GRAND SLAM / SONS OF LIBERTY (Live)

It could quite easily have ended up as something of a disaster. If the recent replacement of lead singer Rob Cooksley with new guy Rob Walker wasn’t enough of a hurdle to contend with then the hospitalisation of guitarist Andy Muse a few days ago could have derailed the whole tour. Yet Sons of Liberty are made of tougher stuff and as all those in show business know, the show must go on. And on it went.

Sons of Liberty aren’t quite what you’d expect to come out of Bristol. All cowboy hats, beards, leather and boots these were whiskey swigging’, gravel throated Southern Rockers were more akin to Skynyrd and Molly Hatchett than Deep Purple or Uriah Heep.

With a couple of impressive albums under their belts, they have the material to mix it with their Southern American cousins. “It’s My Bad” had the swagger and grit while “Up Shit Creek” had an almost Bachman Turner Drive trucker groove to it.

A mid-set one minute silence, beautifully observed by the Newcastle crowd, was a touching tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, whose funeral it was the following day.

The loss of their second guitarist certainly didn’t hamper their flow as Fred Hale stepped up and delivered the sleazy riffs; neither did the relatively recent addition of Walker on vocals, who more than held his own. In fact, Sons of Liberty barely missed a beat as “Texas Hill Country” showed some genuine Southern DNA and “Ruby Starr” thrilled to the very end. Makes you wonder just how good they’d be when firing on all cylinders.

The roots of Grand Slam go way back to 1984 when Phil Lynott, recently departed from Thin Lizzy, joined forces with a hot new guitarist on the block, Laurence Archer along with Magnum’s Mark Stanway. After some well received live shows and a bunch of songs bursting with real potential, it all fell apart and then Lynott sadly passed away.

That was that, or so we thought. After a few less than official releases of Grand Slam material over the years, Laurence Archer decided to revive the band and record the material he wrote with Lynott almost 35 years earlier, with Hit The Ground finally being the first official release by the band.

Along with the rest of the industry, Grand Slam’s touring plans to support the album were scuppered by Covid, but now they are back to pick up where they left off in 2019.

With Archer joined by singer Mike Dyer, Benjy Reid on drums and veritable veteran Rocky Newton of Lionheart and MSG fame on bass along with FM’s Jem Davis on keyboards this was one potent musical force.

Drawing mainly on their debut album, Grand Slam got off to a stormer with “19” as Dyer quickly made his mark with some fine vocals and imposing stage presence making him the perfect foil for Archer’s wonderfully melodic, dextrous guitar work.

“Gone Are The Days” and “Hit The Ground” followed in quick succession with Archer showing just why he was picked to fill the shoes of Michael Schenker and Paul Chapman in UFO and why someone of the stature of Phil Lynott wanted to work with him. At times his playing was off the scale.

“Military Man” was particularly powerful while “Dedication” was dedicated to the memory of Queen Elizabeth II. Who said Rocker’s were anything but respectful?

A closing run of “Sisters Of Mercy”, a stunning “Parisienne Walkways” where Archer’s star really shined brightly and a thumping cover of Thin Lizzy’s “Rosalie” was an electrifying end to a captivating show.

Review and Photos By Mick Burgess