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When Chelsea visit Newcastle it’s never that pretty for those of a black and white persuasion but when The Chelsea Smiles take in Tyneside…now that’s going to be a different matter.

Newly signed to groundbreaking Global Music imprint DR2 Records, the LA-based glam rockers (should be right up Self Made Man’s street) will support Wednesday 13 at what promises to be a cracking Academy gig on March 31.

And our friends at the Jarrow-based record label are very excited to have added another fast-emerging act to a roster already boasting the likes of Dear Superstar, The Sound Ex and McQueen.

The Chelsea Smiles were formed by ex-Danzig guitar slinger Todd Youth in 2004 and released their full length debut two years later. Support slots with rushonrock faves Backyard Babies and the reformed New York Dolls won rave reviews and DR2 will release their forthcoming, as yet untitled, album in early 2009.

It’s another coup for the fast-growing North East label and The Chelsea Smiles’ manager Jon Nelson said: “We are extremely excited to be working with everyone at DR2 Records.  I have previously worked with them on some other releases and they are willing to put the time and effort into breaking bands.  They are hard working and get results.  It will be great to see what they do with The Chelsea Smiles!”

Look out for a first review right here. And expect to see SMM first in the queue come March…

Blyth Spartans have given the Quireboys their full backing as the band bid to step up their race against time – and release an official anthem for the Croft Park club in time for next month’s FA Cup third round tie against Blackburn.

rushonrock understands guitarist Paul Guerin – Blyth born and bred – and Geordie singer Spike have already penned three possible versions of a tune guaranteed to get the Spartans faithful in full voice ahead of the visit of Sam Allardyce’s Rovers.

And the duo will hit the studio on Tuesday, immediately after Monday night’s Newcastle Carling Academy show – the final date on their latest UK headline tour. The band are currently riding high on the back of latest album Homewreckers And Heartbreakers and have toured Europe on and off for most of 2008.

But Guerin is determined to work round the clock over the festive period in a bid to boost his boyhood heroes. Spartans secretary Ian Evans said: “We’re right behind the boys and it’s a great idea. Blyth have never had an offcial song and we can’t wait to see what happens.” 

Tyneside-based Global Music, formerly Demolition Records, have given the Quireboys free use of their Newcastle studios in an attempt to speed up the recording process. And the band’s record label, Jerkin Crokus, is confident the Spartans’ song will be available for download in advance of the Blackburn tie.

Stay posted to rushonrock for all the latest as it happens…

Those of us who’ve seen him dressed up to the nines in make-up and eye-liner have suspected as much for some time but Self Made Man has finally admitted his greatest sin – he loves Glam!

Read all about it by clicking on the page link above and remember he’ll like the stockings just as much as the stocking fillers this Christmas…

In the latest look back at the live rock year we relive a heavyweight double header the like of which we might not see again. But if anybody’s listening, we’d love to…

Def Leppard and Whitesnake @ Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, June 24 2008

For Teessider David Coverdale there is no better gig in the world than Newcastle. Adopted by the Geordie nation three decades ago it was Tyneside which first took Whitesnake to its heart and if those sweat soaked City Hall shows of the late 1970s are a distant memory then this emotional show rolled back the years.

Coverdale’s association with the North East, his endearing banter and relaxed manner ensured an expectant crowd warmed to the first of the evening’s co-headliners within minutes. Come the anthemic hat-trick of 1987 standards, Give Me All Your Love, Here I Go Again and In The Still Of The Night, and the sea of raised hands and smiling faces proved one of rock’s greatest entertainers has lost none of his on-stage verve. With the Whitesnake choir in full voice, Def Leppard had some act to follow.

Having thrilled a passionate home crowd in Sheffield 24 hours earlier, reaching the same heights in Newcastle was always going to test the mettle of the Steel City heroes. That need to raise their game again, coupled with Coverdale’s incredible triumph, clearly affected a band synonymous with slick showmanship and some of the most memorable hair metal anthems in the history of rock.

Try as they might the Lepps just couldn’t recreate the frenzied atmosphere which made Whitesnake’s set one to remember. Where Coverdale’s rendition of Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City moved grown men to tears, Joe Elliott’s Bringing On The Heartbreak fell strangely flat. There was no doubting Leppard’s effort but the spark was missing.

Armageddon It raised first-pumping spirits and twin guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell were worth the admission money alone as they ripped through a flawless array of super cool riffs. Not surprisingly, pockets of fans drunk on nostalgia lapped up every note of every song and Let’s Get Rocked provided a raucous finale. But perhaps the band’s 1992 classic should have opened a set which never quite captured Leppard at their barnstorming best.

Simon Rushworth

When I wasn’t marveling at the ferocity of the music on offer at last week’s Slipknot show in Newcastle there was something I just couldn’t escape.

It wasn’t the blokes in boiler suits. It wasn’t the women wearing very little more than a patch of leather and a couple of studs.

It wasn’t the ridiculous wedge heels, the crazy make-up, the obviously painful piercings or the mix of teenage youths and wrinkly rockers.

It wasn’t even the merchandise, the light show, the stage props or the mosh pit mayhem.

Although all of the above were worth a glance.

No, it was the apparent appetite for biting the hand that feeds you within an arena packed full of fans paying top whack for tickets in the midst of a recession.

If you were in the seats and you were trying to take pics with your mobile phone then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

I’m referring to the heavy-handed zeal with which the Metro Radio Arena’s normally top notch security staff stopped anyone and everyone from taking souvenir snaps on their mobiles.

We all saw the notices plastered to the doors as we filtered into the venue. The powers that be weren’t that keen on amateur snappers taking illicit shots.

But since when did that extend to people taking pics on their phones?

I have been to scores of gigs and festivals in 2008 and at every one – prior to the Slipknot concert – people have been snapping away on their phones for fun.

Nobody stopped them. Nobody would. Who can possibly have a problem with the mobile phone generation making a visual record of their favourite bands?

Apart from, maybe, other fans. We’ve all been pissed off from time to time when a fellow concert goer spends more time pointing his phone at the stage than his own eyes.

But then we’ve all done it so we can hardly complain.

In fact nobody complained last Thursday before arena staff piled in time and time again to stop everyone from kids to crusties snapping Slipknot.

It could have been comical had it not been so serious. Stewards appearing from nowhere thrusting their hands in front of tiny little phones taking even tinier little pictures of tiny dots on a tiny stage.

I very much doubt this is an arena policy but I stand to be corrected. My gut feeling is that this directive came from management associated with the band.

Again I stand to be corrected. But if this is the case then it’s a very, very sad state of affairs.

Do Corey, Joey and the gang really care if a 13-year-old kid who can’t afford a programme takes a couple of poorly-pixelated shots on his mobile?

Do they really believe a few out-of-focus phone pics floating around Facebook will seriously damage their image?

And do they really feel the need to penalise the people who pay their wages by invoking such a ridiculous rule.

If the person to blame for last week’s pitiful fiasco wants to explain the reasoning behind causing so many fans so much misery then feel free to get in touch.

I doubt it’s anyone at the Metro Radio Arena and I very much doubt Corey and co. had a clue what was going on. But somebody’s big idea was a little petty. To say the least.

Simon Rushworth

Continuing our look at the live highlights of the rushonrock year we hark back to a balmy summer night in May. Well, it was a night in May.

Joe Satriani @ Newcastle City Hall, May 13 2008

Actions do, after all, speak louder than words. How do I know? Like everyone else who bore witness to Joe Satriani’s stunning set it became glaringly obvious as soon as the final chords of I Just Wanna Rock floated into the night air.

For the remainder of a fret-burning spectacular Satch steered clear of the vocals and allowed his axe to do the talking. And that is exactly what every fan crammed inside a sweaty City Hall desired.

For more than two hours the hairs stood up on the backs of our necks, the jaws dropped wider and awe struck each and every paying customer. Satriani concerts are not like your average hard rock gig – there’s no wild moshing, no manic posturing and no singing along to big hair anthems. If you bought a ticket to se Satch you were there to gaze intently at two of the most talented hands, and 10 of the most flexible fingers and thumbs, in music.

As guitarists go, few can equal the shy New Yorker with devilish dexterity. Most, sensibly, would never try. Reaching into a back catalogue crammed full with instrumental classics, Satriani made no excuses for pulling the occasional fresh tune out of the bag. But as much of his current Professor… record harks back to the glory days there were few complaints. Musterion would sit comfortably alongside any of Surfing With The Alien’s 1987 vintage and its fusion of powerful rhythm and memorable melody fitted perfectly into a set featuring Satch at his brilliant best.

Of course we were there for the old favourites and a flurry of Surfing standards came thick and fast. The title track teased, Ice 9 electrified and Always With Me, Always With You moved grown men to tears (well, almost). Guitarists of Satriani’s ability emerge once in a generation and so what if he doesn’t sing? His is the language of music.

Simon Rushworth

Word reaches rushonrock that Quireboys’ duo Spike and Paul Guerin are planning to pen a track to celebrate Blyth Spartans’ best FA Cup run for 30 years!

The Northumberland minnows host Blackburn Rovers on January 5 – a game live on Setanta Sports.

And after last night’s second round replay win against Bournemouth, Blyth-born and bred Guerin is looking at turning around a footie-stytle tune in less than two weeks.

It’s a tall order but the six-string wizard said: “If there’s a chance we can do it we’ll do it. As a Blyth boy I’m dead proud and it’s all the town is talking about. We’re playing Newcastle on Monday and before then we’ll be working round the clock to get this done.”

Spike added: “All he’s been talking about is Spartans this and Spartans that for the past few weeks! But it would be great to do something like this for Paul and everyone who’s followed Blyth’s fortunes for the past 30 years.”

To celebrate a simply stunning  year of live rock and metal rushonrock is bringing you the best of 2008 as we look back on the reviews that made the news.

Velvet Revolver @ Newcastle Carling Academy, March 19 2008

VELVET Revolver are the image of rock on Viagra.

In an age when cutting edge style all too frequently conquers true musical substance, the hottest act in Hollywood gloriously bucks the trend.

For sheer energy, aggression and fret-fuelled passion, VR are peerless. Oh, and they just happen to boast one of the most iconic musicians in the world in the shape of enduring guitar god Slash.

The Stoke-born star is not quite as powerful as the total sum of Velvet Revolver’s variously talented parts but he comes mightily close. It is impossible to avoid becoming transfixed by a massive stage presence as he rips seamlessly through raw riff after raw riff with all the enthusiasm of an ambitious teen.

Slash is truly comfortable without ever slipping into the comfort zone and it is little wonder he insists he is in this special band for the long haul. Alongside him the manic Scott Weiland continues to enhance his reputation as a frenzied frontman par excellence. There is the bare minimum of small talk in between an onslaught of anthems but that is not to say the former Stone Temple Pilots singer does not interact.

Weiland has an uncanny knack of becoming part of the crowd, embedding himself in your subconscious and ensuring the audience’s collective attention never wavers. Fresh out of rehab, he comes to life on stage.

As a precociously talented duo there can be few more relevant combinations in 2008 and if neither appear truly at ease belting out the Guns ‘N’ Roses classics Patience and It’s So Easy then there can be no criticism of the crowd-pleasing professionalism underpinning both numbers.

Those of us who can look beyond the past find equal pleasure in Big Machine or the fantastic, evocative Fall To Pieces – the latter begs the question why VR don’t go down the more mellow route more often.

But then there is nothing sedate about five men born to rock. From start to finish this essential event maintained a punishing pace and every note mattered. Especially for those of us mesmerised by the original guitar hero.

Simon Rushworth

He’s the frontman of one of the UK’s fastest-rising sleaze rock monsters and he’s gonna be a big, big star. That’s why we grabbed Micky Satiar for an exclusive chat now…while we still can!

Enjoy the second part of our chat with one of the most pleasant men in music and don’t be surprised when he lists the biggest influence on his hair metal roots.

rushonrock: You’ve signed with Global Music now (formerly Demolition) and you seem to dig the label. Why’s it so right for Dear Suoerstar?

Micky Satiar: When we’d recorded the album we always wanted to record we took time to look at our options. We looked at another self-release but there was a lot of interest from labels and in the end Demolition emerged as the best deal. It’s where we always wanted to be. It took a long time to track them down but we knew the bands on their roster and for any fan of hard rock it’s the place to be. They’re not just bothered about older bands – they’ve done a great job for McQueen and The Sound Ex – but of course they have some big names too. We just looked at the fact that they had Sebastian Bach, Twisted Sister. Wednesday 13 and the like and we thought that’s where we want to be. There’s no other label like it in the UK. We’ve got no regrets where our record label is concerned.

rushonrock: A lot of your songs are a real throwback to the sleaze and hair metal of the late 80s. Is that your era?

MS: I grew up listening to bands like Ratt, Motley Crue and Def Leppard. I’m listening to Avenged Sevenfold right now and we’ve just completed Hanoi Rocks’ last ever UK tour. These are the bands that I relate to and the bands that mean something to me. The Hanoi tour was very special for us. They’re a legendary band and yet the guitarist, Andy McCoy, made time for us every night of the tour. It was weird sitting in the pub with him listening to his stories and benefiting from his advice. The guy has been there, done it and got a load of T-shirts!

rushonrock: Are you excited by the revival in commercial rock?

MS: Of course! I went to see Ratt at the Astoria this year and I remembered why I got into this music in the first place. It was insane. All I’ve ever wanted to do is see that band live but I was too young when they were touring the UK at their peak and never got to see them. Suddenly these bands are back and they’re better than ever. The whole 80s thing is back in a big way and when you look at the new records by the likes of Leppard, Crue and Whitesanke you wonder why it ever went away.

rushonrock: But you’re not just another gimmick band cashing in on the trend of the moment?

MS: We never went into Dear Superstar to be a flash in the pan. The bands we love are still doing what they do best after more than 20 years and that’s what we aspire to. We’re in this for the long haul. It’s the only way to do it. We’re going to be working solidly until December 2009 pushing Heartless and proving our credentials to rock fans all over Europe. We’ve done a lot of supports in the last few months but we headlined our own tour in the summer and it was cool.

rushonrock: Is it time for the UK to wake up to Dear Superstar and Heartless in 2009?

MS: I hope so. The album’s done really well in Germany, Holland and Scandinavia and we can’t wait to get back over to Europe and ride on the back of that success. But we’d love to be as big as we are over there, over here. It’s going to take time but we’re determined to make a breakthrough.

Dear Superstar are Manchester’s answer to every sleazy hair metal band you ever saw coming out of the West Coast of America 20 years ago. And they rock.

We caught up with lead singer Micky Satiar to get the inside story on the rising stars of Tyneside’-based Global Music’s ever-growing roster. Read part two of our exclusive interview right here tomorrow.

rushonrock: You’re from Manchester so you must sound like Oasis? Right?

Micky Satiar: Because the band’s from the Manchester area we do get pigeon-holed into a certain category of band before anyone’s even heard our music! People just assume we’re another Oasis wannabe band and don’t get me wrong, I like those guys. But the heart and soul of our band lies in the roots of 80s rock and roll and it always will do. What we do is our take on that era. It’s the 80s revisited with a Dear Superstar twist. But a lot of people believe that if you’re a Manchester band then you have to play the music Manchester is famous for. We believe there is another way and we’re trying to break away from that image people have of our city as a one-dimensional music hub.

rushonrock: So you are from Manchester and not Scandinavia then? There seems to be some doubt about your origin…

MS: Scandinavia rocks and we’ve played a lot of gigs there. So much so that people actually think we’re a Scandinavian band. We’ve toured there three times in the last 15 months and people just seem to dig what we’re doing over there. But we’re English, believe me.

rushonrock: As a new band few people know your history. How did Dear Superstar happen?

MS: Dear Superstar came together as a band in 2004 and before that we were all in other bands. But none of them felt like this and we wanted to create a real band that would last. Before Dear Superstar we were all living our lives around music. Now our life is music.

rushonrock: But what kind of a life is it? All luxury tour buses, sex, drugs and rock and roll?

MS: Not quite. As soon as we had enough songs under our belts we just hit the road and lived our lives in the back of an old transit van. We played anywhere and everywhere. After a while we made a name for ourselves and went into the studio to record our first album. Most of the songs were written in the back of the van between gigs because that’s all the spare time we had. Then we went looking for a deal.

rushonrock: You released your debut independently but with Heartless did you want to find the right home for a cool rock record?

MS: We toured that first album extensively and then went back to Manchester and locked ourselves away for six months writing Heartless. We suddenly had the time to put that record together the way we wanted to do the first one. We sat down and did our homework on this one and it was worthwhile. We wanted to do the best we could possibly do with the time and resources available. In the end we laid it down in a couple of days because the groundwork had been done in advance.