Category Archives: Rock music

Interview with Fairport Convention’s Chris Leslie

Book reviews, Interviews, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Ahead of the band’s 2026 Spring Tour, I catch up with Fairport Convention’s Chris Leslie. We discuss how he fell in love with the band’s music as a teenager, getting to know the band members socially, working with them and – thirty years ago this December – becoming one of their members.

Let’s go right back to the early days, long before you joined the band, what were your initial impressions of Fairport Convention?

Well, I have to give a big thanks, as I always do when we chat, to my brother, John, who got me into that kind of area of music. He’s five years older than me and he latched on by buying an album in Smiths in Banbury. And he was into all kinds of music up to that point, but not folk music. And he just saw a Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick album, I think, on the Hallmark label. Anyway, he brought it home and he loved it.

And during the next two or three years, he was bringing albums home in this newfound music. You know, things like Steeleye Span, Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick, the Dransfields, Fairport. All those things were coming into the house and I loved it, too. And John was always very generous when I was younger. Being five years younger, it’s quite a gap at that stage. And he just said, “Yeah, come and listen to it.” You know, we’d sit and listen to it on the record player and all that kind of stuff. And I particularly fell in love with the sound of the fiddle. That was what really drew me in even more.

I think Liege & Lief was probably the first Fairport album John came across, which I obviously got to hear. Then he was backtracking to Unhalfbricking and What We Did On Our Holidays. And so that was my first impression of Fairport. And there was something about it that really got me. I really, really loved the band instantly. It was instant! I loved Sandy’s voice. I loved the fiddle. It was just music that touched my heart. It was almost like rediscovering something that had always been there, but I didn’t know about.

And so, yeah, it was through those albums. And then luckily when I was older, I got to my mid to late teens – 17 kind of age – and Fairport, a couple of the members moved in nearby. I couldn’t believe it. You know, Swarb and Peggy moved into Cropredy. And I was at that time in the village where we are, Adderbury. I was part of the Morris that was being revived in the village. You have a tradition in the village of Morris dancing, which has now grown, I have to say, to three sides in the village, which is fabulous. But at the time I was a young, enthusiastic fiddle player playing for the Morris.

And I remember we played once. We danced out at the Brazenose in Cropredy. And who should come along to watch us, but Peggy? He’s always such a generous character. He’s so friendly and he’s such a gregarious character. And we didn’t actually speak that day, but he was giving me winks and nods. And so, Peggy was watching us dance. And then who should come along ten minutes later, but Swarb? Cigarette in mouth. And came and watched. So that was fabulous. And then it wasn’t long after that, that my brother, John, again, met Peggy in a park in Banbury, the People’s Park, where there was a little music festival going on. And John went up and said hi. By that time, we were in a local duo. Banbury John & Fiddler Chris was our name. And anyway, Peggy and John chatted and Peggy invited us over to his cottage, in Cropredy. To go over one night, bring our instruments. And the friendship’s been there ever since, you know. Wonderful.

Photo credit: Simon Putman

And so not only did I get into the band, but in my very formative years, I actually met them. And then through that, I think I met Simon very soon after. Because there used to be a session over in one of the local villages every Sunday. And the Fairports would take their instruments over and have a knock sometimes with whoever was there. And I was always there then with my fiddle. So, the whole thing grew very organically but in a way I could never have dreamt of.

And from that whole period before you joined the band, would you say Liege & Lief was your favourite Fairport album?

In a way it was. I mean, it was amazing, actually, because there was that beautiful gatefold cover of Liege & Lie and when I opened it, they obviously had that idea of mixing their own contemporary writing for that album with some ballads and traditional songs. And what’s amazing throughout that album is that they blend so well. I don’t think there’s ever been an album where it’s done more successfully.

It is so seamless, isn’t it? Because if you didn’t know the history of the songs, you would be hard pushed to know which were traditional and which were written by the band.

You absolutely would. But then, of course, there are great tracks like ‘A Sailor’s Life’ (From Unhalfbricking). I’d never heard anything like that before. I was still at school and I remember taking that to a friend of mine. Every year has a visionary in the school, I think. And our visionary was a guy called Mark Bradley. But we’d play each other music and he’d play me things like John McLaughlin, My Goals Beyond and all those kinds of really, really far out albums. Which I loved,  again because there was a fiddle player, Jerry Goodman. Wonderful, wonderful. And I’d play him things like ‘A Sailor’s Life’, you know, with the wonderful atmosphere of it. And then when the track goes off into a kind of into kind of a jam at the end. Richard’s playing and Swarb’s playing, weaving around each other.

So, I was going around all the albums. I couldn’t get enough of it. I still can’t, actually – of music. You know, just always playing music.

Yeah. It’s just the backdrop to life as far as  I’m concerned.

I mean, obviously, there are other ways to live a life, of course. But I can’t imagine having a life without music. And some people that’s their life. They have other things that fulfil that space but, you know, music’s really important to me.

Photo credit: Simon Putman

So now moving forward a bit, your first full tour as a member of the band, I think, was 30 years ago this this year.

Yeah, it’s been 30. December 96, I joined.

But you’d been in the in the band’s orbit for some years before that, as you’d mentioned. I think you’d already deputised for Ric at Cropredy one year. So, you sort of eased your way into the circle, I suppose?

I’ve been so kind of fortunate in my journey through all this, because there’s no better way to join a band, I think, than if you already know them socially, which was the case with  Fairport. Peggy and I were great friends. And Simon, of course, as well. We’d worked on projects up until then. Steve Ashley did a wonderful album called The Family Album which Peggy produced. And that was with Simon Nicol, Peggy, Bruce Rowland. who was the drummer of Fairport at the time, and myself and various other musicians brought in for the album. So, I’d kind of worked with them before, recorded with them, I’d become friends socially with them.

And so when I got the call, I remember it so well. I was in the Albion Band at the time with Chris While and Julie Matthews and Ashley Hutchings. And I was washing up with my marigolds, looking down the garden and the phone rang. And I answered the phone and it was Peggy and he said, “Maartin Alcock’s decided to leave. He’s off doing other things. And your name came up. How do you fancy joining the band?” There’s an instant voice in my head that said yes. So, my immediate reaction was, “Yes, I’d love to join the band.”

And then there was a pause and I said, “But what am I going to do?” Because up to that point in all the bands I’d been in, everybody I’d worked with, I’d been the fiddle player. That was my ‘seat’ in everything. And Peggy said, “Well, you play some mandolin, don’t you?” And I said, yeah, I did. And at that time, Simon Mayor and Hilary James, had a mandolin quartet and I’d been part of that together with Maartin Alcock. I don’t know how long that that lineup lasted. Just say it was ten months, I don’t remember. But during those ten months, I spent my time rehearsing and gigging, sat between Maartin Alcock on mandolin and Simon Mayer on mandolin. So, my mandolin proficiency curve took a steep rise. I was learning so much and I always played a bit of mando. But that like a boot camp, a mandolin boot camp.

And so, I said, “Yeah, I play some mandolin.” And literally two months before that phone call, I was with the Albion band playing at the Fylde Folk Festival, I think it was. And Fylde Guitars were there. They had a stall and I went to have a look, as I do at instrument stalls. And there was a bouzouki hanging up and it was a reduced offer because the front had a split in the growth and he had to repair it. So, it was cheaper than a model without that.

And so, of course, I picked it up and I played it and it sounded fantastic. It was really great. And I said, “I want this, you know, I’ll get this.” I’d never played bouzouki before. But little knowing that two months down the line, that bouzouki would come in really handy initially because I had something else I could play.

I remember going over to Ric’s and Ric said, “Don’t worry, man, just come and play fiddle on everything. That’ll be fine. We’ll have two fiddles, you know.” And I knew it kind of wouldn’t. I felt it wouldn’t work for the audience as much as anything. So, I said, “Why don’t I just play the mandolin and bouzouki and then on certain numbers I’ll pick the fiddle up and we can have two fiddle things.” Which is what we did and that’s how it worked out.

Photo Credit: Tracey Welch

And, of course, replacing someone like Maartin Alcock is impossible. He was such a fantastic multi-instrumentalist with such great musical ideas. And he was something I’m definitely not. I mean, I grew up through the folk scene. That’s my background. That’s where I’m at. That’s where I’m comfortable. It’s where my influence, my inspiration comes from – my main inspiration. I listen to everything. I’m inspired by everything. But my root is in roots music. Acoustic. Whereas Maartin had that incredible facility of keyboards, he could play Hammond organ, he could play electric guitar, as well as playing great bouzouki and great mandolin. He had a very wide palette.

But I guess what I had, I was definitely a vocalist, a singer. Used to singing, being the main singer of songs. And also, the fiddle, I had the fiddle and I did play some whistles and stuff. And when I initially joined, I remember I got myself built an electric bouzouki. Solid body bouzouki. I got myself two built, one a five-string tele one and one four string double.

And to be honest, I stuck with them for a while. And then when you join something so important and as big a thing as Fairport was for me, it’s how you’re going to build your nest. How are you going to find what your input is to the band? And it can’t be done instantly. Well, I couldn’t do it instantly. So, I was playing these solid instruments and just not feeling seated with them. You know, people who play electric instruments, they understand. It’s a weird thing to say but they understand the acoustic properties of it, although it doesn’t have any essentially acoustic properties, but through pedals and amps and using pickups, they have a quality that you have to bring out. Anyway, I stopped using those quite soon after I joined and I went back to the acoustic bouzouki, mandolin, fiddle. Things that were me, you know.

And in terms of my writing, I was very fortunate that the band have always been very supportive of my writing. I mean, as an occasional songwriter. I know people who are who are songwriters. There are loads of them who that’s what they do. That’s how they see the world. They see the world through writing songs.

Whereas I love songwriting and I have moments where I’m touched by something that writes a song. And it has a credibility so I’ll take those whenever they come. But generally, I’m equally as interested in fiddle tunes, in mandolin music, in other aspects of what I do. And I don’t see the world through songwriting, put it that way.

But I did have that to offer and Fairport were about to record an album, the title of which was Who Knows Where the Time Goes. And Dave Mattacks was still in the in the lineup then. And I had a song called ‘John Goudie’ which had been written in my Whippersnapper days,  the band that I was in with Dave Swarbrick and Martin Jenkins and Kevin Dempsey. And so, I brought that into the recording and that kind of instantly stamped a part of me. That could bring a song into Fairport and it be a good part of what the band does.

So, from that moment, Fairport’s always been very supportive of my songwriting. And like all writers of anything, you have songs you know aren’t suitable for the band. And I do a few solo gigs and they’ll come into that, or some I know will probably really work with the band and some that are just not songs I want to do anyway. So, getting back to your question, joining the band, I was able to bring that aspect of myself into the band and build my nest.

Obviously, ‘John Goudie’ has remained a staple for the band ever since. It’s a wonderful song. And on the next album after that, I think that’s when you really began to make your presence felt in terms of writing, because you had that one contribution on your first album and then on The Wood and the Wire, it’s quite a lot of Chris Leslie credits on there. Did your writing really begin to flourish then after you joined the band? And did you find you were writing a lot more than previously?

The Wood and the Wire is a very interesting album to look back on because I’d got a few songs bubbling over that I was about to finish when we were about to look to the next album. And Peggy came up with a great suggestion. He said, “How do you fancy getting together with another writer and see what songs you could come up with for the next album?”

And he suggested Nigel Stonier. And that was quite a moment because I thought, “Yeah, that would be a great idea.” And then, of course, what bubbles to the surface for me was all my inadequacies that I felt. Imposter syndrome, I think it’s called. “Can I really sit with a guy who writes and produces albums and sit and let things come out?” Anyway, I thought this is a lovely idea, actually. So, we got in touch with Nigel and he said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” So, we’re in this very room I’m talking in now. We sat together for… something like ten days over a fortnight period.

And what was lovely was Nigel was so lovely. He’s great to work with. I really enjoyed the process. And up to that point, I was a writer that had only written by myself. So, I only had my own ideas about how to be creative – writing. With instruments it’s different because you sit next to people, if you’re in a session or something and you hear things you like. Or if you’re in a band, you’re always getting feedback or input or inspiration from what’s around you. But songwriting for me up to that point had been very lonely. Not that I thought of it like that. It’s just what it was, you know.

So, Nigel would come over. He’d come over at 10 in the morning. We’d get our instruments out, sit head to head. And just throw out ideas, be they lyrically, be they instrumentally, be they riff-wise, be they chord sequence-wise. And for me, it allowed me to kind of open up in front of somebody.  Because how musicians work is very interesting. How they tick, I’ve found completely fascinating. And more so the older I get, the more it fascinates me. Because everyone’s coming from their own life, really. Everyone’s coming from their own filter, their own experience, their own inadequacies, their own positivity.

For instance, most things I do, I do completely by ear. So, because that’s what I do, I’ve got quite a good ear… I hear quite sophisticated things within what I do but I can hear it. But some musicians can just say, “Well, you want a C7 with something on the bass there.” And that’s just communicated instantly. Some people can just pick up a piece like a chord chart and they’re there. Peggy can do it. Simon can do it. Ric can do it. I’ve never done that. I can hear it and I can do very basic chord charts, you know, G, C, D, F. But when it gets stretched, I’m having to rely on my ear.

And so, sitting down in front of Nigel that first time, I really had to just open up and just be who I was. And he didn’t bat an eyelid, of course. Of course he didn’t. He wouldn’t. It’s all in your own head, isn’t it? But what I’m trying to say is that that those ten days really gave me something that opened me up in many ways.

And Nigel was such an experienced creator. He has just little nuggets of what, for me, were nuggets of gold. You know, like you don’t have to consider a song finished until you actually record it… You can change it. It’s your song. And I suppose the thing he gave me more than anything was a feeling of freedom in writing. Let everything come through. Let any ideas happen.

So, what I’m getting to is The Wood and the Wire, quite a few songs on that are co-writes. The ‘Wood and the Wire’ (title track) is one and I love that song.  I think I came up with the riff. I came up with that and the groove. And then I think Nigel came up with the first line. And then we both contributed to the lyrics and he’d think about another chord and we’re going somewhere. And that’s how we worked. It was the only time we worked together, not for any other reason than that’s just how it was. I really enjoyed working with him and he contributed a lot to that album as well.

And lovely – the front cover is our son, Sam, looking in the music shop window. And literally this last week we had our grandson down, Taylor, who’s five. And he’s looking at a little Sam on that cover.

You’ll have to try and get him a slot on Fairport’s next album cover!

Yes, that would be great, wouldn’t it?

Photo credit: Kevin Smith

What do you want to tell us about the forthcoming spring tour then starting 17th of March?

Well, the first thing I’ll say is we’ve got the absolutely fabulous Jen Butterworth. She’s a wonderful singer, wonderful writer, wonderful guitarist, wonderful musician. And I’ve just been listening to her latest album. And it’s fabulous. And as always happens, she will do an opening set of about 20 minutes and then we’ll come on stage and join her for a song, which is always very exciting. And I’m really looking forward to  being on stage with her for a song.

Jenn Butterworth – Photo Credit: Matthew Arthur Williams

We’ve pulled in some songs from our new album. We’ve got a new live album out for the tour. It’s called Roadworks. And I think it’s the first album we have Dave Mattacks back on the disc for a long time as an album, a complete album. I think I’m right in saying that. Because, of course, we lost dear Jerry Conway a few years ago, which is very sad. But like all these things that come around, DM was the perfect person to come back in. Totally known, totally loved and that’s gone well.

So, we’ve got this new album called Roadworks. We’re very pleased with it. All recorded live from the five-piece tour last year. And we’ll be doing numbers picked from that. We’re going back quite a long way with the repertoire.

About 24 dates, I think. And yeah, we’re all very excited. We’re all very up as a band. We’re all very up for it. And please come along.

Tour dates can be found on Fairport’s website here

Before we wrap up, is anything else you want to you want to tell us?

Well, I’ll also mention our wonderful Cropredy Festival, which is on the 13th, 14th and 15th of August. Great lineup. Again, look at the website for the details. But if I put the just headliners. A few bands, Le Vent du Nord on the Thursday night. They’re headlining, which will be fantastic. Turin Brakes that night as well. And we open up the afternoon. To anyone who hasn’t been to Cropredy, we do an acoustic spot when the festival opens just to welcome everyone onto the site, onto the field and then off it goes.

Friday night, I’m going to say Spooky Man’s Chorale. I’m going to say Braebach. I’m going to Celtic Social Club. Danny Bradley. Richard Thompson finishing off the night, together with Zara Phillips and, one of my favourite bands behind him, consisting of Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks and Dave Pegg! That’ll be wonderful.

Fairport’s Cropredy Convention – Photo Credit: Simon Putman

And then on the Saturday I’m going to shout out Hayseed Dixie. Amazing mandolin player and incredible versions of modern music in a bluegrass heavy style. Fabulous. I’m going to mention Jerry Colvin Big Band. Will Pound. Jen Butterworth. And we’re going to finish off that night with some friends coming up to play with us. If you haven’t been before, it’s so friendly. It’s such a great site and it’s just the one stage so don’t miss anything. Fabulous stalls. Come along!

Wonderful. Well certainly, I’ll be there again. Hopefully, a weekend in the sun but not too hot.

The sun is booked! Whether it comes along is another thing but it’s booked!

Related posts:

Interview with Ric Sanders 2025

Interview with Dave Pegg 2025

Interview with Simon Nicol 2024

Live review: Fairport Convention at Union Chapel 2025

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2025

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2024

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2023

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2022

Book review: ‘On Track: Fairport Convention – every album, every song’ by Kevan Furbank

Fairport Convention at Bexhill 2020

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2018

Fairport Convention at Cropredy 2017

Album review – Fairport Convention ‘Come All Ye: The First Ten Years’

Fairport Convention – 50th anniversary gig at Union Chapel 2017

Fairport Convention at Cropredy 2014

Fairport Convention at Union Chapel 2014

Live review: Atomic Rooster at The Piper, St Leonards 25/2/26

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

For many years Atomic Rooster were one of those bands whose name was well known to me through my voracious reading of rock history, but whose material I was barely familiar with. That changed back in 2018, at one of the Butlins Rock & Blues weekends where the band’s outstanding performance was a complete revelation to me. Before  long I acquired a CD box set of all of all of their classic albums from the 1970s and became a firm fan of the band’s music.

Although all the original line-up led by Vincent Crane are sadly no longer with us, the band was reformed in 2016 by Pete French, who performed on the band’s third album and by Steve Boltz Bolton, who played on their fourth. However, since I last caught the band in 2022, there has been a change in line-up with French exiting. In other outfits this could have been a near-fatal blow, with the connections to the original band becoming even more tentative. But Adrian Gautrey, who has done a sterling job embodying the spirit of the late, great Vincent Crane on keyboards for much of the past decade, has now also taken on the role of lead vocalist. What’s more he’s an absolutely incredible singer and the band just goes from strength to strength.

The setlist is a mix of ‘70s-era Rooster classics and material from their excellent new studio album, Circle The Sun, which came out in 2025. With half the tracks on the latter penned by Bolton and half by Gautrey, the album really captures the essence of Atomic Rooster and most of the songs from the album are performed tonight. There’s still room for plenty of vintage Rooster, including blinding versions of ‘Can’t Take No More’, ‘Tomorrow Night’ and ‘Breakthrough’, as well as ‘Devil’s Answer’ the band’s surprise 1971 top five hit.

A formidable, driving rhythm, pounding Hammond and searing guitar, it’s one of those epic, small venue gigs that you’re not going to forget in a hurry. When it comes to a modern-day reboot of a legendary ’70s hard rock outfit, Atomic Rooster have undoubtedly become one of my firm favourites. There are few bands with as much energy as these guys on stage and I’m delighted to see that there’s also a recently-recorded live album to purchase from the merch stand, alongside copies of the excellent Circle The Sun. Highly recommended.

https://www.theatomicrooster.com/

Related posts:

Atomic Rooster at Giants of Rock, Minehead 2022

Atomic Rooster at Rock & Blues, Skegness 2018

Folk Rock / Indie: album review – The Revellers ‘Reactors’

Album reviews, Folk music, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Following a gap of nine years since their previous release, popular Shetland indie folk rock band, The Revellers, are back with their third album, Reactors. The Revellers are Michael Anderson (lead guitar), Magnus Bradley (lead vocals, guitars), Daniel Gear (fiddle), John William Halcrow (drums, vocals), Erik Peterson (mandolin, vocals). Lewie Peterson (banjo, mandolin, tenor guitar, vocals) and Adam Priest (electric and double bass).

Often described as ‘heavy folk music’, The Revellers are seven musicians brought up on a typical millennial musical diet of alt rock, punk and metal that’s combined with a love and reverence for traditional music that’s an intrinsic part of any Shetland upbringing. The result is an explosive mix of soaring melodies, searing guitar riffs and energetic fiddle, mandolin and banjo.

From reflections on the challenges and contradictions of modern life (‘The Reflector’) to standing up for what’s right (‘Stand Up and Fight’) there are themes that wouldn’t be out of place on any typical indie rock album, but this being a band with traditional influences at its heart there’s also material like a reworking of Rhoda Butler’s poem ‘Clearances’ in the Shetland dialect and the song ‘Republic of Vinland’ which celebrates Shetland’s Norse heritage.

An album fizzing with energy and verve, it’s one that will appeal to ardent rock fans as much as dedicated folkies. Highly recommended.

Released: 26/11/25 https://www.facebook.com/therevellersshetland/

Rock and Roll Survivor: interview with Del Bromham of Stray

Rock music, Music culture & history, Interviews, , , , , , ,

Following the re-release of his solo album Devil’s Highway on 2nd January, I catch up with guitar legend and founding member of Stray, Del Bromham. We talk about the making of the album, growing up in a home filled with music, the ups and downs of the music industry and why there’s been renewed interest in Stray, post-pandemic.

So firstly, I wanted to ask about the re-release of the solo album Devil’s Highway. As a solo work, that’s more pure blues rather than the bluesy hard rock that Stray is best known for. When you were a teenager growing up, were the traditional blues artists always important for you as well as the R&B bands like the Yardbirds and the Pretty Things?

I must admit, I have to say I was a bit of a late starter on it. Although, having said that, there’s a track on the Devil’s Highway album called ‘Careless Love’. Now, I had music in my house as a kid because my dad belonged to a record club and liked various music. And as I mentioned before, I think sometimes he would order these things. It was probably out of the back of the News of the World or something like that. And he’d have like two or three EPs turn up and it might be, you know, My Fair Lady, some obscure orchestra but one of them I remember as a kid, six or seven years old, was an EP by Big Bill Broonzy. And ‘Careless Love’ really stuck with me all the way through. So, when it came to recording the album, I thought, well, that’s my starting point. I’ll do that one.

But going back to your original question, You’re quite right. I mean, in the ‘60s, I was listening to the Yardbirds, the Pretty Things, the first Stones album. I remember I used to go around to my mate’s house, and his older brother had these so while he was at work, we’d play them. And then I got into John Mayall. And I guess it was through the British invasion, as it were, doing the blues, that I thought, well, where did they get this from? And then I slowly began to compile it in my head, if for want of a better word. Now, I was a bit of a late starter, so I wasn’t really into the authentic blues, probably not until 2000s when I actually started doing the album. And I started, like a journalist, doing research, as it were.

Del Bromham: publicity shot

And that was around the time you were touring with Leslie West, was it?  

Well, I did it just before. I started thinking about it in 2003. And in 2004, I had actually done the album. And then my then tour manager, Paul Newcombe – I’d already done a couple of tours with Mountain – and he met Leslie on one of the tours I did with Stray. And then, of course, when I had the album ready, he suggested to Leslie that he come over and do a tour because he had his Blues to Die For album. And Leslie being Leslie said, “Yeah, great” And Paul said, “Just come over with acoustic guitar.” He said, “Just me and an acoustic guitar?” He said, “Yes. Tell your stories. Del does it.” He said, “Well, if Del will do it, I’ll do it!” So that’s how that happened.

So then, of course, we had the album, but no label. Paul’s little company at the time was called Trigger Happy Music so we put it out on Trigger Happy. It wasn’t a general release. It was to sell at gigs and then a little while after, because of the interest, I then got a deal with Angel Air Records, who did Nine Yards. And then the boss at Angel Air said, “Oh, you did another one before, didn’t you?” I said, “Yeah.” So, he said, “Well, have you got any extra songs we could put it out with bonus tracks on?” Then it came out again.

Well good luck with the album. I’ve been playing it and really enjoyed it. And you’ve mentioned it already – it’s a big theme in your autobiography, Rock and Roll Survivor – you talk very fondly about growing up in a house filled with music. That was clearly very important in shaping your direction in life, not only from your parents but from your brothers and so on.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s surprising actually because I would recommend anybody to write their biography. I recommend it because it wasn’t really until I wrote it down and read it back. It was then I realized how important my family had been to me and music. I know I’ve written it, but it is difficult to put into words because, and there were various things, always having music in my house. Silly things like my mum going around the house singing and dusting at the same time. Playing in my brother’s group was a great thing to do, particularly as I was only about 14 years old. So, the family were very important to me and my brother was probably my biggest musical influence.

Obviously, things started to take off for Stray in the early ‘70s but by the late ‘70s, there’s repeated setbacks for the band. And you talk in your autobiography about your life as a musician becoming stressful, not pleasurable and then you went out and got a normal nine-to-five job. How frustrating was that at the time or was it just a matter of getting on with life and you deal with things as they come?

A little bit of both actually and I think it was once again down to my family. Winding the clock back, when I was 15, I didn’t want to stay on at school but myself and a couple of friends, we were all going to go to art college. That’s what we were going to do. And Pete Townshend up the road, he was going to art college as well. So, we thought, well, I’ll go to art college. But long and the short of it was that I didn’t get into art college and I was very disappointed. And I can vaguely remember the conversation. Well, you’re not going to art college. And my dad just sat there pontificating in his armchair. And he said, “Well, you’ll have to get yourself a job then, won’t you, boy?” I went, “Eh?” So, he promptly pulls out a copy of the local paper and goes all down the job vacancies there. But, you know, that was kind of, well, no-one owes you a living, you’ve got to go and do it yourself.

So then when it came to all the financial troubles we had at the end of 1977 into 1978 – I mean, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time really. Because my wife had just given birth to our first child, she was just coming up to a year old. And I’d sold my house in London, and I was moving to another house out of London in a little place called Bletchley. I was moving there. So, what I then found was because of the associations I’d had in the past, shall we say, nobody in the music business was interested. You know, it was like Stray was bad news. Don’t get involved with anything to do with Stray because something’s going to come back and bite you in the butt. Or even worse, you might have your legs or fingers broken. So, I had no choice. And to be honest with you, I was lucky because I’d never really, at 16, 17, I’d done like an office boy job. I’d never had a proper job.

And I was very lucky because where I was living in Bletchley, it was in years to come to become part of Milton Keynes. So, they were encouraging businesses to start up in Milton Keynes and giving them nice little incentives as it were. And as it turned out, Hammond organs decided to do this distribution. And I’d met up with Graham Sutton. I used to do Keith Emerson’s servicing for his Hammond. So great. I could play Hammond organs all day instead of just doing them in the studio. So, I ended up working for Hammond organs for a couple of years and I ended up doing the marketing for them. And then I went to work for somebody else doing the marketing, which in a roundabout kind of way, I believe, helped me in a way because when I got back into doing music, I had the other head about. Oh, that’s how you do that, is it?

So, you weren’t so reliant on record labels and management and the whole industry anymore. You could be far more self-sufficient after picking up all those skills, I suppose.

It wasn’t what I planned, but it just goes to prove to you how life can actually turn you into different areas, you know.

Del’s autobiography ‘Rock and Roll Survivor’ published in 2022

Stray’s legacy is starting to get the recognition it deserves, I think. And in the foreword to your autobiography, Steve Harris from Iron Maiden says Stray should have been as big as Black Sabbath or Deep Purple. Frustrating on one hand, but nice to read on the other?

Yeah, yeah. It is nice. I mean, I know of people from my era who just cannot get out of the ‘70s. But… stuff happens, you know. I’ve never let it drag me down. And I’m thinking about what could have been, you know. I mean, it was quite true at the time. I can remember hearing, say about 1971, 1972, “Oh, Stray, they’re going to be the next Led Zeppelin.” And then of course, the guy who managed us for a while, Wilf Pine, was to do with Worldwide Artists. And guess what? They had Black Sabbath. And so, he actually thought he was going to manage the next Black Sabbath. And I can always remember him. We’re listening back to the first album we made with him as manager and he said, “You know, I thought I was going to manage the next Black Sabbath, but I think I’ve got the Beatles here.” There were more songs. And then, of course, I think he wanted to be George Martin, so he then got an orchestra in. And that was the Mudanzas album. So that was a real change, you know, and we were disappointed because we were expecting things to step up, and it didn’t happen.

And then, of course, the management company we had at the time, I think, to be frank, they were upsetting various people in the music business, you know, with the way they acted. And then Worldwide kind of finished, and it left us out on a limb, really. And that’s kind of how it happened in brief.

Stray in the ’70s

But against the odds, Stray is still going out there. So, my final question then, what next for both Del and for Stray?

Well, we never know what tomorrow is going to bring, do you? It’s funny, you possibly hinted at it but there does seem to have been in the last couple of years – probably since Covid when things got back to a kind of normality- there does seem to be a more of an interest in Stray than there was prior to that. We’ve just finished about a 20-day tour with British Lion, as you know. I mean, it wasn’t just down to us, but it was sold-out every night. And we had Maiden fans there, obviously Lion fans. We’ve also done a couple of metal festivals as well, which once upon a time you thought, well Stray’s not going to fit there. But it does seem that we’re getting accepted. Even our own shows, we’ve had sellout shows just straight on their own, you know. And different people coming back to see the band or people who’ve never seen the band before. Which I’m not bothered about because the more the merrier as far as I’m concerned. You know, it’s never too late.

Del Bromham@ publicity shot

And you’re one of the original bands still out there, whereas many have fallen by the wayside, either because people are no longer with us or they’ve retired or whatever. So compared to a lot of your contemporaries, you’re still out there.

Well, it’s a strange paradox because all those years ago, bearing in mind we were only about 17, 18 years old when we were playing, the business at the time always used to criticize us. “Well, they can’t be that good because they’re too young.” And now here we are 50 years later and I’m one of the elder statesmen. And, of course, people said, “I didn’t know you were still going.” I said, “Well I’ve never stopped.” And the band I’ve got with me now, they’re very versatile. And they were fans of the original band as well. So, they’ve never tried to take over or do anything. So, it’s great because we’re just five mates who go out to enjoy ourselves and we happen to play instruments at the same time.

Going forward, before Christmas I was actually thinking about a new solo album. Obviously, the last About Time album by Stray was successful and it’s brought back a lot of people. We’re not on a label but for the purposes of touring we recorded a live show and that CD is called One for the Road and we sold bucket-loads of them. So, it does seem that it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that during the year I might be quite busy in the studio with a solo and another Stray album. You know I’ve thought with the last couple of Stray albums, I wonder if this is going to be the last one. But I woke up this morning de-de-de da-dum and that was a result!

Well, that’s a really nice, optimistic, forward-looking note to end on, unless there’s anything else you’d like to tell us?

Well, I haven’t really got any big scoops for you. It’s just going to be business as usual, which I’ve always done. I’ve never had any great expectations. You know, I just enjoy playing. I enjoy life and fortunately, touch wood, I’m quite heathy so long may it continue, I hope.

Thanks Del. Long may it continue!

Devil’s Highway (with bonus tracks) was released on 2 January 2026 by Singsong Music

https://www.delbromham.co.uk/

https://www.straytheband.co.uk/

2025 in Darren’s music blog – the ten most popular posts of the year

Folk music, Glam rock, Interviews, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Happy New Year to all my readers and my sincere thanks to everyone who has visited Darren’s music blog during 2025. As well as 65 posts covering an eclectic musical mix of folk, prog, glam, heavy metal, punk, hard rock and britpop, I also managed to get my fourth book completed (Steeleye Span On Track 1970-89) which was published by Sonicbond this Summer.

To recap on the year, here are the top ten most viewed posts of 2025. Here’s to 2026! 

1. Interview with Fairport Convention’s Dave Pegg

Ahead of Fairport Convention’s Winter Tour back in January, I caught up with Dave Pegg. We discuss the making of the Full House album, the crucial role that Jethro Tull played in Fairport’s resurrection, changes taking place at Cropredy this summer so that the festival remains financially viable and the forthcoming tour.

Read full interview here

2. Live review: Santana at the O2, London 21/6/25

There are not many world-class rock acts still performing that remain to be ticked off on my own personal bucket-list but Santana definitely fitted into that category and prompted the first of two trips to the O2 this Summer. From the off it’s very much a give-the-audience-exactly-what-they-want greatest hits set, interspersed with nuggets of Woodstock-era exhortations in favour of love and peace and togetherness. “I’m a hippy!” explains Carlos Santana.

Read full review here

3. Live review: Alice Cooper and Judas Priest at the O2, London 25/7/25

Kicking off with ‘Lock Me Up’, Alice Cooper’s set is as over-the-top and theatrical as ever. An exhilarating combination of blistering hard rock, glam-meets-horror showmanship and that unmistakeable, menacing vocal drawl, the hits come thick and fast.

Coming on stage to the strains of Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’, Judas Priest launched straight into ‘All Guns Blazing’ from the Painkiller album. Released 35 years ago, songs from that much-celebrated album feature heavily in tonight’s set.

Read full review here

4. Live review: Uriah Heep / April Wine / Tyketto at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 27/2/25

I was still a pre-schooler when Uriah Heep released their debut album in 1970, although this year does mark 40 years since I first saw the band at Manchester Apollo back in 1985. Tonight’s performance proves beyond doubt that my enthusiasm for the band remains undimmed. I’m relieved to hear this is not quite the finale just yet.

Read full review here

5. Live review: Fairport Convention at Union Chapel, London 22/2/25

It’s now 40 years since Sanders played on his first Fairport album – Gladys’ Leap. Ric Sanders tells the audience that he was phoned up by Dave Pegg who had asked him if he was interested in contributing fiddle to three tracks but initially he had no idea he was being asked to contribute to a Fairport Convention album.

Read full review here

6. Interview with Fairport Convention’s Ric Sanders

Ahead of this year’s Cropredy festival, I catch up with Fairport Convention’s Ric Sanders. We talk about first learning to play the violin at primary school, about getting his big break with Soft Machine and the invitation to play on Fairport’s Gladys’ Leap album forty years ago this year – and, of course, this year’s Cropredy line-up.

Read full interview here

7. Live review: Supergrass at the Roundhouse, London 21/5/25

Given I spent the battle of Britpop firmly in the Blur camp, I passed up on the chance to buy tickets for the Oasis reunion when it was announced last summer. A couple of weeks later, however, when Supergrass announced that they would also be reforming to celebrate the 30th anniversary of I Should Co-Co, I was in the online queue as soon as tickets went on sale. Always my favourite band of the Britpop era, a chance to hear Supergrass’s debut album performed in full promised to be something rather special.

Read full review here

8. Live review: Sweet at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire 5/4/25

In the months and years to come, who knows how many more Sweet gigs there’ll be. Andy Scott shows every sign of wanting to continue for as long as he is physically able to walk on stage, pick up his guitar and perform. I hope there’ll be plenty more nights like this for the band and I hope I get to see a few more of them myself but I savoured every precious moment of this concert as if it were my last.

Read full review here

9. Live review: X Generation X at the Brunswick, Hove 9/11/25

Making light of the seeming incongruity of launching a UK tour on a Sunday, Westwood asked the happy but clearly refreshed crowd at one point if they all had to be up in the morning. “No!!” the crowd yelled back in unison. “They’re all retired!” quipped Steve Norman. That’s as maybe but for 75 glorious minutes it was 1976 all over again and here in this sweaty cellar bar the spirit of punk was recaptured in all of its incendiary glory.

Read full review here

10. Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2025

There was a heavy Fairport bias to this year’s list, with interviews and live reviews bagging four of the top ten most popular slots. Just making it into the Top Ten is my review of this year’s Cropredy Festival which featured a guest appearance from none other than Robert Plant.

Read full review here

2024 in Darren’s music blog

2023 in Darren’s music blog

2022 in Darren’s music blog

2021 in Darren’s music blog

2020 in Darren’s music blog

2019 in Darren’s music blog

Classic rock: album review – Peter Goalby ‘Don’t Think This Is Over’

Album reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for early ‘80s Uriah Heep. Even though I would become totally besotted with the Hammond-pounding Hensley/Byron era, my entry point into the music of Uriah Heep was not through demons, wizards or magicians but rather through the Abominog album in 1982. And it was the Peter Goalby-fronted version of the band which I first saw live as a teenager.

Accordingly, I was delighted when two albums of archive solo material finally saw the light of day several decades after Goalby retired from the music business. These being Easy With the Heartaches (reviewed here) in 2021 and I Will Come Running in 2022.

Just as we might have thought the archives were now well and truly empty, a third solo album has also just been released. Goalby originally recorded the album not long after leaving Uriah Heep. However, it was only when a poorly labelled DAT was spotted at a storage facility over 30 years later, that the lost album was rediscovered.

Peter Goalby: “In 1987 I was offered a recording and publishing contract with RAK Records just after I’d left Uriah Heep.  I thought these songs would be very commercial in the 1980s and Smokie recorded Fallin’ Apart. I later found out the master tapes had been lost and I silently carried the disappointment that music I’d put my heart and soul into was gone forever.  Never say never!”

The nine-track album was personally overseen (from tape transfer, mastering and artwork) by Goalby. What will be of particular fascination for Heep fans is that this lost album was only finally completed in 2025 when Goalby’s former Uriah Heep bandmates, Mick Box (guitar) and John Sinclair (keyboards), added the final overdubs to the tracks. 

While it’s immediately obvious that this is an album that could only have been made in the 80s and contains many sonic motifs of the era, production-wise Don’t Think This Is Over is a very polished affair. It comes over as a fully-rounded album in every sense, not simply a collection of archive material. Songs like ‘I’ll Be The One’, ‘It’s Just My Heart Breakin’’ and the title track are all instantly catchy yet satisfyingly muscular AOR containing some great guitar licks and showcasing Goalby in very fine voice. Meanwhile, ‘Another Paper Moon’ and ‘Fallin’ Apart’ underscore his knack for turning out some great lighter-in-the-air (not phones – it’s still the ‘80s remember!) anthemic rock ballads.

Don’t Think This Is Over is essential listening for any fans of Peter Goalby / ‘80s Uriah Heep and is a very worthy companion both to his recently-released solo albums and to Abominog, Head First and Equator.

Released: 5th December 2025

Related posts:

Album reviews: four solo releases from the extended Uriah Heep family

July Morning – a fifty-year-old British rock song and an annual celebration of summer in Bulgaria

Uriah Heep, Bexhill 2025

Uriah Heep, Bexhill 2019

Uriah Heep at Giants of Rock 2018

Uriah Heep, London 2014

Live review: Steeleye Span at Revelation, St Mary the Virgin Church, Ashford 13/12/25

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

After spending much of last year and the first part of this year living and breathing all things Steeleye Span while I worked on my book about the band (which came out this summer) it felt kind of fitting for this to be my penultimate gig of the year.

Steeleye Span are always a joy to watch live and they always seem to go that extra mile in putting together a set-list that’s unique for each tour. It’s never a case of merely churning out the same old favourites year after year. They delve deep into their back catalogue, dust down songs that have not been played in years, retire others that have been in the set for a little while and generally mix things up to create a live show that’s fresh-sounding and unique. And, because this is a band that is still eagerly releasing new music, there’s often some brand new material (or never-been-tried-before trad. arr material) to look forward to as well. This tour is no exception and we get some fantastic renditions of material from the band’s excellent new album, Conflict, released earlier this year.

The line-up is a classic Span ‘Now We Are Six’ type formation, with guitarist, Spud Sinclair, and bass-player, Roger Carey, providing some real rock and roll oomph alongside long-time drummer, Liam Gernockey; multi-instrumentalist, Julian Littman, on guitars, mandolin and keyboards; the incredibly talented Violeta Vicci on violin; and, of course, the one and only Maddy Prior on vocals.

It means there’s bags of energy behind the band’s meaty renditions of songs like ‘Royal Forester’, and ‘King Henry’ which showcase Steeleye Span at their riffiest, folk-rockiest best. But, it being a church and all that, what became the most spellbinding moments in this beautiful setting were the choral, acapella versions of ‘Gaudette’, the band’s vintage Christmas hit, and ‘Dogs and Ferrets’ from the Commoners Crown album. Prior reminded us that the latter hadn’t been performed live since not long after the album was released over fifty years ago.

Vocally, the band are sounding superb. Carey, Littman and Sinclair all contribute and Prior’s voice has matured into something rich, warm and velvety while still being unmistakeably the voice of Maddy Prior. Meanwhile, the beautiful crystal-clear vocals of Vicci add a second female voice into the mix – and someone to “hit all the high notes” as Prior jokes. With an exceptional back catalogue, stellar musicians and incredible vocals, Steeleye Span continue to surprise and delight.

Setlist:

First set:
Over The Hills And Far Away
New York Girls
Lady Diamond
Roadways
Blackleg Miner
I Was An Oak Tree
Trees are Whispering
Royal Forester
Alison Gross
The Dark Morris Song

Second set:
Gaudete
Cruel Brother
Skip to Shore
Ghost Ship
King Henry
Dogs and Ferrets
We Shall Wear Midnight
Hard Times of Old England
Wintersmith
All Around My Hat
Dodgy Bastards

Presenting Maddy with a complimentary copy of the book after the gig

My book ‘’Steeleye Span 1970-1989 On Track: Every Album, Every Song‘ is available from Amazon or Burning Shed

Related posts:

‘Steeleye Span 1970-1989 On Track: Every Album, Every Song’ – Book reviews round-up

Interview with Maddy Prior

Interview with Julian Littman

Review: Steeleye Span at Hove 2023

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: Planet Enid Collective and Motörqueens at the Carlisle, Hastings 12/12/25

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, new wave of British heavy metal, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , ,

2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of two iconic British bands: Motörhead, who need absolutely no introduction; and Painted Lady, who few will have heard of but who went on to have a huge impact on the UK’s rock and metal scene after they morphed into the much better-known Girlschool. The line-ups of both bands varied over the years but in at the start were the two founding bass-players-cum-lead vocalists, Lemmy Kilmister for Motörhead and Enid Williams for Girlschool.

Lemmy passed away in 2015, of course, but Enid Williams is still going strong and is one of a growing number of acclaimed rock musicians who’ve made Hastings their home. She’s been out of Girlschool for several years now but more recently bounced back fronting Planet Enid Collective, alongside Audrey M (bass) and Yair Katz (drums).

Italy’s Motörqueens, meanwhile, are Europe’s leading all-female Motörhead tribute act and what better way to celebrate the enduring legacy of both Girlschool and Motörhead than a double bill featuring both bands here at the Carlisle in Hastings.

Williams has enjoyed a rich and varied career between her two stints in Girlschool, running a vegetarian cuisine company, touring with the English National Opera, performing in West End musicals and working as a TV Astrologist. But tonight she’s in full-throttle rock and roll mode, alternating between lead and bass guitar and wowing the crowd with some vintage Girlschool songs.

As well as early Girlschool classics, like ‘Emergency’ and a revisit to the band’s much-celebrated covers of ‘Race with Devil’ and ‘Tush’, I’m particularly pleased to hear some of Williams’ material from her final album with Girlschool, 2015’s Guilty as Sin. These included the rousingly defiant ‘Come the Revolution’ and the starkly eco-themed ‘Treasure’, both of which combine hard, heavy riffing with powerful, thought-provoking lyrics. There’s guest spots aplenty, too, including some blinding lead guitar contributions from another local boy, Tino Troy of Praying Mantis, and Baz Roze of the Kent-based metal band, Black Roze. It’s all a bit of a NWOBHM dream!

Headliners, Motörqueens, deliver a high-octane, sassy and unbelievably powerful celebration of Motörhead’s music, even if the authentically Lemmy-esque rumble blasting from the amps sends the Carlisle’s famous, life-size cut-out of Lemmy flying off the side of the stage at one point. It’s a hugely entertaining tribute delivered with passion, conviction and true rock and roll grit.

An extra treat comes towards the end of the set when Williams is invited back on stage to play ‘Bomber’. As the curfew approaches, there’s time for one final song. Motorqueens and Enid blast out a gloriously raucous ‘Please Don’t Touch’ with the rest of musicians from the evening having a glorious  time belting out the choruses. Suddenly it’s 1981, everyone’s singing along and we’re all 15 again. A superb finish to a fantastic evening.

https://planetenidcollective.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/motorqueens

Live review: Sweet at Birmingham Town Hall 4/12/25

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

A rare occurrence for me but I missed Sweet on their tour last December. As it turned out, however, so did band-leader, lead guitarist and the last surviving member of the classic ‘70s foursome, Andy Scott. A fracture in his pelvis (on top of a debilitating long-term cancer diagnosis) left him completely unable to move so his place was ably taken by Jim Kirkpatrick. Never one to be kept down for long, however, Scott resumed touring in the Spring and as well as a hectic live schedule this year, there’s an impressive roster of European dates lined up for 2026, too.

On previous Christmas tours over the past few years I’ve tended to catch Sweet either in London or down here on the south coast at the De La Warr Pavilion. However, with nothing scheduled for the South East on this tour, I cunningly worked out I could spend a night in Birmingham en route to a pre-Christmas family get-together up in Preston. In fact, this is not the first time I’ve made the long trek to see Sweet in Birmingham. I was here back in 2017 to see Andy & Co. supporting Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow at the Genting Arena.

At the time, I expressed a slight degree of disappointment that the then line-up stuck to a tried-and-tested greatest hits setlist, rather than exploring some of the more hard rock-oriented deep cuts that were likely to have particularly appealed to an audience made up of hard-core Ritchie Blackmore devotees. It was only much later that Scott revealed to fans that he’d had to begin a gruelling course of chemotherapy that very week, obviously leaving no time to rehearse a revised setlist. I felt bad about making my disappointment known once we’d all learned the truth but there is absolutely no such complaint about the setlist tonight.

Ever since the current line-up was unveiled (fronted by ex-Cats in Space lead singer, Paul Manzi), there’s been a much greater emphasis on the album-oriented hard rock side of the band’s DNA, besides the more well-known glam-era big hits. Plus, there’s been an album of brand-new, hard-rocking material, too. Accordingly, we get an explosive set on this tour, featuring incendiary versions of tracks like ‘Lost Angels’, ‘Windy City’ and ‘Set Me Free’ and a couple of songs from the excellent new album, Full Circle, as well as all the well-known big hits.

After praising Scott’s incredible feats of endurance, Manzi summed up his current state of health as “85% back to full fitness” meaning he had to take a scheduled breather part-way through the set. Accordingly, the rest of the band remained on stage to deliver a sing-along medley of ‘ Co-Co’, ‘Funny Funny’ and ‘Poppa Joe’ while Scott caught his breath. Observant Sweet fans will already know that Scott never played on the studio versions of these early bubblegum hits anyway so it was the obvious place in the set for a well-earned break. Elsewhere, however, wherever Scott’s familiar signature guitar sound is heard on the original records, he’s up there on stage delivering those pounding Sweet riffs and searing Scott solos.

For anyone seeing them on this tour, it’s an incredible line-up of the Sweet performing these days. In my mind, even though 2002’s Sweetlife remains my absolute favourite post-Brian Connolly Sweet album, what we have on stage now is one the strongest live line-ups of Sweet since the demise of the classic foursome. Whatever life has thrown at him in recent years, Andy Scott shows no sign of giving up quite yet. Here’s wishing him a good few more tours!

My book ‘The Sweet in the 1970s’ is available from Amazon here

Setlist:

Action
Hell Raiser
Burn on the Flame
Circus
The Sixteens
Don’t Bring Me Water
Lost Angels
Windy City
Set Me Free
Co-Co / Funny Funny / Poppa Joe
Teenage Rampage
Wig-Wam Bam / Little Willy
Love Is Like Oxygen
Fox on the Run
Blockbuster
The Ballroom Blitz

Related posts:

Review: Sweet at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire 2025

Review: Sweet at Islington Assembly 2021

Book reviews roundup: ‘The Sweet in the 1970s’

Interview with Andy Scott

Review: Sweet at Bexhill 2019

News: All change at The Sweet

Review: Sweet 50th anniversary concert – Berlin

Review: Sweet live 2017, London and Bilston

Review: Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and Sweet at Birmingham Genting Arena 2017

The Sweet versus Bowie: the riff in Blockbuster and Jean Genie – origins and influences

Review: Sweet at Dartford 2015

Review: Sweet at Bilston 2014

Live review: John Illsley – The Life & Times of Dire Straits at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 29/11/25

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , ,

John Illsley, legendary bassist and Dire Straits co-founder, wound up a 21-date music and chat tour at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings. I never got to see Dire Straits back in the day, sadly. However, the fact that this was a chance to see John Illsley perform some Straits classics with a full band, as well as a chance to get a first-hand insight into his long career, made it too good an opportunity to pass over, even though (following Dave Hill and Slade the night before) it meant a second trip to the White Rock in the space of twenty-four hours.

A full two-hour show, the format was a Q&A session, with Illsley in conversation with long-time friend and former Dire Straits co-manager, Paul Cummins. This was followed by live music from the band then a short interval, followed by a further Q&A session and then more live music.

The first half of the show focused on the early part of his career, with the second part focusing on the Brothers In Arms days and beyond. Those early days and hearing about Illsley sharing a flat in Deptford with Mark Knofler’s brother, David, while studying at Goldsmiths held a particular fascination for me, as a former student of Goldsmiths myself who ended up spending twenty-odd years living in the Deptford area, not too far from the small council flat were Dire Straits was originally formed. An articulate, urbane and thoughtful man (even if he lived in what sounded like a filthy hovel at the time!) it was a fascinating insight into the early days of the band and the fairly swift pathway to their first hit single. The inspiration for that first hit came after an evening at a local pub, where Mark Knopfler heard a jazz band playing who called themselves ‘Sultans of Swing’. The rest is history…

The musical segment saw a clutch of songs from the first Dire Straits album, including the aforementioned ‘Sultans of Swing’ as well as a song apiece from Making Movies and Love Over Gold. The band are excellent and Illsley’s vocals are not a million miles away from Mark Knopfler.

After the interval it’s back to more chat, with a real focus on the story behind the astronomical success of Brothers in Arms. Illsley describes it as a perfect storm: Knopfler’s song-writing reaching another level, digital studio technology being newly available, Sony keen to push an album that could help propel sales of their new-fangled CD players, and MTV launching in Europe just a few months before the album’s release date. Both they and their US counterpart keen to give airtime to a single that name-checked them. Neither Illsley nor Mark Knopfler seemed particularly keen on the superstardom that followed, however, and in spite of monster world tours, Live Aid and Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday gig at Wembley, there was to be only one more studio album.

Before long we’re back to more music. Unsurprisingly, songs from Brothers In Arms feature heavily. As well as the title track, there’s ‘So Far Away’, Walk of Life’ amd ‘Money for Nothing’ there’s also a song from Illsley’s most recent  solo album. ‘It’s a Long Way Back’ is all about those early days in Deptford. Proceedings wrap up with ‘Where Do You Think You’re Going’ from the Communique album. Illsley and the band leave the stage to a well-deserved standing ovation.

https://www.johnillsleymusic.com/