Reviews

Revolver Rocks Radio

From Marseille to Moreton the Express steams on.

Former Great Easton Express presenter Kev McDempster is hoping to recreate the spirit of an institution for classic rock fans across the region on 7 Waves radio.

Tragically its founding presenter Phil Easton of Radio City died in February, but his former co-presenter Kev McDempster wanted to carry on the traditions of playing the tried and trusted classics as well as new acts coming on stream.

7 Waves provided a solution by offering three hours of non-stop rock. Assisted by Revolver’s sponsorship of the programme, other sponsors such as The Swinging Arm have also come forward with enthusiasm.

Kev explained: “I believe that much of radio has become corporate. We are all being fed playlists of songs by companies that are no longer situated in this country, so when we chatted to 7 Waves who were not tied to any particular corporation’s view of music it was a no brainer, and now I can’t wait to get back on air.”

Many in the industry can’t quite understand why the Great Easton Express it was ever taken off air. Events such as Download  and sold out performances by artist like Roger Waters at the Liverpool Echo Arena show that there is a high demand for all shades of the genre.

Keith Thompson who will also contribute to the programme said: “The Express was an essential ingredient of my life as a rock fan and it’s a privilege to be involved in Kev’s version now. Although Kev will be playing the Whitesnakes and the usual suspects, we emphasise that this is not just a blast from the past.

Marseille featuring Art Attack’s Neil Buchanan, who plays Revolver the following Saturday 11 July, will be talking about their new album on the first programme.”

Kev said:”The record companies are champing at the bit to send us new material, as they are finding it just as frustrating to place new material on the stagnant airwaves.”

The show goes on air on Sunday 5 July 7-10 on 92.1 FM and online at www.7waves.co.uk with feature interviews also syndicated to other websites such as getreadytorock.com and Total Rock. Items for the ‘what’s on,’ sponsored by the Swinging Arm, should be sent to keith@effective-media.co.uk

Glenn Hughes descended on his home town for his only UK dates until 2010 with a double whammy of Deep Purple plus solo on Saturday and a tribute to his alma mater Trapeze on the Sunday.

The axe was in the very dynamic hands of Jeff Kollman who adds oodles of posturing stage presence and provides a foil to the sedate jazzy tinkering of ex Peter Gabriel man, Anders Olinder. Another City of Angels resident, Steve Stevens ably completed the funkmeister’s compact unit.

We were promised some never performed songs from Burn and we got the AOR classic What’s Going on Here, an underrated jig often overshadowed by the usual suspects. Talking of which no Burn but, to be fair, Mr Hughes has been plugging that one for five years now, so it’s no bad thing to keep the audience intrigued. It worked for Blackmore!

A stray vocal mike picking up the bass bins on stage did make the first two songs sound Sabbathesque (no bad thing either) but the culprit was quickly discovered and balance restored in this acoustically sound venue.

Sail Away was a welcome addition to the set and long may it remain as a staple, Anders Olinder adapting the Jon Lord synth moments with aplomb. Mistreated never fails to disappoint with Kollman’s appropriate take on the Blackmore histrionics combined with the addition of Glenn’s voyage through the octaves.

Glenn’s voice is still in good shape and he cuts a very lean figure these days. His philosophy of eating the right foods and resting with intent is obviously paying dividends. I am witnessing Holy Man “the only one they let me sing on my own” off Stormbringer and thinking what could have been if he hadn’t listened to the man with man with the dodgy smarties back in the 70’s.

The George Harrison of Deep Purple perhaps?

Image conscious but not averse to self effacement, Hughes asked “Should I take this f***** off?” referring to the red silk scarf which was skilfully draped around his neck.

Solo highlights such as Crave from Music from the Divine and Love Communion off F.U.N.K and Don’t Let me Bleed from the modern classic, Soul Mover were well received by the sell out audience.

The second night was a tribute to the music of Trapeze for which I had the privilege of watching the rehearsal in the morning.

What was apparent from such classics as Medusa and Seafull was that Trapeze probably had the top 30 classic in the cooking pot around the time Hughes jumped ship to Purple. Having said that, the Sunday evening was a night of celebration of what was, not what could have been.

Glenn once again donned his old friend and mentor, the late Mel Galley’s black beauty Gibson for Seafull. Talking about a Glenn Hughes guitar solo sounds weird but there it is folks. Emotional, confident and well delivered, there were inevitable lumps in throats.

Trapeze were an eclectic mixture of bad ass funk arranged progressively. The music is timeless and let’s hope this recorded gig makes its way to the online shops.

Also published at www.getreadytorock.com