Tag Archives: Wishbone Ash

2024 in Darren’s music blog – the ten most popular posts of the year

Folk music, Glam rock, Hastings music scene, Interviews, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Happy New Year and thanks to everyone who has visited Darren’s music blog during 2024. As usual, we have a nice eclectic mix of musical genres featuring in this year’s top ten most viewed posts: folk-rock, prog rock, glam rock and much more besides. Here’s to 2025! 

1. Live review: Saving Grace with Robert Plant & Suzi Dian, White Rock Theatre, Hastings 23/3/24

Of all the ‘70s rock gods, Robert Plant is perhaps the one who has most has steadfastly refused to be pigeon-holed in the superannuated, stadium heritage rock act persona. It’s meant he’s continued to surprise and delight with new musical ventures. And it’s meant I could stroll along up the road to see him and his band perform an intimate gig in my local theatre.

Read full review here

2. Interview with Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol

Ahead of Fairport Convention’s 2024 Winter Tour, I caught up with Simon Nicol. We discuss Dave Mattacks’ return to the Fairport fold, the forthcoming tour, this Summer’s Cropredy and why he won’t be retiring any time soon.

Real full interview here

3. Farewell Frank Torpey – the last surviving original member of The Sweet

Frank Torpey’s role in the history of The Sweet was a small one but, nevertheless, an important one. Moreover, as well as continuing to play and record, he was always happy to engage with fans about The Sweet’s very early days. My tribute to Frank, who died in March this year.

Read full obituary here

4. Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2024

As things drew to a close with the familiar rendition of ‘Matty Groves’ prior to ‘Meet On The Ledge’ Simon Nicol confirmed that he’d been given permission by the ‘powers that be’ to throw in his usual ‘same time next year?’ invite, in spite of the festival’s future looking extremely precarious earlier this year. Phew! It will be going ahead in 2025 then. I’ll be there…

Read full review here

5. Bowie backing vocalist to reprise iconic ‘shopgirl’ role on ‘Absolute Beginners’

‘Oh, and I need to find a girl singer who sounds like a shopgirl,’ he said.

‘My sister Janet sings a bit, and she works in Dorothy Perkins,’ I ventured.

‘Great,’ he laughed. ‘Get her in.’

Read full article here

6. Live review: Oysterband & June Tabor, De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 5/10/24

It was almost exactly ten years ago when I last saw June Tabor and Oysterband at the De La Warr Pavilion, my first time visiting this stunning piece of 1930s architecture. I wasn’t even living down here yet but a friend had a spare ticket going and I came down for the weekend. So, when Oysterband announced their ‘Long Long Goodbye’ farewell tour with June Tabor, once again, as their very special guest I booked a ticket straight away.

Read full review here

7. Beckenham, Bowie, the Spiders and glam: interview with Suzi Ronson

Suzi was a small-time hairdresser in Beckenham before being swept up in a world which saw her become stylist for David Bowie and the originator of the iconic Ziggy Stardust hairdo as well as falling in love with the late Spiders From Mars guitar icon, Mick Ronson, who she would go on to marry.

Read full interview here

8. Live review: Tubular Bells – the 50th anniversary celebration at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 30/10/24

From the familiar opening bars of part one of Tubular Bells, through every second that followed the who thing was just a magical, mesmerising and utterly unforgettable experience. For something that was so clearly conceived as a studio project, to see it transformed into a live performance piece in this way will stay with me a long time. Hats off to Robin A. Smith for pulling together such a stunning interpretation of one of the all-time classic instrumental albums.

Read full review here

9. Live review: Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash – White Rock Theatre, Hastings 6/9/24

Performing two hour-long sets with a short half-hour interval in the middle, it’s a superb night packed full of Wishbone classics. I won’t say I haven’t enjoyed Andy Powell’s ‘official’ version of the band when I’ve seen them live but, for me, what gives Turner’s outfit the edge is being able to hear the original voice behind many of Wishbone Ash’s most famous songs live on stage. And his bass-playing is as majestic as ever.

Read full review here

10. Live review: Justin Hayward at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 16/10/24

With the death of Mike Pinder earlier this year, none of the original ‘Go Now’ line-up of the Moody Blues are still with us. And only Justin Hayward and John Lodge now remain from the classic ‘prog-era’ post-1967 line-up. But the music they leave remains with us and Justin Hayward does a hugely impressive job in celebrating the band’s legacy with affection, panache and good humour, along with some incredible musicianship on stage beside him.

Read full review here

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Live review: Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash – White Rock Theatre, Hastings 6/9/24

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

The revamp of the White Rock’s downstairs area into a more intimate studio space below the main theatre means the venue is now well-equipped to host two gigs simultaneously on the same night. Upstairs in the main auditorium was the Bob Marley tribute show – Legend, while downstairs in the studio we had a bona fide living legend in the shape of Martin Turner.

Turner was, of course, one of the founding members of Wishbone Ash and its bass-player and lead vocalist from the band’s formation in 1969 until his departure in 1980. Although he had a couple of reconciliations with Andy Powell in the 80s and 90s (the sole remaining original member of Wishbone Ash) for the past two decades Turner has been on the road with his own interpretation of the band’s legacy. I first caught Turner and his band in 2010 performing the classic 1972 Argus album in full at the first High Voltage festival in London and again doing similar at one of the Butlins Giants of Rock Festival a few years later.

For this tour things are fast-forwarded a few years, with a set-list focused around celebrating the Wishbone Ash Live Dates Volume 2 album, released in 1980. It follows a previous tour last year, performing the original 1973 Live Dates album in its entirety.

I’ve never actually owned either of the Live Dates albums and I’m generally a lot more familiar with the band’s early ‘70s studio material than with later releases – so the full set-list won’t all be entirely familiar to me. Nevertheless, it’s a gig I’ve been looking forward to for many months and Turner and his band have never disappointed when I’ve seen them live.

Performing two hour-long sets with a short half-hour interval in the middle, it’s a superb night packed full of Wishbone classics. I won’t say I haven’t enjoyed Andy Powell’s ‘official’ version of the band when I’ve seen them live but, for me, what gives Turner’s outfit the edge is being able to hear the original voice behind many of Wishbone Ash’s most famous songs live on stage. And his bass-playing is as majestic as ever. Moreover, the twin lead guitar work, courtesy of Danny Wilson and Misha Nikolic who have both been with the band a good number of years, is just absolutely stunning and does the band’s legacy proud.

Wilson also took the lead vocal on a couple of songs that had originally been fronted by Laurie Wisefield and his predecessor Ted Turner back in the day. The line-up is completed by the new boy of the band is drummer, Sonny Flint – son of Blues Band legend, Hughie Flint – who has been with the band since 2022. He gets a special cheer when he’s introduced, not only for his excellent drum-work but also for being one of Hastings’ many resident musos.

Turner is an entertaining and affable frontman, with his between-song patter bringing a touch of old-time music hall to the world of progressive rock, as well as providing some fascinating insights into the inspiration behind a number of the band’s classic songs.

It’s the songs, of course, that made this such a special gig. And there was no shortage of memorable classics, including ‘Doctor’, ‘The Way of The World’, ‘Rock and Roll Widow’ (with lead vocal from Wilson), ‘Time Was’ and, of course, ‘Blowin’ Free’ a song inspired by a love-struck teenage Turner being on Dartmoor with a visiting Swedish girl. Turner told the audience that the rest of the band wanted to keep the track off the Argus album as it didn’t fit the more serious, proggy themes of the rest of the album. Turner responded by going “psychotic” and the song remained. Phew!

https://www.martinturnermusic.com/

Related review:

Martin Turner at Giants of Rock 2018

Interview feature: The Stretch Report – Devon-based band opening for some of the big rock giants

Interviews, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Grateful Dead…

The Stretch Report are rapidly becoming the go-to support act for rock giants when they visit the south west of England. After well-received performances opening for Uriah Heep and then Wishbone Ash the band are now scheduled to support the latest reincarnation of The Grateful Dead – Live Dead 69, who are performing with original keyboard player, Tom Constanten, in Exeter on 29th January. Not bad for four middle-aged guys from Plymouth who got together four years ago when they met up at a friend’s funeral.

The band are Rob Giles (aka Razor) guitar and vocals; Ian Cooke – guitar and vocals
Chris Moss – drums; and Gary Strong – bass. I catch up with three of them. Bass player, Gary, is currently in New Zealand but the rest of the band assure me he’ll be back in time for the Dead gig.

Stretch Report band.jpg

Rob works at Plymouth University in IT and research, Chris is in open-cast quarrying on Dartmoor and Gary lectures in paramedicine. Ian chips in that by contrast he is “the full-time rock-star of the band” but he also does a bit of painting and decorating on his days off from being a rock star. The four had known each other for years and had played in various bands over the years but met up at an old musician friend’s funeral in 2012.

Rob: “We talked about getting together for a jam and we met up and it gelled.”

Most part-time musicians getting together to form a new band at their age may be content simply playing the pubs and having some jam sessions together. But The Stretch Report set their sights higher and it’s clearly paying off. The band got a major boost being offered a slot supporting Uriah Heep at the Cheese and Grain in Frome back in 2013.

Ian: “Uriah Heep was our first really big gig. It was nerve-wracking before but we had a packed venue and the energy came out of the audience. It was very, very positive.”

Chris: “We learnt a lot from that gig that we didn’t know beforehand and I think we tap into some of the ethos of those late 60s/early 70s bands by not being over-rehearsed and having some spontaneity.”

More recently, the band supported Wishbone Ash when they played Tavistock in November.

Rob: “The Wishbone Ash gig went really well and the band were very generous and gave us a shout out when they came on. Then the Grateful Dead thing came off the back of that. We are really looking forward to playing Exeter. It’s a privilege to play alongside these big bands.”

The band’s musical influences are wide and varied but a little-known late 70s Stiff Records single “Police Car” by original Motörhead guitarist, Larry Wallis, came to provide a unifying template for the embryonic Stretch Report when they first got together.

Rob: “I wanted to do ‘Police Car’ even before the band got together. I’d heard it on a Mojo compilation of 70s tracks you should have heard of but haven’t.”

Ian: “That song gave us a sense of purpose. It gave us a thread we could follow musically.”

The band recorded a video of ‘Police Car’ back in 2012 and their version has won favour with the song’s original creator.

Rob: “Larry Wallis said he liked our version and gave us his blessing. He hopes he can finally earn some royalties out of it.”

Perhaps one of the reasons why the band has gone down so well with classic rock audiences is the wide variety of rock influences they bring to their music. Certainly, there’s a spiky, punky edge to some of their music but there is much more as well.

Chris: “Punk and new wave were big influences, especially The Clash and the Damned. But we all share a passion for rock in all it’s guises, from prog to punk.”

Ian: “Motown, soul and glam was the music I listened to growing up and then punk. I got my first electric guitar just as punk came out but thanks to one of the members of the band I was in at the time, I was also listening to Hendrix and Cream as well.”

Rob: “Music is a voyage of exploration. As a teenager I would go to second-hand record stores and buy old albums simply on the strength of the cover art. I would discover all kinds of different music like that. One of the albums I found was Mad Shadows by Mott The Hoople and Mott and Ian Hunter have been major influences ever since.”

Ian: “As for Gary. He saw the Clash in 1981 on the same tour as I first saw them. You know straight away then that he gets it and we were on the same page musically. Gary has a really nice retro warmth to his delivery on bass. A nice fat vintage Glen Matlock-type sound. Neil Finn is a big influence for him, too”

The Stretch Report’s live act includes covers of songs from the likes of Robin Trower, Mick Ronson and Roxy Music, as well as the aforementioned ‘Police Car’. But one of the band’s originals, ‘Six Degrees’ written by Rob, has proved to be a crowd favourite. “That’s gone down even better than the covers,” confirms Ian and a professionally-shot video of that song will be available online shortly.

So what of the future?

Rob: “I’d love us to do a festival. I think we’d be a fantastic festival band. But if you’re talking about the next major act we’d like to open for, I’d love us to support Ian Hunter and The Rant Band.”

Chris: “I’m keen we go into the studio and record an EP. We’ve got two or three original tracks we can work on.”

Ian: “Getting the video out is important so I’m looking forward to that. It’s shot by the same guy who did the ‘Police Car’ video for us. But I also always look forward to us playing together. The fact that we are very old friends, not just a random bunch of musicians that have got together, that helps – that we know each other well and we know each other’s quirks.”

A band with bags of experience, bags of enthusiasm and who are building a reputation as a reliable support act for some of the biggest rock icons of the 60s and 70s, The Stretch Report are well worth keeping an eye on.

The Stretch Report play the Exeter Phoenix on 29th January supporting Live Dead ‘69. Tickets here

Check out the band on Facebook here

stretch-report-live_o

photo credit: David Reese