Live Review: Saxon - Hammersmith Apollo, London
29th January 2022
Support: Diamond Head, Uriah Heep
Words & Photos: Paul Hutchings
It was a long time coming, but finally the Saxon army were able to mass together once more in a celebration of more than just the 40th anniversary of one of the UK’s seminal heavy metal purveyors. This was for many in the audience the first opportunity to get back on the live gig horse, allay those lockdown fears and join with Barnsley’s favourite sons for an evening which demonstrated that the old school are still very much alive and kicking.
Arriving at the venue a good 30 minutes before the start time, queues of eager metal fans snaked around the venue. Denim and leather was unsurprisingly the order of the day, with a large number of Saxon shirts, backpatches and hoodies in evidence. Despite the changes in restrictions, the Covid 19 passport was necessary to gain entry, but everyone seemed prepared, and the smooth operation allowed access to the venue with relative ease.
It's an undeniable fact that with a bit more cunning and guile during the early part of their career, Diamond Head would not have been opening the evening’s proceedings. As the venue filled, the band formed by Brian Tatler way back in 1976 proceeded to show why, on their day, they can certainly play with the big boys. Cramped on the front of the stage, the five members of the band spread out to maximise the opportunity. I said in my review of the band at Bloodstock last year that in singer Rasmus Bom Andersen Diamond Head have their best ever singer. Full of energy, he skipped across the stage with boundless energy. The band rightly maximised their time, seamlessly joining the opening three tracks of their set without missing a beat. If you’ve ever seen Diamond Head live in recent years, you’ll be aware of their desire to mix contemporary tracks with the slew of old school classics that are harvested from their early work on ‘Lighting for the Nations’. This was the case once more, with ‘Bones’ and ‘The Messenger’ now firm live staples alongside a raucous Helpless before the first real singalong of the evening as the timeless riff to ‘Am I Evil’ kicked out of the PA. Smooth, fluid and professional, even the bizarre sight of Bom Andersen running around the stage with a fan’s prosthetic leg raised aloft couldn’t detract from one of the finest 30 minutes Diamond Head have ever played.
There is no doubting the place that Girlschool have in the halls of UK metal history. Their formation in 1978 links them forever with the likes of Saxon and Motörhead, with many tours under their belts. Their status as the longest running all-female hard rock outfit is assured and many fans have an overt fondness for them. And yet, as in every time I’ve seen them over the years, they present as a shambles, at least until the final couple of songs. From their entry onto the stage, through their inevitable talking over each other across the stage during the set, Kim McAuliffe tuning her guitar during a song and their clumsy musical style, this was a set that I’d have quite happily avoided. Even if much of the overall evening was firmly rooted in the music of 40 years ago, the other bands on the bill have managed to evolve their sound. Not so Girlschool, whose punky metal presented as dated and repetitive. Running over their allotted time, and with feedback from their guitars screeching across the venue for the first few songs, it was left to a rendition of Motörhead’s ‘Bomber’ (which they covered on the ‘St. Valentine’s Day Massacre EP in 1981) to really stoke the fires. Surprisingly, the audience in general provided them with a warm reception which owed more to the air of nostalgia than the actual performance.
With Saxon celebrating 40 years in the business, it was a stroke of genius to get 50-year plus veterans Uriah Heep to join the party. Big winners in the substitute headline slot of 2021 with superb sets at both Steelhouse and Stone Dead, the Heep slotted seamlessly into the place vacated by the now retired Swiss Rockers Krokus. Having been up the mountain at Steelhouse last summer I knew that we were in for a treat. And yet, it was almost impossible to take in what a magical 50 minutes the band would actually deliver. There are few special guest slots that could have been bettered. Tight, expert and at the very pinnacle of their game, Mick Box and co played with the widest smiles of the weekend. Smiles that were replicated around the venue as old fans nodded and new fans stood open mouthed.
24 studio albums provide Uriah Heep with an almost impossible menu for such a set, so plumping for a setlist that touched on the current with opener ‘Grazed by Heaven’ from their most recent ‘Living the Dream’ album before dipping in the main to the band’s early releases made sense. Bernie Shaw, who along with keyboardist and backing vocalist Phil Lanzon has been with the band for over 35 years now, leads the band with a gentle spirit of comradeship, and no little reverence for the band’s legacy. Acknowledging that the gig was taking place on the birthday of original singer David Byron was a lovely, poignant touch.
It's a mark of a quality when everything looks as effortless as Heep did. This set was flawless with some captivating extended instrumental passages demonstrating the skills of Lanzon, Box, drummer Russell Gilbert and bassist Davey Rimmer. By the time we arrived at set closer ‘Easy Livin’, it was noticeable that a large section of the audience expressed their dissatisfaction verbally. We certainly could have gone for more and tickets for their rescheduled October dates will now be sourced.
As stunning as Uriah Heep were, this was Saxon’s night, and they were in no mood to release their grip on headliner status. It’s actually 42 years thanks to the over two-year wait for this show, but as Biff reminded us, 40 sounds better. Pulling out all the stops, this was a gig to remember. The curtain dropped and there in all its glory was The Eagle, which I understood had hung limp and silent for large parts of the show the night before in Manchester. No misfires this evening; for many this was the welcoming back of an old friend and a throwback to those early 1980s when Saxon’s star was rising. Flanking drummer Nigel Glockler were two stairways, part of a castle stage set and hence ‘Castles and Eagles’.
The setlist largely mirrored that witnessed at Bloodstock in 2021, with the insertions of ‘Backs to the Wall’, ‘To Hell and Back’, ‘Crusader’ and ‘Dallas 1PM’. Looking healthy, Biff was on tremendous form, commanding from the front in his inimitable style. He expressed the band’s gratitude for retaining their tickets for the show, which had been postponed three times before announcing that there will be a UK tour in November. One of the greatest things about Saxon is how quintessentially and unashamedly British they are. This was a show which showcased everything I love about heavy metal, and no-one does it better. Saxon know their strengths and they have an arsenal of songs to back them up. The thunderous ‘Battering Ram’ contrasted with the majestic semi-prog of ‘The Eagle has Landed’, the anthemic ‘Denim and Leather’ coming early in the set whilst the dedication to Motörhead via ‘And They Played Rock and Roll’ elicited the expected roars of approval.
With the Eagle doing its thing, with some particularly nifty “flying” during penultimate song ‘747 (Strangers in the Night)’, and a highly impressive lightshow combined with an ever-changing digital display screen, there was nothing to fault. In fact, this was as comprehensive a Saxon concert as I’ve ever seen. Having been told halfway through that the show was being recorded merely saw both crowd and band increase their energy levels and even as the finale ‘Princess of the Night’ faded out, you sensed that both parties had more to give.
Two shows, two sell outs. With new album ‘Carpe Diem’ due to drop on 4th February (and it’s a good one too!), this was both a celebration of the past and a demonstration that Saxon (and Uriah Heep and Diamond Head) still have plenty more to offer. Roll on November!!
ICYMI - Check out our review of Saxon's new album Carpe Diem here.
