Simon RushworthHere We Go Again as rushonrock goes back to the future to find out what our fave artists of the 80s are up to in the noughties.
Now: 2008 Homewreckers and Heartbreakers (Jerkin Crocus) is, according to Classic Rock, Rock Sound et al, a true return to form from Spike and the boys.
But don’t just take their word for it. Here at rushonrock we’ve been spinning the disc for weeks and wondering just how far this band can go.
The evocative Mona Lisa Smiled is pure magic and Blackwater is the best thing we’ve heard this side of Memphis. Lead singer Spike stretches his vocals to the limit and fellow Geordie Paul Guerin once again proves himself a master of the honky tonk guitar.
But like so much of the Quireboys’ material duirng the past five years the mix of Keith Weir’s keys is perfect on Homewreckers and Heartbreakers. Live the lad is a revelation but even here you get a flavour of what a piece of quality piano can do to an already classy track.
And for all you lovers of the Toon check out the brazen opener I Love This Dirty Town. If there could ever be a sequel to Mayfair then this might well be it.
rushonrock rated: 8/10 Quireboys grow up.
…And Then: 1990 A Bit Of What You Fancy (EMI) saw the major label arrival of a bunch of scruffy glamsters who loved to party and loved to pout.
In Spike the band boasted a singer who oozed appeal as a charismatic frontman but his raspy tones matched Mick (Jagger) and Rod (Stewart) for raw emotion. So he might have preferred a drink to a practice session but it was all part of the appeal.
Looking back and the hits – 7 0’Clock, Hey You, Sex Party and I Don’t Love You Anymore – could have made an even bigger impression on the charts. Instead The Quireboys were uneasy performers on Top Of The Pops and never truly embraced by the metal press.
Yet for those of us who appreciate a good night in and an even better night out there is no band quite like The Quireboys. A Bit Of What You Fancy proved this five piece had potential – and 18 years on it’s been realised.
rushonrock rated: 10/10 A Bit Of What We Fancy