The Almighty – Shepherd’s Bush Empire 2006

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It’s remarkable what having a little fun will do. When The Almighty split after their Psycho-Narco album it seemed to be for good. Front-man Ricky Warwick went off and made two solo albums, and joined Circus Diablo with Billy Duffy (The Cult) and Billy Morrison, and the other members just seemed to disappear. Then the news came that original bassist Floyd London had leukaemia. Floyd’s beating of the disease made those close to him realise how little they knew about it and prompted a two-show reunion of the ‘classic’ Warwick-London-Freisen-Monroe line-up to raise money for leukaemia research in January 2006. For those two nights the guys in the band had so much fun, further shows were not ruled out.

Later in 2006 the band headlined the Bulldog Bash, a rock music and bikers festival in England, and played a warm-up show at The Fleece in Bristol. Sanctuary Records announced an anthology CD/DVD release for late December ’06/early January ’07, with complete involvement from the band from start to finish, so this UK tour was booked to support it.

Support on the tour came from rising stars McQueen, with the oddly-named Love Rockers opening. It was easy to see why Love Rockers were chosen. They are basically The Almighty, only about 15 years younger. The same four-piece line-up with singer doubling as rhythm guitarist, the same voice, the same punk-influenced take on hard rock. All they were lacking were the quality in songs. They certainly had the riffs and the attitude, but the lyrics to many of their tracks showed their age and were at times a little lame. A decent choice to open the night though. It certainly got those who arrived early in the right frame of mind.

McQueen, just as they’d done a month prior on W.A.S.P.‘s UK tour, once again proved to everyone what a great band they are. Most won’t have heard their music yet, as their album isn’t released until the end of this month, but I’m certain everyone that heard it live this night will make sure they check out the CD. Tonight was an evening of pure rock ‘n’ roll attitude and power (drummer Hayley Cramer hits harder than Tommy Lee), and McQueen fit that bill perfectly including stand-in bassist Vicky Smith (from fellow Brighton-based rockers The AKA Band), for the absent Sophie Taylor. Limiting McQueen to the same half-hour slot as Love Rockers was rather unfair, since McQueen are twice the band, but they packed in a good hours worth of effort with eight cuts from the album, including the outstanding, grooving title track, current single Running Out of Things To Say and the catchy, riff-heavy Blinded. More swagger than L.A. Guns, more riffs than AC/DC and more bite than Ozzy (boom boom).

The Shepherd’s Bush Empire is a much bigger venue than The Almighty played in January last year (Mean Fiddler), and it has to be said, they didn’t fill it. Downstairs was full to bursting, but upstairs was mostly empty. The time of year probably had a lot to do with that. It didn’t seem to matter to the guys on stage as the first thing to hit home was their attitude. They seemed much more enthusiastic than back in January, as Warwick snarled his way through Destroyed, and played a varied and interesting setlist. Still sticking to the albums recorded by the line-up on stage (so nothing from Blood, Fire And Love, The Almighty or Psycho-Narco) but not playing all the obvious songs; instead including rarer tracks like 360, Sin Against The Light and Little Lost Sometimes amidst anthemic classics like Wild And Wonderful, Crucify, Full Force Loving Machine and two of my personal favourite Almighty tracks Jesus Loves You… But I Don’t (never sounded more powerful either) and Addiction (never so heavy). Bandaged Knees and Broken Machine would have made it a complete set.

The encore included the last little surprises, with covers of The Skids‘ Into The Valley and Sex Pistols‘ Bodies bracketing Jesus Loves…. At the Mean Fiddler something was missing. But this time the passion was well and truly back and the guys kept the energy high for the full 90 minutes. They’ve proved they can still play blistering sets and have the catalogue of quality songs to back it up. Here’s hoping that, after the compilation CD, and maybe a DVD and a b-sides collection, they strongly think about new music together. The spark is still there, from this side of the barrier.

The CD/DVD anthology release, by the way, is called Anth’f***ing’ology and will be out in February.

“ pure rock ‘n’ roll attitude ”

McQueen Setlist: Not For Sale / Running Out of Things To Say / Dirt / The Line Went Dead / Break The Silence / Blinded / Neurotic / Bitch

The Almighty Setlist: Destroyed / Do You Understand / Resurrection Mutha / Addiction > The Unreal Thing / Sin Against The Light / Power / Little Lost Sometimes / 360 / Jonestown Mind / Wrench / Crucify > Over The Edge / Full Force Loving Machine / Free ‘N’ Easy / Wild And Wonderful // Into The Valley / Jesus Loves You… But I Don’t / Bodies

Photo(s): Chiaki Nozu | www.chiakinozu.com

Written by Andy Lye
More: Gigs, Hard Rock, McQueen, The Almighty