Artists: Grand Slam
Venue: Weston-Super-Mare: The Electric Banana
Date: 07 March 2025
"It seems right that the gig ends with ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, followed by ‘Rosalie’ as the encore. More fun than the Wurzels at a cider festival, Grand Slam made the seaside special tonight."
Grand Slam have had a busy month or two, traipsing round Europe and playing to sizeable crowds whilst supporting Saxon and Girlschool, and what better way to round off the first quarter of the year than a gig in Weston-Super-Mare, right?
Not known as a mecca for Heavy Rock, Weston does have a cracking small venue (two hundred odd capacity) in the shape of The Electric Banana, nestled below a nightclub frequented by young folk. It’s been designed as a live music venue, so there’s a decent sized lighted stage and dedicated mixing desk to save bands a bit of cash, always welcome these days. There’s a good crowd in, entertained early doors by a local singer called Kit Trigg, whose acoustic set is well received and prompts me to check his band out, also called Kit Trigg.
I’ve been itching to see Grand Slam since hearing their second album ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ and chatting with guitarist Laurence Archer for the mighty Fireworks Magazine. The last thing I expected was for them to do a one-off gig less than half a mile from my house, but as Status Quo once said, I ain’t complaining. As the intro stuff comes on, frontman Mike Dyer stands impassively at his mic stand, looking like the most intense and humourless man in the world. As the band launch into opener ‘Nineteen’, though, it all changes. The man mountain that is Mike becomes animated. Very animated. The song, Phil Lynott’s last single from 1985, is a tricky one to sing, mainly because it’s not easy to belt out “You want it hard? I’m hard!” with a straight face. Dyer manages it with ease, his deep tones suiting the song without trying to mimic Lynott. Aside from this, the man delights in playing up to the audience, miming along with song lyrics and generally being the scariest clown in the room, not an easy task in Weston. He doesn’t stop at any time, managing to also sound great, and for me embodies everything a good frontman should be.
This opener sets the tone for the rest of the ninety odd minute set, with blistering Rock tracks enlivened by performances that are a delight, each band member seemingly overjoyed to be there. “Next president of America” Benjy Reid is a great drummer, really a joy to watch, and of course Laurence Archer doesn’t put a foot wrong on guitar, even when an extended ‘Parisienne Walkways’ allows him to widdle away to his heart’s content. The set is a perfect mix of their two albums so far, and it’s wonderful to hear ‘Dedication’, ‘Military Man’ and ‘Come Together (In Harlem)’ as they were meant to be, not to mention the absolutely brilliant ‘There Goes My Heart’ from the recent album. The band are tight as you’d expect after the European tour, and I guess playing for fun in a more intimate venue must be weirdly relaxing for them. Phil Lynott, who co-founded the band with Archer forty off years ago, is a constant unseen presence and the gig acts like a very fitting tribute to him, as well a showcase for the talents that now bear the Grand Slam name. It seems right that the gig ends with ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, followed by ‘Rosalie’ as the encore. More fun than the Wurzels at a cider festival, Grand Slam made the seaside special tonight.
Gallery: All photos © Alan Holloway (used with kind permission)
Review: Alan Holloway
Photos: Alan Holloway
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