Easy’ in ‘Wings’ and ‘Burning Down Inside’ had the crowd singing along to every word, and Danny’s voice, 30 years on, was a masterclass in both power and control.

They were followed by more fan favourites in ‘Strength In Numbers’ and ‘Lay Your Body Down’, locking into a groove infused jam with some delightfully funky bass work from Chris Childs.

New guitarist Harry Scott Elliott fitted in seamlessly – perhaps a touch less heavy than immediate predecessor Chris Green but fluently melodic in effortless fashion, while Ged Rylands is a key part of their modern day sound, for his backing vocals as much as keys. The latter was in evidence on the opening to ‘Heaven Tonight’, where both Danny – who has made the song his own over the years- and new drummer Johnny Dee revisited their Waysted days and paid tribute to the late Pete Way and Paul Chapman.

Either side of more favourites in ‘Rescue Me’, featuring a singalong, and ‘Sail Away’, Danny strapped on his acoustic and apologised for breaking the flow of a shorter set with a ballad but ‘Standing Alone’ was a vocal tour de force helped by an excellent band arrangement, that just could not have been left out of the set.

Even then though, there was a curveball with a never before attempted cover of UFO’s ‘Mother Mary’. Even though I could see fewer people mouthing along than to their own songs, it was a splendid version with Danny and Harry for my money getting closer to the Mogg-Schenker spirit than the occupants of their current bands. It was back to familiar territory with what I only half-joke is the melodic rock anthem in ‘Forever Young’, normally a climax to the night but this time only whetting our appetite for more glories to come.

Dare were less of a surprise package for me if only because I’d seen them just weeks ago on a Swedish cruise ship, as well as at this very venue last autumn. This time round the attendance was several times higher than on that night and you could see that lifted charismatic vocalist Darren Wharton, who had an even wider smile on his face than normal.

As usual with Dare, even an hour long set was one of two halves, beginning with showcasing newer material. They opened with a pair of newies in a rocking ‘Born In the Storm’ then ‘Cradle To The Grave’ with Darren’s wonderfully warm, almost whispered tones, though after ‘Home’, ‘Until’ and the title track of last album ‘Road To Eden’, with Vinny Burns shining on guitar, I was ready for a break from a series of mid-tempo, gaelic-themed songs.

That came in a complete about turn with a pair from what Darren called their ‘heavy metal” album in ‘Blood From Stone’, Vinny soloing almost John Sykes-like on his Les Paul during ‘Wings Of Fire’, followed by the irresistible ‘Emerald’ redux of ‘We Don’t Need a Reason’. With the return of drummer Greg Morgan for this tour, four of the quintet that recorded that album are back in the fold (and we can excuse the exception, Brian Cox for being otherwise occupied) and it is great to see the band finally able to recapture that heaviness when needed- indeed there are plans afoot to make a re-recording.

The final quartet harked back to their Out Of The Silence’ debut with the glorious keyboards of Marc Roberts introducing the bouncing AOR melodies of ‘Abandon’ and ‘Into The Fire’, then (with ‘The Raindance a casualty of the time constraint) a closing pair that presaged the trademark Dare celtic sound: Darren’s heartfelt tribute to mentor Phil Lynott, ‘King Of Spades’ with a wonderful solo from Vinny that segued into a segment of Lizzy’s ‘Black Rose’, and the anthemic ‘Return The Heart. The band were not only filling out the sound with backing vocals but charging about the stage, arms regularly around each other’s shoulders.

It was a high energy show to confirm that over recent years, following a descent into rather too mellow and folky an approach, Dare have fully regained their original mojo and more.

And finally to FM, closing the night but experienced in the constraints of a triple headliner having toured with Gun and Dan Reed Network in 2019. After the intensity of Tyketto’s set and Dare’s energetic conclusion, there was a danger they would take time to build up a head of steam, and they actually opened a little tentatively with ‘Synchronised’. But that classic keyboard intro from a well-looking Jem Davis heralded a much loved debut album classic in ‘I Belong To The Night’, before a return to nearer he present day in ‘Killed By Love’ with an earworm ’who-oah’ outro.

Whether by accident or design, the set placed a greater emphasis on their more straight ahead AOR side than the bluesier diversions that they do equally well.

Constantly on tour, one advantage they have over Dare is they shake the setlist up to rotate fan favourites back into the set from time to time. Though in this case, Steve Overland cursed the popular vote for ‘Someday You’ll Come Running’ with its soaring choruses difficult even for this maestro to reach. However on ‘Everytime I Think Of You’ his soulful, even Michael Boltonian delivery made it even more of a mystery that it failed to be the crossover hit the band needed at the time.

It was one of three mid-set songs that ended with a harmony lead guitar solo between the talented Jim Kirkpatrick and Steve, the others being ‘Let Love Be The Leader’ and a relative obscurity in a bright and breezy ‘Tattoo Needle’ from the usually neglected ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ album with Jem almost bouncing up and down at his keyboard.

After those diversions aside it was back to a series of old FM favourites, the crowd joining in every ‘who-oah’ to ‘That Girl’, ‘Bad Luck’ and Tough It Out’ making for a great atmosphere. It was further enhanced by the band’s obvious sense of fun and camaraderie especially when Jim (the new boy at a mere 14 years service) pulls expressions and dares the others not to laugh.

But, and at the risk of repeating myself, the post reformation FM is far more than a nostalgic trip in a time machine, a fact proved by the fact they ended with ‘Turn This Car Around’ from last album ‘13’ – with Jem’s piano work and Pete Jupp’s crashing drums in particular calling ‘Blood On Blood’ to mind – and the audience reaction was just as strong.

There was no sense of battle of the bands-style rivalry here, just gratitude and mutual respect for three great acts who have successfully ridden out the storm of fleeting musical fashions. Each made the most of their hour in the spotlight with barely a moment wasted, and the combined effect was an evening just as memorable as the melodic rock community anticipated when this tour was announced. Even better various noises from the stage hinted there may be more tours like this to come.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Feature (The Grotto of Greatness, June 2023)

Dare (Album review/interview, 2022)

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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)