Live Review: Planet Rock 25th Birthday Bash
KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton
15th November 2024
Featuring: Black Star Riders, The Answer, Dan Byrne
Words & Photos: Scott Clarke
Tonight was a very special night indeed as I got to KK’s Steel Mill, it was an early start for a one time only event that saw the queues already gathering in their masses. Not only was there to be a tremendous show of great music from equally great bands, it would also be a night that would see legends take to the midlands stage as we all gathered to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Planet Rock.
As the lights dimmed, 10 minutes before start time, we photographers made a quick dash for the pit as the crowd erupted in a welcoming cheer for the nights celebrations to begin. What followed was an audio montage traversing the solar system before backtracking the very beginnings of Planet Rock, where they had come from, what they had developed into including the multitude of guests and presenters that have been part of the stations’ quarter century reign as the top rock radio station including the first song ever played on the radio station, Smoke on the Water. Enter on stage to another big cheer, the voice of the mornings, Wyatt alongside the doctor of the blues, Bernard Doherty. As the pair welcome everyone to the birthday party, minus jelly and ice cream, Wyatt leads things off by introducing the first of tonights musical acts, a man who has made quite a name for himself and has graced the airwaves, as well as this very stage, quite frequently. Dan Byrne.
It hasn’t been very long since I last saw Dan Byrne and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him countless times particularly over the past year or so. If nothing else it can be said that he’s most certainly putting the work in to develop and forge his path and it’s doing well.
Although I’ve seen him several times, his act continues to evolve slightly each time. Tonight sees a minor orchestrated intro that brings the members onto the stage, including Colin Parkinson on bass which was a surprise as he wasn’t with Dan last time I saw them. Col always gives 110% whenever I’ve seen him. Dan steps up to centre stage and welcomes the Wolverhampton crowd, minus his usual large brimmed hat. Wasting no time the band immediately launch into Hard To Breathe. Dan’s vocals are full of intensity and you genuinely feel he is drawing on emotion to reach the ranges he does. It’s a great opening and as I mentioned, having the super energetic Colin on the bass does wonders to add to the visual spectacle on stage, his superb musicianship is unquestionable but it’s his enthusiasm and intensity that he brings to any project he is a part of that helps lift the whole ensemble.
The heavier, rockier number Control is next on the list. Dan thanks the crowd for joining in the celebrations tonight and thanks the crowd for supporting live music by buying the tickets to the shows before introducing the next high tempo number, Hate Me, a song ironically named because after meeting Dan several times, that is something that is impossible to do, he’s a genuinely humble and down to earth guy. It’s another track that gives guitarist Glenn Quinn chance to shine with intricate melodies, switching up with chugging rhythm. Glenn is a fantastic player and can I say, he keeps himself to himself on stage, which is a little unusual for a guitar player of his calibre. Don’t get me wrong, he has the intensity and movement to match the rest of the band, but that’s exactly it, he doesn’t try to overshadow the rest of the performance and its a credit to him that he helps to amplify the entire band as a whole. Along with Max Rhead who pounds out some amazing drum beats and is never not thrashing away with power and drive to keep the whole group in time. It’s very much a fantastic band, a great group effort that culminates in great quality overall enjoyment and brilliant songs that are varied throughout the set list. They gel very well and there’s no ego involved, just everyone giving their all.
Easier follows next, the very bluesy track is a great change of pace and it’s precisely an example of what I mean when I say they have versatility in the songs. A lot of bands hit it big with a style or type and stay in that groove to try to recapture the success but it can leave a band sounding stale and with tracks that all sound the same. Dan has a great ability to mix things up and his voice lends itself to the more blues inspired sound, the emotions he can ring out give a more soulful drive to any power ballad too.
A return to the rockier sound next for Wide Awake which lets Dan bring in the crowd with a bit of a sing along, it’s little things like this that really get the crowd invested in a performance, before Glenn erupts into a face melting guitar solo.
Dan again gives a big thank you to Planet Rock and every one involved before the culmination in the evening for himself and the band with Like Animals and Death of Me.
Again we see Dan here tonight with a full band, as I mentioned the last time I got to see him perform, its a development that has really grown around Dan and enabled him to expand his repertoire and confidence. He’s more at home on the stage than ever and quickly has the crowd in the palm of his hand as the band perform their own material, again cementing their own image and brand. It’s become a source of amusement in a way for me the number of times I’ve seen Dan especially this year, however each and every time it’s always a pleasure and he always guarantees a fantastic nights entertainment. There are a lot of people new to Dan Byrne in here tonight and I think after this they will be firm fans. It can only bode well for Dan who returns to KK’s on his own headline tour next year and I’m looking forward to it.
The lights dim for a second time tonight and a voice comes over the PA to welcome the next guests onto the stage. A huge cheer erupts as the voice that many wake up to in the morning, the man with the greatest boots in the world. Mr Paul Anthony makes his entrance alongside the original member of the Planet Rock crew who has been there since the very beginning, Mark Jeeves.
The pair open by wishing a happy birthday to Planet Rock as well as two loyal fans in the crowd, one who travels to every Planet Rockstock and is always seen wearing shorts, the DJ’s get the whole arena to shout happy birthday at the same time, its a nice touch and a showing of togetherness for this great community. After a short few minutes, Paul culminates his words with an introduction for the second band of tonights celebrations as taking to the stage are, The Answer.
Another pop from the crowd, during the introductions the band members had already made their way on stage so before Paul’s vocals had trailed off from the intro, The Answer were already into the swing of things with the first track, Blood Brother.
The Irish contingent consisting of James Heatley on Drums, Micky Waters on bass, Paul Mahon on guitar, Cora Bruns on keys and Cormac Neeson on...whatever he was on as the lead singer of the group began as he intended to go on, full of energy and charisma, the night saw Cormac jumping around the stage like Zebedee after a session on the energy drinks. It’s a super high energy performance that never let up and it’s quite a demanding thing as a singer when your body is your instrument to keep up such a pace and still deliver quality vocals with the energy required to do so. It’s a credit to his conditioning and abilities that throughout the performance he is able to maintain this level. It’s also a nice showing of a zest for life and living in the moment, it boosts the bands performance and where some singers can appear very static on stage amongst their instrument wielding compatriots, especially during instrument solos, Cormac takes life by the mic stand and never stays still, it’s definitely an impactful, visual performance that enhances the bands very popular sound.
The addition of Cara Bruns on keys adds another dimension to the songs especially the opening Blood Brother, the organ voice on the keyboard gives the songs a 70’s vibe on top of the hard rock sounds, its almost a sprinkling of Deep Purple thrown into the mix. Nowhere Freeway is up next, the high tempo a consistent theme, the song breaks for a more melodic chorus and really showcases James Heatley’s pounding beat on the drums which stands out and closes with an eye watering solo from Paul’s guitar.
Another 70’s inspired organ solo follows as a link to keep the pace up, Cormac introduces Cara to the crowd who get involved with a bit of a sing along before he breaks out the harmonica for his own little duet with Cara that leads us into Under The Sky.
Sundowners, sounding like it could be in the soundtrack to a Western with the opening bars of guitar and harmonica, the title track of the album with the same name released last year is next and is the second of three songs featured tonight from the bands triumphant return after a long hiatus, followed immediately by the third in Want You to Love Me.
The remainder of the show is a mix of the back catalogue as well as mixing it up with a bit of variety. Solas from the album of the same name and a term that means light in Gaelic is next to illuminate the KK’s faithful followed by Spectacular from the New Horizon album, needless to say the tracks are going down equally as spectacularly. It’s the Planet Rock birthday bash and there are 3 bands on tonight but there is definitely a healthy turn out of The Answer supporters that can be seen cramming the halls proudly sporting their t-shirts.
Throughout the show, Cormac sports his large brimmed hat which may have been in conflict with Dan Byrne’s usual attire and had me wondering if that’s why Dan didn’t wear his tonight as the combination along with the long hair may have clashed, nevertheless it was hats off to the group tonight for a full on entertaining display that featured a fantastic cover of The Beatles classic, With a Little Help From My Friends, a nice little touch given what Dan Byrne had mentioned earlier in the evening that if not for the radio station, its listeners and the people that buy the tickets for the shows, none of these groups would be here living the dream.
Preachin’, another track from the bands debut album Rise from back in 2006, it really doesn’t seem that long ago, is next up before Cormac leads the whole venue with glasses raised in the air in a solo performance of the traditional Irish number Here’s A Health To Company before closing their allotted time with Demon Eyes.
The entire performance is met with great reception from the patrons who cheer and applaud the almost hour long set and the bands fantastic show.
Finally the moment everyone had been waiting for as the finale of the celebrations was to begin. That’s a weird thing to say as you only usually look forward to the ending of things you don’t like, but you know what I mean. The evening had gone from strength to strength and for a birthday celebration it was akin to bringing out the cake.
But before we could have our cake, Van Halen’s Jump blasted out of the audio system and onto the stage came Ian Danter and Darren Redick, dressed as Paul Anthony, sporting a long wig and carrying a Piñata and baseball bat. Check out my shoes Darren said in a jibe to Paul’s legendary footwear, a remark that had the arena burst out in laughter before Darren proceeded to smash the papier-maché donkey effigy to smithereens. It was a speech of thanks again to the crowd for listening for so many years and for coming tonight to support the event. It was also a thanks to the bands that had performed so far tonight before Ian asked the crowd if they wanted more. The cheers went higher as Darren introduced Black Star Riders.
The biggest pop of the night blasted behind us before the familiar whistling of Ennio Morricone’s legendary theme from the Clint Eastwood masterpiece, For a Few Dollars More played out to usher on the band members. Places set, the whistling theme gave way to a blast of drums and guitar as Black Star Riders began their set.
Consisting tonight of Marco Mendoza on bass, Jimmy DeGrasso on drums, Sam Wood on lead guitar and of course, Ricky Warwick on guitar and vocals. The night suddenly cranked up to 11 as All Hell Breaks Loose. The powerful track serving as a perfect opening number, it got the crowd jumping and singing along.
Are you Ready? Shouts Ricky, Are you ready? He emphasises again as the guitars and pounding drums kick in to the Thin Lizzy track of the same name. Both Jimmy DeGrasso and Marco Mendoza were original members of the band and although there have been some changes in a way, it was so great to see them back together. Their rhythm section providing a heartbeat for the band in a way that’s imitated but not duplicated with such power and depth and also precision. Both Marco and Jimmy have been there and done it, they’re consummate professionals in every way and always put their all into a show, Marco I’ve seen across the years in several projects he’s been involved with.
Straight into Bloodshot we go next for the decidedly Irish sounding number with an intro that would fit nicely using pipes instead of the guitar to be honest though the rest of the track is decidedly heavier, it’s a brilliantly catchy melody.
Good evening, Ricky wishes on the adoring crowd as they respond to raucous cheers, he continues on the reason for tonight is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the great station before the band kick into The Killer Instinct from the superb album of the same name from 2015 (How was that almost 10 years ago!!).
KK’s tonight is heaving. When I first arrived at the venue I was a little concerned as there weren’t as many people queued up as I had expected, but by the time Dan Byrne took to the stage it was already at quite a capacity and it only continued to get busier to this point where it was difficult to move around.
Another State of Grace from the album of the same name is up next and is another with an intro that sounds decidedly traditional Irish based. It was here I was trying to make my way to the back of the arena to grab a shot of the whole stage but it was a struggle as the amount of people singing and enjoying themselves was tremendous. We were only 4 songs into the set and already it was shaping up to be a night to remember.
Better Than Saturday Night was the newest track on the cards tonight, having been released back in 2023, with the recording being from the Wrong Side of Paradise album, the first album without Thin Lizzy legend Scott Gorham. It’s a track that still has that Lizzy feel yet its also the bands own identity now. Leading directly into When the Night Comes In from Heavy Fire, it was one of only a few tracks that went away from the initial 2 albums of All Hell Breaks Loose and The Killer Instinct but given the atmosphere and the event, it was fitting as it gave the crowd a great excuse to join in and sing at the top of their lungs, luckily Black Star Riders were so loud that most of these slightly inebriated voices were drowned out but you can’t knock their passion.
Before the War leads us into a more subdued intro to Soldierstown, the pace of the evening is relentless and with track after track it never lets up. With no time to catch our breath we continue with the brilliant Blindsided, its power ballad style is the only time so far that things have slowed down to any degree, for a double whammy from The Killer Instinct, as the track drew to a close it was just enough for the crowd to erupt in a cheer of appreciation before the drums began again, and the unique and instantly recognisable wailing guitar for Crazy Horses. Never before have the Osmonds sounded so heavy, well not to me anyway but it was a fantastic cover that got the crowd really belting out the lines along with Marco who stepped up to the mic.
Back we go to All Hell Breaks Loose for Hey Judas before launching into Testify or Say Goodbye from the Heavy Fire album
Jailbreak the Thin Lizzy classic was next on the list. Ricky Warwick’s raw vocals are on top form all night long and something that I’ve always thought since Black Star Riders came to be is how close he sounds to Phil Lynott especially when singing the Thin Lizzy classics. He has always been a perfect fit for the evolution of Thin Lizzy and his vocals embody the spirit and passion of Phil, although Black Star Riders are obviously their own entity with their own brilliant albums, its still nice to hear the classics played live in the closest way possible.
As I was minding my own business at the back of the venue and taking in the show, I had the Planet Rock crew gathering en masse around me where a birthday cake with 25 on it was presented to the crew. It was a nice moment away from the lights and stage show for the people involved to enjoy a little celebration together, after all we are just a part of what they’re all working hard behind the scenes to achieve.
After Jailbreak there was a nice nod to Scott Gorham, Ricky said he sent his love and a massive cheer for him went up from everyone in attendance before the band carried on with Dancing with the Wrong Girl that lead us back to All Hell Breaks Loose for the final time for both Kingdom of the Lost and Bound For Glory.
Ricky introduced Cormac back onto the stage, the lead singer of The Answer greeted the band and the crowd again before they all joined in with The Boys are Back in Town. One of my favourite Lizzy tracks, now as I mentioned before about Ricky and how he really brings out the emotion and feeling of Phil on the classic Lizzy tracks, this one just really cemented it to me because hearing Cormac’s turn on the mic for some of the verses, it wasn’t the same. It’s no detriment to Cormac because he’s a good singer, however it just really brings home how brilliant Ricky Warwick has been in keeping the Thin Lizzy legacy going.
Closing out the night in the only way they could is Finest Hour, a wonderful track that pretty much sums up the performance, it was a very fine hour..and a half.
The whole night has simply flown, track after track of fantastic music that never let up and culminated a fantastic evenings entertainment. This Friday was most certainly an evening that was Better Than Saturday night due to the quality on display from all involved and the little snippet on the audio montage at the beginning of tonights show summed it up pretty well. “Planet Rock, where rock lives – and where rock will live on forever.” Happy Birthday Planet Rock.
Photo credits: Scott Clarke Photography
