The Quireboys - London Review

Being my second most-seen band, it should surprise no-one that The Quireboys are one of my favourites. Regular readers of this blog will have no doubt seen me gushing over the band's albums and shows for the past few years now, but there is plenty of room here for a lot more Quireboys content yet! I have seen the band a few times a year since 2013, which is in part down to their regular touring schedule and affordable tickets, but the main reason is just how dependable the band are live. While they might not be the most adventurous band when it comes to their setlists, their shows are always enjoyable. The band's feel-good rock and roll sound is made to be heard live, and it is on stage where the band truly shine. Last year, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their Homewreckers & Heartbreakers album, the band booked a show at the O2 Forum in London's Kentish Town to feature the album in full - along with a host of other Quireboys classics. Backed by a really strong bill, the show was a sell-out. While it should not really be a surprise that a band of The Quireboys' stature and reputation can sell out the Kentish Town Forum, it is a much larger venue than the band usually play. The band can usually be found up and down the UK's club circuit, playing venues that hold a few hundred people - so to see over two thousand punters packed into the Forum to see one of my favourite bands was a special experience. The show was clearly a success, as exactly a year later the band were back at the Forum - this time to celebrate their 35th anniversary since getting together. The band formed in London back in 1984, and released their first single Mayfair in 1987. A couple more singles followed, but it was their 1990 debut album A Bit of What You Fancy that really pushed the band into the big time. The album was a big hit, reaching number 2 in the charts, as were some of the associated singles. Hey You reached number 14 in the charts, with three other cuts from the album also reaching the Top 40, and with Hey You the band were first in the 1990s to appear on Top of the Pops! Sadly however, this success could not be translated into a push to being the next big thing. Not long after the release of 1993's Bitter Sweet & Twisted the band broke up, and it was not until 2001 that the band reunited with any permanency. They have never reached those early 1990s heights again, but The Quireboys of today are a much-loved British rock institution. It was perhaps unsurprising then that the band's 35th anniversary show was built around A Bit of What You Fancy, with all of the album's twelve songs featuring in the band's set. This prospect was clearly a big draw as, once again, the Forum was packed. The show was another long evening, with three support acts warming up the crowd before the main event, but with a strong atmosphere throughout the night it was clear that everyone in attendance was there to have fun.

The bill at last year's Forum show was excellent, with Sweden's H.E.A.T and former Heaven's Basement frontman Aaron Buchanan both putting on great sets, but sadly the standard of support acts this year was nowhere near as good. The best of the three was up first however, with the Australian rockers Tequila Mockingbyrd taking the stage at around 6:45pm after a healthy crowd had gathered. In truth, the only Tequila Mockingbyrd member on the stage was drummer Josie O'Toole as recently the left over members of both Tequila Mockingbyrd and The Amorettes have joined forces after multiple departures in both bands to complete their respective touring commitments. I would not be surprised if both bands were laid to rest soon, with a new band rising from the ashes, but the band's set in London was a strong one. I have seen The Amorettes a couple of times in the past, so was familiar with frontwoman Gill Montgomery (vocals/guitar) and her strong voice. She led the make-shift band, which seems to be ever-evolving at the moment with Wayward Sons' Sam Wood (guitar/vocals) included in the line-up for one night only, through half an hour of melodic hard rock that featured a few strong choruses and decent riffs. I was not familiar with any of the band's original songs, but I recognised The Amorettes' Everything I Learned I Learned from Rock and Roll which actually led to a bit of a sing-a-long with the growing crowd. It is a shame that both bands will probably come to an end soon, but with a new project surely in the offing then I am sure that something good will come of the pairing. I shall be keeping an eye out in any case.

Up next were Massive, another Australian band who played a rather raw take on rock and roll. It is possible that a rather muddy sound mix hindered their power, but the band did not grab me at all and actually started to grate on me towards the end of their set. Without wishing to generalise or stereotype, there are a lot of Australian bands who seem to think that AC/DC are the be all and end all of hard rock. To an extent I can understand why, as the band are clearly the biggest musical export from the country, but the world does not need a host of poor clones churning out rough three-chord riffs. There are some good examples, such as Airbourne and a band called Black Aces who I saw also supporting The Quireboys last year, but on the whole this sort of music should be left to AC/DC. They caught lightning in a bottle with their sound and perfected and tightened it over their long career, but Massive just sounded a bit messy. In fairness, I thought that Brad Marr (vocals/guitar) had a strong voice, and he managed to pull off some impressive and lengthy screams during the band's set, but the songs did nothing to grab me. This sort of music needs big dumb sing-a-long choruses, but I did not hear a single one during the set. I think it is fair to say that the band are not for me, but I have read quite a few positive reviews of them recently so it seems they are making themselves a bit of a fanbase - which is good to see.

The final support act of the night was Pig Irön, a four-piece heavy blues band in the vein of Clutch. While Clutch are not my thing, I can appreciate why they have become so popular so was interested to check Pig Irön out. I had thought that they would at least have a bit of a punch to their sound, but instead they just sounded a bit flat and lifeless. I imagine that the sound mix was partially to blame for this, but everything just felt a little limp. The drums did not crash through the speakers as they should, and the bass was almost non-existent throughout. In bands such as this, it is a the driving basslines that really makes the songs tick. With the bass somewhat AWOL, everything just felt flat. It did not help that there was almost no variation at all in the band's songwriting, with each song lumbering along at a mid-pace with a bluesy riff and bursts of harmonica to keep everything moving. I have to say that the band's set was one of the more tedious affairs I have sat through for a while. It is shame though as this sort of music can at least be entertaining and powerful when heard live, but Pig Irön were sadly neither at the Forum. There was no energy at all during their set, and I was glad when they left the stage - largely as it meant that the 'support act' portion of night was over. I always make an effort to check out the support acts at gigs, but there is nothing more tedious than standing through acts that do nothing for you. Having two in a row made for a lengthy wait between Tequila Mockingbyrd's strong set and The Quireboys - which was not much fun!

Thankfully the changeover time after Pig Irön's set and The Quireboys hitting the stage was fairly short, and the evening's headliners soon washed away the memories of the poor support acts with their trademark brand of British rock and roll. Unusually for a Quireboys show, there was a formal intro with a clip from the aforementioned Top of the Tops programme acting as the band's introduction to the stage - whereby the opened with a powerful version of Hey You. The song is usually kept for the ending portion of the show, but it made for a great opening number, and ensured that everyone was on board from the off. One thing that was immediately clear was how great the band's live sound mix, which was a relief after the muddy mix the support bands were dealt. The Quireboys sometimes suffer from rushed sound mixes which leave either the vocals or keyboards buried in the mix - but everything was crystal clear at the Forum. This meant that frontman Spike really powered over the band throughout the evening, with his raw vocals sounding as good as they ever have. It was clear the band was really up for the night, and they proceeded to put on one of the best Quireboys shows that I ever seen. The A Bit of What You Fancy material (with the exception of one song) was played first, although not in the album's original running order. The album is one of those albums with no weak tracks however, so every song hit just as hard as the next. Set regulars There She Goes Again and Misled continued the party atmosphere instigated by Hey You, with Keith Weir (keyboards/percussion/vocals) particularly shining during the latter with a lengthy piano solo. The highlights of this portion of the night however were the songs from the album that are not featured in the band's setlists regularly. Man on the Loose has long been one of my favourite Quireboys songs, so it was great to finally hear it live. It is one of the band's toughest rockers, and it went down a storm. Guy Griffin (guitar/vocals) and Paul Guerin (guitar/vocals) teamed up perfectly for the heavy riff, with the former laying down a mean guitar solo.

Take Me Home was another highlight, with more excellent piano work from Weir and Spike delivered the stadium-worthy chorus perfectly. I cannot stress enough how on-point Spike was throughout the evening, with his vocals and stage patter really carrying the evening. The band harmonised with him perfectly, and by this point in the set the band were already on top of the world. The power ballad I Don't Love You Anymore is always a highlight of a Quireboys show, with the band's customary lengthy live version really taking the piece to the next level. Both guitarists got a chance to solo, and the crowd was clearly audible vocally above the band at times. Another big single in the form of 7 O'Clock, moved from its customary position as the set-closer, closed out the A Bit of What You Fancy portion of the evening, but there was more to come. The rest of the main set was made up of four other cuts from the band's catalogue, with Mona Lisa Smiled hitting the spot as always. Guerin's solo here was as good as always, and Spike sung the song with the emotion that the piece needs. A couple of numbers from this year's Amazing Disgrace were then featured, with the boogie of Original Black Eyed Son standing out the most. It is one of the band's best recent numbers in my opinion, and I can see it becoming a real setlist staple going forward. The raunchy blues of This is Rock 'n' Roll finished everything off, and the band left the stage to a huge London roar. There was only about ten minutes left until the curfew, but the band managed still managed to squeeze in a couple more. The A Bit of What You Fancy track not played earlier was Sex Party, which whipped up its usual encore storm, but the real highlight for me was a huge rendition of Mayfair - that first single. The band rarely play the song live these days, and I had never seen the band do a full version  of it before - although I had seen them run through an acoustic version of it once previously. Everyone got involved unsurprisingly, and the song's raw boogie and big chorus made it the perfect send-off piece. It is a song that the band should play more often, and following the reaction it got in London they just think twice before dropping it for so long again! It was a great end to a fantastic set, and the band seemed really happy with the crowd's reaction. The setlist was:

Hey You
There She Goes Again
Misled
Roses & Rings
Man on the Loose
Take Me Home
Sweet Mary Ann
Whippin' Boy
I Don't Love You Anymore
Long Time Comin'
7 O'Clock
Mona Lisa Smiled
Seven Deadly Sins
Original Black Eyed Son
This is Rock 'n' Roll
-
Sex Party
Mayfair

This was my eighteenth Quireboys show, and it really was one of the best. The setlist was so good, and the band's live sound mix was so powerful that every song really stood out. The show was being filmed and recorded too, so hopefully the band are planning release a new live album using the footage at some point in the future. It would certainly be a great product given how strong the show was. With next year being the thirtieth anniversary of A Bit of What You Fancy too, it would be a perfect anniversary release, as well as something to accompany the almost-inevitable tour that will be booked to celebrate that milestone.