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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2025
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2026
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
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Upcoming: Festivals UK & Europe (2026)
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
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Latest Album Reviews
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GRTR! Greats
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Category Archives: FEATURES
Feature: All Boxed Up for Christmas (December 2025)
The boxed sets and multi-disc reissues keep coming! First it was CDs that gave recorded rock a new lease of life, then came the revival of vinyl. But, as labels realised, they could expand individual albums with bonus material, and … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, Box sets, FEATURES, Reissues
Tagged 2025, anthology, boxsets, collections, David Lee Roth, Deep Purple, Jimmy Webb, Joe Meek, multi-disc, review, Seals & Crofts, Strapps, Wishbone Ash
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Feature: Albums that time forgot – PETER BARDENS – Heart To Heart (1979)
Arista (1979) Esoteric (Reissue, 2012) Peter Bardens has an interesting history. Although his career was cut short – succumbing to lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 56 – he spent time in the 1960s with Mick Fleetwood and … Continue reading
Posted in Albums that time forgot, ALL POSTS, FEATURES
Tagged album, Camel, feature, fusion, Heart To Heart, instrumental, Peter Bardens, prog pop, Progressive Rock, review
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Feature: GRTR! Greats – JUDIE TZUKE
Judie Tzuke is best known for her 1979 hit single ‘Stay With Me Till Dawn’. When reviewing her Bury gig in 2015 David Randall noted the outburst from a member of the audience. They didn’t quite know the proper title … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR! GREATS, GRTR! Greats (All Posts), INTERVIEWS, Radio interview
Tagged classic rock, feature, Judie Tzuke, retrospective, singer, songwriter
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Feature: GRTR! Greats – JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR
Photo: David Randall/GRTR! It’s no surprise to find Joanne Shaw Taylor in the list of ‘GRTR! Greats’, if only for the fact that aside from her visceral guitar playing ability, she is an exemplar of the modern aspirational musician. She’s … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR! GREATS, GRTR! Greats (All Posts), Radio interview
Tagged blues, blues rock, feature, Joanne Shaw Taylor, retrospective
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Feature: GRTR! Greats – GLENN HUGHES
Photo: David Randall Glenn Hughes has long been referred to as the Voice of Rock. That certainly is true but he could also be described as the “Master of Rock”. His first major band was the much-loved Trapeze, he then … Continue reading
Feature: Albums that time forgot…PIERRE MOERLEN’S GONG – Time Is The Key (1979)
Arista SPARTY 1105 (1979) When most people think of Gong they think of “Flying Teapot”, a quirky, idiosyncratic approach by long-time leader Daevid Allen and maybe Steve Hillage’s passage to wider attention. What sometimes gets overlooked are the later years … Continue reading
Feature: THE DARKER MY HORIZON’s Bakers Dozen
The Darker My Horizon recently release their fifth album, ‘From Out Of The Ashes’ on March 23 – ten years to the day of the release of their debut album ‘Acquiesce’. Baker’s Dozen, in which various musicians choose 13 songs – … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES
Tagged Bakers Dozen, Europe, Extreme, feature, hard rock, John Sykes, melodic rock, playlist, Spotify, the Darker My Horizon, Whitesnake
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Feature: GRTR! Greats – ROBIN TROWER
Photo: Paul Clampin David Randall chatted to Robin Trower for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. This feature includes some of Robin’s favourite tracks by other artists. First broadcast 1 March 2015. GRTR!’s Blues Rock Editor Pete Feenstra believes that with … Continue reading
Feature: GRTR! Greats – WISHBONE ASH
Photos: Andy Nathan In 1977, after their successful ‘Front Page News’ tour, Wishbone Ash’s record label posted an advert in the music papers saying “not bad for four boring old farts’, or words to that effect. A time traveller from … Continue reading
Feature: GRTR! Greats – GRAHAM GOULDMAN
Photo: Martin Porter Graham Gouldman is one of our most durable songwriters who has achieved success as a solo artist and with his band 10cc. Influenced by The Beatles, he wrote for several major artists in the 1960s before decamping … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR! GREATS, GRTR! Greats (All Posts), INTERVIEWS, Radio interview
Tagged 10CC, album, feature, gig, Graham Gouldman, interview, retrospective, review, singer, songwriter
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Feature: GRTR! Greats – THEA GILMORE
David Randall chatted to Thea Gilmore in February 2025 for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. This edited version of the interview first broadcast 23 February includes tracks from the album ‘These Quiet Friends’ plus others from Thea’s back catalogue. Part … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR! GREATS, GRTR! Greats (All Posts), INTERVIEWS, Radio interview
Tagged album, feature, folk, gig, interview, radio, review, rock, singer, songwriter, Thea Gilmore
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Feature: Baker’s Dozen – Librarians With Hickeys
Librarians With Hickeys are an indie pop rock duo consisting of Ray Carmen and Mike Crooker. Here both of them choose an eclectic Baker’s Dozen… Ray Carmen (in more or less no particular order) 1. Paul McCartney – Maybe I’m … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES
Tagged alternative, Bakers Dozen, feature, indie, Librarians With Hickeys, Mike Crocker, Paul McArtney, playlist, pop, pop rock, power pop, Ray Carmen, Robyn Hitchcock, rock, XTC
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Feature: Box Sets are for life, not just for Christmas…(December 2024)
The reissues and recycling still come thick and fast, not least in the unashamed “reissue” of vinyl – another income stream for the record labels designed to extract more wedge from our hard-pressed wallets. Here is our round-up of recommended … Continue reading
Feature: PHIL VINCENT’s Baker’s Dozen
A Baker’s Dozen, in which various musicians choose 13 songs – a baker’s dozen – to make a playlist. The following rules apply – Maximum of three songs from any artist Maximum of two songs from any album Maximum of two … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES
Tagged Bakers Dozen, Beatles, feature, hard rock, heavy metal, Jon Butcher Axis, Judas Priest, melodic rock, metal, Phil Vincent, pop, prog rock, Queen, RAVEN, Thin Lizzy
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Feature: CASEY MAUNDER’s Bakers Dozen
The first Baker’s Dozen, in which various musicians choose 13 songs – a baker’s dozen – to make a playlist. The following rules apply – Maximum of three songs from any artist Maximum of two songs from any album Maximum … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES
Tagged Bakers Dozen, Casey Maunder, Cheap Trick, feature, Get Out and Push, hard rock, melodic rock, playlist, Spotify, Tigertailz
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Feature: Rock: Rewired – STEVE MARRIOTT Part 2 (Peter Frampton interview)
In the second part of our Steve Marriott feature, Iain McGonigal chatted to Peter Frampton in 2017 about their relationship, Humble Pie, and beyond… Sadly, Steve Marriott only lived for three and a half months of 1991. During this time, … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, Rock: Rewired
Tagged blues rock, classic rock, feature, hard rock, Humble Pie, interview, Peter Frampton, Steve Marriott, The Herd
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Feature: Rock: Rewired – STEVE MARRIOTT (Part 1)
In his show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio on Sunday 21 April David Randall played a selection of tracks celebrating Steve Marriott. It’s 33 years since the sad passing of Steve Marriott (20 April 1991). Here Iain McGonigal recalls … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, Rock: Rewired
Tagged blues rock, classic rock, feature, hard rock, Humble Pie, Steve Marriott, The Official Receivers, The Small Faces
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Feature: DANNY VAUGHN at Fairycroft House, Saffron Walden, May 24 2024
A new venture at a smaller venue is the focus of our feature and emphasising the continuing importance of grass roots music promotion… Feature by Jason Ritchie Not content with photographing rock and roll artists under his Mart’s Arts Photography … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/10 Questions, Interviews/Backstage Heroes, Interviews/Rock Stars
Tagged acoustic, AOR, Dan Reed, Danny Vaughn, Fairycroft House, Friday May 24 2024, gig, interviews, Martin David Porter, melodic rock, Motorhead, rock, singer songwriter, Tim Atkinson, Tyketto, Wurzel
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Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – MAGNUM (December 2023)
Photo: Darren Griffiths They nearly folded in 1983, played the arenas in the late 1980s, and nose-dived in 1995. But – fifty years on – Magnum remain magnificent Magnum have figured prominently in our coverage at GRTR! since 2003. This … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview, The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness
Tagged albums, band, Bob Catley, classic rock, gigs, interview, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, radio, retrospective, review, Tony Clarkin
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Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – SAXON (November 2023)
The wheels of steel keep turning for the heavy metal masters, and have turned ever more quickly for Saxon in the millennium Photo: Darren Griffiths In April 2007 there was a reality TV show when Harvey Goldsmith hosted an attempt … Continue reading
Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – THUNDER (October 2023)
Lightning may have struck twice for Thunder but since their 2011 comeback they have produced some of their best work via albums and shows Photo: Darren Griffiths The millennium has marked the “second coming” of several bands who had differing … Continue reading
Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – STEVE HACKETT (September 2023)
With the Genesis genie well and truly out of the bottle, Steve Hackett continues the legacy whilst topping up his own illustrious back catalogue. Prog-tastic! Photo: Simon Dunkerley The ascent of GRTR! since 2003 coincides with the rise and rise … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview, The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness
Tagged feature, Genesis, guitar, guitarist, interview, prog, Progressive Rock, radio, retrospective, Steve Hackett
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Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – CATS IN SPACE (August 2023)
Pop rock revivalists whose rise and rise has been almost purr-fect… damn that pandemic… Cats in Space are a unique proposition among the new generation of classic rock bands that have emerged in recent years (writes Andy Nathan). Acts that … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness
Tagged August 2023, Cats In Space, classic rock, feature, Grotto, pop rock, retrospective
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Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – MARILLION (July 2023)
Photo: David Randall Self sufficient free spirits who keep getting better, and in spite of “Sugar Mice”… Marillion’s entry into our hallowed portal coincides with the period that they have been self-sufficient. By 1998 ostracised by the likes of EMI … Continue reading
Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – FM (June 2023)
Photo: David Randall The nearly-men of melodic rock returned as the now-men in the millennium… In the twenty years of Get Ready to ROCK! one phenomena has been the renaissance of bands who “back in the day” never fully realised … Continue reading
