The look on
Scott Gorham’s face is a picture. He looks terrified. The reason for his mock horror is that Black
Star Riders frontman Ricky Warwick has, in the middle of “Rosalie,” just
announced: “All we want to do is keep the spirit of Thin Lizzy alive and play
200-300 shows a year.” This is the first of many, then.
Perhaps a
little background is required. The roots of this band came from the last incarnation
of Thin Lizzy. Realising how much chemistry they had, they decided to write
some new songs. Originally these were coming out under the Lizzy name, but
after Brian Downey and Darren Wharton left, it was decided instead to put them
out under the Black Star Riders moniker. The result was the quite brilliant “All
Hell Breaks Loose” album, which has just been unleashed.
The reason
we are at the home of Marshall Amps is to witness the first gig of the band. An
industrial estate in Milton Keynes seems an odd place for such a thing to
happen, but Marshall have a small theatre here, so RTM is crammed in with 250 others
for what might be quite a night.
At just
before 8.30 after an intro from Planet Rock’s Paul Anthony, (who tells us to
stick around for the raffle, the ticket for which is in our goodie bags….) The
Black Star Riders stride out onstage, wave, and launch into the title track of
the new record and what happens for the next 80 odd minutes is quite incredible.
“Jailbreak”
follows – one of seven Thin Lizzy that are played (along with nine Riders
numbers) and it is clear that this band are just a little bit special. Bass man
Marco Mendoza, pouts and shakes his way through, Damon Johnson (who along with
Warwick wrote much of the “…Loose” album) plays his solos with a massive grin
and Gorham remains the epitome of California rock cool.
It is
Warwick, though, that really shines. Throughout his career, whether with The Almighty
or in his other guise has a singer/songwriter he has always has the ability to
write phenomenal songs. Here, though, he has written a collection that would
have made for a fantastic Lizzy record, but also which are completely consistent
with Warwick’s output too. This really looks like the role he was born to fulfill.
The last
four songs of the main set, we will wager right now, will not be beaten
anywhere this year. Three Lizzy classics “Emerald,” “Cowboy Song” and “The Boys
Are Back In Town” are mixed with “Bound For Glory” and you can almost hear Lynott singing its first
two lines “Johnny Wong keeps trying to get it right/ way down in suckerville
tonight.”
It’s back
for an encore of “Hoodoo Voodoo” and the aforementioned “Rosalie” to bring the
gig to a close. There is then a raffle with Warwick drawing tickets out (RTM doesn’t
win….) before a happy band stroll around mingling with fans. They have every
right to be chuffed. They have probably just played the gig of the year.
The rest of
what Warwick said during “Rosalie” – after Gorham picked his jaw off the floor - was this: “All we want to do is entertain you guys. Don’t bother looking for an
agenda, as you won’t find one." This truly is a band who is doing what they
want to and doing it because they can.
And, like
the t-shirt they are selling in the foyer says: “I was there.”
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