Magnum/Vega/Theia

December 6, 2022 Off By Jon

Engine Rooms, Southampton

This year Birmingham Rockers Magnum celebrate its 50th Anniversary, a feat that very few bands will ever get to achieve. The band’s longevity is down to the solid musical union of Messrs Catley and Clarkin who joined forces with the sole aim of creating great Rock music. In their time they have created 22 original albums, along with countless live and compilation albums and played 1000’s of shows all around Europe. At a time like this, you cannot help but think of all the wonderfully colourful, talented musicians that the band have surrounded themselves with; Wally Lowe, Mark Stanway, Micky Barker, Al Barrow, and Thunder’s Harry James to name but a few. Catley and Clarkin have always embraced change and have recruited well when it was time to rearrange their line-ups. Their current tour line-up features Lee Morris on Drums, Dennis Ward on bass and Rick Benton on keyboards. Tonight they reliably fulfil their date in Southampton that was cancelled earlier this year back in April.

Before the Brummie legends take to the stage they have gifted us a couple of hand-picked warm-up acts to pave the way for their entrance. The first of these is the sibling duo Ash (Vocals/Guitar) and Karl (Drums/Vocals) Langley who collectively call themselves Theia. With a large amount of humour and a collection of backing tapes, they arrive on stage holding up banners requesting immediate applause and of course the audience dutifully obliges. Kicking off with the melodic gem “Fire” the guys shows themselves to be in fine form and certainly turn a few heads amongst the Magnum faithful. Their sound is quite a distance from the Classic Rock you might expect, the guys refreshingly add many modern-day influences from the likes of Royal Blood and Twenty-One Pilots; taking the majority of the audience out of their usual comfort zones.

I admire their passion to be different and love the positivity/fun they bring to the stage. Earworm “Hoo Woo” is a personal set favourite while the final number “Back In Line” cements the deal, showing off the full extent of what the band have to offer with a wonderfully creative rocking number. The brothers leave the stage with plenty of positive applause from the appreciative crowd.

Theia 1–2–3–4–5

Next up we have West Midlands Rockers Vega who returns to Southampton after their last visit in 2016, to The Brook where they also supported Magnum. These guys are no strangers to a Magnum crowd and know just what they want and the crowd immediately warms to their brand of melodic twin-guitar AOR. Frontman Nick Workman stalks the stage and with the influences of the true Rock contenders, he uses his abilities to whip up the crowd with plenty of classic gestures. Marcus Thurston (who looks like a rocked-up John Barrowman) and Billy Taylor provide the mainstay attack with some beautifully creative, effect-fed six-string work.

Vega 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12

The rhythms are dutifully provided by expert stickman Pete Newdeck and the newly hired hand the very experienced Mart Trail on bass who you might have seen performing before in a host of other bands including Bootyard Bandits, Skarlett Riot, Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics, Fury, Grim Reaper….to name but a few. With a host of albums to cull from, the band provide a selection of great tracks including “Every Little Monster”, “White Flag” with its impressive guitar solo and the epically uplifting “Kiss of Life”. The set ends with a treat for the audience in the form of the Def Leppard anthem “Animal”. With many of the audience already converts to what Vega has to offer, tonight’s performance can only have drawn in more new fans; let’s hope they return to Southampton sometime soon.

It’s finally time for Magnum to take to the stage and the near sold out crowd give the band an amazing warm welcome as they arrive on stage to “Wings of Heaven” classic “Days Of No Trust”. I have personally been watching this band since seeing them on the “Vigilante” tour in 1986 and each time I’ve never been disappointed. I appreciate sometimes as the band gets older things do give, however, with a combined age of 151 Bob and Tony are super fit and deliver totally as they have always done. The early part of the band’s set is made up of mostly newer material including the title track off the new album and also from the latest long player “The Day After The Night Before”. They sound bright and fresh, though it is disappointing that we can’t hear more of the new material. With 22 albums to choose from, picking a set-list must be an absolute nightmare for the band, as you are certainly not going to please everybody with your selection. Personally, I am just pleased to have still the opportunity to see them live whatever they play.

Magnum 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12

The second half of the set is full of classics which include the epic “Wild Swan”, the emotive “Les Morts Dansant” which sees the crowd in fine voice and the ever-popular “Vigilante” with the unique Tony Clarkin guitar sound coming from his red Telecaster. The band leave the stage only to return a few moments later with the crowd enthusiastically chanting for more. With no flute intro and straight into the heavy guitar part, “Kingdom Of Madness”; a song which occupies a place in the heart of every true Magnum fan erupts with its ferocity. The three recent recruits also had their part to play and have every bit delivered, adding their notable musical talents to the songs. Bravely Rick Benton has put his own stamp on the intro to the final song “Scared Hour”, changing it a little from Mark Stanway’s classic version; which all adds to the legacy of this band.

As it was December I was hoping for a rare live outing of “On Christmas Day”, however, the 11 pm curfew put paid to that dream. 50 years is a massive landmark for the band and I’ve had the privilege to follow the band on part of this journey. They have given much joy with their music to so many, I’m sure Clarkin/Catley have another few albums in them yet and I look forward to the next time with the same excitement as the first.

Set Lists
Magnum
Days of No Trust
Lost on the Road to Eternity
The Monster Roars
The Archway of Tears
Dance of the Black Tattoo
Where Are You Eden?
The Flood (Red Cloud’s War)
The Day After the Night Before
Wild Swan
Les morts dansant
Rockin’ Chair
All England’s Eyes
Vigilante
Encore:
Kingdom of Madness
On a Storyteller’s Night
Sacred Hour