HEAVY METAL KIDS.

Sutton In Ashfield: The Diamond: 25-3-11

Having been a lifelong fan of The Heavy Metal  kids, you could have knocked me down with a feather when I heard they were playing just an hours drive from Ponte Carlo with their new line-up.
 So Mrs Tightpocket & me dusted our boots off, jumped into the new blue hornet & shot down the M1 to The Diamond in Sutton.

  Now the Diamond in Sutton is a cracking little gig venue with a lovely, warm, welcoming atmosphere. It holds about 300 people & it deserves your patronage. All too many of these places are dying out, which can only be a bad thing for people who love live music.

Gimme a 'C'.

Gimme an 'osmo'.

  Prior to this gig however, as the days & the hours passed, I was becoming more & more anxious as to what this was going to be like. Would it be just another 70s rock band getting back together to go through the motions & pick up the odd cheque along the way?
   All I can say is 'shame on me' for having such thoughts. Shame on me & roger me senseless with the thick end of a rag mans trumpet.

                                                                      Thankfully as soon as they took to the boards, my fears were tossed into the trashcan.

    These guys weren't here just to make up the numbers, they played it all with real heart soul & passion, also suffused with a liberal dose of humour. A heady brew indeed!

    It turned into quite a surreal experience; here I was stood in front of one of my all time favourite bands listening to all those songs which I grew up listening to. I found myself grinning from ear to ear like a cheshire cat, singing along at the top of my voice. 

  New songs like 'cruel world' & '100 skeletons' blend in with the old ones perfectly, which gives credence to my theory that great rock'n'roll never whithers with age. 
 'Squalliday inn', 'she's no angel' & I even got to bawl into the mic during blue eyed boy. Man I was in heaven!

  The new guys; Justin on guitar (jeez, the man's a contortionist) & John Altman on vocals also blend in perfectly. After actually seeing them in the flesh it becomes apparent that he must be the only man on the planet who could replace the late Gary Holton & make the role his own. All dark brooding menace with a hint of humour. An absolutely inspired appointment.

   We even got an interval, the band played two 40 minute spots. Now for 7 quid, that's what I call value for money.
 It was during this break that the bread knife & me ventured backstage for a chat & to get some snapshots, which I have to say they were very friendly & approachable. Absolute gentlemen in fact.

  The above shot was taken by the Kids sound engineer Mr Karl Green, formerly of Hermans Hermits no less.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

The 2nd spot gave us the classic Kids caper 'the  cops are coming'. With its camp vaudeville middle shout along. This deserves to have thousands of people screaming...HIS HEAD FELL OFF.          

With an encore of proto-punk classic 'delirious' the Heavy Metal Kids left us positively ranting & panting for more.

  I make absolutely no apology for loading this blog with more pictures than usual. It's just that............ they were so bloody entertaining.

The acid test of watching any band is the question; 'would I go and see 'em again?'...................

 You bet your sweet little behind I would. In fact the bread knife & me are heading on down to Milton Keynes on my birthday the 23rd of April to catch 'em all over again. 

 Boys & girls this band deserve to be seen. If they're playing in your neck of the woods, do yourself a favour & spend a few paltry quid on an evening of pure quality entertainment.

Dear readers; I give you.....

      THE HEAVY METAL KIDS.

 Chin chin my dears.