My sixth and final trip of the year to the Cavern which has been keeping the flag flying for live music ‘Sarf of the River’ was, fittingly, for a true rock legend. Stray founding member and guitarist Del Bromham has not only kept the flag flying for the band, but last year’s ‘About Time’ album demonstrated their continued relevance with a fresh line up, and that he still has had something to say both musically and lyrically.

He has played solo shows here in the past but on this occasion fronted the full Stray band, minus second guitarist and singer Pete Dyer who was a victim of Storm Darragh, confined to home after an accident closed his road. The remaining quartet improvised admirably to cover his parts plus it did give them a little more space on the cramped stage. There was a good mixture of Stray fans, Cavern regulars and at least a couple of musos in Dave Bucket Colwell and John Fiddler in attendance.

For Stray’s own last show of the year, Del promised a varied set of old, new and some they had not played in a while and was as good as his word, opening with ‘Time Machine’ from their 1970 debut, among the very best of those memorable riffs from the band’s early days, worthy of ranking with the more famous Purple Zeppelin and Sabbath ones.

‘After the Storm’ was even better and a showcase for some outstanding soloing before he introduced a pair from second album ‘Suicide’ with a strong anti-war message that remains relevant in ‘Jericho’ and the much more rarely played ‘Son of the Father’. It featured a mid-set passage showcasing some military style drumming from the powerhouse Karl Randall and keyboards from Simon Rinaldo, a more recent addition which often, as in this case, gave the songs a bit of a Uriah Heep feel.

The new album was represented by ‘Better Day’, written in and about the strange days of the pandemic and the autobiographical ‘I Am’ before another with an anti-war theme in ‘1600 Pennsylvania Avenue’, and appropriately enough, during the folky elements of ‘Our Song’, he burst into a wickedly accurate Bob Dylan impression (with Jools Holland later another spot on target of his mimicry).

There were more new songs in ‘Shout’ with added keyboard stabs from Simon and ‘Living the Dream’ an illustration that the new material is certainly feels more mainstream and melodically song oriented than the vintage early seventies material.

As the set wore on the ‘Pye’ era mid to late seventies incarnation of Stray got more of a look in and ‘Houdini’ was a good example of how bassist Colin Kempster’s singing supported Del and helped cover Pete’s absence before a final newie in ‘Black Sun’, Del picking up a Les Paul and cranking out a riff every bit as good as his vintage ones.

As befits a man who has carried off ‘songs and stories’ type shows, there were plenty of anecdotes and reminiscences, and his quick, ‘cheeky chappie’ wit was in evidence with some innuendo laced humour delivered with old school music hall comic timing, as well as the tongue in cheek ‘ Percy the Pimp’.

There are two epics that every Stray set must feature. Over nine minutes plus, ‘I Believe It’ began with a long keyboard intro from Simon , then led into an anthemic chorus and lengthy, soaring solo, then after an unexpected diversion in ‘Buying Time’, with the band carrying off a funky mid-seventies groove, the song that Iron Maiden covered and returned Stray to the rock world’s consciousness in ‘All In Your Mind’. All that was missing was Del’s party piece of dangling the guitar from a speaker stack, though as he rocked out a monitor did nearly topple over.

That would have been a fitting finish but even after two hours the band were persuaded to do an encore in ‘Pretty Things’, which was a grower. This was a pretty definitive Stray set and showed that Del Bromham, over half a century and more, has been a significant talent, historically underappreciated but – along with his talented bandmates- still with much to offer.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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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)