Slady - Friday 20th January - New Cross Inn

Brief review:  A late decision to go and see one of the best Slade tribute acts around. The venue was reasonably busy and the girls cooked up a storming show, including a few songs not heard from them before. Prior to the show, we had gone to a couple of the less visited pubs towards New Cross station. Let's just say, we reminded ourselves on why they were "less visited"! The New Cross Inn itself is an excellent venue though!

Venue and View:  Standing towards the back, left of centre.

Setlist
We'll Bring the House Down
Look Wot You Dun
Cum On Feel the Noize
Coz I Luv You
Mama Weer All Crazee Now
Know Who You Are
Darlin' Be Home Soon 
The Bangin' Man
Just a Little Bit 
Dig Me
Don't Blame Me
Hear Me Calling
Run Runaway
Move Over 
Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me
Born to Be Wild
Take Me Bak 'Ome
Everyday
Gudbuy T'Jane
+
Merry Xmas Everybody
Get Down and Get With It

Rockz - Monday 16th December - English Channel (MS Arcadia Cruise)

Brief review:  All girl cruise ship band play a selection of rock and pop covers. Not the obvious choices of songs (I only knew about 50%), but all the girls could all sing and it was a nice way to while away 50 minutes in the main auditorium.

Venue and View:  Front left stalls

Paul Heaton - Tuesday 10th December - Hammersmith Eventim Apollo

Brief review:  I had been looking forward to this since seeing the highlights of Paul's Glastonbury show on TV and listening to tracks from his new album "The Mighty Several". And it was great. "New" vocalist Rianne Downey is a star in the making and the set list covered most of the essentials from his solo work and the best of the Beautiful South. In fact it was so good, I am sorely tempted to go to the extra night tomorrow, but probably can't!

Venue and View:  Front Left, Hammersmith (aka the "normal" spot)

Setlist

Just Another Family
Sheep
Old Red Eyes Is Back
Quicksand
Bell Bottomed Tear
The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death
A Little Time
H Into Hurt
I Don't See Them
Silly Me
We're Not Deep
Fish 'N' Chip Supper
Song for Whoever
Small Boats
Me and the Farmer
I'll Sail This Ship Alone
Don't Marry Her
Heatongrad
Happy Hour
Perfect 10
Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud)
+
One Last Love Song
You Keep It All In
+
Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)
Caravan of Love

Human League - Monday 9th December - Brighton Centre

Brief review:  "The Human League?" I hear you cry! Yes, if you see the other artists on the blog, you will realise they are unlikely to be my "cup of tea". But, ably supported by a brief set from T'Pau, the excellent Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the show was really good. In fact, I'd say the sound and vocals were superior to many of the studio tracks I'd forced myself to listen to (many I didn't enjoy) in the run up to the show. So the lessen of the day is that generally, these famous bands are famous for a reason - they are normally good!

As a bonus, I was able to pick up a live T'Pau CD from the merchandise stand that I had never seen before!

Venue and View:  Seated at the side

Setlist
[T'Pau]
Sex Talk
Secret Garden
Valentine
Whenever You Need Me
Heart and Soul
Bridge of Spies
China in Your Hand

[Sophie Ellis-Bextor]
Crying at the Discoteque 
Take Me Home 
Hypnotized
Ready for Your Love 
Get Over You
Lady (Hear Me Tonight) / Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) / Can't Fight This Feeling / Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Freedom of the Night
Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer) 
Murder on the Dancefloor

[Human League]
Hard Times
Love Action (I Believe in Love)
Mirror Man
Heart Like a Wheel
Behind the Mask 
Life on Your Own
The Lebanon
One Man in My Heart
The Path of Least Resistance
Empire State Human
Louise
Soundtrack to a Generation
All I Ever Wanted
Open Your Heart
The Sound of the Crowd
Tell Me When
(Keep Feeling) Fascination
Don't You Want Me
+
Good-Bye Bad Times 
Together in Electric Dreams

Mark Stanway's Kingdom of Madness - Sunday 8th December - Underworld, Camden

Brief review:  Mark Stanway and KOM play classic Magnum. I wasn't sure if I could make this and so only bought a ticket on the night, but was glad I made the effort. The vocalist had changed since last time I saw the band (continuing the heavy rotation of musicians), but the quality was still high. Even as a keen Magnum fan, I struggled to identify a couple of the more obscure songs that started both sets and as the empty spaces in the venue suggested, I wonder if Mark is gong to find an audience for this type of show. I genuinely hope he can. Maybe any night but a Sunday would be a good start.

Venue and View:  Stand wherever we wanted. We chose left of centre, a few yards back.

Setlist
So Cold the Night
Back to Earth
Just Like an Arrow
Vigilante
Wild Swan
The Prize
Need a Lot of Love
Les Morts Dansant
Love's a Stranger
All England's Eyes
+
If I Could Live Forever
Soldier of the Line
Only in America
Drum Solo
Midnight (You Won't Be Sleeping)
Red on the Highway
On a Storyteller's Night
Kingdom of Madness
The Lights Burned Out
Sacred Hour

SAS Band - Saturday 7th December - G-Live, Guildford

Brief review:  30th Anniversary show for Spike Edney and his All Star band. with a revolving selection of guests each year, you never know for sure who will be appearing. Our "smart money" on Roger Taylor was spot on and it was nice to see a couple of acts we had not seen before with Spike including Jim Cregan (singing!) and Kiki Dee as well as some more regular favourites.

Most amusing was Justin Hawkins renditions of 2 different "Power of Love" songs with a very high version of the Jennifer Rush track morphing into the rocky Huey Lewis & The News song.

Venue and View:  Front left, standing.

Setlist

Rebel Rebel (with Tony Vincent)
Creep (with Tony Vincent)
Don't Stop Me Now (with Tony Vincent)
School's Out (with Toyah + Justin Hawkins on guitar)
Sweet Child O' Mine (with Toyah + Justin Hawkins on guitar)
War Baby (with Tom Robinson)
2-4-6-8 Motorway / "Here Comes the Sun" snippet (with Tom Robinson)
Every Kinda People (with Kiki Dee)
I've Got the Music in Me (with Kiki Dee)
The Power of Love (Jennifer Rush Song) (with Justin Hawkins)
The Power of Love (Huey Lewis Song) (with Justin Hawkins)
Dixie Chicken (with Justin Hawkins)
I Believe in a Thing Called Love (with Justin Hawkins)
+
Mamma Mia (with the FabbaGirls - Zoe Nicholas and Susie Webb)
Dancing Queen (with the FabbaGirls - Zoe Nicholas and Susie Webb)
Over My Shoulder (with Roachford)
Cuddly Toy (with Roachford)
Higher Ground (with Madeline Bell)
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (with Madeline Bell)
Forever Young (with Jim Cregan)
Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) (with Jim Cregan)
Under Pressure (with Roger Taylor and Justin Hawkins)
These Are the Days of Our Lives (with Roger Taylor)
Radio Ga Ga (with Roger Taylor)
Tutti Frutti (with Roger Taylor)
30 Riff Overture (with Jamie Moses and band)
Fairytale of New York (with Jamie Moses + Fabbagirls on vocals)
Do They Know It's Christmas? (ensemble)
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (ensemble)
All the Way (ensemble)

Quireboys - Sunday 24th November - Islington Academy

Brief review:  A new phase of touring for Spike and the Quireboys. Featuring Thunder's Luke Morley on guitar (as "musical director"), the band whipped through a range of songs old and new. And what good fun it was as you'd expect. Spike seems happy to be free of the noise going on around the split of the band(s) a couple of years ago and hopefully, all parties have moved on and we can enjoy the music we love hearing.

Venue and View:  Front left, standing.

Setlist
Jeeze Louise
Can't Park Here
Misled
Sweet Mary Ann
Raining Whiskey
Whippin' Boy
Tramps and Thieves
Hey You
You and I
I Think I Got It Wrong Again
King of New York
Happy
There She Goes Again
Roses & Rings
+
Like It or Not
I Don't Love You Anymore

Rhino's Revenge - Sunday 27th October - Half Moon, Putney

Brief review:  Another matinee performance from John 'Rhino' Edward's 3 piece band with Craig Joiner on guitar and Status Quo's Leon Cave on the sticks. Daughter Mae joined for a guest drum spot, but it was largely as you'd expect with a fun show of largely solo material, with some choice Quo covers thrown in for good measure.

Venue and View:  Standing at the back.

Setlist

Tom Robinson - Saturday 26th October - Hazlewood Theatre, Oxted

Brief review:  A trip to deepest Surrey and the theatre attached to an arts school in Oxted. Torches were required for the walk from the town / station which added to the unique experience. Tom and the band were on excellent form (this was actually billed as a TRB show) and there were a couple of different amusing anecdotes. We had to sneak out during the final song to ensure that the last train home was caught. And, a rarity these days, I actually purchased a tour T-shirt!

Venue and View:  Second Row seats on left.

Setlist

All Right All Night
Bully for You
Too Good to Be True
Martin
Let My People Be
Days of Rage
Ain't Gonna Take It
Grey Cortina
Long Hot Summer
+
Hold Out
The Winter of '79
Blue Murder
Don't Take No for an Answer
Glad to Be Gay
Up Against the Wall
2-4-6-8 Motorway
+
Power in the Darkness
Never Gonna Fall in Love (Again)
War Baby

Mud - Thursday 17th October - Cavern, Raynes Park

Brief review:  Another Raynes Park date for Mud and it was remarkably similar to last time. And that means it was very good! There were also a couple of covers in the middle of the set sung by Anne Stiles.

Venue and View:  Front left, Standing

Setlist
L'L'Lucy
Crazy
Hypnosis
Dyna-Mite
One Night 
Secrets That You Keep
Shake It Down
Angel Face 
Oh Boy 
Moonshine Sally
Good Rocking Tonight
Johnny B. Goode 
Love Is a Battlefield (with Anne Stiles)
Play That Funky Music (with Anne Stiles)
Cut Across Shorty
Rocket
The Cat Crept In
Lonely This Christmas
Tiger Feet

Scouting For Girls - Monday 7th October - G-Live, Guildford

Brief review:  More Scouting For Girls at Ray's "hometown" gig. They are always well received here and the crowd were in excellent voice. The band were their normal energetic selves and seems to be enjoying themselves as they tread a fine balance on inserting new songs into the set whilst retaining most of the old favourites.

Venue and View:  Front Left, Standing

Setlist
The Missing Part
This Ain't a Love Song
Dancing in the Daylight
Song I Can't Forget
It's Not About You
The Airplane Song
Michaela Strachan
I Wish I Was James Bond
Millionaire (with Kumbaya / The Lion Sleeps Tonight snippets) (Acoustic)
Butterflies (Acoustic)
Posh Girls
Year 3000
Raise a Glass
Heartbeat
Glow
Elvis Ain't Dead / Can't Help Falling in Love
+
Secret Tattoo
She's So Lovely

* This is the likely setlist based on other shows on the tour, but is not 100% certain.

Slim Jim Phantom - Friday 4th October - West Hampstead Arts Centre

Brief review:  The Stray Cat returns to West Hampstead. As the view from the back has pretty restricted last time, we got in early to grab a better spot prior to the support and were able to sit at the side. The support act (solo bloke with electric guitar) was pretty good (and I really enjoyed the punky version of the Scooby Doo theme!). The evening almost got ruined by a slightly strange middle aged gentleman deciding to sweep our (full!) drinks onto the floor because he wanted to steal our seats whilst I popped to the gents. He couldn't see what the problem was, so I suspect he had issues of some sort. I maturely let the matter drop despite a few of the people around us suggesting a more physical approach would have been apt!

The show itself was decent, albeit fairly brief. By his own admission, Jim isn't the best vocalist, but a decent selection of songs (including covers) meant that this didn't really matter. And having Neal X from Sigue Sigue Sputnik on guitar and other vocals was quite left field - he was good though.

Venue and View:  Front Right, standing (once our seats had been stolen!)

Bad Company - Wednesday 11th September - Half Moon, Putney

Brief review:  More "Hart, 'Bucket', Davey and James" at the Half Moon. Very similar show to last time and none the worse for it.

A highlight for me was meeting Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash for the second time. He was kind enough to chat briefly about music and pose for photos with us. He looks annoyingly good for his age!

Venue and View:  Front left, standing

Vengaboys, RPJ Band (Feastyfest) - Sunday 8th September - Feastyfest, Cheam Park

Brief review:  The annual Feastyfest show in Cheam brings an electric mix of artists, The enthusiastic Rick Parfitt Junior bought a wealth of classic rock and pop covers which certainly had a "party starting" feel to it. He even covered "Rockin' All Over The World" which I gather doesn't happen as often as you would think.

I really didn't know what to expect from the Vengaboys - my preconceptions were probably fairly negative. But they were actually really good fun. The crowd got involved and the music and singing were exactly what was needed for this type of event.

Venue and View:  Front left - standing in a park

Pat McManus - Sunday 1st September - Half Moon, Putney

Brief review:  These shows with Pat are becoming reasonably frequent. His excellent guitar and fiddle work is demonstrated on a variety of solo material, older Mama's Boys favourites and some excellently curated covers paying homage to some of the great blues guitarists.

Venue and View:  Front left, standing

Status Quo - Thursday 15th August - Dreamland, Margate

Brief review:  Rumours are that the end is approaching for Quo as a live act. Not 100% confirmed by the band, but this could be the actual "End of the Road", 40 years after the tour of that name. And if it is true, then the standard of show suggests they are going out on a high - the band sound the best they have done for years. Even if the touring days are done, someone should persuade them to say a proper goodbye - after all this was the closest show to London (90 miles away) on an eclectic festival-like jaunt to random venues across the country.

Venue and View:  Standing. 50 yds back on right

Setlist
Caroline
Rain 
Little Lady 
Softer Ride
Beginning of the End
Hold You Back
What You're Proposing / Down the Dustpipe / Something 'bout You Baby I Like / Wild Side Of Life / Rollin' Home / Railroad / Again and Again / Mystery Song
The Oriental
In My Chair
In the Army Now 
Roll Over Lay Down
Down Down
Whatever You Want
Rockin' All Over the World 
+
Don't Waste My Time
Paper Plane
Burning Bridges (On and Off and on Again)

Billy Joel - Friday 9th August - Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Brief review:  The roof is closed at the Principality Stadium and the city outside has been very busy during the day. Mr Joel is playing his first ever show in Wales and we are here on a family outing. Chris Isaac provides the support and is fine, but wouldn't persuade me to go to one of his solo shows.

The venue is sold out and Billy is on good form - joking with the crowd and playing a few snippets of old Tom Jones tracks. Besides that, the set is very similar to his recent final run of MSG shows and unfortunately we don't get to hear his new single "Turn The Lights Back On". But otherwise a solid 8/10 as you would expect - even from distance!

Venue and View:  Rear Seats facing the stage, front row of 2nd tier about 100m from the stage.

Setlist
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
Pressure
The Entertainer
Green Green Grass of Home (snippet)
Just the Way You Are
Zanzibar 
What’s New Pussycat (snippet)
Start Me Up 
An Innocent Man
The Longest Time (with parts of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” & “Barbara Ann”)
The Downeaster "Alexa"
Allentown
Vienna
My Life (with Della Rose)
New York State of Mind 
“Take 5” (snippet)
Only the Good Die Young
Sometimes a Fantasy
The River of Dreams (with “River Deep - Mountain High”)
Nessun Dorma (sung by Mike DelGuidice)
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
Piano Man
+
We Didn't Start the Fire
Uptown Girl
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
Big Shot
You May Be Right (with “Rock and Roll”)

Bonnie Tyler - Thursday 25th July - Indigo2

Brief review:  A rare outing for Bonnie in the UK. She was meant to be supporting Michael Bolton next door in the bigger O2 arena, but moved here when that show was postponed. She has chosen a decent set here, albeit brief. She did seem at pains to point out several times how popular she is in Europe - I'm guessing the audience either know that (or don't care). Anyway, it was a decent show, so hopefully she will return (or even better, play a venue with slightly cheaper tickets).

Venue and View:  Seated just left of centre - about half a dozen rows back.

Setlist
Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Hide Your Heart 
Lost in France
To Love Somebody 
The Best Is Yet to Come
It's a Heartache
Notes From America
Straight From the Heart 
When the Lights Go Down
Flat on the Floor
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Faster Than the Speed of Night
The Best
+
Turtle Blues 
Holding Out for a Hero

Cregan & Co - Friday 19th July - Boom Boom, Sutton

Brief review:  Another Sutton outing for Jim, Ben, Pat, Sam & Harry. A slightly mixed up set - still revolving around the Rod Stewart material Jim played on, but also with a few newer choices. See these guys whilst you can as they are brilliant. Hopefully the recent venue issues with promotion (or lack of it) won't prevent them from returning.

Venue and View:  Floor Standing. Half full, but then again hardly anyone would have known this was on!

Spike & Friends - Sunday 30th June - Cavern, Raynes Park

Brief review:  Spike and Chris with their acoustic show of songs and stories. To mix things up a bit, this time they had support from Del Bromham (Stray) and Dave "Bucket" Colwell as pictured above. We keep going back for more, so it must be good!

Venue and View:  Standing - half way back

Taylor Swift - Sunday 9th June - Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Brief review:  A family trip to what I think is my first ever gig in Scotland. We couldn't get tickets for any of the Wembley shows, so not wishing to miss the global superstar that is Miss Swift we decided to make a weekend away of it (as did pretty much everyone else staying in the Scottish Capital from what we saw!). 

Now, my other family members are more Swifties than me these days and my song knowledge runs a bit dry after the excellent "Red" album meaning I don't really know 2/3 of her output. But that doesn't stop this being an amazing show. And show is the word - so much thought has been given to making everyone in the vast arenas on the tour feeling involved. That said, we felt very lucky to have the front pitch tickets and be relatively close to the action.

A fantastic experience!

Venue and View:  Pitch standing - Front half, left hand side.

Setlist
Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince
Cruel Summer
The Man
You Need to Calm Down
Lover
+
Fearless
You Belong With Me
Love Story
+

22
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I Knew You Were Trouble
All Too Well
Speak Now
+
Enchanted
+
...Ready for It?
Delicate
Don't Blame Me
Look What You Made Me Do
+
Cardigan
Betty
Champagne Problems
August
Illicit Affairs
My Tears Ricochet
Marjorie
Willow
+
Style
Blank Space
Shake It Off
Wildest Dreams
Bad Blood
+

But Daddy I Love Him / So High School
Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
Down Bad
Fortnight
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
+
Dorothea
Haunted
+
Lavender Haze
Anti‐Hero
Midnight Rain
Vigilante Shit
Bejeweled
Mastermind
Karma

Jon Bon Jovi - Thursday 30th May - Pryzm, Kingston

Brief review:  Here's something I didn't expect to write - "Bon Jovi" does a show in Kingston! To be fair, Jon isn't playing unfortunately, it's more a Q&A and playback of some of the best tracks from the new album.

Jon is a good interview, being informative, sharing about his recent illness and desire to get back on stage. He was also amusing and caring - especially when a couple of audience members fainted and had to be treated (and one carried out) - it was very hot. He went to check on their wellbeing during a break.

Let's hope for some full shows in 2025 or 2026.

Venue and View:  Standing - Front left. Hot!

Quireboys - Sunday 26th May - Triangle, Deptford

Brief review:  Launch Party for the new Wardour Street album from 'Quireboys' (as this incarnation with Spike seem to have settled on). A slightly chaotic brief show (it was a freebie for pre-orders of the Boxed Set), the whole thing was held together by the brilliant Luke Morley (of "Terraplane" as he was constantly teased) in a sort of musical director role.

On this showing, the album should be good.

Venue and View:  Very small venue - standing, effectively 2nd row to the left.

Warner E Hodges - Friday 24th May - Camden Club

Brief review:  What a thoroughly nice chap Warner is. He was generous enough to have a chat with us after the show and we talked about his upcoming trip to Spain to see a couple of AC/DC shows (he is a huge fan!).

The show tonight was really good with Warner's own brand of Southern Rock interspersed with a couple of choice covers. A brand new venue for me too which was fine apart from the high (even for London!) drinks prices.

Venue and View:  Standing - front and central.

Bryan Adams - Wednesday 15th May - Royal Albert Hall

Brief review:  The third and final night of Bryan at the RAH. One of the reasons these shows have been so good is in addition to the variety of songs played across the 3 nights is the fact the full 5 piece band get involved (long term readers may recall my dislike of the 3 piece line-up sound a while ago with only one guitar). 

Tonight's album is the one that has been toured over the last couple of years - "So Happy It Hurts". It's a decent album generally, but has a couple of real duds on it - most notably the dreadful "On The Road". Still, that is done and dusted early, and the rest of the show bought a very enjoyable 3 nights to a decent conclusion. The 3 shows are due to make a boxed set in the future, so a purchase will no doubt be on the cards.

Venue and View:  Floor standing, 2nd row on right

Setlist
Set 1: So Happy It Hurts
Kick Ass
On the Road
I've Been Looking for You
Always Have, Always Will
Just Like Me, Just Like You
Never Gonna Rain 
You Lift Me Up 
Let’s Do This
I Ain’t Worth Shit Without You
Just About Gone
These Are the Moments That Make Up My Life
So Happy It Hurts

Set 2:
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Somebody
18 til I Die
Please Forgive Me
Shine a Light
Kids Wanna Rock
Heaven
Go Down Rockin' (with Midnight Rambler snippet)
It's Only Love / The Best / What's Love Got to Do With It
You Belong to Me (with These Boots Are Made for Walkin' snippet)
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You
I Will Always Return 
Here I Am 
When You're Gone 
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
Run to You
Summer of '69
Cuts Like a Knife
+
Straight From the Heart
All for Love

Bryan Adams - Tuesday 14th May - Royal Albert Hall

Brief review:  Night two of three and tonight's album is the classic "Reckless". Surely one of the best rock albums of all time, this was always likely to be the most in demand of the 3 shows. And it didn't disappoint - another great performance from Bryan and the boys.

Venue and View:  Stalls - Side on to the stage on left.

Setlist
Set 1: Reckless
One Night Love Affair
Somebody
Reckless
Run to You
Heaven 
Kids Wanna Rock
Let Me Down Easy 
She's Only Happy When She's Dancin'
It's Only Love
Long Gone 
Ain't Gonna Cry 
Summer of '69

Set 2:
Kick Ass
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
On the Road
Please Forgive Me
Shine a Light
Go Down Rockin'
You Belong to Me
I've Been Looking for You
Never Gonna Rain 
You Lift Me Up
When You're Gone 
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
Always Have, Always Will
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You
So Happy It Hurts
Cuts Like a Knife
+
Straight From the Heart 
These Are the Moments That Make Up My Life 

Bryan Adams - Monday 13th May - Royal Albert Hall

Brief review:  The first of 3 consecutive nights of Bryan at the Royal Albert Hall. Each features a different album played in full, followed by a hits set. Tonight it's the 18 Til I Die album, which is a mixed bag of the brilliant and dull to be fair. Still, the live renditions are solid - although some people online are complaining about shorter versions than the record. Black Pearl was excluded - maybe for lyrical reasons - although this wasn't clear.

A highlight for me was actually sitting on the stage. This gave a great perspective as a one off and because the show was being filmed for TV and DVD, I was given a plain black "front rows" branded event T-Shirt to wear which was nice. And Keith Scott decided to join us during the show for a guitar solo which was extra special.

Venue and View:  On stage! 2nd row behind the band

Setlist

Set 1: 18 Til I Die
18 til I Die
Do to You
Let's Make a Night to Remember
(I Wanna Be) Your Underwear
Star 
It Ain't a Party... If You Can't Come 'Round 
You're Still Beautiful to Me 
I'll Always Be Right There
We're Gonna Win 
I Think About You 
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You
Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?

Set 2
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Somebody
Just Like Me, Just Like You 
Please Forgive Me
Shine a Light
Heaven
Kids Wanna Rock
Let’s Do This 
It's Only Love / The Best / What's Love Got to Do With It
You Belong to Me
I've Been Looking for You
When You're Gone
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
Just About Gone 
So Happy It Hurts
Run to You
Summer of '69
I Ain’t Worth Shit Without You 
Cuts Like a Knife
+
Straight From the Heart
All for Love

Scouting For Girls - Saturday 4th May - Preston Park, Brighton

Brief review:  Part of the Foodie Festival series, the late afternoon was spent wandering the food stalls, drinking beer and even sitting in on the dreaded "Chilli eating competition" - largely as they had seats available!

But the main reason we were here was to see SFG who delivered a brief but punchy set including an excellent version of Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" which Ray revealed was his favourite Bond theme song.

Venue and View:  Front right standing.

Setlist
Heartbeat
This Ain't a Love Song
Famous
Posh Girls
I Wish I Was James Bond
Nobody Does It Better
Glow
Elvis Ain't Dead / Can't Help Falling in Love
She's So Lovely

Johnny Warman - Friday 3rd May - Boom Boom, Sutton

Brief review:  The evergreen Mr Warman. I've lost count of how many times I've seen him at the Boom Boom and elsewhere and he always delivers. This was the 60's and 70's Rock Show version of his "Magic Bus" lineup and featured rock classics from those eras. I just hope the promotion issues at the Boom Boom get sorted and the shows actually get advertised to increase the audience numbers.

Venue and View:  Standing on the floor, central near the front.

Robert Hart's Bad Company - Wednesday 1st May - Half Moon, Putney

Brief review:  Robert Hart, Dave "Bucket" Colwell, Pat Davey and Harry James make up this collection of largely ex-members of Bad Company and associated acts. Hart and Colwell have legitimate claim of being in the actual Bad Company of course as latter day members. And here we get the greatest hits of Bad Co with a couple of Manfred Man's Earth Band and Free hits for good measure. Seriously good stuff.

Venue and View:  Left hand side of the stage, a couple of metres back.

Sari Schorr - Saturday 27th April - The Grace, Highbury

Brief review:  Following Sari's excellent support slot with the Sweet a while back I thought it worth checking out her solo show. I didn't now much of the first part of the set (including 4 Robin Trower songs), but it was a solid blues rock show with her trademark vocals to the fore.

The Grace is the new name for "Upstairs at the Garage" in Highbury. To be honest, it's not a great venue from an audience perspective, being quite long and narrow. But at least the sound was decent.

Venue and View:  Standing at the back.

Setlist
The Circle Is Complete
The Distance
Joyful Sky
Peace of Mind
Hometown Girl
Ain’t Got No Money
Demolition Man
Ordinary Life
Damn the Reason
Aunt Hazel
Beautiful
Highway 69
Valentina
Maybe I'm Fooling
+
Black Betty
I Just Want to Make Love to You
Rock and Roll

Guitar Heads - Monday 22nd April - Cavern, Raynes Park

Brief review:  Jim Kirkpatrick, Paul Rose, Chris Childs and Harry James. Four of the finest musicians you could wish to see get together for their debut gig in Raynes Park. Apparently that afternoon was the first time that all 4 had been in the same room together and the setlist was made up on the spot.

Suffice to say, nobody would have know as the covers played were absolutely spot on in terms of sound, feel and quality. I had never seen Paul before, but will be checking out his playing elsewhere!

Venue and View:  Standing, half way back.

Setlist