SKIN were one band that emerged during this turbulent time.

Daring to write classic feel-good rock tracks, Skin stood out from the crowd and committed that cardinal sin of putting a live show on where the band were clearly enjoying themselves.

With a lack of support from the record industry, the band called it a day in 1998 and bowed out with a farewell tour that left many a good memory in SKIN fans minds.

When an opportunity to play the Download festival 2009 arrived, the band were convinced to talk to each other and actually do it.

The first I heard about the fact that they were playing one of three warm-up gigs in Wolverhampton was when I noticed a billboard advertising the show. I assumed it was actually going to be a comeback gig from the lead singer of Skunk Anansi, such was my scepticism that the band would ever reform. Then I saw an article in Classic Rock magazine confirming that Neville MacDonald, Myke Gray, Andy Robbins, Dicki Fliszar and keyboardist Colin McLeod were actually going to play Download and that I could actually see the guys play in Wolverhampton once again.

So after 11 years of obscurity, did they still have the magic, or would it be the remnants of a truly great band reminiscing former glories?

Typically for SKIN at Wolverhampton, they started late. With what seemed like an eternity of the road crew testing, tuning and miming along to the likes of AC/DC and KISS playing on the PA, things did look a little worrying.

Opening with a slew of tracks from Experience Electric, any fears of a disappointment quickly evaporated as the band blasted through a 90 minute set

The guys looked and sounded great. Neville jokingly asking ‘What the f*** is this all about?’ when referring to the fact that his once huge hair was now closer cropped, and Myke showing what the last few years as a ‘Life Coach’ can do to a man’s body.

The only one who looked completely unchanged was bass player Andy Robbins, who could easily have been in cryogenic storage for the last 11 years.

The hair may be shorter, but the songs and sound were as big as they ever were. I really had forgotten how loud SKIN were. It was almost as if they were testing the volume levels for Download as well as warming up for the gig itself.

After an opening salvo of later-years tracks, the band launched from one classic SKIN track to another. The tempo only dropping briefly for the big ballad ‘Which Are The Tears?’ from their eponymous debut album before picking up again.

The band were clearly having the time of their lives and once again, SKIN were unashamedly enjoying themselves.

Despite my initial fears, Neville’s voice still had it and he was visibly touched that even after 11 years, there was still a lot of love for the band and their music.

There was a real party atmosphere all the way through the gig, despite a couple of technical hitches and the roof of the Wulfrun Hall was blown off by a singalong ‘Look, But Don’t Touch’. A very emotional ‘Tower of Strength’ followed with ‘Unbelieveable’ to close off the main set.

It was obvious that an encore would soon follow, with the band blasting through another 4 classic tracks from the first album and ‘Lucky’ before bringing the house down with ‘Shine Your Light’.

I was initially intending to make a note of the setlist, but to be honest, I was having too much of a good time Highlights included:

• Money
• Shine your Light
• House of Love
• Colourblind
• Which are the Tears
• Look, But Don’t Touch
• Tower of Strength
• Unbelievable
• Take me down to the River
• How Lucky You Are
• Perfect Day

The Wulfrun Hall is a nice venue for this sort of gig, the Download stage won’t be as intimate. However, if anyone is attending Download, they should take the time to see SKIN, you are in for a treat. If you missed the gig and can’t make Download, the band were videoing the whole of the Wulfrun event, so we may see a DVD release of the concert…

So what’s next for the band? There are rumours circulating on the Internet that a support slot for Sammy Hagar’s Chickenfoot is in the offering. Nev refused to be drawn, simply stating they ‘never say never’ but that it had already been a long, hard road to get them this far.

Clearly there is a strong desire from the fans for a permanent reformation, but even if there isn’t, the chance to see one of my favourite bands of all time and hear those songs live for one last time is a memory to cherish. If this is to be their final swansong – they are going out on a high.

A few pics taken on my iPhone below, but for some much better pics, check out BeeExcellent’s web album

If you only know the swedish rock group Europe for their massive hit “The Final Countdown”, you’ve not heard Europe at all. I’ve had The Final Countdown for a number of years, on both casette and CD, and while the title track is the epitome of 80′s Hair Metal, the rest of the album is a much rockier sound, which is more of what Europe’s music is like.

Since their reformation in 2000, the band have released two new albums, and toured both of them. I missed out on the “Start From The Dark” tour, due to it clashing with another concert, so I was determined to see them this time.

No support act meant that Europe had their hands full as they had to warm the crowd up, blasting straight in to “Love is not the enemy” from their newest album, the initial response was somewhat subdued, but quickly warmed up.

Interestingly, many of the parts that I thought were guitar on the album are actually keyboards, but that’s not to take anything away from John Norum’s playing. A fantastic bluesy player, and great performer (Like Richie Sambora, every note causes pain to etch across his face).

Each band member had a solo, which was just the right length – sometimes guitar solos (and particularly Bass solos!) go on for far too long. The shortest “solo” was drummer Ian Haugland – 4 bars that lead straight into “Cherokee”, but the best solo was Norum’s; a fusion of styles leading into the opening lick of “Girl From Lebanon”.

With a wide catalogue of great music to choose from, there are always favourites that will be missed off. For me, “Hero” and “Prisoners In Paradise” were notable omissions.

The sign of a good concert is one where you don’t notice the time fly, and “The Final Countdown” came all too quickly.

If when you think of Europe you think of hairspray and lipstick, consider listening to “Start From The Dark” – and you’ll discover a different side to the band.

Set List: (as far as I can remember – and not in this order!)

• Love is not the enemy 
• Always The Pretenders
• Superstitious
• Seven Doors Hotel
• Rock The Night
• Carrie (Acoustic)
• Cherokee
• Yesterday’s News
• Girl From Lebanon
• Got to have Faith
• Flames
• The Getaway Plan
• Let The Children Play
• Forever Travelling
• The Final Countdown

At the time, I had no idea what Stadium House or Ambient House music was, and to be honest, I still have trouble with the differences between House and Garage music. I just knew that I liked some of The KLF’s songs, and most of those were listed on the track list of this album.

Pidgeonholing and labeling aside – this record was released at the peak of The KLF’s popularity, having just released the single “Justified & Ancient” with Tammy Wynette. The single peaked at #2 in the UK single charts, but this album is a complete departure from the radio-friendly commercial material that The KLF had been releasing.

Perhaps as a departure from the commercial world that Caulty & Drummond aped so much (to the point where they were to eventually delete The KLF’s back catalogue and burn the £1M royalties they still had remaining). This album is a mixed selection of ambient chill-out and loud ‘Stadium House’ – House music mixed with crowd noises and a large ambiance, making the music sound as if it was being played in a large stadium.

I remember being somewhat underwhelmed by the album, as the versions of the chart songs I was familiar with were different. In fact, if you’re used to the source material and listen to the album with those expectations, it feels like a collection of outtakes and ‘b-side’ mixes.

However, for some strange reason, I keep coming back to this album…
You can only listen to it as an album – individual tracks flow into each other, and the vocals reflect various themes across songs – prominently the Justified & Ancient melody, which opens the album, and also features on track 7 “No More Tears”.
Unlike a lot of music from the late 80′s/early 90′s, this album still sounds as fresh as ever. I know it’s a cliche, but it’s true… Perhaps because it is so unique it has stood the test of time.

Lyrically, it is nothing clever, witty or cerebal, but musically it is something else.

I’d highly recommend getting this album, listening to it a couple of times, and then leaving it alone for a couple of years – putting it on when you’re a bit bored with your record collection and rediscover it as opposed to just listening to it.

Most people will know it from the Celine Dion version, but that itself was a cover. The original was written by Jim Steinman for his girl-band project Pandora’s Box.

This version sees Meat Loaf duetting with Norwegian singer Marion Raven, and I must say it is quite stonking.

Raven’s voice takes a while to get used to – IMHO, her voice is a little child-like and nasal, but after the first couple of listens, it doesn’t grate as much. For the time being (at least until Google notice it!) you can watch the video at YouTube. It’s not the best of his videos (that place is reserved for the Michael Bay epic “Objects in the rearview mirror”) but it’s quite good.

Featuring all the trademark overblown operatics that characterise any Meat Loaf song, it certainally whets my appetite for the forthcoming album. With Desmond Child (Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Aerosmith) producing and writing, perhaps it is in safe hands…

I found out that Meat Loaf is to release “Bat Out of Hell 3“

The initial Bat album is a classic – described by Q magazine as a guilty pleasure album, Steinmann and Meat’s opus has stood the test of time. In 1993, the followup was released. In a marketing masterstroke, the album marked the re-collaboration of the two men.

So in 2006, they decide to collaborate again. and so we get another Bat album.

The first has hardly dated, each track is a classic, and the title piece is still a fun driving track. However, the second album does not stand up to listening 13 years later. The stand-out tracks “I’d Do Anything for Love”, and “Objects in the Rearview mirror” still shine, but others, such as “Rock n’ Roll Dreams Come Through” and “Everything Louder than Everything Else” are just annoying now (Perhaps due to the amount of times I used to play this album I’m a bit fed up of it?).

My parents used to laugh at how Meat Loaf has apparently built an entire career around one album, and while this isn’t totally true, This is actually the 5th Bat Out Of Hell album I can think of (Bat 1 was remixed and “Dead Ringer For Love” added later, and there is the Orchestral version “Bat Out Hell Live“)

Meat’s last two studio albums have actually been very good, and truthfully I really want Bat 3 to be a hit, but I have my worries…

But you can rest assured that when the inevitable world tour comes, I’m going to be there! Meat Loaf is at his best live, one of the best performers I have ever seen.

With Pixar you really do set your sights high. The original Toy Story broke new ground in animation and set the bar for others to jump. The second Toy Story proved the exception to the rule that a sequel can never live up to the original. Again, the standard of animation was improved upon to the point where they were ready to animate people in ‘The Incredibles’. With Cars, the character models are less animated, they are after all, cars. However, they do not have any less of a personality.

Some critics have complained that the audience is never engaged enough to care about the plight of the characters (In short, hot-shot race car gets stranded in hick town and can’t escape) however, I’d disagree. While the central character arc is fairly predictable Pixar fare: The hot-shot comes to realise that there is more to life than racing, and eventually grows to love the town he is ‘trapped’ in and the residents. There are several other narratives running through the film, with themes such as how the town of Radiator Springs, once a thriving community, falls into a ghost town as a new Bypass is built.

Character-wise, again, it is what we’ve come to expect: The young, good looking hot shot, the love interest who seems out of place in the small town, the crochety old man with a hidden past, the goofy sidekick, the hippy VW camper, the militaristic jeep…

But it is because we are in familiar territory that makes the film so enjoyable. There are no big twists in the plot, but as this isn’t “The Usual Suspects”, does it really matter? It is a fun film, with a simple story and amusing characters that provides genuine escapism for a couple of hours. But I defy anyone not to be even slightly moved when the historical montage of Radiator Springs is shown.

The jokes do not come as thick and fast as in say, Toy Story or Monsters Inc. but again, there are some for the adults and some for the children. (Although from the giggles in our screening, I imagine more children understood the joke about the ‘Piston Cup’ than the BBFC would have liked.

Pixar, being Pixar bring a huge amount of detail that brings the town of Radiator Springs to life. From the ‘Diner’ Petrol station that looks like an engine block to the shapes in the rocks that look like cars, to the reference to Cadillac Ranch, where a group of rocks in the background look like the tail fins of the Cadillacs in the famous art piece.

Again, as we have come to expect from Pixar, the animation is stunning. The cars may not be as agile as The Incredibles, but what they lack in flexibility, they make up for in detail. Apparently a single frame of Cars took 17 hours to render. If there was any one thing to encourage me to make the switch to HD-TV and the next generation of DVD, it would be to see the detail in Cars.

More than any other Pixar film though, the music really takes centre stage. From the opening rocky Sheryl Crow track (which wouldn’t look out of place on a ZZ Top album) to the Rock & Roll playing in the 1950′s style Radiator Springs, to the uptempo version of ‘Route 66′, this is a driving soundtrack. I had to purchase the album (something I rarely do for soundtrack albums) and although I was driving through the town, closing my eyes at a red traffic light, I could easily have been cruising through the American midwest.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a pixar film without a smattering of ‘star’ voices. Owen Wilson is perfectly cast as the young, cocky Lightning McQueen. Paul Newman was good as the grouchy Doc Hudson, but Michael Keaton was unrecognisable and unmemorable as bad guy Chick. Long-Time Pixar voice artist John Ratzenberger again makes an appearance, a joke that is played on during the closing credits.

Racing legends also make cameo appearances, including Michael Schumacher, Mario Andretti and Richard Petty.

Overall, a good night at the cinema, much more fulfilling than the disappointing Pirates of the Carribean 2.

I was fortunate to see Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds on its first live tour in Birmingham last night.

The musical masterpiece, the closest adaptation so far of the original HG Wells novel has, amazingly, never been performed live in its entirity before this tour. I’ve always been a fan of the original recording, featuring the voices of David Essex, Justin Hayward (ex Moody Blues), Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) and Richard Burton as the journalist/narrator. The music, a combination of classical and synthesised sounds, still sounds as fresh today as it ever has.

So how does it come across as a live performance?

It is difficult to pre-empt what to expect for a show like this. Is it a classical concert? a rock concert? or a combination of the two?

I think the best way to describe it is to say that it is a multimedia experience. The Orchestra, band and Wayne (conducting) are on stage, as are the singers who perform the vocal numbers. Large video screens form the background, adding visuals to the show, including 3D graphics along with the original artwork from the album and video footage.

Also, suspended above the stage is a head, onto which the computer-generated image of Richard Burton is projected. Wayne comments in the programme that while an actor could have been used to replace Burton’s part in the performance, the late welshman’s booming voice is so synonymous with The War of The Worlds, no actor could live up to the expectations.

Completing the stage is a Martian Fighting Machine, complete with ‘heat ray’ and eye camera.

Justin Hayward reprises his role as ‘sung thoughts of the journalist’, and is joined by Russell Watson as Parson Nathaniel, Alexis James as the Artilleryman,Chris Thompson as ‘The Voice of Humanity’ and Irish singer Tara Blaise as Beth, the Parson’s wife.

The overall effect is fantastic, with the live performances complimenting the CGI and music, and making the show more engrossing than it would have been with simply an orchestra and performers, or an orchestra and the video screens.

However, Justin Hayward, once an idol to many teens, is now an old man. His voice certainally isn’t up to the standard it was when recording the original album, and he struggles in certain places. His performance was lacklustre too, simply walking around the stage. Wheras the other performers were acting as well as singing (James’ naive artilleryman and Watson’s doubt-ridden, and slightly mad priest being the standout performances), Hayward’s wandering around the stage gave the impression that he didn’t want to be there. Granted, as the journalist’s inner thoughts, perhaps he shouldn’t be running around the stage, but if he injected a litte amount of emotion into ‘Forever Autumn’, then we might be convinced that the journalist belived that he’d lost his fiancee. In the programme, Wanye comments that the original tests of the ‘Richard Burton’ head were unsuccessful as he appeared too old to play the mid-twenties/early thirties journalist of Wells’ novel. Perhaps in this case, a younger actor could have been used to replace Hayward.

The other little niggle was the unnecessary prologue. Those who have played the computer game based on the album will recognise this as the ‘martian prologue’, where the martians justify their invasion of Earth. However, having them explain their plan (in english!) is a bit superflous, and makes the show lose a little of the impact of Burton’s opening words: “No-one would have believed…”

The computer imagery on the head was passable, if a little expressionless. Aside from the odd eyebrow raise, and blink, the mouth was the only part that moved.

That aside, the rest of the show was incredible. The music remained pretty much unchanged from the album, a few minor flourishes aside, but played LOUD, the way it should be. The Sound Engineers took their time in building the volume up (perhaps to allow our ears to adjust), so The Eve of the War was perhaps a little tamer than I was expecting, but by the time The Artilleryman and the Fighting Machine came on, the orchestra was thundering, combined with the CGI of the Martian Fighting machines destroying everything in their path gave real power to the attack.

‘Forever Autumn’, as I have already said was a little disappointing, but Thunder Child was rousing. Part of the problem with a show like this, is that it is neither a concert, nor theatre, and I don’t think the crowd knew whether to join in our not.

The Second half opened with a CGI animation of the Red Weed taking root on earth, growing and twisting, before zooming into a church, and Parson Nathaniel. The Duet “Sprit of Man” was, again an audio-visual treat, with Beth’s verses accompanied with positive, beautiful imagery, and Nathaniel’s with images of death and destruction.

Watson and Blaise’s voices complemented each other well, with Watson also indulging in a little overacting, at one point, posing in the iconic stance of Nathaniel trying to ward off the martians with his cross from the album. Having said that, hammy acting is better than none at all, and Watson at least creates a character you can believe is losing his faith and going slightly mad.

Alexis James shines as The Artilleryman. Perhaps as the only stage actor in the performance, he knows how to engange an audience. His performance as young, naive Artilleryman is spot on, and you are amused by his plans of building a ‘brave new world’, yet feel a twinge of sadness for him, especially when the journolist abandons him.

Because of the type of show it is, there was no prospect of an encore, although, typically, people were leaving before the concert finished, with the modern day epilogue including images taken recently by the mars rover robots.

The problem with this type of event (and with the british!) is how to behave. People began applauding the arrival of the orchestra (as you would in a concert hall) but then stopped (as you would if it was the backing band for a popular singer). In a smaller venue, people would join in with the singing (particularly with the ‘come on thunder child’ lines), but that would be rude at a concert.

Although this was a short tour, I believe that having tried the formula, and seeing that it works, Wayne will be considering taking the show on a larger tour, perhaps in 2008, marking the 30th anniversary of a piece of music that sounds as good as it ever did.

I will get around to writing my top 10 Christmas #1′s soon, but first a look at what could be setting the theme to Christmas 2005:

According to redabet the top ones are as follows:

1. The Choirboys ‘Tears in Heaven’ (William Hill odds: 12/1)
2. Tony Christie ‘Merry Xmas Everyone’ / ‘(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?’ (William Hill odds: 8-1)
3. Westlife with Diana Ross ‘When You Tell Me That You Love Me’ (William Hill odds: 9/4)
4. G4 feat. Robin Gibb ‘ When a Child is Born’ / ‘First of May’ (William Hill odds: 5-1)
5. Girls Aloud ‘See the Day’ (William Hill odds: 10/1)
6. Mariah Carey ‘Don’t You Forget About Us’ (William Hill odds: 40/1)
7. Robbie Williams ‘ Advertising Space’ (William Hill odds: 12/1)
8. Crazy Frog – title tbc (William Hill odds: 7/2)
9. Coldplay ‘Talk’ (William Hill odds: 33/1)
10. James Blunt ‘Goodbye My Lover’

so in their top 10, the first 4 are covers. I have already ranted about G4 covering one of my favourite songs in my review of Jasper Carrot’s Rock With Laughter. But still, why can’t they be original? is the lack of musical talent so bad in the UK that we are going for consecutive covers for 3 years as christmas number one?

And Will Tony Christie please stop living off Peter Kay?

The ‘Crazy’ ‘Frog’ (notable for being neither crazy nor a frog) has also had its day. it will be there for novelty value, but I don’t think it will be a contender for Christmas #1 (however, if it looks like a 1 on 1 with G4 and the ‘frog’ then I will buy as many copies of the frog as I can afford!)

However, a notable exception on the list, and a track which is starting to gain a lot of following on the internet is The JCB Song. I heard this last night and it is being released on 12th December. I quite fancy this as an underground hit… it happened with Gary Jule’s cover of ‘Mad World’. Check out the video on the website – it’s absolutely fantastic. The song is OK, too, a change from the manufactured rubbish we have been force-fed.

Rock With Laughter is a variety show of music, dance and comedy, compered by Carrott himself.

Carrott opened with his usual “Oggie Oggie Oggie” shouts and the punchline of “Isn’t it easy to entertain the Welsh!” before introducing the first act: Reelin’ and a Rockin’.

Reelin’ and a Rockin’ consists of five singers from the 50′s and 60′s performing a selection of rock and roll hits. Unfortunately, while they would seem like the perfect opening act, the reception was rather muted.

Carrott then introduced an unbilled addition – Bobby Davro. For me, he was the big surprise of the night. He was genuinely funny with some very original material. Bobby Davro for me conjours up images of 90′s game shows and cable TV, but if he was to do a stand-up tour off the back of this, he would definately be worth a look.

Next was the second musical act, Bev Bevan’s Move. I must confess that I’ve never heard of them, although I did know the song ‘Blackberry Way’. For a group on the nostalgia trail, they were very good and probably the highlight of the musical acts.

Bill Bailey was up next. I have always found him funny and he didn’t disappoint, combining comedy and music to great effect and culminating with the “Scale of Shame” audio-visual performance, with distorted images of dictators and poloticians accompanying quotes to hilarious results.

The Bootleg Beatles closed off the first half, although they looked more like the Beatles than they sounded like them. (In addition ‘Paul’ was playing right-handed – a big oversight!)

The second half was opened by Bonnie Tyler. Oh dear… Don’t get me wrong, I like Bonnie Tyler’s music, but she should really retire gracefully now. Opening with “Holding Out For a Hero” was a mistake. She couldn’t hit the notes and spent most of the performance apparently singing to the guitarist. The backing band were too loud for her, but whether this was to cover up her inadequecies as a singer is up for debate.

Tyler spend most of her performance in the middle of the stage and hardly interacted with the audience. She did improve however, and “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was passable, Tyler opting to sing the higher bits lower so she didn’t strain too much.

Perhaps she was suffering from a cold, in between songs she did sound very croaky, but with a singer like Bonnie Tyler, who speaks with a frog in her throat anyway, it is difficult to tell. A real disappointment.

The mood was lifted very quickly though, as Carrott introduced “The Oldest Blues singer in the World”… as the large man swaggered onto the stage, there was no doubt it was Lenny Henry.

A storming set, featuring two characterisations, the blues singer formerly mentioned, and “Lister” the shopkeeper from his recent TV series, interspersed with traditional stand up, as Lenny recounted his days as a boy growing up in Dudley. Definately the highlight of the show.

Finally, the last musical act… Last year’s “X-Factor” runners up (and incidentally the only ones with a record deal now) G4.

First things first, I don’t like G4, I never have, and so I am probably biased against them. However, as they opened with Nessun Dorma, it became quiet clear that G4 are really one bloke and 3 backing singers. The main singer’s voice, however, is far too harsh to sing Opera. I can listen to Opera, and appreciate the amount of skill an opera singer has over their voice, but one of those skills is the ability to sing softly. This guy can’t do that.

It was also apparent that G4′s appearance was mainly due to their upcoming push on the Christmas Singles chart, and they sang ‘their’ Christmas song… a cover of one of my favourite Christmas songs: “When a Child is Born”. Why do these boy bands have to ruin perfectly good original songs – why can’t they write their own christmas song?

Overall though, an enjoyable night of comedy… it’s just a shame the ‘Rock’ part disappointed.

She also played the other two tracks on the CD, “Here in my Hands” is much better live – it has more of a build up, and the drums were louder than they are on the recording. However, her cover of the Manic’s “A Design For Life” was brilliant. If you are going to cover a song as seminal as that, you either perform it as close to the original as possible (although that will draw comparisons) or make it completely different. Thankfully Amy chose the second, and her solo performance with piano is fantastic. I can see her using this more often in her live set.

Although I can’t remember individual track titles, the new material is sounding very strong, with a more upbeat tempo than her previous work (although she may have picked the more upbeat songs).

Mixed in were some of her more popular tracks from “WOJ” – “Valley Boy”, “Scream”, “Breathe”, “Six of One”, “Nothing” and “Paris”. Notably absent was the previous single “Just in Time”. Perhaps overplayed on the previous tour and rested, but as one of my favourites I was disappointed. J was also disappointed that she didn’t play “Prophet”.

Support was from Sumladfromcov and Duncan from Tybalt.

I must confess, I wasn’t too keen on Sumladfromcov. Musically he was fantastic, but I just couldn’t get used to his voice. I was in the minority in the audience though – J thought he was brilliant. Duncan from Tybalt was a brilliant guitarist, but you felt that some of his tracks were better suited to a heavy rock setting rather than the acoustic set he was performing.