FM,
Dare and Stone Broken
Parr
Hall,
Warrington,
1st
October 2016
FM Plus Special Guests Dare & Stone
Broken
Doors 7.00 pm
Stone
Broken 7.30 pm
Dare 8.15 pm
FM 9.30 pm
The
queue as we arrived at the prestigious Parr Hall was quite manageable and we
spoke to a couple of guys in front of us which certainly made the time go
quicker, however the queue continued to grow and ten minutes before they let us
inside the building, from out of nowhere came Pete Jupp – FM’s drummer, who was meeting and greeting the fans. It certainly
was a lovely touch. We had our photo taken individually with him before he
moved on and a few moments later the queue started moving towards the doors.
Meet & greet with Pete Jupp - FM
Once
inside we bought some FM T Shirts
and had a look at the stalls downstairs but decided upstairs would be better
for the view – but finding it was a chore. Once we did we made our way up three
flights of steps and walked into a dimly lit circle, (the staff made it clear
that the band did not want anyone sitting on the first four rows of seats
either side of the circle – for what reason remains unknown) we bumped into the
guys we met in the queue, who were sitting on the left hand side of the circle,
we tried sitting there but changed our minds and went and sat centre opposite
the stage where the view was crystal.
Although that would have its problems as we found out later on in the
evening.
The
tell-tale signs of large coverings lay over FM’s drum kit and looked like ghosts at the back of the stage and a
large red familiar FM logo loomed
high above everyone’s heads – there was no doubt who you were there to see!
Photo's courtesy of Graham Lee & Pagan Hel
Members
Rich
Moss - Vocals/Guitar
Chris
Davis - Guitar/Vocals
Kieron
Conroy - Bass
Robyn
Haycock - Drums/Vocals
Stone Broken were
the first band to arrive on stage and they really had a tremendous hard rock
sound and from the Walsall area in Birmingham.
They
certainly made their presence felt as they belted out some really catchy tracks
to a packed hall. For me they could have played longer than just half an hour
but they got everyone in the mood for an exciting evening’s entertainment.
Robyn
the only female to grace the large stage was superb, hitting the skins with
gusto and force and enjoying every moment of it. The overall sound from Stone Broken was punchy and raw and
they certainly kicked ass on each of their tracks.
They
had a great rapport with the audience and worked it to their advantage. The
crowd’s response was a lot more welcoming for a support band, but that comes
with maturity.
All
too soon there was a lull as the band left the stage and people made a mad dash
to the toilets and bar. The hall was packed out, especially downstairs. It was like a sea of heads!
Members
Darren
Wharton
Vinnie
Burns
Kev
Whitehead
Marc
Roberts
Nigel
Clutterbuck
Bang
on 8.15 pm Dare from Wales who formed
in 1988 hit the stage. For me the band looked like it had poached members from
other bands, with Mick Box on the Drums, a young Peter Frampton on bass, Gary
Bardon on vocals and Bernie Marsden on guitar. (Incidentally Bernie Marsden
will be supporting FM in Nottingham
on October 28th – 30th and again on November 19th
in London) It was only the keyboard player Darren Wharton who spent some time
with the legends Thin Lizzy that didn’t look like anyone in particular but
their sound was along the same lines as Magnum with a signature melodic edge.
After
hearing Stone Broken though Dare sounded quite tame in comparison,
but clearly enjoyed by the packed to bursting Parr Hall crowd, who obviously
had a lesser harsh taste in music than myself and played for an hour finishing
at 9.15 pm but not without playing a tribute track to Thin Lizzy.
The
evening was really well planned and timed to perfection. The sound engineer was
placed right of stage which was a good move not only for the bands but for the
audience who definitely needed more floor space as they jostled to get the best views of the stage.
Members
Pete
Jupp – Drums
Merv
Goldsworthy – Bass
Steve
Overland – Vocals/Guitar
Jem
Davies - Keyboards
Jim
Kirkpatrick - Lead Guitar
As
9.30 pm approached you could feel the tension mounting as people hurried back to
their seats to witness the legendary FM,
who formed in the summer of 1984 over a few beverages in London. Merv and Pete
who once formed part of the amazing band Samson, while the Overland brothers
formed part of Wildlife were soon signed to CBS as their tracks really hit a
spot and caused a frenzy whenever they were played.
As
the band trickled onto the stage a large roar of appreciation hit the hall, the
echoes reverberating off the grade II listed buildings walls and the gig was
underway. Revisiting the Indiscreet album tracks that the band clearly enjoyed
playing and the crowd enjoyed hearing.
There
is always something to enjoy from FM
the catchiness of the tracks just take you along on a carpet of melody helped
by the dulcet tones of Steve Overland who today still has the lung capacity to
reach the notes he did 30 odd years ago! Yes you heard right 30 odd years ago!
They
may look a bit dog eared now but hell can they still belt out tunes, make no
mistake! The crowd joined in on most of the tracks and the sea of heads moved
in time to the melodic swathe the band produced each and every time.
The
keyboards were the backbone to all the songs and hung in the air with plenty of
woah, woah’s in between, that had the audience eating out of the palm of their
hands, every morsel was well chewed over and enjoyed.
Even
the security were getting in on the act and snapping photos of the band from
the seats we were not allowed to sit in, and of course from behind the scenes.
The
tracks ‘That Girl’ ‘I Belong to the
Night’ ‘Tough it Out’ ‘Love lies dying’ and ‘Frozen Heart’ left an imprint. It made you realise that 30 years
had passed and although were still going strong, we were all older and wiser
from hearing them in their prime.
As
we had a new camera we put it to good use although the problem we had was
sitting behind a walkway everyone was walking past going to the bar or loos
which spoiled photo taking at times. I just thought it rude of people getting
up while the bands were on which was actually mentioned in the ladies loos in
the break after Dare had finished
their set. Nice to know I am not the only one who thinks manners matter!
The
light show was tremendous although the spotlights threw out some blinding white
light right into our faces and lasted through a whole track which was extremely
off-putting and made taking photo’s very difficult.
FM did
come on for an encore and it was appreciated by all who were attending and soon
after the lights went on and the long queue for the exit began. Sitting where
we were for so long was quite uncomfortable so it was great to stand up and
stretch our legs.
We
made our way to the merch stall to buy Stone
Broken’s fantastic new CD ‘All in Time’ and realised the band were
there signing them and photo’s as well which added a great touch to the
evening. FM were also standing behind their merch stall but we didn’t get a
look in as it was 4 people deep, but a great night was had by all and it was
superb experiencing a bygone era in the present day!
