I remember the ‘Cumbria Rock’ festival of 1990, a hot July day on a Rugby ground in Workington and The Almighty were on the bill, along with The Dogs D’Amour and Wolfsbane, while Magnum headlined. It was a long drive in my MGB up the M6, but a day to remember. The Almighty were our heroes, they had brought a new definition to all out ballsy rock and Ricky Warwick was the epitome of a British rock and roll frontman. I must have seen them again after that though. However, JB’s Junction 10 was when I first saw them, supporting Wolfsbane and they blew the roof off, my sister and I couldn’t believe what we were witnessing. After all these years I decided it was time to see the re-emergence, that started a few years ago with all four original members. ‘Girlschool’ were the choice to support and they kicked off at 7.45, KK’s was already packed, I’m a regular and I’ve never seen it so full.
GIRLSCHOOL It was 1978 and the NWOBHM was underway, we were blessed with this ‘new wave’ of rock, there were so many amazing bands to follow and although mainly all male, four female school friends from Wandsworth, South London, who had already been playing around local pubs and clubs, formed Girlschool and released their first single that same year, ‘Take It All Away’. We are now in 2024 and they are still going strong, several line up changes of course, but original member, ‘Kim McAuliffe’ is still standing up front on vocals and rhythm guitar. Screaming her head off to ‘Demolition Boys’ as the band start their set. ‘C’mon Let’s Go’ and ‘The Hunter’ are so good to hear live. Guitarist ‘Jackie Chambers’ has been with Girlschool since 1999 and is now as rooted in the band as Kim. One of, if not the longest running all girl rock bands, they strut around like teenagers. New bassist ‘Olivia Airey’ is a brilliant addition, after ‘Tracey Lamb’s’ departure earlier this year. ‘Hit and Run’ and the massive swagger of ’Screaming Blue Murder’ continue the set and I can see plenty of heads nodding and approving. This is not nostalgia, this is now and it’s superb. Sadly ‘Denise Dufort’ is currently too ill to perform, so ‘Larry Paterson’ is the stand in drummer and he’s doing a fine job, punishing those skins to the extreme. They play ‘Race With The Devil’ the ‘Gun’ cover that also featured on the 1980 album ‘Demolition’. They also strike up ‘Bomber’ in honour of ‘Lemmy’ who loved them so much, they were always supporting ‘Motörhead’ back in the day. ‘Emergency’ also from 1980 signals their departure and that was a remarkable show. It was also cool to see Jackie afterwards, chatting and sharing selfies among the audience.
THE ALMIGHTY are on stage at 9pm to front the massive crowd. The queue for T Shirts has dwindled a little now, there were about thirty people waiting patiently for merchandise earlier, I wish I still had my ‘The Almighty’ vest, prices have risen sharply since the early 90’s ! Anyhow back on stage Ricky Warwick and the guys have launched into ‘Crucify’ the first of 22 songs tonight and all are off the early albums from 1989 to 1994. The band have had replacements over the years, I remember ‘Pete Friesen’ being on guitar at one point or two and he did provide increased heaviness to the band, but it’s this line up that do the business for the faithful. ‘Destroyed’ and ‘Do You Understand’ continue the bombardment and they are as tight as ever. Floyd London on bass and Tantrum on guitar with Stumpy Monroe back there on drums, this is epic. They play quite a few from ‘Crank’ as ‘Wrench’ and ‘Ultraviolent’ are stitched together. The loudness and dynamics are unwavering and as Ricky pauses to speak to us in that glorious Irish accent, he is cheered by hundreds of fans. I love singing along with ‘Addiction’ from the ‘Powertrippin’ album, that low ended hook is still one of the best in existence. ‘Soul Destruction’ is also repped with ‘Little Lost Sometimes’ Ricky grabs an acoustic guitar for the mild intro and the hands are in the air clapping. Despite the Marshall stacks, biker look and fierceness ‘The Almighty’ songs are not all full on, they tone it down on occasion, weaving spellbinding tracks into the midst of the otherwise gutsy set. We sing back the lyrics when requested and Floyd jumps off stage to venture into the seated area, he doesn’t realise it’s difficult to clamber back on the KK’s stage whatever your age, so it takes him a minute or so to emerge under the strobes again. Three more off ‘Crank’ and ‘Jonestown Mind’ is particularly enjoyable. Raw, yet melodic and Floyd switches sides with Tantrum a lot during the night, so we get to see both of them up closer.
‘Bandaged Knees’ is another that sees Ricky pour out emotional lyrics, it’s builds with fury and there will be some sore throats in the morning as many fans are singing every word to every song. ‘Devils Toy’ has twanging chords and spoken words, a bit of a Southern influence to begin with but the stomping riffs soon take over along with a trademark rocked up chorus, yes we are ‘livin’ on love and gasoline’. After ‘Close To The Edge’ I wander towards the bar area, for a different angle. The familiar chords of ‘Wild And Wonderful’ are just as clear way back here and then they leave the stage briefly, before the encore. Two more songs ‘Jesus Loves You But I Don’t’ and then the only one that can be the last on the list ‘Free ’N’ Easy’. Tremendous even from right here at the back.
Brilliant to see these guys again, I was taken back 30 odd years, listening to one of my all time favourite bands. The show must have been a sell out, so many crammed in KK’s, proving how much they are still admired. Check out the ‘Stonedead Festival’ poster below where ‘The Almighty’ will be headlining next year. It’s already sold out, but you can join a list for any unwanted tickets.
‘Despite the Marshall stacks, biker look and fierceness ‘The Almighty’ songs are not all full on, they tone it down on occasion, weaving spellbinding tracks into the midst of the otherwise gutsy set.’
PHOTO CREDIT – Tony Gaskin at Stagedive photography Where you can see more incredible photos !
Special Thanks to Rich ‘Tice’ Taylor
