Iron Maiden bassist performs in Brighton with British Lion

BRITISH LION + VOODOO SIX + AIRFORCE – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 15.1.23

Where better to be than on a cold, damp Sunday evening than at the Concorde 2 watching Steve Harris side project British Lion. This was a rare opportunity to see a well-known stadium filler up close and personal for a sold out club gig. Unsurprisingly there was a tide of fans wearing Iron Maiden t-shirts throughout the venue, but for tonight Maiden were not on the agenda and we were treated to 110 minutes of pure hard rocking British Lion. From the moment they hit the stage with ‘This Is My God’ the band were fired up and intent on delivering an evening of quality metal.

This is a very different band to Harris’ mainstream outfit and gave him an opportunity to show a different side to his musicianship and song writing. Of course, there was the familiar driving bass which is key to the Maiden sound, but tonight this was more underplayed with greater variety being extolled. Despite the obvious connections British Lion are a solid rock and roll band in their own right. This band isn’t about playing a secondary musical role for Harris, but can stand on their own merits. This is a band that have plenty to say for themselves with each individual band member being more than adept and capable of playing in the big league.

So point one to note, not at any time did we hear calls for any Maiden songs during the evening. Everyone was there to hear British Lion and the band seemed more than happy to do so. The set was built entirely around both their albums, and on the strength of this performance these are strong credible albums in their own right.

So what differs? Well, British Lion have a softer side with songs like ‘The Chosen Ones’ and ‘Eyes Of The Young’ providing a reminiscence of numbers that could more than hold their own on any US AOR radio station. The band’s ability to move from an upbeat commercial radio sound to a hard driving rocker showed the versatility of this group, with hard rockers like ‘Spit Fire’ and ‘Last Chance’ showing they were more than capable of pulling out the big anthemic numbers.

This was a band who could do no wrong with the audience lapping up song after song as though they were all old friends. An exuberant reaction greeted ‘Judas’ and built into a crescendo through ‘Father Lucifer’, despite settling for the quiet passage before an adrenaline roar arose, hands in the air and everyone involved in a sing-along drove the song home.

With Richard Taylor on vocals British Lion have a gem of a singer. Can he front this band? ….absolutely, but this is a singer who is more than your average one dimensional rock singer and has different textures to his vocals which take the songs elsewhere, and this was noticeable more so on ‘The Burning’. Yes, he has power when needed but he has a variety of vocal nuances and can hold notes forever.

Behind him were the dual guitars of David Hawkins and Grahame Leslie who at times brought an old Thin Lizzy feel to the melodies which they interchanged. Alongside them on drums and bringing the rhythm section together with Harris on bass was Simon Dawson on drums. He powered through number after number, yet hardly seemed to break sweat. He is a craftsman on the sticks and holds tune after tune together, creating a vast soundscape for the other musicians to play along.

So, seventeen songs, 110 minutes were gone rapidly. Did we learn anything new tonight? Certainly. This Lion can roar.

British Lion:
Steve Harris – bass guitar, keyboards
Richard Taylor – lead vocals
David Hawkins – guitar, keyboards
Grahame Leslie – guitar
Simon Dawson – drums

British Lion setlist:
‘This Is My God’
‘City Of Fallen Angels’
‘Judas’
‘Father Lucifer’
‘The Burning’
‘Legend’
‘These Are the Hands’
‘Spit Fire’
‘The Chosen Ones’
‘Bible Black’
‘Land Of The Perfect People’
‘Us Against The World’
‘Wasteland’
‘Lightning’
‘A World Without Heaven’
‘Last Chance’
‘Eyes Of The Young’

britishlionuk.com

Voodoo Six 
Voodoo Six were special support for this concert, stepping in to replace Canadian band Coneyhatch who dropped out at the last minute. They are not a new band having been around for twenty years, but have been away for three years so it was interesting to see what they would have to offer.

This was a gig that fitted them well. Only having forty minutes to play they opened up with a vengeance and roared into a set of crowd pleasers. Starting with an intro tape of the great escape they ripped into ‘Falling Knives’ which evolved into ‘Something For You’.

‘Gone Forever’ was introduced as a song from the new album which was released during lockdown and this tour was the first opportunity to play live, before ‘Lead Me On’ rolled back the years again. This was a song that touched on heavy blues and was the token anti-love song, although it also led to audience participation with a wave of hands in the air.

At times the band were reminiscent of Clutch but having a back set of great songs they were able to build a set that went from strength to strength.

So did they pass the test. Absolutely. They were the perfect warm up act for British Lion, had an excellent crowd rapport and no doubt won over a few new fans or reignited some older fans. Voodoo Six are a great rocking band, who knew what the audience wanted and were able to work them to the required effect. They have a catalogue of strong albums and great songs. Let’s hope they are now back for good.

Voodoo Six:
Tony Newton – bass
Matt Pearce – guitar
Joe Lazarus – drums
Nik Taylor-Stoakes – vocals
Tommy Gentry – guitar

Voodoo Six setList:
‘Falling Knives’
‘Something For Yo’
‘Take The Blame’
‘Gone Forever’
‘Lead Me On’
‘Sink Or Swim’
‘Electric’
‘Your Way’

www.voodoosix.com

Airforce
This evening’s entertainment started with Airforce who went on stage only 15 minutes after the doors opened and had started their set before many fans had entered. They were the first warm up act and only had 30 minutes to play six songs.

Airforce introduced themselves as a New Wave of British Heavy Metal band, that began around 1985, although taking a long hiatus between 1997-2008, however anyone who was old enough to be around for the NWOBHM knew what they meant, as their sound was truly reminiscent of the bands from the early 80’s. Their sound was drawn between early Iron Maiden albeit with a singer in Flavio Lino who was capable of hitting the high screams made so popular by Rob Halford of Judas Priest.

At times the guitar work was reminiscent of early Maiden with scaled solo’s at the fore. Flavio didn’t stop from the moment he hit the stage continuously working the crowd, throwing shapes, urging whoa, whoa singalongs, arms outstretched and punching fists building the atmosphere. By the end of the set they had completely won over the audience

They were a perfect opener for this concert, and were received well. Though there was an element of dated cliché in their approach they clearly have the songs to build a strong set. Perhaps, on this showing we haven’t seen or heard the last of them.

Airforce:
Chop Pitman – guitar
Doug Sampson – drums
Tony Hatton – bass
Flavio Lino – vocals

Airforce setlist:
‘Fight’
‘Life Turns To Dust’
‘Son Of The Damned’
‘Heroes’
‘Finest Hour’
‘Sniper’

www.instagram.com/airforcebanduk