Dead Men Walking - The Waterfront, Norwich, Norfolk, England - 25.09.03

Wow!  The line-up as advertised consisted of none other than Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Kirk Brandon (Theatre of Hate/Spear of Destiny), Mike Peters (The Alarm), Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats) and Billy Duffy (The Cult), however, on the night, Billy Duffy was not able to make it (having injured himself playing football), so Bruce Watson (Big Country) gallantly stepped in to make up the numbers to five again.

With a collection of stars from bands which made such musical statements during the acclaimed eras of the 70's and 80's, there was no danger of this gig being a washout.  

The guys kicked off with The Stray Cat's "Rock this Town", with Mike Peters at the vocal helm.  The rockabilly beat could not fail to stir up the feelgood vibes.   The absence of The Cult's representative, Billy Duffy, did not stop the band from performing some of The Cult songs which they had originally planned to include in the set - "Wildflower", "Edie Caio Baby" and "She Sells Sanctuary" all went down well with the punters.  However, Bruce Watson's appearance allowed for the inclusion of some of Big Country's songs as well, including "Chance", "In a Big Country", plus a couple of less known songs, "Fragile Thing" and "Drive to Damascus".

None of the other boys were left out either and each had a chance to do some of their "own" songs - Kirk Brandon did "Never Take Me Alive", "Young Men", "Liberator" (Spear of Destiny) and "Westworld" (Theatre of Hate); Glen Matlock did "On Something", "God Save the Queen", "The Prince and the Ghost" and "Pretty Vacant"; Mike Peters got to do The Alarm classics, "68 Guns" and "Spirit of '76" and finally, Slim Jim got to perform drums on "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rumble in Brighton" (in addition to providing the percussion for most of the other songs). 

Dead Men Walking really know how to enjoy themselves and no clash of egos was apparent at any time during the evening, even though there may have been more fans for one particular artist than another.  During the half time interval autograph signing took place and again at the end of the show, Kirk Brandon and Glen Matlock made a second appearance giving fans another chance to get autographs or have a photo taken alongside their heroes (unfortunately, I left my camera at home).  This was a nice touch, since not many artists are prepared to give up their time in this way these days.

The guys may be dead (their words, not mine), but they're certainly not buried (and judging by the way they moved, I don't think that the rigamortis has set in yet either).

Rating: *****

Date of Review: 12.10.03