Simon Rushworth
It’s been another bumper year for lovers of fine live music and we’ve covered hundreds of the good, the bad and the ugly gigs throughout 2010.
Many of the shows we saw were as good as expected but a batch of the very best far exceeded expectations.
Whether playing in front of a handful of fans inside a tiny club or blasting out big hits in a packed arena – we salute the artists who gave their all in front of the paying public.
But there can be only one winner and to discover who walks away with the 2010 Gig Of The Year gong read on…
1 Glenn Hughes – Sage Gateshead
He’s our man of the year when it comes to rocking out in fine style and 2010 belonged to the former Trapeze and Deep Purple man.
Touring a solo set of stunning tracks in the week Black Country Communion’s debut topped the UK rock charts, Glenn Hughes provided those present with a glorious reminder of his incredible talent.
Never missing a note – either as a vocalist or bass player – and giving his all-Swedish band a run for their money, the genial West Midlander proved just why BCC will be the buzz band of 2011. If this was his last run of solo shows for some time you made a grave mistake missing it.
2 Kiss – London Islington Academy
3 Linkin Park – Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
4 Slash – Download Festival
5 Foreigner – High Voltage Festival
6 Stone Sour – Newcastle O2 Academy
7 Mastodon – Newcastle O2 Academy
8 Cinderella – Download Festival
9 Focus – High Voltage Festival
10 Robert Plant – Sage Gateshead