It has been some years since Magnum were
last on a Birmingham stage, Wolverhampton
having been the usual location for shows in
the Midlands. This was finally rectified
tonight with a gig at the Academy, just a
mile across the city from where it all began
back in 1972 at the long since demolished
Rum Runner nightclub.
Since reforming at the start of the decade
Magnum set lists have been naggingly
familiar in terms of choices from the back
catalogue but with tonight’s show including
a complete performance of the ‘Wings of
Heaven’ album this was put right. The first
half was similar to the tour earlier this
year with four songs from the excellent
‘Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow’ and
perennial favourites such as ‘Vigilante’,
‘How Far Jerusalem’ and ‘Les Morts Dansent’.
These are songs that Magnum simply can’t
leave out and rightly so. The bombastic
‘Kingdom of Madness’ closes the set with Bob
Catley as animated as ever and they leave to
a tumultuous response.
Whilst it has never been held in the same
affection as ‘On A Storyteller’s Night’,
‘Wings of Heaven’ was the record that saw
Magnum hit the Top 5 in the UK and playing
arenas across Europe (and, lest we forget,
also boasted three genuine hit singles and
an appearance on ‘Top Of The Pops’). ‘Days
of No Trust’ and ‘Start Talking Love’ remain
amongst the bands most accessible songs and,
with the right promotion, the ballad ‘It
Must Have Been Love’ could surely have
become as familiar as Whitesnake’s ‘Is This
Love’. Elsewhere the punchy ‘Wild Swan’ is
always well received and of course, the
records ageless classic is ‘Don’t Wake the
Lion’. A dramatic song with the poignant
subject matter of young men heading off to
fight on foreign soil it nevertheless came
with some light relief as the front rows
donned lion masks and held aloft cuddly lion
toys. Listening to this song live for the
first time in years you can’t help but wish
that they would play it more often. They
encore, inevitably, with ‘Scared Hour’ the
intro extended to incorporate some interplay
between Mark Stanway and Tony Clarkin. And
when Catley sings the line ‘I hear the voice
of the crowd, it will last forever’ you just
know that he means it.
At the end an emotional Catley announced the
band would be playing a fund raiser for
cancer stricken former drummer Kex Gorin at
the Robin in Bilston on December 10th.
Let’s hope they play to a packed house.
Magnum remain one of the UK’s most enduring
bands – long may they continue.
Thanks to Martin for allowing us use of his
pictures. To see more of his work then you
can visit
www.martinkessel.co.uk
Dean Pedley & Martin Kessel
