Saturday 30th November
Oh listen, Megadeth are one of my all-time favourite
groups but Dave Mustaine is talking out of his arse with
his
latest outburst. To these ears ‘Super Collider’
was a pile of poop, its relative failure was nothing whatsoever
to do with ‘mob mentalities’. I played it
once, shrugged my shoulders and filed the thing away –
not because I didn’t have time to spend getting
to know it but because it set my teeth on edge! What poppycock!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 29th November
If you’re feeling down in the dumps, and
frankly I had been, an interview with Mick Box is always
guaranteed to raise a smile. The Uriah Heep mainman really
is the nicest geezer in rock. His conversations should
be available on the National Health!
Okay, here’s something that I didn’t see coming:
Phil
Collins has hinted at a reunion with Genesis. Not
sure I really give a toss about Genesis anymore, didn’t
bother with their gig at Twickenham in 2007 and it’s
a pretty long stretch to think that they might be good
if they played again, but… well, it’s interesting
I suppose. Maybe not. Haha!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 28th November
I was left unimpressed by yesterday’s press
conference to welcome Tony Pulis as the new manager of
Crystal Palace FC. As previously stated, I cannot abide
the ex-Stoke boss or his roughhouse tactics. The first
question (which admittedly was facile to say the least):
“So why have you joined Crystal Palace, Tony?”
Pulis (flippantly): “Why not?” The arrogance
of the man… I almost put my foot through the TV
screen…
Though gigs are a little more scarce than usual, I’ve
plenty of good reading material to keep me busy. Prog
magazine has asked me to review book entitled Emerson,
Lake & Palmer – The Show That Never Ends…
Encore, a revised edition of an acclaimed ELP handbook
first published back in 2000. Its three authors certainly
know their facts. We learn that the other members of The
Shame, an early band featuring Greg Lake, became so irked
by the bassist’s infamously lackadaisical attitude
towards getting out of bed that they hid his clothes;
undeterred, Lake turned up for that evening’s show
in his jim-jams. Better still at the height of ELP’s
fame, the book claims that Greg actually employed a roadie
for his fur coat!
I’ve been dipping in and out of #36 of Dave Lewis’
excellent Led Zeppelin magazine, Tight
But Loose, which features Percy Plant on the cover
and an interview with my old colleague from RAW magazine,
Paul Rees, in promotion of the latter’s new tome
on Plant. Disappointingly, Dave fails to raise the subject
of Rees’ astonishing similarity to failed pop star
Chesney Hawkes, something I did on just every day that
we worked together (when not dropping ‘The One And
Only’ onto the office stereo and watching him erupt
with fury) – that’s a yellow card, Mr Lewis.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 27th November
Interviewing Rudolf Schenker of the Scorpions
is always fun, though following yesterday morning’s
chat my left ear is still slightly sore from the volume
that came out of the receiver! The Scorps have a new MTV
Unplugged album and DVD on the way. Of course I asked
about any plans for the group to play in the UK again…
I’m paraphrasing here, but the answer seemed to
be: Don’t hold your breath. They’d *like*
to do it, especially as the clock is ticking towards the
end of a farewell tour that has dragged on for several
years, but the offer has to be right.
Also got the
lowdown on Mastodon’s soon-to-be-recorded album
from guitarist Bill Killiher for the Metal Hammer website.
Though I’m a huge fan of the band from Atlanta,
Georgia, it was my first conversation with a member of
the group. This is perhaps surprising given both Mastodon’s
stature (their fifth album, 2011’s ‘The Hunter’,
was a Top 20 record here in the UK) and longevity (they
have existed for almost 14 years), also given that my
friend Malcolm Dome were lucky enough to have seen them
as a support act at the Camden Underworld way back in
2003 and were both completely blown away by their sheer
ferocity and class. Can’t wait to hear what they
do next!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 26th November
Feeling more than a tad groggy this morning after
last night’s playback party for the new Transatlantic
album, ‘Kaleidoscope’ (released on January
27, 2014), at London’s Sanctum Hotel and followed
by a nightcap or two at the Crobar. Conducted in the presence
of the neo-prog quartet’s bass player Pete Trewavas,
the event also marked the 20th anniversary of their label
InsideOut Music and all drinks were free (if you had the
right wristband! Haha!). Featuring two epic pieces, ‘Into
The Blue’ and the title cut, plus three shorter
tracks, ‘Kaleidoscope’ sounded as majestic
and classy as we’ve come to expect… can’t
wait to hear in the more controlled setting of my office
here at Ling Towers – i.e. away from the distraction
of gossip, banter and flutes of bubbly! Hic!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 25th November
Last night’s Steve Price show on ARFM unveiled
some amazing news: Shy (with Tony Mills on vocals) are
to play the final Firefest… niiiiiiiiice! Coney
Hatch, too! My flabber is well and truly ghasted. Much
respect to Kieran, Bruce and the gang for an absolute
corker of a bill. The original Danger Danger line-up (with
Andy Timmons), H.E.A.T., Firehouse, Autograph and Black
‘N Blue, and for the connoisseurs among us Boulevard,
From The Fire, Babylon AD, Tower City… the list
goes on. It’s such a shame that Shy’s late,
great Steve Harris won’t be there but that bill’s
just insane!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_
Sunday 24th November
Ten-man Palace beat Hull Shitty at the KC Stadium
– what an incredible result, masterminded by caretaker
boss Keith Millen (*not* the newly arrived Tony Pulis,
who watched from the stands). It was a plucky display
from the Eagles, who can consider themselves unlucky over
Yannick Bolasie’s ridiculous dismissal. Eddie and
I watched a live web stream, gnawing at our fingernails
as the game went into injury time and the Tigers hit the
post and had a shot cleared off the line before the oh
so precious sound of the final whistle. Get in, you beaut!
And take that St**e Br**e… bet you wish you were
still on gardening leave?!
Beer time sounded as I headed off to Shepherd’s
Bush Empire for the Black Star Riders’ debut London
show – a bottle of wine on the train? That’ll
do nicely! There was a slightly scary run in at London
Bridge Underground with trainload of depressed Clowntown
fans who dared to mock my scarf: Cue a loud cry of: “What
division are you in?!” A bit lucky to get away unscarred
from that, to be honest…
Frankly, a state of inebriation was mandatory in order
to get through the support act, the Dead Pansies…
er, Daisies. What kind of a name is that?! And listen,
I don’t care if you have two members of Guns N’
Roses – guitarist Richard Fortus and keysman Dizzy
Reed – and a singer that used to be in INXS (Jon
Stevens), your songs are forgettable!
Considerable debate has surrounded the decision to rebrand
Thin Lizzy as Black Star Riders. Well, this wonderful
show vindicated the move in the most emphatic manner possible.
The band played nine originals from their debut album,
‘All Hell Breaks Loose’ (count ’em:
‘All Hell Breaks Loose’, ‘Bloodshot’,
‘Before The War’, ‘Hoodoo Voodoo’,
‘Kingdom Of The Lost’, ‘Hey Judas’,
‘Kissin’ The Ground’, ‘Valley
Of The Stones’ and ‘Bound For Glory’),
plus an equal quantity of Lizzy classics (‘Are You
Ready?’, ‘Bad Reputation’, ‘Jailbreak’,
‘Massacre’, ‘Southbound’, ‘Emerald’,
‘Cowboy Song’, ‘The Boys Are Back In
Town’ and ‘Rosalie/Cowgirl’s Song’.
Of the new ’uns, just one – ‘Valley
Of The Stones’ – didn’t really work,
sounding too much like The Almighty, though that’s
still a pretty solid success rate. It’s hard to
deny the fact that ‘Bound For Glory’ is an
unashamed cross between ‘Waiting For An Alibi’
and ‘Whitesnake’s ‘Guilty Of Love’,
but at the end of the day who cares a damn?! There were
some very minor niggles: Damon Johnson’s guitar
solo included the theme from ‘Black Rose’
– a song I’d rather have heard the band perform
than ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, which Scott Gorham
didn’t even play on. ‘Don’t Believe
A Word’ was another glaring omission, but WTF…
BSR passed with flying colours!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 23rd November
My Friday ended by placing a late-evening phone call to
Jake E Lee, the former Ratt, Rough Cutt, Ozzy Osbourne
and Badlands guitarist who apart from the release of an
instrumental solo album a few years back seemed to drop
off the map following the regrettable demise of the last-named
band in 1993. Lee, whose new project Red Dragon Cartel
release a self-titled debut via Frontiers in January,
was happy to explain the reasons for what his record company
biog calls a “self-imposed exile from the music
industry”, and of course how he’d filled his
time during the ‘Lord Lucan years’. It’s
hard to describe RDC’s music, as it’s not
really blues-laden like Badlands were, and it doesn’t
sound anything like the by-numbers stuff that Frontiers
are often guilty of releasing. However I really like the
record, which has Darren Smith of Harem Scarem fame on
vocals and Ronnie Mancuso of Beggars & Thieves fame
on bass (the line-up is completed by drummer Jonas Fairly),
plus a diverse selection of special guests that includes
Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander, Paul Di’Anno,
ex-Pantera/Down bassist Rex Brown, former Kyuss man Scott
Reeder and the incredible Sass Jordan, also, curiously,
Maria Brink of alt-metallers In This Moment. A gigging
schedule is being arranged right now, reveals Jake. Count
me in; I’ll go along…
Oh dear, one of my worst fears has come true. Crystal
Palace have confirmed Tony Constipated (Poo-less…
geddit?) as their new manager. I cannot abide Pulis as
an individual – take that chavvy baseball cap and
shove it up yer arse, mate! – and loath his tactics.
However, I suppose I will have to grit my teeth and back
him whilst he occupies the hot seat at Selhurst.
The new ish of Prog magazine (dated December, Zappa on
cover) is here. How much do I love the fact that Bob ‘n’
Toyah Fripp have supplied a Christmas cake recipe?! That
is so, so cool!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 22nd November
Two years had evaporated since my last live sighting
of Tigertailz, still fronted at the time by the Valleys'
answer to Paul Stanley, the one and only Kim Hooker. Jules
Millis of Australian pomp merchants White Widdow has since
taken over the microphone. I will admit, I didn't think
he'd be too much cop in such a specialised role but fair
play to him and the group – they still kick major
amounts of butt. Shame about Damn Dice, one of the most
excruciating support acts I've had the misfortune to endure,
but despite Rob Wylde's bass sound swamping the other
instruments for much of the show, only a determined party
pooper could have walked away from the Underworld without
a smile plastered across their face in the wake of the
national anthem of Glam Rock, ’Love Bomb Baby'.
The 'Tailz still perform a big chunk of their masterpiece
statement, ’Bezerk', which let us not forget was
a Top 40 album at the start of the 1990s, but also threw
in four songs from a new EP entitled ’Knives'. I
really liked them all, particularly ’Punched In The
Nuts' which has a chorus that goes: “I've been punched
in the nuts/I've been kicked in the guts/I've been burgled
by sluts”… yeah, I've been to Cardiff, too!
Despite an ultra-cheesy video
for ’The Shoe Collector', the song worked surprisingly
well onstage. A wonderful night was had by all…
The set-list ran as follows: ’Sicksex!' ’Hollywood
Killer', ’Living Without You', ’Don't Bite The
Hand', ’I Can Fight Dirty Too', ’Love Overload',
’One Life', ’I'll Tear Your Fucking Heart Out',
’Heaven' (dedicated to their late, much missed bassist
Pepsi Tate), ’Twist And Shake', ’Punched In
The Nuts' and ’Call Of The Wild', followed by ’Star
Attraction', ’The Shoe Collector' and the God-like
’Love Bomb Baby'.
Re: the cricket… what the f**k happened??!! Following
the 'Tailz gig I had sat up till England were something
like 50-1, having swept up the Aussie tail thanks to Broad's
sixth wicket, and with Trott and Carberry in control,
despatching the bad ball with what looked like apparent
ease, only to wake up five hours later to a complete bloodbath
for the tourists. I'm *still* lost for words.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 21st November
Uggh. Feeling a wee bit groggy following a late
night/early morning viewing session but despite losing
the toss on a beautifully flat batting surface that should
encourage some stroke playing, England's cricketers have
begun the new Ashes series in fine style. With Stuart
Broad, known only as “a 27-year-old English medium-pace
bowler” to the local tabloids that are refusing
to mention him by name, having collected five wickets
for 65 runs, this morning's reports in those same papers
should make interesting reading!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 20th November
My preparations for last night’s England
international game were perfect: The fridge was filled.
I took a nice park run and shower and then hit the ale
early doors before plonking myself down in front of the
telly well before the kick off… There’s no
such thing as a friendly against the Germans, after all.
The dismal result – against a friggin’ B-side
– made me feel so darned miserable, I cannot bear
to type anymore. Over and out: Off to kick the cat…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 19th November
No… before you ask I didn’t go to
see Mott The Hoople at the O2 Arena. I read the reviews
of the regional shows, took the poor ticket sales into
account and much as I’d like to have seen opening
acts Thunder and Fish decided to stick with my cherished
memories of the reunion show I saw at Hammersmith in 2009.
My spies tell me that made the right call. Fish was hurried
onstage a mere 20 mins after the doors opened, playing
for just a half-hour (as the big Scotsman later joked,
he’s done longer encores!) and Thunder’s set
was flawed by poor sound.
I’ve been getting stuck into the new issue of Classic
Rock Presents AOR. Derek Oliver’s cover story on
Styx, which focuses on the classic ’Pieces of Eight’
album, is an excellent read… though when push comes
to shove I will always be a ’Grand Illusion’
man myself!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 18th November
Managed to cram a lot into my Sunday: A trip
to the Music Mania Record Fair an Olympia, a face to face
interview with Carl Palmer and a trip to the Forum in
Kentish Town, where a huge crowd had gathered the Metal
Hammer-sponsored Defenders Of The Faith show.
At Olympia I picked up a handful of vinyl goodies including
a mint condition missing Chicago album from the Peter
Cetera era (1979’s ’Street Player’) and
the Average White Band’s 1977 collaboration with
Ben E King (’Benny And Us’), a still-shrinkwrapped
album by US soft-rockers Orleans and Joe Vitale’s
Albert Bros-produced ’Roller Coaster Weekend’,
which features Joe Walsh and Rick Derringer, plus two
CDs by UK blues rockers Roadhouse – I was disappointed
to get them home and find that my good mate Danny Gwilym,
a current group member, isn’t on either. Bah!
Being brutally honest, I’m a moderate fan of headliners
Amon Amarth but the only two bands that I *really* wanted
to see at Defenders Of The Faith were Carcass and Hell.
The latter’s theatrical and tuneful approach to fist-pumping,
bulletbelt-friendly heavy metal was more fun than should
be allowed on a Sunday. Followed by a bout of mock self-flagellation
with a cat o’nine tails, singer David Bower’s
cry of: “Are you with us?” during opening
song ’The Age Of Nefarious’ was greeted by a
surprisingly loud roar. Heads were banged onstage and
off to ’Something Wicked This Way Comes’ and
’The Quest’. Half an hour was way too short!
Such were the levels of tedium, I actually found myself
jotting down a shopping list during an interminable and
extremely dull set by the ridiculously out of place Glaswegian
metalcore (!) combo Bleed From Within – ’nuff
said.
Back after 17 years, Carcass were a revelation. Combining
beautifully focussed brutality with brain-syringing yet
often melodic guitar runs and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker’s
caustic wit, backed by some graphic b/w cinematic images
to accompany the music, they’re as good as they ever
were. Heavy metal as it used to be; heavy metal as it
should be.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 16th November
England’s 0-2 defeat to Chile at Wembley
was disappointing, but in fairness to Roy Hodgson the
side he picked for last night’s friendly game was
largely experimental, and let us not forget the quality
of the opposition. I’m sure that many familiar faces
will return for Tuesday night’s game against the
Germans.
Check this out – Brian Tatler has just emailed me
a link
to a YouTube clip of a very interesting version of his
band’s song ’Am I Evil?’ played by Rob
Zombie and featuring Munky and Head from nu-metallers
Korn. It’s surprisingly good, I think...
Anyway, it’s been a helluva week so I might have
a bit of a Crobar night this evening. Pavlov’s Dog
are playing next door at the Borderline. Normally, I’d
go in and have a look but they were so extraordinarily
good last time out, making their UK debut at the same
venue (see Diary, 22.8.12), there’s no way it could
be as pleasurable an experience, so I might just concentrate
on the ale.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 15th November
I’m back from last night’s Classic
Rock Awards, another star-studded evening at the London
Roundhouse. As ever I was on duty as a ‘roving reporter’,
thrusting my tape recorder under the noses of several
winners allocated to me, namely The Temperance Movement,
Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath (who picked up no less
than three awards!), Alex Lifeson of Rush and Rick Wakeman
who presented Lifeson with Spirit Of Prog), Alice Cooper’s
manager Shep Gordon and various assorted partygoers, including
one James Patrick Page… we are not worthy.
Had there been an award for Nicest Man Of The Night it
would surely have gone to Alex Lifeson. If the guitarist
stopped smiling it was for a nano-second, he also made
a great comedy double act with Rick Wakeman when I interviewed
them together – they are huge fans of each other’s
music.
I really need to get myself a better camera but here’s
something you don’t see every day of the week: Messrs
Butler, Page, Iommi, Lifeson and Osbourne sharing a laugh
together in Ross Halfin’s backstage grotto.
Mr Halfin took this rather fine shot of myself and Thunder’s
Harry James, caught comparing our matching Crystal Palace
ties… the best-dressed guys in the building, and
no mistake!
Here’s
a list of who won what. And be sure to check out Nicky
Horne’s backstage interviews.
Album Of The Year: Black Sabbath – ‘13’
Reissue Of The Year: Fleetwood Mac – ‘Rumours’
35th Anniversary Edition
Band Of The Year: The Rolling Stones
Best New Band: The Temperance Movement
Breakthrough Award: Virginmarys
Event Of The Year: Black Sabbath go to number one
Film Of The Year: Led Zeppelin – ‘Celebration
Day’
Classic Album: John Mayall – ‘Blues Breakers
With Eric Clapton’
Outstanding Contribution: Mott The Hoople
The Living Legend Award: Black Sabbath
The Musicians' Union Maestro: James Dean Bradfield
Tommy Vance Inspiration Award: Rory Gallagher
VIP Award: Shep Gordon
Metal Guru: Zakk Wylde
Spirit Of Prog: Alex Lifeson
The Showmen: The Darkness
Innovator: Wilko Johnson
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 14th November
I absolutely loved last night’s gig from
Blackberry Smoke and The Western Sizzlers, which took
placed at a jam-packed Barfly club in Camden. Both groups
were making their UK debuts, which gave the evening a
really special feel.
Featuring former Georgia Satellites legend Rick Richards
on guitar and fronted by Kevin Jennings – who my
mate Andy Beare thought looked a bit like Arfur Daley…
never a bad thing! – The Western Sizzlers play a
gnarly, authentic brand of Southern barroom boogie. Though
he chips in with certain lead solos and slide guitar parts,
Richards is like human rhythm machine – America’s
answer to Rick Parfitt, if you will, and this comparison
held water as the band blazed through a shit-kicking rendition
of the Frantic Four’s own ‘Break The Rules’.
Praise is also due for their own songs such as ‘One
Day Closer To Crazy’ and ‘One More Beer’,
the latter of which is worthy of the Satellites themselves.
Such was the anticipation for the Atlanta band’s
first UK visit, the 200 lucky tickets to see Blackberry
Smoke apparently sold out in less than an hour. A five-date
tour now takes place in the springtime, just as their
most recent album, ‘The Whippoorwill’, arrives
on this side of the pond. Sporting some truly alarming
facial hair and with three albums in a decade-long existence,
the headliners were considerably less breakneck than their
opening act, sounding more like the Black Crowes or the
Allman Brothers, and it was no surprise when a snippet
of the latter’s ‘Midnight Rider’ bled
into a mid-set ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie’. Luckily,
the annoying country rock tendencies that tend to permeate
their records were left at the door (though ‘Ride
My Pony’ was a close call…) but my own favourite
of the band’s songs, ‘Up In Smoke’,
really got the crowd pumped up. BBS cannot return to the
UK quickly enough for yours truly, and the campaign to
reinstall the Sizzlers as their tour’s support act
starts here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 13th November
Ever since their eponymously titled debut album
found its way to the top of my ‘to play’ pile
(which I’m ashamed to admit took far, far longer
than it should’ve done), I’d been dying to
check out the Stockport-based hard rockin’ blues
band Federal Charm. Last night they rolled into London
as part of the New Generation Blues tour, which also featured
Laurence Jones and Mitch Laddie. The venue? The Borderline
in Manette Street. Hang on a cotton pickin’ moment…
don’t we know a little watering hole just a few
doors away?! So I rounded up my pal Mark Taylor who’s
always up for both a small sherry and a look at new musical
talent, and off we jolly well set.
Astoundingly, only 75 or so peeps were inside the venue
as we arrived – including bar and merch staff. Jeez!
However, FC played as though they didn’t notice
– or care about – the lack of punters. A generous
whiff of Zep and Bad Company permeates ‘I’m
Not Gonna Beg’ and ‘There’s A Light’
and the slow, heartfelt blues of ‘Reconsider’
was delightful. They also received kudos for covering
‘Radar Love’ by the mighty Golden Earring.
As their song title suggests: ‘Tell Your Friends’!
Next up was master Jones, who I had seen and reviewed
for Classic Rock’s Blues magazine mere months ago.
The experience made me feel like an elderly auntie or
uncle who only sees their relative at family gatherings;
it was alarming to note how Laurence had grown and matured
via his own material and a choice cover of ‘All
Along The Watchtower’.
Introducing a short but rather great new song that might’ve
been titled ‘Open Your Eyes’, Mitch Laddie
maintained the evening’s high standards, picking
out the notes superbly on his white Strat and singing
with soulful power. In a nice touch ‘This Time Around’
was dedicated to the mentor that got him his record deal,
the one and only Walter Trout (whose lovely wife Marie
was in the crowd). In short, this was a show that deserved
to have been seen by a *lot* more people.
Afterwards, Mark and I headed back to the Crobar for a
few too many nightcaps in the company of Phil Allen from
the UK blues combo The Idle Hands, who proved to be a
fine fellow. It was a cool if somewhat fuzzy end to a
most pleasurable evening.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 12th November
Past experience has taught me that attempts to
conduct three phone interviews in the space of one day
are invariably doomed – somewhere down the line,
someone will f**k up along the way. Amazingly, yesterday
proved an exception to this rule. First up, Roger Chapman
explained why Family – who defied the odds to reunite
last year after four decades of inactivity – have
agreed to play further shows in 2014. A few hours later
I chatted to Spike about the Quireboys’ upcoming
acoustic tour, also their long-running Spinal Tap-esque
problems with drummers. The result of our conversation
was somewhere along the lines of this
link, though we also touched upon Keith Boyce of the
Heavy Metal Kids’ recent blink-and-you-missed-it
spell with the group. And finally, Paul O’Neill,
the mastermind behind the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, called
to set the scene for the group’s first UK gigs in
three years. ’Twas a busy day!
What sad
news about ex-UFO bassist Pete Way, the latest rock
star to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. 62-year-old
Pete feels “good, positive and determined to beat
it”. I add my voice to those that are including
him in their prayers.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 11th November
How better to spend one’s Sunday evening
than a nostalgic trip back to the 1970s? Last night I
took a train to Dartford’s Orchard Theatre for another
live experience of my boyhood heroes, Sweet, who are touring
the country’s theatres with fellow glam rock titans
Slade… or what passes for them (i.e. they’re
still Noddy-less, more’s the pity).
With Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker both long gone and
Steve Priest involved in a quest to stuff his face with
every last hamburger in America, Andy Scott remains this
version of Sweet’s only survivor from the 1970s,
but the band pack a mightier punch than many will have
expected. Scott’s guitar sound was little short
of monstrous, as was rhythm guitarist/keysman Tony O’Hora’s
very heavy meta-a-a-al cry-out at end of ‘Teenage
Rampage’ (just as you might expect from a former
member of Onslaught!). Having seen the band just a few
months ago at the Merton Manor Club it was amusing to
watch the faces around me as recognition of their turbo-charged
remake of Dead Or Alive’s ‘You Spin Me Round’
began to dawn. Though they missed out ‘Turn It Down’
this time – it was a now distinctly adult version
of a teenybopper-friendly crowd, after all – the
65-minute set-list remained almost the same (see Diary,
14.9.13). It was also great to buy a new Sweet T-shirt
for the collection!
I hung around for three numbers by the alleged Slade
(‘Gudbuy T’Jane’, ‘Lock Up Your
Daughters’ and ‘Far Far Away’), who
now comprise Dave Hill and Don Powell with vox from Mal
McNulty who used to be with Sweet, plus a Jim Lea lookalike
bassist that I didn’t recognise, but it was all
a bit naff so an early exit to ensure I could get home
seemed provident. My pal Andy Beare, who stuck things
out for a while longer, reckons that I made the right
decision. Phew!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 10th November
A stalemate against European-bound Everton? Okay…
I’ll take that, in fact I’ll bite your Goddamned
hand off. Coming in the wake of so many disappointing
results yesterday’s game at Selhurst felt more like
a victory than a goalless draw. If the Eagles had been
able to sign a decent striker during the summer then the
Toffees could have found themselves heading back up the
M6 empty handed; the best two chances of the game certainly
went the way of the home side. I took great heart from
both result and the still manager-less team’s gutsy
display. Blow me down, the Sunday Times has actually dared
to write: “Premier League survival may yet be within
Palace’s reach.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 9th November
Islington’s Assembly hall is fast becoming
one of my favourite London venues, so I wasn’t going
to turn down the opportunity to take a look at John Lees’
Barclay James Harvest – especially as Prog magazine
had asked me to handle reviewing duties.
Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman began the evening with
a set of largely instrumental songs based upon their collaborative
album, ‘Ravens & Lullabies’, plus Giltrap’s
own ‘Roots’ and ‘Heartsong’ and
a vocal-free rendition of ‘Wonderous Stories’
by Yes. It was fun but things stepped up a gear or five
when vocalist Paul Manzi joined them for ‘Maybe
Tomorrow’ and the lovely ‘Ravens Will Fly’.
Here’s hoping that some electric gigs, fronted by
Manzi, are not too far away.
Ciders of differing flavours (including a pomegranate
jobbie that I suspect will really open up the sluices
at both ends) had flown down the neck by the time the
headliners took the stage. JLBJH were on fine form, mixing
material from their rather decent current disc, ‘North’,
with a slew of classic tunes from the 1970s. My friend
and beer roadie Neil Pudney became one of the stars of
the show when he roared out for ‘One Night’.
Lees threw Neil’s suggestion to the crowd, who when
given a choice preferred ‘Taking Some Time On’
instead. Cue one peed-off Pudders! Seriously, it was an
excellent performance, the new material standing its ground
among a repertoire filled with bona fide catalogue gems.
The set-list ran as follows: ‘Ball And Chain’,
‘If You Were Here Now’, ‘Ancient Waves’,
‘Child Of The Universe’, ‘Crazy City’,
‘Hymn For The Children’, ‘On Leave’,
‘The Real Deal’, ‘Poor Man’s Moody
Blues’, ‘Poor Wages’, ‘Song For
Dying’, ‘North’, ‘Unreservedly
Yours’, ‘Taking Some Time On’ and ‘For
No One’, followed by a glorious encore of ‘Mockingbird’
and ‘Hymn’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 8th November
Although he was here in London to talk to the
press about the new album ‘Bridge The Gap’,
my awkward schedule and the fact that youngest son Arnie
was home from school on a so-called ‘inset day’
meant that yesterday’s interview with Michael Schenker
was conducted by phone – shame. The German labours
under the belief that a reunion of UFO’s ‘Strangers
In The Night’ line-up is “still a possibility”
– oh look, there goes a flying pig piloted by Lord
Lucan, being chased by Shergar! – but otherwise
Michael seems in a very good place right now… long
may it remain so.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 7th November
Here’s my pre-Mott The Hoople tour interview
with Ian Hunter, conducted by phone on Monday morning.
Hunter was great value for money, as usual. I love the
bit about “[The promoters] must think we’re
Beyoncé or something.” It’s an easy
mistake to make, hahaha! He’s a great artist and
a decent, likable fella. It’s somewhat rare to be
able to tick both boxes.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 6th November
Aw, bless. Leigh Matty from Romeo’s Daughter
just found a cute photo of her and I from ‘back
in the day’, probably on her band’s tour with
FM for the ‘Tough It Out’ album in 1989. Look
at those hamster cheeks of mine; so glad I’m now
a runner! Most unusual that I’ve a beer in my hand,
too. (Ahem…)
Just got off the phone with Jeff Scott Soto for an end-of-year
interview for Classic Rock. W.E.T.’s second album,
‘Rise Up’, is among the mag’s Top 50
releases of 2013 – JSS was pleased and a little
shocked by the news, I think!
I’m very happy, too. Have just been asked to work
at the Classic Rock Awards which take place in London
in about a week’s time. It’s the biggest night
of the year in this genre of music… always a huge
thrill to be there, tape recorder in hand!! Fish is this
year’s guest presenter – fantastic!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 5th November
Crikey, what a hangover following the second
instalment of a gathering that's now taken on the title
of the Monday Night Supper Club. Along with 17 other loonies
we began the evening in the Crobar before fine dining,
reservoirs of white wine and mucho silliness and storytelling
at Bistro 1 in Firth Street. Back to the Cro again for
a few nightcaps and a sprint down Charing Cross Road for
the last train back to Catford Bridge. Somehow managed
to rouse the kids from their pits and get them off to
school before a 90-min catnap. What a fantastic night!
Have just been reading a great
new interview with ex-Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley.
No doubt Gene $immons’ ears are burning! It contains
some great quotes – “Gene’s living in
the past. He’s become a caricature of himself. From
the very beginning his only motivation was money. The
guy has no friends; he’s not respected by his peers
and he’s pissed off thousands of fans” –
but perhaps a bit silly of Ace to have added: “He’s
never had a hit single, like I’ve had.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 4th November
How was my Sunday occupied? Some work on the
accounts, a quick run, a trip to the cinema with youngest
son Arnie (the new Thor movie… neither of us were
especially thrilled) and onto Camden for my debut live
sighting of Orchid, the San Franciscan Sabbath-alikes
whose second full-length disc, ‘The Mouths Of Madness’,
was among my fave albums of 2013.
Arriving in time for the closing song by the opening act
Zodiac (sorry!), I was blown away by a bunch of European
psych-rockers called Blues Pills. It’s becoming
a bit of a cliché to play the Janis card in connection
to any female singer with a foghorn voice and a metaphorical
set of cajones, but Elin Larsson was a revelation and
‘Devil Man’ transpired to be one of several
impressive songs. Newly signed to Nuclear Blast and in
the process of recording their debut album, I’d
like to have seen them play for more than half an hour.
High hopes indeed.
I’m still not sure what to make of Scorpion Child,
the Texans whose self-debut has caused quite a few waves.
They looked awful, like a bunch of roadies, except for
singer Aryn Jonathan Black who had a veritable artillery
of rock star shapes. However, the sound mix was such that
his voice was only heard to full capacity in fits and
starts. And to the tubby guitarist who thought it was
cool to throw beer cans into the crowd… you utter
dickhead. However, Scorpion Child played just about all
of their debut, several selections from which broke down
into, or in some cases were linked by, spacey freakout
interludes. They were interesting, at the very least.
I’d like to see them again, preferably with the
voice much higher in the mix.
At times the headliners’ audacious thievery caused
a smirk of amusement. As much as I love ‘The Mouths
Of Madness’, the quartet’s live show is a
mash-up of familiar riffs and vocal melodies, and it doesn’t
help that Theo Mindell actually looks a little like a
younger version of John ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne. It
was all too much for a certain very tall member of the
Classic Rock posse who exited in disgust after a half-dozen
songs, calling them “such shamelessly pilfering
twatbadgers that it actually offended me”. I wouldn’t
go anywhere near that far though I was disappointed not
to have heard far more from ‘TMOM’; many of
the show’s best bits (‘Capricorn’, ‘Black
Funeral’, ‘Eyes Behind The Wall’, ‘Masters
Of It All’) being culled from other records in their
catalogue. I shall be seeking a copy of 2011’s ‘Capricorn’
post haste.
Meanwhile, my good pal malcolm Dome has said it far better
than I ever could with this more expansive précis
of the night, viewable over at the CR
website.
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Sunday 3rd November
In an ideal world I’d have joined my friends
Neil and Louise Pudney at the Hawthorns for Palace’s
game at West Brom. However, with things at Ling Towers
being far from ideal I had to make do with watching events
via a live weblink. The Eagles played rather well but,
as ever, were punished by a mistake that they might have
got away with this time last year in the Championship.
Pushing up for an equaliser, which in my view would have
been deserved, it was pretty inevitable that the Baggies
would score a second. Another decent performance…
fuck all to show for it – yet again. Most disheartening.
On a lighter note, I’ve been enjoying Classic Rock’s
exclusive fan pack presentation of the new Motörhead
album, ‘Aftershock’. As if the music wasn’t
great enough, the package contains some terrific interviews
with Lem, Phil and Mikkey. The Q&A with the former
is particularly frank. Asked about the proudest moment
of his life, Kilmister replies: “Going straight
to Number One with ‘No Sleep Til Hammersmith’
[in 1981],” adding: “I just wish that wasn’t
when all of the recognition stopped.” He makes a
good point.
Editor Paul ‘Gooner’ Elliott commissioned
me to file a track-by-track of ‘Aftershock’,
a retro review of the fabled Heavy Metal Holocaust gig
at Port Vale FC in 1981 and a lengthy historical piece
detailing the happenings in the group’s world from
1984-’95. Order it here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 2nd November
My Friday evening was cheered by the news
of Paul Gambaccini’s arrest on suspicion of
historical sexual offences as part of Scotland Yard’s
Operation Yewtree. Why? Well, at last October’s
premiere for the Hello Quo! movie, Gambaccini publicly
embarrassed yours truly by pointing out what he felt to
be a resemblance between yours truly and Jimmy Savile
– the latter a man with whom he’d shared an
office at the Beeb for several years. During the fallout,
Gambo actually suggested – without evidence –
that Savile
was a necrophiliac . As I wrote in my web diary at
the time: “What a repulsive, conceited, attention-seeker.
When the Beeb’s internal housekeeping mission is
done ‘n’ dusted, he’d better be squeaky
clean…” Though of course I have the utmost
sympathy to his alleged victim(s), given the circumstances
some kind of refreshing beverage was in order. I believe
it’s called karma? I felt like leaping into a paddling
pool-sized Tesco wine pouch!
BTW, from conversations we’ve had since *the incident*,
I’m pretty sure that Quo’s own Francis Rossi
and Rick Parfitt will be allowing themselves a wry smile
apiece. Rick was certainly less than amused by Gambo’s
gratuitous revelation that he had always fancied him (though
I’m paraphrasing, that’s the gist of what
he informed the gathered audience).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 1st November
I've got another hangover. Following a late-afternoon
interview with John Schaffer and Stu Block of Iced Earth
in Camden I headed to the Crobar for what turned out to
be a rather bibulous evening in the company of a large
gang of herberts that included my old mate Steve McTaggart,
the current manager of DragonForce. Road tales abounded,
many delivered in less than clean language – great
fun! Managed to get the last train home… somehow,
thank the Lord.
Compiling a list of the rock musicians that we lost during
2013 for Classic Rock’s final edition was a very,
very depressing task. RIP to Trevor Bolder, Clive Burr,
Alvin Lee, Kevin Ayers, Jeff Hanneman, Storm Thorgerson,
Ray Manzarek, Allen Lanier, Jan Kuehnemund, Lou Reed and
the rest of my heroes/heroines. And now… Pete Haycock
of the Climax Blues Band is no longer with us. Christ,
what an awful year it’s been.
Click on these links for the monthly Playlist
and YouTube updates. Talking
of which, I’ve just selected my end-of-year-charts
for Classic Rock and Prog magazines. Steven Wilson's ‘The
Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)’
sat atop both lists and will no doubt repeat the feat
should Metal Hammer request that I do likewise. Anyone
that has yet to ample its delights should do themselves
a favour and click here.
A lie-in till ten o’clock, Lars Ulrich interview
transcript, roast dinner and Strictly Come Dancing, a
mid-afternoon 10K run and long soak in bath, then drinks
with Neil Pudney and Pudney before Steven Wilson’s
gig at the Royal Albert Hall. Well, I’ve definitely
had worse Sundays!
With no game for my beloved Crystal Palace till Monday
evening, I departed Ling Towers happy in the knowledge
that fellow strugglers Sunderland, Hull, Cardiff and Norwich
(sorry Tony Crowley) had all suffered defeats… heavy
ones in most cases. My destination was the Live Evil Festival
at the Garage. With a bus replacement on the Overground
link and the Northern line out of action, the journey
across London took three times as long as usual. As I
arrived the Chilean variety of Pentagram, who play Slayer-esque
thrash (as opposed to the better known Virginian-based
doom-metal veterans of the same name) had ownership of
the stage. Rather good they were, too.
The venue was rammed to the hilt with a crowd that looked
like it had spent the entire day on the ale. Luckily apart
from some loonies at the front they were too pissed (and
in many cases far too ancient) to mosh around! What many
of them did do, however, was smoke – defiantly and
pointedly in opposition to those of us that pointed out
it is no longer permitted. Dickheads.
Luckily, headliners Satan made it all worthwhile. With
the line-up responsible for their 1983 ‘Court In
The Act’ album recently reunited, back in the spring
– an incredible three decades later (!) –
the NWOBHM combo released an excellent follow-up entitled
‘Life Sentence’. Brian Ross’ eyesight
might have deteriorated to the point where the set-list
became illegible, but his voice remains surprisingly strong.
Songs such as ‘Time To Die’ and ‘Siege
Mentality’ from ‘Life Sentence’ were
as strong as anything offered on Satan’s cult favourite
debut. No wonder they did six of the buggers! So amazing
was the response that Ross took his life in his hands
and announced: “I’d forgotten was it was like
to play for a decent crowd in England. We’re from
Newcastle and people just don’t wanna know; it sucks.
You guys should tell Newcastle how to enjoy themselves.”
That comment might come back to bite him! Till then, here’s
the set-list: ‘Into The Fire (Intro)’/‘Trial
By Fire’, ‘Blades Of Steel’, ‘Time
To Die’, ‘Twenty Twenty-Five’, ‘Oppression’,
‘Break Free’, ‘Incantations’,
‘The Ritual’, ‘Siege Mentality’,
‘Hunt You Down’, ‘Testimony’,
‘No Turning Back’, ‘Cenotaph’,
‘Alone In The Dark’ and an encore of ‘Kiss
Of Death’. Superb stuff!
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