Since the first Stonedead (or Stonedeaf as it was back then) the festival has gone from strength to strength driven by word of mouth and a very active Facebook group. Each year has sold out that bit sooner than the last as tales of excellent music, great organisation and a friendly atmosphere have been retold many times to anyone who was willing to listen.

The speculation on the 2024 headline act took on a life of its own at one point, and it proved to be one of the worst kept secrets in rock when Saxon were revealed on the promo posters. This sparked a clamour for tickets with the resale ticket page doing great business and keeping organiser Chris Sumby’s postman very busy!

Friday

This year for the first time I was signed up to attend the Friday night Mercia Whisky party festivities. The party though almost didn’t happen thanks to Storm Lillian which had made its presence felt the previous evening and into the Friday, including laying waste to the Leeds Festival site 70 miles to the north. Thankfully, the Stonedead team made some late changes and managed to get the site safe and secure and ready to rock!

The arena opened slightly later than planned understandably and I made it in just as Planet Rock’s Paul Anthony, the compere for the evening, took to the stage to introduce Scarlet Rebels. Paul also announced that the band’s new album, ‘Where The Colours Meet’, had just entered the national charts at number 15 which was met with a huge cheer.

The band opened with ‘Grace’ to entertain the gathering crowd slowly filtering into the arena and over the course of their set the guys went down well. I hadn’t seen the band before and judging by the hype and good reviews I had read I was expecting big things. However, although they put in a solid set, I wasn’t bowled over by the performance and felt their music is a bit formulaic. Perhaps I am being a bit harsh here as I was getting my bearings during the set and was a bit distracted, so I will try to catch the band again at some point and give them a fair hearing.

They rounded out the set with ‘Take You Home’ and got a rousing send off from an appreciative crowd at the front of the stage. Perhaps it was just me then, after all I did once write that upcoming band Ghost might struggle to make it, wonder whatever happened to them…

One name on the Friday night bill that lured me in was Paul Di’Anno. I was too late to see Paul fronting Iron Maiden, but the first two albums are still amongst my favourites from their back catalogue. Paul’s health issues have been well documented, but it hasn’t blunted his punk and metal attitude and he was happy to stick two fingers up to anyone ready to write him off as a spent force.

Opening with ‘Sanctuary’, it was evident that vocally he is past his peak, but his delivery was always gruff and with songs this good who gives a toss if he is a bit off! ‘Charlotte The Harlot’ followed and the Maiden classics just kept coming. Paul’s band are more than up to the task of recreating the Maiden twin guitar attack and were given their moment in the spotlight mid set when the blasted through ‘Genghis Khan’.

One of my set highlights was a cracking rendition of ‘Remember Tomorrow’ with Paul still screaming for all he was worth during the chorus, despite having a bad cough! ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ and ‘Running Free’ rounded out an excellent set of classic Maiden that had me smiling from ear to ear.

Talking of unique frontmen, Spike has always been one of the best. For me Spike is, was and always will be The Quireboys regardless of what others may say, and tonight he proved that there is plenty of life in the old dog yet.

Opening with new song ‘Jeeze Louise’, complete with Spike on harmonica, it was clear from the off we were in for a good set. The band at the moment also features Luke Morley on guitar, Willie Dowling on keyboards, Nigel Mogg on bass, and Harry James, who was brought in as a last minute substitute on drums when Rudy Richman fell ill.

The set was a great mix of old favourites and new songs from the forthcoming album ‘Waldour Street’, once the home of the much-missed Marquee Club in Soho. ‘Misled’ and ‘Sweet Mary Ann’ were greeted like old friends with the crowd joining Spike on vocals. Luke Morley is obviously enjoying being back on stage with Thunder still in hiatus during Danny Bowes recovery period and his guitar style is well suited to The Quireboys rocking blues.

One of the set highlights was ‘King Of New York’ which Spike dedicated to the late Guy Bailey who passed away earlier this year. This was a heartfelt performance from Spike filled with genuine emotion, a poignant moment in an otherwise rocking set.

‘Roses and Rings’ and ‘There She Goes Again’ went down a storm before ‘7 O’clock’ rounded off a highly entertaining set. After a quick panic onstage when Spike decided to spark up a cigarette, apparently against Health and Safety regs, the evening was rounded off with a fantastic version of ‘I Don’t Love You Any More’, with the crowd singing along with gusto. The perfect end to a perfect set. As I said at the start, there is only one Quireboys…

Saturday

In typical British summer fashion Saturday kicked off in the pissing rain, but no matter. No such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing as the saying goes and we had some serious rock and metal ahead to take your mind off a bit of drizzle.

First up all the way from Cambridge were The Hot One Two who got things off to a great start. The band’s hard rock hit the spot from the off and the weather was soon an aside to the stage action. Opening with ‘Playing With Fire’ the band, who had won their opening set spot via an online poll, looked ecstatic to be on the Stonedead stage.

The facial contortions of guitarist Kev Baker were worth the entrance fee alone as he cranked out the riffs for all he was worth. The band featured some great tracks with Simon West putting in a strong vocal performance throughout. At one point the band invited the Stonedead Dolls out on stage to dance along, wasn’t quite up to ‘Strictly…’ standards!

This was my first encounter with The Hot One Two, but it won’t be the last as they left a lasting impression, a good start.

Another band that I will seeking out again in the future are Tailgunner. Their set of classic power metal was quite simply one of the highlights of my weekend. I had heard a few tracks from them prior to the weekend and they had piqued my interest, however the live experience was on another level.

The band hit the stage running and exploded into ‘Guns For Hire’ in a hail of furious riffs and pummelling bass. Vocalist Craig Cairns led from the front and covered every inch of the stage, a bit too literally at one point as he slipped in a puddle and went tumbling like an Olympic gymnast! Thankfully only his pride and his trousers took a knock and he never missed a beat, what a trooper!

‘White Death’ and ‘Beast In The Night’ were driven on by the twin guitar attack of Zach Salvini and Rhea Thompson both of whom put in a very impressive performance, this was old school metal of a very high calibre. Following ‘Warhead’ the dynamic duo had a bit of a guitar dual which then led into a very heavy version of Grieg’s ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’.

The rhythm section of Thomas Hewson on bass and Jani Pasanen on drums kept things very tight with Jani’s double bass drums underpinning each song. Given Craig’s tumble earlier in the set ‘Crashdive’ seemed like a very apt song title, whilst a stunning version of Dio’s ‘Don’t Talk To Strangers’ rounded off one of the sets for the festival.

For such a young band to be keeping the spirit of the NWOBHM band’s alive is a joy to see and hear. The fact that they do it so well, and with such enthusiasm, they deserve to be huge. I recommend you catch them live as soon as possible!

How do you follow that? Well with a rambling story from Krusher Jules about his many medical maladies (he may have said f**k a few times, possibly!) and with a highly entertaining set from The Bites. Bringing a bit of Hollywood glamour to proceedings (?) The Bites vamped it up from the off. Frontman Jordan Tyler is a man born to entertain and he danced and bounded across the stage to ensure he connected with every one of the 5000 strong crowd.

‘Knockin’ On Your Door’ kicked things off with a large dose of rock swagger. They don’t have the same sleaze or bad boy leanings of Motley Crue, but they certainly have an LA attitude. ‘Pretty Boys’ took a dig at the LA glitterati while ‘Dirty City’ digs up the city’s murky underbelly.

A cover version of Led Zeps ‘Good Times, Bad Times’ showcased the fretboard talents of Dusten Coon and Jono Richer, before ‘Good Love’ brought us back to the present, well the mid 80’s anyway! Other set highlights were ‘Heather Leather’ and ‘Fire In Hollywood’ before a great rendition of ‘Do Me A Favour’ rounded out a highly entertaining set.

If The Bites were pure LA entertainment, then Bonafide were solid Swedish rock ‘n’ roll. I have seen Bonafide a few times, but not since about 2013, and to be honest, they haven’t really changed. However, their straightforward rocking blues were an ideal mid afternoon reset, music to drink beer and eat noodles to on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

They opened with the aptly named ‘Are You Listening’, the title track from their latest album released in 2023. Pontus Snibb was front and centre, dressed in double denim and wearing it with style. The bulk of the set was taken from their first two albums augmented with a few more new songs. ‘Dirt Bound’ and ‘Down’ had a group of people standing next to me singing along for all they were worth, obviously big fans back when the guys were mainstays on the UK gig and festival circuit.

The guys saved the best until last by rounding off the set with a great rendition of the classic ‘Fill Your Head With Rock’, complete with 5000 backing singers. Bonafide may not bring anything new to the party, but with tunes this good no one cared a jot, rock n roll in its purest form.

Staying with the Swedish connection, up next we had a band I was keen to see. I hadn’t managed to catch Eclipse live before today, but on album their brand of melodic rock with infectious melodies had won me over. Thankfully, the live experience didn’t disappoint.

As the heavens opened with a torrential, and, thankfully, short lived downpour, the guys opened with ‘Roses On Your Grave’. It was evident from the off that there were a lot of Eclipse fans in the audience as many were word perfect when singing along. Eric Martinsson joked that they usually run about on stage, but due to the rainwater it would be a bit dangerous. Perhaps he had been watching Tailgunner’s set earlier in the day?

Over their allotted 45 minutes the band put on a great show, anthemic rock delivered with polish with the bulk of the set being taken from last years ‘Megalomanium’ album including ‘Got It!’, ‘The Hardest Part Is Losing You’ and ‘Anthem’ with its marching drum beat which got the crowd clapping along.

‘Viva La Victoria’ rounded out a fantastic set from the band which went down well with the Stonedead massive. The onstage movements may have been a bit curtailed, but the music more than hit the mark.

Back in 1986 I attended my first Monsters Of Rock festival at Donington Park on which the Stonedead festival is modelled. Opening the bill some 38 years ago were Warlock, fronted by the metal queen herself – Doro - and going full circle she was due up next to rock the Showground.

Doro has dedicated her life to Metal and like Lemmy is the embodiment of the hard rock lifestyle. The crowd numbers down in the standing area swelled significantly just prior to the band taking to the stage and the anticipation for a rocking set was palpable.

Fittingly, Doro opened her set with a brace of Warlock songs, namely ‘I Rule The Ruins’ and ‘Burning The Witches’ with the crowd singing along and raising their fists as one. Doro has a great band around her, and all get their moment in the spotlight, but most were there to witness metal royalty as Doro took the spotlight.

The set was a good balance of Doro’s solo offerings and more old classics from the Warlock back catalogue. The guitar pairing of Bas Maas and Bill Hudson fired out the crunching riffs whilst bassist Stephan Herkenhof and drummer Johnny Dee pummelled away with the furious basslines.

Doro encouraged crowd participation at every opportunity, and all responded in kind. ‘Raise Your Fist In The Air’ and ‘Children Of The Dawn’ had heads nodding along before ‘Metal Racer’ upped the pace even more. The set was rounded of with the anthemic ‘All We Are’ which turned into a mass singalong in the sunshine. Doro certainly lived up to her metal queen billing and left the stage to huge cheers from the crowd and calls for ‘one more song’ which, unfortunately, stage timings didn’t allow for, maybe next time…

Another Donington connection for me were up next. The last time I caught Ugly Kid Joe was on the hallowed ground a few years back at Download. They graced the second stage that day and didn’t really set my heather alight to be honest. Again, they gathered a large crowd down the front and went on to produce what for many was the surprise set of the day.

Whitfield Crane is a seasoned frontman and knows how to work a crowd. From the opening number ‘That Ain’t Living’ he had the throng onside and bouncing along. After the full-on metal onslaught from Doro, Ugly Kid Joe kicked back in the early evening sunshine and proved to be the right band at the right time.

Crane also managed to win friends in the photo pit when he invited them side stage to continue shooting once their allotted pit slot was over, a classy move. The band played a career spanning set with all the hits and crowd pleasers in place. They also threw in a couple of cover versions including Motorhead’s ‘Ace Of Spades’, complete with Crane in his Lemmy T-shirt and ‘Cat’s In The Cradle’, the Harry Chapin song they have made their own.

Only one song could round things off though and as the strains of ‘Everything About You’ rolled around the showground the Stonedead choir once again sang out with gusto. A quick blast of ‘Heavy Metal’ finally brought the curtain down on a crowd pleasing set and the guys left the stage to a huge cheer and a sea of happy faces.

As the light started to dim the video screens crackled into life to herald the arrival onstage of KK’s Priest. Anticipation was again high for this set and with good reason as it proved to be a metal masterclass. I had watched a live stream of the band’s performance from the Wacken Festival a few weeks earlier and was looking forward to the show, they didn’t disappoint.

Opening with ‘Hellfire Thunderbolt’ from their debut album, KK and the band were in monstrously good form. ‘Strike Of The Viper’ and ‘One More Shot At Glory’ continued the new music before the first plunder of KK’s back catalogue with ‘The Ripper’. Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens was in fine voice and blasted out the high pitched vocal effortlessly. The set continued with one of my favourite Priest tracks ‘Night Crawler’ which was great to hear live.

KK’s fretwork was impressive as always, as was his twin guitar harmonies with A.J Mills which harked back to the glory days of Judas Priest in full flight. The set proved to be a balanced mix of new and old tracks with highlights aplenty. There were a couple of slower numbers thrown into the mix as well with a stripped back version of ‘Diamonds And Rust’ and a stunning rendition of ‘Before The Dawn’.

Another of my Priest favourites ‘Hell Patrol’ had fists flying and heads banging in equal measure, as did a blast through ‘Breaking The Law’. The set was finished off with an epic version of ‘Sinner’ complete with Ripper screaming for all he was worth in the chorus. A quick encore of ‘Raise Your Fist’, as if the crowd needed any encouragement, rounded off a highly enjoyable set chock full of metal classics.

If the festival had finished at that point, I don’t think anyone would have felt short changed, however, that was just a taster of what was to come as Saxon took the stage to up the ante once again!

Biff and the boys are masters when it comes to festival sets and made best use of their allotted 90 minutes with a setlist which was all killer and no filler. ‘Hellfire and Damnation’ from the band’s most recent album continued where KK’s Priest had left off, in full on heavy metal mode. The stage set was quite sparse, but the lightshow was impressive, although more lighting at the front would have been good as it was hard to see Biff and the crew at times.

No matter though as the soundtrack was to die for. ‘Motorcycle Man’ and ‘Power and the Glory’ kept up the frantic pace, if the national grid could harness the energy coming from Nigel Glocker’s drum kit I am sure he could have powered the whole of Newark. Biff was in good form, chatting and joking with the crowd as he introduced another newer track ‘Madame Guillotine’.

The classics then continued with ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’, a very apt song for the evening, and given recent events in the States, ‘Dallas 1pm’ took on more relevance. The addition of Brian Tatler on guitar has been a boon to the band had he has slotted into the fold perfectly. His twin playing with Doug Scarrat and his solo spots were top notch.

During the intro to ‘Never Surrender’ Biff said that has always been the bands’ philosophy through the hard times, hence the reason they have been rocking for nigh on 50 years. The big hitters continued and although the crowd had been rocking all day, they showed no signs of tiring any time soon.

Biff then offered up a choice of three songs, ‘Sacrifice’, ‘Broken Heroes’ and ‘The Eagle Has Landed’, before playing all three anyway. A final Donington MOR link was offered up with the inclusion of ‘And The Bands Played On’ harking back to the very first festival in 1980.

We were on the home straight now and the band moved up a gear with ‘Denim and Leather’ followed with 747 (Strangers In The Night). ‘Wheels Of Steel’ included the usual call and response section with the Stonedead choir once again raising the metaphorical roof to bring the set to a close.

There was time for a couple of encores though with ‘Crusader’ slowing things down before ‘Princess Of The Night’ fired down the track to bring things to an explosive end.

As I said at the top, Stonedead has gone from strength to strength over the last 6 years and this year’s line up will be hard to top. Fabulous music, excellent organisation and just a little rain to dampen the mood, overall, this was one hell of a weekend.

Footnote:

By the time of writing this Stonedead 2025 has already sold out before a band has been announced. This is testament to the faith people have in Chris Sumby and the team pulling together another great line up and putting on a top show. I don’t doubt it for a minute, SYATB!

Review by Dave Wilson
Photos by Lindsay Smith

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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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)