“If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen” said the old advert, well in my eyes you could say the same about Magnum, having been a fan since the mid 80’s I have heard pretty much everything Magnum have to offer so naturally with a new album out and tour announced I dutifully bought my ticket and pre-ordered the album. After reading a few favourable reviews I gave “Escape from the Shadow Garden” a listen and found it very much as expected, some fine well-crafted songs, strong vocals and that unique Magnum sound. I was certainly not disappointed but nor was I wildly enthusiastic either so off to the waterfront I went hoping to hear plenty of the old “classics” and just a few new songs.
Kicking off the night was Neonfly, a band that few in the crowd were familiar with but who took to the stage as if it was their show and their crowd. Their sound is more power metal than hard rock bringing to mind a kind of cross between Dragonforce and Helloween but some great songs with catchy choruses coupled with Willy Norton’s excellent vocals and stage presence soon had most of the crowd won over. ‘Ship with no Sails’ and closing song ‘Morning Star’ were definite highlights, and now that I have checked their album out, I for one will definitely be looking out for them again.
Magnum have been around for a little over forty years now with only a few personnel changes. The core of the band has always been vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist and songwriter Tony Clarkin. Following a six-year break, they were joined in 2001 by bassist Al Barrow and Thunder drummer Harry James. Long-standing keyboard player Mark Stanway completes the current line-up, which has been together now for longer than most bands’ entire shelf life. Much of the band’s commercial success came before the break but this current line-up has arguably produced many of their finest works to date.
Considering how close this tour was to the album release date it was a bold move to open with a brand new song but album and show opener ‘Live ‘til you die’ is surely destined to be another live essential. Following it up with ‘Black Skies’ gave a great heavy feel to the start of the show. The band are very much as usual, Bob Catley says little to the crowd but he still grabs your attention with his energy and his voice which is still superb live, Tony stays out of the way understated and very underrated in my opinion, bass player Al Barrow is more than competent and adds some energy and enthusiasm to the proceedings playing with a smile he clearly enjoys performing live. Next up was ‘Freedom Day’ from The Visitation, a personal favourite of mine and I was certainly not disappointed. ‘Dance of the Black Tattoo’, ‘Blood Red Laughter’ and ‘Unwritten Sacrifice’ from the new album followed, meaning it was over half an hour before any old material was aired. Great though the first six songs were it was only when the keyboard intro to ‘How Far Jerusalem’ started that there was a noticeable change in the crowd as they now had something to sing along to and sing along they did to every word in a ten minute long rendition with Tony Clarkins’ atmospheric guitar solo included. The sing-along and arm-waving continued with ‘Les Morts Dansant’ and new song ‘Falling for the Big Plan’. Things slowed down with a stripped back version of ‘The Spirit’ with just Bob and Tony on stage for most of the song before being joined by the rest of the band for the final chorus, leading to a lively final four songs. ‘All My Bridges’ from the Moonking album has quickly become a live favourite, ‘All England’s Eyes’ a song I would rarely listen to by choice but which always comes across well live, ‘Vigilante’ had the more energetic (and younger) audience members jumping along and finally ‘Kingdom of Madness’ thirty-six years old and as fresh as the day it was written brought the main set to a close on a high. No one was going anywhere and two encore songs followed, ‘Too Many Clowns’, the fourth song played from the latest album and finally ‘Sacred Hour’, probably the ultimate live song. Mark Stanways’ keyboard intro always sounds amazing, and the song is the perfect way to end what was another awesome Magnum show.
So a lot more newer songs than I had hoped for but with hindsight that was no bad thing, Magnum just seem to get better all the time. I’m pretty sure that Magnum will be back before long hopefully with another album, it won’t be anything different or ground-breaking but it will be good and I’ll be here loving every minute of it.
Words – Neal Francis
Photography – Kayleigh Warren
