When most people lucky to reach the age of 80 would be putting their feet up, Russ Ballard’s appetite for work seems as strong as ever. He appears to be playing more headline shows in his native UK and judging from his demeanour on stage and afterwards, he does not seem jaded by his fame and simply enjoys playing and meeting fans.

This was my second time watching him this year: at the Wings of AOR Festival in Sweden a special set focused on his two mid eighties albums in that mould, but this was a more general set, mixing the best of those with old Argent numbers and those hits he has written for others which arguably make his name most recognisable to the casual fan.

One such opened proceedings in a lively ‘New York Groove’, as popularised by Hello and Ace Frehley, complete with handclaps, before the first of those Argent classics in ‘It’s Only Money’, proggy in feel and featuring sterling contributions by Marc Rapson on keyboards, the band’s relative youngster who gets better every time I see him.

Some of the songs from that AOR-flavoured phase survived in the set: ‘In the Night’ with Russ playing some fluent but economical extended leads on his Les Paul, and preceded by him saying most of his life’s dreams had come true, ‘Dream On’, with guitar and keyboard combining well. If they may have been unfamiliar to some, Argent’s universally loved ‘Hold Your Head Up’ sparked quite a singalong and featured some impressively retro keyboard work from Mark.

Relegated from its opening slot when he played here in 2022, ‘Rene Didn’t Do It’ was a storming rocker that had me punching the air, and was one of those that benefited from the big wall of backing vocals from his band: they then showed their paces on a very atmospheric ‘Liar’, the closest to the rather misleading ‘Tuesday Blues’ theme at the 100 Club and boasting some inventive piano playing from Marc.

Despite being such a consummately talented band of musicians, the atmosphere was endearingly ramshackle at times, such as when Russ erroneously moved over to the keyboards when he was meant to stay on guitar for ‘So You Won Again’, another demonstration of his way with a hit for others. In fact his soulful delivery was not too removed from that of Errol Brown on Hot Chocolate’s version.

‘Playing With Fire’ saw enthusiastic second guitarist Paul Bond get a rare opportunity for the majority of the solos to start with before Russ came in with one of his own. Guitar and keyboards again worked together well on the atmospheric ‘The Fire Still Burns’ while the Miami Vice-featured ‘Voices’ with its stabbing keyboards could not have been more mid- eighties had all the band rolled up their jacket sleeves in tribute.

Already we were down to a closing pair of songs and probably his best known legacies- after reminding us he recorded it in 1975 long before Richie Blackmore got hold of it, ‘Since You Been Gone’ rocked in lively fashion with those band vocals again matched by that of the crowd and a tasty closing guitar solo from Russ, and then a sway along to ‘God Gave Rock and Roll To You’, delivered in fittingly full blown pomp fashion.

Again the band seemed a little unsure of what was going to happen next for encores, but Russ returned solo at the piano, accompanied only by a couple of harmony singers, for a beautiful ‘I Don’t Believe in Miracles’. Then the set ended with ‘It’s Too Late’, dedicated to a super fan who had travelled from Switzerland. Oddly I thought it was one of the weaker numbers and would have preferred the likes of ‘Two Silhouettes’ or ‘I Can’t Hear You No More’ but I was being greedy.

It was a real feel good evening in which one of rock’s master songwriters, supported by a crack cast of players, showed off that catalogue in a modest, good humoured and above all evergreen manner.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

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Josh now hosts “Taerk’s Tracks” as part of the Singer Songwriter Sunday sequence on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio.

This is the first show broadcast on 27 September. Josh presents some of his inspirational artists and tracks.

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 20 September 2026.

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Power Plays w/c 28 September 2026

HARDCORE SUPERSTAR – Halo (Frontiers)
THUNDERNOTHER Bimbo Boost (Napalm Records)
ELYSION Dead Loves (Massacre Records)
CHRIS JOHNSON & THE HOLLYWOOD HILLBILLIES Till The End Of Time (Rustbelt Electric)
LAKE Ordinary People (indie)
CRASHING WAYWARD Bullet For Heart (Golden Robot Records)
DEAD POET SOCIETY Miami For The Weekend (Spinefarm)

Featured Albums w/c 28 September 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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