Category Archives: GIG REVIEWS

Gig review: ALESTORM – Forum, Kentish Town, London, 22 February 2018

I pitched up at the Forum as Rumahoy were prowling the stage bashing out infectious lumps of good time rock to an enthusiastic, packed house of swashbucklers and buccaneers. Pirate metal was in town. The band were suitably attired as … Continue reading

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Gig review: NEW GENERATION BLUES 2018 – Boom Boom Club, Sutton, 23 February 2018

NEW GENERATION BLUES 2018  – Boom Boom Club, Sutton, 23 February 2018

The New Generation Blues 2018 rolled into the Boom Boom Club for the penultimate date of a UK tour that has seen them work their way from Hartlepool to Worthing. The Danny Giles Band (aka The DBG), Red Butler and … Continue reading

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Gig review: TOWERS OF LONDON – New Cross Inn, London 14 February 2018

TOWERS OF LONDON - New Cross Inn, London 14 February 2018

A decade or so ago glam punk outfit the Towers Of London were steadily building up a reputation. Tours supporting the likes of the Pogues and the New York Dolls. Festival slots at Reading and Leeds and Download. But then … Continue reading

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Gig review: GIANTS OF ROCK – Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 3)

Chantel McGregor - GIANTS OF ROCK - Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 3)

Day 3 – Sunday As the final day started we wouldn’t have been surprised to see Bobby Kimball sliding out of the curtains reminiscing about his appearance on Toto IV but … instead Chantel McGregor got the juices flowing with … Continue reading

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Gig review: GIANTS OF ROCK – Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 2)

John Verity - GIANTS OF ROCK - Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 2)

Day 2 – Saturday John Verity opened up shop on a damp Saturday with a thoughtful blues rock set, not overplaying his own solo material (new album: Blue To My Soul) and treating us to some familiar standards including ‘Cocaine’ … Continue reading

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Gig review: GIANTS OF ROCK – Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 1)

FM - GIANTS OF ROCK - Butlins, Minehead, 26 January 2018 (Day 1)

News during the week that Wetherspoons had taken steak off their menu may not have been of great interest until we learn that Butlins also get their meat from the same source that is currently “under investigation”.  The loss of … Continue reading

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Gig review: JOANOVARC, HELL’S GAZELLES, KILLIT, BLACK WHISKEY – Giants Of Rock, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018

KILLIT - Giants Of Rock, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018

A spotlight on some of the upcoming bands that graced the Giants of Rock stages in 2018… Dubbed the ‘new queens of rock’ JoanovArc immediately impressed with an energetic and high-quality performance. Big drums, powerful bass, nice heavy guitar and … Continue reading

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Gig review: THE GREAT BRITISH ROCK & BLUES FESTIVAL, Skegness, 19-22 January 2018

Nazareth - Giants of Rock 2018

I’ve enjoyed various Butlins music weekends over the years but 2018 will be the first where I’ve done two such weekends on the trot. My Butlins blow-out started off with the Rock & Blues weekend in Skegness – with just … Continue reading

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Gig review: KING KING – Bath Forum, 20 January 2018

KING KING - Bath Forum, 20 January 2018

Bath has never been a hot bed for rock/blues gigs but tonight the temperature rose to fever pitch when King King arrived in town and  shook the Georgian buildings to their very foundations. After the issues that Alan Nimmo has … Continue reading

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Gig review: OPERATION: MINDCRIME (Geoff Tate) – Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd, 14 January 2018

OPERATION: MINDCRIME - Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd, 14 January 2018

I won’t bore you with the details of the acrimonious Queensryche break up and fall out that followed, but in summary after a court case in 2012/14 Geoff Tate is the only person that can perform the classic Operation Mindcrime … Continue reading

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Gig review: BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION – Hammersmith Apollo, 4 January 2018

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION – Hammersmith Apollo, 4 January 2018

About time. Over six years on from their last shows, Black Country Communion were hitting the boards again. Just when we thought it was all over, the band put on a brace of shows full of zest and rediscovered comradeship … Continue reading

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Gig review: QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT, Wembley Arena, London, 15 December 2017

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT, Wembley Arena, London, 15 December 2017

Arguably what we now think of as stadium or arena rock – big anthems designed for crowds to sing and sway along to and spectacular stage shows to match – can be dated back to 1977. After being overwhelmed by … Continue reading

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News: A Year in Rock 2017 – Get Ready to ROCK! photo highlights

A Year in Rock - 2017

Get Ready to ROCK! ends 2017 by publishing a selection of photos taken by their photographers during the year following on from the publication of the Best of 2017 popular poll results. Says Reviews Editor Jason Ritchie: “Each year we … Continue reading

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Gig review: The Choir Boy, A Bullet Belt & Lemmy by Tim Atkinson – Saffron Waldren, 28 December 2017

The Choir Boy, A Bullet Belt & Lemmy by Tim Atkinson - Saffron Waldren, 28 December 2017

It is December 28th 2017 two years to the day of the passing of his lord Lemmy; after a treacherous walk uphill on sheet and black ice, a Jack Daniels and Coke is in my hand and I am compelled … Continue reading

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Gig review: JIMMY BARNES – Islington Academy, London, 13 December 2017

JIMMY BARNES - Islington Academy, London, 13 December 2017

The unofficial title of the World’s Greatest Living Australian is up for grabs at the moment. Don Bradman departed a few years back to the great pavilion in the sky, where more recently Richie Benaud has delivered a laconic ‘morning … Continue reading

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Gig review: EXTREME/Dan Reed Network – Bristol Academy, 18 December 2017

Dan Reed Network - Bristol Academy, 18 December 2017

A double bill tour that not only sees the return of Extreme to these shores – capitalising soon after a headline slot headline at this summer’s Ramblin Man – but also the return of the groove masters in Dan Reed … Continue reading

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Gig review: THE SWEET – Nells Jazz & Blues, London, 15 December 2017

After perhaps rather too many Christmas tours of provincial theatres in recent years and, ahem, a tour supporting the Bay City Rollers last year it was gratifying to have Sweet do a short tour of proper rock venues this year. … Continue reading

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Gig review: FISH – Islington Assembly Hall, London, 15 December 2017

FISH – Islington Assembly Hall, London, 15 December 2017

French prog rock band Lazuli had pulled their support slot appearances on these London shows after frontman Dominique Leonetti was hospitalised. There was no time to fix up a replacement and news hadn’t got through to all the punters. As … Continue reading

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Gig review: GUN – Electric Ballroom, London, 9 December 2017

GUN - Electric Ballroom, London, 9 December 2017

2017 has been arguably the biggest year for Gun in the near decade since the Scots reformed, with a critically acclaimed new album, ‘Favourite Pleasures’, radio airplay, prestigious festival slots such as Stone Free, and finally this winter tour. The … Continue reading

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Gig review: THE QUIREBOYS – Tolbooth, Stirling, 7 December 2017

THE QUIREBOYS - Tolbooth, Stirling, 7 December 2017

Almost exactly a year ago local man Ross Wilson managed to lure The Quireboys to Stirling for a show under the ‘Rock For Strathcarron’ banner. The premise is that all profits raised from the gigs are donated to nearby Strathcarron … Continue reading

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Gig review: THEA GILMORE – Telford’s Warehouse, Chester, 12 December 2017

THEA GILMORE - Telford

No, the GRTR! Christmas Party was not being held in a phone booth this year, but my fellow scribe Pete Whalley and I instead felt the glow of Thea Gilmore’s traditional gathering at a favourite venue in Chester. In a … Continue reading

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Gig review: ELECTRIC BOYS – Camden Underworld, London, 4 December 2017

ELECTRIC BOYS - Camden Underworld, London, 4 December 2017

When funk rock and metal was all the rage for a brief period at the turn of the nineties, the Electric Boys rode that zeitgeist very effectively with their debut album ‘Funk’ o’ Metal Carpet Ride’, allied to a striking … Continue reading

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Gig review: LIONHEART/AIRRACE- Camden Underworld, London, 2 December 2017

Lionheart - Camden Underworld, London, 2 December 2017

Picture a brief point of time in the early to mid-eighties. With the New Wave of British Heavy Metal running out of steam, many of its more enlightened musicians turned their ears westwards to the more AOR sounds that then … Continue reading

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Gig review: STATUS QUO – Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, 5 December 2017

Status Quo – Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow – 5 December 2017

Almost exactly a year ago I attended a Quo gig at the nearby Hydro which was billed as the ‘Last Night Of The Electrics’ tour. Yet here I am a year on looking at a stage lined with white amps powered up … Continue reading

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Gig review: MR BIG – Shepherds Bush Empire, London,19 November 2017

MR BIG - Shepherds Bush Empire, London,19 November 2017

Accompanying their first release in three years, ‘Defying Gravity’, Mr Big undertook an extensive tour, which also represented their first dates on these shores in the same period. Always noted for their relatively long sets, on this occasion further value … Continue reading

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