FM - Wolverhampton Review

It feels like a while since I last went to a gig. Whilst in truth it was only a month or so ago, when Kerry King brought his solo band to Bristol for an excellent night of old-school thrash, for some reason the gap between nights out felt a long one - so it was with excitement that I was looking forward to the weekend away which I am now home from. In recent years, one of my favourite cities to go to for gigs is Wolverhampton. There is nothing particularly special about the city itself, and many would likely decry it, but it has become one of the best places in the country for mid-sized gigs since KK's Steel Mill opened a few years ago - and particularly since the Civic Hall complex re-opened following years of renovation. The city became a real live music wasteland whilst the Civic Hall was closed - but the opening of KK's Steel Mill changed that, with the old industrial building now one of the best venues of its size in the country. It is generally a place I get to a few times a year now - but I had not been to the city since January before this past weekend, when I saw Magnum on their short tribute tour to the late Tony Clarkin. I have a couple more trips to look forward to before the end of the year - but it is time to turn our attention to the first show of the weekend, which took place on Friday. Part of the reason for the trip to the West Midlands from Devon was the latest tour by the UK AOR heroes FM. The melodic rock band have become a real fixture on the UK touring circuit again over recent years. When I first got into them around a decade ago they were still only a few years into their reunion and touring felt somewhat more sporadic - but now they seem to be really going for it again. Last year was a busy one, as the band celebrated their 40th anniversary with an album and a lengthy tour - where I caught them in Exeter. I was not expecting 2025 to be quite so busy, then, but FM have been plugging away yet again - undertaking an acoustic tour earlier in the year, which sadly I did not get to, and they are now part-way through another tour to support the newly released album Brotherhood (which I reviewed here). I was not expecting another album from the band this year given that one only dropped last year - but FM are nothing if not prolific, and the latest effort is another very solid and enjoyable slab of AOR. They are a band who are always worth seeing live, too. Apart from Mostly Autumn and The Quireboys they are my most-seen act - largely as they tour pretty regularly now and mostly as they are just so good. Unlike some, they are pretty good at mixing things up setlist-wise, even if there are some ever-presents, and I have never been to an FM show where the band disappointed or where they had a poor live sound mix. They get it right every time - and that is partly what keeps me coming back. The Exeter show last year was no different in terms of the band's usual quality - and I went into KK's Steel Mill with a few hundred others on Friday night expecting more of the same.

One of the reasons I chose to go to the Wolverhampton show, apart from how good the venue is, was that Tygers of Pan Tang were originally supposed to be the support act. The tour has had a few support acts, but the Tygers were the most appealing - but they dropped off the tour a couple of months ago for unclear reasons. They were replaced by Rosalie Cunningham, which I was pleased with as I am quite a big fan of her - but she also dropped off the tour a few days beforehand due to illness. Both Tygers of Pan Tang and Rosalie Cunningham are acts I have had cancel on me a few times now - particularly the former who do seem a little flaky. It was a shame not to see either, but blues rock singer/guitarist Jack J Hutchinson, who had supported the band at some of the dates earlier in the tour was drafted in at the last minute - and provided 30 or so minutes of entertainment as the crowd was growing. I was familiar with Hutchinson in name only, so it was good to finally get a chance to see him. Bluesy hard rock trios are not always my favourite sort of entertainment - but for half an hour I largely enjoyed what Hutchinson and his band did. Whilst perhaps not the strongest of singers for ballsy blues rock, although his voice was certainly not unpleasant, his guitar playing was riffy and full of character - whilst the busy and somewhat funky bass playing of Greg Smith (not the former Rainbow/Ted Nugent bassist) added a lot of depth considering there was no rhythm guitar or keyboard player on the stage. Whilst there were a few in attendance who seemed familiar with Hutchinson's work, I would guess by the initial reactions that most were not. The applause following his songs was quite muted at first, but the crowd seemed to grow into Hutchinson's set - and I generally enjoyed it more as it went along, too. The single Bullets was a bit of an early highlight, with a strong riff and a decent chorus; but perhaps the song which really seemed to get everyone on board was the later ballad I Will Follow You - written about Hutchinson's father suffering with dementia. The song definitely seemed to resonate with many, and Hutchinson's smoother voice worked well for the song - as he managed to fill it with plenty of emotion. Some singing from the crowd was included, too, and Hutchinson's guitar solo was also powerful. It was left to another powerful rocker in Constellations to finish off what was quite a short set - but it was one that was enjoyable despite Hutchinson perhaps not having quite enough grit in his voice to back up his riffing. There were songs played that I certainly would not mind hearing again - and I am glad to finally have put a face to the name.

Following Hutchinson's gear being cleared from the stage, and a flurry of 1980s hit being played over the venue's PA, the lights went down and FM took to the stage to an atmospheric backing - with the band immediately launching into the anthemic Synchronized. As with every previous FM show that I have attended, the band's sound mix was loud and clear from the off - with frontman Steve Overland's voice cutting through the mix, Jem Davis (keyboards/harmonica/vocals) was also high in the mix, and the snappy riffing of Jim Kirkpatrick (guitar/vocals) sounded powerful. The track has been used as an opener on and off since it was released a few years ago - and it set the tone for what was time come nicely, before the older anthem I Belong to the Night hit the crowd with a classic early on. As is always the case at an FM show, too, the crowd were really into it. The atmosphere from the off was fantastic - and as the set proceeded the singing from the crowd only increased. It helped, too, that the setlist was quite different from last year's effort. Three songs from the new album were included, alongside a few different cuts from other recent albums which had not been played live before, as well as some old favourites which had not been played live for a while. There were plenty of setlist staples played, too, though, both old and new. One of the newer favourites, Turn This Car Around, proved to be an early sing-a-long - whilst 1980s anthems Someday and Let Love Be the Leader sounded as good live as they ever do. With the latest album being another solid effort, hearing both Living on the Run and Don't Call It Love fairly early on was a lot of fun. The latter in particular really came alive on stage - and I feel like the song may become a setlist staple. Building on this, hearing some other newer cuts live for the first time also made the gig a memorable one. The smooth blues of Black Water was one of the set's overall highlights - with Kirkpatrick delivering a brilliant guitar solo and Overland doing his best Paul Rodgers impression during the surprise hit. The ballad Incredible was another which I had not heard live before, which came later in the set, but before that there was a rare outing for the oldie Dangerous - whilst one of Overland's personal favourites Does It Feel Like Love also saw plenty of singing from the crowd. Overland is always on form, but he seemed more talkative than usual during the set - and the overall link between the band and the crowd seemed strong, whilst there was banter between Overland, Kirkpatrick, and Mervyn Goldsworthy (bass guitar/vocals) throughout. By the time Incredible had passed, though, it was left to some big favourites to round out the main set. That Girl, Bad Luck, and Tough It Out proved to be a powerful trio of 1980s classics - before the newer anthem Killed by Love brough the 16-song main set to a close. Following a brief step away, a two-song encore was deployed. Davis started it by announcing that he was two years cancer-free, to huge cheers, before a he started the new ballad Just Walk Away with a spacey keyboard intro. He, Overland, and Kirkpatrick, played the smooth ballad with ease - before he picked up his keytar for a rare outing of oldie Heart of the Matter to bring the band's hour and 45 minutes on stage to a bombastic and hooky close. The setlist was:

Synchronized 

I Belong to the Night

Turn This Car Around

Someday

Living on the Run

Let Love Be the Leader

Don't Call It Love

Black Water

Burning My Heart Down

Dangerous

Does It Feel Like Love

Incredible

That Girl

Bad Luck

Tough It Out

Killed by Love

-

Just Walk Away

Heart of the Matter

FM never disappoint and Friday's effort in Wolverhampton was another excellent night with the UK's best AOR band. Hearing some of the 1980s classics again continues to make me wonder why the band were not huge - but seeing them live year after year in venues like KK's Steel Mill is now the benefit of them never really breaking through. FM remain very well liked and supported here in the UK - and they even make some waves abroad again these days. I am sure that FM will be touring again next year - and I am already looking forward to my next live experience with the band.