Gig review: MEDICINE HEAD- Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 23 January 2025

January 28th, 2025 by andynathan

Medicine Head may have had their moment in the (rising) sun with a number of unlikely hits in the early seventies, but singer John Fiddler is one of rock’s underappreciated names, respected enough to have been recruited by former Motts (for British Lions) and Yardbirds (for Box of Frogs).

I’m too young to remember those halcyon days of Medicine Head on Top of the Pops and as far as I remember know my first sighting of him was supporting Rory Gallagher at the Town and Country, the second and last time I saw the great Irishman. Then when I moved to the Richmond and Twickenham area in the early nineties I discovered he lived in the vicinity and saw a few low key shows at local venues.

So there was a neat symmetry in his return to the Eel Pie Club with a new version of Medicine Head, touring last year’s album ‘Heartwork’ which our own Pete Feenstra selected as one of his albums of the year.

The place was packed out including with family and friends, and though most of my past sightings of him had been solo acoustic, this time he had assembled a full band. This included a rhythm section in Andre Shapps and Paul Edwards with a pedigree with big pop names, and backing singer Belinda Campbell, who was on home soil and well known to many of us locals: it is great to see her talents being recognised by an established artist.

Last but not least the ubiquitous figure, at least to those of us on the London scene, of former Bad Company and Humble Pie guitarist Dave ‘Bucket’ Colwell. Indeed the last time I saw John was at the Half Moon in Putney supporting his and Robert Hart’s excellent ‘Bad Company Legacy’. Given how gentle and countrified most of ‘Heartwork’ is, I did wonder if he might not be a good fit, but in fact his gritty yet always tasteful style, only a little more restrained than usual, made for a winning combination.

Many of John’s simple songs lend themselves to singalongs, none more so than the set opener and old hit ‘Pictures In The Sky’ with its hummed refrain, also having the period feel of early T Rex. ‘Everybody Has The Blues Sometimes’ and ‘Get Your Hands In The Air’, on which he played slide, showed off his bluesy side while ‘Livin’ In A Bubble’ was in reggae style yet unexpectedly enjoyable.

Taking to piano for ‘Making Up For Lost Love’, John, very much the ageing beatnik with his long hair still flowing, mused love was a common theme in his songs, ‘Its All About The Love’ proving the point, and yet even he slipped in some four letter invective about the newly inaugurated Donald Trump. ‘Dancing In The Rain’ was a real grower then a trip back into Medicine Head’s seventies catalogue with ‘Slip And Slide’ showed off those rootsy blues influences he described. His voice has also weathered well and remains recognisable.

One of the songs from that period when I saw a lot of his shows in the nineties, ‘Only The Roses’ featured a surprisingly effective singalong before ‘Gotta Hold On’ and a pair where he was back on piano in ‘Warriors Of Love’ and ‘Alcohol And Cheap Perfume’.

As the gig warmed nicely to a climax the ‘Sha- la -la -ooh’ chorus of ‘Alibi’ was another to sing along to, before he spoke of his friendship with the late Keith Relf and how he insisted he would only joined the reformed Yardbirds on condition they did not use the name. I waved the Box of Frogs CD I had brought to have signed in his direction and ‘Back Where I Started’ was superb, the combination of Bucket’s swaggering riff (with a strong vibe of ‘La Grange’ to it) and John’s harmonica playing kicking up a storm.

There was time for an encore of Medicine Head’s biggest hits, ‘One And One Is One’, the two guitarists with John on slide making it somewhat rockier than the original, and ‘Rising Sun’. But this was a night not just for nostalgia, but to appreciate the work both old, new and in between of this genial and enduring singer and songwriter, and celebrate his return to the spotlight.

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 2 March 2025.

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Power Plays w/c 24 March 2025

HARRI LARKIN Too Close To The Sun (Robot Distro)
SANDNESS Not Your Dog (Rockshots Records)
DOCTOR BLACK Drag Me Down (indie)
COHEED AND CAMBRIA Goodbye Sunshine (Virgin Music Group)
LEONI JANE KENNEDY Closer (indie)
SMALL TOWN POLITICS Red Lights (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 24 March 2025

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

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