Many of us would like to attend a gig by our favourite artists to mark a milestone birthday. Only a select few though have the contacts to actually put on a special concert, but Darius Drewe is one such. He’s a unique personality with an unrivalled encyclopaedic knowledge of all things pop culture from music to films to TV, and someone I’m pleased to have called a friend since we met at rock clubs in London around the turn of the millennium.

His writing has graced many publications, including briefly this website, and currently the Midland Mania blog, reflecting his current Derby location. However for one night only he was back at Camden Underworld where he promoted some big classic rock names in the early 2000s, of which more anon, and called on friends and contacts to assemble a very strong, and diverse, three band bill, not to mention a celebrity guest DJ in Rosalie Cunningham, all to mark his 50^th birthday.

First up were Star Circus, the latest vehicle for Dave Winkler who has been buddies with me even longer than me (in those rock club days they dubbed me ‘mullet Andy the king of AOR’, but I digress!) For most of the intervening years he has played guitar in various bands but now has added frontman duties which he does very comfortably.

‘Love Is the Enemy’ had real melodic sensibilities and some of the riffs on ‘Times Get Tough’ reminded me a little of Thunder. They are not afraid to shake up traditional melodic rock sounds on the likes of ‘Just Like In a Movie’ and ‘Bridges’ which was a grower after a rather staccato start.

Indeed ‘Save Your Life’, co- written by the night’s host, had a dark but impressive riff and Dave’s fellow guitarist Jon Crampton dovetailed very effectively with him. Indeed they were pulling the classic back to back pose on the twin lead break that concluded ‘Before the Song is Over’. With a better sound and venue I enjoyed them much more than my last sighting with Midnite City at the Black Heart.

The Heavy Metal Kids in their early reformation phase were one of the bands Drewe promoted here and a lasting friendship was forged. I always joke they fail the Trade Descriptions Act as their sound touches on pretty much every genre, except HM (as we used to call it!) Indeed opener ‘Chelsea Kids’ was a good example of a sound that straddled some of the darker side of glam such as Mott the Hoople and the emerging punk movement.

‘Blow It All Away’ and the title track of the album they would have been plugging in Drewe’s day, ‘Hit The Right Button’ had a tight power pop feel, while there was a trip to their very first album in ‘Hangin’ On’. Their sound had a classic feel with excellent musicianship, notably on ‘From Heaven to Hell’ and back again and in particular from the two original members Keith Boyce and the Les Paul wielding guitarist Cosmo, both crisp and economical and hardly wasting a note. ‘You Got Me Rollin’ saw Cosmo and PJ Phillips on bass laying down some funky grooves.

Wearing shades and an open shirt, singer Simon Gordon was a good frontman even though I kept fearing he was going to topple over, and he did a good impression of the late Gary Holton’s rascally tones on the rarely played ‘Jimmy Brown’. ‘Squalliday Inn’ (sic) took a while to come to the boil with a chorus, and a shortened set had flown by as in no time they had to shorten the set and reach the last song, their best known (and Top of the Pops- featured) ‘She’s No Angel’ with that catchy guitar line from Cosmo.

By now our host had joined us at the front, larging it up in a band t-shirt, and after all that, there was time for one more in a frantic ‘Delirious’. I’ve not seen them as often as I should but the HMK are a band that always deliver the goods and are deserving of wider exposure.

As for the headliner, well Drewe had a very significant story to tell of how he and others too young first time around discovered a cult and rare classic album from 1970 by a band called Leafhound called ‘Growers of Mushroom’. He promoted Vanilla Fudge at the Underworld and Tim Bogert asked if he could add to the guest list a former Cactus bandmate in Peter French, the singer on that album.

Drewe introduced not only himself, but those younger musicians and persuaded Peter to put together a new version of the band. Indeed I’m pretty sure the night I saw them support Nazareth here in 2004 was their first ever show. They’ve performed periodically ever since, albeit less in recent years with Peter also fronting a reformed Atomic Rooster until very recently.

They opened with a pair from that legendary album in ‘Stagnant Pool’ and ‘Drowned My Life in Fear’, and it was great to have guitarist Luke Rayner back in the fold after a few years away, his solos on both impressively soulful, and in particular his use of the wah-wah pedal on the former.

At 75 Peter’s voice is still remarkably strong – as evidenced on ‘Overtime’ from the album (‘Unleashed’) that emerged from the Drewe inspired reformation- plus you can’t get much more rock’ n’roll than the Jack Daniels towel he used to dry himself off between songs! The band’s sensitive playing on ‘With A Minute to Go’, building from a quiet intro, showcased the unique magic of that early stuff.

There is actually planned to be a third Leafhound album shortly, and two songs were aired. ‘Burn the House Down’ was a vigorous straight ahead hard rocker with Luke showing he is equally adept with a speedier, more eighties style, while ‘Cinderella’ boasted a funky intro and in mood felt very different from anything they have done before.

Those two bookended ‘Man With The Moon in Him’, where Luke and bassist Peter Herbert- who had slightly toned down his usual high kicking routines- went off on some extended improvisation, and the pair, together with Peter’s son Dominic on drums, then produced some virtuoso jamming on ‘Sad Road To the Sea’, each instrument clearly audible as they drove each other to new heights. ‘Nickels and Dimes’ was bluesier and at a more stately pace but no less effective.

A Leafhound-ised take on Atomic Rooster’s ‘Breakthrough’ is always a favourite of mine with Luke turning a previously keyboard-based riff into a guitar showcase. Unfortunately, having started late and up against the Underworld’s unbending Friday night curfew, the set had to be curtailed. Regret at ‘Too Many Rock’n’Roll Times’ and ‘Growers of Mushroom’ itself falling victim were offset by the massive riffage of ‘Freelance Fiend’, the very song that first drew that newer generation of fans to their work.

Peter French’s recent departure from Atomic Rooster opens the way for a renewed burst of activity from Leafhound over the coming months. All the more reason to thank our party host for his role in bringing them back to life all those years ago.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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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.

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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)