Europe & Diamond Head Birmingham 19/2/10

Joey Tempest

John Norum


Brian Tatler - lead guitar Diamond Head



As always when travelling to Birmingham we managed to get lost even though Sat Nav told us we had reached our destination. Well unless the gig was at a BP Petrol Station then it was wrong ?
As a result we missed the start of the Diamond Head set. I've always been a fan and saw them in Northampton a few years ago. They were formed in 1976 by the ever present guitarist Brian Tatler. After several break ups they reformed again in 2000. It is well documented that they have been a huge influence on Metallica who have covered Diamond Head tracks in the past. Despite this they never quite reached the dizzy heights of some of their contemporary bands around the time of the 'New wave of British heavy metal. (NWOBHM).
Highlights for me were, 'Helpless', 'Am I Evil' and 'Helpless'.

I had never seen Europe before but had heard very good reports from the pre-Christmas gigs.
I really like the new album 'Last look at Eden'. I think that sometimes the massive hit 'The Final Countdown' has worked against them. This is the track that everyone thinks of when you mention 'Europe'. However much of the earlier stuff was really heavy and in John Norum they have one of the greatest Rock guitarists going.
Lead singer Joey Tempest looked as youthful as ever and the corkscrew perm is long since gone from the eighties heyday. He has a real stage presence and didn't stop all night, at one stage jumping down into the photography pit to shake hands with fans.
I though they were superb and my highlights were, 'Last look at Eden', Ready or Not' and 'Rock the Night'. The night would not have been complete without a rousing rendition of 'The Final Countdown' for the final encore.

Set list from memory:

• Intro
• Last Look at Eden
• Love is not the Enemy
• Superstitious
• Gonna get ready
• Scream of Anger
• No Stone unturned
• Prisoners in Paradise
• Ready or not
• New Love in Town
• Start from the Dark
• Cherokee
• Rock the Night

Encore

• The Beast
• The Final Countdown