Category Archives: Live reviews

Notes from the 2024 Lust For Life tour: reflections and reviews round-up

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , ,

Having worked on the PR for the first Lust For Life Tour last year (featuring Clem Burke on drums, Glen Matlock on bass; Katie Puckrik on vocals, Kevin Armstrong on guitar, Luis Correia on second guitar, and Florence Sabeva on keyboards), it was a real privilege, not to mention a huge load of fun, to be asked to do the same again for this year’s tour.

Photo: Darren Johnson

Talking to Kevin Armstrong a few months after the 2023 tour he explained how the project originally came about:

“Tom Wilcox has these amazing concepts of bands that he’d like to see put together. And some of them work and some of them go on to have a bit of a life and other ones just crash into the dust – however good they are. I recall the one we did with Richard Strange, and Lou Reed material, which I thought was very, very good but only a very few people came to sees it. But this one caught fire. Which is good really because it was originally billed, as you know, around Tony Sales – the Tin Machine bass-player and early Iggy bass-player.”

Kevin Armstrong – Photo credit: Carl Allen

Tony Sales wasn’t able to tour in the UK in the event. He was duly replaced by Glen Matlock at the eleventh hour and from then on the whole thing really developed a life of its own. The response was so overwhelmingly enthusiastic, with every venue on the 2023 tour completely sold-out, it was almost inevitable that there’d be a repeat.

The 2024 tour has seen the band playing some larger venues and, as well as some new additions to the set-list there were some other notable changes, too.

Stuart Fiddes, who performs under the name of Fifteen Lions and did support slots for a couple of dates on the previous tour, was now brought in as support for the whole tour. Influenced by the likes of Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears and Orlando Weeks, singer-songwriter Fiddes opened proceedings with songs from his moodily cinematic debut album The Picture House, which was released last year.

Start Fiddes, Fifteen Lions – Photo credit: Carl Allen

But as Stuart’s set was drawing to a close each night, things would take a leftfield turn as he welcomed Waveney Wilcox to perform the last song with him. Combining the earthy swagger of Ian Dury, the punk-era attitude of John Lydon and the debonaire cool of the late Charlie Watts, Waveney entertained the crowds with his debut solo single ‘Sociology’ which he’s just released at the age of 71.

Waveney Wilcox – Photo credit: Carl Allen

Next up each evening was the wonderful Suzi Ronson, wife of the late guitar legend and ex-Spider, Mick Ronson, talking about her evolution from Beckenham hairdresser to Bowie stylist and inventor of the iconic Ziggy hair-do. I knew she’d be hugely entertaining but spoken-word sets are notoriously difficult to pull off at a rock gig. “I’m a bit nervous,” Suzi confided when we did a Zoom ahead of the tour. Would the crowd listen? No fear! From the first night in Colchester you could hear a pin drop and she was brilliantly, brilliantly entertaining. A really inspired choice.

Suzi Ronson – Photo credit: Carl Allen

Then it would be time for the main event: the Lust For Life Band performing Iggy’s Lust For Life album in full, as well as revisiting songs from across the individual band members’ careers with legendary artists including Blondie, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and the Sex Pistols.

One of the real delights of this entire project has been what an off-the-Richter-scale revelation Katie Puckrik has been to all of those who have witnessed her on stage for the first time. As Mick Burgess, reviewing the band’s North Shields gig, puts it:

“Former presenter of TV’s The Word, Katie Puckrik had the unenviable task of covering Pop’s vocals and on paper, seemed the weakest link. Any such doubts were instantly expelled with an absolute whirlwind of flamboyant energy and a seriously impressive vocal performance which suited the songs perfectly. Puckrik simply, stole the show.”

Katie Puckrik – Photo credit: Carl Allen

It’s as if Katie was pre-destined to do this. What a brilliantly unexpected move at this stage in her career and what a stroke of absolute genius by creative director Tom Wilcox who headhunted her to front the Lust For Life band.

Of course, any project that has musicians of the calibre of Glen Matlock, Clem Burke, Kevin Armstrong, Luis Correia and Florence Sabeva in it (not to mention the incredible back catalogue of iconic songs that they bring with them) is bound to result in a hugely-entertaining series of gigs. It was last year, of course, but things ramped up even more this year.

Luis Correia, Glen Matlock and Katie Puckrik – Photo credit: Carl Allen

This year saw the metamorphosis of Lust For Life from a project into a living, breathing bona-fide band, with a unity of purpose and an unstoppable momentum who went on to deliver an outstandingly memorable tour. A brilliant band and an unforgettable run of gigs. And this is borne out in review after review.

Lust For Life Tour – What They Say:

“Whoever had the inspired idea to ask broadcaster Katie Puckrik to take the place of James Newell Osterberg on this tour performing the Detroit fire spirit’s classic second solo album should take a bow.” Gus Ironside, Louder Than War

“Six world-class musicians who have all worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, rocked Colchester for an unforgettable night of live music.” – Cameron Poole, Colchester Gazette

“The full Lust For Live album is expertly showcased but for many in the venue the highlights were the various covers of songs by Bowie, The Sex Pistols and Blondie.” John Brown, Scottish Music Network

“An absolutely stunning evening of Punk fuelled Rock ‘n’ Roll performed by some genuine legends and exceptional musicians made this a strong contender for gig of the year already.” – Mick Burgess, Metal Express Radio

“Glen, Clem, and the rest of the band looked so at ease playing together. It was a masterclass to watch. Kate was up front and, wow, you can absolutely see why!” – Phil Wright, Wall Of Sound

“Puckrik declaimed in her deep alto range on Tonight and channelled some of Debbie Harry’s irreverent cool on the roistering Success.” Fiona Shepherd, The Scotsman

“Through their musicianship and dedication, the band not only paid homage to a punk legend but also reminded us of the enduring power of live music to unite and inspire. While the night may have ended, the memories and the music will undoubtedly linger on in the hearts of those who were there to witness it.” – Waqas Arain, BNN Breaking

“As ‘tribute’ bands go tonight was by far the greatest I’ve seen and why wouldn’t it be, the pinnacle of punk is still rocking away as good as ever.” – Neil Winward, RGM Press

“Puckrik owned the stage from the first note of ‘Lust for Life,’ her enthusiasm absolutely contagious. The band ripped through the entire album, from the ferocious adrenaline rush of the title track to the garage rock of ‘Fall In Love With Me” – Andy Von Pip, Von Pip Musical Express

“It may seem somewhat excessive to attend both 2024 nights at the Arts Centre, but when the music and musicians on stage are this good you would be foolish to miss even a second of the greatest show on earth.” – Carl Allen, Music Venue Man

“Lust for Life are true to the album that they pay tribute to: a simultaneous blast of fuck-it energy and the cognisant reflection that saying fuck-it can actually be of primal importance.” – Raph Pour-Hashemi, Far Out Magazine

“Albums as iconic as Lust for Life don’t come along too often and it takes some iconic performers to do them justice in this kind of tribute format and the Lust for Life band do exactly that.” Frank Ralph, V13

“As soon as they hit the stage it was clear that we were going to get a couple of hours of some of the most fun and exciting live music around.” – Chris Hillman, Reading Today

“Lust For Life, well, the word Down On The Street, Tonight is we had a Funtime and no one said I’m Bored, an unqualified Success. Seriously, if you get the chance to see them, go do it. ” – John Welsh – Into Creative

Clem Burke: Photo credit – Carl Allen

Related posts:

Lust For Live: Lust For Life band (Glen Matlock, Clem Burke, Katie Puckrik) release live album from 2023 tour

Lust for Life 2024: Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and Katie Puckrik reunite for second UK tour

Suzi Ronson joins the Lust For Life Tour – ‘Me and Mr Jones: my life with David Bowie & the Spiders from Mars’

Notes from the Lust For Life Tour – Feb/Mar 2023

Absolute Beginner: Interview with Bowie/Iggy guitarist Kevin Armstrong

Bowie backing vocalist to reprise iconic ‘shopgirl’ role on ‘Absolute Beginners’ – Lust For Life, Islington Academy – 9th March

March 2014-March 2024: Celebrating ten years of Darren’s Music Blog

Folk music, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , , , ,

“You should start writing a blog,” my brother Sam mentioned to me while we were sitting at a festival one afternoon in the Summer of 2013 discussing the various bands we’d each seen recently.

Darren and Sam (right) at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention

I told him the thought had vaguely crossed my mind but it was something I could give more thought to the following Spring once my lengthy stint as a local councillor was coming to an end. My evenings would then be freed up, giving me time to start seeing more gigs and, crucially, sharing my thoughts online about what I’d just seen.

I’d always written a lot about politics and current affairs and I’d never exactly shied away from blatant self-publicity, ever since I got the local paper to run a front-page feature about me doing a stand-up gig in the local pub when I was 16. But I’d never really written about my lifelong love of music before.

That all changed in early March 2014 and Darren’s Music Blog went live.

Although I’d seen tons of bands during my teen years and early 20s, by the time I got into my mid-20s I seemed to have constant overdrafts and less money available to spend on concert tickets. In my 30s and 40s, with my chosen career by now pretty well-established, I found that although I had the money for gigs I no longer really had the time. Once I approached my late 40s, however, I was finally in the lucky position of having both the time and the money. It’s fair to say I went for it…

Darren meets members of Uriah Heep

Looking back at my first month of combining gig-going with blogging, it was quite a busy one. I reviewed concerts by Uriah Heep on 4th March, the Young ‘uns on 5th March, Fairport Convention on 9th March, Judy Dyble on 16th March, Graham Bonnett on 19th March, The Elizabethan Session on 22nd March, Status Quo on 28th March and Peter Knight’s Gigspanner on 29th March. Phew!

That first month pretty much summed up my approach. I didn’t want to get too hung up on genre. I didn’t want to do a classic rock blog or a folk blog or any other sort of genre-specific blog (although there are some great ones out there). Rather I wanted to write about all of the artists that happened to interest me, whether heavy metal, glam rock or folk. If others enjoyed reading that, then great, but the starting point was about any music that happen to please me.

Over time, I started added album reviews as well as gig reviews, along with interviews, book reviews, music history and discussion of iconic songs.

Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol is interviewed for Darren’s Music Blog

Ten years later, 700+ posts, 400,000+ views, many, many incredible gigs and some wonderful chats with artists as diverse as Andy Scott from the Sweet, Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad and  Simon Nicol from Fairport Convention, my blog gets more and more people stopping by to read it with each year that passes.

Thank you!

Darren Johnson

[Header image: Uriah Heep at Koko – my first gig review. Photo credit: Elise Benjamin]

Darren’s music books:

The Sweet In The 1970s

Suzi Quatro In The 1970s

Slade In The 1970s

Live review: Joanne Shaw Taylor at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 26/2/24

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

“I’m a blues guitarist but not necessarily a blues artist,” Joanne Shaw Taylor confides in the De La Warr audience at one point in the set, explaining her desire not to be boxed in too much by the constraints of genre labels. And that pretty much sums up her whole approach on stage tonight. From the pounding rhythm and blues of show-opener ‘In The Mood’ to the heart-wrenching classic blues of the Albert King cover ‘Can’t You See What You’re Doing To Me’, to the polished pop-rock of recent single ‘Wild Love’ to the elongated ‘60s-style freak-out of ‘Watch Em Burn’ to the funky licks of ‘Diamonds In The Dirt’ to the mellow, acoustic beauty of ‘Fade Away’ we get a taste of many things tonight.

Photo credit: Marty Moffatt

At the heart of it all is the incredible talent of Joanne Shaw Taylor, her soulful voice and great song-writing much in evidence, alongside her much-praised guitar wizardry. Discovered  and mentored by The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart at just 16, she has uncanny ability to harness the passion, raw emotion, and sheer exhilaration that great blues guitar-playing can engender and then take that and place it in pretty much any setting.

And the results are spectacular – with a packed-out De La Warr Pavilion showing its appreciation throughout. Shaw Taylor is ably assisted, of course, by a hugely-talented band (Shane Sanders – bass, Joey Spina – second guitar, Eric Savage – drums, and Phil Whitfield – keyboards). Whitfield, in particular is a delight to watch, taking us from lush, exquisite, soulful keys to pounding, energetic honky-tonk piano during the course of tonight’s show.

Photo credit: Marty Moffatt

With an eagerly-anticipated new album coming out in June we get a taste of what’s to come via a couple of songs tonight (‘Sweet ‘Lil Lies’ and ‘Wild Love’) alongside more established favourites from her, by now, extensive back catalogue. Heavy Soul will be Shaw Taylor’s twelfth album since her 2009 debut, White Sugar and tonight’s show is proof as to just how much she’s established herself as blues rock royalty these past fifteen years. An absolute masterclass of a performance.

Heavy Soul is released 7th June 2024. For Joanne Shaw Taylor website visit here

Set-list:

In the Mood

Keep On Lovin’ Me

All My Love

If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody

Can’t You See What You’re Doing to Me

Dyin’ to Know

Wild Love

Won’t Be Fooled Again

Watch ’em Burn

Diamonds in the Dirt

Fade Away

Runaway

Sweet Lil Lies

Bad Blood

Going Home

Connor Selby – support

A shout-out, also, for the young blues-roots, guitarist singer-songwriter, Connor Selby, the one-man support act for this tour. The polite, well-mannered introductions to his songs belie a vocal delivery of real depth and grit, some nifty blues guitar work and some impassioned song-writing. Definitely one to be added to my ones-to-watch list, he entertained with a highly enjoyable set in his allotted 30-minute slot.

Connor Selby – photo credit: Phil Honley

For Connor Selby’s website visit here

Related post:

‘Wild Love’ – sultry new single for Joanne Shaw Taylor ahead of February 2024 UK tour

Live review: Pouk Hill Prophetz at the Water Rats, London 23/2/24

Glam rock, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

Friday evening saw me make a whistlestop trip to the capital to catch up with my old friends The Pouk Hill Prophetz, who were performing a gig at London’s Water Rats.

Coming together through a shared love of Slade and a determination to celebrate the glam era in their own unique fashion, The Pouk Hill Prophetz have been around for a decade now. Never far away from anything Slade-related and raising a ton of money for various charitable endeavours along the way, they’ve long been a fixture at various Slade conventions (which is where I first caught them back in 2016). They even performed at my own Slade book launch last summer which was a huge load of fun.

The band have built up quite a dedicated following over the last ten years and the venue was nicely packed-out for them, their first gig in the capital with new drummer, James Hannington, who joins established Propheteers Nigel Hart and Martin Brooks.

I’ve seen many glam-inspired tribute acts and numerous glam covers bands over the years, but what really sets Pouk Hill Prophetz apart is that they don’t just restrict themselves to the most obvious foot-stomping big hits. You get a good blast of those, of course. But as far as their love as Slade goes, you can always expect a liberal smattering of obscure B-sides, carefully-chosen album tracks and archive material from the early pre-glam days thrown in as well.

Accordingly, tonight starts with a stomping version of ‘Know Who You Are’ – Slade’s last non-hit single before they struck gold with ‘Get Down and Get With It’. ‘Gudbuy Gudbuy’ from Slade’s classic Slayed album makes an appearance, as does ‘Darling Be Home Soon’ and ‘In Like A Shot From My Gun’ from the much-celebrated Slade Alive album.

It’s not just Slade though. They also give us a blast of The Sweet’s ‘Hellraiser’ and T Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy’ and later on a suitably pounding sing-along version of the Bay City Rollers’ ‘Shang-A-Lang’. It’s not even just the glam covers either. We get some great hard-rocking version of ZZ Top’s ‘Tush’ and Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’.

Things slow down for an acoustic segment mid-way through, with guitarist Martin Brooks moving on to keyboards for heartfelt renditions of Slade’s ‘Everyday’ and its lesser-known cousin ‘She Did It To Me’ alongside ‘Dapple Rose’ and a highly emotive ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’. Although taking the title of a Slade album, the latter is not a cover version at all but an original composition cleverly taking fragments of various Slade lyrics from across their career to create a unique and utterly sincere musical love-letter to the famous foursome from Wolverhampton.

A few more raucous classics to round off the evening, including ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and ‘Born To Be Wild’ as well as a Slade-inspired vintage rock and roll medley, and then it’s time for me to say some hurried goodbyes and make a swift exit in time to get the last train back to Hastings.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100055115121968

Related Posts:

A day celebrating Slade at the Trumpet, Bilston – Book Launch & Pouk Hill Prophetz 17/6/23

Live review: Pouk Hill Prophetz – charity gig for Dementia UK, London 2019

Live review: Slade Convention 2016

Pouk Hill Prophetz raise thousands for brain tumour research

Live review: British Lion at Blackbox, Hastings 23/1/24

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , ,

Well it’s not every day you get to the chance to see Steve Harris from Iron Maiden performing in a small upstairs venue above a bar on a wet Tuesday night in Hastings. But it seemed like an extremely promising choice for my first gig of 2024. Strictly speaking, it was actually my first ticketed gig of the year because I did see the impressive Lost Asylum in the Carlisle (Hastings’ main rock pub) a few nights back.

Blackbox is a great small venue but it can sometimes take quite a while to fill up. Not tonight though, as the place is completely packed-out as I walk in and the support act has already just taken the stage. Multi-instrumentalist and singer-song-writer, Tony Moore, was very briefly in an early line-up of the fledgling Iron Maiden but remained friends with Steve Harris over the years which landed him the support slot. He tells the crowd that as a kid he got to see Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and Ziggy Stardust. And he ended up wanting to be all of them. His multi-media one-man show ‘Awake’ is a flamboyantly bombastic mix of prog-meets-glam-meets-rock-opera. It’s slightly bonkers and absolutely glorious. Hugely entertaining, moving and packed full of great songs, it was not what I was expecting at all as the opener tonight but I’ve definitely added Tony Moore to my list of people worth seeing again.

I’d long been aware of British Lion, Steve Harris’s side-project which originally started out as a solo album and then evolved into a fully-fledged touring band . But in terms of actually seeing them live or hearing either of their two albums they had completely escaped me. I turned up, therefore, without any familiarity with the material and with a completely open mind about what to expect.

It is said that Harris formed the band as both an opportunity to pursue different writing styles, away from the Maiden-esque long epics, and also to get up close and personal with audiences playing the small, sweaty clubs. I’m completely won over a few seconds into the first song and although British Lion is obviously a very different beast to Iron Maiden, they do come across as being very much a Steve Harris vision of what a successful rock band should be about. And that is meant as a compliment. There’s some real power-house rhythm, front and centre of the band’s sound, a great collection of songs with some shit-hot memorable melodies and while it’s all done on a miniscule scale compared to Maiden, the whole thing just oozes energy and charisma.

The band themselves (Richard Taylor – lead vocals, David Hawkins and Grahame Leslie – guitars and Simon Dawson – drums, alongside Harris on bass) work great together. This looks and feels like a proper band not just an occasional side project and the crowd clearly contains many dedicated British Lion fans, not simply Iron Maiden fans wanting to get a glimpse of Harris in the flesh. Every song from across the band’s two albums (plus a couple of newbies) is greeted like an old friend and I came away thinking I had some catching up to do. The merch desk didn’t seem to have any CDs for sale and Amazon drew a complete blank as well but I’ve just ordered their first album off ebay. I have got some serious catching up to do. British Lion are superb!

britishlionuk.com

Set-list:

This Is My God

Judas

Father Lucifer

2000 Years

The Burning

Legend

These Are the Hands

A World Without Heaven

Spit Fire

The Chosen Ones

Land of the Perfect People

Us Against the World

Wasteland

Lightning

Last Chance

Eyes of the Young

2023 in Darren’s music blog – the ten most popular posts of the year

Folk music, Interviews, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Happy New Year to one and all. My thanks to everyone who has visited Darren’s music blog during 2023. As usual an eclectic mix of musical genres feature in this year’s top ten most viewed posts of the year – from blues to classic rock, to prog, to goth, to punk, to new wave, to folk – and much more in between! Here’s to 2024 which will mark ten years since I first started this blog back in March 2014.

1. So farewell to Butlin’s Rock & Blues weekends, Skegness 13-15 January 2023

For more than a decade an out-of-season trip to Butlins has been a fixture in my diary at least once each year: numerous trips to Minehead for the Giants Of Rock weekends, several trips to Skegness for the Great British Folk Festival and a handful of additional trips to the same resort for the Rock & Blues weekends. But now it was finally all coming to an end. My review of the final ever Rock & Blues weekend.

Read full review here

2. Live review: Francis Rossi – ‘Tunes & Chat’ at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 3/6/23

Always quite a Quo fan since being a young teenager, I’d originally booked to see Francis Rossi on his ‘I Talk Too Much Tour’ back in 2020. Covid came along and that got rescheduled and then cancelled altogether but Rossi finally made it to Hastings’ White Rock Theatre on his follow-up tour, ‘Tunes and Chat’.

Read full review here

3. Goth without the gloomy bits: five cheerful, upbeat and joy-inducing songs by goth bands

My affectionate but somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at some of my favourite tunes from goth bands. Features Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cult, Sisters of Mercy and The Cure.

Read full post here

4. Live review: Steeleye Span at the Old Market, Brighton & Hove 23/11/23

This tour saw Steeleye Span promoting a new album The Green Man Collection. The band revisit some of their past material with a mixture of songs written by members of the band at the time and some traditional numbers. The new album also includes a newly-composed song from Maddy Prior, a couple of well-chosen covers and something that was written for the band by (the sadly now recently deceased) Bob Johnson back in the ‘80s, committed to tape and then completely forgotten about for the next four decades.

Read full post here

5. Notes from the Lust For Life Tour – Feb/Mar 2023

The Lust For Life tour brought together Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop), Clem Burke (Blondie, Iggy Pop), Katie Puckrik (Pet Shop Boys, Sparks), Kevin Armstrong (Iggy Pop, David Bowie), Luis Correia (Earl Slick) and Florence Sabeva (Heaven 17). Having had the immense privilege of spending the past few months working on the PR campaign for the tour it was a joy to finally witness the band live, not just in a professional capacity but most importantly as a fan, of both that glorious Iggy Pop album and of the individual players in the band, too. The band are back for a new tour in Feb/March 2024.

Read full post here

6. Live review: Graham Nash at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 30/8/23

Billed as ‘Sixty Years of Songs & Stories’ the ten-date UK tour celebrated Graham Nash’s six decades of writing, recording and performing. I’m aware of his hits with The Hollies in the early days, of course, and (courtesy of a couple of compilations) I’m also pretty familiar with some of the best-known songs by both Crosby, Still & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I can’t claim to have followed his solo career in any great depth but, nevertheless, I felt confident that this tour was going to be something rather special and something I didn’t want to miss.

Read full review here

7. Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2023

Following an enforced two-year break due to Covid, going to last year’s Cropredy festival almost felt like a novelty. This year, though, it very much felt like being part of an annual fixture once more, the two-year gap now but a distant memory. With various combinations of friends and family over the years, I’ve been going to Fairport Convention’s annual bash in rural Oxfordshire since 2010 so it’s been part of my summer for a good chunk of my life now.

Read full review here

8. Live review: Iggy Pop, Blondie, Generation Sex, Stiff Little Fingers & Buzzcocks at Crystal Palace Park 1/7/23

One thing I like about the music scene these days is how much less tribal it all is compared to when I was a teenager. The intense rivalry between punks and metalheads has certainly dissipated since I was at school in the late 70s and early 80s. The passage of time, for many of us, has led to a much broader appreciation of rock and roll in all its many guises. As a teen, I was firmly in the hard rock/metal camp rather than the punk/new wave camp but looking around at those attending what has been billed Dog Day Afternoon today, there doesn’t look to be much difference in appearance between all the crop-haired, ageing punk fans clad in regulation khaki shorts and black T-shirts and all the crop-haired, ageing metal fans clad in regulation khaki shorts and black T-shirts.

Read full review here

9. Absolute Beginner: Interview with Bowie/Iggy guitarist Kevin Armstrong

Kevin Armstrong has played alongside icons like David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Thomas Dolby, Sinéad O’Connor and many others. We catch up to talk about his forthcoming autobiography Absolute Beginner which came out in October; as well as the Lust For Life project which has brought together the likes of Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and Katie Puckrik to celebrate the classic Iggy album; plus our mutual love of the live music scene down here in Hastings.

Read full interview here

10. Live review: John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest at Salle Pleyel, Paris 19/11/23

I was fairly late coming to Barclay James Harvest. I was aware of the likes of ‘Mocking Bird’, of course, but picked up a second-hand compilation from a charity shop in about 2019 and my fasciation grew from there. By the time lockdown came, I found myself tracking down the band’s entire back catalogue on ebay. When I saw that John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest were doing their final tour I decided I just had to be there. With only one remaining UK date I wasn’t particularly keen on a trek all the way up to Huddersfield from my home in Hastings and so I hit on the idea of a trip to Paris. I could meet up with friends and make a long weekend of it.

Read full review here

2022 in Darren’s music blog

2021 in Darren’s music blog

2020 in Darren’s music blog

2019 in Darren’s music blog

Live review: Steeleye Span at the Old Market, Brighton & Hove 23/11/23

Folk music, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

One of the really nice things about seeing Steeleye Span live (and there are many) is that on each new tour there are always a few surprises to look forward to. It’s never just a ‘greatest hits’ set of the most obvious crowd-pleasers plus a few songs thrown in to plug whatever happens to be the latest album. Obscure songs from the band’s bulging back catalogue are dusted down and given a new lease of life. New arrangements are tried out by what is often a very different line-up from the one that originally recorded it. Or sometimes an entire album is revisited and performed in full. Meanwhile, to make way for a constantly-evolving setlist, old stage favourites are often gently retired and given a rest for a few years.

This current tour sees Steeleye Span promoting a new album The Green Man Collection. Here, the band revisit some of their past material with a mixture of songs written by members of the band at the time and some traditional numbers. The new album also includes a newly-composed song from Maddy Prior, a couple of well-chosen covers and something that was written for the band by Bob Johnson back in the ‘80s, committed to tape and then completely forgotten about for the next four decades.

The latter song, ‘Green Man’, is the one that opens the show. The symbolism of the Green Man has obviously been a mainstay of English folk traditions for centuries but here the lyrics address ecological concerns – then very current in the 1980s when it was first written and, alarmingly, even more current now. Dark, brooding and slightly mysterious, it’s a classic slice of Steeleye Span and a superb opener. Indeed, it’s a complete mystery how the band managed to forget about such a magnificent track. Both the original version and the newly-revisited version appear on the new album.

Alongside familiar numbers like ‘The Dark Morris Song’, ‘New York Girls’ and ‘Tam Lin’, the first half of the set also sees the band take on two songs written by former bass-player, Rick Kemp, ‘Low Flying’ and ‘Genocide’. The former featured on the 1990 Rick Kemp & Maddy Prior album Happy Families whilst the latter appeared on Kemp’s solo album Escape.

The second set opens with a surprising but hugely poignant cover of Elvis Costello’s ‘Shipbuilding’. This is then followed by a newly-written song from Maddy Prior – the excellent ‘Hey Nonny Violence’, which very much follows in the Steeleye Span tradition of seemingly jolly songs tackling much darker themes. Another new song (well new for Steeleye Span, anyway) is the band’s interpretation of the traditional ‘The Sound of Drums’.

That’s not to say there aren’t a few more familiar favourites as well. One song I would have been disappointed to see dropped was ‘Hard Times of Old England’ and, as Prior points out in introducing it, it’s sadly as relevant today as it ever was. For those familiar with the Mike Batt-produced version on the All Around My Hat album, this new interpretation is even more of a rocked-up boogie-fest than the original recording. This is no surprise as none other than Status Quo’s Francis Rossi makes an appearance on the new album guesting on this track, and the band bring some of the spirit of the mighty Quo to their stage performance tonight. There’s also some equally lively fiddle from newcomer, Athena Octavia, who slots in alongside the old hands beautifully.

All the band are on fine form, Prior’s voice is in top-notch shape and Steeleye Span continue to surprise and delight. When the band exit the stage to huge applause towards the end of their second set all that is left is for them to come back on for a riotous, sing-along version of ‘All Around My Hat’ and we can all leave with a spring in our step.

Setlist – first set:
Green Man
The Dark Morris Song
Sir James the Rose
When All The World
The Gardener
New York Girls
Low Flying
Genocide
Tam Lin

Setlist – second set:

Shipbuilding
Hey Nonny Violence
Black Jack Davy
The Sound of Drums
The Weaver and the Factory Maid
Jack Hall
Hard Times of Old England
Bonny Black Hare
Dodgy Bastards
All Around My Hat

https://steeleyespanfan.co.uk/

Related posts:

Book review: ‘All Around My Hat – The Steeleye Span Story’ by John Van Der Kiste

Interview with Maddy Prior

Interview with Julian Littman

Review: Steeleye Span at Hastings 2019

Review: Steeleye Span at Ashford 2019

Review: Steeleye Span at Hastings 2017

Review: Steeleye Span, London 2015

Review: Steeleye Span at New Forest Folk Festival 2014

Live review: Tytan / Praying Mantis at Blackbox, Hastings 22/11/23

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

Blackbox on the main thoroughfare in the heart of Hastings Old Town is proving to be a superb small music venue for the town. It is pretty much what the name suggests, a 200+ capacity oblong room with the stage across the front, the bar across the back and, unlike many small venues inhabiting reconfigured old buildings, there are no awkwardly-placed pillars or over-congested bars getting in the way of sightlines. Black Box is fast-developing a reputation for pulling in some pretty big-name acts, too. They’ve recently welcomed both Mike Peters from the Alarm and Mark Chadwick from the Levellers and in January they are due to host British Lion, the side-project of Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris. Tonight it’s the turn of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legends, Praying Mantis, who are supported by another veteran name of the era, Tytan.

Tytan were the band put together by Angelwitch bassist, Kevin Ruddles, on the demise of the original Angelwitch in the early ’80s. That band also fell apart after a couple of years, although their debut album was eventually released in 1985. Then in 2016 Ruddles reformed Tytan – now fronted by the impressive Tony Coldham who possesses a fantastic rock voice with a great vocal range. Providing top-notch support, Tytan deliver a superb slice of powerful but melodic early 80s heavy metal, performing songs from both their original 1985 album, Rough Justice, and its Iong-awaited 2017 follow-up, Justice Served. I was impressed enough to pick up a copy of the former from the merch desk and would certainly enjoy seeing this band again.

Unlike Tytan, Praying Mantis are a band I have seen live on several occasions in recent years, courtesy of numerous retro-themed hard rock and heavy metal weekends. Although not quite as chequered as the aforementioned Tytan, like many still-touring bands of the original NWOBHM era, Praying Mantis have still have something of a chequered past with various changes in personnel and a long hiatus throughout most of the ‘80s. For the past decade, however, the band’s line-up has been entirely stable with Dutch lead vocalist, John Cuijpers, fronting the band; alongside guitarist Andy Burgess, drummer Hans in’t Zandt and the ever-present Troy brothers, Tino on guitar and Chris on bass. As he alluded to on stage, Tino Troy has recently moved to Hastings which definitely assured him an extra warm welcome tonight. Not exactly a home-coming gig it was more of a housewarming party.

Few bands of the NWOBHM era are able to combine machine-gun heaviness with finely-polished melodiousness quite like Praying Mantis and tonight was no exception. It’s a superb set and the quality of material the band continues to release these days means that they are not simply reliant on old stage favourites – with the eponymously named ‘Praying Mantis’ and the ecologically-themed ‘Children Of The Earth’ from the band’s early days, appearing alongside the excellent ‘Cry For The Nations’ from the band’s 2022 album and other newer material.

An excellent night of old-school heavy metal in a superb local venue.

Related posts:

Live review: the final ever Giants of Rock, Minehead 21-23 January 2022

Live review: Four Sticks Classic Rock Weekender at the New Cross Inn, London 5-7 October 2018

Live review: John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest at Salle Pleyel, Paris 19/11/23

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , ,

This is a somewhat unusual blog post for me, being part gig review, part crime report and part trauma therapy.

Starting at the beginning, I was fairly late coming to Barclay James Harvest. I was aware of the likes of ‘Mocking Bird’, of course, but picked up a second-hand compilation from a charity shop in about 2019 and my fasciation grew from there. By the time lockdown came, I found myself tracking down the band’s entire back catalogue on ebay. In fact, there’s only one studio album left I’ve yet to buy.

When I saw that John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest were doing their final tour I decided I just had to be there. With only one remaining UK date I wasn’t particularly keen on a trek all the way up to Huddersfield from my home in Hastings and so I hit on the idea of a trip to Paris. I could meet up with friends and make a long weekend of it. What could be more fun?

It all seemed to be going smoothly but as soon as I got off the Eurostar at Gare du Nord I was followed on to the Metro platform by two men who began assaulting me on the train, one grabbing my bag and trying to pull me over and, unbeknownst to me, the other one making off with my wallet. As soon as I got out off the Metro I got onto my bank to report my cards stolen but in the twelve minutes since boarding the train and reporting my wallet stolen they had still managed to make off with £1,400 from my account. Fortunately, the bank have refunded the missing money but to say it put a damper on the weekend and left me fearful and traumatised was something of an understatement.

In fact, after several panic attacks over the course of the weekend the only time I properly relaxed and felt genuinely safe was when I got inside the Salle Pleyel. Thankfully, the robbers didn’t nick my ticket! A beautifully-designed theatre with the sort of security you’d expect of a venue of this size, I immediately felt the chances of me being mugged by a bunch of elegantly-turned out, ageing French prog fans was pretty much close to zero and I was able to put my experiences to one side and concentrate on immersing myself in the concert that I’d come especially to Paris for.

It meant my first and only time seeing John Lees Barclay James Harvest was memorable for all of the right reasons. An absolutely spell-binding performance, with original BJH member, John Lees (guitar/vocals), being joined by his regular band of Craig Fletcher (bass, vocals), Jez Smith (keyboards) and Kev Whitehead (drums), for two hours of BJH classics spanning a four decade period from the original band’s debut album in 1970 to the North album in 2013.

With a wonderfully-atmospheric light show and a big screen showing the relevant album covers from both the original band and John Lees’ latter-day reconfiguration with the current line-up, it was an emotional evening and Lees was visibly moved by the audience reaction on more than one occasion. This quiet, gentle, self-effacing but supremely-gifted man was happy to let his band-mates do most of the talking but there was, deservedly, a huge amount of love for him in the Salle Pleyel audience.

In terms of musical highlights there are far too many to list but I was particularly moved by ‘Child of the Universe’ (sadly, still all-too relevant in terms of the impact of the horrors of war on the very young); ‘North’ from the current band’s 2013 album of the same name (celebrating the land of my own Lancashire upbringing, from its industrial heritage to its near-constant wet weather); and, of course, the aforementioned ‘Mockingbird. For their encore the band finished with the ecologically-themed ‘Dark Now My Sky’ from the band’s debut album and a beautifully-poignant rendition of ‘Hymn’ which turned into a huge, communal singalong.

A bright spot in an otherwise painful weekend. Thank you John Lees and thank you BJH.

Setlist:

Fifties Child
Child of the Universe
Poor Man’s Moody Blues
In My Life
If Love Is King
North
Cheap the Bullet
Mocking Bird
For Your Love
Loving Is Easy
Suicide?
Medicine Man
The Poet
After the Day
Dark Now My Sky
Hymn

https://www.barclayjamesharvest.com/

Live Review: Suzi Quatro at Brighton Dome 13/11/23

Glam rock, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

Following on from her hugely enjoyable gig at the Albert Hall last year, Suzi Quatro is currently touring the UK once again. An almost capacity-crowd packed out Brighton Dome to witness Quatro mark her half-century since first topping the UK charts with ‘Can The Can’.

The set-list is largely the same as for the Albert Hall performance, spanning the Suzi Quatro back catalogue from 1973 right up to the present day. However, there have been a couple of new albums since last April’s Albert Hall gig and we get a song apiece from each of those: her covers release, Uncovered (here represented by Quatro’s storming interpretation of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Bad Moon Rising’.) and her duet album with KT Tunstall, Face To Face (here represented by ‘Shine A Light’).

Like last year, there’s no support – just two hour-long sets of pure unadulterated Suzi with just a short break in the middle. Of course, last year’s prestigious Albert Hall gig saw a handful of special guests take the stage, too, in the form of Sweet’s Andy Scott, Slade’s Don Powell and Suzi’s own son, Richard Tuckey. But in truth, hugely enjoyable though these cameos were, no special guests are needed. Quatro’s backing band (these days incorporating female backing singers and a brass section in addition to the classic bass-drums-keyboards-guitar configuration) are absolutely shit-hot.

The first half sees the various phases of Quatro’s fifty-year solo career well-represented, as are the different sides of her on-stage musical persona. From the big glam-era hits like ‘Daytona Demon’ and ’48 Crash’; to the emotive balladry of ‘Can I Be Your Girl?’ from early ‘80s Unreleased Emotion album; to songs from the two critically-acclaimed albums written with son, Richard, No Control and The Devil In Me; to a blistering cover of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’.

Now back on stage in her trademark leather jumpsuit, there’s another blast of her more recent material in the second half, including the magnificent ‘Motor City Riders’ celebrating Quatro’s Detroit heritage, as well as more Chinn/Chapman-penned hits and a stomping version of ‘Glycerine Queen’ from Quatro’s first album which is then followed by a pumping extended bass solo.

Soon it’s time for the two songs absolutely everyone has been waiting all night for: ‘Can The Can’ and ‘Devil Gate Drive’. And Suzi implores us all to get up on our feet for these. Sadly, we also know this incredible show is drawing to a close but there’s still time for a joyful, life-affirming communal sing-along to ‘Can’t Give Me Love’ followed by an incendiary rendition of Chuck Berry’s ‘Sweet Little Rock n Roller’. For her final encore Suzi puts down her bass and takes a stool to give us a spellbinding rendition of the Eagles ‘Desperado’.

An incredible show. An incredible fifty years.

Setlist:

The Wild One
I May Be Too Young
Daytona Demon
Tear Me Apart
Shine a Light
Stumblin’ In
48 Crash
No Soul/No Control
The Devil In Me
Slow Down
Rockin’ in the Free World
Can I Be Your Girl?
Motor City Riders
I Sold My Soul Today
Bad Moon Rising
She’s in Love With You
Overload
Too Big
Glycerine Queen
Can the Can
Devil Gate Drive
If You Can’t Give Me Love
Sweet Little Rock & Roller
Desperado

My book ‘Suzi Quatro In The 1970s’ published by Sonicbond is available here

Related posts:

Live review: Suzi Quatro at the Royal Albert Hall 20/4/22

‘Suzi Quatro In The 1970s’ by Darren Johnson

‘Suzi Quatro in the 1970s’ by Darren Johnson – reviews round-up