Live Review: British Lion - London
4th January 2024
Support: Tony Moore
Words & Photos: Jacob Schwar
Tonight’s performance was a special pleasure for not only was it sold-out but the venue was no other than the famous, or should I say infamous, Cart and Horses pub in the east end of London. The pub itself has a strong and personal history for Steve Harris, especially as it’s the one venue where Iron Maiden really got established, who were playing shows there since the mid 70’s with the pub now acting as museum or a shrine to the greatest metal band the UK has ever produced!
Kicking things off in style was artist Tony Moore with his one-man prog-rock show “AWAKE”, an interesting bit of history with Tony Moore was that he originally played keyboards with Iron Maiden back in 1977 and so was a special guest by invitation to be opening up for British Lion on their 16 date tour of the UK. The “AWAKE” show contains a mix of styles though all presented with that classic progressive edge with much inspiration from the greats such as Pink Floyd, Genesis etc. A highlight of the show is Tony’s virtuosity, at points he’ll be performing on his electric guitar then he’ll be on his acoustic and even on the keyboard but all whilst providing vocals as well, the sheer skill he displays is an absolute delight to watch.
Another interesting aspect of the show, for a visual artist like myself, is the use of projections in the background displaying clips relating to the narrative of each song which, complimented by the lighting, made a real atmosphere in the venue, though that being said it was nice to see Tony has a sense of humour as some of the clips showed multiple versions of himself playing different instruments and wearing various outfits which made me smile. I really didn’t know what to expect with “AWAKE” but surprisingly I was impressed, I believe that this show if done in a much bigger venue it would be even greater though to see a prog rock virtuoso in tiny London venue makes it just a bit more special.
We now come to tonight’s headliners, the main reason it’s a sold out show and why many fans in maiden tee’s and some fellow hammers supporters sporting claret and blue have gathered, it’s time for British Lion. Out on stage they came, all of them looking as vigorous and energetic as ever, I could tell from the moment they kicked into ‘This Is My God’ that they were gonna put on a proper show for us tonight. They would soon follow this up with ‘Father Lucifer’ which saw many in the crowd fist-bumping along to before pulling out a fan favourite with ‘The Burning’ with some excellent guitar work by both Grahame Leslie and David Hawkins.
A big reason to see British Lion is of course to see some excellent british heavy metal but to also witness the man himself Steve Harris right up close, as most times he appears as a ‘small dot on a massive stage’ for those at arenas shows, which is predominately where he performs. Some set highlights included the epic ‘A World Without Heaven’, a live debut of a new song titled ‘2000 years’ and of course a real banger with ‘Land Of The Perfect People’ which many were singing along to. They always put on a great show these chaps and to see them in a small, intimate setting was a sight to behold, it was especially heart-warming to see the chemistry between the band members, each of them were smiling and feeding off from each other’s energy, Steve Harris in particular freely moving about the tiny stage wilding his bass guitar in complete euphoria!
They would round up the night with fan favourites ‘Lightning’ and ‘Last Chance’ and so that was British Lion, there’s not much more that can be said, if you want some good honest metal then get out to see this band if you get the chance. Though I would like to give some due respect to Steve Harris and British Lion for playing at the Cart and Horses which is a venue of unique history and heritage in East London which has given a major contribution to the history of music, it’s also the only real venue with consistent metal gigs in that part of London so it’s great to give it the business and exposure, rock on!
All photo credits: Jacob Schwar
