It’s amazing how the (living) years roll by. Mike + The Mechanics are now celebrating 40 years as an entity and show no signs of slowing down any time soon. Mike Rutherford, now shorn of the Genesis day job, has more time to dedicate to his onetime side project and looks to have thrown himself into the band lock, stock and barrel.

‘Thrown in’ is an apt analogy here as Mike took to the Glasgow stage supported on two crutches before perching on a stool. He then explained that he had fallen and broken his hip two weeks previously, but being the seasoned trooper he is, the show must go on!

The guys kicked things off with a great version of ‘Beggar On A Beach Of Gold’ with vocalist Tim Howar picking up the slack on the onstage movement stakes with Mike sidelined. The band line up has been stable now for a number of years and the only recent change has seen Nic Collins brought in to fill the drum stool usually occupied by Gary Wallis.

Tim then invited us to partake in ‘Another Cup Of Coffee’ before ‘Get Up’ had Andrew Roachford up on his feet and sharing vocal duties with Tim. This was the opening night of the bands European tour and if there were any first night nerves they certainly didn’t show as the band were as tight as a duck’s posterior and looked happy in their work.

This was billed as a greatest hits tour in support of the band’s forthcoming new hits package ‘Looking Back – The Living Years’ which features all the hits of the past 40 years. However, the next track introduced was a new one that was getting it’s live premier. ‘Song For Me, Song For You’ proved to be a top notch ballad, which the band do so well, with soulful vocals from Roachford.

Mike then referenced the current political turmoil around the world as an introduction to the Genesis classic ‘Land Of Confusion’ which was greeted like an old friend complete with the crowd singing along with every word. We then had a couple of tracks from 2017’s ‘Let Me Fly’ album including the title track and ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’.

Yet another new track was up next which appeared to be called ‘East And West Of The Sun’, although even the band didn’t appear too sure on that one with Tim looking for clarification from his bandmates. This was a more uptempo number which sounded like another Mechanics hit in the making.

‘Silent Running’ then brought the first half of the show to a close in fine style with Mike hobbling off for a well-earned break.

The second half kicked off with all the band at the front of the stage for an acoustic interlude starting with ‘Nobody Knows’. ‘Invisible Touch’ was up next closely followed by ‘Everybody Gets A Second Chance’ and ‘Out Of The Blue. Another Genesis track, ‘Follow You, Follow Me’, rounded off the acoustic section in fine fashion complete with a mass crowd singalong at the end.

From here it was big hitters all the way starting with ‘The Living Years’ which had the crowd singing and clapping along. Mike then cranked out the familiar guitar riff of ‘I Can’t Dance’ which went down a storm, complete with Tim and guitarist Anthony Drennan doing ‘that’ dance across the stage.

Andrew Roachford then took centre stage for an excellent rendition of his biggest solo hit, ‘Cuddly Toy’ which had a woman in front of me on her feet and dancing for all she was worth. More dancing ensued when ‘All I Need Is A Miracle’ was aired to close out the second set.

The band weren’t quite finished though and Mike once again hobbled from the wings for a couple of encores. ‘Over My Shoulder’ had the crowd singing and dancing along once more before ‘Word Of Mouth’ brought things to a fitting climax. During ‘Word Of Mouth’ each band member was introduced and had a couple of minutes in the limelight complete with snippets of early Genesis, Hendrix and a impressive drum solo for Mr Collins Jr.

This was an impressive show from a band of true professionals who are masters at their craft. The fact that Mike Rutherford was on stage at all given his current ailment was indeed a miracle and with the two new tracks aired, it looks as though whilst he may be looking back, he has one eye firmly on the future.

Review and photos by Dave Wilson

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 7 April 2025

SEVEN BLOOD To The Unknown (indie)
FROM FALL TO SPRING Incomplete (Arising Empire)
POP EVIL Side Effects (MNRK Heavy)
ERJA LYYTINEN Abyss (Tuohi Records)
SKY VALLEY MISTRESS Too Many Ghosts (New Heavy Sounds)
RED GIANT Free Me (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 7 April 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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