Kingdom of Madness - Wolverhampton

Mo Birch

Great to be back at Newhampton Arts Centre Wolverhampton again. We were previously here a few months ago for 'An Evening with Mark Stanway'.

A busy night traffic wise with it being the Friday before Christmas along with Wolves being at home to Liverpool. The Molineux Stadium is literally in the next street and the Billy Wright stand was clearly visible in the floodlights.

Chris Ousey

 Given the journey and getting parked up I was surprised to see only a few others already in the queue. Thankfully it was a dry evening and reasonably mild. Those already there had traveled from Bristol, Bognor Regis and Stoke for what would be only the second performance by Kingdom of Madness.

We were lucky to get right to the front , centre stage right in front of Mo Birch.

For those who don't know KOM is largely made up of musicians associated at some time with Magnum.
Mark Stanway (keyboards), Richard Bailey (keyboards,flute), Micky Barker (drums), Laurence Archer (guitar), Neil Murray (bass), Chris Ousey (vocals), Mo Birch (backing vocals/percussion).

Some have stated that KOM is a tribute' or 'covers' band.Which to my mind is disrespectful given the talent of the band. Five of the seven musicians have a strong legacy with Magnum. Mark himself was with the band for some thirty six years and nineteen albums ! Richard Bailey was there from 1978 and the very first Magnum album.

Laurence Archer

For me it is great news for Magnum fans that there is another avenue to enjoy the fantastic songs of Tony Clarkin. Talking of the songs, many haven't been heard live in years and deserve an airing. So in short, it is possible to like both bands, there is no competition . KOM are putting their own stamp on the songs that the fans have really been asking for a long time to hear.

The two band members without Magnum connections are Bassist Neil Murray who recorded 10 albums with Whitesnake between 1978- 1986. He has also played played with Black Sabbath , Gary Moore and MSG among many others and really is 'Rock royalty'. He is also in the band 'Snakecharmer' with vocalist 'Chris Ousey'. Chris began his career with Manchester based band 'Monroe', going on to form Heartland in 1990. He is very well regarded a s a singer and songwriter. What particularly impressed me was the way he interpreted the songs. We all know that 'Bob Catley' is without doubt a wonderful singer. It  would have been all to easy to adopt a few 'Bob' mannerisms but there was none of that. It wouldn't have worked and given further ammunition to the just a covers band' brigade.

Neil Murray

The set kicked off in fine style with 'Changes' from the second album released in 1979. Quickly followed by the song I voted for in a fans poll , never knowing that this moment would arrive. From the 'Chase the Dragon' album we had 'Back to Earth'.

Another personal favourite quickly followed. I remember all too well  buying the 12" version of 'Just like an Arrow' in John Lever records of Gold street Northampton. The record shop disappeared years ago , thankfully the song sounded as good as ever.

The underrated 'Rock Art' album was represented with 'Love's a Stranger ' and a song that Mark was particularly fond of 'The Tall Ships'. The 1994 album would be the cut off point from the huge back catalogue from which they would delve.

My wife was kept happy too as the band launched into Rockin' Chair. all the way up the M6 Mrs A kept saying 'I hope they do Rockin Chair' ! She certainly wasn't disappointed.

Mickey Barker

All the band seemed to be having a great time on stage. The pure enthusiasm seemed to be bouncing back and forth between the band and the crowd. No-one was having more fun than drummer 'Mickey Barker' who many regard as the best drummer Magnum ever had. Mickey was with the band for ten years, their heydays between 1985- 1995.

From our position on the front barrier it was difficult to see what was going on behind. But I got the feeling that all was well and everyone was having a cracking time.

Magnum's most successful album 'Wings of Heaven' (7th studio album) was well represented with 'Start Talking Love', 'Wild Swan' and 'Days of no Trust'.
The album charted 5 in the United Kingdom. A heady time indeed playing the NEC Birmingham as well as three nights at the then 'Hammersmith Odeon' just before Christmas 1988.Very happy memories indeed for me!

A triumphant Richard Bailey

Lovely to see Richard Bailey in the band . He was there back in the very early days of Magnum. He actually played the original flute intro to 'Kingdom of Madness'. Which is exactly  what we had as the band brought the set to a close with this awesome song.

I love the original and I loved the KOM version . Guitarist Laurence Archer is very different to 'Clarkin'  but does the song proud in his own way.

The band leave the stage to rapturous applause and appreciation.

For the encore we are treated to 'The Last Dance'  from 'On a Storytellers Night' . Chris and Mo duet perfectly and she adds so much to the sound. In short she is much more than a backing singer giving great contrast to the vocals.

Chris with Mark and Laurence in background

The last song of the night is really the one that most of us have all been waiting for.
The haunting keyboard intro from Mark can mean only one thing' Sacred Hour'.

Thankfully we have plenty more gigs to look forward to in 2019 from KOM. Next  stop for me will be The Stables at Wavendon near Milton Keynes.

Thanks to Nikki Ann Thompson for kindly letting me use her photo of Laurence.