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Alan White joined Yes as a 23-year-old having forged a reputation as one of the brightest young drummers around during the 1960s.

Still with the band as they prepare to embark on their latest UK tour – minus Messrs Anderson and Wakeman Snr – the tub thumper from County Durham talked exclusively to rushonrock about his home from home and all things music.

Check out the second part of a revealing chat with White tomorrow, when he lifts the lid on Yes’ new singer and a familiar name behind the keyboard. Read the rest of this entry »

There was little surprise that Thunder saved the best for last as they laid waste Newcastle’s City Hall for the final time on Tuesday. It’s long since been the traditional set closer and the song which gets absolutely everyone jumping – even the bloke from rushonrock too busy mentally preparing his review to truly rock out.

But for me the band’s best/most famous/classic track always induces a sense of deep despair and heart wrenching regret. A sickly feeling starts deep down in my gut before rising throatwards at the very moment Luke Morley blasts out those first, definitive notes. Read the rest of this entry »

@ Newcastle City Hall, July 7 2009

If Danny Bowes survives Thunder’s farewell tour it will be some kind of minor miracle. Dodging an on-stage fire during a pyro-fuelled opening, he finished the night by diving into a heaving mass of sweaty bodies with little prospect of making it back on stage. He did, but only just. For a little bloke he’s got a big, brave heart.

This being Thunder’s final show at the Newcastle City Hall venue which has served the band so well during the past two decades, Danny was more wired than normal. Generating more energy than Sellafield on overtime, he nevertheless prevented the extended adrenaline kick from affecting his fabulous blues rock pipes and this was a vocal tour de force befitting such a big occasion. Always the consummate performer, his supreme talent will be sorely missed. Read the rest of this entry »

The Quireboys are back on home turf tonight as they open up for Thunder at Newcastle’s City Hall and lead singer Spike is in typically ebullient mood.

A busy summer has seen the band tour Scandinavia, ditch their bass player and lay down tracks for a long-awaited acoustic album – all of this in the year the boys celebrate the 20th anniversary of A Bit Of What You Fancy. And their lead singer is loving every minute. Read the rest of this entry »

Frontman Danny Bowes has told Thunder’s fans to prepare for a few surprises when the band launches into its last ever Newcastle City Hall set tomorrow night.

The outgoing blues rockers are refusing to stick to a pre-planned set list during their farewell tour. And while they’ll be doing their level best to cram in as many classics as possible it’s a guarantee that a sell-out crowd will be granted an exclusive show – with rumours that the band will be filming every minute. Read the rest of this entry »

Brit blues rock heroes Thunder go out with a bang this month after 20 years and we’ll be celebrating/mourning the event in style. You can read the first review of tomorrow night’s Newcastle City Hall show right here and we’ll be bringing you all the backstage gossip and goings-on.

We’ve also got an exclusive interview with Quireboys‘ frontman Spike – wisely conducted before he opened up for Thunder in Newcastle and Nottingham this week. And we dip into the archives to bring you the song which launched Faith No More in the latest instalment of The Vinyl Countdown.  Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing our celebration of the greatest rock and roll band on the planet, Self Made Man takes another trip down memory lane to offer his personal perspective on AC/DC.

With just four days to go until the rushonrock team heads north to Glasgow it’s little wonder our resident blogger is working himself up into a riff fuelled frenzy as he laments Geordie Brian Johnson’s failure to bring his band home time and time again. Read the rest of this entry »

The ultimate shock rocker returns to live action this autumn when Alice Cooper’s Theatre Of Death tour hits 10 cities across the UK.

Newcastle’s City Hall will be treated to the best in performance metal on November 27 but as an added bonus our favourite Planet Rock DJ is bringing one of our favourite new bands along for the ride.

Phil Collen’s Man Raze should finally make waves this year with the relaunch of their debut album and a slot at Download 2009. Then they’ll follow it up as special guests on a tour the Coop promises will combine the best of his four decades in rock. Read the rest of this entry »

McAuley Schenker Group – Love Is Not A Game (Newton/McAuley/Nelson) b/w Get Out (Schenker/McAuley) 1987

In 1987 it was just about allowed to look like you’d stepped out of the court of Charles I and Robin McAuley surely wouldn’t have got away with one of the worst barnets in rock history at any other time.

If his surname hadn’t so handily started with an M then he might never have got away with a stint in MSG but the famous logo remained intact even if there was a name change in the mid 80s. And this cracking little single is just one of the many reasons why his collaboration with former Scorpion Schenker seemed to work so well. Read the rest of this entry »

It is still a little known fact among parents-to-be, even in these times of economic gloom and deepening recession, that there is what amounts to an unwritten rule concerning unforeseen births on shop floors.

Should you or your partner happen to pop out your offspring slap bang in the middle of Boots, somewhere between the frozen fish and French Fancies in Marks & Sparks or in the John Lewis home furnishings department, then you could be in luck.

For these stores and many more have a tradition of lavishing gifts upon parents who divert from their chosen birth plan to set out their stall, so to speak, in a shop – and as a first-time father some four years ago I was only too aware of the bonuses on offer.

But not for me the lure of a year’s supply of free nappies, a basket full of cod or a nice pair of curtains. No, once I knew my original little rocker was on the way the potential birthing pool was strictly limited. Read the rest of this entry »