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Thursday
30th April
With
another issue of Classic Rock entering the final stages
of production, yesterday was filled by three interviews.
I spoke to Stone Gods singer/guitarist Richie Edwards,
who revealed that the feud with Justin Hawkins is now
officially a thing of the past. “Dan [Hawkins, SG
guitarist] and [his formerly estranged ex-Darkness sibling]
Justin are getting on great again, and I’ve seen
Justin myself a few times recently,” Edwards told
me, fresh from a writing session for the band’s
second album. “We went to see AC/DC at the O2 Arena
together. Justin’s in great shape again and he’s
kicked all the shit he was taking. It was tense for a
while but a lot of water has gone under the bridge.”
I
also had enjoyable chats with Mick Box of Uriah Heep and
The Tubes’ Fee Waybill. With his ludicrous prediction
that “there will be a lot of non-stop Cockney dancing”
at the band’s summer festival appearances (Heep
have just been added to the Classic Rock-sponsored Memories
Of Woodstock Festival in Shrewsbury on August 7), Mr Box
was in typically irrepressible mood. The same wasn’t
quite so true of Waybill, who claimed The Tubes were so
dreadfully treated by a certain promoter on their last
UK tour in 2005 that they vowed never to come back. But
for being booked to play at Sweden Rock and “having
to come right through London to get there”, their
June 2 Islington Academy show would not even be taking
place. Fee did, however, reveal that he is recording a
new solo album with his good friend Richard Marx, which
upon putting down the receiver promoted me to dash away
and slam Marx’s self-titled debut from 1987 (the
one featuring ‘Should’ve Known Better’,
‘Don’t Mean Nothing’ and the gorgeous
‘Endless Summer Nights’) onto the turntable…
it still sounds sublime!
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Wednesday
29th April
Phew
– the return of Creed (see yesterday’s diary)
won’t affect the long-term future of Alter Bridge,
according to singer Myles Kennedy. “I can assure you
that as soon as they [Creed] finish in October, we will
move forward. Contrary to false statements, Alter Bridge
continues to be paramount to the four of us. AB’s
third record is well on its way. The guys will embark on
their reunion tour, I will make my [solo] record, and then
we will carry on.” That’s a relief.
My
eldest son Eddie can’t decide whether or not to attend
Crystal Palace’s final game of the season –
a fascinating clash with manager Neil Warnock’s former
(and still much beloved) club, Sheffield United. With the
Blades, Reading (managed by former Eagles legend Steve Coppell)
and Brum all in the mix for automatic promotion, a reported
5,000 United fans will be at Selhurst. The media has made
much of Warnock’s potentially divided loyalties –
the club that he supports vs the interests of the one that
pays his wages. After the scathing things he said about
other teams putting out weakened sides having lubricated
United’s drop from the Prem, and with the eyes of
football upon him, should Warnock allow the team just roll
over and capitulate I would lose all respect for him. The
problem, of course, is that Palace’s strongest possible
current XI is a complete and utter pile of shit. Whatever
happens, even though Coppell has said this season will be
his last in management, I personally hope he signs off by
restoring Reading to the top flight.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
28th April
With
no gigs or evening phone interviews, last night I sat down
to watch a bit of the telly. I tried to defy my instincts
and appraise the BBC’s re-make of Reggie Perrin with
an impartial eye, but the canned laughter that erupted within
30 seconds of episode #1 was an instant turn-off. Sure,
there was the very (occasional) giggle, mostly at how badly
the new cast was attempting to reinterpret the show’s
original gags… but Martin ‘FA Cup Impersonator’
Clunes as Reggie? No, this has to be a bad dream. It’s
not ‘great’ or ‘super’ and I didn’t
get where I am today by watching shockingly bad TV remakes.
Annoyingly, Clunes doesn’t even seem to realise what
he’s stirred up by attempting to fill the boots of
the late, great Leonard Rossiter. In a recent interview
he dared to state: “I’d like to know what these
people who think Leonard Rossiter is irreplaceable are doing.
Are they just watching reruns of Reginald Perrin? Then I
guess they would find him irreplaceable. I haven’t
watched the recent reruns, but a lot of the people who did
said, ‘You’d be amazed how slow it is, and how
few laughs there are’. For better or for worse, things
have moved on.” I’m just about to delete the
‘series link’ and do some moving on of my own,
thanks very much.
Ooooh,
how exciting – just received a package from SPV Records
containing UFO’s newie ‘The Visitor’ (June
2) and ‘Into The Valley Of The Moonking’ (June
15), with ‘Play My Game’ (May 18), the solo
debut from ex-Priest/Iced Earth frontman Tim ‘Ripper’
Owens, acting as the meat in a very appetising sandwich.
On a less savoury note I see that Creed have announced plans
of a US reunion tour that starts in Pittsburgh on August
6. There’s no firm indication of whether this regrettable
turn of events will spell the end of the road for Alter
Bridge, who shortly after the ‘Myles Kennedy for Zeppelin’
debacle were making loud noises about preparing a third
album. I’d take Alter Bridge over Creed on any day
of the week/month/year.
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Monday
27th April
The
glorious weather of the past few days is gone and I stood
in a deserted house (the kids have just gone back to school
after half-tem), sodden after a downpour during the early
morning dog walk. “Well, this sucks,” I thought,
turning on the kettle to make a warming cup of tea. Then
the unmistakable opening chords of a certain magical song
– ‘Easter’ by Marillion – danced
onto the airwaves of Planet Rock Radio and caused a metaphorical
rainbow to appear through the kitchen’s mist. I’ve
played so much Fish-era Marillion of late, it was time to
dust down the brilliant ‘Seasons End’ album.
What a way to start a week.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
26th April
It
was another of those exasperating quandaries: Whether to
attend Palace’s away game in Doncaster or The Zombies
at Hammersmith Apollo? Quite a toughie. But in the end,
after checking the rail fair, there was only one serious
choice. So I visited the Olympia Record Fair in the morning,
zipped back home to listen to the Eagles’ inevitable
2-0 defeat on the radio and then headed back into town in
the evening. Exhausting… but I don’t regret
the judgement call. Reprising a three-date Shepherd’s
Bush Empire run that was witnessed by Robert Plant, Paul
Weller, Robyn Hitchcock, Tim Rice and members of Garbage,
The Zombies were set to once again reunite their living
members – vocalist Colin Blunstone, keyboard player
Rod Argent, bassist Chris White and drummer Hugh Grundy
– for a final (in the UK at least) recital of 1968’s
‘Odessey and Oracle’ album. Preparing for the
main event, a warm-up set included the superb ‘I Love
You’ and ‘Mystified’, but it was the solo
tunes ‘Misty Roses’ and ‘Say You Don't
Mind’ – both enriched by a string section –
that revealed the full theatrical quality of Blunstone’s
stunning voice. With a massive cast of backing musicians
and vocalists (it took Argent six or seven minutes to introduce
them all), The Zombies fulfilled their pledge to honour
every original note of ‘Odessey and Oracle’,
sending the Apollo absolutely into grey-haired rapture.
A quality night, and how pleasing to have been one of the
youngest members of the audience.
_
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Saturday
25th April
Last
night I returned to the Forum again, my second visit in
24 hours. This time it was to see Asia. After experiencing
some nasty personal trauma during the daytime, liquid refreshment
was a priority. A good gang of people filled the adjacent
pub; my friends John Dryland, Xavier Russell and Steve Hammonds,
Classic Rock contributor Paul Ging, Asia’s manager
Martin Darvill, publicist Roland Hyams and booking agent
Don McKay, also Mick Box and Bernie Shaw of Uriah Heep,
so a few glasses of vodka and Diet Coke were supped.
To
be honest, having seen Asia play pretty much the same set
twice since the reunion of their original line-up, and with
my friend Nick Shilton reporting things unchanged again
from a recent show in Germany, I was wary of the night in
store. In fact, the band elected to make three changes;
lifting an extra song (‘Heroine’) from the comeback
album ‘Phoenix’ and revisiting ‘My Own
Time (I'll Do What I Want)’ from 1983’s ‘Alpha’.
The one change I **didn’t** foresee was the switching
of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ for another
Buggles track, ‘Living In The Plastic Age’.
To my mild frustration, ‘Roundabout’’,
a Yes song that the band has gradually grown into, retained
its place in the set, as did Asia’s remakes of ‘In
The Court Of The Crimson King’, a King Crimson classic
that bassist/vocalist John Wetton didn’t originally
feature on, and the inevitable Emerson Lake & Palmer
submission, ‘Fanfare For The Common Man’. When
one considers the vast catalogue of tunes that could have
been tapped (‘Red’, ‘Karn Evil 9’,
just about anything by Yes) the band’s lack of imagination
baffles me.
“You
must understand, we have to take things a bit at a time,”
Wetton told me cautiously in a recent interview. “We’re
still not as confident as many people think we are. [Even
three years] down the road, nobody wants to upset the apple
cart.” Minor niggles aside, however, the foundation
of the set and the sheer quality of the playing and singing
was thoroughly enjoyable. Here’s what was on the menu:
‘Only Time Will Tell’, ‘Wildest Dreams’,
‘Never Again’, ‘Roundabout’, ‘Time
Again’, Geoffrey Downes’ Keyboard Solo, Steve
Howe Guitar Solo, ‘The Smile Has Left Your Eyes’,
‘Don’t Cry’, ‘Heroine’, ‘Open
Your Eyes’, ‘Fanfare For The Common Man’,
‘Without You’, ‘An Extraordinary Life’,
‘In The Court Of The Crimson King’, ‘My
Own Time (I'll Do What I Want)’, ‘Living In
The Plastic Age’, ‘The Heat Goes On’/Carl
Palmer’s Drum Solo, ‘Sole Survivor’ and
an encore of ‘Heat Of The Moment’.
A
gaggle of thirsty revellers gathered in the bar post-show.
Messrs Downes and Wetton dropped by to say hello, Martin
Turner of Wishbone Ash fame seemed in a party mood, Mick
Box was as convivial as ever, while John Dryland, Roland
Hyams and myself huddled so deep into our nonsensical conversation
that the realisation we were the last three people left
in the bar raised hoots of laughter. Ahem… time to
leave, then.
_
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Friday
24th April
Rob
Halford’s ears must have been burning. No less than
two Judas Priest classics were aired at last night’s
Saxon/Doro gig. During her special guest set, ex-Warlock
singer Doro Pesch offered an unusual reworking of ‘Breaking
The Law’, the petite German songstress also returning
to the stage during Saxon’s encore to duet with
Biff Byford on ‘You’ve Got Another Thing Coming’.
Doro’s own set was a bit of a firecracker, Enid
Williams of Girlschool guesting on ‘Celebrate’,
one of just two songs from the new album ‘Fear No
Evil’ (the other being ‘Night Of The Warlock’),
while a packed Forum punched the air to such Pesch standards
as ‘Earthshaker Rock’, ‘I Rule The Ruins’,
Hellbound’ and ‘True As Steel’.
Introduced
by the hymn ‘Jerusalem’ and with fans passing
Byford their St George’s Cross flags, who proudly
draped them across the drum-riser, the show was themed
around the English national day. I was happy to see Saxon,
who’ve come through some pretty tough times, resisting
the temptation to rely on past glories in their 30th anniversary
year. Several of the songs from the latest album, ‘Into
The Labyrinth’, sounded as good as anything from
the group’s heyday, and for those of us that have
seen them a few times of late they spiced things up further
with the revision of golden oldies like ‘Machine
Gun’, ‘Ride Like The Wind’ and ‘Requiem
(We Will Remember)’. Including 45 minutes of encores
before finishing at 11.20, the band just didn’t
want to stop playing – perhaps, being canny Yorkshiremen,
they knew that overrunning would mean they didn’t
have to buy quite as many drinks at the after-show party.
I wouldn’t put it past ’em. Anyway, here’s
the set-list: ‘Battalions Of Steel’, ‘Heavy
Metal Thunder’, ‘Demon Sweeney Todd’,
‘Ride Like The Wind’, ‘Requiem (We Will
Remember)’, ‘Strong Arm Of The Law’,
‘Valley Of The Kings’, ‘And Te Bands
Played On’, ‘Hellcat’, ‘The Eagle
Has Landed’, ‘Come Rock Of Ages (The Circle
Is Complete)’, ‘Machine Gun’, ‘Never
Surrender’ and ‘Wheels Of Steel’, with
encores of ‘Live To Rock’, ‘Motorcycle
Man’, ‘Crusader’, ‘You’ve
Got Another Thing Coming’, ‘747 (Strangers
In The Night)’, ‘Denim And Leather’
and ‘Princess Of The Night’. Phew!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
23rd April
I
thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s interview with Derek
Trucks, and his gig was also rather good (probably would
have enjoyed it more had I known a few songs other than
the stuff from his latest disc, ‘Already Free’).
Trucks is a rather serious young man with a pleasant demeanour
and, of course, a helluva slide guitar player – as
you’d expect for someone whose father named him after
the band Derek & The Dominoes. Derek, who went on to
play with Clapton and jam on a couple of occasions with
Bob Dylan, was a fascinating guy to talk to. We discussed
his disdain for most modern music and his shock at ‘Already
Free’ debuting at #19 on the Billboard chart. He explained
why he doesn’t mind fans making audio recordings of
his shows for trading purposes and the fact that unlike
most ‘jam’ bands, his own doesn’t jam
to the point of sheer exhausted noodledom. But for me the
most interesting part of the interview was Trucks expressing
his belief that the Allmans will never again play in the
UK – even though we were seated in the same Empire
dressing room that must have accommodated Gregg Allman during
an all-too-rare British appearance in 2007. I’m paraphrasing
him here as I don’t have time to go through the tape
just yet, but Derek believes the ABB have “missed
their window of opportunity” and that their organisation
is now too big to play the type of venues they could sell
out. That’s a crying shame.
_
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Wednesday
22nd April
I’ve
just been invited to a stage performance of Rick Wakeman’s
solo album ‘The Six Wives of Henry VIII’ at
Hampton Court Palace next week. Snapped up the offer in
a heartbeat. As a fan of Rick’s I’d have gone
anyway, but the news that Brian “FLASH GORDON’S
ALIVE??!!” Blessed is to be the event’s narrator
was what really swung it. Anyway, later on today I will
be zipping over to Shepherd’s Bush for a concert
by the Derek Trucks Band – also a short pre-show
interview. I’m pretty excited. Seeing as Trucks,
whose uncle is Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks,
is a member of the ABB I’ve just dug out my tie-dye
T-shirt from the one and only time I saw the Brothers
onstage (at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in 1995).
To me it a garment of the uttermost taste. On the other
hand my youngest son, home from school on half term, is
so embarrassed and amused by the shirt’s design
of a gigantic multi-coloured mushroom he believes I’d
be less incongruous leaving the house naked. Not that
I give a damn.
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Tuesday
21st April
I'm
extremely impressed with Dennis DeYoung’s new solo
album. Okay, the word ‘new’ is used guardedly
as ‘One Hundred Years From Now’ has been available
for a while in Canada. This updated edition, which sports
visuals by the same artist that drew the cover of Styx's
‘Paradise Theater’ artwork, now adds two extra
tracks. With titles such as ‘Turn Off CNN’ and
‘I Don’t Believe In Anything’, its lyrics
are perhaps a little overbearingly world-weary but musically
and vocally it sees DeYoung in quite astonishing form, notably
‘Crossing The Rubicon’ which tips its hat at
the signature heyday pomp-rock of Dennis’ former band.
Check it out, though you might wanna skip ‘Breathe
Again’, a ‘Babe’-style tribute to his
wife Suzanne.
So...
the organisers of Download have finally announced a day-by-day
breakdown of this year’s event. Aside from Opeth and
Mötley Crüe (both, amazingly, on the second stage),
Friday’s bill presents slim pickings. I’ve a
vague interest in headliners Faith No More, but elsewhere
only Voivod, Meshuggah and Duff McKagan's Loaded really
tickle the Ling tastebuds – expect a few bevvies to
be consumed. DragonForce, Down and Anvil are among the next
day's must-see attractions and I daresay I’ll take
a look at Slipknot and Lawnmower Deth, too. Sunday is where
the real fun begins, just about all of it (except for Shinedown,
Papa Roach and Buckcherry) on the main stage. At least I
won't have to wander too far to watch (in descending order)
Leppard, Whitesnake, ZZ Top, Dream Theater, Black Stone
Cherry, Journey (hold on... BSC **above** Journey?!?), Skin,
Tesla and the Stone Gods. Better start saving those beer
tokens for the first two days...
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
20th April
The
FA Cup is one of the most sacred and famous sporting competitions
on the planet, so it **really** annoys me when certain clubs
demean the trophy’s legend by putting out weakened
sides to compete for it. Oh, how I enjoyed seeing Everton
give Alex Fergiesbum a bloody nose during yesterday’s
Semi Final at Wembley. Settled via a penalty shoot-out after
extra time, the Toffees’ victory also represented
triumph for the smaller man. I’m still laughing at
the memory of the red-faced wankbag F***ie hopping up and
down with rage on the touchline after the referee turned
down a second half penalty appeal; truly, truly hilarious.
The
Coverdale-Joe Lynn Turner feud refuses to die, DC having
issued a statement that rakes over the coals once more.
“I have no idea why Mr Turner has launched this foolishness,
but I ask that it stop now,” requests Coverdale. “It
has no merit, serves no purpose and is a total waste of
precious time. I have no desire in any way, shape or form
to have any communication with him. He should know better.
Next he'll be accusing me of wearing a wig on stage.”
Ouch.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
19th April
Yesterday’s
game between Palace and Derby Country was dismal till the
controversial sending off of striker Victor Moses galvanised
the Eagles, Shefki Kuqi lobbing keeper Stephen Bywater to
put the ten-man home side ahead. And with Derby looking
truly atrocious, that’s the way it stayed. Apart from
the reaction to Kuqi’s opportunism, the afternoon’s
loudest cheers were saved for the eventual sinking of HMS
Charlton, who threw away a two goal lead to confirm next
season’s place in the third tier of the British game.
I downed a bottle or two of wine in celebration, obviously,
but with Simon Jordan still unable to sell the club and
boss Neil Warnock due to retire at the end of 2009/2010,
the chairman’s malaise is gradually permeating almost
every aspect of Crystal Palace FC, from dwindling attendances
to the standard of players we now seem able to attract.
To be blunt, I fear for the future.
_
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Saturday
18th April
The
biggest story of the moment is the spat between vocalists
Joe Lynn Turner and David Coverdale, the former claiming
to have witnessed the latter miming onstage in Finland
last summer. “I couldn’t believe [Coverdale]
was using these tapes — for lead singing!”
alleges JLY, continuing: “Not just backgrounds,
but lead! My mouth was open. I was like: What the fuck,
David?! You can’t do this. You look so stupid, so
foolish.” DC wasted little time in dismissing Turner’s
claims as “absolute balderdash”, telling the
Classic Rock website: “I have no idea what the hell
the daft bugger’s talking about. I do not, have
not and will not use tapes of my voice to mime in concert.
My band and I perform and sing live. Yeah… we’re
that fucking good! What a total prick.”
Filled
by three interviews, my Friday was pretty busy. After
lunch I had fun speaking to Myke Gray, guitarist of the
newly reunited Skin. These days running his own lucrative
business as a fitness trainer, Gray seems to have grown
up a lot. He was willing to hold up his hands to the childish
egotism of youth and, more surprisingly still, when one
considers that he was a teetotaller when I first knew
him, Myke also admitted nearly pegging it due to drink
and drugs not too long ago! That was a revelation I didn’t
see coming! Myke also put me in touch with vocalist Neville
MacDonald – one of the nicest men in rock. Like
Gray, MacDonald withdrew completely from the scene and
had to be persuaded to participate in Skin’s summer
reunion at the Download Festival. Both men spoke with
affection of the first time they reconnected at a rehearsal
studio in Wales, laughing and hugging one another (in
a manly way, of course!) at realisation the chemistry
between them was still there – despite Gray not
having touched a guitar in five years. With a second warm-up
night at the 100 Club now added it seems the fans are
still out there, too. However, both were cagey regarding
the possibility of continued activity after the Download
show. I guess time will tell.
In
the evening I chatted to Million Dollar Reload, the Irish
rockers who made headlines when their singer Phil Conalane
was named as a potential replacement for Scott Weiland
in Velvet Revolver. Although Conalane gave me the lowdown
of what happened, I’m not about to ruin the surprise
ahead of the story’s publication… sorry.
_
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Thursday
16th April
You know you’re getting old when musicianly friends
ask you to not to check out their latest band but take a
look at what their sons are up to. Not that I mind, but
this seems to be happening to me a lot recently. Another
sign of aging is picking up the freebie evening newspaper
en route to said gig and being shocked by a photo of someone
you lusted after in your teenaged years – in this
case TV presenter Michaela Strachan – who now looks
like a red-nosed female incarnation of Wurzel Gummidge.
And as if you’re not paranoid enough about turning
into a living fossil already, final terrifying proof arrives
when you reach the front of the box office queue, and the
ticket lady says: “Right… Dave Ling, isn’t
it?” You enquire how she knows this, as Dingwalls
isn’t a venue you visit too often and she replies:
“Oh, you’ve been around forever…”.
Ho-hum. So it’s official: My first flush of youth
is over.
The
band I went to see were a six-piece called Goldheart
Assembly, featuring the bass-playing/singing offspring
of former Marseille vocalist Paul Dale. Combining elements
of guitar rock, acoustic-folk and psychedelia with a hint
of prog (they have two keyboard players) into a tasty organic
stew, the song ‘Oh Really?’ is a playful thumbing
of the nose to the indie press that seems to have adopted
them. I wouldn’t begin to know how to categorise the
still-unsigned Londoners, but they have a real chemistry
and I liked that I saw.
P.S.
This morning’s ‘in’ box contained a press
release from Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, confirming
the rumour that Transatlantic, the all-star prog supergroup
completed by Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas, Roine Stolt
of The Flower Kings and ex-Spock’s Beard leader Neal
Morse, are back after a seven-year hiatus to begin work
a brand new studio album. Absolutely superb news as their
debut, 2000’s ‘SMPT:e’, is one of my all-time
favourites.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
15th April
What
a surreal night. My attempts to secure a ticket for AC/DC’s
shows in London having failed dismally, a last-ditch plea
for help was despatched in the morning to a handful of Future
Publishing colleagues, though mentally I resigned myself
to watching the repeat of the Brian Clough documentary on
TV. Incredibly, however, the phone rang and thanks to Sian
L, Alex M and Ian W, Cinders ended up going to the ball
after all. One moment I was wondering what to cook the boys
for their tea, the next I was boarding a bus for the O2
Arena. Back at home well before midnight, ears ringing and
sporting a goonish, disbelieving grin, I almost had to pinch
myself to check whether the experience really happened.
What
of the show, you ask? When Classic Rock critiqued one of
the tour’s earliest dates, at Madison Square Garden,
its reviewer described Brian Johnson’s voice as “a
bit thin and reedy, with barely any of his trademark rasp”,
implying that for all its OTT qualities – the show
begins with a full-size locomotive crashing through the
video screens – the actual performance was a little
on the economical side. In fact, Jonno sang a lot better
than I’d feared, and when he seemed to tire during
the encores the crowd happily helped him out. The band also
played for five minutes short of two hours, including five
songs from the current ‘Black Ice’, all of which
except ‘Anything Goes’ – the sort of empty-headed,
insincere stadium fodder you’d associate with Bon
Jovi – slotted in just fine. At 54, Angus Young remains
one of the rock music’s unmissable showmen, his act
having changed very little through the years (I’m
happy to say). Stripped to the waist and covered in sweat,
spinning on his back, duck-walking all over every inch of
stage, teasing the crowd with a striptease, all that seems
different is the addition of a Nobby Stiles-esque comb-over.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine 61-year-old Johnson
committing to doing this all over again in two or three
years’ time and many of the fans must have gone home
accepting the very real probability that this will be AC/DC’s
final tour. Like them, I’m glad I saw it one last
time. Here’s the set-list: ‘Rock And Roll Train’,
‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be’, ‘Back
In Black’, ‘Big Jack’, ‘Dirty Deeds
Done Dirt Cheap’, ‘Shot Down In Flames’,
‘Thunderstruck’, ‘Black Ice’, ‘The
Jack’, ‘Hell’s Bells’, ‘Shoot
To Thrill’, ‘War Machine’, ‘Anything
Goes’, ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’,
‘TNT’, ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ and ‘Let
There Be Rock’, with encores of ‘Highway To
Hell’ and ‘For Those About To Rock (We Salute
You)’.
_
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Tuesday
14th April
The
rest of the nation returns to work after the Easter bank
holiday, though I spent much of the past four days penning
various reviews for #2 of Classic Rock Presents Prog, and
completing a sleeve essay for a project commissioned by
EMI Records. However, I made a point of plonking myself
in front of Sky Sports News for updates regarding Palace’s
trip to Southampton. With goalie Julian Speroni forced to
leave the pitch and have some stitches, defender Clint Hill
filled in between the sticks (boss Neil Warnock doesn’t
believe in naming a substitute keeper), so the Eagles did
well to reach half time at 0-0. Speroni returned in the
second half but was powerless to divert a superb 30-yard
drive from David McGoldrick which eventually awarded the
home side three priceless points in their relegation battle.
Expecting the formalisation of Charlton’s drop to
League 1, I opened a bottle of wine to celebrate, but a
0-0 draw at Coventry gives the Clowns what looks like a
final week in the Championship. Failure to win their next
game, at home to Blackpool, should do the trick. There’s
also a good chance that the fans of the Tangerines will
sing ‘Glad All Over’ at them, as by a bizarre
coincidence it also happens to be their own club team anthem!
Some
interesting goodies have dropped onto my desk, including
a sampler of Praying Mantis’ newie, ‘Sanctuary’
(due via Frontiers on June 8), ‘If The World Was You’
by country rock legend JD Souther and a finished copy of
Dennis DeYoung’s hotly-awaited ‘One Hundred
Years From Now’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
13th April
Unsurprisingly,
there have been some emails regarding Dave Mustaine’s
hints of a Metallica/Megadeth tour (see Diary, April 11th).
Stephen Robinson (AKA the deejay Catbird – why does
my spellcheck keep turning that into ‘Catford’?
– from Totalrock Radio) quite rightly points out the
relevance of the word “potential” in Mustaine’s
statement, adding: “Surely the whole Dave/Metallica
thing is a feud rather than a potential feud?” Metal
Hammer editor Alex Milas also proposed, with tonge in cheek,
that Dave is about to bury the hatchet with Rotting Christ,
the Greek metalheads that Megadeth’s leader had ejected
from a festival bill to accommodate his Christian beliefs.
Of course, we are all hoping to see Mustaine, who, though
remaining thornier than average, has mellowed considerably
in recent years, reconciled with his old band-mates. Forgiveness
is a cornerstone of Christianity, after all. But in one
of the last times that we spoke face to face, following
the movie he referred to as “Some Kind Of Bullshit”,
Dave showed no sign whatever of turning the other cheek,
stating: “You know what? I actually had aspirations
to play with those guys [Metallica] again one day, but it
was such a fucking awful thing that they did to me, editing
the thing to make them look great and me look like the bad,
insecure guy… now I don’t ever care if I fucking
see Lars Ulrich’s face again. That was the final betrayal.”
It’s unlikely that such an attitude could be smoothed
out by the tokenism of Metallica’s offer to **attend**
– as opposed to **participate in** – the group’s
recent induction at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
P.S.
Since the posting of this morning’s entry, site regular
James Mitchell proposes the theory that Mustaine might offer
an olive branch to co-founding bassist David Ellefson. Somehow
I doubt it. To quote Mustaine from the same 2003 interview:
“Fuck David Ellefson. He’s been a professional
ass-licker for his whole career. For the last three records,
Dann Huff and Bill Kennedy [producers] all wanted to get
rid of Ellefson. When I fired Nick Menza [drummer, in 1998],
Marty Friedman [guitarist] turned to me and said, ‘We
should have fired Ellefson, too’. I should’ve
listened.”
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
12th April
Picture
the scene. It’s around 7.30pm on Saturday. The front
door bursts open and in trudge Dave Ling and eldest son,
Eddie. The former is somewhat the worse for a long, steady
day’s drinking, and both are furious at having seen
Cardiff – a team of dirty, diving, injury-feigning
thugs with a set of fans that define the term ‘inbred
cretin’ – overcome Crystal Palace, largely due
to the gross incompetence of an inept dickhead of a referee
that declined two penalty appeals (one of which was absolutely
clear-cut; both for the home side, naturally). So the soothing
effect was palpable as, after Mrs L had nodded to the corner
of the room and announced: “Your post is over there”,
I opened a mailer that contained… ulp… a watermarked
promo of Dream Theater’s newie, ‘Black Clouds
And Silver Linings’. Drummer and mouthpiece Mike Portnoy
had already whetted the appetite of the band’s fans
with his quote of: “Imagine if ‘A Change Of
Seasons’, ‘Octavarium’, ‘Learning
To Live’, ‘Pull Me Under’ and ‘The
Glass Prison’ were all [contained] on one Dream Theater
album”, but a simple glance at the song timings –
16 mins and 10 seconds, 8.35, 5.25, 12.49, 13.07 and 19.16
– almost had me drooling. 75 minutes later and the
oafish ineptitude of R Booth (Nottinghamshire) is a long-distant
irrelevance. ‘A Rite Of Passage’ and the soaring
‘Wither’ are destined to thrill those that prefer
DT in more succinct form, but… the rest of the album…
Christ! Apart from pointing out that the band has cut back
on the growled vocals of the last album and **really** played
to its long-established strengths, it’s hard to know
where to begin. So instead I’ll leave it till the
official unveiling date of June 22 for you to add your own
personal choice of superlative.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
11th April
I
wonder what on earth Dave Mustaine could be hinting at
with the cryptic web posting: “I have agreed to
doing something last night that I am sure a lot of people
are going to be very excited about, and something that
I had hoped would one day lead to another one of the potential
feuds going away for good, if not for a long while.”
A Metallica/Megadeth tour, perchance? Hmmm…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
9th April
The
impact of witnessing Black
Spiders for the first time was so seismic (see March
30 for details), last night I felt compelled to check them
out all over again. This time they were at the Underworld
in Camden, once again warming up another band’s audience
– in this instance Danko Jones. Though the three-guitar
frontline was forced to jostle for space by a slightly sludgy
mix that also clouded the roar of ex-Groop Dogdrill frontman
Pete ‘Spider’ Spiby, the effect was pretty much
identical only this time, as an ‘insider’ it
was fun to watch the fellow audience members as the music
caused jaws to slowly slacken. Even 12 hours later I still
find myself inadvertently humming the refrain to ‘St
Peter’ and the absurdly brilliant ‘Kiss Tried
To Kill Me (It Was Gene Not Paul)’. Miss these guys
at your peril.
I’ve
just been having a good laugh at the latest issue of Metal
Hammer, which features a rather good My Life Story with
Rob Halford. Quizzed about his favourite place on planet
Earth by interviewer Malcolm Dome, Halford responds: “It’s
Walsall, in the Midlands, which is still home to me. I’d
be really upset if I couldn’t go shopping at the Morrisons
supermarket in the town. I have a beautiful place in Phoenix,
Arizona, but nothing quite beats Walsall.” Equally
surreal, when asked about his favourite TV programmes, Rob
listed The Antiques Road Show, Flog It and Cash In The Attic.
That’s genius - all he needed was Midsomer Murders
and Last Of The Summer Wine for a full set.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
8th April
I
was disappointed to have missed EMI’s launch preview
of the Iron Maiden road movie Flight 666, which clashed
with last month’s trip to Wigan to see FM. So the
offer to warm up for last night’s Palace-Coventry
game by attending a second screening was heartily accepted.
Secreting my hip-flask of chilled cider brandy under Barry
Norman-style dinner jacket, I headed to a West London location.
Rock movies are fast becoming ten a penny, but what makes
Flight 666 so different is the way it focuses on the fans.
As Maiden and their crew jet around the world, notching
50,000 miles in five continents, crossing time-zones, date-lines
and seasons, in their converted Ed Force 1 aircraft (piloted,
of course, by singer Bruce Dickinson), one thing is constant:
their audience. The scenes of boundless adulation that greet
them in the most unlikely locations are little short of
amazing. In Columbia, fans queue for nine days to get the
best standing position at an open air show. I was equally
touched by the disbelieving male fan, who, having caught
one of Nicko McBrain’s drum sticks, looked skywards
to thank whichever god he prayed to and promptly burst into
tears. Truthfully, it made me feel more than a little spoiled.
Having been privileged to see Maiden countless times since
1980, in venues of many different sizes (from the Marquee
to Madison Square Garden); having flown with Bruce in a
small plane and on one of his Fan Club jollies to Iceland;
not to mention travelled with the band as they sped away
from a venue accompanied by police outriders, still wearing
their towel dressing gowns and distributing beer as the
gig was dissected, reliving these experiences with Flight
666 made me feel like the luckiest bastard alive.
It
would have been easy for the movie to portray Maiden as
boastful or smug. In fact, the band seem gobsmacked and
humbled by the chaos their presence brings. Iron Maiden
are notorious for protecting their privacy, so it speaks
volumes for film-makers Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn that
they pierced the group’s inner workings to tickle
the underbelly of the beast. Steve Harris doesn’t
really let his guard down, not that I expected him to, but
it’s good to see the shy and understated Adrian Smith
showing a little of what he’s about. Equally if not
more important, the music has been brilliantly filmed and
recorded with a fan’s eye view. If you’ve ever
wanted to know what it’s like to stand amid a metal
band playing at full pelt, or what it sounds like when the
crowd shakes the rafters by roaring out a chorus, Flight
666 puts you centre-stage. On general release from April
21, it’s recommended to anyone that calls themselves
a fan.
Afterwards,
Palace’s game against fellow mid-table side Cov was
always going to be an anticlimax. And so it proved, fizzling
out as a 1-1 draw. Its only real redeeming feature was seeing
the latest of our Academy whizz-kids, Kieron Cadogan, coming
off the bench to notch a goal after just 12 minutes. A future
Eagles hero in the making, and no mistake.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
5th April
A
few days before yesterday’s British Steel Festival,
Cloven Hoof’s Lee Payne sent myself and Geoff Barton
an email predicting something rather special. “We
will be playing the track ‘Cloven Hoof’ from
our debut album for the first time since 1984,” revealed
the bassist, explaining: “We don’t play ‘Cloven
Hoof’ live for superstitious reasons; something weird
always seemed to happen whenever we did so. But what the
hell, for British Steel we’ve decided to do it. So
crucifixes at the ready.” And sure enough, a couple
of things **did** go awry during the NWOBHM-themed gathering,
which took place at London’s Underworld and also featured
featuring (in order of billing, from the top down) Pagan
Altar, Elixir, Bitches Sin and Celtic Legacy, though it
affected Pagan Altar more than the Hoofed headliners.
Delayed
by awaiting the footie results – Palace drew 0-0 with
Mr Barton’s beloved QP-Hahaha – I missed the
beginning of Celtic Legacy’s set, which was a shame
as the Irish band sounded very good indeed, frontman Ciaran
Ennis displaying an enviable set of pipes. Winding up an
all-too-brief 40-minute performance with the golden oldie
‘Ain’t Life A Bitch’, Bitches Sin were
more enjoyable still. I’d like to see them headline
someday. Not being a particular fan of Elixir I found myself
absorbed in conversation in the bar and missed the Londoners’
set altogether – no matter, I wasn’t reviewing
– though people later told me they were rather good.
Oh well…
What
happened next? Well, Pagan Altar, whose brand of doom-influenced
metal I’d been dying to experience, were struck down
by the Curse Of The Hoof… or something. With their
gear set up and a gaggle of fans waiting in front of the
stage, loud groans greeted the news that drummer Andy Green
Finally was stuck on a motorway, and by the time he arrived
the band had time for just – ulp! –12 minutes
of almost vocal-less riffery (somebody sack the soundman!).
Talk about coitus interruptus, guv’nor.
With
the venue’s curfew time drawing near, the headliners
were also forced to abbreviate their own set. Ironically,
despite Payne’s prediction, ‘Cloven Hoof’
was among the songs to be cut short – seriously, you
couldn’t make it up! As ever, Russ North sang like
a banshee, soaring above a set of tunes hewn from the time-honoured
cloth of Priest, Maiden, Dio and Sabbath. Though the crowd
loudly chanted the band’s name once the Hoof had,
er… hoofed it back to the dressing room, this is all
they had time to play: ‘Inquisitor’, ‘Nova
Battlestar’, ‘Astral Rider’, ‘Gates
Of Gehenna’, ‘The Fugitive’, ‘Mutilator’,
‘Mistress Of The Forest’ and ‘Laying Down
The Law’. Nevertheless, British Steel 4 was the best
attended so far and a big ‘hail’ is due to the
organizers for all their continued efforts.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
4th April
My friend Jane Hammonds, whose obsession of The Darkness/the
Stone Gods/Hot Leg rivals my own passion for FM (how on
earth does her hubbie Steve put up with it??), emails to
ask whether I noticed that Justin Hawkins was standing about
three feet away from me as I enjoyed Stone Gods at the 100
Club on Sunday night? Actually, I didn’t. Or rather
I did see someone resembling Justin, draped over the hottest
girl in the room, though given the acrimony with brother
Dan Hawkins (the guitarist of Stone Gods), I assumed I was
in the rough proximity of a lookalike. It’s nice to
know the siblings might have buried their differences at
last, but **PLEASE**…. let’s not have a reunion
of The Darkness… God forbid!
Regular visitors to this page (and indeed those that read
the previous paragraph!) will know that I thought The Darkness
were utter, utter pants. So now might be an opportune moment
to reveal that I finally received a copy of ‘Red Light
Fever’, the debut album from Justin’s aforementioned
new band Hot Leg. And although Hawkins hasn’t moderated
his irksome vocal yodel, the album’s nowhere near
as awful as I’d feared. Play it one track at time,
then go away for a lie down and its sheer technicolour über-camp
excess is almost enjoyable in a masochistic sort of way.
But for clarity’s sake: There’s no way I could
listen to ‘Red Light Fever’ all the way through
in a single sitting without barfing my dinner everywhere…
which explains its absence from this month’s Playlist.
And
here’s the latest YouTube
selection.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
3rd April
For
the past few months my friends Malcolm Dome and Richard
Thompson have been chivvying me to investigate a new young,
multi-national yet London-based act called Achilla.
Last night I finally got around to doing so, as they opened
a four-band bill at the Underworld in Camden. Fronted by
a petite Hungarian called Martamaria, who claims a place
in the Guinness Book Of World Records for her high vocal
range, Achilla have been described as “musically balanced
between Opeth and Nightwish”, though neither point
of reference struck a chord with me; they don’t even
have a keyboard player for starters. Which isn’t to
say they don’t have potential. I’d like to have
known whether their lead guitarist (I think his name is
Daniele Panza) could play as well as it seemed, but his
contribution was concealed in a dodgy sound mix until too
late in the 30-minute display. I guess I’ll see Achilla
again before too long anyway, as they open for Hydrogen
at The Gaff on the 21st.
Intriguingly,
though I didn’t know it till last night, Achilla are
co-managed by none other than Jody Turner. It was fantastic
to see the former Rock Goddess guitarist/frontwoman again
for the first time in many a long year; I’m happy
to say she looks amazing and seems content with her life.
Fans of Rock Goddess will be pleased to know that the band
are in the process of organising some reunion gigs, with
Dee O'Malley on bass and Nicola Shaw (ex-Brain Dance) on
drums. More news as I get it, though with Jody’s time
filled by managing Achilla and another band, Diva Suicide,
the return of Rock Goddess isn’t likely to happen
overnight.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Thursday
2nd April
Last
night presented one of those frustrating conundrums: free
booze and live music from Gentleman’s Pistols at
central London watering hole the Crobar, as the venue
threw a launch party for its anthology, ‘The Crobar
Vol One’, or a night before the telly and England’s
vital World Cup Qualifier against Ukraine? Hmmm…
Given some of the horror stories I’m hearing this
morning, it was a good call to have selected the latter
option. Though the visitors were just five places below
England in the international rankings, Capello’s
side bossed the game and, after the scare of Shevchenko’s
equaliser and some schoolboy gaffes from Ashley Cole (whose
game seems to have deteriorated since being a loanee at
Palace several years back… hahaha…), John
Terry’s late strike sealed a 2-1 victory to maintain
their 100% record in the group. With a five-point advantage
over second placed Croatia, the table looks pretty sweet
this morning.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
1st April
What
a day of ups ‘n’ downs. I awoke with stomach
cramp, having raided the cocktail cabinet to celebrate with
a bottle of supermarket brand Baileys Irish cream liqueur
as Scumwall lost yet another game at home, further endangering
their chances of promotion. It must have been out of date
by a year or two. I felt awful… until the postie arrived
at midday, thrusting a package from Roadrunner Records into
my hand. “Could it be the Heaven And Hell album?”
I wondered. And yes, it was ‘The Devil You Know’
(available April 27). Instant hangover cure: Nothing else
mattered. I’d heard three unfinished tracks at Rockfield
Studios in Wales last December, which whetted my appetite
in no uncertain terms. And I’m happy to say, in its
entirety ‘TDYK’ an absolute monster.
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